The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

Starting collage in 3 days, I’m starting to get bored of summer so I guess you could say that I’m not that upset about going back. I managed to get into my fiction writing class, and I’ve also lucky enough to have won a Kobo Glo because of my book reviews! Obviously this is perfect for a bookworm like moi. That’s all for the Megan’s Life Update.

When a white servant girl violates the order of plantation society, she unleashes a tragedy that exposes the worst and best in the people she has come to call her family. Orphaned while onboard ship from Ireland, seven-year-old Lavinia arrives on the steps of a tobacco plantation where she is to live and work with the slaves of the kitchen house. Under the care of Belle, the master's illegitimate daughter, Lavinia becomes deeply bonded to her adopted family, though she is set apart from them by her white skin. Eventually, Lavinia is accepted into the world of the big house, where the master is absent and the mistress battles opium addiction. Lavinia finds herself perilously straddling two very different worlds. When she is forced to make a choice, loyalties are brought into question, dangerous truths are laid bare, and lives are put at risk.

The Kitchen House is a very engaging story and I couldn’t put it down. I would be at a friends house about to watch a movie when the other couch and my book would beckon to me, and I would go read instead. There isn’t very much happiness to be found in this book, for any of the characters.

It reflects on the 19th century problems of racism and social status while breaking the heart of the reader through and through. The author continually allows you to get comfortable after a tragedy in the plotline only to have another one lined up and ready. The continuous rape, and the chaos that proceeded when a child was born got a bit repetitive. Much drama happens all throughout the story, and  it can get tiresome but all the same I kept wanting to read on.

I was reminded of the classic movie Gone With The Wind, a tragic story with too many tragic twists. Of course those qualities are what make the story realistic and almost addicting, as well as giving readers a look into history. Well done Grissom. http://www.kathleengrissom.com/thekitchenhousebook_004.htm I’ll give her a 3.5 OUT OF 5.

Later alligators!

- MRR

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

GOT MY JOB AT CHAPTERS! I’m super excited, my first day was today and I had an awesome time. There is some competition though, for now I’m only in a seasonal contract so I have to have an exceptional performance if I’m going to stay there long term. Other than that the only thing happening is me going to Douglas in September. Hooray for more school, study, and papers.

In 1925, the legendary British explorer Percy Fawcett ventured into the Amazon jungle, in search of a fabled civilization. He never returned. Over the years countless perished trying to find evidence of his party and the place he called "The Lost City of Z." In this masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, journalist David Grann interweaves the spellbinding stories of Fawcett's quest for "Z" and his own journey into the deadly jungle, as he unravels the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century.

Reading a non-fiction is a first for me, or at least the first time in a long time, and I admit that I thought it was fascinating. This book is a true story that is filled with real adventure, mystery, and suspense. This and the fact that the author get’s caught up in the obsession over Z just adds to the realism.

After a couple pages I was excited to follow Fawcett throughout several of his journey’s all the way through till the end, but this is not the case. Because it’s a non-fiction the author has to piece together the story from tidbits like Fawcett’s journal, letters written by people close to him, and accounts from other important people in the story. This makes the it less focused on adventure and more informative instead.

If you’re a history buff I recommend this novel. I think that after reading this I’ll have to browse the same section in Chapters more often. Despite it seeming like there were no more twists that could happen, the very ending proved that wrong. The Lost City of Z is a beautiful story of english explorers, amazon indians, and the quest for an ancient city.

I adored this novel, its  4 OUT OF 5. http://www.davidgrann.com/ Visit his website to check out his other book, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

Until  next time,

-MRR

World War Z by Max Brooks

Spent the weekend in Osoyoos and most of the days we were there it was cloudy, which is rare in that city. Oh well I finished WWZ today while tanning on my trampoline, enjoying the cold water from the sprinkler placed underneath. The reading contest going on at my local library is treating me well, I got a coupon for a free pizza which I ordered today. I’m just relaxed!

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

I didn’t have high expectations for this novel before I cracked the first page. There were many different things being said about World War Z and from what I could tell it was either a hit or miss with the readers. After finishing I could tell why, the novel is full of interviews from survivors of the war which is a unique way to write the entire book.

Because of this way of writing, WWZ might throw quite a few people off. There is no following a character through a secured plot while reading this book. I remember complaining about Soulless by Christopher Golden, which also was about zombies and had different viewpoints. I was surprised that by the time I reached the ending of this one I appreciated the overview effect given from the random perspectives.

Another thing about the writing that bothered me at the beginning was all of the technical terms that had to do with the military, including things like weapons, aircraft, vehicles etc. I got so lost in the intricate terms that it pulled me away from the story sometimes. After finishing the last page though I felt that brought more to the story than it did take away. I was won over in the end especially with the realism despite it being fiction. Brooks took many things into account like the different countries’ cultures, political leadership, and past wars. This book is very complex, I can admire that.

Check out Max Brook’s website http://maxbrooks.com/ he is a bit obsessed with zombies apparently. I’m going to give this one a 4 OUT OF 5. Thanks for another good read Alannis! I heard the movie sucks though.

Chow,

-MRR

The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Summer is halfway through and already I’m not looking forward to the end of it. All there is to do is make the best of it though! I recently won $25 to chapters for one of my reviews, and I finished my 3rd interview at chapters today. I’m so exited to be working there! Wish me luck in getting hired. Back to the books:

On a burn ward, a man lies between living and dying, so disfigured that no one from his past life would even recognize him. His only comfort comes from imagining various inventive ways to end his misery. Then a woman named Marianne Engel walks into his hospital room, a wild-haired, schizophrenic sculptress on the lam from the psych ward upstairs, who insists that she knows him - that she has known him, in fact, for seven hundred years. She remembers vividly when they met, in another hospital ward at a convent in medieval Germany, when she was a nun and he was a wounded mercenary left to die. If he has forgotten this, he is not to worry: she will prove it to him. And so Marianne Engel begins to tell him their story, carving away his disbelief and slowly drawing him into the orbit and power of a word he'd never uttered: love.

I borrowed this lovely novel from my friend Alannis, and when I asked for her opinion on it she said it was so slow she didn’t even get past the first couple chapters. I feel sorry for my dear friend Alannis. Even though there isn’t a great deal of excitement until you meet Marianne, the first part introduces the character thoroughly, it’s where you get to know him.

After Marianne butts her way into the plotline, the reader feels the same fascination with her as the main character does. Her stories to him in the hospital are what weave the novel together and also what kept me intrigued. The writing is very descriptive, especially near the end when things are wrapping up. Some might find parts of the book graphic, but I enjoyed the intense imagery.

The best part about The Gargoyle is the constant tipping of a scale. On one side the possibility that Marianne is not insane and her realistic stories were real, on the other side an inevitability that her schizophrenia was the only truth behind them. While reading I found that I believed Marianne whole-heartedly, but Davidson might find points to push you to think otherwise.

The first half is definitely not as gripping as the second but I know I made the right choice in picking this up and reading start to finish (Unlike poor Alannis). I’ll give it a 3.5/5.

Learn more about the author here http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/profile.cfm?article_id=10235

And check out my tumblr as well! http://spasticmooseful.tumblr.com/

Chow,

-MRR