Review: The Rain Watcher (by Tatiana de Rosnay)

 My Rating: 4 stars

Set against the backdrop of a historic flood in Paris, The Rain Watcher is an atmospheric tale about the Malegarde family, told primarily from the perspective of the youngest son Linden, who is a world-renowned photographer.  As he and his family – older sister Tilia, his parents Lauren and Paul – reunite to celebrate his parents wedding anniversary as well as his father’s 70^th birthday, the atmosphere around them is grim, with ceaseless rain that greets each family member upon their arrival.  As the family prepares for their gathering, a crisis slowly unfolds around them in the form of rising floodwaters that threaten to submerge the city.  When tragedy befalls the family and Paul ends up in the hospital, Linden embarks on a retrospective journey that, over the course of the story, gives us insight into not only his own past but also that of the various members of his family.

With this well-written family saga, author Tatiana de Rosnay did an incredible job presenting an emotional story that was at the same time heartbreaking yet also uplifting.   This is very much a story about love and family relationships, but also about redemption, identity, and also the power of uniting together as a family in the face of crisis.  As a character-driven story, this was more of a slow-burn narrative that took awhile to get into, but it’s one that pays off in the end with a story that was absolutely well-told.  The family at the center of the story was so well-depicted, with flaws and dysfunctions that many of us could relate to – this was a family that grew on me, to the point that at the end, I didn’t want to let them go.  Aside from the Malegarde family though, another important character in the story was the rain itself, which factored into the narrative in various places, serving as a constant throughout the story.  In terms of the writing, the prose was wonderfully rendered, with sparse dialogue and long descriptive paragraphs that made the surrounding environment – the rain, the flood and its effects, etc. – truly come alive.

This was truly an introspective novel, one that I enjoyed for both the story and the characters as well as the atmospheric mood it invoked – sad and somber yet not entirely devoid of hope.  I know this is the same author who wrote Sarah’s Key, which is a book I’ve had on my “to-read” list for quite some time already – I look forward to reading that one even more now. 

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

Review: The Library Book (by Susan Orlean)

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Have you ever come across a book that felt like it was meant for you to read and then afterwards occupies a permanent place in your heart due to the special connection you feel with it?  Well, for me, Susan Orlean's The Library Book was definitely THAT book (the reasons why will become more clear later on in this review).   

I've had my nose in a book ever since I learned how to read at 5 or 6 years old (though my mom likes to tell people that I might have well been born with a book in my hands, since I was always attracted to books even as an infant – my mom said whenever I cried, she would simply put a baby book in my crib and instantly I would stop crying, lol).  One of the fondest memories of my childhood was the bi-weekly trip to the local library that my mom would take me on, where I would always check out a huge stack of books (I remember I would always exceed the limit of books that I was allowed to check out on my card so my mom would end up checking out a few of my books on her card), take them home and read them all in less than a week, then beg my mom to take me back to the library again before our regular "library day" so I could return that stack of books and check out new ones.  My thirst for books and reading were insatiable back in those days and so of course, the library became my "candy shop" growing up – it was my "most favorite place on earth," a place where I could literally spend the entire day browsing through endless shelves of books, looking at covers, reading summaries on the back and pretty much just delight in being surrounded by books at every turn.  As I'm sure was the case with many people, when I reached my teenage years and later, adulthood, and started getting caught up in the never ending "busyness" of school and work, my relationship with the library changed.  I still loved books of course (I don't think it was a coincidence that I took practically every literature class that my schools had to offer and veered toward a liberal arts degree with a literature emphasis in college) – but I no longer had the time to go to the library and spend hours on end just "hanging out" there.  Instead of being the place of wonder and excitement that it was in my childhood, the library became "the place I went for research" or, when I was in college, the place where I would go to work on a paper or a project if I happened to have some free time between classes.  Over the years, as "time" became more and more of a scarcity for me (I'm constantly complaining that 24 hours in a day is not enough for me to finish everything I need/want to get done), the local bookstore(s) eventually replaced the library as my "go-to" source for books because with the limitations on my time, it was much easier for me to buy a book I needed for my classes way in advance and then just pick it up and start reading at the designated time without having to worry about a due date to return the book or even worse, the book not being available when I needed it.  It wasn't until the last 5 years or so that I got "reacquainted" with the library again through my nephew (whom I am proud to say inherited my love for books!) and realized how much I had missed over the years.  In the first few chapters of the book, hearing the author recount her relationship with the library – the trips to the library with her mother as a child, growing apart from the library as an adult, getting reacquainted with the library after going there with her child, etc. --  it reminded me of my own journey, of the up-and-down relationship I've also had with libraries over the years.

The other reason this book resonated with me so much is because I've lived in Los Angeles practically my entire life and so basically "grew up" in the Los Angeles Public Library system – though ironically, despite the close proximity, I've actually never been to the Central Library in downtown LA (which is where most of the events in the book take place).  Regardless though, it was fascinating to learn about the history of the LA library and how the entire system evolved into what it is today.  Like the author, I too had no clue about the fire at Central Library back in 1986 (my love for reading obviously didn't extend to newspapers back then, lol), but even so, I would've been too young anyway to understand exactly what was going on.  As a history buff, I also enjoyed the historical background about the city of LA and California as a whole that the author incorporated into her narrative.  I actually get really excited when I hear things (whether names or places) that I'm familiar with get mentioned in books, as it makes the reading experience that much more personal for me – in the case of this book, there were actually a few places mentioned where I have friends (or relatives) who live there currently, so it was fun to be able to talk them afterwards about the historical aspects of where they live.

In recounting the story of the Central Library fire, Orlean also gives us the story of Harry Peak – the man largely viewed as responsible for starting the fire but never charged due to lack of evidence.  The "true crime" aspect of the story -- including the analysis of the various records as well as all the insights into investigation of past arson cases – was particularly well-done, with the evidence and facts presented in a way that made this as engrossing as reading a good suspense novel.   With that said though, this book was so much more than just a chronicle of the Central Library fire or a history of the library's evolution over the years – in many respects, this was also an ode to libraries and librarians everywhere as well as a testament to the critical role that libraries play in our society – not just locally or in our country, but all around the world. 

My one small complaint was that the narrative jumped around a bit too much between the investigation, the historical timeline, and Orlean's personal interactions with various "characters" she encounters, whether it was people involved with the original investigation or the librarians she talked with in the course of putting together the research for this book.  There were a few times, for example, where the chapter that just finished was about a current interaction at the library but the next chapter was back to the investigation, which was last touched upon several chapters ago, so I had to go back and re-read those sections to refresh my memory on where it had left off.  Overall though, this is a minor structural issue in the grand scheme of things of course. 

Engaging, insightful, and well-written, this book is a wonderful tribute to not just libraries but also books and book lovers from all walks of life.  Highly recommended and a must-read for bibliophiles everywhere!

Received ARC from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley

Review: Virgil Wander (by Leif Enger)

My Rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

This is one of those books that I found extremely difficult to rate, as there were many things I enjoyed about the book, yet at the same time, there were also moments where I struggled and thought about giving up on this one and moving on to other more productive reads.  A few of the things I loved about this book:  the writing, which was gorgeous and masterful and flowed so easily that I got swept up in it from the first page; the characters, all of whom were quirky yet endearing in their own ways – these were characters I fell for, cared about, and wanted to spend time with, which also meant that I was saddened to have to let them go when I reached the end of the book;  the "intelligent humor" mentioned in the book's summary -- which took me by surprise at first given the undertones of sadness and wistfulness I seemed to sense in the story -- but then I quickly grew to love once I got to know the characters more and began to understand the dynamics of this small, close-knit Midwestern community; and finally, the storytelling, which felt both whimsical and smart – there were times where I felt I was reading a work of art rather than an actual book (if that makes any sense).

With all that said, the one thing I wasn't too keen on was the story itself – or more specifically, the lack of a cohesive plot.  Not much happens in the story, which was extremely slow-going and there was not much there to really move the story along.  In a way, this story was more a series of vignettes where we are provided  glimpses into the daily lives of various characters and get to witness them doing the most ordinary of things – watching a movie, cleaning a theatre, flying a kite, etc.  There were many moments while reading where I felt like I wanted more, though exactly more of what was hard to pinpoint at times.  Perhaps I was expecting the story to be more engaging, or maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read this book, as I already knew I wouldn't have large swathes of time to devote to reading right now due to work and things going on in my personal life – this is the type of book that requires quite a bit of patience and concentration and also needs to be read in one go rather than broken up between other tasks.  I did the latter and ended up struggling through, to the point that there were times when I had to put the book down to attend to other things but then didn't feel like picking it back up afterwards.  I think if I had read this one in fewer sittings, over a longer, more focused time period, it would have felt less scattered and most likely I would've felt differently about it.  This is why I decided to round up to 4 stars on this one, as I feel that, under different circumstances, this would definitely have been a 4 star (or above) read for me (and the fact that there truly were quite a few things I liked about the book, of course).

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one, though with the caveat that you need to be in the right mood to read it and also be able to devote the time and focus to it that it deserves.  At some point down the line, I do intend on reading some of this author's other works as well, since I've heard so many great things about a few of them.  And if he decides to write another novel in the future, I would want to read that as well – hopefully we don't have to wait another 10 years for it though!

Received ARC from Grove Press via NetGalley

Review: Yo-kai Watch 10 (by Noriyuki Konishi)

 My Rating: 4 stars

 

As I mentioned during my review of Book 9 back in April, my nephew is a huge Yo-kai Watch fan and over the years, he has amassed quite a large collection of Yo-kai Watch memorabilia.  It just so happens that my nephew also loves to read and of course, being the bookworm that I am, my job is to read him a bedtime story every night.  One of the book series that we’ve been working through is the Yo-kai Watch manga series written and illustrated by Noriyuki Konishi.  Upon finding out that Book 10 is scheduled to come out early next year (in January 2019) and knowing that my nephew can’t wait to read the latest in the series, I’ve been checking Edelweiss religiously in the hopes that I would be able to obtain an advance copy.  Fortunately, Book 10 was indeed available and I was able to get approval pretty quickly (thank you Viz Media)!

Similar to the previous books in the series, each chapter features a different Yo-kai character and a backstory of sorts explaining how they come to meet Nate Adams and his trusty Yo-kai sidekick Whisper.  Our beloved cat Yo-kai Jibanyan is of course featured in every chapter (there is a segment in this book that pokes fun at the fact that Nate always summons Jibanyan, as though he is the only Yo-kai he knows, lol!) – which of course is perfectly fine for us (my nephew and myself), since Jibanyan is our favorite character.  One thing that stood out to us with this book is that it had a slightly different format than the ones before it in that this one has alternating chapters where only Jibanyan has an encounter with a new Yo-kai on his own and then when he is summoned by Nate in the next chapter, whatever state Jibanyan happened to be in from his previous encounter is carried into that chapter (for example, if Jibanyan had gotten into a fight with another Yo-kai in the “him only” chapter, he would appear in the next chapter with his face swollen from the fight) – so in a way, the chapters were linked up, with some chapters being continuations of the ones before it.  Both of us actually like this format, as it changes things up a bit, plus the “Jibanyan only” chapters are shorter and less wordy so are much funnier.

Of course, as usual whenever we read these Yo-kai comics, my nephew and I loved being able to spend some time with our favorite Yo-kai characters and laughing uncontrollably at their hilarious antics!  This entire comic series is a “must-read” for all Yo-kai watch fans!  Even if we don’t necessarily learn anything new or particularly profound when reading these (though some of the stories do have specific lessons and messages they try to get across), the pure fun and entertainment value – not to mention being able to spend quality time reading with my nephew – make this an absolutely worthwhile read.  As with the other books, we can’t wait to add the physical copy of Book 10 to our collection once it releases in January!

Received ARC from Viz Media and Level-5 via Edelweiss.

Review: Under My Skin (by Lisa Unger)

My Rating: 3.5 stars 

Last year, while searching for a book to complete an A to Z Author challenge I was doing, I came across author Lisa Unger's latest psychological suspense novel The Red Hunter, which ended up being a thrill-ride of a book that I enjoyed from beginning to end and found very difficult to put down.  Not surprisingly, when I heard that Unger would have a new book out this year, another psychologicaI suspense thriller entitled Under My Skin, I jumped at the opportunity to read an advance copy.  

The story revolves around Poppy Lang, whose husband Jack was brutally murdered a year ago, and even though on the surface it appears that she has moved on with her life, underneath she is actually still traumatized and broken, unable to return to the "normalcy" she had once known.  Still haunted by the mysterious circumstances of her husband's death as well as the few days immediately afterward when she herself disappeared, only to resurface later completely confused with no memory of where she had been or what had happened, Poppy begins to dive deeper and deeper into a life of chaos and confusion.  She starts to experience blackouts, moments where she would be lucid one minute but then completely lost the next minute, with things worsening as she dives deeper into a darkness where she is no longer able to distinguish between what is real and what is imaginary.  The only thing that keeps her grounded is the insistence on finding out the truth about her husband's death while also attempting to dig up memories of those lost few days.

This book was a bit of a maze, with quite a few twists and turns as well as a couple red herrings thrown in to mix things up a little.  Out of the many books in this particular genre that I've read in recent months, I would have to say that this one comes closest to  what I would consider a "true" psychological thriller / suspense novel – Poppy's constantly confused psychological state, the concept of dreams versus reality scattered throughout the story, complex characters who all seemed to have another side to them that no one else is able to see, endless mind games and twists, etc.  All of this, coupled with the fact that the narrative is told entirely from Poppy's first person perspective, lent the story a bit of a chaotic, slightly disjointed feel, which I will admit bothered me a little at first – the jumping back and forth between past and present, the difficulty in distinguishing between events that actually happened versus those imagined by Poppy in her confused state of mind, etc. – this made the story slightly difficult to follow at times.  It wasn't until I finished the book that I realized perhaps the story was structured this way intentionally to better flush out Poppy's character and her mindset.

Overall, I did like this one, as it was well-written and both the story as well as the characters were interesting, however compared to Unger's previous book that I had read, I didn't seem to connect with this one as much.  I felt like there was a bit of repetitiveness in some parts which dragged the plot a little, especially in the middle section of the book, to the point that when I actually did have to put the book down in order to attend to personal matters, I didn't feel the pull of urgently wanting to get back to reading.  Perhaps I had different expectations going into this one given that the previous book of hers I had read was so good….or perhaps I'm just burned out with psychological thrillers given how many I've read over the past few months.  With that said though, I would still recommend this one, as it's definitely highly readable, but if this is your first time reading a Lisa Unger novel, I would say start with her previous ones first. For me, I still intend on reading her other works, it's just finding the time to get to them…

Received ARC from Park Row via Edelweiss