"DON'T PUT A LABEL ON IT UNTIL YOU KNOW IT" (06/26/12)

IN ONE PERSON by John Irving has received mixed reviews. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I really wanted to like this book. I've read everything John Irving has written...but I couldn't finish it. This  book was a big disappointment as far as I'm concerned. Sorry John...

However, Alan Bressler, a blog reader and a man of many talents (Remember his review of Fifty Shades of Grey?!!) sent this comment.

Alan Bressler writes:

I have just completed In One Person, the John Irving novel and have found the book to tell a compelling story in the wonderful style that one would expect from this author. Known for his off beat characters, Irving does not disappoint here with the book replete with cross-dressing grandfather, domineering women, transsexual or transgendered (I'm still uncertain of the correct term) men and many more that you will encounter if you decide to pick up this book. It may not be a "Garp" or a "Cider House" but when has Irving ever repeated. At the end of the book, this paraphrased statement says it all about the book-"...don't put a label on it until you know it".

Okay Alan, maybe I'll give it another try even though I'm really into labels!

IN ONE PERSON

 





WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN?....(06/07/2012)

I wanted to really like IN ONE PERSON by John Irving. I couldn't wait for the release date.  Critics raved about it..interviews with the author were all positive.. What happened?
Simply put, it's a complete bore..

JOHN IRVING

I have been reading John Irving all my life and Irving has given us some fabulous books but this is not one of them.

The subject matter is a timely one and  Irving always writes about people who are eccentric and different. So what's the problem? In this case you don't care about the characters, the story drags, and the repitition is endless..

Goodbye for now John Irving..you may be brilliant and cute too..and maybe you needed a gay man to help you write this...or maybe a younger  voice...

Just my opinion...Write a comment if you disagree...or agree...

 BOOK RATING:    !!  Just OK

BOOK DEBUTS (05/08/2012)

I am a fan of John Irving and have already downloaded his new book which debuts today. Scroll down to the review of this exciting novel titled IN ONE PERSON. Irving masterfully tells the story of the struggle that comes with being different and does it in his own inimitable style...Keep scrolling...

I AM FORBIDDEN by Anouk Markovits

A novel debuting May Ninth is I AM FORBIDDEN by Anouk Markovits. This new novel traces the lives of an extended and broken family. 

It's a drama that takes place in the world of Hassidic Jews in Eastern Europe in 1939, and spans four generations.

One reviewer said  " A family is torn apart by fierce belief and private longing in this unprecidented journey...poignant and heartwarming"

To Order Use Amazon Search Box

Anouk Markovits was raised in an Hassidic home in France, breaking from the fold when she was nineteen to escape an arranged marriage. This is her first English-language debut. She resides in New York with her husband.



MAYBE YES, MAYBE NO, IT'S MAY! (05/03/2012)

Finally May is here...a  busy month for new releases. Some titles have received favorable reviews, some not so much. Here's three you may.. or may not want to consider....

John Irving is one of my favorite authors.  Even the cover of his newest novel is daring and exciting. IN ONE PERSON is a book that makes us proud of our differences.

Without giving away too much, IN ONE PERSON is a compelling novel of desire, secrecy and identity. It tells the story of a bisexual man, his friends and his lovers portrayed in John Irving's inimitable style.

JOHN IRVING

Reviewers said "This is a brave and affecting depiction of how in one life(sexual and otherwise) we contain multitudes." (That says it all...)

And did I mention that reviewers are labeling it "a gripping page-turner and a beautifully constructed work of art"

John Irving is the author of The World According to Garp, which won the National Book Award in 1980.  He has had nine acclaimed international best sellers and IN ONE PERSON is his thirteenth novel.

To order IN ONE PERSON by John Irving, click on the Amazon Search Box in the sidebar. It will be released May eighth.
                                      



LOTS of CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE
Anna Quindlen

This is a May release that will please Anna Quindlen fans.  LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE is a memoir that focuses on looking back and looking ahead..and celebrates all of it.

This book will appeal to a special audience..probably women in Quindlen's age group whose lives are similar.  She talks about "having it all" and living for the now, to love life and "not focus on the destination."

Girlfriends, Marriage, our bodies, and parenting are some of the topics Quindlen discusses.  Her candid observations and descriptive skills tell the reader to "get a life" in the nicest possible way.

Anna Quindlen writes so well that the reader is immediately drawn into the rhetoric.

It's a book to keep in your library,  on your coffee table, or pass on to a loved one.

There are some valuable lessons to be learned in LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE but no matter what Anna Quindlen says, growing old is a bitch! (My opinion)

THE NEWLYWEDS
Nell Freudenberger

To Order Use the Amazon Search Box

This book has been  favorably reviewed in all the mainstream papers. It has been called a "genuinely moving story about a woman who is trying to negotiate two cultures, balancing her parents expectations with her own aspirations, ambitions, and romantic yearnings"

The novel basically concerns a woman who leaves her family in Bangladesh to live in America as the wife of a man she met on the internet.

There's lots of cross-cultural tension, aging parents issues, many truths revealed, but overall it is a story that takes the reader from the backyards of America to the villages of Bangladesh. 

Watch THE NEWLYWEDS climb to the top of   the bestseller list.