Somah's Blog

Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

A Literary Disaster
My review on Amazon

The story is about two best friends who grow apart due to some high school drama and then reconnect many years later. The premise is interesting but everything else is abysmal. The story is tired, the humor is tired (and sadly embarrassing) the characters are super tired (and boring) and the dialogue is just really bad and unrealistic. The only thing I really wanted out of this book once I started reading it was for it to end and end fast. 

 The reason I picked up this book was the good reviews I read about it here on Amazon. Big mistake. I normally pick my books after reading positive reviews in the LA Times, NY Times or the New Yorker. Or if someone whose taste I trust suggests a good book. I don't pick books at random otherwise. Well, this was a lesson learned, for sure. 

 My biggest problem with the book was that it was boring. I didn't feel for the characters and the way they interacted with each other was just simply unrealistic. The author tries to be funny and she succeeds at times but mostly her writing sounds like something you would hear in a really bad remake of a John Hughes movie. 

Please don't waste your time with such drivel. There are way too many better books out there that are worth your time and money.

Sarah Palin: rouge or rogue?

This is hilarious, and considering the level of intelligence of those who would buy Sarah's book, there is no telling how many will confuse the second book for hers. I don't want to misunderestimating anyone's intelligence here or anything, but dog darn it "rogue" and "rouge" have the same letters, just ordered differently. They can't vary that much in meaning, now can they?

Above, on the left: the autobiography from Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, set to be released on November 17. And on the right -- and slated for release the exact same day -- a collection that looks to be critical of the high-profile Republican, subtitled, as it is, "Sarah Palin: An American Nightmare."

Note that in the above paragraph, "left" and "right" are meant to denote image locations only, not political perspectives.

The book covers bear no small resemblance to each other. So, too, the titles: Sarah Palin's book is  "Going Rogue," a phrase taken from her deviation from John McCain's views during the 2008 campaign. The other book is entitled "Going Rouge," a phrase that comes from nowhere except a switcheroo of the letters "u" and "g" from Palin's title. (And is being used by a coloring book, too).

"Going Rouge," which is being edited by two senior editors from The Nation, is being published by the young imprint OR Books. The company seems to be hoping to either catch the wave of enthusiasm greeting Palin's book -- it's currently the #2 bestseller on Amazon, and Palin will be a guest on Oprah the day before the book arrives in stores -- or to confuse Palin supporters into purchasing the Palin-unfriendly book.

Or maybe OR Books wasn't thinking about the similarities at all. Maybe they were simply remembering that Palin paid a makeup artist more than $20,000 for two weeks' work. And if anyone wants to know how she rolls, rouge-wise, the makeup artist used blushes from Mac and Chanel. 

As for going rogue, she is, in some Republican circles, still a bit roguish, in the sense of being an outsider, or perhaps even mischievous. Top of the Ticket reports that her offer to assist in governors races in New Jersey and Virginia was declined.

-- Carolyn Kellogg

via latimesblogs.latimes.com

The Other by Youssef Chahine

You've Gotta Be Kidding Me!
My review on Amazon

I honestly don't know where to begin. The storyline isn't believable, the events don't really flow well, and the acting ... Oh boy. The acting was resoundingly abysmal. All in all, the movie looked and sounded cheap. I'm shocked that Youssef Chahine let such amateurish work get out in the wild effectively marring his accomplished career. I was seriously embarrassed for him as I painfully endured this movie.

The concepts in this film were interesting, though--identity crisis, terrorism, love, classism, and corruption. Unfortunately, the execution was lacking and the characters weren't believable or sympathetic. I didn't care whether they died or lived.

Save yourself time and money and pick something else. Preferably one of Youssef Chahine's older classics like the Alexandria Trilogy or Destiny.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

Disturbing, Suspenseful and Very Entertaining
My review on Amazon

When two, seven-year-old girls go missing in the middle of the night in a small Iowan town, everyone becomes suspect, especially those with questionable character traits. One of the girls, Calli, is suffering from selective mutism after a traumatic event befell her when she was four. The other girl, Petra, is Calli's best friend who has never questioned Calli's silence and has always been there for her. Both were "kindered spirits" much to the surprise of their parents and community.

Though slightly predictable, "The Weight of Silence" will keep you turning the pages until you learn what really happens to Petra and Calli.

The story is told from several perspectives, six to be exact: Calli's, Antonia's (Calli's mom), Ben's (Calli's brother), Petra's, Martin's (Petra's dad) and Deputy Sheriff Louis's. Each chapter is told from one of these characters' point of view, where their thoughts and memories make for most of the disturbing (and at times sweet) details. The reader is made aware of how one of the girls goes missing but keeps on guessing what happened to the other until the end of the book.

At the core of the story lies an abusive, alcoholic father and the damage, both physical and emotional, that he inflicts on his family and community. Some of the details are too painful to read, but it's all worth it in the end.

"The Weight of Silence" is a perfect autumn read and I highly recommend it.

Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

An American Classic
My review on Amazon

When I first picked this book, I didn't have any expectations. I knew it was going to be good (from everything I heard and read about it) but never thought it was going to be one of the best books I've ever read. It blew me away!

A nonfiction, The book chronicles the life of the Zeitouns--a middle class, Muslim family living in New Orleans--before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman Zeitoun is a Syrian-American painting contractor who owns a profitable business and is well known in the city. His wife, Kathy, is a Baton Rouge native who converted to Islam a few years before they met. They have four children and have lived a pretty ordinary American life until the hurricane hit. What happened to that family will astound and appall you.

Heeding calls for evacuation, Kathy packs the kids and heads to Baton Rouge to stay with her family but Abdulrahman stays behind to look after their house and business; He decides to ride out the hurricane and the subsequent flood. Being the sturdy, resourceful man that he is, he comes out unscathed. What happens to him next is what breaks him in the end. Breaks him permanently.

I've never read a nonfiction book that's a page-turner, but this one sure is. It's written so well and reads so fast I had to slow down to savor the story. The book explores New Orleans after the hurricane, post 9/11 America, FEMA, local governments, Islam, and human relationships all through the eyes of Abdulrahman and Kathy.

I cannot stress enough how important this literary work is. Sure it's entertaining and makes for a great read, but it's more than that. It's a slice of history observed and told from a unique perspective in a lyrical almost ethereal prose. It's a must-read.

Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin by Kathy Griffin

Diva is a Literary Genius (review of both written and audible versions)
My review on Amazon

I know it's shocking, but our favorite A-list diva lets her hair down with this tell-all memoir (gays, pay attention.) She starts off with a personal letter to Oprah, which of course is very moving, telling her to brace herself for the tsunami that is this book. That's right, she's not holding anything back, and that's saying something.

Kathy opens up with candid talk about her family, especially her brother Kenny. It takes a lot of guts to talk publicly about a family member who's a pedophile, so I give Kath props for sharing this painful story with us and for always finding that evasive silver lining. She talks about being a female comic in Hollywood and about what happened behind-the-scenes on the set of Suddenly Susan. Her marriage and the real scoop on what happened there is discussed at length as she starts to talk about her Emmy-winning Reality Show, "My Life on the D-List." She talks about her run-ins with the rich and famous and by that I mean Steven Spielberg, and her new BFFs--food and Paris Hilton.

Diva is a masterful storyteller. Seriously, she's the best! The book is hilarious and the audio version, though abridged, is even funnier because it's narrated by diva herself!

Get both the book and the audio version. You'll be laughing all the way into next year and maybe longer.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

"I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?"
My review on Amazon

I absolutely loved this book. Dan Chaon sure hit a home run with this one.

The story is essentially three storylines that are seemingly unrelated. The first story is about Ryan and his father, Jay. The book opens with Jay promising Ryan that he won't let him bleed to death, as Ryan sits next to his severed arm that's stored in a Styrofoam cooler.

This is where you're totally hooked--right from the get-go.

The second story is about Miles Cheshire who has been obsessed with finding his schizophrenic twin brother, Hayden, who disappeared when they were teens. He kept looking for his brother for years and when he finally decided to give up the search and move on with his life, he receives a letter from Hayden crying for help.

The third story is about Lucy and her lover, George Orson, who also happens to be her high school history teacher. Lucy and George run away from Pompey, Ohio, the day after Lucy graduates high school. They take off in Orson's Maserati and head West. Orson promised Lucy a bright future filled with endless luxuries and she believed him. Who wouldn't? He drove a Maserati.

The overarching story, however, is identity theft in the age of electronic banking and online shopping. The book tries to draw a distinction between a spirit and its identity. What makes you who you are today? Is it your passport? Your birth certificate? Your relationships? Your memories?

I have to say I didn't see the final reveal coming, which is a sign of an original story. The writing is fluid and easy and the characters are very well developed. What I loved most about this book was the question it kept raising, which can only be expressed by Emily Dickinson's succinct poem:

I'm nobody, who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

I love this book and I dare to say that you'll love it too.