Plug for a book that is incredible

[pixiecrinkle]

I have been harping on how great and wonderful a book Middlesex by Jeffrey Euginedes is for quite some time. I have been unsuccessful in campaigning to have my book club read it (mostly due to my lack of attendance) as of yet, but I think I might have a hook now. Seems it won a little thing called the Pulitzer Prize.

I truly, truly love this book. On the outside of the jacket, it sounds like a fairly compelling story (that of a young girl who finds out during puberty that she is actually biologically male) it's got sooo many more layers (the immigrant experience, a lot of 20th century US history, etc.) and it is written incredibly well.

I am obviously failing to describe it with any real justice. So let's leave it at this: read this book!!!!! I may re-read it sometime soon.



The Secret History, by Donna Tartt -- Finished it last week, and found it dreadful. I was absolutely, completely drawn in by the murder of a young boy in the first chapter (not a spoiler, it was on the book jacket too). Then the book skips about 10 years, and I just never felt anything for his younger sister, who then becomes the main character. I almost quit halfway through on this, and I never do that. I really don't know how we're *supposed* to feel about the girl at the center of the story, who has a strange lack of morals, which just made the whole thing weird. Frankly, some of her actions in the book left me feeling a bit empty and dirty. I've already pawned this off on someone via half.com.

Oryx & Crake, by Margaret Atwood -- Atwood is one of my favorites. I've had this for quite some time, but have held off reading it, because I always feel like I have to have another one of hers on deck, because once I finish one, I will want another. But I started it after finishing The Secret History, because I felt I needed something which I *knew* would be good after reading that. And so far, I love it. Atwood is really the only science fiction I read (not that that's all she writes either) but she is so good at creating entire worlds, then letting you find out gradually how it got that way. It's a very effective device. I need to learn how to do that. Easier said than done.

Comments

[pixiecrinkle.livejournal.com]

I would have done that too, but I realized early on that I was loving this book enough that I wouldn't want it to end, so I intentionally paced myself. That's *hard* for me.

And I still want to re-read it (which I pretty much never want to do so soon) so it's not like that even worked!