Books I have read in Cameroon....so far
on The Road Less Travelled (Cameroon), 17/Feb/2010 05:31, 34 days ago
Many people are always asking me what I have been reading lately.  So here are all the books I have read so far.  Feel free to email me about them if you want to discuss them.The Last Concubine– Lesley Downer (*****) A great page turner about the life of a Japanese concubine in the 1860s through the Edo period of Japan and the civil war.The God of Small Things– Arundhati Roy (**) A story of twins Rahel and Estha who learn their lives can change in a single day. It is the story of love and life found and lost. Very poetically written but you need to be in the right mood/mind frame to read this.The Bonesetter’s Daughter – Amy Tan (*****) The stories of a young girl and her mother and their jouney to find out the truth about their family and who they are. The mother is brought up in a rural village in China and there is a lot of mystery surrounding her childhood.Julie and Julia - Julie Powell (*) A culinary delight to read but the story is not as great as I was led to believe. I think the hype of the movie got my hopes up a lot for a Great read but it was only a Good read. I found the letters interspersed in the book from Julia Child not to fit well with the story.DeKok and the Dead Harlequin– A.C. Baantjer (**) An easy read mystery which takes place in the Netherlands.Toss of a Lemon - Padma Viswanathan(***) A detailed book about the journey of a young girl Sivakami through to an old woman in Southern India. Quite lengthy and lots of description, not a page-turner but a good read with an interesting story.The Sea– John Banville (N/A) I did not finish this book. It could not hold my interest or even pique it.Man and Boy– Tony Parsons (***) A feel good heart rendering story about a man who has it all, beautiful wife, beautiful child, good job, and throws it all away in a foolish act. He has to learn to be a single father overnight.Man and Wife– Tony Parsons (**) The sequel to Man and Boy. Another feel good story about a man dealing with his blended family. Not as engaging as the first book but an equally easy read.The Bronze Horseman– Paullina Simons (****) A very riveting novel taking place during the second world war in Russia. It chronicles the life of a young girl called Tatiana who must deal with growing up, love and dealing with the war.The Last Days of Dogtown– Anita Diamant (*) No where as good as The Red Tent, but an adequate read. The story is set in the early 1800s in rural Massachusetts and chronicles the lives of people who have been left out of history: the poor, widows and spinsters, orphans, New England Africans - both enslaved and free.The Red Scarf– Kate Furnivall (****) A very engaging story about a fugitive’s journey to save her friend. She unwinds mysteries that not only connect her to her life but help her on her mission. Well written, short chapters make it easy to read in small doses if you can’t dedicate a lot of time at once.The Last Empress– Anchee Min (****) A captivating historical novel offering an insight into the life of Empress Orchid and the difficult times she faced as the leader who ruled China for more than 4 decades. It reflects historical events and the political decisions made by the Empress and goes father to offer insight into her feelings and thoughts. Well written.Paper Shadows– Wayson Choy (****) A childhood memoir of the Canadian author Wayson Choy depicts stories from his childhood growing up in Chinatown in Vancouver. Very well written and engaging.A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian– Marina Lewycka (**) A relatively enjoyable read about a gold digger who marries an old man and how his family deals with it. Some parts are quite slow specifically the history of tractors.The Gatecrasher– Madeleine Wickham (**) An easy chick-lit read about a girl who is a gold-digger and then actually begins to develop feelings for her latest sugar-daddy. It is a cute story written by the same author as the Shopaholic series albeit under a different pen name.Death du Jour– Kathy Reichs (**) A thrilling tale involving Temperance Brennan a forensic anthropologist who is trying to figure out what happened to a family who died in a house fire while at the same time investigating the body of a nun that a church would like to become a saint.The Secret Life of Bees– Sue Monk Kidd (***) A tale set in South Carolina about a girl and her “nanny” run away from her abusive father to a small town where she believes her mother was once. They are taken in by three sisters who run a honey farm.Half of a Yellow Sun– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (***) A very action packed story about the Nigeria-Biafra war in the late 1960s and the story of two affluent sisters trying to live their lives despite the violence and difficulties that arise during the war.