I have always enjoyed Le Carre’s novels. This one is an exception. After listening to half the book with my husband, and struggling to make sense of it, we both agreed, the book was going nowhere. Essentially, it is about an agent working for the British Intelligence Service who is aging out of his career. Nat believed he would soon be terminated, but he was instead thrown a lifeline and given the opportunity to resurrect a defunct London office. His badminton games with Ed, another agent, are a major theme, along with his dislike of President Trump.
I have no interest in reading a bash Trump book, especially one that is slow. Therefore, once again, I have decided to do something I find myself doing more and more often, recently, something I never considered doing in the past. I have decided not to finish the book. It is slow and tedious and does not invite me back. There is too little time to read all of the books being mass produced today, to stick with a book I do not love. I am moving on.
In addition, the author should have hired a professional reader. Perhaps the tone and expression would then have been more encouraging and would have better interpreted the dialogue.
]]>Often, when an author reads his/her own book, the reading lacks something which a professional brings to the narration. This author reads too softly and emotively for my taste, and it tends to make the reader lose track of where each sentence begins and ends without complete concentration. In addition, the voice sounds very feminine, husky, and even sexy or perhaps enticing, which seemed inappropriate, at first. Then, as I listened on, I realized it might have been intentional since the main character, “Little Dog”, had issues with sexual identification.
Little Dog’s origin begins in Vietnam and the culture of the country plays a role in the narrative. The American intervention in the civil war there was presented fairly negatively as the American soldiers and their families are exposed as racists who are rather cruel to the inhabitants, taking advantage of the women, abusing them and their children.
The main character’s birth had heralded him as somewhat of a prodigal son. In the book, he is writing to his mother, although she is illiterate, perhaps to mend fences that have eroded between them. He has not turned out to be what his family had hoped he would be. He is not the masculine savior they imagined. The unrest and wars have prevented him from achieving the status they had hoped for and have exposed his “softness”. Through his imagined conversations with his mother, we learn of his life and his trials, abroad and in America. We learn of his identity issues, which he confesses, and we learn about the difficult problems he has faced.
After struggling to listen for hours, I felt that, indeed, the author’s voice and interpretation in the reading, was probably deliberate in order to reveal Little Dog’s sexual orientation. I felt a bit deceived, since nowhere in my initial reading about the book did I discover that it was about someone who had sexual identification issues. In this era of political correctness with the publishing industry’s strong predilection for progressive policies, there seem to be too many books being published to promote those policies. At the very least, a reader should be informed, in the immediate description of a novel, about the issues being promoted in the book, especially regarding sexual identity and even racism. I often feel, lately, that I am being kidnapped by the industry in order to force me to read something I have no desire to read, in order to promote the progressive political agenda and brainwash me. It is for that reason I have chosen to stop reading the book.
The prose is beautiful; it is lyrical, and it will attract a certain audience, I am just not in that audience. I have assigned it three stars, although I did not complete the book, because of the quality of the writing, and because I realize that although the content does not interest me, it will interest many others. For me, there are just too many other books out there that are written just as well about themes I would prefer to read.
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This is a well researched, beautifully written novel which begins in the 1930’s and takes us forward for six plus decades of turmoil in the lives of Victor and Roser Dalmau as they seek a homeland. It is sometimes about history and sometimes it is about romance. It is about migrants, exiles, asylum seekers, secrets, idealism, loyalty, devotion, politics, war and corruption in the church, but always there is hope in the end. It begins with the story of those who fled Franco’s Spain when the Nationalists who were Fascists defeated the Republicans who were Marxists and Socialists. Franco’s government was a military dictatorship which was ruled with an iron fist.
The reader is taken through the Spanish Civil War as innocent and guilty alike are caught in the web of intrigue and terror. The Civil War tore the country apart. At the same time as the Spanish were struggling to survive the change in government and loyalties, World War II broke out. Those who hadn’t supported Franco were in mortal danger as they were captured, tortured and murdered. Those that could, eventually fled. Not all countries would accept refugees, but Chile welcomed them.
Victor Dalmau was from Barcelona, Spain. His mother had been preparing to become a nun when she met his father, a prominent music teacher, and fell in love. She left the convent and to avoid having their children labeled as bastards, the couple married. Children born out of wedlock becomes a recurrent theme in the novel.
Victor studied medicine in Spain. He was not a fan of Franco, and when the Civil War broke out, he worked in a hospital to treat those who were injured fighting against him. When Victor was injured, he returned home to Barcelona and his parents, until he recovered. In the house with them was Roser Bruguera, his father’s best, young music student. His parents had taken her into their home when her family fell onto hard times. She was like family to Victor. Victor’s brother, Guillem, however, had a romantic relationship with her that she took more seriously than he did.
After he got well, Victor returned to the hospital to help the injured. Then one day, he received a call from his mother. His father was ill and near death. He had to locate his brother, and both of them needed to return home if they hoped to see their father alive once again. Victor had difficulty locating his brother because Guillem, was on the front, fighting.
Time passed and the war raged on. The hygiene conditions were terrible and Guillem became gravely ill with Typhus. He was sent home to die or recover. With the care from Roser and his mother, he recovered and was able to return to the battlefield. However, during his recuperation, Roser was so devoted to him that he fell in love with her. They pledged to marry, but Guillem did not return home. He never knew that Roser was pregnant with his child.
In order to flee Spain, when Franco set up his regime,Victor and Roser pose as a married couple, and with his mother, they leave on the ship, the SS Winnipeg, that Pablo Neruda had chartered. They went to the long petal of the sea which is how the poet, Neruda, refers to Chile. He calls it “the long petal of sea and wine and snow”. When Roser learns of Guillem’s death, Victor swears to raise their child as his own, and he and Roser marry for appearance’s sake, although they live like brother and sister.
In Chile, Victor has his own affair with a young girl, Ofelia, who was already promised to someone else. So, although Victor and Ofelia had no future, once again, there is an unexpected pregnancy. To avoid shame, Ofelia goes to a church that cares for unwed mothers. After she delivers, she is told her son was born dead. Ofelia never told Victor that she was pregnant, so like his brother, he was unaware that he was to be a father.
After time passes, Roser and Victor realize that they have grown deeply in love. The child, Marcel, was born in Chile. They feel like Chile is their home. Revolution soon followed them there, too, and they were forced to flee once again. This time they went to Venezuela. History repeated and they had to leave there, as well, but by then they were able to return to Chile. Like a revolving door, chaos followed them. When Spain opened its arms to them, they wondered if they should pick up and move again. Should they return to Spain? Where was home?
The story is complicated. There are many characters and experiences that have to be knitted together. There are many repetitive themes, war, greed, pregnancy, religious corruption, innocence, guilt, loss and shame. The novel contains many elements of history and bits and pieces of fiction and non-fiction that are woven together skillfully to make it an interesting read. Although there is sex, it is not gratuitous.
The audio narrator is very good, keeping a safe personal distance from the story, but portraying the story well.
To sum it up, revolution follows revolution which is followed by torture and arrest, exile follows exile, from one country to the next, love affair follows love affair, illegitimate children multiply until the story goes full circle, and there is the right of return to a homeland.
The story feels more authentic because, coincidentally, the author’s life parallel’s several moments in the book.
]]>When the author learned about the 9 year old, lone survivor of a plane crash, it inspired her to write this story. She wanted to believe that someone could survive such a terrible traumatic event and still go on to have a productive life.
For most of the book, the author develops the lives of several passengers on a plane flight from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California. This plane will not reach its destination. As she delves into the lives of several of the passengers, to reveal their character, she reveals also, those that are often forgotten. She explores the lives of those that mourned the victims of this tragedy, and in so doing, she gave life to both those that died and those who grieved.
The author takes the reader through the flight and explores the passengers’ reactions to each other, at first and as the time passes. Often, their initial reactions were surface, and as a result, inaccurate and selfish. They were not happy about being forced to sit with complete strangers with personalities they might not like and sizes and shapes that might infringe upon their personal space. However, each passenger comes with his own story, and as they communicate about their pasts and dreams of their future, they become more amenable to each other. They adjust to this temporary situation.
The author has chosen a diverse set of passengers. Each has a unique lifestyle. One is a soldier who is returning home. One is a woman who believes she has lived many lives. One is an elderly, wealthy man who resents his declining health and is traveling with a nurse, one is a family moving across country, one is a woman who has discovered she is pregnant and is hoping her boyfriend will want to marry her. One is a successful young businessman. Each is thinking about what comes next in their lives, not when it will all end. The atmosphere on the plane as it goes through the “turbulence” is very tense. The disaster is palpable. The fear of the passengers, their thoughts while they believe in a future contrast sharply with their thoughts as they realize they might not have one.
Eddie Adler’s family was moving to California for his mom’s new job. He had not wanted to move at all, and now, alone, the lone survivor in his family, his life is forever changed as he has to live with his aunt and uncle. He is confused, memory impaired temporarily and lonely. He is still in terrible physical pain from his injuries. The author paints a picture of his difficult recovery, exposing his fears, his thoughts, his questions and the general turmoil he experiences as he tries to adjust to his new life. As he matures and recovers, she endows him with an almost superhuman ability to reason things out and solve his own problems, often with more maturity than the adults around him. There are few outbursts or moments of extreme frustration and pain that one might logically expect from a young boy who has suffered such an enormous loss and such a horrific trauma. Edward Adler, in his new life, proceeds to understand and show compassion to those reacting to his needs. Most often, he responds intellectually instead of emotionally. He seems to be able to intuitively know what he needs to do in order to survive, and he is permitted tremendous leeway by those surrounding him, to allow him to make his own decisions in this regard. His youth and the trauma he survived grant him special favor, at times, from the adults and figures of authority that are involved with his life. In a manner beyond his maturity, he seems willing to take their advice most of the time, and he rebels and resents that authority only minimally and briefly. Often, it is he that makes it easier for those around him to adjust to him and the angst surrounding him in his unwanted celebrity.
Helping him to recover is the 11 year old daughter of his aunt’s neighbor. Together, Edward and Shay work to resolve his problems and hers, for she is experiencing the rebellion consistent with a mother/daughter relationship as she tries to assert her own independence. She has suffered loss as well, although nothing compared to his. Her father is absent, having abandoned them when she was just two years old. As the years pass and their friendship deepens, their experiences sometimes seem to lack authenticity as they do things without consequence that push the envelope of reality.
The author moves back and forth in time and place from the plane trip to Edward’s new home with his aunt and uncle. As the reader watches Edward recover and mature, as his experiences are explored and he grows somewhat overwhelmed with a need to do something, to act out and help others who were not as lucky as he, we see that he is fortunate to have adults to guide him that are thoughtful and compassionate, and also unique in their own way. His therapist, his school principal, his aunt and uncle, his neighbors are all key players in his recovery.
When he discovers the letters his uncle had hidden from him, that were from people involved with the victims of the plane crash, he begins to read them and to remember and relive the experience. This takes place three years after the disaster that took the lives of all those passengers. Rather than upset him, the letters open the door to his further recovery as they help him to remember and further come to terms with what we can call his survivor’s guilt.
The narrator reads the novel well, allowing the characters to lead her so she does not make herself an integral part of the story. The book is a difficult read as it is an emotional roller coaster. I believe the book would have been better if the romantic side of it was less developed, although the relationship between Eddie and Shay was a very important and vital part of the narrative. I think some of the crude language was unnecessary. At times, scenes like the one illustrating “the mile high club” experience seemed to me to demean the ultimate intent of the author. If the author’s purpose was, as she said, to provide hope that someone could survive such an experience and go on to have a successful and fruitful life, the crude references could have been left out.
]]>Female FBI agent Atlee Pine has suffered a setback in her career because of an overreaction when she caught a pedophile with a young girl. Although she rescued the girl, she also beat the pedophile to a pulp. Her superior understood her reaction, and he did not discipline her, but instead, he gave her the opportunity to use some time off to reconcile her emotional issues concerning her twin sister’s disappearance. She set out to find out what she could about the crime that had occurred more than two decades ago, when her sister Mercy had been kidnapped. She and Mercy were six years old at the time. Atlee was left for dead with a fractured skull. Her sister was never found. Her parents were devastated, and her father was accused of the crime. Eventually, her parents left town in secret.
As years passed, Atlee was never told the truth about her background, although she did not realize it until this investigation. She knew that her father killed himself on her birthday and that her mother abandoned her when she was in college, leaving her enough money to finish her education. However, she discovered that the rest of her life was a fiction. She was never able to find her mom or discover the truth about her sister’s disappearance, either. Now she hoped to at least find out something about Mercy.
When she returns to her home town, with her assistant, Carol Blum, she discovers that her mother and father had different names and a past she had not known. While she searches for answers about her sister’s fate, additional murders take place around her. She assists in the investigation and pretty much takes it over. She wonders if there is a serial killer on the loose? Are the murders related to her return? Has everyone told her the whole story about her family, or are they holding back facts? Somehow, in bits and pieces she realizes that she knows little about herself or anything else, and she places herself in great danger.
Atlee acts as if she is superior to everyone else, and she often has a chip on her shoulder. Her responses to others are authoritarian, abrupt and sarcastic. I did not find her very likeable. Sometimes she actually seemed to be endowed with supernatural capabilities, almost like a superhero, surviving situations that should have killed her. The author seemed to want to stress the fact that women are at least as capable, if not more so, than men in similar situations.
The author would not have written such trite dialogue between men, as he did between the women in the book. It was often glib and pointless. I found the book disappointing. I thought that the narrator over emoted, and her interpretation of the characters made me dislike most of them. Although Atlee’s insights were often spot on, and she was very fit and strong, I found her to be ruled by emotions not brains. She is painted as the sharpest knife in the drawer, the brightest bulb in the box, the genius who somehow instinctively solves all problems. However, the novel feels like it is chick lit at best, filled with trite platitudes and hackneyed conversations, not up to the standards of this author.
I won’t be listening to the next book they indicated is coming in this series and was disappointed that the book left me hanging without Atlee solving the mystery of her sister or her mother’s location. While the book tackles civil rights, women’s rights, sex trafficking, drugs, porn, and other crimes high on the liberal list of causes, it seemed to do so in a trivial manner to me. It was almost as if the author did it for the sake of his liberal leanings. I would not recommend this book to others. It held my interest, but only because I thought it would get better. It really didn't improve.
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The audiobook of The Dutch House is read by Tom Hanks. He reads it in one voice so it is often hard to delineate characters, but he allows the story to be told without making himself a character in the novel, as so many narrators do when they either over emote or attempt to be more important in their interpretation than the author intended. Still, at times, it was difficult to follow the narrative because the character remained unidentified and indistinguishable until the dialogue moved on.
The novel is a detailed account of a house and its relationship to the families that dwelt within it. It is about the relationship between the residents, as well, the parents and children, the siblings and step-siblings, the mother and step-mother, the generations that followed, one after another. The book takes place over five decades, but it is hard to tell that until the end.
As the history of the house and the families plays out, the personalities of the characters comes to light. Their foibles and their strengths are revealed. The way their life choices resonate throughout the years, affecting the lives of the characters that come after, as well, is well illustrated. Sometimes the characters seem bland, but their reactions seem authentic, in many ways, as they will seem familiar to the reader who has found him or herself in similar situations. The author shows insight into the emotional responses and the depth of the descriptions makes the reader understand the reasoning behind the character’s behavior, even if they might disagree with the choices or actions taken.
Because the timeline is often sporadic, interspersed with anecdotal stories of the character’s lives, it is difficult to tell where and when an event described took place, or how many years had passed, until some additional fact was revealed. Perhaps a print copy would have been easier to follow than an audio.
The book clearly exposes the differences in the way people treat their children and the cruelty of some step-parents. It illustrates how greed and grudges control lives beyond their own and how history often repeats itself. It is about motherhood; it is about compassion and the choices in life that we make that will ultimately have an effect, not only on ourselves, but on others as well, down through the generations.
While some times, the author truly gets inside the heads of the characters, showing deep insight into their feelings and behavior, emotions and thoughts that we all sometimes experience, the pace was sometimes slower than watching water boil. Sometimes it felt as if some characters moved on while others stood still and seemed not to age. For most of the book I was confused as to when it took place and how many years had actually passed.
As history began to repeat itself and the past left its mark on the future, the reader learns that some dreams were fulfilled by succeeding generations and others, while not nightmares, were the sad results of mistaken choices. Were the sins of the father visited upon the sons?
The reader will wonder if the choice of a biological mother to abandon her children is worse than the choice of a stepmother who abandons her stepchildren, even when one seems to be motivated by a purity of soul and need to do good and the other seems to be motivated by greed and jealousy alone. What is the father’s role in all of this? Does he ignore his own responsibilities?
The house may act as the foil, but the family dynamics are what develops the story.
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Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch have teamed up once again. In this series, because the main character is really Renee, a female, the narrative seems to have gotten a little trite. The dialog is sometimes too conversational about meaningless things. I don’t think people reading mysteries really care much about the detective’s dog, but I do understand, that part of the story serves to explain that Renee lives on the beach in a tent,with her dog. That too, is a bit over the top for a young, female detective’s odd lifestyle. It would probably be unbelievable if she was a male detective, unless he was undercover. This serves to show that Ballard is an independent and supposedly strong minded individual. Because Ballard is a female in a man’s world, she has been treated unfairly and has to fight her way to be accepted. As a result of past events, involving power struggles with higher ups, she works the murder shift at night.
When a homeless man is burned alive in his tent, Renee is called in to investigate. The powers that be dismiss the event as an accident, but she is unconvinced as there are other cases that seem to converge with respect to clues, motives and suspects that she is suddenly made aware of. When Harry’s mentor, a well respected police officer, passes away, his wife discovers a murder book in his desk. It is about an unsolved drug murder.
Both the homeless man and the unsolved murder case involve the same law firm. Then when Renee is called to investigate the suicide of a troubled 11 year old, this too seems related in some way to the other two cases she is considering. It seems there is a law firm that is involved with each of these cases being investigated. Then a judge is murdered and more coincidences are uncovered. Have they been looking for the wrong kind of suspect?
Because Bosch is having health problems, he relies a lot on Renee to do the grunt work. They actually work together unofficially since he is no longer art of the force. Bosch is pushing 70 and has recently been diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia, a result of being exposed to radiation while working on a case. Although he is expected to respond well to treatment, he is recovering from knee surgery as well, so he is not in great shape. He engages his step brother Mickey Haller to help in his effort to sue to get the police department to pay for his treatments so he is not bankrupted and can leave some kind of legacy to his daughter.
Bosch is considered an anomaly and is not well liked by some on the force because he often helps in court cases for his step brother, Mickey Haller who defends those who are often wrongfully incarcerated based on inadequate evidence, or those who have been victims of miscarriages of justice. The cops and the prosecutors don’t care that he may be helping the innocent victim; they want a conviction because they have put in the time and effort to get it. Ballard is an anomaly because she is resented as a female and has to scratch her way up the ladder, often making enemies on the way.
In an attempt to cover progressive causes, there are issues about the abuse of women, problems in the LGBTQ community, drug deals gone bad and bad cops.
Personally, I prefer the Harry Bosch novels without Renee Ballard, but this one is good for entertainment as an audiobook while driving or as a vacation read.
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