House of Stone...random thoughts

House of Stone: The True Story of a Family Divided in War-Torn Zimbabwe by Christina Lamb.

What a wonderful book. Not a happy book. Easy to read, because it was very well-written. Difficult to read, because it hurt. It hurt in the way that so much of human history and human politics hurts to read about. House of Stone was written by Christina Lamb, a journalist who spent many years reporting on Zimbabwe, a woman who risked her life on many occasions because British journalists were banned from even entering the country. While I believe she was quite objective in her telling of this story, I also believe that she loves the people of this country.

The book tells the story of this southern African nation in a unique way. In alternating chapters, we hear the story of two Zimbabwean's lives. Aqui, a Shona who was born and grew up in a mud hut. Nigel, a privileged white who attended private school and spent carefree summers playing in the beautiful African landscape. We hear their stories as they grow from childhood into adulthood. Their personal stories through the times of brutal civil war, through the change from a white supremacist government to black majority rule, through the descent into tyranny by Robert Mugabe. And we eventually see their lives intersect.

I recently read a book titled Dictatorships: Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe by James R. Arnold and Roberta Wiener, so I had a background in the history and politics of this nation. But you don't need any prior knowledge, as Lamb's book brought a real richness to that background. The personal stories of Aqui and Nigel are put in the setting of fuller history of the nation.

Truly, I loved this book, and I highly recommend it. But be forewarned...your heart will break as read about Robert Mugabe's destruction of this beautiful African country. Your heart will break for the people of this country.

*****

Other opinions:

Eva of A Striped Armchair

If you've reviewed this book, feel free to leave a link in the comments and I'll add it here. Thanks.

The Sandman: Dream Country...random thoughts

The Sandman: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman.

While not my favorite of the Sandman volumes that I've read so far, I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. As opposed to following a continuing storyline, Dream Country is more of a collection of short stories.

In the first, "Calliope," we watch Richard Madoc, a once successful novelist, buy his way back to success and fame through enslaving a muse. It's an ugly look at the lengths some will go to to get what they want. Of the four stories in this volume, I believe this one and the one following are probably my favorites. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats," is a clever imagining of the power of dreams of all living creatures. Maybe not a cat story to share with Max, while at the same time, I think even he, at age six, could appreciate the underlying "justice" in the idea of turning "power" on its head. The third story, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," lets us in on the secret reason behind Shakespeare's writing of his delightful masterpiece. We watch him traveling with a theatrical troupe, and witness their performance before a very "special" audience. I'm glad I finally got around to reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream last year, or this story would have been much harder to follow. The very best part of this tale for me was the very last line...still makes me smile when I think about it. And finally, in the last story, "Facade," we meet Urania Blackwell, an ex-CIA agent who had to leave "the Company" after she was given an unwanted gift by the sun god Ra. This gift has left her a prisoner in her own home, and she wants desperately to die. But this gift has left her physically incapable of suicide. For me, this story seemed to end too quickly, and thus was probably my least favorite of the bunch. It's one incredibly saving grace is that Death reappears.

Being thoroughly comic-illiterate, I've often wondered how all the people, author, artist, letterer, etc. work together to put out a finished book. In a wonderful addition to the end of this compilation, I had some of my questions answered. For included is a script of "Calliope." And while Neil Gaiman is quick to point out that no two authors may work in quite the same way, I still found this a fascinating glimpse into the making of a comic.

*****

Other thoughts:

*Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot ("A Midsummer Nights Dream" from Dream Country)
*Kim at Bold. Blue. Adventure. (The Absolute Sandman: Volume One)
*Rhinoa at Rhinoa's Ramblings (The Sandman: Dream Country)

I know there must be more reviews out there, so if you've got one to share please leave me a link in the comments and I'll add it here. Thanks.

*****

Been so dang busy the last few days that I've had to stay away from blog world. Am hoping to catch up a bit today...hope everyone's been having a wonderful weekend!

babbling about graphic novels

Amulet: Book One The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi.

This was one of those total impulse grabs from the library. Had never heard of it before, but it looked fun. And it was fun, but certainly won't make my top ten reads of the year or anything.

The story begins with a terrible accident in which Emily's father is killed. A couple of years later, Emily's mother moves the family (herself, Emily, and Emily's brother, Navin) to an old family home. She claims that she's just still trying to give them a fresh start. But we come to wonder if, unbeknownst even to her, there's something more going on with this move. The family arrives at the home, and on the very first night, events spiral out of control. The children find an amulet, their mother is kidnapped by a strange tentacled creature, and they all find themselves in a world completely foreign to them.

The downside: The story just doesn't have a lot of depth. But I would like to hope that maybe that will come as the series continues. (And there are hints that this may well be the case.) I realize that this is a series aimed at younger children, but I don't believe that means it needs to be overly simplistic. (I'm actually hoping that I can convince Gray to read this, so I can get him opinion.)

On the positive side: I love the art! I found the "creatures," both the good ones and the bad ones, to be utterly adorable. And I don't quite know how to explain it, but I love the coloring of this novel. I hesitate to use the word "pretty," but I honestly can't think of a better word. It is both subtle and vibrant all at the same time. Oh crap...I'm making no sense at all here. Suffice it to say that I really enjoyed looking at this book.


Rose by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess.

I've actually had this on my wish list ever since I read my first graphic novel, Alice in Sunderland. (Talbot spoke of a number of books in Alice in Sunderland that got added to my wish list.) Anyway, when Rose was finally available at the library, I of course, snatched it right up.

It's a beautiful little fantasy story. Just read it's beginning words:

When the world was very, very new, and dreams had not yet receded from the waking day...

The first dragon was a queen named Mim. And Mim was the keeper of all who dreamed.

She cared for the dreaming by encircling the world and holding her tail in her mouth...

As long as Mim held her tail in this way, balance was maintained.

And balance is most important, for the dreaming is a thing of great delicacy.

I don't want to give any of the story away, but I'm sure you can easily guess that something happens to this balance. A balance is regained, but again disrupted. And it eventually falls upon Princess Rose to right things. I love Princess Rose...she's young, a bit naive, a bit impulsive...and who wants a princess that is too perfect, right? It's a story about dreams, and growing up, and hard choices. I really, really enjoyed it.

And hey, it doesn't hurt that Charles Vess created the artwork, huh? It is stunningly beautiful.

I didn't realize until after I'd finished the book that is a prequel to BONE. From the little I know about BONE, I believe this prequel is a bit darker in nature. But I plan to find out for sure...after finishing this book, I had to immediately go and order BONE: One Volume Edition.

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley.

Oh my, what can I say? This is easily my favorite of the three. I absotively, posolutely adored this book! Delightful. Beguiling. Captivating. Enchanting. (O.K., O.K., I'll stop now before I feel the need to dig out the thesaurus.) This was a book that just made me happy. The only other recent book I've read that I can remember making me feel this way is The Goose Girl. Not that the two books are alike, they just made me feel the same. I wish I was better with words so I could explain what I mean. It's just sort of a happy innocence. A being fully transported away into a land of pure magic. Of course, that's not to say that either book is all lightness and fluff. Anyway as I said, the two books really aren't all that similar, other than the fact that a review of each would likely contain the words "fairy tale" at some point. Castle Waiting has much more depth. There are layers upon layers, stories within stories. And OMGosh, is this book funny! And bottom line, it's about how anyone can come together and become a family.

Ahhh, I seriously want to read it again already!

*****

Other viewpoints:
*Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot (Castle Waiting)
*Eva at A Striped Armchair (Castle Waiting)
*Susan at You Can Never Have Too Many Books
*Kailana at The Written World (Rose)

I'd love to add your two-cents, so if you'd reviewed any of the above, please feel free to leave me a link in the comments. Thanks.

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea...random thoughts

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea by Valerie Zenatti.

Again with the short and sweet here.

I really, really wanted to like this book. Okay, that's a dumb thing to say, because of course, I want to like every book I read. But still, do you know what I mean? I hoped this book would be simply wonderful, because it involves such important issues.

Because of this, I have to admit when I first began reading, I was a bit disappointed. It started out feeling so cliche. Tal Levine, a 17-year-old Israeli girl, begins writing after a suicide bomber blows up a cafe in her neighborhood. A diary sorts. She feels nearly compelled to write. As she says:

When the fear comes back, like now, we all seem to forget who we are. We all become potential victims, bodies that could end up lifeless and covered in blood just because someone chose to blow themselves up right next to us. I want to know who I am, what I'm made of. What would make my death any different from any other? If I said that to my parents or friends, they'd be really shocked and would tell me gently that I needed to rest. That must be why I've decided to write: so I don't frighten the others with what's going on inside my head...and don't let them declare me a raving lunatic.

Tal decides to reach out in the only way she can think of...by putting a letter in a bottle and throwing it into the Gaza Sea. She imagines that a Palestinian girl her own age will find the letter, and that they'll begin this amazing friendship through e-mails.

But it's not a girl who finds her letter. Gazaman, as he calls himself, seems angry and bitter and sarcastic. See what I mean about stereotypes--the sweet, peace-loving Israeli girl and the angry, hate-filled Palestinian boy.

Gazaman also writes in a journal of sorts. But a journal he can't keep. He explains his reasons:

I get angry very quickly if I think too much, but I don't want to stop thinking. My head is the only place where no Tsahal soldier, no guy from Hamas, and not even my father or my mother can get in. My head is my home, my only home, a bit small for everything I've got to put inside it, and that's why I started writing, several years ago now. I didn't have to wait for that spoiled little Tal from Jerusalem to get me started. I write and then I burn the paper, tear it up, soak it, and throw it down the toilet; I'm too frightened someone will find it. But at least it does me some good, it soothes me a bit. There are too many people I hate, too may people stopping me from living my life, and too many signs (which aren't actually there but I can see all over the place) that say: EVERYTHING IS BANNED.

And it is through Tal's and Gazaman's "diaries" that we read part of the story. The other part is read through their e-mails. As this "conversation" between them begins, I have to admit that I was still feeling a bit let-down. It felt too pat, too unoriginal. But guess what--I am so very grateful that I stuck with the book. Somewhere along the way, it seemed to grow in depth. I began to see these characters as more than caricatures. Tal experienced a life changing event and grew. And while she didn't lose her yearning for peace, she did lose some of her naivete. And as the book moves forward, we get to know much more about Gazaman and his life. He is, in reality, far from the stereotype we are first introduced to.

So, in the end, I found this a satisfying read. Not perfect, but well worth the time it took to read.