jenknox's Reviews (494)

I have to appreciate any woman who tells a story like this without saying, "Look, look what happened to me," but rather "I got seduced by a world that is less glamorous than it seems." OK, so much for literary analysis, but hey, I'm not in the business of that. I'm in the business of reading memoir for pleasure, and while I can't deny the craft of the thing, I did enjoy Febos' story because it felt genuine above all else.

Admittedly, this is a book I thought I might relate to long before I read it because, although my background couldn't be more different than the author's, I can relate to the lure of the sex industry. What I liked most about this book seems the very same thing other reviewers didn't: Febos is smart, and, she tells the read as much. Brava! Education and intelligence have nothing to do with seduction, and this is what spoke to me. Febos tells a story that gets, yes, gritty and there are scenes I'd rather not remember, but her story is a universal one in that she was on a quest for self-realization. She isn't looking to be saved nor is she looking for sympathy, she's merely recounting a journey--and this is what a good memoir does.

I just wrote this really great review, and erased it. Shit!

Here it goes again...

This book is good, not great. I read the whole thing, which automatically earns it three stars. I rarely review books I don't like because I don't finish them, and, well, it just wouldn't be fair of me to review a thing I didn't give a chance, right?

I digress.

Lethem's style is intriguing, and it makes me want to read more of his work. That said, I think this book was lacking, in part because of the third person narrator that seemed to distance me from a less-than-interesting main character. I really think this type of story would benefit from first person, if only because it would add dimension to the main character and his circumstance.

A lot of what I found in this book was lovely but vague. The bullies, for instance, didn't come to life. Didn't even seem genuinely threatening, and although we're told that Dylan is scared, I don't believe it. I felt as though there needed to be something stronger about the kid's personality. He seemed too disconnected for me to relate to him. Again, a closer narrative would have remedied this.

I hear Motherless Brooklyn is far better, and I do plan to read it. As I read The Fortress of Solitude, I felt as though there was a stronger story begging to be told. Perhaps it is told in his other work. This is often the case with writers I like. And due to the sentences, the style, the descriptions, I do like Lethem. I do. I think he can do better.

This is the best book I've read this year.
The book is largely reminiscent of Seabiscuit in that Hillenbrand knows how to keep a reader suspended in time as she builds up a race. She seems genuinely awed by her subject. In this book, it's track as opposed to horse racing, but the style of telling is the same. Maybe cleaner. It, in my opinion, was better than Seabiscuit. I loved this book. Nothing more to say.

There is nothing so destructive to a relationship than that which goes unsaid. It is everything that is not said, that is kept a secret, that wears away at a marriage: easily summed up, not so easily portrayed in a novel. It is this portrayal of a silent, strained marriage, as it follows husband and wife through normal personal struggles (James, working too hard; Pamela, feeling ignored) that creates such a subtle, heartbreaking beauty here. But what begins as a sparse and realistic plotline quickly opens up to a mysterious journey when Pamela leaves a "Dear James" letter and sets off with their children to reconcile her past.

What's beautiful about this novel is that as the plot opens up and takes its twists and turns, the relationship between husband and wife remains the strength of the prose. These two people are so confused, so in love, and have so much to contend with. They need to talk! And each time they do, they seem to say everything but what they need to say. I kept thinking the world seemed against them, but all they really needed was to confide in each other, to share.

Notice how I'm speaking of these characters as though I know them? This is Savva's magic.

This is the first book I finished in 2011!

I'm partial to memoir. The first person telling, especially from a young person's POV, can be difficult to pull off in a believable way in a novel. Squalor, New Mexico, however, is an example of how to do it well.
In this tale, Lisette Brodey has created a narrator who is so endearing that her telling and revelations within the book feel like genuine (albeit innocent) confession; it is as though she exists and is teasing out the secrets of the adults around her, dealing with the normal coming-of-age difficulties, and letting us in on her journey. There was a subtle humor and depth to this book that I simply loved. Surprisingly, Squalor, New Mexico has impressed me enough to rank up there with some of my favorite memoirs. It's difficult for a piece of fiction to romance me in the manner memoirs and personal essays do, but I felt there was an honesty here that is worth revisiting.

I listened to this one on audio. There were slow parts, but I love the way Jennifer Egan writes. I can't wait to read her new one. She's got something rare in bestselling books--a unique voice.

I do not know Jessica Chambers personally, but I connected with her here, and because I'm a curious person, I checked out her website and read her biography. I find her completely remarkable, and I was impressed by the sample I read of her work. Her background, in fact, is what made me want to read her entire book.

So, what did I think of her work? It would have been awkward if I didn't like it, but (thankfully), I was impressed.

Voices on the Waves is about a group of people who meet after winning a getaway vacation. The characters come from a variety of backgrounds and professions, and the book revolves around their interactions and burgeoning relationships.

There is a quick-moving, surprisingly character-driven style of storytelling (for romance--not my genre of choice), and the perspective shifts so that, to this reader's mind, the book unfolds like a series on inter-connected short stories. I love this technique, and it is pulled off well here.

The writing was conversational enough to endear me, and passive enough that I never felt like I was hanging on and had to return to the book immediately. The way characters from a variety of backgrounds and stories intertwine proves that Jessica Chambers has skills when it comes to storytelling. I'm glad I read the book, and I look forward to reading more of her work.