Summer Reading Reviews

This summer, I had a couple of weeks off of law school, so I asked my friends to recommend some summer reading. Based on my friends’ recommendations, I got a list of about 37 books, and read seven of them. I enjoyed all of them, and ranked them in order of “would recommend with a few caveats,” (The Help) to “would seriously have to reevaluate our friendship if you didn’t love this book.” (Spooner.) So, please read – and weep – my summer reading reviews:

The Help – Kathryn Stockett - If you haven’t heard of this novel by now, you may need to get out more. Everyone is going apeshit over this thing. Here’s the good news: you won’t be able to put it down. It has a cast of engaging characters, and a story that sucks you in, although much of it is a ripoff of the peerless 1991-93 television show I’ll Fly Away. The bad news: the end of this novel completely disintegrates, leaving a number of plot strings abruptly unresolved. I didn’t buy the ending of the novel, and am interested in seeing the movie to see if there’s a better resolution there.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley - This is a murder mystery, but with an incorrigible 11-year-old as the central character and protagonist. Her most endearing quality is her unbridled enthusiasm for poison, and her recurring fantasies of killing her older sisters with it. This is an extremely well-written novel with a number of interesting literary references (Jane Austen fans will get a real kick out of it), and a great sense of what the English countryside looked like in the Post World War II era.

Rachel’s Holiday – Marian Keyes – This was a cheat, because I’ve read this before. If you like chick lit, or know someone who likes chick lit, this is exceptional. Marian Keyes is a native Dubliner, and her Irish heroines are modern, flawed, and very relatable. Keyes tends to tackle real issues in her novels (in this one, the heroine is a drug addict going through rehab), but she still manages to bring in the happy ending of a romance novel. What else could you ask for?

The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins - Everyone recommended this book to me, and I was like, “Why would I want to read a ripoff of the excellent Stephen King novel The Running Man, and the equally excellent Shirley Jackson short story The Lottery?” Well, it’s because it’s a great story, and it survives the retelling. Set in a postapocalyptic United States of the not-too-distant future, this novel imagines some of the consequences of a have-versus-have-not society, resource deprivation, big-brother-style government, the technology explosion, and reality television. It is also a real page-turner. I hear the sequel is even better, but I’m, like, #288 on the waiting list at the library.

Before I Go To Sleep – S.J. Watson - You will not want to go to sleep when you start reading this novel. Here’s part of the synopsis from Amazon.com: “Every day Christine wakes up not knowing where she is. Her memories disappear every time she falls asleep. Her husband, Ben, is a stranger to her, and he's obligated to explain their life together on a daily basis--all the result of a mysterious accident that made Christine an amnesiac.” I LOVE AMNESIA! It opens up a world of possibilities that just cannot exist anywhere else, and this novel dives right in. The ending kind of falls apart, but you won’t care. This is a perfect book for a long plane ride or rainy weekend.

Atonement – Ian McEwan - This was the second-most recommended book by my literature-reading friends (The Hunger Games was the most-recommended). My friend Dean pointed out that “nothing really happens for the first 170 pages,” so if you are not interested in that kind of book, don’t bother. However, if you are looking for a character study, and a meticulous look at the notions of remorse, revisionism, and the horrors of war, read this. It is beautifully written and heartbreaking, and, as my friend Mr. Farquhar noted, much better than the relatively lifeless movie of the same name.

Spooner – Pete Dexter – This definitely makes my list of top ten favorite reads of all time. This novel follows the lives of Warren Spooner and his stepfather, Calmer Ottosson, as they figure out life, love and family in the 1950’s south and beyond. Fans of Pete Dexter probably know him by his dark novels Paris Trout and Brotherly Love, and will recognize his unblinking fatalism and eye for interesting, authentic human detail and terrific storytelling in the vein of John Irving. There are some truly unforgettable moments in this book, starting on page one. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will be a different person after you read this book. It is absolutely superb.