Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb June 29, 2006

This was a really interesting book. Lilly, the main character, is the daughter of English and Irish hippies. At a young age, she is left orphaned in a Sufi shrine in Morocco. She is raised in the Islamic faith, and eventually ends up in Ethiopia, where she lives with a poor family and teaches the Qur’an to the children of the village.

Lilly tells both the story of her time in Ethiopia and her present life in England, where she emigrated as a result of the political situation in Ethiopia. Lilly’s life in Ethiopia is difficult—she is seen as a foreigner and never really trusted by her neighbors. But she is utterly devoted to her religion, even as she sees what the leaders of the country and others do in the name of this religion. She falls in love with a doctor, though she must keep her feelings and her relationship to herself.

I found the depiction of Ethiopia utterly fascinating, since I know so little about the country. And while I was reading about all the turmoil going on, I wondered why the book didn’t explain more about the political situation at the time. Then I realized that Lilly, as a woman living in a poor village, wouldn’t know very much about what was going on in the world beyond her village. It is later, in England, that Lilly finds out more about what was going on in her adopted country.

Lilly is very different in Ethiopia and in England. In Ethiopia, she is young and sure, positive that religion will save her and others. The Lilly that we meet in England is more damaged by what she has seen and experienced. She still believes in her religion, but it is not the way of life that it once was for her.

The author does a wonderful job showing the connections that people from this part of the world still feel for each other in their new country. I really enjoyed reading about the traditions and rituals, and the view of a world so different from my own.

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka June 25, 2006

In this novel, two feuding sisters have to come together when their eighty-four-year-old father marries a thirty-six-year-old Ukrainian woman. The sisters haven't spoken since their mother's death two years before, and have never really gotten along, but with a common enemy, they are suddenly in constant contact as they plot to get Valentina out of their father's life and out of England.

The characters in the book are interesting. The father is frustrating and constantly changing his mind about what he wants when he is not reading aloud from the history of tractors that he has written. Valentina is the antagonist of the story, but the sisters clearly get a lot out of having her around.

As the story develops, Nadia, the narrator, begins to learn more about her family's past. They are all Ukrainian immigrants but Nadia, who was born in England. As the "peacetime baby," she knew little about what happened to her family during the war, and as she learns more, she finds that she is able to forgive her sister and to get past the anger she feels. It's interesting that Valentina's presence in their lives has resulted in all this remembering and forgiving, since she hates the sisters so and can't see them without screaming insults at them.

This is a good and occasionally frustrating read.

The Sound of Us by Sarah Willis June 19, 2006

A woman who works as a sign language interpreter and who is still mourning the loss of her twin brother answers the phone late one night. A young girl is on the line. She's dialed the wrong number and as Alice talks to her, she realizes that the girl has been left alone in her apartment. Alice goes to the apartment to help her, and finds herself so drawn to this young girl that she does all she can to help her. When the girl, Larissa, is taken into foster care and stops speaking, Alice uses sign language to help her communicate. Eventually, Alice becomes her foster mother, which brings social workers, police officers, judges, and even the girl's mother into Alice's formerly solitary life.

The characters in this book are interesting. No one is perfect. Alice, who is in her forties and single, is overwhelmed by taking care of a child and wonders if she made the right decision. Larissa's mother is flawed but sympathetic. Larissa is stubborn and prickly.

Though it seems like Alice is saving Larissa, it becomes clear that Alice is the one being saved. As her life changes, so does Alice. Though she resists the changes, she comes to see that she won't go back to her solitary world, even if she could.

I really enjoyed this book. It's the kind you can't put down—you have to keep reading to see how it ends.

In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant June 19, 2006

This historical novel takes place in 16th century Italy. Bucino is a dwarf who works for a courtesan in Rome. When Rome is attacked, Bucino and Fiammetta, the courtesan, escape to Venice with nothing but the clothes on their backs and some jewels that they managed to save. In Venice, they rebuild their lives with the help of a blind healer called La Draga, whom Bucino can't quite manage to trust.

Venice is practically a character in this novel, it is described in such detail. I really felt as if I were there. The way it looked and smelled, how both the rich and poor lived, the markets, the festivals—all were described in great detail. Also described in great detail was the life of Fiammetta, the hours spent every day on her appearance so that she could be a successful courtesan.

In the author's note at the end of the novel, Sarah Dunant comments that all historical inaccuracies are hers and that it's not really possible to make a novelist a historian. I think that sometimes the effort to make the novel historically accurate or compelling was done at the risk of the characters. Some of the characters lives were so interesting, in particular the life of La Draga. By the time the novel was finished, I wished I could have had less description of Venice and more of what made this character do what she did.

I really enjoyed this story and was taken by surprise many times, which is always a great experience while reading a novel. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Bucino and Fiammetta, their friendship and love for each other that went beyond courtesan and servant.

The Girls by Lori Lansens June 11, 2006

This novel is written as an autobiography. Two sisters tell the story of their lives as conjoined twins. They are joined at the head and can never be separated. One sister, Rose, begins the project, writing that she wants to tell the story of her life. Ruby, the other sister, is more reluctant, but eventually contributes her own chapters.

Rose begins telling the stories of when they were growing up, adopted as infants by loving parents and raised to take care of themselves. Ruby is the more practical sister, dropping bombshells about their present and hiding nothing. It's fascinating when the two sisters tell the same story, since they never see things the same way.

Another interesting thing the two narrators do is tell stories as if they were the only ones there, as if they weren't connected at the time. The sisters don't always get along and try to maintain as much independence as they can from one another, which granted, isn't much.

The novel is full of surprises and lovely moments. I enjoyed it while being grateful that I wasn't born with anyone attached to my head.

Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker June 11, 2006

In this book, a famous man who cannot control the outside world decides that he and his children must escape it. He takes them to a place in New Mexico that he calls "The Sanctuary" and raises them there. Eventually, when he becomes an adult, the son runs off, and when she hasn't heard from him, the daughter follows. They have no awareness of the world since they haven't left The Sanctuary since they were children.

The book is about this brother and sister and the others who they meet as they seek to find what happened to their mother and make sense of why their father took them away from the world. The characters are all interesting and engaging.

The people these characters go looking for are easy to find. Dorothea, the sister, takes only a day to find her brother. But the answers they are seeking take them on long and winding paths full of misunderstandings and regrets.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't want it to end.

Daniel Isn’t Talking: A Novel by Marti Leimbach June 3, 2006

I loved this book. I started it yesterday afternoon and finished it this afternoon. I read it for over an hour in an uncomfortable chair waiting to get a haircut, and I didn’t even notice the time pass. This is why I read—to get caught up in another world, to be another person for a little while. To see what it’s like to be that person, and to come back to my own life a little changed by what I’ve learned.

Marti Leimbach is one of my favorite writers and has been ever since I read Dying Young years ago. I picked this book up because she wrote it, and I’m glad I did, because I don’t know if I would have chosen to read about a woman who learns that her son is autistic, and I might have missed this wonderful story. The main character, Melanie, an American living in England, learns that her two-year-old son is autistic. With that diagnosis, her life falls apart. Her husband can’t handle the truth about their son and Melanie becomes so depressed that she can’t even eat.

While her husband becomes more and more absent, Melanie does everything she can to help her son. There are a few love stories in this book, but the best one is between Melanie and her son. It’s a very powerful story of what a woman will do for her child.

I loved the way the book was written. There were certain sentences I had to read over and over because I loved the way they sounded. A highly recommended book!

Some Things that Stay by Sarah Willis June 2, 2006

I really liked this book. It takes place in the 50s and is the story of a family who moves often, due to the restless nature of the father, who is a a painter. The main character of the book, Tamara, is 15-years-old and angry at the world as well as her parents. She wants to stay in one place and live a “normal” life. She takes out her frustrations on her family, especially her younger brother.

Tamara is an interesting character. She is so destructive, both to herself and others, but is in so much pain that she can’t be any other way. When her mother becomes sick, she doesn’t instantly become a good and loyal daughter. If anything, she gets angrier, both at god and the world.

This book has some characters that will just stay with me, especially the character of Mrs. Burns. She is one of the owners of the house Tamara and her family rent, a woman almost destroyed by the grief of losing her son. At first she seems like she is going to be just another of the adults in Tamara’s life who are constantly angry at her or disappointed with her. But she turns out to be so honest and open and wise, and she gets through to Tamara when no one else could. Her last scene in the book made me cry.

I will definitely be reading more of Sarah Willis’ books in the future!