Dreams are what keep a man going.

Daniel Wallace, Big Fish

 

 

 

Novel Blondes January Book Reviews

 

 

 

Lies that Bind Us

by Andrew Hart, ebook, thriller (Kindle First Free Copy), pub date, June 1, 2018

Can you truly like a protagonist who is a known liar? What if she acknowledges the fault and is working to reinvent herself?  This thriller from Andrew Hart delivers a steady dose of edge of your seat who dunnit. Jan, our female lead with an honesty problem, is off to a reunion of sorts in Crete. There she will meet up with vacationers who befriended her on an earlier trip to the same resort. She wants to believe they are her friends, and invents a lifestyle that matches theirs. Problem is, that’s not why they’ve asked her back. Throw in the chance to possibly revive a romance with a former boyfriend, and she’s on the airplane faster than you can say”murder.” Who is murdered, and how does Jan’s addiction to lying help or harm? I was guessing until the end!

 

 

Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions

by Daniel Wallace, ebook, fable/fairy tale, pub 2012

Edward Bloom was a great man, a big fish, in fact. He wove mythical tales about his childhood, his career, and his own family. So much so that his only child, a son named William, feels that his father is a stranger. As Edward approaches death, William is compelled to separate the myth from the man, and finally come to know his father. What follows is a series of endearing, frustrating and ultimately heartwarming glimpses of Edward’s life. William finally comes to terms with the tall tales his father weaves and recognizes the frustrations, failures and triumphs presented. What a sweet reminder to appreciate our parents, and know them a little better while we can.

I met Daniel Wallace in 2012, but didn’t read the book until recently. Once I read the book, and watched the movie, I travelled to the film location of Spectre, located outside Montgomery, AL. Only then, did I feel the circle was closed and I had completed this fantastic reading experience.

 

 

 

The Great Gatsby

by F. Scott Fitzgerald, paperback, fiction, pub 1925

If you haven’t read it, you should. You just should. And then if you want to feel like you’ve studied it and know more about it than the average reader, read the book listed below. Seriously, this book is considered THE Great American novel of the 20th century.  Bored Flappers, posturing “great men” and all the glitz and growing pains of the era are reflected here. If great novels are transcendent of time, Fitzgerald succeeds. The themes developed in his  post World War I novel still resound today. The more things change, the more they stay the same applies as Fitzgerald explores the decline of the American Dream, socio-economic differences and the corrupting influence of money.

Symbolism abounds, and if you dare to read it more than once so much continues to be revealed.  The  green light, the Valley of Ashes, and the watchful eyes of Dr. Eckelburg are the more obvious symbols but there are many more.  I’m not one to revisit a book often, but Daisy, Tom, Nick and Jordan, I think we will meet again.

 

 

 

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why it Endures

by Maureen Corrigan, hardback, nonfiction, 2015

One thing I want to share about his book is that I picked it up on a one dollar shelf at Dollar Tree. I’m not a book or store snob, I’ll grab anything that appeals to me instantly. This one did, because of the play on Gatsby’s famous like, so we beat on….and boy am I glad I didn’t set it back down. Of course, my first thought, was who dares to co-opt from Fitzgerald!

The who is Maureen Corrigan, an NPR Book Critic and professor of literature at Georgetown University. The only thing I can imagine that would be better than the independent study which this book became, would be to sit her class on American Classics. With a fine storytelling ability of her own, she leads the reader through intricacies of Fitzgerald’s writings that few would notice otherwise. She reads The Great Gatsby yearly, and swears she finds something new each time. I’m so glad she shared her findings in this highly detailed, entertaining dive into the inner workings of Fitzgerald’s classic.

 

 

 

 

If you’re keeping up with the monthly reviews you’re probably thinking, chick, give the Fitzgeralds and Hemingways a REST! Don’t worry, next month I acutally detour into other authors and topics! Of course, 2019 Jazz Fest is coming up, so look for some New Orleans based reading in the next few months as well.