The Hypnotist's Love Story

Liane Moriarty's novel was a serious surprise.  Serious in that the book sleeve quoted the main character as dating a new guy who had a stalker............interesting, not frightening; more of an engaging quirky ex-girlfriend who might be interesting to meet.

Several ex-boyfriends came in an out of memory, constantly being compared (some more favorably than others) to the new, possibly serious relationship.

The new guy is a father on an eight year-old son, and a widower going on five years.  His (now) stalker moved in with him and his then under three-year old and they lived together for three years. She grew into being a mother of his son, but he used the three years to learn how to live without his wife (barely).  One month after her mother died, he told her it was over and she moved out.  Out of his home, but not his life.  Two years later she continues following him, sending emails and letters, leaving voice mails, going into his house..........

And then, when she finds out that he is dating a hypnotist, she schedules an appointment under an assumed name.  And the stalking continues............ She becomes more and more desparate as the new couple gets closer.......pregnant............engaged........moving in together.

Pain, desperation, lonliness, separation, illness, alienation, hysteria, disassociation............all of the characters are feeling it all.

In the end she is, so she thinks, cured and everyone is expecting .a normal life.  We'll see.

5/5 stars

August Picks

Hey, y'all.  I've been out for a while (everyone has problems, and I'm no exception).  But school's starting tomorrow and I'll be getting back in the swing of things, so here are a few new great books I've read this month.

Recovery Road - Blake Nelson
"Madeline is starting junior year in rehab. She hates the losers surrounding her - all except for Trish. Soon the two are escaping the halfway house every Tuesday to go to the movies with other recovering addicts. It is here that Madeline meets Stewart, another recovering addict, and the two teens are immediately drawn together. What follows is a story about being in love while trying to survive sobriety."

I loved this concept, and the ending was beautifully sad.  There were a few issues - the plot/pacing is great in the first half, but about 2/3 of the way through, all the emotion dies out, making it read more like a list of what happened than an actual story.  That said, the book was fairly realistic with a relatable, fiery main character - I've read lots of "girl-finds-love-in-rehab" books, but I would definitely give this a read for its intense storyline.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5



Gentlemen - Michael Northrup
"Micheal, Tommy, Mixer, and Bones aren't just from the wrong side of the tracks--they're from the wrong side of everything. No one at their high school takes them seriously, except for Mr. Haberman, their remedial English teacher. Mr. Haberman calls them "gentlemen," but everyone else ignores them--or, in Bones's case, is dead afraid of them. When one of their close-knit group goes missing, the clues all seem to point in one direction: to Mr. Haberman."

If you've ever seen River's Edge, then you may understand the chillingly nonchalant atmosphere of this thin read.  Gentlemen's slow pacing (usually) adds to the suspense - you figure plot points out more quickly than the characters, and then have to wait for them to slowly realize what's going on.  Usually, I find this technique incredibly annoying, but when what's being implied is this horrific, it just makes the book scarier.  Unfortunately, I thought the ending fell seriously flat - after the boys (who, incidentally, are extremely under-developed characters, to the extent that they're total stereotypes) finish doing their dirty deeds, everyone's just waiting around for the inevitable to happen.  On a side note: there is a rape scene, which everyone's all up-in-arms about being too graphic.  Yes, it's graphic, but it just goes to prove how desensitized these characters have been to violence and the evil acts that surround them.  Very sad.

If you're looking for a slim, atmospheric novel, don't ignore this one.  It has some redeeming qualities.  Just keep in mind that every book has its flaws, and this is no exception.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

2.5/5

Matched - Ally Condie

"Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black."

I've read this book twice now, once for a book club and once just for fun, and each time I liked it a bit more.  I mean, it's a creepy dystopian world plus a pretty intense love triangle: a common archetype, nowadays, but handled with decent originality.  Cassia starts out subservient to the Society, and completely fine with that, but as a reader, we get to watched her bloom into someone who sees the truth and has a will to fight.  Her progress is kind of rushed, true, but it centers around events that are paced well, and an impossible love (that's always a nice touch).  What I really loved about all of this, though, was that she didn't just jump into extended chapters of backstory - you were fed bits and pieces almost as an afterthought, because that's what a narrator would do, realistically.  If you were telling an alien about your whole life story, you wouldn't go into explicit details about every facet of your life; you'd focus on the big things, adding details where necessary.  Weird analogy, I know, but I'm just trying to explain ... that this is a great book.  Read it.

It also has a couple of sequels, one of which I'm gonna start on today.  It's a trilogy (hugely overdone, but I love them anyway), so expect the rest of the reviews done as I get ahold of the books.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5

Those are the major books I've read recently, but I'm currently in the middle of many more.  Here are some titles to watch for:

Crossed - Ally Condie

"Cassia is determined to find Ky after he has been taken by the Society into the Outer Provinces where the Society intends for him to be a casualty in the ongoing war.  Soon her journey is not just about finding Ky but also joining the rebellion in hopes of changing the Society itself."

The Watch That Ends The Night: Voices From The Titanic - Allan Wolf

"How do you tell a dramatic story when you know that everyone alreasy knows the ending?  Arrogance and innocence, hubris and hope--twenty-four haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, as well as the iceberg itself, are evoked in a stunning tour de force."

Everybody Sees The Ants - A.S. King

"Lucky has a secret--one that helps him wade through the mundane torture of his life. In his dreams, Lucky escapes to the war-ridden jungles of Laos--the prison his grandfather couldn't escape--where Lucky can be a real man, an adventurer, and a hero. It's dangerous and wild, and it's a place where his life just might be worth living. But how long can Lucky keep hiding in his dreams before reality forces its way inside?"

All These Things I've Done - Gabrielle Zevin

"In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine - until Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family."

The Hanging Woods - Scott Loring Sanders
"Maybe it would have been better if Walter had never found out the things he did. Maybe he didn't really want to know. But then again, maybe he did."

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

"It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery ... "

Shiver - Maggie Stiefvater

"For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again."

Looking at this list, I really, really need to finish some books.

Hate it love it wanna recommend it?  Hit comment down there and let me know what's on your mind!  Guestbook coming soon.

Black-Eyed Suzie

My dad checked this book out from the library when I was probably six, read it in one sitting, and made me swear that I would never, ever read "that dreadful, dreadful book".  Now, my dad has never been very good at forbidding me to do things, and I've never been very good at obeying orders, so you can probably see where this went.  When he checked it in, I grabbed it off the "to-be-shelved" rack and read it, right there in the library.  And now, almost ten years later, I read it again.

My dad was right - Black-Eyed Suzie, by Susan Shaw, really isn't appropriate for a six year old.  That being said, I would recommend it to practically everyone else.  The narration is full of personality, and the characters (a few of them, at least), are developed surprisingly well for such a short little book.  Suzie is a dark-eyed twelve year old whose only job is to sit on her golden chair, knees tucked up to her chest - silent.  It's how she avoids her mother's abuse and her father's neglect.  But when Uncle Elliott comes for a visit, Suzie and her family are in for some big changes ... Always touching but sometimes aggravatingly overdone, it's a highly original take on domestic violence and a child's need for love.  It ends perfectly, with a few loose endings - but that's life.  Very nice book.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

3.5/5

Lucky

As you probably know, I'm not a great fan of the graphic novel genre.  I guess this means I'm not the best equipped to review them - Lucky, by Gabrielle Bell, just wasn't my cup of tea.

I've come across some absolutely fantastic graphic novels in my time: Blankets by Craig Thompson and the recently-reviewed Asterios Polyp to name a few.  I'd like to think I know the good ones when I see them.  If that's true, then Lucky just isn't that great a novel.  Yes, it's filled with simple, attractive drawings, but the plot is practically non-existent.  It's meant to tell a story, but to me it felt like a collection of anecdotes, none of which flow.  The book is divided into three parts: Lucky #1 (her first "book", discarded in favor of) Lucky #2 (which she left at an airport), all culminating in the book I just finished reading, Lucky #3.  I mean, there were some very nice sections, like when Gabrielle (did I mention it's an autobiography?) discovers why a pair of ex-roomates began feuding.  In general, it's a story about Ms. Bell and her artsy friends/boyfriend apartment-hunting and trying to make enough money to deal with life.  Which is fine, it just creates a book that reads more like a rather boring diary than anything entertaining.

It's pretty short (just over 100 pages) so if you have some time to kill, I might suggest browsing through it, but if you're looking for a creative, quirky little book in this genre, turn to Passionella and Other Stories, by Jules Feiffer.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

2/5

One last quick post ...

 .. before I get into some reviews.  I promise.

I'm still working on some coding (making sure every book has the right link, and each post credits an author, etc), but I've made a few changes you might find useful.  First off, I made a new page (you can find it on the top bar of  the blog), just to describe my purpose, and deleted the Book List page, because it was too difficult to keep updating.  If you're looking for a list of all reviewed books to date, just look in the archived posts (towards the bottom of the right hand side).  I also made links a bit easier to spot - instead of being almost invisible, they're now dark green and turn blue when you hover over them.

More new features to come, including advertisements (on other people's pages for THIS blog, not the other way around) to drum up some followers, and even some book giveaways (probably every other month after we hit twenty followers, to keep the odds in everybody's favor:)  I also am working towards a custom domain (I hate the little hungrylionelbooks.BLOGSPOT.com thing).

Hope you're having a great summer, stay hungry for some new reads, coming up soon!

 - Hungry Lionel

Let's welcome a new reviewer, and a few new summer reads

So, I've finally convinced my little sister to *possibly* stick up some reviews this summer, of books I read ages ago [too long ago to be able to accurately review, but not long enough ago that I want to read them again].  On her list include such great titles as Zombie Blondes, Never Slow Dance With A Zombie, and, eventually, The Forest of Hands and Teeth (about zombies!) :D  She reads a lot of fantasy, while I read more realistic fiction.  Yeah.  Except for my next review, Beatnik Rutabagas From Beyond The Stars, which is probably one of the most obscure books ever (a used copy sells for a penny on Amazon).  It's so obscure, I actually sent the author fan mail (something I never do) because I felt like he should get something for his efforts.  He seems pretty cool, though - check out his website for new books and some interesting photos.

That's about it for this update - prepare yourself for some new zombie books, if I can bribe my sister into posting, and keep an eye out for an incredibly creepy page-turner called Gentlemen I'll be finishing up soon.  Plus, of course, Beatnik Rutabagas.  Gotta love them Beatnik Rutabagas.

Asterios Polyp

Alright.  So I'm typing this on my Kindle (major pain in the butt), but summer school's even  more tedious, so I may as well get a review in here.  Pictures are to come -way too hard to add on this device.

So, Asterios Polyp (by David Mazzucchelli)*  is a graphic novel about - who else? - Asterios Polyp, told by his still-born identical twin.  It's really a beautiful book, though I'm not a fan of the genre, absolutely captivating with some of the coolest-flowing illustrations I've ever seen.  It's pretty hard to accurately describe, if you want to know what I mean I guess you'll just have to read it :)

Asterios Polyp is a middle-aged man in desperate need of some change.  When a lightning bolt strikes the side of his apartment on his fiftieth birthday, leaving him homeless, he sets of on a journey of self-discovery and digging up the past.

This book is truly what you'd call quirky.  It does what few books ever really accomplish - it envelops its characters in a world of the author's creation, and makes even the bizarre seem commonplace.  Very cool.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4.5/5

*careful, this website makes my head hurt

The Dust of 100 Dogs

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, just not a lot of reviewing ... I'm utterly exhausted from all the work I've been doing on my vacation (actually, I'm just lazy, sarcasm doesn't travel well via internet), but I'll try to get a few reviews up today and maybe a couple more by the end of the week.

When I first started this book, I really didn't know what to think.  I actually stopped a few pages in like, six times, mostly because of how different this book is from A.S. King's other book, Please Ignore Vera Dietz.  I absolutely fell in love with PIVD and will definitely be reviewing that soon, and when I heard Ms. King had other books, naturally I ran to Amazon.com to buy them.  The Dust of 100 Dogs is different mainly because of the opener - lots more cussing, and it starts out with everybody dying.  Fun stuff.

Emer is a little Irish girl who's been thrown into the big, bad world of a few centuries ago.  Separated from her true love by her parents and a violent war, she has to fight - not just for her rights - but for her life.  Turning to piracy to find respect in a male-dominated world, she faces many challenges until she is ultimately cursed by her arch-enemy of decades to live as one hundred dogs until she is reincarnated as a human.  Very interesting premise, and thankfully, it's executed just as well.  Interspersed with some decidedly-preachy tidbits about dogs and concluding with a deus ex machina (never great), this book nonetheless stands up to its author's other works.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5

Flip

As usual, when I expect a book to have a certain type of feeling, or be a quick, shallow read, I was again surprised by this book, Flip, by Martyn Bedford.  I know that was an incredibly poorly constructed sentence, but I'm tired - I'll try to do better about that in the rest of this review.  Anyways, about the book ... :D

Flip is this pretty interesting book (certainly an interesting spin on a rather overdone, cliche topic).  Alex Gray is your typical geek - he reads lots, plays chess and the clarinet, and is just an overall wimp.  Phillip "Flip" Garamond is his polar opposite - a gorgeous playboy (or at least, as much of a playboy as you can be as a fourteen-year-old), athlete, complete with not one, but two beautiful girlfriends.  So what happens when a hit-and-run leaves Alex in PVS and his soul catapulting into his psyche's "twin", Flip, and vice-versa?

What really sets this apart from the rest is the lovely believability of all of the characters - Alex is incredibly empathetic, and just like in real life, there are no definite "bad guys" - it's obvious that everyone wants what's best for those they love.  The only problem I have with it is the ending: it's incredibly brief, and really should have been developed more.  That could be forgiven (lots of authors/books fall prey to this trap in writing) if even Alex's character changed so much in the last three or four pages - he loses his empathy and becomes almost cold towards those who suffer because of him.  In general, though, it's a really fascinating read and well-worth the three or four hours it'll take to finish.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

3.5/5

What's going on ...

So even though I'm reading some classic, older books now (I'm a few chapters in to Edith Wharton's House of Mirth at the moment), I'm still working on a few books to review.  I'm listening to Room, by Emma Donoghue, via Audible audiobook at the moment (don't take this route, the kid who's narrating has the most grating little voice of anyone I've ever heard), so that should be up with a review in a few days or so.  I'm also reading The Alchemist for summer reading; not gonna review this one, just saying what's on my list - you know there's a graphic novel, too?  iBoy by Kevin Brooks looks interesting as well - I've heard lots of positive reviews about his other books, so I'm thinking about checking this one out.  Also on my list: Flip by Martyn Bedford and Drought, by Pam Bachorz (I loved her book Candor, so this choice seemed obvious).

I've read a few books recently that I haven't gotten around to reviewing: Chopsticks (Jessica Anthony) and What's Eating Gilbert Grape (the movie was too fantastic, what with Leo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp, for me to pass up the book.  It's by Peter Hedges, by the way).  Both of these books I would recommend very highly - I'll tell you why as soon as I get around to doing some reviews.

Hope you're having a great summer and keep reading!

One more thing - you know you can click on any underlined title or phrase for a link to the book on Amazon or Audible, right? :)  And - a review to Candor will be coming ASAP, I just have to find the book.  And time to reread it.

Just a quick update.

As you can probably see, I'm finally active again (after over a year's hiatus, it's about time, eh?).  I'll try to get at least one or two books done a week, but this summer I'm focusing on reading a lot of Shakespeare, Dickens, and Ayn Rand - you know, the classics.  I don't really feel comfortable reviewing books/plays like that (I mean, who am I to question the Bard?) so I might not get as much done on here as I wanted.  But if you just can't get enough of me, check out the blog I launched about two months ago, Narwhal Nook.  Lots of cute pictures, anecdotes, things I find amusing, etc.  So while you're waiting for some new books, check out pics of my dogs, new guinea pig (his name's Mister Butterbutt Little Dude Broski de Pantalones IV, in case you were wondering :D), and more neat stuff.

This summer I'm uber-busy: summer school (for advancement, not remedial) for the next three weeks from 8am-12:30pm every day, plus volunteering at the library on Tuesday afternoons, and a trip to New Orleans on the 15th (we leave at 7am for a nine-hour drive, really looking forward to that part of it).  And then in July and August, marching band and Student Council begin to take over my life again.  I'll be on as much as I can but no promises :)  It would be uber-helpful if I could get another reviewer to start helping out: email me at HungryLionel@gmail.com (subject: Blog, or something like that) if you're interested!

Tricks

You should probably be pretty familiar with Ellen Hopkins' books before you try and tackle this one (it's not one of the easier ones).  For those of you who aren't aware, Ellen Hopkins takes really intense topics like suicide, crazy parents, drug abuse, teen prostitution, etc, and addresses them in ridiculously beautiful, long, poetic books.  Although this isn't my favorite of hers (I was ruined by Impulse, check it out if you're looking for something truly mind-numbing.  Beware - there's a sequel out, Perfect, which I haven't gotten to yet.), she does a wonderful job of melding annoying, sad, and painfully human characters into really relatable poems.

Eden is persecuted by her evangelical parents because they don't approve of her love.  Cody tries to escape family tragedies through sex and online gambling.  Whitney falls in love with all the wrong people.  Seth finds that his sexuality is driving his family apart.  Ginger struggles to avoid the only future she (and her mother) have ever known.  These five desperate teenagers' poignant stories come together to beautifully form Ellen Hopkins' sixth novel, Tricks.

What I love about Hopkins is how unafraid she is to face head-on really graphic situations.  There are definitely some explicit scenes in this book, but she's dealing with brutal topics, so why not?  The next time you want a pretty quick (don't be fooled by the number of pages, they fly by) but very heavy read, check out Tricks.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5

Water For Elephants

Another wonderful book - I've just been hitting on some gems recently! :)  Sara Gruen is best known for this one, obviously, but she has a few more books out there.  This is a brazen look at circus life in the 20th century - always touching and usually fairly raunchy, this book is truly decadent.  It starts as all great books should - with a self-proclaimed old codger reliving memories and annoying peers in a nursing home, where he has been dumped by his large family to while away the rest of his days.  [You know it's a fantastic read when you look forward to both the flashbacks and the interspersed portions of reality.]

Jacob Jankowski doesn't mean to have anything to do with the circus.  He's preparing for his final vet exams at Cornell when he learns that his parents have died in a horrible car accident.  In shock, he leaves the exam room - and everything he knows in life - behind, and enters the dark and dangerous world of circus performers.  As the head veterinarian for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show On Earth, he meets and falls in love with Marlena, a beautiful performer and wife to a very dangerous man.  Jacob sees things he could not have dreamed of, and lives a life one can only live in a train filled with circus animals.

Water For Elephants is one of the rare few books that transports you to the main character's locale - the imagery is so intense that you can't help but feel what Jacob feels and see what he sees.  An excellent read, though very graphic throughout (if it was a movie, which I guess it now is, I'd give it an R rating).

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4.5/5

Bright Young Things

I read The Luxe series several times a few years back (yes, I cried at the end of Splendor each and every time; in case you haven't read them, check them out.  They seem kind of whore-ish but they are, in fact, quite deeply wonderful).  Imagine my surprise when I discovered Ms. Godbersen had a new series out - this one about the 1920s, still set in New York.  I expected much from this great author, and let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed.

Like The Luxe series, Bright Young Things follows the lives of various teenage girls as they struggle to make it in New York City.  Cordelia wants to find the family she's never known, Astrid's trying to cope with the family she knows all too well, and Letty just wants to escape her boring midwestern life.  Sometimes poignant, sometimes gripping, this book definitely drags in some spots, but in general is paced well and leaves you wanting more.  Personally, I can't wait until I can get a hold of the second book in this promising series.

Hungry Lionel gives this:

4/5

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Oh gosh.  I haven't been active in so long, I've almost forgotten what to do.  But I'm reading so much now that it's summer, I definitely have enough subject matter to make this interesting.

First of all, let me say that this is my new favorite book.  Ever.  It's 864 pages and took me two months of non-stop reading to complete, and it is honestly one of the most brilliant books out there.  Set in 19th-century England, it's the tale of two magicians and their struggles with society, each other, and ultimately, themselves.  It's not at all like the magic of Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings series - it's entirely new, beautifully integrated and highly original.  If you can get through the first two or three rather stuffy, slow introductory chapters, you'll discover a perfectly paced, seamless adventure.  I can't recommend this more highly to anyone who wants a nice long read with luscious characters and truly quotable quotes.  Besides the great story, Ms. Clarke really gets into her characters' heads and gives them amazing voice ... I could really blather on about this book much longer than I already have, but you're probably getting tired of me so I'll wrap up :)

Hungry Lionel gives this:

5/5

Note: There is a sort of companion guide Ms. Clarke has published - it's called The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories.