DOUGLAS FIR READING CIRCLE: 2008-2009

 

 

 

 Adams, Douglas. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (SF)

"Join the hapless hero, Arthur Dent, as he travels the galaxy with his intrepid pal Ford Perfect, getting into horrible messes and generally wreaking hilarious havoc. Dent is grabbed from Earth moments before a cosmic construction team obliterates the planet to build a freeway. As parody, it's marvelous: It contains just about every science fiction cliche you can think of. As humor, it's well, hysterical."

 

Adams, Richard. Watership Down. (F)

"This British tale is the story of a band of rabbits who leave their home warren because one of their number, the telepathic Hazel, senses danger - and journey hazardously across the Berkshire downs in search of safety.  Led by Hazel, the group eventually reaches the promised land, Watership Down, after experiencing many hardships, narrow escapes, and major battles."

 

Brown, Christy. My Left Foot. (A)

"This is a very inspiring book written by Christy Brown, born with cerebral palsy, of his life and the struggles that he had to overcome. Chrity was born in 1933 in Ireland. Instead of insititutionalized him, Christy's mother kept him at home to be raised with the rest of the family. One night, as he lay on the kitchen floor, he picked up a piece of chalk with his left foot and scrawled the letter 'A' on the floor, astonishing his loving family in the process. From then on, Christy faught to overcome his physical disability, and eventually learned to write, paint and even type, all with his left foot. In this book, Christy Brown gives the reader a birds-eye view of what it is like to be a person living with a severe disability." 

 

Brooks, Geraldine. Year of Wonders. (H)

"This historical novel re-creates a year in the life of a remote British village decimated by the bubonic plague. Inspired by an actual town commemorated as Plague Village because of the events that happened there in 1665-1666, the author tells her harrowing story from the perspective of 18-year-old Anna Frith, a widow with two young sons. Anna works for the vicar Micheal Mompellion and his wife. When bubonic plague arrives in the community, the vicar announces it as a scrouge sent by God; obeying his command, the villagers voluntarily seal themselves off from the rest of the world. As deaths mount, grief and superstition evokes mob violence against 'witches' and devil worship."

 

Bray, L. A Great and Terrible Beauty. (F)

"An interesting combination of fantasy, light horror, and historical fiction, with a dash of romance thrown in for good measure. On her 16th birthday, Gemma Doyle fights with her mother. She wants to leave India where her family is liviing, runs off when her mother refuses to send her to London to school, has a dreadful vision and witnesses her mother's death. Two months later, Gemma is enrolled in London's Spence School, still troubled by visions, and unable to share her grief and guilt over her loss. She eventually learns to control her vision and enters the 'realms' where magical powers can make anything happen and where her mother waits to instruct her. Gradually she and her new friends learn about the Order, an ancient group of women who maintain the realms and regulates their power. Gemma uncovers her mother's connection and learns what she must do."

 

Coelho, P. The Alchemist. (F)

"Written by the Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, this is a simple fable based on simple truths.  It is a charming tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off; leaving Spain to follow his dream. Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, such as a camel driver and  a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists -- men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Eventually in Egypt, Santiago meets an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship helps to clarify much of his misguided views, while also helping him to understand that he should stay true to his dreams. "

 

Cornwell, Bernard. The Winter King. (H)

"This book is a kickoff to a triology about the legendary warrior-king. Cornwell's Arthur is fierce, dedicated and complex, a man with many problems, most of his own making. His impulsive decisions sometimes have tragic ramifications, as when he lustfully takes Guinevere instead of the intended Ceinwyn, alienating his friends and allies and inspiring a bloody battle. The story of the book's characters is narrated with dry wit by Derfel Cadarn, one of Arthur's warriors, who later becomes a monk."

 

Courtney, Bryce. The Power of One. (C)

"This book has everything: suspense, the exotic, violence, mysticism, psychology and magic, schoolboy adventures, and drama in the boxing ring. It is the memoir of an English boy's lonely childhood in South Africa during World War II."

 

Hearn, L. Across the Nightingale Floor. (H)

"Mystical powers and martial arts rampage through this imaginary feudal Japan-like story setting, in this first novel of Liam Hearn's Tales of the Otori series. The tale begins with young Takeo, member of a persecuted religious group, who returns home to find his village in flames. He is saved by the sword of Lord Otori Shigeru and thrust into a world of warlords, feuding clans, and political scheming. As Lord Otori's ward, he discovers he's a member by birth of the shadowy "Tribe", a secretive race that has unusual mental and physical powers that lend the members an unwordly air.  Takeo learns how to control his new talents just in time to avenge the death of his mentor. A little Shakespearean tragedy within a Japanese setting makes for plenty of intrigue."

 

Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. (C)

    "This book, written by Afghanistan-born, American Khaled Hosseini, confronts readers with sometimes difficult truths and deep moral issues of loyalty, kinship and faith. Amin and Hassan are inseparable childhood friends in Afghanistan, though Amir is the son of a rich man and Hassan is a lower caste servant. Amir betrays his friend with catastrophic results, but years later, he finds a way to redeem his guilt."

 

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. (SF)

    "Flowers for Algenon is the journal of Charlie Gordon, a mentally retarded adult who becomes a genius after undergoing a experimental brain operation. The author gives Charlie Gordon a voice that conveys the full range of emotions Charlie experiences before and after the operation."

 

Kuper, Peter. The Metamorphosis. (F)

    "Based on Frank Kafka's short story, this adaptation by Peter Kuper is reminiscent of the German expressionist artists, and his cartoony approach accentuates Kafka's dark humor. If The Metamorphosis offers any lasting lesson, it's that the unlikely is always right before us, an idea that Kuper brings to life in nearly every panel of this disturbing work."

 

Lawson, Mary. Crow Lake. (C)

    "This book is a tale of love, death and redemption set in a rural northern community where time has stood still. Tragic, funny and unforgettable, it's about the relationship between Matt and his sister, Kate, and the drama of family love and misunderstandings."

 

Lynch, J. The Highest Tide. (C)

     The author, in this debut novel, has the ability to tell a tale. His knowledge and sense of wonder at the natural world brings the reader closer to the story, both in its setting and its characters. Miles O'Malley, a 13-year-old boy living on the shores of Puget Sound, in Washington State, has developed an overwhelming passion  for the abundant life of the tidal flats. His simple pleasure in observation is tested and complicated over the course of an event-filled, life-changing summer, when he finds a live giant squid. This discovery brings him to the attention of scientists, TV reporters and a local cult. Events build towards the date of a record high tide, and Miles slowly sorts out his place in the adult world.

 

McCall Smith, Alexander.  The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

  The African-born author of more than 50 books, turns his talents to detection, in this artful, pleasing novel about Mma (aka Precious) Ramotswe, Botswana's one and only private detective. A series of vignettes linked to the establishment and growth of Mma Ramotswe's "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" serve not only to entertain but to explore conditions in Botswana.

 

Martel, Yann. Life of Pi. (F)

     "Life of Pi" packs so much into a little book. What you need to keep in mind is that it is a story, a fable for all ages, and not meant to be understood as reality. It starts off with Piscine [Pi], a teenager living in India, and his confusion about life, religion and animals (his father is a zookeeper). The story then takes a more adventurous turn when the boy and his family embark on a sea voyage to Canada. Pi is stranded in a life raft with a tiger after a shipwreck. Martel's genius and imagination details Pi's suffering, his thoughts, his feelings, his emotional drain and most importantly his relationship with the tiger. This work, Martel's second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction.

 

Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four [1984]. (D)

    Orwell's classic, first published in 1949, continues to deliver its horrible vision of totaltarian society. Once considered futuristic, it now conjures fear because of how closely it fits the reality of present times. The year is 1984; The scene is London, largest population center of Airstripe One, part of the vast political entity of Oceania, which is always at war with one of the other entities, Eurasia and Eastasia. In this grim city and terrifying country, where Big Brother is always Watching You, and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston Smith is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that he still has his memory. He knows that the Party controls the people by brainwashing them with lies and limiting their imaginations. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, which is dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together, with his beloved Julia, he puts his life on the line in a deadly match against the powers that be.

 

Rand, Ayn. Anthem. (SF)

    This is a short novel, written in 1937, about one man's struggle to escape a society from which all individuality has been squeezed. Written a full decade before Orwell's "1984", the author expertly shows how collectivism is destroying individuality and is being practiced throughout the world including the "New Deal" programs in the United States. During this time in world history, people were becoming serfs to the state. This is a book that should be read by all who wonder what role the government should have in our lives.

 

Salinger, J.D. The Catcher in the Rye. (C)

    This influential and widely acclaimed story gives a detailed narrative of the two days in the life of 16-year-old Holden Caufield after he has been expelled from prep school. Confused, he's in a quest for the meaning in his life as he comes to terms with the transition from his tortured adolescence to adulthood, and the onset of a nervous breakdown.

 

Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. (C)

    It is the narrative voice that makes this novel so beautiful and haunting. Susie Salmon was raped & murdered. From her position in Heaven, Susie tells the story of her death at the hands of a serial killer, an eccentric neighbor who even the police do not suspect as the perpetrator. Susie herself is a truly unique character, a narrator completely removed from the events she describes, and yet so wrapped up in the people she loves and has left behind. The author explores the many characters (the parents, the siblings, the teachers, and others) as they go through the grieving process with different thoughts and actions.

 

Strasser, Todd. The Wave. (C)

    The Wave is based on a true incident that occured in a high school history class in Palo Alto, California, in 1969. The powerful forces of group peer pressure that saturated many historic movements such as Nazism are re-created in the classroom when history teacher Burt Ross introduces a "new" system to his students. Before long, "The Wave" with its rules of "strength through discipline, community, and action", sweeps from the classroom through the entire school. And as most of the students join the movement, Laurie Saunders and David Collins recognize the frightening movement of "The Wave" and realize they must stop it before it's too late.

 

Toews, Miriam.  A Complicated Kindness.

  A 16-year-old rebels against the conventions of her strict Mennonite community in rural Manitoba, and tries to come to terms with the collapse of her family in this insightful coming-of-age novel.

 

Wiesel, Elie. Night. (W)

    In Nobel laureate Eli Wiesel's memoir, "Night", a scholarly, pious teenager is wracked with guilt at having survived the horror of the Holocaust and the genocidal campaign that consumed his family. His memoirs of the nightmare world of the death camps present him with an intolerable question: How can the God he once passionately believed in have allowed these monstrous events to occur? There are no easy answers in this harrowing book, which probes life's essential riddles with the lucid anguish only great literature achieves. It marks the crutial first step in Wiesel's lifelong project to bear witness for those who died.

 

 

 

 

 

 Source of reviews:  School Library Journal, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Amazon.com, Readers reviews.