January Book Review

In January, I managed to squeeze in reading 3 books (ok, I cheated a little and started one just after Christmas, but close enough). 

First, Still Alice by Lisa Genova

 

This book tells about a psychology professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease at the age of 50.  It goes through the terrifying identification stages, the dangerous disorientations, and the heart-breaking memory losses.  It highlights the randomness with which Alzheimer's attacks the brain and how some days are better than others.  It shows the difficulty in caring for someone like this because it's such an unpredictable disease.  A very compelling story.

Second, Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

I read this book as an interesting commentary on religion and governmental control.  Essentially, the people of a fictitious island nation have a monument with the phrase "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" that is dedicated to the man who supposedly invented it.  The letters fall off one by one and the council agrees that it is this man speaking from beyond the grave telling them that they can no longer use those letters.  All words with those letters are not allowed to be written or spoken.  The whole novel stems from the idea that this statue of this man is dictating how language is to be used, rather than the scientific evidence that the glue holding the letters in place for 100 years is finally disintegrating.  An interesting read, but not one that changed my life in any way.

Third, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

A very compelling, somewhat-graphic, portrait of life in Afghanistan during the 1980s and a family who escaped to America for a short time, only to return to Kabul during the rise of the Taliban.  A devastating picture of the fighting between tribes, the poverty and the war-torn country and people.  It made me nauseated, happy, disgusted, hopeful, devastated, scared, and guilty.  It moved me so much that I was on the verge of tears several times.  It may just be that I have very little knowledge of events in the Middle-East during the 80s, but I am shocked by some of the things I read.  But it was a great novel and one I would most definitely recommend.

Until next time,
-J