And finally...

I finished the 2009 Man Booker Shortlist with Adam Foulds' The Quickening Maze. This prose poem about identity, home, and the difficulty of change was not my favorite. The story is beautifully told and the structure was well-thought out, with the changing seasons tracking the changes in the character's lives. The ending, however, was so powerful I felt like it really redeemed the book. This is definitely a thumbs up for me, making this 6 of 6 for the '09 MB.

The Glass Room

Simon Mawer's The Glass Room is the fifth in my MB reading list. Another small story told in terms of sprawling history, the author explores the idea of man's inability to really see ourselves no matter how hard we try. It compares the precision of science to desire. And on top of all its lofty themes the novel tells the amazing story of the modern Landauer house and the family who inhabits it. I loved the book. I thought it was nicely written and the story was really engaging. I've never read anything by this author but was glad for the opportunity. One book left for my short-list survey!

Bel Canto

I've had this book on my shelf for ages. Somewhere along the line someone told me it was a must read and there it sat. My Man Booker 2009 short list read was interrupted by availability of the last two books so I picked this up and egads but it is spectacular. Ann Pratchett's ability to capture the relationships and feelings these characters have for each other; her ability to depict how situations and other personalities force us to look at ourselves, amazing. The book is really about the beauty in the human experience regardless of highest triumph or lowest failure and our humanity through it all. "All the brilliant things we might have done with our lives if only we suspected we knew how."

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

I finally gave in and for book club read the uber popular GWTDT. It was interesting. I like the pulp fiction easy-reading aspect of it. I read the last 300 pages in one day. I liked that there were multiple stories going on to keep it interesting. I liked the characters--reminiscent of Diva. I don't like the endless detail that so many books contain. When an author tells me the character is having a sandwich, that's all I need to know. I don't need to know there were pickles and mustard on it. Likewise with the coffee. Seriously, I understand that these people drink coffee (most do). I don't need to read the line "and [s]he made a pot of coffee" every five pages. At any rate, the author is dead so my criticism is for naught. Good read, I'll probably check out the next one in the trilogy.