November 2005 – Book of Jen

The Space Between Us – by Thrity Umrigar

The Space Between Us is set in India. In addition to being about the kinds of troubles that only women experience, (a world of difference from what men’s lives are like), it focuses on the lives of three particular women. Men have more freedom and opportunities than women do.

Sera is a wealthy woman. Bhima is her servant. Maya is the granddaughter of Bhima. The book defines the “space between” the lives of women who have servants, and the women who are servants. It explores the views held in India about the separation of different classes.

Book Reviews, fiction 0

Hey Nostradamus! – by Douglas Coupland

Douglas Coupland is good at creating bizarre situations that happen to characters that seem very real. In Hey Nostradamus!, Coupland gives you a story that requires readers to think about things beyond the events currently unfolding on the pages in front of them.

The story focuses on a fictional act of gun violence. The massacre in the book is not based on real events (so far as I can tell). The reader knows that the events in the book did not really happen. Despite this, the story is terrifying in many ways because gun violence is something that keeps happening, over and over again, all across America.

Book Reviews, non fiction 0

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill – by Mark Bittner

Bird lovers, and people who have birds as pets, will love this story! It is a true story. It’s full title is: The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill: A Love Story with Feathers. The book was written by Mark Bittner, who was homeless and directionless when the story started. It seems he is looking for a religion, as well as some work that is meaningful. He also wants to fall in love.

Book Reviews, fiction 0

All Families are Psychotic – by Douglas Coupland

The title of this book, all by itself, screams out to people who come from dysfunctional families. I happened to start reading All Families are Psychotic right as the holiday season was starting. The story has nothing to do with the Christmas (or other holidays), but somehow, that felt like the perfect time to read it. I found myself relating to the title very much.

Book Reviews, horror 0

Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales – by Stephen King

Everything’s Eventual: 14 Dark Tales, by Stephen King, is a collection of his short stories. If you are a fan of King’s work, you will likely enjoy at least some, if not all, of the stories it contains. A few of the stories reminded me of his Dark Tower series.

The cover of the book instantly sets the mood. It is a pencil drawing of a table at a restaurant. The water glass has a red drop of liquid slowly falling down to the bottom of it. Everything else on the cover looks normal, except for that red drop. Could it be blood?