Thanks to Katrina for hosting the popular Spring Reading Thing Challenge! We're only a few days until the official close of this challenge, and I am pleased with my progress. I finished seven books! Here is my list:  

1) Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice (review)
2) Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (review)
3) The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (review)
4) Digging to America by Anne Tyler (review)
5) Marley & Me by John Grogan (review)
6) March by Geraldine Brooks (review)
7) Property by Valerie Martin (review) 

My favorite books were The Yiddish Policemen's Union and Property - both earned five-star ratings. My least favorite book was Marley & Me, but this book still earned three stars. All in all, I read seven great and distinct books for this challenge.

Looking forward to next year's challenge!

Property
By Valerie Martin
Completed June 8, 2008

 

Marley and Me
By John Grogan
Completed April 26, 2008

I think everyone knows this tale of a man, his family and their dog, Marley. This book chronicles the Grogans and life with their mischievous Marley, who behind the chewed shoes and hyperactivity, was a beloved member of the family until his death at age 13.

John Grogan did a good job showing how animals become a part of your life - and indeed your family. For many families, pets are their only "babies" while others mix children with animals with room in their hearts for all. As a member of the latter, I could not imagine life without my pets. If you feel this way too, then Marley and Me is the book for you.

Personally, I found many parts of this book to be boring. I also found many of the adults' (aka the masters') decisions to be questionable. Marley was depicted as a knucklehead, but I think he was way smarter than his owners, totally wrapping them around his paw. Perhaps that was the point of it all.

Moreover, I think you have to be a dog owner to fully appreciate this story. If you are, then check out this cute book about a cute dog. For cat owners like me, this book may remind you why you chose a life with whiskers, purrs and kitty litter. =) ( ) 

March
By Geraldine Brooks
Completed April 11, 2008

What happens to a family when a husband and father goes to war? Many books explore this question, and one of the most famous is Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. But what about the husband and father - how is he impacted by the war during and after the battles are fought? For these questions, we can rely on the fantastic storytelling of Geraldine Brooks and her Pulitzer-winning March.

In this novel, we learn about Mr. March who was away during Little Women, which offered a creative canvas for Brooks’ story. March, an active abolitionist, enlisted as an army chaplain at the beginning of the Civil War. His service took many twists and turns before he ended up on a Yankee-controlled plantation, where he taught former slaves how to read, write and do math. While there, he fell victim to “the fever” and later a bullet, which forced him to a hospital in Washington, D.C.

Readers of the original Little Women may envision Jo’s father to be a docile, patient, kind-hearted man who made more good decisions than bad. Furthermore, one might expect Marmee March to be the typical antebellum wife and mother – silent, obedient and sinless. Brooks took a different path with these characterizations, however, in March. March was, in fact, very fallible whose idealism cost him (and his family) their fortune and almost March’s life. Marmee March was an impulsive hot head, constrained by the societal and marital norms of her time. Together, their marriage had secrets and miscommunications, which sounded very “normal” to me. Other readers may prefer Alcott’s original depictions, and if you’re one, I recommend skipping March because you will feel frustrated by the Marches.

While this story explored slave conditions and the horrors of the Civil War, the war’s toll on March left the biggest impression. He emerged hopeless and depressed. I think of war veterans now and realize that nothing has changed. We need to do a better job in helping our service men and women when they return to civilian life – whether we agree with the war or not. To me, that’s the biggest lesson I learned from March. The affects of war are timeless, and if you are interested in the social and psychological impacts of war on men, women and children, I would recommend March to you. ( ) 

The Yiddish Policemen's Union
By Michael Chabon
Completed April 8, 2008

The Yiddish Policemen's Union was one of the most peculiar, entertaining and head-scratching books I have ever read. Michael Chabon is a deliciously fun, imaginative writer, and this book is dripping with literary snark. I was expecting an "okay" read, and I am happy to report that I loved, loved, loved this one.

The book is set in Siska, a fictional district in Alaska inhabited by Jews who fled there in the late 1940's. Siska embodied the good and bad of any community, and to help combat the bad, Siska employed police officers like the main character, Meyer Landsman and his partner, Berko Shemets. Meyer was one of those Lethal Weapon/Mel Gibson cops- quick with the one-liners, always working on a hunch and on the verge of self-destruction. And Berko was just like Danny Glover - the stable married guy who often pulled his partner out of trouble. Mix in Meyer's ex-wife, Bina, who served as their commander, and you have The Yiddish Policemen's Union.

The guys were investigating the death of heroin junkie, who may or may not be the Messiah. Their inquiries led to the strictest of Jewish sects and a conspiracy of historical proportions. Each chapter took the reader closer and closer to unraveling the mystery, and Chabon kept his readers at the edge of their collective seats through each page. It's a classic "who done it" story - with a lot of Yiddish language.

I am not well-versed in Judaism or Jewish history, but I detected a serious side to this story - a commentary on the numerous displacement of Jews throughout history and an exploration of what happens when Jews get too comfortable in any one place. I wonder too if Chabon is holding up a mirror to Jewish society and showing readers the pluses and minuses of their culture. Again, I am not an expert in Jewish culture, but I will be curious to read thoughts from those who are - to learn more about the "Jewish" aspect to this tale.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union is not a book for everyone. I think you have to enjoy dark, subtle humor (similar to Christopher Moore) and not be intimidated by the Jewish themes in this story. It's a very readable story, brilliantly written and eloquently developed. I look forward to reading more work by Michael Chabon in the near future. ( ) 

Change of Heart
By Jodi Picoult
Completed March 31, 2008

A priest, an atheist lawyer and a convicted killer walked into a bar…

Okay, not really, but they did take center stage in Jodi Picoult’s latest book, Change of Heart.

In this book, Picoult chose two hot-button issues, religious beliefs and capital punishment, to explore the following scenario: a man on death row wanted to donate his heart to a dying girl. And not just any dying girl – but the daughter of the man he was accused of killing. Should the dying girl’s mom accept this organ donation? If the girl gets this heart, will she take on characteristics of the donor? And why was the man really offering up his heart – to redeem himself, because it was the right thing to do? These questions may not have been answered in Change of Heart, but each perspective was presented and explored, leaving the reader to think hard about it all.

Picoult is a skilled writer, and her character development (again) was flawless in this book. From the convicted killer, Shay Bourne, to his attorney, Maggie Bloom, to his spiritual advisor, Father Michael, you crawled into each character’s head and ponder what they’re pondering, wonder what they’re wondering and believe what they’re believing. Each chapter of the book was told from a different person’s perspective, which made the story flow nicely. All in all, Change of Heart was a real page-turner.

However, one aspect of the story did leave me uncomfortable. With Shaye, Picoult made his character Christ-like. He was a 33-year old carpenter whose appearance on death row caused a stir, from the cell faucets that spewed wine, to the inexplicable remission of an AIDS-stricken inmate, to Shay’s comfort with a fishing pole. Sound familiar? Even his name, Isaiah Matthew Bourne (I.M. Bourne) made my eyebrows go up. None of these miracles or coincidences were subtle, but I am not sure of their relevance to this story. Admittedly, I am still scratching my head about this aspect of Change of Heart, and I will be curious to read what others think about this story.

Despite this, I would recommend Change of Heart to the many Jodi Picoult fans out there. She’s in true form, as always. ( ) 

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
By Anne Rice
Completed March 28, 2008

“It’s where I live, my lord,” I said. “Not in the Temple, but in the world. And in the world, I learn what the world is and what the world will teach, and I am of the world.” (page 99)

When I started to read Anne Rice’s latest book, Christ The Lord: The Road to Cana, I did so knowing that I have two biases: (1) I love the way Anne Rice writes and (2) I love to read fictional accounts based on the Bible. Having enjoyed Rice’s first Christ book, I had high hopes for The Road To Cana, and all in all, I was not disappointed.

The Road to Cana detailed Jesus’s life in his early thirties when he was a carpenter living with his family in Nazareth. In Rice’s depiction, Jesus (still known as Yeshua) struggled with his identity. In his heart, he knew that he was the Son of God, but he tried to live a “normal life” of peace and worship. However, Jesus knew that he could not live out all aspects of an average Jewish man, including marriage or having children, despite pressures from his family and villagers. In essence, Jesus tried to keep his holy birth a secret while going about his daily life – until events transpired that brought his purpose to light.

In this book, Rice drew out Jesus’s human qualities. For example, Jesus was in love with a young woman, Avigail, and dreamed about her at night. At times, he maintained a cool head, but other times, he bumbled like a clumsy suitor, often making mistakes that jeopardized the social norms of unmarried men and women in Jewish culture. Another example was Jesus’s struggle with his older brother, James. As the oldest child, James was in charge of the household, but living with the Son of God gave James an inferiority complex (and understandably so). James fought with Jesus about getting married, dealing with the Romans and household duties – and Jesus’s patience was tried at many times, which often led to an “exchange of words” between the brothers.

While the first two-thirds of the book was devoted to Jesus’s struggle as a man, the last third of the book dealt with his epiphany of why he was the Son of God and his purpose among humans. This section of the book is classic Anne Rice, full of imagery, allusions and struggles between good and evil. The Devil made an appearance, and I was reminded of Rice’s Memnoch The Devil from the vampire series. In fact, her depiction of The Devil was so true to her earlier character that I believe it to be intentional. Jesus’s epiphany was hard to read as he cried over humans’ flaws, starved himself to death and denied himself water. But he emerged sure of his purpose and more in love with humanity than ever before.

Upon completion of Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, I felt like I had just finished the second book of a trilogy. It had many “transitional” and “setting up for the big finish” aspects to it. I hope Rice delves into a third book about Christ because I find her storytelling and historical research so compelling. Her Christ books are a great addition to the literary canon of Biblical fiction. If you enjoy religious narratives or are a fan of Anne Rice, this is one book that I recommend for your bookshelf. ( ) 

The Spring Reading Thing Challenge is just the "thing" I need to get back on the challenge track. Most of 2008 has been devoted to reading newly published books. It's been a lot of fun, but I am ready to get back to my challenge commitments.

This challenge is very flexible, allowing participants to select any books to read from March 20-June 19, 2008. I am striving to read the following six books during this time:

1) Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice (review)
2) Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult (review)
3) The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (review)
4) Digging to America by Anne Tyler (review)
5) Marley & Me by John Grogan (review)
6) March by Geraldine Brooks (review)

And, if I have time, I hope to tackle a few more:

1) Property by Valerie Martin (review)
2) Atonement by Ian McEwan
3) The Gathering by Anne Enwright 

Wish me luck!