The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

Readalong and Discussion at S. Krishna's Books

Release Date Jan.3, 2012

I am waiting for a copy from my public library. I have also read The Space Between Us***** and The Weight of Heaven****+ and recommend both very highly. Thrity Umrigar is my latest favourite novelist and I will be reading her backlist as well. 

Start Reading The World We Found...

Have you read or reviewed any of this author's books? Leave your comments or a link, I would love to read them.

Thrity Umrigar's favourite books about India.

Friday Finds (1.6.12)

 Hosted by Hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading

 What great books did you hear about/discover this past week? Share with us your FRIDAY FINDS!

 

All is Song by Samantha Harvey (UK) January 5 

Interest in reading: I enjoyed her first novel The Wilderness**** 2009, about Alzheimers. Orange Prize Shortlist, Booker Prize Longlist, Guardian First Book Award Shortlist, Betty Trask Prize.

Book Description:

"Set against the backdrop of growing national unrest, tabloid frenzies and an escalating fuel crisis, "All Is Song" is a novel about filial and moral duty, and about the choice of questioning above conforming. It is a work of remarkable perception, intensity and resonance from one of Britain's most promising young writers."
 

 

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson (US)  Jan 10

Interest in reading: Set in North Korea, that's enough for me.

Book description:

"Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love. A towering literary achievement, The Orphan Master’s Son ushers Adam Johnson into the small group of today’s greatest writers."

Let's hope they're even half right.

The Angel Makers by Jessica Gregson  Dec.6 2011

Interest in Reading: Husband and his family are from Hungary. He recognized the name of the town the story is set in when I mentioned it to him. It's based on historical events and is one of a kind (one hopes).

Book Description:

"When the men of a remote Hungarian village go off to war in 1916, the women left behind realize their lives are much better without them. Suddenly, they are not being beaten; they have time for friendships; they even find romance with the injured Italian soldiers staying just outside of town.
For Sari, an intelligent girl who's always been an outcast (her fellow villagers suspect her of being a witch because of her medical knowledge), it's the first time in her life she's had friends. When the men return at war's end, the freedom Sari and the others have enjoyed is suddenly snatched from them, and they realize they need to do whatever it takes to hold onto it. Sari puts her medical knowledge to use to off her husband. Then she helps one of her friends. And another. When the word spreads, she realizes her problems are only beginning. This creeping and hugely readable first novel is based on a true story."

"In truth, between 45 and 300 people were intentionally poisoned in Nagyrév, Hungary, over 15 years during and after WWI. Gregson's version of events is horrifically plausible and psychologically astute, and Sari makes a surprisingly sympathetic narrator." --Mari Malcolm

Wellcome Trust Book Prize 2011

 Celebrating Wellness in Literature

If you visit Fresh Ink Books you know that I follow many literary awards for reading recommendations. I don't always love the winners per se but I always find some very good reading in both the shortlists and those longlists that are released. The Wellcome Trust is a new one for me. In it's third year now, it rewards the book of fiction or non fiction which dealt with a medical subject.

I've always loved novels with some aspect of medicine or with doctors in them. I have to say that the improvement in the quality of the subjects covered has greatly improved since I was young and scrounging around for good stories that dealt accurately and not mawkishly with illness or disease. This year's shortlist for The Wellness Trust Book Prize were Announced on Oct. 6. The winner Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante was announced on Nov.9, 2011

Fiction

Turn of Mind

Alice LaPlante
The police are convinced that Jennifer White has killed her best friend. Amanda's body has been discovered, with four fingers neatly removed from her right hand. Jennifer's work as an accomplished surgeon and the stormy nature of their friendship make her the prime suspect. But Jennifer has Alzheimer's, and the disease that is gradually destroying her once brilliant mind prevents her from knowing if she really is the murderer.
Publisher: Harvill Secker

Nemesis

Philip Roth
Set in 1944 during a fictional polio epidemic that threatens children in the Jewish community of Newark, New Jersey, this book is the story of Bucky Cantor, the 23-year-old playground director of the local school. Cantor becomes a hero to the boys, but as polio begins to ravage the playground and they begin to die, he is forced to make decisions that will haunt him in later life.
Publisher: Vintage

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You

Louisa Young
Set on the Western Front in World War I, and also in London, Kent, Paris and Wigan, this is a novel of love, class and sex during wartime. By weaving together the stories of five disparate characters, Louisa Young describes the birth of modern reconstructive surgery and the psychological impact that it had on the men who received it.
Publisher: HarperCollins

State of Wonder

Ann Patchett
Among the waterways of Brazil's Rio Negro, Dr Annick Swenson is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever by granting them lifelong fertility. Her work is shrouded in mystery so Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate. Eckman's untimely death leads his colleague Marina Singh to investigate - stepping into the jungle's darkness to track down Dr Swenson and uncover her jealously guarded secrets.
Publisher: Bloomsbury

Non-fiction

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

Siddhartha Mukherjee
The history of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience and perseverance, but also of hubris and arrogance. Cancer researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee describes the work of his predecessors and peers, with their successes and failures, as they pit their wits against a resourceful enemy. This book investigates the way doctors, scientists, philosophers and lay people have observed and understood the human body and offers a glimpse into the future of medical treatments.
Publisher: 4th Estate

The Two Kinds of Decay

Sarah Manguso
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a hugely distressing disease in which one's own immune system attacks the nerves outside of the brain and spine. Sarah Manguso developed CIDP at 21, leaving her paralysed for weeks at a time. Written after seven years of remission, this book unflinchingly describes the medical routines that kept her going, confronting the often meaningless and irrational nature of real pain.
Publisher: Granta Books

I enjoyed and can recommend State of Wonder as I usually do with Patchett's books, and Turn of Mind and My Dear I Wanted to Tell You are already on my tbr list. I'm not one for Philip Roth but I may change my mind and read Nemesis as we have a family member who's endured polio his entire life. I expect I will read The Emperor of All Maladies one day, as we all probably should, but for now the experiences associated with my father and both of my husband's parents succumbing to this pestilence preclude my wish to concentrate on it. 

I do read medical books and journals  when I want information but I've always found that reading about medical subjects in the context of fiction is often a good way to learn about how people cope and it can teach empathy in a way that non fiction sometimes doesn't.

Shortlist for 2010

So Much For That by Lionel Shriver
Grace Williams Says it Loud by Emma Henderson
Medic: Saving lives - from Dunkirk to Afghanistan
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Winner)
Teach Us to Sit Still by Tim Parks
Angel of Death: The Story of Smallpox by Gareth Williams

Do you enjoy novels with medical themes or do you prefer non fiction? 

Have you read any of the books mentioned or have any plans to? 

Which outstanding novels dealing with illness or disease can you recommend?

Leave your thoughts or links to reviews in the comments. I'd love to read them

The Wellcome Trust Book Prize Official site

Dewey's Readathon 4

 Reading during Dewey Readathon:

On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry



First in importance as the library is threatening to release my address to the bazillion patrons who are waiting for it. Two days late-bah. And I really enjoyed The Secret Scripture**** which won several awards in 2008.









Snowdrops by Andrew Miller

The last of the Booker Shortlist I had hoped to read before the  winner (Julian Barnes)was anounced Oct. 18. If a comparison of the six entries interests you, let me know, I'll write up a little something..





The Free World by David Bezmozgis


The next to last of  the six Giller Prize shortlist I want to read before the Nov 8 winner announcement. It's also up for the Governor General's Award, to be announced on Nov.15. The last tbr  is The Antagonist by Lynn Coady. But not today, the library is holding it hostage until I return some others. I will not be reading Better Living Through Plastic Explosives by Zsusi Gartner. Short stories are not what I want in literary awards.    




Litttle Shadows by Marina Endicott

Governor General's Literary Awards shortlist, winner to be announced on Nov.15. I enjoyed her book Good to a Fault**** which was on the 2008 Giller shortlist.










Touch by Alexi Zentner

Also on shortlist for Governor General's Literary Award 2011.

Nice covers all around too.

I've participated in many readathons. Have fun, do not drive yourself to exhaustion. Have a nap and read again.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Recently completed:

Canada:





The Cat's Table****+ by Michael Ondaatje  2011 (269 pgs)

Also read: Divisadero****






UK


The London Train***+ by Tessa Hadley  2011 (352 pgs)

Orange Prize longlist 2011




 




UK/Monseratt




A Cupboard Full of Coats****+ by Yvvette Edwards 2011 (260 pgs.)

Man Booker Prize longlist 2011




 


US:


State of Wonder***+ by Ann Patchett  2011 (368 pgs)

Also read: Bel Canto****+, Run****, Patron Saint of Liars****






Currently reading:




Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch  UK 2011 (348 pgs.)

Man Booker Prize shortlist 2011





On the Nightstand:




The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes  UK 2011 (150 pgs)

Man Booker Prize shortlist 2011

Also read: The Lemon Table****+ (short stories), Nothing to be Frightened of***+ (essays).


 




The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy  UK 2011 (392 pgs.)

My third novel set in Guernsey in the past.








The Bells by Richard Harvell  US 2010 (374 pgs.)




All worth reading this week. My favourite was A Cupboard Full of Coats. Highly recommended.

Leave links if you've reviewed any of these books, I'd love to read them.

I take requests for reviews from my readers. Please just ask if something I've read interests you.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Recently completed:

Australia:

 

The Paperbark Shoe****+ by Goldie Goldbloom  2009 (373 pages)

Japan:

 The Changeling**** by Kenzaburo Oe (468 pages) Nobel author, Man Asian Literary Prize shortlist 2010

Not an easy read for those unaccustomed to ploughing through introspective literature.

Nigeria:

Oil on Water**** by Helon Habila  2010 (240 pages) Winner Commonwealth Prize

 

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's (the Four) Wives***** by Lola Shonyin  2010 (280 pages)

 

Tiny Sunbirds Far Away****+ by Christie Watson  UK/Nigeria 2011 (438 pages)

UK:

Wish Her Safe At Home**** by Stephen Benatar  1982 (263 pages)

 

The Book of Lies***+ by Mary Horlock  UK 2011

US:

 The Bird Sisters**** by Rebecca Rasmussen  2011 (390 pages)

 

Faith****+ by Jennifer Haigh 2011

Currently reading:

 The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje  Canada 2011

On the Nightstand:

 

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy UK 2011 

 

Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna  India, Man Asian Literary Prize longlist 2010

No time-wasters in the bunch. I can recommend them all. The stars say it. Any opinions?

Please leave links if you've reviewed any of these books, I'd love to read them.

I take requests for reviews from my readers. Please just ask.

Winner of Blindness by Jose Saramago

Congratulations to Riki of Reading Challenged, who has won my copy of Blindness by Jose Saramago.

And thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway and especially to my new followers.

My health has been poor these last couple of months but I am reading some very good books and will post about them in the next few days.