2011: Book 36

Don't Wake Me at Doyles: The Remarkable Memoir of an Ordinary Irish Woman and Her Extraordinary Life by Maura Murphy

400 pages

Completed 4/11/11

The tales of Maura Murphy cannot be ignored; a mother of nine, with lives in both England and Ireland, with stories of love and of woe, this memoir is poignantly terrific. Stricken by poverty and illness throughout her life, Murphy is then dealt the final blow; a cancer diagnosis. With journal entries of each of her children and her husband intermitently making appearances, the reader is given a glimpse into the reasons, and effects of Maura being Maura.

A full-life memoir, the kind I rarely read, this one was worth it. And it was okay to be a bit perturbed by Murphy and her actions; she makes no exscuses, and is fine in - and with - her ways. As she ages, her decisions become clearer, and one cannot help but be on her side.

2011: Book #34

Family Album by Penelope Lively

240 pages

Completed 4/3/11

Told from nine points of view - the six children of two parents and their nanny - set in the outskirts of London, this novel was a bit slow to get into, but I am so glad I did. Revealing the secrets behind the family, while combining their past stories with their current lives was written so well that not once did I feel lost in terms of whom was speaking.

Intriguing, I couldn't believe the ease in which huge secrets were revealed. With the mother being oh-so-cheery and living alongside her lost-in-his-own-world husband, the children have very different takes on what went on during their childhood, and each had their own unique voice. Well done; I truly enjoyed this read.

2011: Book #33

Cheerful Money by Tad Friend

368 pages

Completed 3/31/11

This memoir was obnoxious, and not in an entertaining way. The woe-is-me tale of a rich boy with a rich familial history and hob-nobbing years anaylzed in a heavy Freudian manner gained zero sympathy for me. Reporting that he spent $130k on therapy, I was even less inclined to like Friend.

The intense family tree reckonings confused me; I could not keep the names and the sides straight, and forget it when his wife came into play. With oh-so-brief glimpses into such a rich life, this book was more sociological than memoir. Disappointing.

2011: Book 15

Even Dogs Go Home to Die: A Memoir by Linda St. John


272 pages

Completed 2/19/11

An oddly written memoir - chapters are no more than three pages - St. John delves into her childhood when faced with her alcoholic father's impending death. With a mother who speaks awful English, two sisters and a brother, St. John reveals the abuse and poverty they suffered as children, the retribution they dished out in their adult years, and their reactions to their father's downward spiral.

Annoyingly enough, St. John writes exactly how her mother speaks ("dies ees enuf Landa"), and instead of juxtaposing this with her educated self, the rest of the book is written in slang and in odd ways. The title of the book, briefly mentioned towards the end, could have been expounded upon, in my opinion. Despite it's oddities, St. John's memoir did a wonderful job synopsizing her family.

2011: Book 7

The Almost Archer Sisters by Lisa Gabriele


272 pages

Completed 2/3/11

A novel about two sisters, their bond, and the unraveling of it after one betrays the other in an unthinkable way, Gabriele's talent made me forget that these were fictional characters. With one sister escaping to New York City and the other remaining on the family farm in Canada with her wise, hairdresser father, husband, and two young sons who need constant attention, the two sisters' world rarely mesh...until they do in an unpredictable way.

While the ending bored me, the novel itself was pretty good; nothing to rave about, but I enjoyed it well enough.

2011: Book #1

What Happened to Johnnie Jordan: The Story of a Child Turning Violent by Jennifer Toth 

320 pages

Completed 1/2/11

In 1996, fourteen year-old Johnnie Jordan randomly bludgeons his elderly foster mother to death and flees. Toth's book tries to conclude why Johnnie did such a thing by tying together his tumultuous childhood, his experience in the foster care system, the kindness shown to him by the woman whom he murdered, and the subsequent life of Johnnie behind bars.

Written in a sort of disjointed way that I didn't particularly care for, this book was nothing but informative, if not disturbing. A must-read for those considering work in child psychology or social work, I think that "What Happened..." is a wonderful glimpse into the brokenness that exists in young - and the elder - Johnnie Jordan.

LIZ: BOOK #45

The Effects of Light by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

368 pages

Completed 12/27/10

Let me begin by saying I could not wait to finish this book; but not for my usual reason of not liking it. Instead, I had to know what happened as soon as possible. When I say that Beverly-Whittemore is talented, I mean it in a way that makes you not want to do anything else but finish her story.

The story of Myla and Pru Wolfe, whose single father David introduces them to photographer Ruth Handel, is one you are quickly sucked into. Ruth's nude portraits of the girls become "the centerpiece around which their lives unravel." As reader, you are introduced to Kate Scott, aka Myla Wolfe. After a mysterious letter summons her home to Portland, Oregon, pieces of the tragedy that killed her sister and forced Myla to start her life anew begin. The novel is told alternatingly by Kate/Myla and young Pru.

The emotion in this book is overwhleming, but not in a sappy, sad way. In fact, I found myself surprised towards the end when I was moved to tears, as I had not experienced such emotion throughout my reading. My only complaint about this debut novel of Beverly-Whittemore's is the somewhat-rambling philosophical tellings of Myla's deceased father; I will admit that I skipped over most of it for lack of interest.

LIZ: BOOK #43

The Center of Winter by Marya Hornbacher

336 pages

Completed 12/18/10

I was already a fan of Hornbacher in part to her wonderfully written memoir"Wasted," and this book only solidified me as a fan. Revolving around the Schiller family - mom Claire, dad Arnold, son Esau, and daughter Kate - and how things are after Arnold's suicide. Mental illness, alcoholism, grief, the pain of small-town-living, friendships, and love are just part of the intricate story Hornbacher weaves.

Told in the alternating perspectives of each surviving family member, written in very different styles, the twists and turns and raw emotion of this novel had an effect. Evocative, fragile, and intriguing, I put aside other tasks just to finish reading this one.

While the ending chapter, told in Kate's voice, left me a bit disappointed, the remainder of the novel and it's wonderful, heartbreaking story, more than made up for it.

LIZ: BOOK #41

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen

224 pages

Completed 11/16/10

This sad tale of a girl who realizes far-too young her power as a female over men was deep. Cohen's young what-the-hell attitude is both freeing and terrifying at the same time. As her promiscuos ways continue throughout high school and college, the tales - told tastefully, not raunchily as I had expected - grow sadder. Her own self-reflections cannot help but allow the reader to feel for this woman.

With her dysfunctional family proving what could possibly be deemed one of the best memoir-featured ones, Kerry attempts to use her physical beingness as means to escape, but when finding herself in the process, is haunted by what she sees. With actual relationships thrown in along with cross-country moves, this memoir is a must-read.

LIZ: BOOK #34

I Am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced

198 pages

Completed 8/19/10

With a title like this, the memoir lover in me couldn't resist; gets straight to the point, now, doesn't it? So, believe it or not, this was an account of a young Yemen girl who, at 10 years old, was married off to a man many years her senior. While this is not uncommon in itself, the telling of Nujood's self-awareness and fight to escape and demand a divorce in front of the court is surreal.

Clearly, this book was translated, and it was an as-told-to story. That being said, I sped through this read. Young adult level, at most, and it left me wanting more information, instead of coming away with an amazing tale. In fact, I liked the writing in the epilogue the most; a Glamour magazine writer who introduced further details and stories of other girls who experienced similar account of Nujood's premature end to childhood.

If anything, this is a book for people who want a different perspective on arranged marriages. Not often does such a young girl have the gusto, courage, and heart to not only escape from such circumstances, but tell the story with -not depth- but truth.

LIZ: BOOK #20

The Los Angeles Diaries: A Memoir by James Brown

224 pages

Completed 4/19/10

Overdue for a memoir I would enjoy, I picked this book up off the shelf it'd been sitting on for over a year. Brown allows the reader to delve into his drug and alcohol fueled existence with brief interruptions of his troubled childhood. Relationships with his disturbed mother, equally addicted brother and sister, a less than perfect father, and broken marriage with rarely-mentioned children paint a picture of a broken man.

Shaped by addiction, Brown's memoir is dark and haunted by the suicides of his siblings. However, as in most memoirs I enjoy, dry humor is laced throughout - both by the mere pathetic events that take place and Brown's own awareness.

Of note: the last chapter, focused on the author's suicidal sister, is written in a different way than the rest of the book. Normally, this would bother me; I like consistency in writing. However, the confusion and broken sentences allowed me to understand the desperation of the characters and the rise to the surface of addiction that Brown seemed to have made. With unanswered questions, I went to Google with searches of Brown's epilogue - to me, a successful memoir that led me to wanting more.

LIZ: Book #14

Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

464 pages

Completed 3/19/2010

Well, I have been slacking on reviews, so here is the first of a few!

My teenage sister is a big fan of Picoult's novels. I, on the other hand, could take her or leave her. When I listened to "My Sister's Keeper" on audio, I did enjoy the story, but was reluctant to pick up anymore of her books. This storyline, however, reeled me in.

A murder leaves a pregnant woman bereft of her husband and daughter. The murderer is apprehended and sentenced to death. Years later, the child is in need of a heart and the man who killed the family she never knew wants to give her his. Enter a variety of characters - a priest who served on the jury, a lawyer brought up in a religious environment, a bitter widow, an AIDS affected inmate - and an attempt to change a NH law, you have a story that lasts almost 500 pages (which could have been edited down...a lot.). When religion got to be a main storyline, I have to admit that I was bored.

This was a typical Picoult novel; predictable, medically-based, and heart-wrenching. If you are a fan of hers, or a believer in miracles, this is a must-read. Those who aren't, don't bother with this one.

LIZ: BOOK #12

Symptoms of Withdrawl: A Memoir of Snapshots and Redemption by Christopher Kennedy Lawford

416 pages

Completed 3/3/10

The Kennedy family seems to intrigue many people; I myself tend to focus more on Jackie O.'s fashion sense than the family 'curse'. But when I stumbled across this memoir of the nephew of JFK, I figured it was worth a shot. I actually began this book as an abridged audio; I was not only bored, but also felt that I was missing a lot of important things that had not been included, so I picked up a physical copy of the book.

This memoir ended up being more of a recovery-discovery set in a notorious family dynamic, rather than a tell-all. Yes, there were some dirty details and fascinating details, but all in all, this was a depressing memoir. Overdoses, deaths, broken relationships - you name it, Lawford writes about it. And not very well, in my opinion.

All in all, I say that this is an account to skip. Someone I had spoken with regarding this book was intrigued by the name-dropping: Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Sammy Davis Jr., and of course, the immortal Kennedy's, all make an appearance. But, in my opinion, this is not enough to carry this book.

LIZ: BOOK #11

The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld

269 pages

Completed 2/27/10

After listening to Sittenfeld's "Prep" on audio a few months ago, her light writing style drew me in. She is not a literary genius by any means, but she tells a good story without too many annoying extras.

This novel revolves around Hannah - beginning when she is fourteen up until her late twenties. With an unbearable cousin, separated parents, her love of love, and a complicated relationship with her sister, Hannah's self-discovery is non-specific enough to apply to almost every young woman. I was pleasantly pleased by Sittenfeld's way of incorporating love and relationships without this being a chick-lit book.

At the very end, I was surprised by how emotion-full the story became; perhaps it's only because I could so deeply relate to Hannah. While I did not like Sittenfeld's way of using a letter as an ending, I don't see how else it could've been done. I will definitely keep my eye out for new Sittenfeld books.

LIZ: BOOK #8

I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing by Kyria Abrahams

352 pages

Completed 2/2/10

Religions - especially ones surrounded my controversy - fascinate me. My own maternal grandmother briefly practiced alongside the Jehovah Witnesses and it was, especially to my 10 year old mind, odd. No recognition of birthdays, Halloween, cereal brands; this is religion?! So when I picked up Abrahams' book on her own JW's upbringing, I was intrigued. A self-described precocious child, Abrahams reveled in her religion and its meetings, rules, and family dynamic.

Once she reached her teens, however, the author's story takes a dramatic turn with rebellion, a bout of OCD, and a marriage at eighteen. Drugs and alcohol make a brief appearance (as in most memoirs) and she struggles with her religious identity.

While religions do pique my interest, I was not necessarily intrigued by this memoir. Expecting a dark, humorous account a la Augusten Burrough's "Running With Scissors," I was deeply disappointed. The humor is lacking after the first third of the book, and the ending - which can only be described as abrupt - leaves you with nothing.