2011: Book 37

Daughter's Keeper by Ayelet Waldman

352 pages

Completed 4/19/11

Waldman's writing style's fluidity makes for great reading. This novel, about a young woman caught up in a tumultuous relationship with her mother and step-father, in a federal drug case with her illegal alien boyfriend, and pregnant with an unwanted child, takes the reader on a journey from the naivety of childhood through a prison sentence.

Nailing the daughter's condescending attitude without making her unlikable, Waldman's character development is that which makes you forget whether you are reading a work of fiction or a memoir.

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.