Newton Reads

The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar

newtonreference — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:46:56 +0000

This novel is set in present day Bombay with a plot revolving around the relationship between an upper middle class Parsi housewife, Sera, and her domestic servant, 65 year old, illiterate Bhima, who has worked for Sera’s family for more than 20 years. Their lives are entwined yet there is a huge gap, “the space between” them that is unbreachable. The writing is clear and the characters well developed, unfortunately all the male characters are pretty reprehensible and poor Bhima, and to a lesser extent, Sera, are dealt so many bad hands by fate that I found the novel way too sad.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * OK
Reviewed by: kh

Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay

newtonreference — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:10:17 +0000

Kay has created a sprawling fantasy novel based on the 8th century Tang Dynasty of China. It centers around Shen Tai, second son of a general. Tai has spent the last two years honoring the memory of his late father by burying the bones of the dead from both sides at the battlefield site of one of his father’s last great battles. He receives a gift of unimaginable scope from a princess to thank him for his efforts. This gift of 250 Sardian horses leads him into a web of intrigue which could cost him his life. I listened to the book on cd, and the narrator, Simon Vance, was excellent.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

Below Stairs, by Margaret Powell

newtonreference — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:57:05 +0000

Originally published in 1968, this title was one of the inspirations for the ”Upstairs Downstairs” and “Downton Abbey” TV series. The author was a kitchen maid and cook beginning in the 1920′s when she was 15. She had to leave school at that age as her family could not afford to support her any longer. There are lots of stories about how kitchen work was done 80-plus years ago in homes with domestic servants as well as her take on the class system in Britain; the poor looked down on as less worthy people by the upper classes with little chance of rising “above their station in life.” Definitely not the “good old days.”

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The Gods of Greenwich, by Norb Vonnegut

newtonreference — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:47:30 +0000

Set during the 2008 financial meltdown, Vonnegut, a financial professional and fourth cousin to Kurt, has written a suspense thriller centering on Wall Street’s hedge fund industry. The protagonist, Jimmy Cusack, and his wife garnered my sympathy but all the other characters were unappealing to various degrees. There is a fast paced ending that leaves you rooting for the good guys. The whole plot made a lot more sense after I reread the first few chapters.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * OK
Reviewed by: kh

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

newtonreference — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:48:29 +0000

From the flyleaf description I did not think I was going to enjoy this book but I really did. It is a family story centering on twin boys, Marion and Shiva, growing up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the 1950′s and 60′s at a mission hospital where their adoptive parents are doctors. Lots of well developed characters, interesting material on medicine, 20th century Ethiopean history and unexpected plot developments also enrich this debut novel.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * * * One of the best
Reviewed by: kh

Uncle Tom’s Cabin or, Life Among the Lowly, by Harriet Beecher Stowe

newtonreference — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:45:16 +0000

I hadn’t read this novel until now and found it surprisingly moving and full of righteous indignation over the institution of slavery in the United States before the Civil War. Very much a product of its times, with flowery language, improbable plot coincidences and Christian sermonizing, it is nevertheless full of cogent arguments about the evils of slavery and its corruption of slaves and slave owners alike. I found some of Stowe’s comments still valid today in situations such as those described by Kristof and WuDunn in their work, Half the Sky. If you choose to listen to the book on CD, the narrator, Mirron Willis, does a fabulous reading.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh

Sahara Unveiled : A Journey across the Desert, by William Langewiesche

newtonreference — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:54:39 +0000

The author traveled from Algiers on the Mediterranean Sea to Timbuktu and Dakar, in buses, trucks, hired cars and finally a river boat at the end of his journey. He passed through the Sahara in Algeria, Mali, Niger and ended in Mauritania staying in towns build around oases and gaining a deeper understanding of the impact of French colonialism and of the ethic groups such as the Tuareg that have lived in the desert for hundreds of years. This fascinating place is brutal and unforgiving to people, animals and vegetation; better to visit via these pages than actually to go there.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

Baker Towers, by Jennifer Haigh

newtonreference — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 22:49:40 +0000

Set in a mid 20th century western Pennsylvania coal town, the author has created a realistic family and community. She follows the five Novak children as they grow up and go their separate ways influenced by the times, World War II, the 1950′s and 1960′s, and the economy of a company coal town. Haigh strikes a hopeful note at the story’s end which I appreciated.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

The Gardner Heist: A True Story of the World’s Largest Unsolved Art Theft, by Ulrich Boser

newtonreference — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:00:23 +0000

An interesting recap of the attempts over the last twenty years to recover the paintings stolen from Boston’s Gardner museum. The author devoted several years to hunting down leads and interviewing people who claimed to have knowledge of the crime. There are also chapters about Isabella Stewart Gardner, the specific artists and the paintings that were taken as well as several chapters about the late Harold Smith who also investigated the theft. The saddest part–since March 1990, when they were taken, not one of the pieces has been seen.

Check our catalog

RATING: * * * A good read
Reviewed by: kh

A Mind to Murder, by P. D. James

newtonreference — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 20:53:53 +0000

Written in 1963, this is the second Adam Dalgleish mystery. The detective is sent from a party he is attending at his publisher’s to the Steen Psychiatric Clinic, also in London, where the office administrator has been brutally murdered. The Clinic director locked the doors after the crime was discovered so the killer is presumed to be still in the building and the staff members are high on the list of suspects. It turns out that the victim was disliked by several of the staff but who has the motive for a murder? James is a skilled author and I enjoyed listening to the book on cd and thought that Penelope Dellaporta, the narrator, did a fine job.

Check our catalog

* * * * Very, very good
Reviewed by: kh