Book Review
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September Book of the Month: The China Garden
Posted by Fiona on 30 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: Book Review
A classic, mystical coming of age story, The China Garden by Liz Berry avoids the irksome clichés prevalent in its genre. It follows Clare, a young woman recently uprooted from London and dropped deep in the country, as she fights to save the home she has only just found, and discovers her soul mate, her destiny, and herself.
The is no pretense of a damsel in distress scenario, Clare is a strong protagonist, but she does not seem to need to prove this to the reader, as the heroines of so many books that are more propaganda piece than story do.
The China Garden is also a romance, and here again avoids the usual problems. Although it is Clare’s story, Mark, her love interest, is a far cry from the non-entity Disney prince charming, and the illustration of their mutual infatuation goes hand in hand with a tribute to the beauty of loving, symbiotic partnership.
Magical, soulful, and intelligent, The China Garden is the perfect young adult romance, and can easily be enjoyed by older readers as well.
August Book of the Month: The Tortilla Curtain
Posted by Fiona on 12 Jul 2007 | Tagged as: Book Review
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C Boyle is the story of two couples in Topanga Canyon, Candido and America, a pair of Mexican illegal immigrants, and Delaney and Kyra, a pair of upper middle class white democrats, the inextricable link between their lives, and their sharply contrasting interpretations of and quests for the American dream.
Boyle takes neither side in his very open political commentary on illegal immigration, but presents them both with more than enough insight and heart to demonstrate how very far from black and white the subject is. The four main characters are all likable and flawed, and as alike and as different as it is possible to be.
With the same high stakes in their minds and the minds of the readers, Kyra, a workaholic real-estate agent, contemplates what makes the perfect home while America dreams of a bed and running water, Delaney and Kyra struggle with their dispassion, disconnection, and existential crises while Candido and America battle the elements, the odds, and the old fashioned nature of their own relationship, all in the same place at the same time but in two worlds.
Far from being only political for the sake of political, it is also an intricate character-driven piece and a good read even without its strong relevance.