More Book Reviews

The Street of a Thousand Dreams by Gail Tsukiyama ****
I think that I have read every book that this author has written. I have never been disappointed by her stories. I have a love for Asian fiction and her writing is very captivating and intimate in it's style. I feel like I am there and can visualize everything that is going on.
This book was interesting since it took place in Japan during and after WWII. I had never considered this point of view before. Her characters were regular people, whose lives changed dramatically though out the course of the book. They were able to navigate and find their way towards their dreams though war and grief. I enjoyed this book for it's story and for the things that I learned about traditional Japanese culture.

March by Gerraldine Brookes ***
The whole idea of this book intrigued me. The author loosely used Little Women as a jumping off point for this book. It was basically the story of what happened to Mr. March when he leaves home during the civil war. It was all very interesting and over all a good story, but in some parts it was hard for me to continue reading since the characters did not act how I wanted them to act. I wanted a hero and did not find one within this book's pages.
As in the author's previous book, A Year of Wonder, I enjoyed all of the careful detail, but thought that the ending was poor. I wanted an ending that matched the rest of the book, not one that seemed that it was slapped on as an after thought. I also thought there were too many topics that were competing for attention - slavery, a nebulous Christian belief, vegetarianism, virtue, war, self-sacrifice, redemption, etc. It did contain a few thoughtful insights like the following that came near the end of the book, "...there is only one thing to do when we fall, and that is to get up, and go on with the life that is set in front of us, and try to do good of which our hands are capable for the people who come in our way." Overall, I guess I would consider this a book worth reading.