Review: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

Book Information
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: 9/1/2004
Pages: 304

Book Summary

Meet the Ganguli family, new arrivals from Calcutta, trying their best to become Americans even as they pine for home. The name they bestow on their firstborn, Gogol, betrays all the conflicts of honoring tradition in a new world- conflicts that will haunt Gogol on his own winding path through divided loyalties, comic detours, and wrenching love affairs.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her story collection, Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri brilliantly illuminates the immigrant experience and the tangled ties between generations.

Review

Pulitzer-prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri's The Namesake has garnered an impressive literary and popular reputation, largely as an intricate novel detailing the inter-generational dynamics of immigrant families. Scattered throughout with sensuous detail of traditions, The Namesake follows the Ganguli family as they navigate cities and negotiate identities across continents and across generations. 

While the evocative and well-written descriptions filled each page with the smell of spices and the silken patterns of colorful saris, it was the portraits of family relationships as they disintegrate and fall back together that proved most vivid. The novel opens with Ashima, pregnant and far from her family in Calcutta, in her Boston apartment's kitchen, re-creating an Indian snack with American products to satisfy her cravings. Having followed her husband, Ashoke, an intimate stranger, to America, Ashima finds herself lonely, isolated, and confused, a feeling that fades although never completely disappears. 

Upon giving birth to her son, Ashoke and Ashima wait for her grandmother's letter, which will contain the rightful name, but upon leaving the hospital, American law and custom requires a name to be chosen for the birth certificate. Thus, the son becomes Gogol, a name tied to both the stories of the Russian author his father loves and to a buried story from his father's past. And so begins Gogol's journey through childhood and numerous relationships, several names, and many convoluted intersections with the past. 

The Namesake is a beautiful, poignant story about reconciling the present with the past, American culture with Indian tradition, self-making with parental expectation. It's a novel that speaks to moments of living in-between that haunts you long after the characters' have lived out their time on the page.

Reviewed by Miranda Wojciechowski

Review: The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn

Book Summary
JOHN LAGO IS A HITMAN. HE HAS SOME RULES FOR YOU. AND HE’ S ABOUT TO BREAK EVERY SINGLE ONE.

John Lago is a very bad guy. But he’s the very best at what he does. And what he does is infiltrate top-level companies and assassinate crooked executives while disguised as an intern.

Interns are invisible. That’s the secret behind HR, Inc., the elite “placement agency” that doubles as a network of assassins for hire who take down high-profile targets that wouldn’t be able to remember an intern’s name if their lives depended on it.

At the ripe old age of almost twenty-five, John Lago is already New York City’s most successful hit man. He’s also an intern at a prestigious Manhattan law firm, clocking eighty hours a week getting coffee, answering phones, and doing all the grunt work actual employees are too lazy to do. He was hired to assas­sinate one of the firm’s heavily guarded partners. His internship provides the perfect cover, enabling him to gather intel and gain access to pull off a clean, untraceable hit.

Part confessional, part DIY manual, The Intern’s Handbook chronicles John’s final assignment, a twisted thrill ride in which he is pitted against the toughest—and sexiest—adversary he’s ever faced: Alice, an FBI agent assigned to take down the same law partner he’s been assigned to kill.

Review
With nearly 20 years of filmmaking under his belt, Shane Kuhn’s debut novel, The Intern’s Handbook, has all the elements of a Hollywood hit. This thrilling page turner holds the reader hostage from page one putting us right center in the action through a narrative that has you rooting for an unlikely hero. With a plot that seems hard to believe, this “manual” filled with its dark humor and laugh out loud moments, draw you into a character whose balance of love and hate makes an engaging read. The overall concept of the book is straightforward but the composition of the development of the plot corresponding with how the book was put together was really fascinating. 

We are introduced to the book with a letter from the FBI letting us know that there is an arrest warrant out for John Lago and that they intercepted communications intended on new recruits at the company HR, Inc. This introduces us to the story informing us of the intentions of the book. The intercepted communication, The Intern's Handbook, is meant to be an informal guide for assassins in training. Chronically his last assignment, the guide serves as a how to and the rest a journal/confession of what happened during this last experience. Told through the point of view of Lago along with the surveillance audio & video transcripts from the FBI throughout the book, the book gives a whole new meaning to being an intern.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I thought Kuhn’s experience in film really permeated throughout the story. As a reader, you can visualize every aspect of the book as if you were watching it come alive before you. With several cinematic references throughout the book, I felt it contributed to the entertainment value for the reader. You not only feel connected to the characters but you really get inside the head of the John. He’s not the typical hero you root for but as you get to know him, his motives and actions have a purpose that make you favor him. He is one of those characters that you will have a blended love/hate relationship especially with the supporting characters which bring some drama of their own to the book. There were elements of violence and some racy scenes which would be expected considered the theme of the book just to note. 

There wasn't a part of the book that I felt disengaged from because the various plot twists and turns keep you occupy through until the end. Overall, the elements that composed the book made you feel like you were part of the story which made you not want to put it down. If you want a fun, thrilling and entertaining read, I’d recommend you adding to your list. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication date: 4/8/2014
Pages: 288

Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Book Summary
An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to.

Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love.
 
This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins. 
 
Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.

But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves. 

From Ann Brashares, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now is thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking—and a must-read novel of the year.

Review
For many including myself, who have come to love the writings of Ann Brashares, The Here and Now is no exception. For those of you who are going into this book with the expectations of her previous, this is a different type of story. What's familiar is the wonderful prose that gracious the pages with her tender storytelling that creates the characters who make the stories that we've come to love and appreciate. This is a book that encourages the reader to embrace their imagination and fall in love with a story whose characters defy the predictable path which in the end overall gives the readers an experience that is worth reading.

Prenna James is not your typical teenager; in fact, she is not really here. Along with a group of people, they came from a different time in the future. They are escaping a world that has taken the lives of millions hoping to return to the past to help avoid. Once they arrive, they do everything to assimilate into the culture of the regular people by adhering to a strict set of rules that seem to cause nothing by fear and intimidation.

While many are hanging out with their friends and crushing on their favorite boy at school, Prenna's life survival depends on doing the opposite. In order to survive, she must never tell anyone where she comes from, never get involved with anyone outside of their community, never do anything that would challenge the course of history and most importantly, never fall in love but everything changes when she meets Ethan Jarves.

Ethan Jarves challenges everything that she knows. How can what seems so right, seem so wrong? As their chemistry over time seems so undeniable, the underlying truth of this forbidden relationships possesses a danger not only to Prenna but the world that cannot be ignore. When Ethan introduces her to a homeless man, there was something about him that drew her near that she couldn't ignore until one day he says something that changes everything she's ever known.

There are certain authors that no matter what they write, I'll read regardless. Whenever I think about Ann Brashares, the stories she creates just take you to a place where you can completely escape into. Going into The Here and Now, I'll admit was a departure from my initial expectations but it was a pleasant surprise. I don't think this book can be compared to anything that she has written before beyond the obvious being well written with memorable characters. What I really loved about this book was the beauty of the story being told. You completely get lost within the different elements that comprise the page turning plot. Prenna and Ethan, are both characters that you will fall in love with what you wish could be versus what can never. They represent an innocence and strength that seem beyond their years enabling you to embrace and connect with them. 

I thought the future elements within the story really awaken your consciousness of certain possibilities. There were many times I found myself thinking of the what ifs. What if you can change something that affects the outcome? I thought it was interesting how detailed and thought out the potential of what could be and the way she presented it in the book really made the experience believable and engaging. Overall, I thought this book was wonderful except for the feeling in the end of wondering what next? I felt left hanging but hoping this is just to keep us guessing for a follow up book. 

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Publication date: 4/8/2014
Pages: 256

Review: Fine-Tuning Hanna by Tiina Walsh

Summary
Finnish piano-tuner Hanna Suvanto loves her new life and friends in Dublin. And the icing on the cake is meeting Ireland’s premium bachelor Sebastian O’Reilly. But their whirlwind romance hits a serious obstacle when Hanna’s stay is unexpectedly cut short. Sebastian seems strangely unconcerned about her departure – and then Hanna makes a shocking discovery about the man she thought she knew.

Review 
A truly thought-provoking, culturally educating and linguistic novel; Fine-Tuning Hanna makes you think about re-evaluating your life by re-evaluating yourself and your beliefs. I have to say I was seriously rethinking my future and where I wanted to end up and who I wanted to be just from reading this novel. So if you learn nothing else about relationship, maybe you can learn about how to change your outlook as well as direction of life. 

Fine-Tuning Hanna was also interesting in that you learned about the differences in Finnish and Irish cultures and how different nationalities function together. Finnish people tended to be cold and stand offish, whereas Irish people tended to be very friendly towards everyone. Yet this novel also taught you that love can bridge any two cultures and make everything work out. So if international knowledge is your game, this book has something for you too. 

Although, I would say all the language is just as interesting. I just assumed (and forgive me if you’re Irish or Finnish out there) that people from Ireland and Finland spoke English but just with accents. I know, silly Americans but there is a whole world I don’t know anything about, so this book is the perfect way to get a jump start on a new language or at least take an interest in one. 

I know most of what I said above is not about what happens in the book. We’ll get to that. I just wanted the reader to know all the different and exciting things in the book. So if maybe you don’t like the story, you will still appreciate the positive thinking ideologies, cultural descriptions and other worldly language. Now on to the story.

Hanna is lives in Finland and works as a piano tuner but is currently in Ireland in a sort of exchange program to get a taste of another culture. The book begins with her waking up with a hangover from her 30th birthday party. Suddenly Hanna is feeling the effects of aging, thinking that she’ll never do anything interesting with her life and all the fun is gone. That is until Micheal, her gay best friend, takes her to see Sebastian O’Reilly, the personal development guru. 

At first Hanna is skeptical, believing all this “personal development” talk to be malarkey (A word to mean nonsense that originated in the United Kingdom. I thought it was Irish. Just so you know). However when she finally sees Sebastian, she is memorized not only by his good looks but by the words he says and how he says them. Sebastian oozes energy and enthusiasm and he believes that anyone can achieve happiness by getting rid of negative beliefs. To say the least, Hanna is hooked. 

Soon after, she meets Sebastian and the two hit it off swimmingly. Hanna is head over heels and she thinks Sebastian feels the same way. Only she will be moving back to Finland in six months and doesn’t want to get into the heavy conversations so early in the relationship. Yet she knows this is love she feels, but does Sebastian feel the same way? Will he be willing to move to Finland with her? Or is this just some fling?

Well the time to answer those hard questions has come sooner than expected. David, the Irish piano tuner who has taken her place in Finland, has just found out his mother has developed terminal cancer and he must return to Ireland immediately, to be with his mother in her dying days. Of course this means Hanna will have to return to Finland at least three months ahead of schedule and she must break the news to Sebastian. 

However, when she breaks the news to Sebastian, he doesn’t give Hanna the reaction she is looking for and she storms out his office. Now to make matters worse, Cathy, his PA, has told Hanna some disturbing news about her and Sebastian together. Heart-broken all over again, Hanna doesn’t wait and hightails it out of Ireland. Yet Finland isn’t the home she once knew. Her cold and distant nature aren’t warm and inviting like Ireland, which she needs to forget about Sebastian but they don’t help her move on from the pain of his betrayal as well as the pain of losing him. Can she go back to who she was before Sebastian, before Ireland or will she forever be stuck in heart-broken hell?

Fine-Tuning Hanna is about taking chances and dispelling the negative thought and truly finding happiness in one’s life. However, Fine-Tuning Hanna is also about learning a different culture from your own as well as learning a new language. Yet most importantly, Fine-Tuning Hanna is about love and overcoming the obstacles thrown our way and the ones we allow to stop us to be with the one we are truly meant to be with forever. 

Reviewed by Camia Rhodes

Book Information
Self Published
Publication date: 8/17/2013
Pages: 284

Review: Bound by Memphis by Jennifer Hayes

Book Summary
Loosely inspired by true events, Bound by Memphis, by Jennifer J. Hayes, is the steamy, sultry romantic story of Jasmine Henderson, a successful public relations consultant who has everything she's wanted in life... Well, just about everything. Fourteen years ago, while planning her wedding to Melvin Brown, better known as MB, she was left at the altar with no explanations. Although she assumed she'd never move on, she ended up meeting and marrying the love of her life, Chauncey M. Henderson, and having a child, years later. 

It's when Jasmine's latest work venture places her in the city that holds memories to her past, Memphis, MB resurfaces when he learns she's back in town. Although Jasmine loves her husband, her son, and her life, she can't deny the passion and chemistry that she once shared with MB. 

Briefly away from her family and home in Dallas, Jasmine is left alone to deal with these emotions and unresolved questions of MB. She goes looking for answers to why he walked away. When forced to confront painful memories she awakens something she thought died long ago. In this novel, Jasmine discovers herself as she explores the depths of her former love versus her current life, and learns "Love doesn't change, people change." Bound by Memphis takes you on an insightful journey of love, joy, and pain, and gives a deeper meaning to why sometimes "you have to lose happiness to find it again."

Review
Bound by Memphis, is one of those books that I am shouting from the rooftop telling you to read. I'm not alone, when I say this book is one of the best books that I've read this year. Loosely based on events inspired from people in her own life, she gives the readers a story that will have you emotionally invested in the characters and their journey making you unable to stop reading. It is such a testament to her ability as a storyteller because you feel with her characters and for them. Their lives, whether you have been there or not, grabs a part of you from within and speaks to the part of you that draws from your own experience.

Have you ever loved someone who left you broken, and in the mending process, your heart battles your mind with that one what if. What if I saw that person again, would anything change? Could I get the answers and the closure that I never got? Even though time will bury the pain, eventually moving on and hoping to find happiness, there is always a place where that experience is bottled with every emotion that is attached with that person. So, what if love finds you and you meet the person of your dreams and then one day, you see that person? Do you open the door, or leave it shut?

Let me introduce Jasmine...

Jasmine, is the type of woman that many would envy. After moving on from being dumped by her then fiancé, the one man she truly fell in love with, she was able to build her life again getting the man of her dreams, a family and the perfect career. As much as she loved her husband and her life, there was something that began to stir within her reminding her of the man who broke her heart. This unexplainable desire led to initiating correspondence through Facebook which should've told her that would be a bad idea. First of all, let's put things in perpective. He was the man who she was "he's the one" type of love with. He dumped her with no closure, answers but a year to the date ended up marrying someone else and having a baby. That is the type of dude she was dealing with. Just so you get a good picture that he isn't anyone's dream guy. With that said, knowing that her office would be opening a place in his town, somehow their paths cross and once those doors go open, there is no turning back...

Without giving away too much of the book, this is one that will definitely be on your mind but have to experience the story come full circle for yourself. For many who have faced similiar, whose experience may resurface along with Jasmine, it might help you come to terms with "you have to lose happiness to find happiness" and show you what you have now is where you are supposed to be.  You will find moments that make you laugh, happy, cry or may find yourself yelling at the book but it is all worth the read. I highly recommend adding this to your reading list.

Reviewed by Michelle Bowles

Book Information
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Publication date: 8/14/2013
Pages: 154

The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

Synopsis
Enter a tale shrouded in Hoffman’s signature magic: The Museum of Extraordinary Thingsis part love story, part historical fiction, and part fantasy. Coralie is the daughter of Professor Sardie, the owner of the museum. At a young age, her father forces her to eat a meal of fish daily, take ice cold baths, and wear gloves (despite the season) to cover her one deformity: webbed fingers. Eventually, she is included in his museum of oddities; she takes the role of mermaid, swimming in a tank for hours, performing for the customers. Later, she is used as the decoy for the “monster’ in the Hudson river—due to her life spent in water, she becomes a talented swimmer, and takes to the river at night, swimming, at home, amongst its watery creatures. 

We are also introduced to Eddie, an ex-Orthodox Jewish immigrant who took to the New York streets at a young age. Eventually, he becomes the assistant of the famous photographer, Moses Levy, and takes on the practice once Levy dies. After taking photos of the infamous Triangle shirtwaist factory fire, he finds himself stumbling onto the mystery of a missing girl whose body wasn’t found in the fire, but who failed to come home with her sister, afterewards. This leads, ultimately, to him meeting Coralie, their instantaneous, magical love, and whole host of problems. 

Review
Alice Hoffman knows her way around magic. Her story is rife with a kind of fairy tale splendor that demands for the reader to hang their notions of reality at the door. Coralie’s tale is a sad one; her abusive father subjects her to a whole host of inappropriate experiences as such a tender age. I found myself respecting her more and more throughout the novel—she’s far more normal than most young women would be after such a life. The novel’s language is in sync with its dreamlike plot, but Eddie’s own narration helps to anchor it. He is embittered and cynical, and their “love at first sight” relationship is, while not refreshing, nicely written and well suited to the story. 

Hoffman tries to marry history and imagination in this novel, and for the most part, she succeeds. However, at times, it felt forced—she makes herself known, through narrative, as an advocate for women, children, and worker’s rights—and while that is admirable, it didn’t exactly fit with the fairy tale that is center to the plot. I think she would have done better to stick with fabricating history, instead of tackling both genres simultaneously. 

I’d give fair warning: this is an adult fairy tale. There are some disturbing scenes where the professor forces Coralie to exploit her sexuality in various ways. Although this is in keeping with the gothic tones of the novel, it is nevertheless upsetting to imagine. However, it succeeds in making Coralie a completely sympathetic character that is both admired and pitied. 

Hoffman, once again, blends mild horror, a satisfying gothic tone, and lovely, dreamlike scenarios into a novel that’s bursting at its seams with imagination. If you’re a fan of dark-toned, fantastic literature, this read is for you.

Reviewed by M.B. Sellers

Book Information
Publisher: Scribner
Publication date: 2/18/2014
Pages: 384