Review of Everything Asian by Sung J. Woo

Sung J. Woo's book Everything Asian tells the story of a Korean boy who immigrates to New Jersey with his family in the 1980's. His father had arrived in the U.S. years before, leaving Dae Joon, his sister and mother behind in Korea while he established himself. Dae Joon-- soon to be David-- is not only grappling with a foreign culture, but also with a father he barely remembers.

David does his best to navigate the strange surroundings of New Jersey. His parents run East Meets West, a store that sells "everything Asian" and David spends a lot of time there and in Peddlers Town, the strip mall that houses the store. There are a lot of other characters who add flavor to the novel, including the only other Korean shopkeepers at Peddlers Town, the Hongs; the fiery Russian owner of a stereo store; and a detective who sets up a storefront agency.

As if adjusting to life in the U.S. weren't enough, David is also contending with parents who aren't so happy in general or with each other in particular, and a moody older sister.

Everything Asian is a coming of age novel and an immigrant novel.

Here is an excerpt: My sister had chosen this day, my twelfth birthday, to try to kill herself. Looking back on that day now, I can see it was merely a stunt to gain attention, and even then I think I knew she was bluffing, but still, I couldn't ignore the blue dish and the paring knife sitting on top of the toilet seat, its tip pointing toward the bathtub like a compass needle. On the dish, a pile of white pills sat like an offering. I put the dish and the knife on the floor and flipped the seat up. As I peed into the bowl, I stared down at the silver edge of the blade, wondering how close it had come to my sister's wrists.

Just One Pink gives Everything Asian an 8.

Review of Amsterdam by Ian McEwan

Amsterdam is a disturbing and well-written book. Ostensibly about the death of Molly Lane, a woman in her 40s who dies of a degenerative disease, Amsterdam revolves around the lives of several of her former lovers: Vernon, a newspaper editor; Clive, a composer; and Julian, a politician. Also in the mix is George, Molly's much older husband, who is also connected in some way to these men.

The book opens with Vernon and Clive meeting outside Molly's funeral on a dreary February day in London. Vernon and Clive are good friends, and much of the book focuses on their friendship, which one day can be combative and the next heartfelt. These two men also have connections to George and Julian.

How all of these characters' lives and decisions-- both personal and professional-- intertwine is the thrust of this book. Major moral issues come in to play and Ian McEwan weaves them all together in a tightly-knit way.

I wouldn't say Amsterdam is my favorite of the books I have read by McEwan, but I will say that it is one of the most intricately plotted.

Just One Pink gives Amsterdam a 7.5.

Review of Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love. Don't. Read. It.

Elizabeth Gilbert's book was one of the most self-indulgent memoirs I have ever read. We learn that she has gone through a divorce, but don't get much back story on what happened. And because we don't get this information, I had a hard time mustering up any empathy for her. She came across as whiny, entitled, and annoying-- not the makings of a narrator I can get on board with. I was more curious to hear her husband's side of the story about their failed marriage than I was to hear about Gilbert traipsing all over the world to re-discover herself. (Note: Her ex apparently has his own memoir coming out one of these days).

In theory, this was a great idea for a book-- a newly divorced woman takes off on her own to experience life in its grandest forms. If this woman had been likeable, fun, and not so completely self-centered, I probably would have enjoyed her book.

Yes, some of the writing about her travels in Italy, India, and Indonesia was interesting. But I could not get past the whininess that seemed to permeate the book.

Rarely do I keep reading a book that I so dislike. I guess I kept hoping that Gilbert would somehow redeem herself at the end. She didn't.

Memoirs by nature can be self-indulgent, and it can be hard to stike a balance in them. We want to understand the narrator, get to know her and her life. We need to feel like we are on their side.

For a well-crafted memoir, where we actually get to know the narrator, like her, and root for her, pick up The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells or Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres.

Just One Pink gives Eat, Pray, Love a 4.

Review of American Pastoral by Philip Roth

Who am I to review Philip Roth, one of the greatest writers in the world? I had never read Roth before, and American Pastoral had been recommended to me by several people. So I took the plunge, bought the book, and started reading.

After reading the first 50 or so pages, I kept wondering what the big deal was. The beginning of American Pastoral was tedious-- it seemed to be a long-winded account of some old Jewish guy named Zuckerman who was recounting his childhood days in Newark, New Jersey. I almost stopped reading, unsure of what was so great about this book. But I was told to hang in there, that the book picks up.

So I hung in there, and the book did indeed pick up. And it turned out to be one of the best books I have read in a long, long time.

American Pastoral tells the story of Seymour "Swede" Levov, a man who seems to be blessed in every way-- with looks, money, athleticism, a beautiful wife, a lovely daughter, a booming business. It's the 1960s in New Jersey, and the Swede lives with his wife, a former Miss New Jersey, and their daughter in a bucolic town in New Jersey. He runs a successful glove business started by his father. But his charmed existence comes crashing down when his teenage daughter, Merry, begins to protest the Vietnam War, commits a heinous crime and goes into hiding. And this changes the life of the Swede forever.

The characterizations in this book were among the best I have ever read. Roth described each of the characters so well and with such precision that I could almost see them. I could picture so many of the scenes. And I could sympathize with most of the characters. I finished the book and was in awe at the picture Roth had drawn. I get what the big deal is.

Just One Pink gives American Pastoral a 9.5-- I could have done without the very beginning of the book.

Review of The Suicide Index by Joan Wickersham

The Suicide Index is Joan Wickersham's memoir about the aftermath of her father's suicide. Instead of "regular" chapters, there are categories, like "Suicide: act of, bare bones account" and "Suicide: items found in my husband's closet and." The book is a pretty linear account of what happened, but Wickersham used an index in which to frame the book. This, we can guess, is to try to make logical a horrible act that is completely illogical to those who survive.

Wickersham's book, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2008, can be very difficult to read at certain points. There were definitely moments when I felt like a voyeur and didn't want to know certain details of her family history. But there were more moments when I could see the love Wickersham had for her father and how his suicide upended her life, not just in the years after his death, but forever.

Wickersham traces her father's life from an abusive childhood in Europe and the U.S. to numerous business failures as an adult. She discusses her mother's reaction to finding him dead in the study of their house. She talks about how the death of her father affected her own marriage.

This book is not only about suicide, but also about loss, love and the human condition. It's clear that Wickersham will never fully recover-- how could anyone?-- but we see that, with this book, she tries to understand.

Here's an excerpt:
This is what my father did. He got up, showered, shaved, and dressed for work. He went downstairs and made a pot of coffee, and while it was brewing he went outside and walked the long driveway to pick up the newspaper. He left the newspaper folded on the kitchen table, poured a cup of coffee, carried it upstairs, and put it on my mother's bedside table. She was still in bed, sleeping. Then he went into his study, closed the door, and shot himself.

Just One Pink gives The Suicide Index an 8.

Review of Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock

Donald Ray Pollock's book of short stories takes place in Knockemstiff, Ohio, in the southern part of the state. It's not too far distance-wise from where I grew up, but is worlds away from that leafy suburban city. There really is a Knockemstiff. Pollock grew up there and still lives in Ohio.

This book is about the people who live in Knockemstiff, an assortment of oddballs who exhibit the full range of human emotions. Some love living in "the holler" as Pollock calls it, while others can't think of anything else other than escaping from it. Knockemstiff itself seemed like a recurrent character. The city, if it can even be called that, has its own quirks and issues. The language is anything but delicate, but that's what makes the stories ring true and what makes them utterly readable.

One of my favorite stories in the collection, "Real Life," is about a young boy and the not-so-great lessons his somewhat violent father teaches him. Another of my favorites is "Discipline," about a road trip to West Virginia to get steroids.

Here's an excerpt from "I Start Over:"
Take me, for example, Big Bernie Givens. I'm fifty-six years old and sloppy fat and stuck in southern Ohio like the smile on a dead clown's ass. My wife shudders every time I mention the sex act. My grown son eats the dead stuff that collects on windowsills. I must watch that damn commercial twenty times a day. I dream about it at night, about starting over. I wake up with that background music knocking holes in my heart. Like I said, it's bullshit.

Just One Pink gives Knockemstiff a 9.

Review of The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry

The Secret Scripture was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and I can see why. Sebastian Barry's novel takes place in Ireland and weaves the stories of patient and doctor. The patient, Roseanne McNulty, is around 100 years old and has been at the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital for longer than anyone can remember. One of her doctors is Dr. William Grene. His job is to assess whether Roseanne-- and a number of other patients-- can live in normal society once the hospital closes its doors.

The novel alternates between Roseanne's story and Dr. Grene's. We learn about the history of Ireland and the history of Roseanne through the information she tells us. Dr. Grene tries to unravel what exactly happened in Roseanne's life that has landed her in the institution. At the same time, he is struggling with his role as a doctor and personal failings in his own life.

The writing is poetic and lyrical, and the descriptions of Ireland are amazing.

Here is an excerpt:
It is always worth itemising happiness, there is so much of the other thing in a life, you had better put down the markers for happiness while you can. When I was in that state, everything looked beautiful to me, the rain slicing down looked like silver to me, everything was of interest to me, everyone seemed at ease with me, even those slit-eyed boys of Sligo, with the yellow fingers from the coffin nails they smoked, the yellow stain above their lips where the fag was stuck in permanent. Accents like bottles being smashed in a back lane.

Just One Pink gives The Secret Scripture a 9.