The Chirimoya Book Thread

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dv8

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i felt sufficiently inspired to read again three men in a boat i last had in my hand 20 years ago. not so funny now :(
but i also read a short anthology of kir bulyczev stories about великий гусляр (veliky gusliar), and that was great.
now i am going through merritt's the moon pool.

my life is much better again! thanks!
 
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Criss Colon

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"The Old Man & The Sea".
Quite possibly my all time favorite!
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I should down load that to my,"Kindle".
 
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Chirimoya

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Julia Alvarez, Wedding in Haiti - I've enjoyed most of her books but this was disappointing. She comes across as a naive gringa who has never experienced poverty or campo life. As this is not really the case, I couldn't help thinking it was a bit contrived.
 
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david_

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Great reads for Dominican History and Culture
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao ? Junot Diaz
The Farming of Bones ? Edwidge Danticat
The Feast of the Goat ? Mario Vargas Llosa

Blood Meridian ? Cormac McCarthy, Great read for Texas / Mexico Border History, not an easy read but so good. Actually anything by Cormac McCarthy is good including the Border Trilogy, Sutree, No Country for Old Men, and if can stomach it you might try the very sick, Child of God. Warning it's bad.

Over the Edge of the World ? Laurence Bergreen. Great book about Maggelan?s circumnavigation around the world.

Skeletons on the Zahara ? Dean King. Great true story about shipwrecked American sailors off the coast of Africa in the 1800?s who were captured and sold into slavery.

In the Heart of the Sea ? Nathaniel Philbrick. Another great true shipwreck story. I?ve read several other similar books but can?t remember the names right now. Not sure why I love reading these so much, I can?t even go deep sea fishing without puking my guts up the whole trip.

I got some good ideas from the other posters, I think I?ll try Don?t Stop the Carnival. Hope some of these help others find a good book. I also like the idea of a book club, I read constantly and it?s sometimes hard to find good books.
 
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frank12

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Ok, if were getting into Historical books here, i would like to recommend "Caribbean' by James A. Michener. the first 100 pages focuses on this island of Hispaniola. yes, it's fictional history, but with a lot of accuracy and interesting historical facts...like all of Michener's books.

PS. I have the book here in Cabarate if anyone wants it...but its a little torn up after reading it twice.

A grand epic."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
Master storyteller James A. Michener sweeps us off to the Caribbean,with a magnificent novel that captures the eternal allure of that glittering string of islands and their tumultuous history. Beginning in 1310 and continuing through Columbus's arrival and the bloody slave revolt of Haiti to the rise of Castro, CARIBBEAN carries us through 700 dramatic years in a tale teeming with revolution and romance, slavery and superstition, heartfelt characters and thunderous destinies."

Frank
 
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david_

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frank12 said:
Ok, if were getting into Historical books here, i would like to recommend "Caribbean' by James A. Michener. the first 100 pages focuses on this island of Hispaniola. yes, it's fictional history, but with a lot of accuracy and interesting historical facts...like all of Michener's books.

PS. I have the book here in Cabarate if anyone wants it...but its a little torn up after reading it twice.

A grand epic."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
Master storyteller James A. Michener sweeps us off to the Caribbean,with a magnificent novel that captures the eternal allure of that glittering string of islands and their tumultuous history. Beginning in 1310 and continuing through Columbus's arrival and the bloody slave revolt of Haiti to the rise of Castro, CARIBBEAN carries us through 700 dramatic years in a tale teeming with revolution and romance, slavery and superstition, heartfelt characters and thunderous destinies."

Frank
Click to expand...

Frank,

If you're a Michener fan, check out Rascals in Paradise, a compilation of stories he wrote about "expats" from long ago. I read it a couple years ago and really enjoyed it.
 
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frank12

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david_ said:
Frank,

If you're a Michener fan, check out Rascals in Paradise, a compilation of stories he wrote about "expats" from long ago. I read it a couple years ago and really enjoyed it.
Click to expand...

Thank you, i will do that!
 
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mountainannie

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Chirimoya said:
Julia Alvarez, Wedding in Haiti - I've enjoyed most of her books but this was disappointing. She comes across as a naive gringa who has never experienced poverty or campo life. As this is not really the case, I couldn't help thinking it was a bit contrived.
Click to expand...


well she is married to a doctor and on the faculty at Middlebury College in Vermont so even if she had campesino days ,, they were a very long time ago

sorry to hear it was a disappointment...i generally really admire her work
 
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Chirimoya

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mountainannie said:
well she is married to a doctor and on the faculty at Middlebury College in Vermont so even if she had campesino days ,, they were a very long time ago

sorry to hear it was a disappointment...i generally really admire her work
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I don't mean she had campesino days - she is from an upper class DR family but even so she would have had some experience of visiting poor campos and campesinos.

In fact she has written about similar experiences in the past - that great episode in Yo where the narrator stays at her cousin's holiday villa in the mountains and makes friends with the campesinos: in that story she also casts herself as the naive gringa but as a writer she displays vast insight into their way of life and mindset.

She also has her coffee finca so she should be used to going off the beaten track. Her persona in A Wedding in Haiti is more like someone from NA or Europe who has never ever visited a poor country. Maybe she did it to generate reader empathy, or perhaps to highlight that even for Dominicans/people familiar with the DR, Haiti is a step beyond the comfort zone - it's that much poorer and not being able to communicate - even with some knowledge of French - is frustrating.
 
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Chirimoya

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mountainannie said:
http://www.studyplace.org/w/images/3/38/Orwell-1938-homage-to-catalonia.pdf

just started this.. WHAT a pleasure to read such wonderful writing
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Among my all time favourite mid-20th century writers along with Graham Greene, Dorothy Parker and Martha Gellhorn. I try and re-read them every few years - their collections have moved with me everywhere I've lived since my student days. Orwell's lesser-known novels are also worth reading - Keep the Aspidistra Flying, A Clergyman's Daughter and Coming Up for Air. His reportage - Down and Out in Paris and London, the Road to Wigan Pier and his essays are almost timeless.

In the news this week - some of the classics have just been re-issued with new cover designs:
Penguin's New Editions Of Orwell Are Graphic Design In Jokes
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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frank12 said:
Ok, if were getting into Historical books here, i would like to recommend "Caribbean' by James A. Michener. the first 100 pages focuses on this island of Hispaniola. yes, it's fictional history, but with a lot of accuracy and interesting historical facts...like all of Michener's books.

PS. I have the book here in Cabarate if anyone wants it...but its a little torn up after reading it twice.

A grand epic."
THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER
Master storyteller James A. Michener sweeps us off to the Caribbean,with a magnificent novel that captures the eternal allure of that glittering string of islands and their tumultuous history. Beginning in 1310 and continuing through Columbus's arrival and the bloody slave revolt of Haiti to the rise of Castro, CARIBBEAN carries us through 700 dramatic years in a tale teeming with revolution and romance, slavery and superstition, heartfelt characters and thunderous destinies."

Frank
Click to expand...

I love, love, love Michener. Most of my all time favorite books are historical novels sweeping centuries, I think that's what appealed to me about 100 Years of Solitude. Probably why I also love genealogy - backwards history.
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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you know what? i just realized that i have never, never valued female writers. with few exception in one field - crime writing. agatha christie, janet evanovich, patricia cornwell and p.d. james are my all time favourites. makes you wonder, how household chores directs female mind to murder and such...

in any case, female writers in classic fiction? no, thank you. in poetry? even less so.
 
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LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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Grisham, The Partner
Ken Follet, Jack Daws
Daniel Silva, The Secret Servant
James Mitchner, The Caribbean
Christobal Colon, The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Columbus' Ships logs)
Jose Barreiero, Taino (Translations of recollections by a Taino Native who was at the beach when Columbus made land fall) The prospective of the indigenous people on the effect of the Spanish Colonization.

LTSteve
 
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GinzaGringo

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Sep 29, 2010
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Steve,

I just finished 'Winter of the World' Follet's second book in his trilogy about the 20th century. It was great and so was the first in the trilogy. I also read his book 'Pillars of the Earth' which was also quite good.

Thinking all of Follet's books were as good as the three I just mentioned, I picked up 'Jack Daws' but it just did not stick for me. It did not grab me like the other books of his that I have read. What do you think about that?

LTSteve said:
Grisham, The Partner
Ken Follet, Jack Daws
Daniel Silva, The Secret Servant
James Mitchner, The Caribbean
Christobal Colon, The Four Voyages of Christopher Columbus (Columbus' Ships logs)
Jose Barreiero, Taino (Translations of recollections by a Taino Native who was at the beach when Columbus made land fall) The prospective of the indigenous people on the effect of the Spanish Colonization.

LTSteve
Click to expand...
 
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