Let me just start by saying that I truly enjoyed Little Children. I have not seen the movie and cannot make any comparisons with the movie. This review is simply about the book. What Mr. Perrotta has created is a sharp, well-crafted, intelligent, and through look at suburbia and the lives of a group of bored parents that could be found anywhere.
First, we meet Sarah, a college feminist who looks back wistfully at that time when she uninhibited and involved in a bisexual relationship. She's in a bored and loveless marriage with man who'd rather look at internet porn than his own wife. Her life as a stay at home mother who's adult contact is limited to the other mothers at the playground is unsatisfying. She feels that her daughter, Lucy, is something of an annoyance and that she's out of place in her life. The other mothers at the playground include Mary Ann, a shrew of a woman who has her four year old prepping for Harvard and weekly sex scheduled with her husband on Thursdays at 9pm.
One day at the playground, Sarah sees the "Prom King". The Prom King is actually Todd, an attractive, muscular father of a precocious three year old son, Aaron. Todd is a stay at home father while his wife, Kathy, works on a documentary film about WWII. Todd is studying to pass the bar exam after having failed it two times prior. One of the other mothers bet Sarah $5 to get the "Prom King's" phone number. Sarah and Todd instead exchange a kiss that turns into far more than what it was intended, charging headlong into an affair.
After the arrival of convicted pedophile, Ronald, into the idyllic town to return to the home of his mother, the novel takes on a decidedly darker view. Ronald was suspected in the disappearance of another young girl, along with the conviction for exposing himself to a young girl. Ronald's arrival sends shock waves through the concerned parents and results in a community effort to remove Ronald from the town. This effort is spearheaded by Larry, a retired police office who left the force after a tragic work incident. Larry has his own marriage troubles and is unable to hold a job. Larry decides to make Ronald's past and subsequent removal from town his new job. Todd becomes an unwitting accomplice in Larry's efforts after joining a midnight, no rules, football league.
From here, the book chronicles Sarah and Todd's affair, along with each's own rocky marriages. We also follow Larry's efforts to remove Ronald from the town in an attempt to protect the children. The characters are incredibly well-written to the point that many may be able to pick out their own neighbors or friends. This book is deserving of the mountains of praise it has received. It is a hard book to review as a result. In short, read it now if you haven't.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
5. I Heard That Song Before - Mary Higgins Clark
I have reviewed Mary Higgins Clark before, so I will leave out some basics about her work. It's consistently well-paced and plotted. The book reviewed here, I Heard That Song Before, wasn't as enjoyable as the book I reviewed previously. It was still a good, fast read, but there were some elements of the plot that I did not enjoy.
Kay Lansing, at the age of 6, overheard a heated conversation between two people when she snuck into the chapel of her father's employer, the Carrington's. Her father was the groundskeeper who was helping to prepare for a party that evening at the Carrington family estate. Kay overheard a woman angrily state "I heard that song before". That evening at the dinner party, the Carrington heir, Peter, gave a young woman, Susan Althorp, a ride home. Susan was not seen again.
Flash forward 22 years, Kay is a librarian who is working on charity event and asks to use the Carrington home to host. This business meeting leads to expedient courtship and marriage between Peter and Kay. Shortly after this, Peter is arrested for disappearance of Susan. Peter has long been a suspect in the disappearance of Susan, along with the mysterious death of his first wife, Grace. Kay remains convinced that her new spouse is innocent. That is, until she discovers his odd habit of sleepwalking near the site of Grace's death. Could it be that Peter was quilty and killed while sleepwalking? Is Peter the unwitting victim of an elaborate setup? Kay sets out to discover the truth and proclaim her husband's innocence at the cost of her own safety.
This was not a personal favorite of Ms. Clark's books. The other I reviewed was far better. I did not like the usage of sleepwalking as plot device. I also found Kay to be slightly annoying. It was still a decent book and a fast, efficient read.
Kay Lansing, at the age of 6, overheard a heated conversation between two people when she snuck into the chapel of her father's employer, the Carrington's. Her father was the groundskeeper who was helping to prepare for a party that evening at the Carrington family estate. Kay overheard a woman angrily state "I heard that song before". That evening at the dinner party, the Carrington heir, Peter, gave a young woman, Susan Althorp, a ride home. Susan was not seen again.
Flash forward 22 years, Kay is a librarian who is working on charity event and asks to use the Carrington home to host. This business meeting leads to expedient courtship and marriage between Peter and Kay. Shortly after this, Peter is arrested for disappearance of Susan. Peter has long been a suspect in the disappearance of Susan, along with the mysterious death of his first wife, Grace. Kay remains convinced that her new spouse is innocent. That is, until she discovers his odd habit of sleepwalking near the site of Grace's death. Could it be that Peter was quilty and killed while sleepwalking? Is Peter the unwitting victim of an elaborate setup? Kay sets out to discover the truth and proclaim her husband's innocence at the cost of her own safety.
This was not a personal favorite of Ms. Clark's books. The other I reviewed was far better. I did not like the usage of sleepwalking as plot device. I also found Kay to be slightly annoying. It was still a decent book and a fast, efficient read.
4. Stiff - Mary Roach
Stiff is arguably one of the weirdest books I've ever read. Ms. Roach makes it funny and interesting, by the subject matter still isn't one of light and sunshine. Stiff's subtitle is "The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers". Like I said, not exactly a book that you read for the uplifting qualities.
If you've ever considered donating your body to science, this is the book for you. Unlike my own preconceived notion that donating one's body to science simply meant you were destined for a gross anatomy lab at a medical school, there are tons of things that you can be used for. Ever wondered how auto makers determine the amount of damage to the human flesh after an auto accident? Cadavers! What about crime scene investigation? That's chapter 3. (As a side note about that chapter, it's easily the grossest chapter in the book.) There is the requisite chapter about gross anatomy labs, but that's only the starting point. Cadavers have also had staring roles in some of the weirdest experiments not to come straight out of a science fiction movie.
But the book doesn't just cover the dead donated to science. What about organ donation? That's covered. What about the ways to dispose of the dead? There is a particularly interesting chapter near the end about some truly odd ways to discard the flesh after a person has died. Instead of cremation, what about dissolving your body in acid? You can go down the drain! There is also a chapter involving a truly bizarre story from China.
The final chapter is the authors' own comments on her views towards her own death and subsequent usage of her body. Needless to say, the material that she researched and saw during the work on this book has appeared to influence her decisions.
I found this book, while interesting, somewhat dry and not an easy read. Some of the chapters were far more difficult to read than others. I read several other books while reading this one, simply because I could not sit and read it for extended periods of time in certain chapters. It is well written and interesting, but I think I would have enjoyed it a little more had some of the topics been covered in less detail than others. I did enjoy the historical anecdotes sprinkled throughout the text. Overall, not a favorite, but not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination.
If you've ever considered donating your body to science, this is the book for you. Unlike my own preconceived notion that donating one's body to science simply meant you were destined for a gross anatomy lab at a medical school, there are tons of things that you can be used for. Ever wondered how auto makers determine the amount of damage to the human flesh after an auto accident? Cadavers! What about crime scene investigation? That's chapter 3. (As a side note about that chapter, it's easily the grossest chapter in the book.) There is the requisite chapter about gross anatomy labs, but that's only the starting point. Cadavers have also had staring roles in some of the weirdest experiments not to come straight out of a science fiction movie.
But the book doesn't just cover the dead donated to science. What about organ donation? That's covered. What about the ways to dispose of the dead? There is a particularly interesting chapter near the end about some truly odd ways to discard the flesh after a person has died. Instead of cremation, what about dissolving your body in acid? You can go down the drain! There is also a chapter involving a truly bizarre story from China.
The final chapter is the authors' own comments on her views towards her own death and subsequent usage of her body. Needless to say, the material that she researched and saw during the work on this book has appeared to influence her decisions.
I found this book, while interesting, somewhat dry and not an easy read. Some of the chapters were far more difficult to read than others. I read several other books while reading this one, simply because I could not sit and read it for extended periods of time in certain chapters. It is well written and interesting, but I think I would have enjoyed it a little more had some of the topics been covered in less detail than others. I did enjoy the historical anecdotes sprinkled throughout the text. Overall, not a favorite, but not a bad book by any stretch of the imagination.
3: Where Are You Now? - Mary Higgins Clark
Mary Higgins Clark is one of the most popular writers in America. She writes about one new book a year, which always makes the bestseller list the moment it comes out. Out of most overly popular writers today, she's been a favorite of mine since I read Where Are The Children? over 15 years ago. Her books are very quick reads for me. They are well written, researched and always entertaining, even if they are slightly formulaic.
The formula is usually something like this:
There are many people with something to hide. Mac's college roomates; one a charming, sucessful club owner and the other a distant, yet wealthy real estate tycoon; both have plenty of secrets that they will protect. Neither of them are exactly helpful in the search for Mac. Could her brother be some sort of serial killer, as the police suspect when a young girl goes missing from a nightclub? The search for Mac leads Carloyn head long into a series of dangerous meeting and jeopardizes her own safety.
Like almost all of Ms. Clark's books, I enjoyed this one and found it to be a quick read. Her thillers are page-turning reads and probably some of the best popular fiction books to make the best seller list. The quality of her books has not faded over time and this one is just as enjoyable as some of her earlier works.
The formula is usually something like this:
- Woman with mystery or serious event involving death of someone that they loved that may or may not make them a suspect.
- Guy that usually has romantic interest in said woman tries to help.
- Auxiliary characters with something to hide, which usually leads to them being suspect to the reader.
- A series of twists near the end.
There are many people with something to hide. Mac's college roomates; one a charming, sucessful club owner and the other a distant, yet wealthy real estate tycoon; both have plenty of secrets that they will protect. Neither of them are exactly helpful in the search for Mac. Could her brother be some sort of serial killer, as the police suspect when a young girl goes missing from a nightclub? The search for Mac leads Carloyn head long into a series of dangerous meeting and jeopardizes her own safety.
Like almost all of Ms. Clark's books, I enjoyed this one and found it to be a quick read. Her thillers are page-turning reads and probably some of the best popular fiction books to make the best seller list. The quality of her books has not faded over time and this one is just as enjoyable as some of her earlier works.
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