Kylie's Book Log

The Abortionist's Daughter, Elisabeth Hyde

2007-07-30T20:59:54Z

Book: 38
Title: The Abortionist's Daughter
Author: Elisabeth Hyde
Genre: Fiction, women's fiction, mystery
One-sentence summary: When the outspoken doctor at an abortion clinic is murdered, the investigation into her death is complicated by the complex dynamics within her family and by her controversial position within the community.
Why did you get this book? The title grabbed my interest, and I picked it up and was utterly hooked by the first sentence: "The problem was, Megan had just taken the second half of the ecstasy when her father called with the news." First sentence: A+
Do you like the cover? It's fine - a sweater crumpled by the edge of a pool - but I'm irked because there was a lovely little bit of a description at the beginning of the book where they talked about the sweater crumpled by the pool and how the character's purple flipflops were lying near it, their heels darkened with sweat. I am very annoyed that they didn't put the flipflops on the cover.
Did you enjoy the book? I did. At first I was *really* enjoying it: her writing was fresh and sparkling and her characterization was great and her plot was gripping and I was thrilled because I thought I'd discovered another mystery novelist to love - I like really good mystery-genre fiction, but thus far Dennis Lehane is the only novelist who consistently grabs me, with Sarah Dunant coming in second and Ruth Rendell dragging behind in the rear. There's no one else I've read that I find to be worth bothering with at all, so I was excited about Elisabeth Hyde. But then the book kind of fell apart as it went on - her writing went from sparkling to flat, her characterization became inconsistent, and she threw in a truly heinous plot twist that ruined a lot of the last half of the book for me. I wound up enjoying it, but not loving it.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yeah, she was new to me. I may or may not read something else by her; I did like this, and yet it's hard to like a book so much at the beginning and find yourself so disappointed by the end.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Another library book. I might pick this up if I see it being sold used and for cheap somewhere.
Anything else? Not really.
Number of pages: 304
Total pages for the year: 11321
Scale of 1 to 10: 7/8

A Child's Book of True Crime, Chloe Hooper

2007-03-11T05:03:14Z

Book: 34
Title: A Child's Book of True Crime
Author: Chloe Hooper
Genre: General fiction, mystery
One-sentence summary: An elementary school teacher is having an affair with the father of one of her students, whose wife has just completed a true-crime novel about a young girl who was murdered after she had an affair with a married man. As the narrator begins to fancy more and more similarities between her life and that of the murdered girl, she becomes obsessed with the past murder, and writes her varying theories on the murder into a dark, fanciful children's book populated by talking animals.
Why did you get this book? I found it at a used book sale in New York. I'd heard good things about it, and it's cover-blurbed by Jennifer Egan, whom I like.
Do you like the cover? It's all right, but it kind of drives me crazy because near the bottom there's this tiny little square that I think is supposed to be the cover of the narrator's children's book, and then on the spine there's this random stripe that is patterned with the very edge of that picture. It's hard to explain, but it's really weird.
Did you enjoy the book? Meeeeeh. You know, I feel like I should have... and I sort of did... but I mostly didn't. It was well-written, and there are certain aspects that are great. The book is full of insightful/witty asides, and the chapters from the "child's book of true crime" are good, and there's a wonderful running theme where the narration is interspersed with bits of classroom dialogue. The voices of the elementary school children are very real, very well done. But the overall theme... you know... I don't know, the plot as a whole struck me as a low-rent version of Suzanne Moore's In the Cut, and I didn't like In the Cut. Blah blah blah, sexual obsession with danger, blah blah blah spiraling out of control, blah blah inevitable climax blah. Sorry. It just doesn't really do much for me.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? Yes, and I'm not really sure. I think the book was a bit disorganized for me, and I know that was the point, but meh.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping.
Anything else? There are wombats in this book.
Scale of 1 to 10: 7
Number of pages: 230
Total pages for the year: 9644

The Rottweiler, Ruth Rendell

2007-01-23T09:09:33Z

Book: 11
Title: The Rottweiler
Author: Ruth Rendell
Genre: Mystery
One-sentence summary: Someone is garroting young girls on the streets of London. Whodunit and why?
Why did you get this book? It was for sale on the bargain table at Brookline Booksmith, and I've read and liked Ruth Rendell before.
Do you like the cover? It's blue. Kinda snazzy.
Did you enjoy the book? I did, although it wasn't flawless* - there were a few false steps, like the murderer's whole "Oh, I do not know why I am compelled to commit such brutal murders. I wonder if there might be a repressed memory that is driving my actions? Oh! Look! I have discovered a repressed memory that is driving my actions!" thing. But I was interested in the characters, and that's a very big thing with me. It was definitely enjoyable.
Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No, I'd read Piranha to Scurfy, which was great, particularly the title story, and House of Stairs, which bored me even though it was a lesbian novel. I'll read her again - I have a copy of one of her other books lying around somewhere.
Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping. I rarely pass on books unless I *really* don't enjoy them or can't get into them.
Scale of 1 to 10: 8
Anything else? Don't think so. Good book, though.
Number of pages: 352
Total pages for the year: 3921

*I do think it is possible for a book to be flawless or near-flawless, though I do not think it is possible for a book to be perfect. That is to say, I think it's possible for a writer not to make any technical missteps in plotting, characterization, writing, etc. throughout a book, but it isn't possible to write a book that is so good that it couldn't possibly be better. A book can do everything it does perfectly, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be more than it is. If you see what I mean. Maybe I'm not making any sense. It's all academic anyway, and I am boring.