Carry Me Down - Ex Libris' Review

[Note: I read and reviewed this book when it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize]

The other outstanding book I read this week was Booker longlist title Carry Me Down by M. J. Hyland.

Carry Me Down is a dark, disturbing psychological portrait of a boy caught in transition between childhood and manhood, between interests and obsessions, and all the subsequent emotions.

John Eagan is almost 12 years old with the body and voice of a grown man. He is an only child who lives with his parents at his grandmother's. John's father does not work (he's studying for an exam he never takes) and his mother works part-time. His grandmother, who seems to have plenty of money, spends her days at the racetrack. His father and grandmother do not get along. John is unusually close to his mother, physically as well as emotionally. John would like to be close to his father, but his father repeatedly disappoints him. More than anything, John wants to be understood.

As the story begins, John realizes he can detect when his father lies to him. He soon expands this theory to include his mother and grandmother, as well as his best friend. He convinces himself that he is a human lie detector and that this will be his ticket to be in his favorite book, The Guinness Book of World Records. He begins to tell lies and to steal as experiments in order to fine tune his theory. He starts his own book, the Gol of Seil (Log of Lies), where he records all his speculations and results of his experiments. John's home life begins to unravel at the same time his interest in lie detection turns to obsession.

M. J. Hyland takes readers on a spellbinding rollercoaster ride in this tale of disintegration and obsession. Told in first person by John, readers are brought to the brink time and again, right along with him, only to be yanked back. Her prose is crisp and clear, and nothing (the characters nor the plot) is gratuitous.

Carry Me Down was an up-all-nighter for me. It was very difficult for me to put down. I finished it last night, and I haven't been able to pick up a book today because it is still running around in my head.

This is only the second title off the Booker longlist that I've read. If the others are like this in quality, then the Booker judges certainly have their work cut out for them.

Rating: 5/5

The Falls - Ex Libris' Review

I have finished The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates for my library's reading group that is meeting on Tuesday evening. This is the first full-length novel of Oates' I've read, and I was especially curious to see if I felt the same about her writing after reading this book as I did with the two shorter novels I read. All I can say is what a remarkably gifted storyteller she is.

The Falls, of course, is Niagra Falls - that beautiful, mystical natural wonder between Canada and upstate New York on the Niagra River. I remember visiting there as a child in 1965, recalling the sound, the mist, and the colored lights at night. What a beautiful sight it was. What I had forgotten about was that the city of Niagra Falls, NY was home to the infamous "Love Canal", now synonymous with cancer and all the evils of chemical waste dumps for radioactive materials.

In The Falls, Joyce Carol Oates has done a tremendous job intertwining the myths of Niagra Falls (suicides, daredevils, visions) and the historical facts surrounding Love Canal (people vs. chemical companies/government) with a cast of memorable characters. Oates digs deep within them to investigate and expose the danger of love that suffocates instead of nurtures, the fear of "going outside the family" and ultimately the fear of being left alone. Her story of overcoming these fears and surviving the love is riveting and well-worth the time spent reading.

Rating: 5/5

The Night Watch - Ex Libris' Review

Best known for her Victorian-era historical fiction, Sarah Waters has chosen the more recent past for her latest novel. The story takes place in London and is set during and just following World War II. It is a look at ordinary citizens trying to live their lives against a backdrop of violence not of their own making.

In The Night Watch, the reader meets an unlikely cast of characters who seem to be as shell-shocked as the city they live in. The book opens with this line, "So this, said Kay to herself, is the sort of person you've become: a person whose clocks and wrist-watches have stopped, and who tells the time, instead, by the particular kind of cripple arriving at her landlord's door." (pg. 3) Kay and Mickey, Helen and Julia, Vivian and Reggie, Duncan and Fraser, all are struggling with the resumption of lives that will never be the same.

Waters begins her story at the end, after the war, and works her way back in time to the beginning. Her depiction of the era and locations are so detailed, the reader gets the feeling of being in the same room with the characters, perhaps standing in a corner so as not to be noticed. As the story progresses (regresses?), the plot twists and turns with plenty of surprises and revelations to keep the reader thoroughly engrossed.

I feel the emphasis of this book is twofold: 1) the relationships the characters have with each other and 2) the ravaging effect of war on innocent civilians. Waters effectively depicts same-sex relationships with compassion and without a sense of sensationalism that one might anticipate. She also delivers a very strong and effective anti-war message. This book certainly resonates with the current state of military affairs.

Overall, an excellent read. Rating: 5/5

Ex Libris - Progress

I am so pleased that this particular prize list has become an ongoing reading project! I love to follow the Orange Prize and can now do so as much as I want without any guilt! Thanks, Wendy!!

I am planning to read three books from this list in 2008:

• Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (winner 2007)
• The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (shortlist 2007)
• Eveless Eden by Marianne Wiggins (shortlist 1996)

I will probably add to this list once the 2008 short list is announced. I may add others, too, if time permits me to read them.

Following are the Orange Prize list books I've already read:

• Digging to America by Anne Tyler (shortlist 2007)
• The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (shortlist 2006)
• Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel (shortlist 2006)
• The Accidental by Ali Smith (shortlist 2006)
• The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (shortlist 2006)
• A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka (shortlist 2005)
• The Great Fire by Shirley Hazzard (shortlist 2004)
• Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (shortlist 2004)
• Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (winner 2002)
• Hotel World by Ali Smith (shortlist 2001)
  

Sharon (Ex Libris)