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February 20, 2006
"The Elements of Murder" by John Emsley
I am a big fan of murder mysteries and CSI (Las Vegas only, not Miami or New York). Poison plays a role in both. The alchemists of old (including Roger Bacon and Thomas Acquinas!) were looking for the Philosopher's Stone to turn base metal into gold, the Elixer of Life for longevity, and the Alkahest to dissolve anything. Their experiments with toxic elements lead to some accidental self-poisoning, the science of chemistry and some dandy ways for Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and P. D. James to poison people. Forensic science has made poison a less useful murder weapon, but toxic elements are still all around around us. This is non-technical science accompanied by fascinating histories of people who have been murdered with thallium, lead, antimony. mercury and arsenic.
ISBN 0192805991
Barb K, reference
Posted by jnardine at 11:38 AM | Comments (1)
"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the son of a wealthy Afghani businessman and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant from the 1970s to the present time and from Afghanistan to the US and back again. The story moves from the rich and powerful setting in Kabul to that of an immigrant family struggling to adjust in the US. Beautifully written, I felt like I was reading both a novel and getting a history lesson at the same time.
ISBN 1594480001
Pam M., reserves
Posted by jnardine at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2006
"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides
The book Middlesex begins, "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." This story follows several generations of a Greek family, from Greece to the Detroit area and covers incest, war, life working at Ford in the early part of the last century, the 60s race riots in Detroit and growing up in the 60s and 70s. As a relatively recent transplant to Michigan, I found the local history fascinating.
ISBN: 0374199698
Pam M, Reserves
Posted by jnardine at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2006
"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger
"The Time Traveler's Wife" is the story of a man who suffers from chrono displacement disorder and is moved through time, without any control over the process. The story deals with the pain, confusion and embarrassment of this process (he always arrives naked) both for him and those people around him. The narration moves between the voice of Henry (the time traveler) and his wife, Clare, and hops around in time, just as Henry does. Their love story is unusual in that it develops in different times for the two players. Henry meets Clare when he is 28 and she is 20, but Clare first met Henry when she was 6 years old and he is over 40. I really enjoyed this book, though found it at times very sad. I did find I had to loosen up my hold on reality a bit to read the book, since when I started thinking too hard about the issues of time travel I got so wrapped up in what would be problematic about that, that I stopped enjoying the book. When I was able to just let go of those issues, I got engrossed in the story and found it a wonderful read.
Pam M., Reserves
Posted by jnardine at 01:17 PM | Comments (2)
February 02, 2006
"The Lighthouse" by P. D. James
I'd like to say that this is a compelling page turner, but P.D. James' novels are never such things. James' protagonist is a perfect description of her books: elegant, understated, insightful, poetic, disturbing. Adam Dalgleish is still surprised by mankind's ability to do evil, but he is tempered now with the wisdom of middle age and the intricacies of love. "The Lighthouse" is a quiet journey with an old friend who spins a tale of corruption and diplomacy tempered with ambition and honesty. It is a novel that I read slowly at the end of the day -- savouring each chapter's illustrations of life.
Nadia L., Reference
Posted by jnardine at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)