Hi all,
Multiple links to full-length professional reviews of the following
books released in the US have been added to http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
in the last week:
"The Almost Moon" by Alice Sebold - "The Almost Moon" begins with a
woman admitting that she had just killed her elderly and ill mother.
Helen Knightly had spent most of life caring for her mother in one way
or another, suffering not only her mother's insults and malice as well
as her mental illness. It was a thankless job resulting for a
lifetime of rejection and pain. For the next 24 hours, Helen's life
unravels and she remembers her life with her parents, her ex-husband,
and her children. Now she's free of her mother's incessant demands,
but everything dear to her could be lost in the process. This second
novel from Alice Sebold (following her bestselling "The Lovely Bones")
has received mixed reviews with the Rocky Mountain News saying, "'The
Almost Moon' is a breathless read, a dark literary thriller that
delves into the psychology of mother-daughter relation****ps and the
fallout of mental illness. It is neither a sequel to "The Lovely
Bones" nor a replica; instead, it ventures into startling new
territory."
Excerpt and all reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/almost_moon
"The Elephanta Suite" by Paul Theroux - "The Elephanta Suite" is a
trio of novellas centered around the experience of Americans in
India. In the first story, "Monkey Hill," an American couple come to
an Ayurvedic spa and decides to extend their stay because of
attractions with massage therapists at the spa. It's a decision they
come to regret. The second story, "The Gateway of India," finds
businessman Dwight Huntsinger arriving in Mumbai to set up contracts
with Indian call centers. Initially, he's reluctant to venture out of
his hotel room, but after hiring a local prostitute, he finds himself
drawn into the city life. The final story, "The Elephant God," has
Alice Durand, fresh of out college, visiting an ashram near Bangalore
and working to train local call center personnel in American idioms.
She visits a chained elephant every day and resists the advances of a
local man about to be married to someone else. Paul Theroux's book
has received mostly positive reviews with the Seattle Times saying,
"Their reversals and transfigurations, along with the book's welter of
descriptive detail, make 'The Elephanta Suite' Theroux's most vital
piece of fiction since 'Hotel Honolulu.'
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/elephanta_suite
"I Am America (And So Can You!)" by Stephen Colbert - In "I Am
America," Stephen Colbert brings his Comedy Central "The Colbert
Re****t" to book form. This is not about Stephen Colbert the person,
but the conservative blowhard persona he plays on his show. "I Am
America" lets Colbert do his satire riffs on a variety of topics and
wherever his style of controlled manic thought process takes him. The
appendix to this book contains the text of his infamous speech at the
2006 White House Correspondents' Dinner. "I Am America" has received
mixed reviews with Entertainment Weekly saying, "But does it all work?
Mostly. 'Colbert' crams an awful lot into 'I Am America,' so much that
it sometimes feels forced. Do we need the glossary, quippy marginalia
('Girl babies, drop that teat'), common-man essays, and stickers (one
page of notes like 'It's Morning in Colbert-ica,' another of ****ny
silver medallions). Probably not, but we do like the stickers and
marginalia. The point is, you can carry a joke, an alter ego, or a
meta-book only so far. 'Stephen Colbert' couldn't possibly live up to
his hype for 230 pages. But we bet that if Stephen Colbert decided to
write a book, he could."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/i_am_america
"The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature" by
Steven Pinker - Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard,
has written several books about human nature or language. With "The
Stuff of Thought," he studies how language affects human nature. He
investigates how swearing and offensive language affects the way we
interpret a message, how we learn to parse innuendos and double
entendres into the intended meanings, how similar verbs actually
present a different meaning when they're used, and how language has
affected the evolutionary processes of the brain. "The Stuff of
Thought" has received positive reviews with the Guardian saying, "But
even if you don't think it has all the answers, 'The Stuff of Thought'
does have what are arguably the two most im****tant qualities of a good
popular science book: it makes its subject accessible, and it makes
its readers think."
All reviews are at:
http://www.reviewsofbooks.com/stuff_of_thought
Happy reading!
Bill - administrator of http://www.reviewsofbooks.com
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