Jan 2010 - Book 7 - The Piano Man

The Piano Man, by Marcia Preston   

A 16 year old teenage killed in a car accident - that freak unexplainable accident of nature, and leaves his mom bereaving and hapless..he was her life and he is gone..she cannot forget him, keeps having imaginary but lovely conversations with him..spending nights in his room..she is unable to move on..

She comes to know of this person who got her son's heart and goes in search of him..to seek if her son's heart is being treated appropriately..she finds Mason, a gifted violinist though going thru his own personal hell - stillborn son, depressed wife and a congenital heart disease..his wife is in a 'facility' and he is playing piano in a seedy bar..they meet, clash , get together and manage to mend each others lives..

The side stories are interesting too - Claire's husband who lives her very early on in life, Nathan's girlfriend, the truck driver..very flowing and quick read..

Rating -        6/10   

 

"People do not change, they are merely revealed" —  Anne Enright

Jan 2010 - Book 6 - Scarpetta factor

Scarpetta Factor , by P atricia Cornwell

A tumbled mass of a book - I do not for my life recall why I ever picked this book..I am not a suspense/mystery reader in general..except for few Dennis Lehane thrillers and Mary Higgins Clarks in my previous life I do not remember being attracted to that genre all that much ! 

This is my first Scarpetta read in the series and I dont think anything can induce me to go back..

In short, a forensic scientist lady and her dysfunctional milieu cast , all extremely comptent professionals but messed up in their personal lives..flawed human beings ..set around a perfunctionary case of a jogger murdered in park linked to a disturbed heiress somehow linked to a 2nd rate actor in Hollywood and his so-called aunt ..throw in lot of technical mumbo-jumbo..forensic terminologies and you get about 500 pages of spaghetti lines..not very appetising

 

Rating -       4/10   

 

"People do not change, they are merely revealed" —  Anne Enright

Jan 2010 - Book 5 - Nantucket nights

Nantucket Nights , by Elin Hilderbrand

 

Kayla is the protagonist of this story of 3 friends who meet when they were all very young and maintain the tenuous bond with a celebratory swim on labor day weekend with a brand of truth sharing only for the 3 of them. She is an insecure housewife with a successful and handsome husband whom she always suspects..

Val is the tough lawyer with a successful practice but un-successful marriage..

Antionett is the most mysterious one with a troubled past and equally troubling present , where she is having affair with Kayla's 18 year old son..who falls for her very hard..and she takes an extreme path of disappearing before this comes to light..

 

Entangled friendships, jealousy, relationships, perception, deceit , healing - overall fast read

 

Rating -      7/10

 

"People do not change, they are merely revealed" —  Anne Enright

Jan 2010 - Book 4 - What was lost

What was lost   , by   Catherine O'Flyn

Start:    

    Kate - 10 year old orphan, precocious, lonely, wants to be a detective in the mall, shy, blends in background , one day she just disappeared.

    Adrian - 22 years old guy, Kate's friend, works in fathers shop, doesent knows what to do with life, last person seen with Kate before she disappeared.

20 years later:

    Lisa - Adrian's sister , works in record store in the mall, aimless life, affected by her brothers leaving after Kate disappeared.

    Kurt - Security guard in the mall, about the same age of Kate, sees Kate's ghost image on security camera, mightve seen her the day she disappeared

 

Mall culture, loneliness, make-believe world, crime, surveillance, intrigue, haunting though-I-have-no-idea-why..

 

Rating -     8/10

 

"People do not change, they are merely revealed" —  Anne Enright

Jan 2010 - Book 3 - The Gathering

The Gathering , by   Anne Enright     

    Bleak, grim , dysfunctional family saga , with doses of love, hate, loss, alcoholism, imagination, abuse, dissonance..

    Veronica - the protagonist narrator delves into past and imagination of past to understand why her near-twin brother Liam committed suicide , why he had a drifters life as opposed to her almost respectable life ..

did the suspected abuse when they were living with their grandmother which pushed him into the 'box' .. did it happen to her too ? Who is to blame ? Her constantly pregnant and vague mother or her randomly respectable father or her grandmother who does not believes in the past..and all this has affected the whole clan - about 9 siblings all with their share of eccentricity or traits , blamed if they are normal and doomed if they are not..

    The prose is vague and sparse and facts are revealed unexpectedly and in unexpected ways .. you could miss something if you didn't pay attention...and it is a bit difficult to pay attention..the flitting from present to past to imagination is relentless .. but still there is something gripping about the story which keeps you hooked..

 

Rating -    6 .5 /10

 

"People do not change, they are merely revealed" —  Anne Enright