Misquoting Jesus, by Bart D. Ehrman. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.

Believing the Gospels to be the true word of God, the author is disconcerted to discover that there are provable discrepancies in copies made at different places and times - some unintentional and others intentional - which have changed the meaning or interpretation of the message. He concludes there is currently no way to really know what happened and what Jesus actually said, because so many changes were made to support the positions of different factions within the early and medieval Church. The history and research are interesting and well documented - almost tediously so - but ultimately Ehrman fails to convincingly state how his findings affected his belief in the veracity of todays editions of the Gospels. Disillusionment is evident, but a corresponding re-affirmation of his faith is not very strong or convincing. I was left with the impression that the Gospels were, and still are, used as a teaching tool to support the beliefs of Christianity, and that they can, and probably will, be changed again as new discoveries are made and new research is published.

"True History of the Kelly Gang" by Peter Carey. Alfred Knopf, 2000.

Is he a folk hero or a murderer? Ned Kelly, who lived in Australia in the latter half of the nineteenth century, has polarized the country. Imprisoned and sentenced to death for his crimes after eluding police for 20 years, he tells his story in a "letter" to his as-yet unborn daughter. He describes in eloquent detail the living conditions, the corruption, and the desperation of the people around himself, hoping to prove to his daughter that his intentions were honorable, but circumstances beyond his control made judicious choices impossible.

Carey chose to tell the story from Kelly's point of view, mimicking the style of Kelly's own writings, as preserved in the Jerilderie Letter, for example. Once you get past the unusual and colloquial language, the images he draws of life in those times are riveting and appalling. Considered from today's vantage of civil rights and social welfare programs, Kelly's life was hard and hopeless. Was his death karma or martyrdom? That's still being debated in Australia. He won't, however, be forgotten.

"Something Remains" by Inge Barth-Grozinger. Translated from the German by Anthea Bell.Hyperion Books for Children, 2006.

Although Sacramento Public Library does not own this novel, I thought it was worth including. Originally published in 2004 in Germany, it answers the question of how the Holocaust could have happened. Told from the viewpoint of Erich Levi, son of a Jewish merchant in the small German town of Ellwangen, the erosion of the rights of Jews is chronicled over a period of about 3 years. The belief that the sanctions were unfair and temporary is a strong thread throughout the story. It is not until the end of the book that the reader finds out that this is the story of a real family! This would be a good companion to Anne Frank's "Diary of a Young Girl."

"Twelve Sharp" by Janet Evanovich. St. Martin's Press, 2006.

The latest in this wonderfully trashy mystery series involving bounty hunter Stephanie Plum involves fewer car burnings and gallant rescues, and shows a new dimension in the character of Ranger. In this episode, Ranger's twelve year old daughter has been kidnapped from her foster parents by a lunatic who has adopted Ranger's persona, and who is just smart enough and experienced enough to elude all attempts to apprehend him.

I was a little disappointed, actually, because it seems like the twisted, exotic characters are becoming more "normal" and therefore less interesting. However, both Marty and I finished the book in record time: within 48 hours it was back at the library, ready to go to the next on the 150-person waiting list. Can't wait for number thirteen!

"Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown. Pocket Books, 2000.
The theft of a secret and highly dangerous sample of antimatter from a research center in Switzerland leads to a race against the clock, literally. The Illuminati, a secret society long presumed to be defunct, claims responsibility and leads researchers and experts to Vatican City where, against the backdrop of a papal election, three cardinals are kidnapped from the conclave and murdered. Will the experts solve the clues and recover the antimatter before Vatican City is destroyed?

BibliOdyssey
Although this blog is intended to be a log of books I have read, I came across the web site BibliOdyssey via another blog and thought it was worth sharing here: it is a collection of art from old books - quirky, beautiful, mysterious, eclectic.

"The Shadow of the Wind," by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Penguin Press, 2004.
This novel is set in Barcelona during and after the Spanish civil war. On his 10th birthday, Daniel's father takes him to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, where "last copies" go for safekeeping forever, or until they can be adopted by someone else. Daniel selects the book, "Shadow of the Wind," which captures his imagination so completely that he wants to find out more about the author and read his other works. During the course of his search over the next 10 years or so, he finds it unusual that there seems to be no information about the author, and that someone is methodically tracking down every copy of the author's works and burning them. There is danger, romance, humor, drama, and philosophy in the pages of this novel, and the author is successful in preserving the punchline until near the end of the story.

"The Winds of Change: Climate, Weather, and the Destruction of Civilization," by Eugene Linden. Simon and Schuster, 2006.

Linden has spent the last thirty years studying and writing about nature and the environment. In this book, he assembles his own and others' research into a timeline of global climate change cycles. He compares historical events like the disappearances of the Norse settlement in Greenland, the Akkadian community in North Africa, and the Maya in Central America with the climatological record recovered from icecap and ocean floor core samples. He claims there is strong evidence for a model of sudden catastrophic climate changes, rather than for the older model of gradual change over a long time.

Because this is a relatively new field of study, the evidence is still anecdotal. Linden shows that, although global warming is increasing at an unprecedented rate, the United States and other nations are refusing to acknowledge this or to take seriously the potentially disastrous consequenses. The compelling correlations he draws between historical events and global climate change, however, will soon lead you to agree with his conclusion that a major climate change is imminent - and has already begun.

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time," by Mark Haddon. Doubleday, 2003.

Told from the viewpoint of 15 yr. old Christopher, who has a form of autism, the mystery of who killed his neighbor's dog morphs into another mystery altogether. In systematically "detecting" the circumstances of the dog's death, Christopher actually tells two stories: the story of his struggle to cope in a "normal" world, and the story of the break-up of his parents' marriage.

This book seems to have a big impact on each person who reads it. It is tragic, funny, pathetic, and insightful. I couldn't put it down.

"Small Island " by Andrea Levy, Picador, c.2005.
Hortense and Gilbert Joseph, black Jamaican immigrants living in London immediately post-World War II, try to build their lives together as members of the British Empire, only to find that Mother England is less than tolerant of her colored children.

Queenie and Bernard, white and English, have issues of their own to deal with. Bernard, presumed dead, turns up at his front door two years after the war has ended, to find his wife has taken in black lodgers to support herself.

I had the eerie feeling that I was actually hearing the voices in this novel. The author has somehow managed to commit to paper the cadences of the Jamaican patois and British and American wartime slang. Through chapters told alternately from the point of view of one or another character, the personalities and histories of the four major players and several others come to life with humor, pathos, drama, and compassion. Certainly the characters are overdrawn, but as representatives of the events of their day, they effectively drive home the difficulties faced by servicemen after the war, as well as those faced by immigrants. This would make a good book for a discussion group.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger. MacAdam/Cage Pub., c2003.

It's impossible to know where to begin in describing this book. Clare and Henry meet, marry, and ultimately have a daughter. Clare is an artist; Henry is a librarian with a peculiar genetic disorder that causes him to abruptly and unexpectedly transport back and forth in time within his life. This causes disconcerting disconnects between himself, his wife, his job, and the everyday normalcy one expects. There is an indication that a cure or control may be possible, but not in the immediate future.

I gave up trying to keep track of dates and ages as Clare ages and Henry time-travels, and just enjoyed the story. However, the ending introduced some new implications and became somehow very disturbing. I would read it again just to see if I could comprehend the potential impacts on the lives of the characters.

"Epitaph For a Peach" by David Mas Masumoto. New York : HarperCollins, 1995.
This book was chosen by a planning committee for the second "One Book Sacramento" program in summer of 2005. I declined to read it then, but thought, as a library employee, I ought to at least give it the once-over. I was surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying Masumoto's account of a year on his peach and grape farm. I found his writing lyrical and introspective, full of richly evocative images of his trees, house, and family, past and present. I enjoyed his comparisions and following his thoughts as he arrived at his plan for the next year. It is certainly about farming, but encompases so much more: philosophy, wonder, humor, rue, fear, anger, submission. Astute observations of other farmers and the migrant farm workers he hires are sprinkled throughout like salt, to savor this blend. I wish I had read it during the program, so I could have attended the author's talks. I would love to meet him! One reviewer captured it perfectly: "a beautifully wrought tale about food that ultimately nourishes the soul."