The Reckoning

The Reckoning by John Grisham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book contains 3 parts. The first and second part are two different stories told in reverse chronological order and then in the 3rd part, the first story continues. Confused yet? In typical Grisham style, a mystery is introduced in the first part that compels you to keep reading hoping for a big reveal. Grisham has been known to throw a curve at the end of his novels. I have read nearly every adult novel from this author and the first and third part are very typical of many of his books - a legal case set in rural Mississippi. Where this one differs is part 2 where we get some very detailed descriptions of a soldier's experiences fighting the Japanese during WWII. I have to say, that if Grisham's accounts are historically accurate I can understand why the hatred for the Japanese was so high during and following the war. This part is sometimes difficult to read but very interesting from a historical perspective. I am afraid that it has almost no real significance to the other stories, however. Why was it included at all? Finally, my 3-star rating is due to only one thing. Although, a well written, lengthy narrative that compelled me to keep reading for over 400 pages, I felt the ending fell flat and the promised mystery was weak. Why would a man shoot in cold blood another man and then go to his execution refusing to give an explanation? I can't believe the reason is the one Grisham wrote into the ending. Even the expected slight twist was not enough to redeem the story. I felt cheated. The main character was a war hero and a well-respected member of the community and I just can't believe he would have killed a man for the reasons the author gives. - Thus only 3 stars.


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Sarah's Key

My mother was anxious for me to read Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay so that we could discuss it. In hindsight I wish I had not read it right after The Boy in the Striped Pajamas as it also deals with the subject of the Holocaust. Sarah's Key however focuses on another group of victims not much talked about: Parisan children. The story follows present day American journalist Julia Jarmond as she discovers the story of a young Parisian child caught up in the Vel'di'Hiv' roundup in July 1942 when thousands of Jewish families who were French citizens were arrested by the French police and eventually sent to their deaths at Auschwitz. Although the story is fiction the horror of the roundups is fact. Sarah's story becomes intertwined with Julias and the result has a profound impact on both the journalist and the reader. There are no happy endings here and I think it would be disrespectful to the true victims and survivors of those tragic events if there was. More than 6o years after the Holocaust people still do not want to talk about it. I have learned more reading these last 3 books (2 fiction and one true story) then I ever learned in school. My fifth grade son was assigned a project on the Holacaust and in helping him research I read more than most of us would ever want to know on the topic. It is difficult to put yourself in the time frame and mindset of the people who stood by and watched this happen. Now that I am aware of many of these tragic events like the journalist in Sarah's Key, I will never forget.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

When I was ordering the book Destined to Live from Amazon the book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne was recommended as similar reading. It is described as a fable and written through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. (It is not written for children, though.) It gives the reader another view of events from the Holocaust. Although very short it is still long enough to have an impact. It has been made into a movie though without wide release. It is a must read for fiction about the Holocaust.

Terminal Freeze

Terminal Freeze is the latest novel by Lincoln Child. I've ready just about everything Child has written both alone and with co-author Douglas Preston. The books mostly are in the adventure/thriller category. The pair has written a novel set in the ice (Antarctica) already, Ice Limit. I've also read another thriller by James Rollins, Ice Hunt and one by Matthew Reilly, Ice Station. I think the setting has been explored to its fullest now. In Terminal Freeze some undefined monster is terrorizing the characters at a remote military base. Sound familiar? Some of these adventure novels are starting to be repeats and I'm ready for some fresh material. Don't get me wrong Terminal Freeze is a good novel but it is a far cry from my favorites from this author including: Thunderhead and Utopia. Other thrillers I recommend would include Subterranean and Amazonia by James Rollins or anything written by Michael Crichton. That is the problem with reading as many books as I do - Every book can not be a best seller.

The Lamora Wink

Somehow in my methodical plodding through Martha Grimes Richard Jury series I missed The Lamorna Wink and I'm glad that I found it now. This book finds Melrose Plant, Jury's usual sidekick rambling about Cornwall on his own. He enlists the help of Detective Macalvie to help him solve a disappearance and a four year old murder. Of course Jury shows up toward the end just in time to solve the murder and disappearance and steal all of the thunder from Plant. It was fun to read more about Plant and the what makes him tick. We also get a update on the Long Piddleton group and Plant's Aunt Agatha. The mystery solved we even see a more compassion side of Macalvie and the novel leaves you wishing you could make a visit to Northants.

Light of the Moon

Luanne Rice takes a journey away from her usual setting in Black Hall, Connecticut for her book Light of the Moon. In this book the main character has taken a trip to France to visit a shrine that had special meaning to her recently deceased mother. There she discovers the close-knit communtiy of Romanys, the famous Camargue white horses, and the love of her life. As always, there are complications and the story plays out to a happy ending. I've read many of Rice's novels and this one although an enjoyable story was not as good as many others.

Destined to Live

I read a children's book recently that my son's fifth grade class read. It is the true story of a survivor of the Holocaust, Ruth Gruener, Destined to Live. Ruth was a young girl in Poland when the Germans invaded. The story is written from a child's perspective and written for children. It follows Ruth's story as she survives years of hiding in Poland until she is able to emigrate to the United States. It is an important story and I believe anyone who reads it will appreciate it.