Book Awards Reading Challenge

My latest for this challenge was:

Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear. Winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel 2003.

Set in London, the English countryside, and parts of France during World War I, the heroine of this story is Maisie. Told in three distinct parts, in the first we meet Maisie. She is the only daughter of a poor family and is set off to work in service for the wealthy Lady Rowan Compton. Lady Rowan, sees Maisie's potential and she begins to be tutored by one of Lady Rowan's friends, a private investigator. Maisie sets up shop in London and her first case involves what on the surface seems to be a case of infidelity. Deceptively simple at the start the case ends up being about soldiers and the after effects of the "Great War". The middle portion of the novel deals with Maisie's time as a nurse in the battlefields of France during the war and gives great background into her life and her first love. The third, is when she actually investigates the "case" in depth, solves the mystery and we find out the fate of her love.

While it was not one of those "suspenseful" mysteries, because Maisie is much more of an "intuitive" detective, it was interesting enough to keep the pages turning! Maisie was a intelligent and likable heroine and is surrounding by many interesting minor characters as well! It was an enjoyable read!

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series, "Birds of a Feather" which also won the Agatha Award in 2004 for Best Novel. I might as well go put the remaining books of the series in my wish list, I think I am going to LOVE this series!

Book number four in the Book Award Reading Challenge is Atonement by Ian McEwan. Having read other novels by him, I decided to finally read this much acclaimed novel. I am very glad I did! And it is a good thing too, because it is currently "in production" as a movie and I would rather have read the story, without all the Hollywood hype. I very seldom reread novels, the old so many books, so little time theory, but this one breaks that rule. I will definitely be keeping my copy on the shelf for some time to come.

Set in the era of World War II, it is the story of a young adolescent named Briony. At first, her precocious attitude bothered me. I just didn't care about the story much. I almost gave up, but I am so happy I kept on reading! I will not give away the plot just in case this one is on your list. But she witnessed an "event" in which she lied and changed her life, and the lives of everyone around her. As the story progressed, it went into great detail about life a s soldier during the war. The characters became fully developed and they all become very real. With vivid descriptions, you become fully immersed in the life of an upper class British family at the brink of the War. A war, that like the event in the beginning, will dramatically alter their existence.

This book gave the reader quite bit to think about and reconsider. It is an awe inspiring book and I think Mr. McEwan will be one of our generations greatest novelists. I am eagerly awaiting my copy of his newest book, "On Chesil Beach". (Which I just found out is on it's way from PBS!!! YAY!!!)

I liked this story. I read several reviews after reading the book and tend to disagree with some of the people who seem to forget that it is fiction, not historical fact. Although it was convincingly written, at times you could imagine the words as fact. It was very easy to get pulled back into ancient Egypt with the writing style. Told though the eyes of a young man who, on a trip down the Nile, questions his father about Akhenaten as they pass by the abandoned city. The boy, curious, goes on a journey to interview the people involved. I have to believe that his father was some high ranking official or perhaps in the current Pharaoh's inner circle because he has no trouble getting an audience with some powerful people, including the former wife and queen, Nefertiti who is under house arrest (This is where the book becomes fiction as many scholars believed she died before her husband.)

Each player in the tale of Akehenaten and his quest to convert ancient Egypt to monotheism has a different take on the story and of the "heretic" Pharaoh himself, leaving the reader to come to his own conclusion. Written in a interview format, each player is given a brief introduction, and then is allowed to tell his story, with minimal comments by the narrator. It was not meant to be historically factual, just a fictionalized account of a young man curious to find out about a part of his history that is being erased as he writes.

Direct and to the point, this book is simple at first glance and yet modern and thought provoking. I will be reading more of Mr. Mahfouz's stores of Ancient Egypt.

This is my review for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle. Winner of the 1993 man Booker Prize.

Let me just say that I LOVE Roddy Doyle's writing. I have always been a big fan of his, and my favorite book of his happens to be "The Van". I was very happy to see this book on the list because somehow this book had escaped me. Set in a small Irish village in the 1960's, it is narrated by Paddy or Patrick Clarke. Written exactly how a 10 year old thinks, and would write his thoughts, the mood and writing style took you right into his mind. It gave you a clear mental picture of what a child's world is really like. Tales of playing in construction sites, lying to their parents, and sibling rivalry as only a child could say it. Funny and sometimes sad, it is about how he grows up, rather quickly, as his parent's fight and eventually divorce.

There were no chapters which made it harder to read, for me anyway, because I tend to pace my reading by the ubiquitous "just one more chapter"! But after 20 pages or so, this was not missed at all! It did have quite a few Irish expressions which were funny and some of them I had completely forgotten about and made me laugh out loud. It did take me a bit to get through, but I did enjoy it.

Hi! My name is Kate and here is my list of reading for the next few months!!! I am very happy to take part in this challenge because now I have incentive to read these books. All were pulled form my book shelf, and just never read. Well except one, which I have been dying to reread anyway!! I do have a few for my "alternate list" but I will post them later!! It has been great seeing every one's list, and I can't wait to read the reviews!