The Unbearable Lightness of Being

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Beautiful, truthful, heart-breaking... This novel was full of truths and at least one statement that was cause for introspection on every page. The unbearable lightness of being is that we only live once and we can't really know what would happen if we made different choices. But love... love will mold our lives. Love will be the thread that ties us together--it is the universal truth. Even though the heaviness of the Communist invasion in Czechloslavakia hung through the second half of the novel, it was the relationships between the characters that stayed central.

The Average American by Kevin O'Keefe

The Average American by Kevin O'Keefe (2005)

O'Keefe starts out on a quest to find the "Average American" based on various statistics (i.e. the majority of Americans live in a single-family home that they own, live in the state in which they were born, etc.) and tours through various cities in America to interview Americans and discover more "average" characteristics not profiled in the U.S. Census. I love statistics so this was a fascinating book for me. I found out I'm way more average than I previously thought--the biggest way I differ from the average is that I don't eat meat. In the end, what this book ultimately proves is that we Americans are all generally the same. Red states, blue states, whatever. And, interestingly, who knew that there are more democrats than republicans?

Love the One You're With by Emily Giffin (2008)

Oh, good chick lit, I've missed you! Given that this is a chick lit novel, you have a youngish main character, Ellen, living in New York City and working a fabulous job (photographer). The difference here is that she's married and not hopelessly single like the main character in other chick lit novels. In fact, her marriage is perfect! So where is the storyline? Well, there's "the one that got away" her most significant ex, Leo, who comes back into her life and makes her rethink many of her major life choices, including her present relationship. The writing was crisp and the story was relatable, but not all that predictable as is the case with many books with similar storylines. I really, really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a light read.

Sundays at Tiffany's

Sundays at Tiffany's by James Patterson (2008)

I really did know better. However, the synopsis of this book was so intriguing, and it had been on the bestseller list for so long, that I had to read it. A 32-year-old single woman in New York City falls in love with her childhood imaginary friend. The idea has such possibilities--there is so much that can be done with this idea. The writer, Gabrielle Charbonnet (not James Patterson, of course, when did he last write a book anyway?) instead falls completely, totally flat with a novel that I found insulted my intelligence and bored me as much as it disappointed me because the story had absolutely no surprises and it also was completely unbelievable. But not in a good way, as in her writing didn't erase any doubt that this story would never, ever happen in real life. In conclusion, I hated this book.

The History of Love

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2005)

A story of an old man and a teenage girl whose lives are marred with unhappiness, mostly because of a loss of love, but also strangely tied together by a book about love. The narrative winds through years and through narrators to show the universality of loss, loneliness, and love. I found the characters, especially Leo and Alma, to be quite intriguing and I wanted to know that they would be happy in the end. However, I was left wanting more at the end--more information about Alma's life, more information letting me know Leo's life wasn't as sad as it seemed, and a clearer ending. The writing was quite good, but I was left too unsatisfied with the story to fully recommend the novel.

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos

Loved Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (2005)

Cornelia is a 31-year-old coffee shop manager with a passion for old love stories, and a deep desire for her own love story. When Martin walks into her life, a set of events spring to action that eventually bring her to more than one unexpected love. This was a quick read and it kept my interest, but most of it was pretty unbelievable. I really liked the narrative tone and it made Cornelia a more believable character, despite her lusting after a much-older man and her sister's husband. Clare's 11-year-old voice, however, was quite unbelievable to me. In the end, the book was disappointing and I would not recommend it.

The Abstinence Teacher

The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (2007)

Ruth is a sad, divorced, lonely, liberal sex-ed teacher in New England trying to stand up against a growing congregation of Evangelical Christians in her community. The novel focuses on her struggles, but also zeroes in on Tim, a born-again Christian soccer coach whose life is intertwined with Ruth's. The characters are strong and believable, but the book is also predictable and rather bland. It would also lead a reader to believe that all middle-age suburban men and women think about is sex and all the different people they want to have sex with that they aren't married to (a la Perrotta's successful Little Children). Instead of coming across as a hero, Ruth just seemed self-righteous and annoying so I found it hard to really enjoy the novel.