Book Review: Snow Falling On Cedars

Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. This is a novel set in the early 1950's (post WWII). It is set on a remote island in the pacific northwest. It is a murder mystery, it is a love story, it is a courtroom drama, and it is formost a discussion of racism.

This story is about a japanese american fisherman who is accused of murdering another fisherman. The motive for the murder is that the accused's family was to have purchased some land from the dead man's family and just before the deal was done, the war in the pacific breaks out. Because of the japanese internment, the final payment on the land was never consumated.

This is well crafted novel. You not only feel the physical beauty of the pacific nortwest but you feel the tension in the courtroom and the simmering love triangle.

Book Review: The Night Watch

Review to follow

Book Review: Sail

Sail, by James Patterson. This was my second James Patterson novel. This book is about a widowed and now remarried mother who wants to take her kids on a sailing trip so that the family can bond/reconnect/etc. The new husband has other plans. Patterson must not think that his readers have an attention span. Each chapter is only one to three pages long.

The book is a page turner. However, it is not really a clever murder mystery. Reading this book is like eating sponge cake. Not very satisfying.

Book Review: Depths

Depths by Henning Mankell. This story is about a Swedish naval officer (Lars) who is tasked with measuring the depths of the oceans around certain archipelagos near Sweden. The Swedish navy is interested in finding secret navigable routes for its Navy in preparation for WWI. It is also the story of the depths of Lars's depravity and spiral of doom. This reminds me a bit of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky. In that novel, we know the crime, we watch the agony of the despair until the ultimate punishment is meted out. In this novel, we watch the spiraling depths of despair, until we finally learn the crime(s).

This novel was recommended by Tyler Cowen: http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/06/what-ive-been-r.html

It is a deeply disturbing book with an amazing portrait of a man spiraling out of control.

Book Review: When the wind blows

When the wind blows, by James Patterson. This was my first James Patterson novel. I was in NYC this past weekend, so I thought I would take this paperback along for the bus ride there and the train ride back to DC. The book is about a veterinarian (Frannie), an FBI agent (Kit), and a eleven year old girl (Max) who can fly. Max is part of a genetic research project initially designed to prolong life expectancy and leads to mutations. In addition to having wings and being able to fly, Max has other "super powers". The book is a page turner. However, it does not have any scientific depth nor is it really a clever murder mystery. That being said, it served its purpose as companion on a bus ride.