The Hundred-Foot Journey

Fantastic food which is lovingly described in faraway locations by Richard C Moralis drew me into this book. Narrator Hassan Haji has a rare culinary gift evident from childhood. He and his colorful Muslim family are driven from Bombay, to London, to the French Alps, where they run afoul of their neighbor, the famous chef Madame Mallory. The “hundred-foot journey” refers to the cultural gulf between his family’s Indian restaurant and Mallory’s Michelin-starred restaurant across the street where Hassan is eventually apprenticed. Warm hearted and funny, this is a light look at the Paris restaurant scene and the first novel by journalist Morais.

Review written by Jean S

This book can be found at our web site: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Two and a half years after it was first published in the U.S., the audience for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson continues to grow. The book’s popularity is partly due to the release of the movie, but the combined force of the three novels in the trilogy has people talking. (The three books were published posthumously, following Larsson’s death in 2005.)

Lisbeth Salander is a brilliant social-misfit computer-hacker. She’s been abused by individuals, as well the system, yet is anything but a victim. Mikael Blomkvist is a disgraced journalist, hired to investigate the disappearance of a girl 40 years in the past. Although the two characters spend very little time in the same place at the same time, and often have different objectives, they make a formidable team, whether battling serial killers or government corruption.

The first book stands alone, but it also sets the stage for the complex and satisfying books that follow, "The Girl who Played with Fire" and "The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest".

This reveiw by Jean S

This book can be found at www.newberglibrary.org

Cutting for Stone

Abraham Verghese's book takes place in Ethiopia, a country of intrigue, beauty and coups. The story is told in the voice of Marion, one of the twin boys born to an unlikely couple in a mission hospital. The twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. But it is the love of a woman that forces Marion to leave his home country and go to America. When the past catches up with him, he must entrust his life to the two men he thought he trusted the least in the world. This is an unforgettable journey into one man's remarkable life and an epic story about power, intimacy and the beauty of the work of healing others.

Reveiw by Denise R

This book can be found in our catalog at www.newberglibrary.org

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

In Jamie Ford's debut novel, we meet Henry Lee shortly after his wife's death. As he walks past Seattle's famous "Panama Hotel" ,which is being refurbished , he spots a Japanese parasol. Could it belong to Keiko ? The book then flips back forty years earlier where Henry, of Chinese heritage and Keiko, of Japanese heritage become close friends as the two foreign students in the all white school. World War II is in full swing and soon the government rounds up all the Japanese, sending them to internment camps.

As the story unfolds, the reader, Henry's son and Henry himself learn about what made him the man he is today. Henry's father and mother, Keiko and her family, his friend Sheldon, the black saxophonist, and the decisions Henry had to make; all determining his character. Sometimes decisions can be bitter sweet.

Reveiw written by Denise R

This book can be found at http://www.newberglibrary.org/

The Cradle by Patrick Somerville

At the start of The Cradle, Matt’s wife sends him to find the long lost antique cradle that she slept in as a baby. This turns into a quest that requires Matt to be brave, true and honest as he performs tasks along the way. We learn a lot about Matt and his past as he rises to each challenge.

The story takes place about eight years ago. In addition, another story set today is interwoven throughout the book. By the end of the book the two stories come together in a satisfying way.

I really enjoyed this first novel by Patrick Somerville. I highly recommend it to people who liked "Love Walked In" by Marisa de los Santos.

Review by Jean S

This book can be found at our website: http://www.newberglibrary.org/

Born to Run

Journalist and avid runner, Christopher McDougall, writes about the bare foot running tribe located in Chihuahua, Mexico. The Tarahumara are legendary for their ability to run extreme distances in inhospitable conditions without breaking a sweat or getting injured. They would be considered among the elite runners of the developed world even though their society and technology are 500 years behind it. McDougall has managed to take a nonfiction subject and energize it with situations which may fool the reader into thinking this is fiction. "Born to Run" is a story of sport, an allegory of cross-cultural understanding and a catalogue of philosophies of living.

Flygirl (a young adult book)

WWII was in full swing & women were desperately needed to fill formerly "men only" jobs. The Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were formed to fill the void of men male flyers who had been drafted and sent overseas. Flygirl, by Sherrie L Smith, tells the story of Ida Mae Jones a young African American lady who wants to be more than another housemaid. Ida Mae's father taught her to fly before he passed away, so she applies for the white only WASP organization and because she was light skinned "passes". ("Passing" was a term for African Americans who lived as if they were white, often forsaking their friends and family. ) Ida Mae studies hard and overcomes many obstacles. She makes new friends and loses some along the way. This is an excellent read for anyone wishing to learn more about the WASP. I am an afficionado of World War II, but I still learned several new things about the WASP that I hadn't known!

This review is by Lori B.

This book can be found in our catalog: http://www.newberglibrary.org/