Stick Out Your Tongue

Author: Ma Jian
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1997
Pages: 93
Rating: Do Not Recommend

Synopsis: Tibet is a land lost in the glare of politics and romanticism, and Ma Jian set out to discover its truths. Stick Out Your Tongue is a revelation: a startlingly vivid portrait of Tibet, both enchanting and horrifying, beautiful and violent, seductive and perverse.

In this profound work of fiction, a Chinese writer whose marriage has fallen apart travels to Tibet. As he wanders through the countryside, he witnesses the sky burial of a Tibetan woman who died during childbirth, shares a tent with a nomad who is walking to a sacred mountain to seek forgiveness for sleeping with his daughter, meets a silversmith who has hung the wind-dried corpse of his lover on the wall of his cave, and hears the story of a young female incarnate lama who died during a Buddhist initiation rite. In the thin air of the high plateau, the divide between dream and reality becomes confused.

When this book was published in Chinese in 1997, the government accused Ma Jian of "harming the fraternal solidarity of the national minorities," and a blanket ban was placed on his future work. With its publication in English, including a new afterword by the author that sets the book in its personal and political context, readers get a rare glimpse of Tibet through Chinese eyes--and a window on the imagination of one of China's foremost writers.

Review: I try to appreciate all kinds of literature, but this was too much for me. After I read it, I had a "what the heck was that" moment, and then tried to research the book hoping to find the Cliff's Notes or something to help me understand the significance.

I did not find much that was useful to understanding this collection of short stories.

In a word. . .disturbing.

Ali in Wonderland

Author: Ali Wentworth
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Pages: 254
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: Growing up in a family of political journalists—and daughter of President Reagan’s White House social secretary—Ali Wentworth rebelled against her blue-blood upbringing, embracing Hollywood, motorcycles, even a few wildly inappropriate marriage proposals. Today she is an acclaimed comedic actress and writer, former Oprah regular, wife of political and media star George Stephanopoulos, and a mother who lets her two girls eat cotton candy before bed. Though she’s settled down, her rebellious nature thrives in her comedy and her view of her crazy world.

In this addictively funny and warm memoir, she takes us through the looking glass and into the wonderland of her life, from a childhood among Washington’s elite to a stint in the psych ward they called a New England prep school; days doing L.A. sketch comedy (with then-aspiring artists Will Ferrell and Lisa Kudrow) to a series of spectacularly failed loves (that eventually led her to Mr. Right). Constant throughout is her mother, Muffie—a flawlessly elegant yet firm, no-nonsense force of nature and pure WASP convictions.

As charming and off-the-wall as Ali herself, Ali in Wonderland is an entertaining look at life that is both intimate and hilarious.

Review: The funniest book I have ever read. I think I laughed out loud on every page. With plenty of fodder for a memoir, Ali has a way with words that had me hooked from the first page. To sum it up, this book is hilarious and smart. It's a must read.

Once Upon a Secret

Author: Mimi Alford
Genre: Memoir
Publisher: Random House, 2012
Pages: 208
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: In the summer of 1962, nineteen-year-old Mimi Beardsley arrived by train in Washington, D.C., to begin an internship in the White House press office. The Kennedy Administration had reinvigorated the capital and the country—and Mimi was eager to contribute. For a young woman from a privileged but sheltered upbringing, the job was the chance of a lifetime. Although she started as a lowly intern, Mimi made an impression on Kennedy’s inner circle and, after just three days at the White House, she was presented to the President himself.

Almost immediately, the two began an affair that would continue for the next eighteen months.

In an era when women in the workplace were still considered “girls,” Mimi was literally a girl herself—naïve, innocent, emotionally unprepared for the thrill that came when the President’s charisma and power were turned on her full-force. She was also unprepared for the feelings of isolation that would follow as she fell into the double life of a college student who was also the secret lover of the most powerful man in the world. Then, after the President’s tragic death in Dallas, she grieved in private, locked her secret away, and tried to start her life anew, only to find that her past would cast a long shadow—and ultimately destroy her relationship with the man she married.

In 2003, a Kennedy biographer mentioned “a tall, slender, beautiful nineteen-year-old college sophomore and White House intern, who worked in the press office” in reference to one of the President’s affairs. The disclosure set off a tabloid frenzy and soon exposed Mimi and the secret that she had kept for forty-one years. Because her past had been revealed in such a shocking, public way, she was forced, for the first time, to examine the choices she’d made. She came to understand that shutting down one part of her life so completely had closed her off from so much more.

No longer defined by silence or shame, Mimi Alford has finally unburdened herself with this searingly honest account of her life and her extremely private moments with a very public man. Once Upon a Secret offers a new and personal depiction of one of our most iconic leaders and a powerful, moving story of a woman coming to terms with her past and moving out of the shadows to reclaim the truth.

Review: Excellent read. I could not put this down and finished it in 2 hours and 33 minutes. Highly Recommend.

Mimi's story is told in a conversational and honest tone. The story had me hook, line, and sinker. However, I could also relate to Mimi's thoughts and perspectives regarding her first marriage and subsequent divorce.

There is some debate as to whether or not Mimi should have shared her story because it would hurt the family. The facts are the facts though, and it is her story to tell. If one does not want unflattering memories to resurface at some point in the future, then one should take care to not create those unflattering memories in the first place.

Angel Falls

Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Random House, 2001
Pages: 432
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Angel Falls is a dramatic, richly nuanced story of an ordinary man who makes an extraordinary decision and gambles with a thorny, painful question.

Michaela, beloved wife and mother of two, lies in a coma. It is now up to her husband, Liam, to hold the family together, to care for their grieving, frightened children. Doctors have told Liam not to expect a recovery, but he maintains hope that love can accomplish what medicine cannot. Day after day, he sits by her bedside, holding her hand, sharing the stories of their life together. Then he discovers the evidence of his wife's secret past—a long-hidden first marriage to international movie star Julian True. When he sees photos of her glowing happiness with Julian, he knows the actor was more than simply Michaela's first husband. He was the love of her life. Liam senses that Julian is the one person who can bring her back to life, but at what cost? And does Liam love his wife enough to risk losing her to a man no woman could resist?

His decision strikes deep into the heart of his family, transforming each of them in unexpected ways.

Review: Not the best Kristin Hannah novel. I also think I have read it before and just didn't document it. The storyline seemed very familiar.

If you like Kristin Hannah, this is worth reading. If you've never read Kristin Hannah, do not start with this one.

Other Kristin Hannah Novels
Home Front
Summer Island
The Four Winds
The Great Alone
The Enchantment
The Nightingale
The Women
True Colors

My Sister's Voice

Author: Mary Carter
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp, 2010
Pages: 352
Rating: Recommend

Synopsis: Every love leaves an echo...

What do you do when you discover your whole life was a lie? In Mary Carter's unforgettable new novel, one woman is about to find out...

At twenty-eight, Lacey Gears is exactly where she wants to be. An up-and-coming, proudly Deaf artist in Philadelphia, she's in a relationship with a wonderful man and rarely thinks about her difficult childhood in a home for disabled orphans. That is, until Lacey receives a letter that begins, "You have a sister. A twin to be exact..."

Learning that her identical, hearing twin, Monica, experienced the normal childhood she was denied resurrects all of Lacey's grief, and she angrily sets out to find Monica and her biological parents. But the truth about Monica's life, their brief shared past, and the reason for the twins' separation is far from simple. And for every one of Lacey's questions that's answered, others are raised, more baffling and profound.

Complex, moving, and beautifully told, My Sister's Voice is a novel about sisterhood, love of every shape, and the stories we cling to until real life comes crashing in...

Review: Good, but not great. There were elements of Monica's personality that could have been better explained or explored more deeply. At times the story moved slowly. It was good enough to keep me interested for nearly 400 pages though.