Azrael & Phoebe's
Kitty Critics' Corner
Book Reviews:
in association with amazon.com
Featured Books:
Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg -- Lainey, mother of two daughters,
tries to keep herself and her family together when her husband, Jay, is
hit on the head by falling ice leaving him in a coma. Lainey is unwilling
to give up hope that her soul mate will not return to her and her daughters.
In this novel, we share the painful daily vigils to the hospital to visit
Jay and the creative coping mechanisms Lainey develops to maintain her sanity
and hope. Lainey receives support from her good friend and neighbor, who
has her own family problems to deal with, and a ghostly former resident
of Lainey's home. Chosen as the group book for August by my reading group,
this book is not something that I would have come across on my own. It was
a quick read and in the hands of a less talented author would likely have
fallen into melodrama or completely implausible fluff. Berg, however, maintains
a direct style that masterfully displays an ability to touch the heart of
the psyche. This is a poignantly sweet novel about friendship, love and
hope. (review added September 1, 1999)
Good Omens-- product of the diabolical pairing of Neil Gaiman
(of Sandman and Neverwhere fame) and Terry Pratchett
(of Discworldfame) is a delightfully irreverant and wickedly
funny tale about the end of the world. If you enjoyed either Gaiman or Pratchett's
solo works or loved Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series, then
you'll certainly adore this one as well. The stars of the story are Aziraphale,
former guardian of the gate to Eden and now part-time rare book dealer and
former tempter now capitalist Crowley -- two opposing top agents, if you
will, who find that they really have more in common with each other than
with the sides they represent. They join forces to postpone the end of the
world. Other main characters are a couple of witch hunters, a young witch
who inherited the only remaining copy of The Nice and Accurate Prophecies
of [her ancestress] Agnes Nutter which foretell how
it will all end (if anyone can figure out what the propehsies mean, four
horsemen (or motercyclists) and of course one young anti-christ. This was
Azrael's easy pick for August 1999's Boo-Award of Literary Excellence. (review added 8/31/99)
Order Good Omens today!
Kirsten Bakis Lives of the Monster Dogs -- inspired by such works
as Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Bakis raises questions of scientific
ethics and the definition humanity. A mad scientist's vision of a race of
Dog soldiers comes to fruition. These dogs are equiped with voice boxes,
increased intelligence and prosthetic arms. When they kill their masters
run from their remote homeland and hope to be accepted in New York society,
they cause quite an uproar. What their story, their history, their purpose
and their soul? Dog historian Ludwig von Sacher seeks these answers, but
it takes his human friend, Cleo, to finish the story. It is a fascinatingly
imaginative tale. I enjoyed it but was a bit disappointed with the ending,
which I believe might have been better developed.
Order
Lives of the Monstor Dogs today!
Niall
Williams Four Letters of Love is Azrael's March 1999 pick for her
Boo-award
of Literary Excellence. This hauntingly beautiful Irish tale of love
and the divine is Williams' literary debut. It tells the story of Nicholas
and Isabel, whose destinies are tied by Nicholas' father's masterpiece.
This book was recommended by Neil Finn and Williams shares Finn's tendency
to tie melancholy with optimism, pleasure with pain as well as his poetic
ability to merge sensory imagery. Order
Four Letters of Love today!
Jennifer Lash (aka Jinni Fiennes), Blood Ties is a powerful tale
about how little we really understand other people, including those closest
to us. This beautifully painful story tells of Violet Farr and her loveless
marriage. It tells of inept parenthood, of childhood without love and the
generational results of lovelessness. It tells of exile and homecoming,
going through four generations of bad blood, so to speak, until the healing
and redemptive power of love is finally able to win out. This book is Azrael's
Boo Award winner for May 1999!Order
Jennifer Lash's Blood Ties today!
return
to top
KittyCritics'
Home
WebRings for Kitty
Critics' Corner
CD of the Month
Sims Central Home
We unfortunately don't have time to review all the books
we've ever read - nor do we have the time to read all the books we'd like.
Somebody's got to take care of Tony & Crystal and Lord knows it's a
full job for any cat! Then there are the dissertations we have to help them
write (they'll never finish otherwise)! So, here's how you can h elp us out.
Please send us your recommendations
for aditions to our reading list! We'd be ever so grateful!
last updated 10/9/99
LE FastCounter
