The Discomfort Zone - A Personal History
by Jonathan Franzen

Picture and details fsgbooks

Started reading 22 October 2006
Finished reading 23 October 2006

Yes, the book is about the author's personal history. A childhood spent in middle class America in a middle class neighbourhood. The books shows his relationship with his family, friends and love ones. The events had an impact on his future calling as an author. He might be nerdy, but his powers of observation and imagination enables him to put pen to paper in a most delectable way. His life might not be the same as other authors but his experiences did shape his future. This must certainly be true of other writers as well.

The Year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion

Picture and details randomhouse

Started reading 21 October 2006
Finished reading 22 October 2006

Love. This book abound with the love of Joan Didion for her late husband John. Both are authors and have been married to each other for about 40 years. The book tells how Joan copes with her husband's death as well as the sickness that befalls their only daughter. During that one year, her feelings towards the husband, acknowledgement of the lost, what happened in the past as well as the material she gathered trying to come to terms with the death strenghtens the readers' understanding of what she was going through. A marvellous book that affirms the power of love.

White City Blue
by Tim Lott

Picture and details impacdublinaward

Started reading 29 September 2006
Finished reading 17 October 2006

A guy with three best friends comes to a crossroad when he falls in love and decides to take the plunge into married life. The author gives us flashbacks on how each of the best friend came into the circle. We see how the habits of yesteryear puts a damper on the marriage plans. We also get an inkling of the many push and pull factors affecting the four friends in facing this new entity - the marriage. The writing is smooth and easy going. We can emphatise with the main character's emotional side and how he manages the friends and his wife to be. A true to life situation.

The Confessions of Max Tivoli
by Andrew Sean Greer
E-book version

Picture and details amazon

Started reading 31st August 2006
Finished reading 7th October 2006

Max Tivoli is afflicted with the disease or curse of having the reverse life of a normal person. He was born as an old child, a child with the appearance of an old man. He will grow younger and die as a baby according to the fortune tellers. He fell in love with Alice when he was in his teens but unfortunately his looks - he was an elderly man at that time - meant that his love could never be reciprocated. Circumstances bring the two together again when he is in his twenties. This time he managed to marry the love of his life but it did not last. His final encounter with Alice occurs when he becomes a young boy of twelve. Throughout the years his love for Alice never wavers. Alice herself does not know of Max's condition. In the end, Max had to make certain decisions so that Alice will be spared the truth. A love story that spans a lifetime.