Audrie Clifford's Blog

My niece sent me a book that she had fallen in love with. The name of it is A Man Called Ove , written by Fredrik Backman. At first, I didn't understand her attraction, but then, I, too, fell under its spell. I understand it is causing a publishing sensation across Europe.
The main character is a tall, straight-laced Swede who could easily win any contest for grumpiness.
I'll bet that you, too, will end up enchanted.

We all become somewhat forgetful as we age, but I was appalled when I looked at this site for the first time in a whole year. On the last two posts on this site, I neglected to tell you the title or the name of the author. I know how it happened -- I copied the review I had written on  Amazon -- but that doesn't excuse it. Please forgive my lame brain.
The name of the book of poetry is Titanic Anthology -- Voices From the Deep, written by Karla Moore.
The other impressive book is Alibi Creek, by Bev Magennis
Both books are excellent and I apologize to all for the ommissions.

I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book. Some of the early reviews mentioned that the author's descriptions were almost poetic and indeed, they were. Only someone who truly loves and appreciates the land could have written this. The characters were so well described that I felt I knew them, and whether or not I liked them, they won't easily be forgotten. Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Ms Magennis' first novel. Keep your fingers crossed for more.

Reading these selections will break your heart, but will also leave you in awe of the talent of this soul-penetrating poet. Ms Moore speaks for the passengers, the crew, the builders, the ship, and even the iceberg. We all know the Titanic story, and who would image another book on the subject could elicit any interest? Perhaps the world has read the prose version enough times, but these poems touch the innermost core of the reader and leave one caring about what happened so very long ago. I could not recommend it more strongly.

Somehow, I''m always forgetting to keep up with this blog. I resolve to do better, and then I forget. Well, here's a book that made me think of this blog once again.
The title is CITY OF WOMEN, written by David R. Gillham (2012).
This is a rather grim book, set in Berlin, Germany in the middle of WWII. The book's name comes from the fact that so many of the young men who are husbands, fiances,and lovers of these young women are away fighting for their country. At the time written about, the daily propaganda is how successful Germany is being on the Russian front (when just the opposite is true).There are still yet un-captured Jews in the city, and much of the story concerns the tremendous efforts made by some sympathizers on their behalf.
This story has a variety of women; some are mean, some kind, or indifferent or helpless  or have any of the attributes that identify us.
I think this is a great book, and believe most anyone would enjoy it.

A few days ago, I finished reading UNFAIR, a new book about our criminal justice system by Adam Benforado, who is a law professor at one of our American Universities. This is not a quick read, but it's very worth reading. Each chapter makes the reader aware of the unrecognized biases that creep into the deliberations about an accused perpetrator. Perhaps starting with the arresting officers, incorrect assumptions may result in lengthy jail terms for persons who are guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time Read the book now, and if you're called for jury duty, REMEMBER IT..

It's time to tell about two absolutely wonderful books that I felt needed to be in my personal library. In my opinion, both books should be considered "classics," and whether or not they are, they are at least spectacular best-sellers. The first one is RAIN OF GOLD by Victor Villasenor (1991). What a book! It tells the stories of two migrant families from Mexico. who came to the United States in the early 20th century. The author researched the family myths and interviewed anyone he could find to verify the tales. The early stories seem to be a mix of fact and fiction, but the later stories of working in the fields of California have the ring of truth. If you're looking for a book of adequate length to occupy you for several nights, I strongly recommend this one.
The other book probably needs no description whatsoever. It is BLESS ME, ULTIMA  by Rudolfo Anaya (1991) It  seems that all my friends have read this book (as I had), but then, the majority of my friends live in New Mexico and this is a New Mexico story. If you haven't read this book, you're missing out on something wonderful. It is so beautifully written and tells of the deep love between a boy and his great-aunt. This is one of my favorite books of all time.

Sue Monk Kidd has written another great book. This one is THE INVENTION OF WINGS (2014). In it, she tells a story of life in the south just prior to the Civil War. In particular, the focus is on a young young black girl given to a privileged white girl as a gift on the occasion of her eleventh birthday. The immediate problem is that the eleven-year-old believes slavery is wrong and wants to set the other girl free, but this is not allowed. Both girls get to tell their stories in alternating chapters as they grow into womanhood and beyond. Great book!

I hate it when I dislike a book that I'm obligated to write a review of because I received it as a gift with that understanding. I did not enjoy reading GHETTOSIDE by Jill Leovy (2015). I found it terribly boring to read the same thing (or a slight variation) time after time.I recognize that the constant repetition was to emphasize that there had been murder after murder after murder, but the point was well made long before the author quit telling us.
Most of it was well-written, but there were a few sentences that had me going,"Huh???" The description of the trial was well done, and a lot of respect is due to the author for the amount of research that went into the story
Write for us again, Jill Leovy, only next time, spare us the unnecessary repetition. 

I've been one of John Grisham's fans for a long time, and have read the majority of his books; my favorite being A TIME TO KILL (his first). I'm ordinarily so deeply involved in reading the book that I don't even try to anticipate where it might be going, therefore, I'm usually surprised by his twist in the plot. I recently read THE INNOCENT MAN, which was a true story, and I really didn't care for it. That was another surprise for me.Then someone gave me FORD COUNTY (2009). This is a collection of seven of his short stories, each of which is excellent and completely different from the others. The next-to-last story, FUNNY BOY, is a heartbreaker. I really believe John Grisham is one of the very best of our contemporary writers.