Alice, I Think by Susan JubyMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Started off well with an hysterical satire of over-permissive parents who indulge their kids in any weird whim and don't prepare them for the realities of life; Alice's travails as she enters high school start to drag, and then the plot seemed to lose all direction and I skimmed to the end. An early Susan Juby.
Making Piece: a Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie by Beth M. HowardMy rating: 1 of 5 stars
Making Piece was recommended by Orangette, the blogger whom I adore, but I did not like it at all. Her writing is self-conscious and dense, full of mixed metaphors and tortured similes: "His hands crimped the crust's edge, moving aroudn the circle with the deft and speed of a seaman coiling ropes". "This grieving business was like making pie for the first time. One needs some instruction in how to do it--consult a recipe, make a grocery list, and go after the goal with gusto."
She tries to do a symbolic examination of loss . . .and pie. . . but wow. Major fail in my mind.
Other Waters: A Novel by Eleni N. GageMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Enjoyed this novel much more than I expected to. It's written by a Greek-American woman in the voice of an Indian-American woman, focusing on the issue of relationships, finding a spouse, and pleasing one's parents. The inside-view of life in India was fascinating even as I wondered how legitimate it was. Enjoyable and vivid, if a little "where is my life going/why can't I find a guy?" whiny in spots.
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