#78 Pachinko

Pachinko
By Min Jin Lee

A long novel, at 485 pages, but an easy read. The novel traces three generations in the lives of a Korean family living in Japan before, during, and after WWII. Korea was colonized by the Japanese, and many Koreans came to Japan for better options. There, however, they were discriminated against, often forced to work at the lowest jobs, or running gambling parlours. The gambling was a game called "pachinko", kind of like pin-ball machines.

The novel looks at what it takes to be an immigrant, at identity, the roles of women, and survival.

Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: Yes, a good solid read.

#77 Drift Child

Drift Child
By Rosella Leslie

This novel was written by a BC author and is set on Vancouver Island and the area of islands and mainland off the northeast coast.

Emma finds herself on a sinking boat during a storm. The captain dies, but not before they come across and zodiac with a dad and three kids, also struggling in the storm, and she watches the dad disappear under the waves. Emma ends up rescuing the three children, and they make it to safety. She knows the coast, having worked on a fish boat for several seasons, so she is able to get the four of them safely home.

Once home, the story focuses on Emma looking after the three children, and eventually deciding to become their permanent caregiver.

Rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: An interesting, if somewhat unbelievable (especially the ship sinking and rescue) story. Good for locals to read.

#76 Hum If You Don't Know the Words

Hum If You Don't Know the Words
By Bianca Marais

This novel started off great! I thought it was going to be my first 5/5 of five rating.

The story of a young white South African girl, Robin, and her black Xhosa care giver, Beauty. The two characters both suffer immense loss and grief, but they bring love and joy to one another. It starts off as such a great story. But.......

Unbelievably, at p. 291 the novel totally changes. All of a sudden, Robin, the 10-year old white girl becomes a detective and starts doing all these really silly and totally unbelievable things to try and help. The rest of the book becomes sort of like a detective novel, but it just doesn't work with the rest of the book and for me it was totally ruined.

Rating: 3/5
Recommendation: The first part is a lovely read......and the end is, well, stupid.

#75 When Breath Becomes Air

When Breath Becomes Air
By Paul Kalanithi

A memoir by a renowned neurosurgeon and neuroscientist, who dies of lung cancer in his early 40s.

Beautifully written, a brave exploration of facing his inevitable death from lung cancer, at a young age. His wife finishes the book after his death.

Moving. Courageous.

Rating: 5/5
Recommendation: Yes, but only if the subject matters is of interest. Not a general read. Short.

#74 The Women in the Castle

The Women in the Castle
By Jessica Shattuck

Another WWII novel. This novel follows the lives of the wives and children of German Nazi resisters. Their husbands were all killed because they were involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler, which failed, and they were hung.

Marianne, one of the wives, pledged to her husband to take care of the widows and children of the men. She finds two of these women, and during the rest of the war, they live in an old family castle, surviving the best they can.

Once the war is over, the women move on, for various reasons, remarrying, dying, leaving Germany. At the end, the two remaining women reunite at the castle, which has been restored and is now an academic meeting place for scholars from around the world.

Children and grandchildren are discussed, and all these years later, secrets are revealed.

Rating: 4/5
Recommendation: Yes. An interesting read about WWII, about the German side of the story and those who did not believe in Hitler or the Nazis.

#73 Before We Sleep

Before We Sleep
By Jeffrey Lent

Beautiful writing in this novel, and an interesting story. The story is mainly about Katey, and her discovery that her "father" is not her biological father. She goes on a journey to find her biological father, and encounters interesting characters along the way.

The novel is also the story of her mother and father, her family, and their experiences, particularly her father's experiences during WWII which leave him wounded and changed forever. The decisions they make end up affecting Katey, who has to leave them and journey on her own to find her own truths.

Set between WWII and the 70s.

My only complaint about this novel was that there was too much description, and some of the paragraphs were more than a page long! Though often beautiful, I just skimmed these long paragraphs, as I can't stand long paragraphs! Blah blah blah.

Rating: 3/4
Recommendation: If you love beautiful descriptive writing, this novel is for you.

#72 Ginny Moon

Ginny Moon
By Benjamin Ludwig

This novel is told in Ginny's voice. Ginny is a 14-year old teenager with autism. She is a foster care child who was adopted and is living with her "forever" family. Ginny is quirky and strange, due to her autism. For some reason, Ginny wants to be reunited with her birth mother, who was abusive plus addicted to drugs, and she wants to reunite with her "baby doll", which turns out to be a baby sister who was never officially "born", and who her mother keeps a secret.

A strange novel with a somewhat unlikely plot.

Rating: 3/5
Recommendation: The voice of the autistic main character is interesting and provides an insight into the autistic mind. The plot is unlikely and silly.