Book Review – Startle and Illuminate: Carol Shields on Writing – Edited by Anne Giardini and Nicholas Giardini

Book Review – Startle and Illuminate: Carol Shields on Writing – Edited by Anne Giardini and Nicholas Giardini

Facts:

Book: Startle and Illuminate: Carol Shields on Writing
Author: Carol Shields, Edited by Anne Giardini and Nicholas Giardini
Genre: Non-Fiction
Year of Release: 2016
Read 204-page hardcover edition in November 2018.

Book Description:

In this non-fiction book on writing, essays and ideas from the beloved author Carol Shields are edited and compiled by her daughter and her grandson.

Through some of Shields’s speeches, letters, and essays, authors of all backgrounds and experience levels can learn much from one of the most talented writers Canada has ever known.

Book Review:

On the whole, this book on writing was a fantastic collection of great ideas and tips from Carol Shields. Shields, known for her novels, poetry, essays, and plays, among other things, has written many times about how anyone can write better, and at least what has worked for her.  Daughter Anne and Grandson Nicholas have gone through large quantities of material to put together this nice package of 14 chapters and a collection of letters for the writer-in-training.

The collection is useful and provides some great advice from Shields. Comments and thoughts such as considering the timeline and timeframes of the novel, including the sequencing of the story through the chapters of the novel, are well-described by Shields, and is one example of concrete advice.

There are a few chapters out of the 14 that get a little bogged down and are a little less practical. Perhaps the idea was to showcase some of Shields’s bigger thoughts and ideas. Although this does work to some degree, one almost would have appreciated more specific, concrete writing advice instead, given the limited number of pages in this volume.

The letters are in particular a great store of thoughtfulness and advice from Shields to individuals. Although they were specific advice for specific people and works of prose they were developing, many times the ideas, comments, and advice from Shields is broad enough that any writer can consider it for a project they are working on.

One other positive thing about this volume is that Shields’s personality shines through in her writing. Her vibrancy, her humanness in raising a family while writing, and her humbleness is clear. For example, in many cases she gives advice to someone and then states “but I may be wrong.” Even after achieving great success, this great Canadian kept this humble sense about her. It was enjoyable to learn more about the person while reading advice about writing.

This is a great collection of wisdom from Carol Shields, and her family Anne and Nicholas Giardini have done well putting this useful collection together.

Overall: 4 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell

Book Review – The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell

Facts:

Book: The Bone Clocks
Author: David Mitchell
Genre: Fiction
Year of Release: 2014
Read 637-page paperback edition in October 2018.

Book Description:

Fifteen-year-old Holly leaves her home after a huge fight with her parents. What begins as a decision to leave for several days to teach them a lesson becomes a shocking week instead, where Holly sees shocking actions around her by bizarre people, hears voices in her head, which had been gone for a long time, and learns that her younger brother is also missing from her home.

This sets off a variety of circumstances throughout Holly’s life that will involve key people, including a war reporter, a student from a prestigious school, and a failed novelist, all of whom are impacted in different ways as a strange set of events occurs around Holly.

 

Book Review:

British author David Mitchell has done a great job in this novel, creating a story that is hard to put down, both because of an exciting plot and an excellent array of characters.

This novel is hard to classify, with elements of mystery, fantasy, dystopia woven throughout. No matter what, it is always very thoughtful, written with strong literary prose and with creativity.  The jumping forward in time with each successive section, and the focus on different main characters that eventually weaves together shows remarkable planning and flourish by Mitchell. He executes very nicely, bringing the very different threads together as we move forward in the story and in central character Holly’s life.

The novel has a variety of characters, and different narrators in each section, so we learn about different people either from their own point of view or from others perspectives throughout. Mitchell’s decision to set up the novel in this way allows us as the reader to get to know these characters and realize that most of them are imperfect, and have shades of grey. In addition, over time we see that sometimes characters change, and some who we think are “bad eggs” may have some hope of redemption over time. Others, maybe not so much. Mitchell does do a great job of creating characters who are complex, imperfect, and therefore believable.

Mitchell also does a nice job foreshadowing just what is going on with Holly and with the voices and strange people she encounters at specific points in her life. Mitchell holds us in suspense until two-thirds of the way through the novel, and then it completely breaks open. This creates a dramatic and exciting last third of the novel, and is a great pay off to the reader who has been wondering for a long time what is to happen with these voices and mysterious characters we see on the edges.

Through beautiful language, Mitchell does a great job, through the characters and their various opinions and fears, of raising issues that can resonate for us. For example, the feeling of mortality is raised through Hugo Lamb, when he states of a character suffering from dementia and dying:

“The brigadier I knew has left his bombed-out face, leaving me alone with the clock, shelves of handsome books nobody ever reads, and one certainty: that whatever I do with my life, however much power, wealth, experience, knowledge, or beauty I accrue, I, too, will end up like this vulnerable old man. When I look at Brigadier Reginald Philby, I’m looking down at time’s telescope at myself.”  -Page 126

One knows there is success in a novel when a reader thinks long after about the conclusion, the lessons learned, and the story itself. This is definitely a novel that does that, and so for that reason, Mitchell has succeeded in writing a complex, readable book. Well Done!

 

Overall: 5 stars out of 5 stars

Book Review – Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil deGrasse Tyson

Book Review – Astrophysics for People in a Hurry – Neil deGrasse Tyson

Facts:

Book: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Genre: Non-Fiction
Year of Release: 2017
Read 223-page hardcover edition in August 2018.

Book Description:

This short science book by renowned scientist and podcaster Neil deGrasse Tyson is a great way to bring the technical concepts of astronomy and astrophysics to the everyday citizen interested in these broad topics.  The book tries to present complicated ideas in a way that is accessible and approachable for an interested person who doesn’t have a science background. The result is an often engaging, sometimes humourous look at the world and universe around us.

 

Book Review:

Neil deGrasse Tyson has done a very good job creating an interesting book for the “layperson.”  He writes in a very upbeat, positive style, often throwing one-liners amidst facts to help the reader understand and laugh at the same time. The author knows that the best way to educate a reader is to ensure they have fun at the same time, and he applies this principal throughout, creating an enjoyable experience.

As a reader interested in the topic area and somewhat limited in my knowledge of science, I found many of the chapters very approachable and helpful in expanding my understanding. In particular, the first several and last several chapters were very accessible.

One downside was that in the middle section of the book, for whatever reason, several chapters were more complicated, and required a much more focused reading experence to understand what was being spoken about. In addition, these middle chapters were also less relatable for the non-scientific reader, with subject matters that were more removed and obscure.

That being said, on the whole this book was well written and accessible for all by deGrasse Tyson. Further, his final chapter was written in a way that was motivating and uplifting, talking about the importance of understanding our place in the universe. This provided a fitting and satisfying end to an interesting collection.

 

Overall: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars