Monday, March 26, 2012

~ Mailbox Monday ~

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme originally created and hosted by Marcia of A girl and her books and hosted this month by Anna of Diary of an Eccentric. Below are the titles I recently received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained. Enjoy!

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving (for review from William Morrow)
I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice—not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.
In the summer of 1953, two eleven-year-old boys—best friends—are playing in a Little League baseball game in Gravesend, New Hampshire. One of the boys hits a foul ball that kills the other boy's mother. The boy who hits the ball doesn't believe in accidents; Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. What happens to Owen after that 1953 foul ball is extraordinary.

I, Iago by Nicole Galland (for review from William Morrow) From earliest childhood, the precocious boy called Iago had inconvenient tendencies toward honesty—a failing that made him an embarrassment to his family and an outcast in the corrupt culture of glittering Renaissance Venice. Embracing military life as an antidote to the frippery of Venetian society, Iago won the love of the beautiful Emilia and the regard of Venice's revered General Othello. After years of abuse and rejection, Iago was poised to achieve everything he had ever fought for and dreamed of . . .

But a cascade of unexpected deceptions propels him on a catastrophic quest for righteous vengeance, contorting his moral compass until he has betrayed his closest friends and family, and sealed his own fate as one of the most notorious villains of all time.

Inspired by William Shakespeare's classic tragedy Othello—a timeless tale of friendship and treachery, love and jealousy—Galland's I, Iago sheds fascinating new light on a complex soul, and on the conditions and fateful events that helped to create a monster.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (swapped with friend)

Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros's greatly admired novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics.

Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong -- not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.

17 comments:

  1. These all look good...love the cover of the Owen Meany book. And I love coming-of-age tales, like the Sandra Cisneros book. Enjoy!

    Here's MY MONDAY MEMES POST

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  2. OWEN MEANY is one of the best books I have EVER read. I also 'taught' it to my seniors the year I retired. What an experience!

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  3. I haven't read Owen Meany yet, but it sounds like one that I should...maybe a book club recommendation for next year!

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  4. I can't wait for your thoughts on Owen Meany, though all of your new books look good!

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  5. All of these look so excellent, and I am particularly interested in I, Iago. I think I might have the chance to review that one, and if I do, I will take it! Great reviews today!

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  6. A nice reading week ahead.

    http://tributebooksmama.blogspot.com/2012/03/mailbox-monday_26.html

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  7. I really enjoyed a Prayer for Owen Meany when I read it years ago!

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  8. I read 'Owen Meany' years ago. Hope you enjoy it!

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  9. You are in for a treat with A Prayer for Owen Meany! Enjoy your new books!

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  10. I am happy to hear Kathy say that about Owen Meany, since I got a copy too!

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  11. I've heard good things about the first and last book. Enjoy!

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  12. I've read the first one and the last one Amy, and liked them -- hope u do as well.

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  13. I loved Owen Meany and have The House on Mango Street waiting on my shelf - enjoy!

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  14. ah, Owen Meany. What an intense little guy, he was. I really enjoyed it - we did a readalong of it a few years ago. My readalonger didn't enjoy it as much as I did but her reviews were were fun to read.

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  15. I have never read anything by John Irving but I certainly want to!

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