The Red Tent

I read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant at the suggestion of my friend, Hannah. I suggested that she read The Alchemist, one of my favorite books, and she reciprocated by suggesting I read one of her favorite books. I put it off for a couple of weeks, as I was reading a few other things in my queue. However, in the last week of the semester, I picked it up to give it a read.

The Red Tent focuses on the (minor) biblical character Dinah, Jacob's only daughter. While Dinah is the daughter of a rather important patriarch in the Bible, her famous father and brothers have relatively minor roles in the book. The story focuses mostly on the women in the family- Dinah, her mother Leah, and her three aunts. It's a book focuses on women's narratives, in a world that is mostly patriarchal.

Diamant does a great job of recreating the world of shepherds, tribes, traders, and caravans. It is an interesting narrative about a character about whom I knew very little. I enjoyed the story, especially as it focused on one of my favorite areas of the world, the Middle East.

The Red Tent

Killing Floor

I read Killing Floor by Lee Child at the suggestion of a friend and colleague, Mrs. Tricia Smith. We were chatting about books we were reading and she mentioned that she was currently deep into the Jack Reacher series. I had never heard of the series, but I knew there was a new movie coming out soon called Jack Reacher. So, I figured I'd pick up a copy of Killing Floor and read it, as it was the first of the series. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a copy of that book. It appears that it was going to be re-released sometime in the near future and the only other addition I could find was as an e-book. Fortunately, however, I found a lot of 5 Jack Reacher novels for $12 on ebay.

I really enjoyed the novel. It was a fun read. It wasn't anything too deep, but was full of action. Reacher is an ex-military policeman who stumbles into strange situation in a small town in Georgia. He's a bit of a drifter who just happened to visit the town to find the fate of a bluesman whose music he enjoyed. What follows is an action-packed mystery.

The story seemed to be a bit better thought out than some James Patterson novels I had read, although I could find some comparisons between the two authors' writing styles. Overall, it was good and I look forward to reading more of the Jack Reacher series.

Killing Floor

South of Broad

I received South of Broad by Pat Conroy as a gift from Dr. Terry Papillon, Virginia Tech's director of University Honors. He has a yearly tradition of giving the Honors staff a book at the holiday party each year. Apparently, Conroy is one of Terry's favorite authors and this is one of his favorite books. Somehow, it took me nearly a year to read. I kept buying other books and putting it lower on the queue.

However, I am really glad I finally read the book. It is a great piece of Southern literature. Set in Charleston, South Carolina, the book is set over the course of two decades. The story follow protagonist Leo King, his slightly dysfunctional family, and his very close friends. It follows the group through many trials and tribulations. It is simultaneously funny and achingly sad. The lives of these individuals are hauntingly broken, and consequently there is something very authentic about the novel. I rather enjoyed it. One of the quotes from the book that I found to be rather poignant is, "Growing up is odd, no matter where you do it

For anyone interested in a story that will make you laugh, cry, and consider the human condition, this is a novel for you. It also captures the spirit of living in the South.

South of Broad