Books

Joesydee's Top Five Favorite Books

Number Five...The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

This is an incredible book spanning two, sometimes three generations and two continents. It's the story of mothers and daughters. Mothers who have immigrated from China and daughters who consider themselves Americans, not Chinese. It's told from the viewpoints of four mothers who are all friends and each of their daughters, weaving back and forth between current day America and the China of years past. Beautifully written and emotionally charged. This book is required reading for a lot of high school and college students, but it should be required reading for students of life. I love it and the movie stays fairly true to the book and is beautiful and I highly recommend it, as well.

Number Four...Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence

DH Lawrence is probably best known for what was a very controversial novel in its day, Lady Chatterly's Lover. Sons and Lovers certainly holds some of what would have been considered controversial during his time, as well. Emotional, descriptive, intense sex scenes would certainly fit the bill of Edwardian controversy here, but there's also an Oedipual kind of love and relationship between the main character and his mother, an alcoholic father, terrible coal mine working conditions, and a man unable to commit to a relationship and unable to love his childhood sweetheart who loves him wholeheartedly. Very powerful, moving story. Akin to Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

Number Three...Rilla of Ingleside by LM Montgomery

This is the last book in the Anne of Green Gables series. I absolutely adore every book in the series, but if I had to pick one it would be this one, Rilla of Ingleside, probably because I can relate more to this character than to Anne Shirley, herself and the book takes place during a time of war. For those of you familiar with the series, Rilla is the youngest daughter of the now grown up Anne and her life long love, Gilbert. We see Rilla grow from the last months of childhood into womanhood during the time of World War I. She raises an orphaned baby...and she hates babies. Sends the love of her life off to war, loses her beloved brother, and sees another brother return home after an injury. A beautiful and delicate, yet strong character. The surroundings are lush and exquisitely drawn and the characters are true to Montgomery's form. Love it. Read it, but only after you've read the 7 prior books in the series. Oh, heck...just read this one and read the others later!

Number Two...Some Girls by Kristin McCloy

This is the most recent addition to my top five. In fact, I finished it only two days before writing this. This is one of those books that stays with you. It haunts you. I'm in love with the characters. Claire leaves New Mexico for New York City and does not find all she hopes it to be in her first few days. Fortunately, she is taken under the wing of her next door neighbor, Jade, who is cosmopolitan, different, cultured, and alluring. They become fast friends and realize a growing attraction for one another, but Claire won't have any part of that, as she is "not like that". It's a joyride of ups and downs as the two women pull themselves apart and come back together repeatedly. Words cannot do this book justice. Anything I write will make it seem trite and trivial...just trust me on this one. This is an amazing book. The characters are vivid, the dialogue is so real, the descriptions of New York and other places is unbeatable. Fabulous, fabulous books. I cannot say enough good things about it. Borrow it, buy it, steal it, do something...just read it!

Number One...A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

My all-time favorite. A classic coming of age story about mousey Francie, who lives in a slum apartment with her good-looking younger brother Neelie, her mother, Katie, who scrubs floors so that the family can get by and alcoholic, singing waiter-father, Johnny. Francie reads all the time, wants to be a writer, and has her head dipped in caster oil, her hair tightly braided every day before school so she won't get lice. It makes the other kids stay away from her, so I guess it works. Another book which cannot be done justice by my words. It's a true classic, standing the test of time. Takes place in the 1910s and bright, vivid, imaginative characters are scattered throughout the book. Wonderful story with many different nooks and crannies to sink your teeth into. A big portion of the story is the story of Katie and Johnny and how their life together began. Another must read. If you know any young teenage girls, this is a perfect gift. If not, then read it yourself. Great book for anyone. Several movie adaptions have been done, but they ain't nothin' compared to the book, itself. Smith also wrote Joy In the Morning which is another very sweet must read.

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