Ti | Book Chatter

What a week. The last week before vacation is always super long, and this week was painful to get through. I COULD NOT wait for it be over. We had the normal stuff going on but with the holidays approaching, I was forced to buy a few gifts and I committed to donating some things so I found myself at the MALL after my dental appointment yesterday.

Oh my.

The mall was all decked out and crowded. I do not like crowds but I managed to get a premium parking spot (good timing) which made me want to stay there longer and for a split second, I had it in my head that I’d do my shopping, all of it. Ha! Don’t worry though, I came to my senses quickly and picked up what I went there for and took off like a bat out of hell.

Right now, on this super chilly morning, I am enjoying cheese grits and some really good coffee while listening to Bing Crosby. The Otter Pup found a ray of sunshine to bask in, and the house is nice and quiet. We don’t have anywhere to go to today as I finished all my errands yesterday so today is all about relaxing.

What am I reading?

Nadia and I decided to read Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami this week. We were both hankering for Murakami’s writing so I put it out there for others and a few decided to drink the Kool-aid with us. We’ll be on Twitter off and on this week chatting about the book (#readingsputnik).

I just finished World War Z and will be writing up my thoughts on that one soon. Not sure what I expected exactly but I thought it was a tad tame. The Abominable by Dan Simmons is soooo good that I find myself savoring it a bit too much. It’s a library check out and I’ve already renewed it once. I have to finish it soon or risk an overdue notice. Eeep.

Do you find yourself gravitating towards certain kinds of books this time of year? The Abominable is all about Mount Everest so I am literally freezing my tush off every time I pick it up.

As some of you know I am off all this week and planning our annual Thanksgiving in PJs. BUT, this week my nephews are coming to visit. My one nephew is bringing his family which includes three sweet little girls so we will be visiting with them at some point after the holiday itself. The Girl is really looking forward to seeing them.

What am I cooking?

Another Sunday without any cooking. We are hitting a Mexican market later to pick up a Chicken Picnic which is rotisserie chicken (2), fresh tortillas, rice beans and salsa. Why cook when someone else can do it for you?

What am I watching?

Last night we watched Weird Science. It’s not the weekend around here unless we work an 80’s movie into the mix. Tonight is The Walking Dead but in between, I may watch a Christmas movie in there somewhere. Maybe, Love Actually. I ADORE that movie and isn’t Andrew Lincoln in it? Yes, he is the hunky guy with the signs, right?

I’m really in the mood to see Home for the Holidays with Holly Hunter, but I don’t own it and my DVR says it’s coming on the first week in December so I must wait. It’s the perfect movie to watch around Thanksgiving. Crazy family, good acting and Robert Downey, Jr.

What are you doing today?

Cartwheel
By Jennifer du Bois
(Random House, Hardcover, 9780812995862, September 2013, 384pp.)

The Short of It:

One of those stories that is ripped right out the headlines, and yet you still find yourself eagerly turning pages even though the story is not new to you.

The Rest of It:

There has been a lot of praise for Cartwheel and after finishing the book, I can certainly see why.

Largely inspired by the Amanda Knox trial, Cartwheel follows the events leading up to the murder of Katy Kellers, a young American living with a host family in Buenos Aires. Her American roommate, Lily Hayes is accused of the crime. With no alibi to speak of, and what the crime investigator sees as questionable behavior in the form of a cartwheel, perfectly executed by Lily in the interrogation room, Lily is looking quite guilty even by those who know her.

Lily Hayes makes a very interesting character study. She is slightly off kilter in her thinking and no matter how dire her situation seems to be, she fails to see the severity of the situation. You cannot believe anything that she says and because of that, it’s impossible to know what is going on in her head. As she sits in prison, awaiting her trial, she appears to be a victim, but is she? When her parents and sister fly out to see her, what they see is what she WANTS them to see. A victim. A disheveled, dirty, largely misunderstood victim. But what about that cartwheel? A cartwheel? In the middle of an interrogation? With absolutely no regard to how that might look to anyone watching?

As a reader, we learn a lot about Lily, but I have to say that I never felt as if I really knew her. She’s as complex as she is frustrating. The investigation, headed-up by the lead prosecutor in the case, Eduardo Campos, is not always on the up-and-up either. He’s pretty sure that what he has in front of him is cut and dry, and yet… he continues to wonder about her motive. I enjoyed his take on what was going on, but by the end, I have to admit that I was still a bit confused over whether or not she was guilty of the crime. I think I know, but I can’t be sure.

Cartwheel is a page-turner. No lie. But what I didn’t expect is just how similar this fictional tale is to what really happened with Amanda Knox. Lily employs the use of a cartwheel, whereas Amanda Knox did yoga. There is a bar owner in both Knox’s case as well as Lily’s and the whole thing with finding DNA on the bra clasp appears in both stories. I think as a fictional work, DuBois could have taken us somewhere else with all of that, but I can’t say that knowing the real-life facts took anything away from the story.

Overall, it was a gripping read but not because there is a lot going on. More so, because as you read, you can’t help but review the facts and come to your own conclusion on what happened or could have happened. For that reason, you pay attention to every word on the page. It’s a book that I could easily fall back into even after reading other books in between. That’s saying quite a bit given my attention span at the time I read it.

In a nutshell, it’s a keeper.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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