Book Review | Book Chatter

Publisher: Bantam Books
Pub. Date: August 11, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780553807165
416pp

The blurb from the publisher:

Your daughter doesn’t come home one night from her summer job.
You go there looking for her. No one’s seen here. But it’s worse than that. No one’s ever seen her. So where has she been going every day? And where is she now?

In Linwood Barclay’s riveting new thriller, an ordinary man’s desperate search for his daughter leads him into a dark world of corruption, exploitation, and murder. Tim Blake is about to learn that the people you think you know best are the ones harboring the biggest secrets.

The Short of It:

This is truly a roller coaster ride!! Super fast pace—a real page turner.

My Thoughts:

Once in awhile I like to read a good thriller. I saw this one on Shelf Awareness and it immediately caught my eye. I really enjoyed the main character, Tim. He’s not a perfect dad (who is?) but he clearly loves his daughter Sydney even though they don’t always get along. When she goes missing, his frustration and concern rang true for me.

The pace of this novel is unreal! Every chapter ends with a startling discovery. Okay, not every discovery was completely unexpected but what I really liked is that even though the chapter ends with a discovery, it’s immediately picked up again at the beginning of the next chapter. It’s told from Tim’s point of view so we are never left hanging for long.

I found the ending to be very abrupt. Like slamming on your brakes. It came out of nowhere and simply ended. Perhaps the frenetic pace of the rest of the novel made the ending seem abrupt, but I could have used a few more pages to ease into it a bit.

Overall, this is the perfect book for summer. It’s quick and entertaining and although I have never read any of Barclay’s other books (and he has several), I would definitely pick up another one.

This book was sent to me by Random House via Shelf Awareness and officially comes out on August 11, 2009. If you’d like to learn more about Linwood Barclay’s other books, check out his website.

Historic Photos of the Chinese in California
Text and Captions by Hannah Clayborn
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Pub. Date: April 2009
ISBN-13: 9781596525191
216pp
Series: Historic Photos Series

The blurb from the publisher:

The Chinese were a visible current in the tidal wave of humanity that rushed through San Francisco’s Golden Gate in the mid-nineteenth century. Known to their countrymen as Gam Saan Haak (guests of Gold Mountain), Chinese immigrants sought great fortune. Most found only hostility and hard work, often braving the most dangerous and loathsome jobs. They endured violence and injustice, yet clung to this land with tenacity and patience and made it their own.

With nearly 200 historic photographs gathered from notable collections, this book explores a century of Chinese progress in California. Retracing the immigrants’ steps-from the gold fields to the high Sierra railroad camps, to lettuce fields and olive groves, and to the Monterey coast-we visit Chinese enclaves throughout the state. We linger in San Francisco’s old Chinatown, home to cherished children and notorious tong gangs, where new arrivals first found refuge and familiar goods, and tourists later found exotic merchandise spilling from aging storefronts. These historic images recall a time when the Chinese community in California was still a world apart.

The Short of It:

A well researched photographic journey of the Chinese in California beginning with the Gold Rush through the creation of the Chinatown that we’ve come to know today.

My Thoughts:

When I was younger, I was not much of a history buff. Textbooks back then left a lot to be desired and what was included never seemed to stick with me. I paid more attention to the pictures and the captions underneath them and if the photograph was particularly telling, then that is what stuck with me.

So when I was asked to review this book, I jumped at the chance. It’s filled with black white photos, some of which have been very well preserved and the captions for each, along with the chapter introductions really give the reader a feel for what the Chinese went through when they came to California.

One piece of information that I found especially interesting, is that after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the fire that resulted afterward, most of the vital statistics at City Hall were destroyed. That meant that the Chinese could claim U.S Citizenship and no one could prove any different. Many returned to China to bring back other members of their family.

Some of the photos that I found most appealing had to do with the quest for gold. My son mentioned that his history book from last year covered the Chinese in California. I was happy to hear that, because they weren’t included in any of the books from my childhood. The other photos that really caught my eye were the ones from the 1906 earthquake. The people seemed so calm yet it was a devastating event and one of the worst natural disasters ever. I also enjoyed the the western influence upon the subjects within the photos. The Levis, the very formal suits and ties. Going through the book was like sneaking a peek at the shoebox of photographs that your parents always kept hidden for safekeeping.

The book itself is pretty nice to look at. It’s the perfect size for your coffee table and contains nothing but black and white photos (which I love). I placed it on my coffee table after I read it, but it didn’t take long for the kids and Hub to start flipping through it. I figure that it’s a nice way for them to learn about history. I think it would also make a pretty nice gift for anyone that is into California history, the history of the Chinese or even photography for that matter.

Thanks to Laura Morris over at Turner Publishing for sending this book to me.