Puss Reboots: Blog: March 2008: Forgive Me

Recent posts

Book Reviews:

Bleach Volume 9 by Tite Kubo.
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Marakami.
The Boarder by Alexander Jablokov.
Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry.
Count to Ten Piggy Wiggy by Christyan and Diane Fox.
Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man by Tim Allen.
Exit Strategy by K. D. Wentworth
Forgive Me by Amanda Eyre Ward.
The Four Ugly Cats in Apartment 3D by Marilyn Sachs.
Flush by Carl Hiaasen.
Frogs by Martin Schwabacher.
He Rents, She Rents by Richard Roeper and Laura Viera.
Hotel Cat by Esther Averill
Immortal by Traci L. Slatton.
The Ka of Gifford Hillary by Dennis Wheatley.
Last Chance Saloon by Marian Keyes.
Leadership Brand by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood.
Lorna Doone (Abridged) by R. D. Blackmore
Lost Pilgrim by Gene Wolf.
The Magnificent Mummy Maker by Elvira Woodruff.
Manhattan is Missing by E. W. Hildick.
The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes.
Mommy Hugs by Anne Gutman and Georg Hallensleben.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.
The Overseer by Albert E. Cowdrey.
Park by Pierre Pratt
Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle.
Q & A by Vikas Swarup
The Rocky Mountain Moving Picture Association by Loren D. Estleman
Rumple What? by Nancy Springer
Sea Turtles by Emilie U. Lepthien.
The Second Descent by Richard Paul Russo.
Stanley in Space by Jeff Brown and illustrated by Scott Nash.
Take a Stand, Rosa Parks! by Peter and Connie Roop.
Tall by Jez Alborough.
Trucks and Diggers by DK Publishing.
Women & Self-Esteem by Linda Tschirhart Sanford and Mary Ellen Donovan

Miscellaneous:
Kirby Went to the Beach by Sean Sammis

Previous month

Forgive Me: 03/09/08

Forgive Me is Amanda Eyre Ward's third novel. It's a powerful piece about forgiveness and love in the aftermath of apartheid and the hearings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Protagonist Nadine Morgan is a journalist who specializes in covering dangerous events. After she is mugged and beaten in Mexico City the TRC's hearing on the death of Jason Irving draws her back to South Africa after a decade's absence.

Overall I enjoyed the story but it has its weak points. The attack in Mexico City and Nadine's sudden appearance in Cape Cod to recuperate was too abrupt and unexplained. Even Nadine seems pulled out the story by the plot needing her to be Cape Cod to recover and to meet important characters.

Later, the journal entries of Jason Irving which are there to tell his part of the story broke the narrative flow for me. Nadine's descriptions of this wonderful journal doesn't mesh with Jason's mediocre writing nor does Jason's ramblings add much to the already poignant story.

My favorite of the book is Dr. Hank Duarte. He was a believable and charming love interest for Nadine although for the first half of the book I though he could do better than Nadine. She may be a good journalist but she is lousy at empathy and has to learn it through her return visit to Cape Town.

Despite the minor flaws with the book, I did enjoy it and found myself sucked in.