Sunday, January 16, 2011

My Fathers' Daughter by Hannah Pool


My Fathers' Daughter is a very moving memoir. At the age of 6 months, Hannah Pool was adopted from an orphanage in Eritrea by a British father and American mother. Hannah tells the story of the search for her birth family. Fascinating story because of all of the cultural, political, social information about Eritrea and the countries struggles with border skirmishes, poverty, government problems, etc. The book is not necessarily well-written, but the story is touching. It really made me want to go spend a year in Eritrea simply to go to an orphanage and hold the many, many babies who have no one to care for them.
The story is also interesting because Hannah reveals a lot of what an adopted person experiences emotionally and socially. Especially when they are so far removed from their birth culture/race/nationality. Very insightful!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

The Sins of the Wolf by Anne Perry


This book was given to me by a friend (Sue) upon the recommendation of another friend (Alison). I have some stress over this book, now, because I enjoyed this murder mystery by Anne Perry so much, I will have to find time to read all of the other books in the William Monk Mystery Series. Set in Victorian Great Britain, Anne Perry does an excellent job of bringing us into another era and place and engaging us with intriguing characters. The plot twists and turns. At times a bit over-the-top in description, but such an enjoyable read. For any who have not already read William Monk novels, I would not recommend this one as a starting point. I wish I had read the first book, Death of a Stranger. There are many references in the story to past cases and the personal issues William Monk, Hester Latterly, and Oliver Rathbone that were developed in earlier novels. I think that my reading experience would have been even richer if I had read at least the first novel. Agatha Christie is still my favorite mystery writer, but Anne Perry has given me a second to enjoy.