Book Review #53: "Chronicle Of A Last Summer"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book "Chronicle Of A Last Summer: A Novel Of Egypt," by Yasmine El Rashidi. This book was published on June 28, 2016 by Tim Duggan Books. For those of you who would like to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. This book tells the story of a woman growing up in Cairo, Egypt. This book covers three decades of her life. It is her story of loss over the political backdrop of Egypt.

     Overall I rated this book three stars out of five. The poetic language that the author used to tell this story was beautiful and gave this story life. Her descriptions of Egypt were vivid in detail and it was obvious that these descriptions were coming from deep withing the author's heart. Although it was beautifully written, the language at times did come across as obscure and detached. It at times made it difficult to grasp the events of this story. Overall this was a solid debut. 

     I would like to thank Blogging for Books, Yasmine El Rashidi, and Tim Duggan Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #29: "He Wanted the Moon"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book "He Wanted the Moon: The Madness and Medical Genius of Dr. Perry Baird, and his Daughter's Quest to Know Him," by Mimi Baird with Eve Claxton. This book was published on February 17, 2015. A heads up: Now is a great time to read this book as Brad Pitt is optioned this book for the big screen coming soon. To read more about it CLICK HERE. So I am hoping that this upcoming movie will be as good as the book is, and I have high hopes since the one and only Brad Pitt will be producing it. To get a head start to read this book, you can purchase this book by CLICKING HERE. This book is the true story of Dr. Perry Baird. It is about his daughter trying to know her father through his manuscripts, letters, and his medical records. Her father was one of the most successful doctors of his time. He was a brilliant man, an outstanding member of his community. He was able to succeed for most of the time despite fighting a mental illness of Manic Depression. Little did anyone know that he himself attempted to research and find a cure to his own illness, but sadly the depth of his illness stopped him. It is about Dr. Perry Baird's barbaric experience in numerous institutions for the insane. He suffered during a point in history of where no one knew what to do or how to handle people with mental disorders. It was a time of where all this was swept under the rug, and is why one day in Mimi Baird's life her father seemed to disappear for no known reason. It is about her search to know the father she never got to know. 

     Overall I rated this book four stars out of five. This was a well told, heartbreaking but inspiring story to read. I was amazed at Dr. Baird's own insight he had throughout his life. Especially the insight he had on his own illness that many others in Dr. Baird's life failed to have. It was as if Mimi Baird allowed the reader to view her father's life through a telescope. This story was raw, transparent, real, and genuine. It brought all the hidden stuff we have swept under the rug, it brought it all to life.

This book was a very intimate glimpse into the life of a man battling his inner demons that have haunted him his entire life. This book is one for all to read, and we all need to take the chance and grab it now before the movie comes out.

     I would like to thank Blogging For Books, Mimi Baird, and Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the next page,

Jill

Book Review #17: "Five Days at Memorial"

Hey Everyone,

     I am going to review the book, "Five Days at Memorial: Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital," by Sheri Fink. This book was extremely well written coming from a correspondent from the New York Times. This book was based off of a previous article written by Sheri Fink called "Deadly Choices at Memorial," which was co-published by ProPublica, and The New York Times Magazine. This article was published on August 27, 2009. The article mentioned above and this book has won multiple awards, which made this book even better to read. This was an investigative report on the events and choices that were made during Hurricane Katrina at Memorial Hospital and it discusses the consequences of those choices in the events that took place after the hurricane. It is a story of neglect, bad decisions and choices, life and death decisions, survival. It discusses all the factors that led to the unpreparedness of Memorial during the disaster. It talks in depth about all the main people involved so it was easy to gather who they were.  Memorial hospital flooded and lost power, patients and employees were living in horrible, unsafe conditions. It was an emergency like no other, and discussed how the doctors, nurses, patients and their family members, politicians, government agencies, and the CEO's of Memorial responded to emergencies. It made me think the hypothetical what if that was me? What would I do? Decisions were made to evacuate the "more able" people first and in saving the sickest and most vulnerable to last. Then decisions were made to inject this last group of patients with a lethal dose of morphine, to quicken their deaths. The last section of this book discussed and addressed the ethical concerns of this situation, and the repercussions of it.

     This book definitely went on my favorites list, as in why I rated this book 4.5 stars out of 5. This book was very well written, in that while I was reading it I felt as if I was there watching everything happen. It is very detailed and goes into much depth it discussed every angle of the situation and left nothing out. Yes there were some details and descriptions that I felt were unnecessary to the point where it did feel a little wordy at times. However, I do see why this was done in order to portray the whole truth, for transparency, to leave nothing out. It was a hard book to read, due to the nature of the story, it was heartbreaking.  It was a very emotional book. I really thought this book did an excellent job presenting the whole story without any judgement or bias from the author, she told the story as it was. She did such a great job of this that there were times in this book where I was questioning how it was possible for the author to write this story without including her opinion and beliefs. It was a mystery kept throughout the book, and was finally revealed in the epilogue. Again this book brings up a controversial but important topic of euthanasia. I am sure everyone has their own beliefs and opinions and I am sure everyone feels different. This book will bring your beliefs and opinions to light and will attempt to question your beliefs.  

     I highly recommend this book to purchase a copy of this book CLICK HERE. I want to thank Blogging For Books, Sheri Fink (the author), and Penguin Random House (the publisher) for giving me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Until the Next Page,

Jill