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Arian Sharifian asharifianb569 — “Our street was smaller than most. It had just one long row of houses on one side, and two smaller rows of equal combined length on the other, intersected by another street called Brook Street. It sloped slightly on a hill that began far up in the better section of town. It was a quiet, little street, hardly noticeable among all the other larger streets, but what distinguished it from all the others was the fact that we lived on one side, and they lived on the other. We were the Jews and they were the Christians.” Harry Bernstein’s memoir of his childhood in early nineteenth century Manchester, England is remarkable for a number of reasons. First, Bernstein penned this work when he was ninety-six. It was his first published book, although he emphasizes that he was writing nearly all his life. Next, it is gripping not only for it’s tales of hardship growing up in a poor household with an abusive alcoholic father, but for it’s examination of the relationship between the Jews and the Catholics on his block, and the effect modernization had on their interactions. This makes it an important work, because it not only allows us to take a look at historical events and their impact on the family, but it also shows us the subtle nuances of societal values, and their impact in a world that is changing. I don’t usually put spoilers in my reviews, but I think some discussion is merited here. If you don’t want to know what happens in the book, read no further, but know that I highly recommend you read “The Invisible Wall.” Harry’s family is of the Jewish faith, albeit that is strictly from his mother’s attempts to keep the household in the traditions of her ancestors. There are no relatives to help reinforce their faith, nor does their father set an example. The father’s presence is rarely felt. He works, goes to the pub to drink, and sometimes sleeps at home. He interacts with his family very little. Being poor and Jewish, the kids are subjected to every type of humiliation imaginable. In spite of their mother’s attempts, there is little for them to be proud of. So, it is not surprising that daughter Lily, feels little allegiance to her Jewish heritage. The widespread promotion of socialism during this era hold much appeal to a poor, oppressed working class – and it’s argument that religion is a cause of the oppression. As the story unfolds, Lily falls in love with a Christian boy, Arthur, and the two run off to marry against the wishes of their families. The Bernstein’s disown their daughter – sitting Shiva for her as if she were dead. Arthur’s family treats them more kindly, but in the neighborhood, tempers flare. In the afterword, Bernstein says that today interfaith marriages or more common, and he believes that is good. I assume he means that interfaith marriages allow for peoples of different faiths to break down that invisible wall, and treat each other with respect. I don’t personally agree with Bernstein’s take on this, nor his intimation that religion causes the problem. However, the memoir provides an excellent opportunity to discuss this topic further. My favorite person in the memoir was the young rabbi, who appeared to be a truly righteous person. We can ask the question: what would have happened if Lily had married the rabbi? We know from her heart condition that it would not have prevented her early death, but perhaps she would have been happier and she most certainly would have spared her family (and the neighborhood) a lot of pain. At any rate it makes for some interesting conversation.

Priscellia Tayoto everainz — Original Blog Link; http://samuelloveland.com/2011/04/27/... David Farland kicks off his Runelords Series with the Sum of All Men, in a world where personal attributes can be given, bought, or stolen. Runelords are men who receive endowments from their subjects, such as endowments of strength, metabolism, or wit. These endowments are permanent and leave the devotee lacking – where he might have once been a strong man, he now becomes too weak to get out of bed. Where he might have once been intelligent or wise, he is now a slobbering dotard. Most Runelords take these endowments only when volunteered, and they do so with a great measure of responsibility to use the gifts wisely in the defense of their nation. Others, called “Wolf Lords”, take endowments wherever they can – forcing endowments of smell or strength from animals or coercing endowments from conquered subjects. This book can be taken one bite at a time or in long sittings as you prefer. The plot is always moving, and the characters stay interesting throughout. Character The characters had me at “Endowment”. While they were all written well, the villain was most impressive. Raj Ahten is a wonderful play on the atypical “I’m going to conquer the world” bad guy. He is believable and fascinating, you can really see where he comes from, which makes him even scarier. The book clearly shows how his choices lead in contrast with Gaborn – the young Runelord prince. Gaborn and Iome’s love story is interesting, most especially because both characters are fully developed throughout the story and play off each other so well. The story of Gaborn’s father as well as the trusty knight Borinson are touching and powerful, but I can’t say much more without giving spoilers. Story The magical element of the fantasy world was entwined into everything, and was fascinating to follow. I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to give or to take an endowment, which became much more than mere wish-fulfillment; magic in this world meant sacrifice. Someone had to suffer in order to grant an endowment to another. This led to some heavy choices to be made on everyone’s part. Speed The book is 700 pages, but kept me moving along. Even while reading during the semester’s work load, I was able to make steady progress. While the world is vividly imagined and immersive, it didn’t take long to fall right in. The pacing of the book was good for both short and long reading sessions. Content The content of this book seemed appropriate for the marketed age group, earning it a Rook rating. Age Recommendation: 12 and up Language: none Violence: Yes, themes of war and packed with battle action sequences that can be sometimes graphic. Sex: Mentioned, alluded to, but not written. Fun The magic system alone was so cool it could speak for Fun-Factor all by itself. In addition, Fantasy tropes are played with in ways that are fun and interesting, and despite the book’s length I was able to consume it at a fair pace. The book was captivating and didn’t waste time with heavy descriptions. The book was fresh epic fantasy, staying away from the Tolkien Traditions of elves and dwarves and yet delivering that same epic-fantasy scope. Critique – The start of the romance between Gaborn and Iome seems hard to believe, but grows well throughout the book so that by the end, their feelings for each other seem warranted. Also, the philosophical side of the book can be kind of heavy. This is always a risk when authors tackle something deep, and may be called “preachy” by some.

Juhi Gupta _uhi26 — The characters all become too annoying by the midpoint that it cancelled out any humorous scenarios. Very unusual, original book but not witty or clever enough for my taste. Very outlandish.

Zack Mccollum _ack_c_ollum — The concept of micro movements is intriguing and great for procrastinators.