Review -- November 22, 1963

November 22, 1963
By Adam Braver
Published by Tin House Books, 2008
203 pages

Summary: November 22, 1963 is a historical fiction novel about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The story is partly told through First Lady Jackie Kennedy's experiences and partly through witnesses, White House staff, and medical personnel.

Review: Adam Braver's portrayal of Jackie Kennedy is elegant and engaging. His words make you grieve along with Jackie as she tries to make sense of what has happened to her husband and ultimately her life. I loved the parts of the story with Jackie, but was disappointed by some of the other individual stories in the book. At times, they seemed sporadically placed and I had trouble understanding the connection between some of the stories. Maybe I am looking too deep to find a connection, maybe the connection is love -- love for their country, love for their president. Or maybe it is grief, the collective way the country grieved for John F. Kennedy. During these breaks in the story, it felt more like a history lesson at times -- how they preformed the autopsy, how the coffin was paid for in Dallas, how the limo was cleaned and used again. Yet, both the fiction and the lessons together made for an interesting novel about a part of American history I knew very little about. Rating: *** out of 5

Friday Finds

This week's Friday Finds comes from Book Club Girl. Her book club has decided to read Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes. The story follows Anna, who one day wakes up in her mother's house to find she has lost all memory of how she got there. She then begins a journey through the use of psychics and mediums to find out what happened. I haven't read anything by Marian Keyes and this book sounds like my cup of tea. I already received an email from the library saying that they are holding a copy for me, so hopefully by next week I will have a review to share!

I also wanted to announce that I have chosen my second selection for the 1% Well Read Challenge. I will be reading I'm Not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti. If you missed the review of my first selection (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon), then click here. Next week don't forget to stop by and check out reviews of November 22, 1963 by Adam Braver and The Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant (my book club's April selection). There will also be DVD reviews of The Duchess, Henry Poole is Here, and Death Race (I know, I know -- I am a sucker for Jason Statham).

Have a great weekend!

Jess