TITLE: I Have Iraq in my Shoe
AUTHOR: Gretchen Berg
GENRE: Memoir/Chick lit
I was lucky enough to read this one a little while ago and I was thrilled with it.
At first, I thought it was actually a chick lit, then I saw that it was a combo of chick lit and memoir and I was hooked!
The best thing about this book? The humor! It was funny what a joy to read.
I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with the author. I know that I would not have had the courage to do what she did - take off for a part of the world that frankly scares the heck out of me! But Gretchen did it, seemingly without really knowing what she was getting into - which, I must admit, at first, kind of made me think she was flaky!
But what follows is the story of a women who is searching for something more and decided to "just go for it". Well, she certainly found it and in the process, found out a little bit more about herself.
Okay, enough with the deep thoughts. The bottom line - as I read this book, I felt myself living each moment with her - the bood and the NOT so good. I loved the way the author writes for us - there is no overly lyrical prose in this book, without any ridiculous gushing and, more importantly, without describing each event in painful, painful detail.
The author knows that to keep us engaged, she must tell us the story, tell it in a funny way (if possible) and tell it accurately, all the while entertaining us.
I loved it!!!!!
I want to read more books from this author. Please.
1 comment:
Although i found some of her writing techniques to be interesting, i found that this book would be more enjoyable to people who know the author and or other people from the novel.
From an outsiders perspective character development was slightly weak and made it difficult to become part of the story or to invision the memories the author was trying to decribe. At many points in the book it just seemed like an individual belly aching about their situation appose to embracing and enabling the reader to indulge in this "memoir".
I never once felt as though i was in Iraq and still after reading the book i have no visual image of what it would of been like to be in her shoes... or as she put it, "to have Iraq in my shoe". Infact i think i learned more about shoes in general instead of the country she was visiting.
The ending of the book also was weak, it was a direct contradiction of her feelings and thoughts through out the whole novel. I am more of a scientific writer but in all situations an ending is the final impression you leave so stay consistant and keep them wanting more..
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