What it’s about (from Goodreads):

At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother's death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life: to hike the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and to do it alone. She had no experience as a long-distance hiker, and the trail was little more than “an idea, vague and outlandish and full of promise.” But it was a promise of piecing back together a life that had come undone. 
 
Strayed faces down rattlesnakes and black bears, intense heat and record snowfalls, and both the beauty and loneliness of the trail. Told with great suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild vividly captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

Our thoughts:

While I would find hiking The Pacific Crest Trail to be a wonderful adventure, one that I would take in a heart beat, I do think it was crazy that she made this trip alone. Even the most experienced of hikers doesn't travel such a distance on their own.

I found it quite sad that through this months long trip, her greatest threat was not from any wild animal, but rather from another human being. I also found it a little sad that she burned books along the way. I understand the concept of not wanting to have any extra weight but I think I would have tried to trade more of them with other hikers or simply left them behind in the camp boxes.

When the author divorced her husband she chose a new last name. Rather than return to her maiden name, which is the most common thing to do, she chose to have the name Strayed. To me, that is like advertising that she cheated on her husband. It's like wearing the scarlet letter. I think if she truly wanted to help with her healing process and forgive herself for simply being human, she should get rid of the title that brands her.

Ultimately, I ended up not really enjoying this because I couldn't identify with or appreciate Strayed's choices.

We would recommend this to:


People who big fans of midlife rediscovery stories like Eat, Pray, Love

What it’s about (from Goodreads):

Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English academy in 1960s Saigon, and he is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his school. Fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, he is quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country, though he also harbors a weakness for gambling haunts and the women who frequent them. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, but when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. 

In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage whom he is able to confide in. But Percival's new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.

Our thoughts:

The Headmaster's Wager is chock full of Chinese tradition, political corruption and romance during wartime in Saigon. Despite being a painful look back on the Vietnam era, I really enjoyed the story line. 

I thought this book was very powerful, and Lam kept me captivated by the many twists and turns the story takes. I also felt that the ending left it open to the possibility of a sequel in the future. I would definitely be interested in reading more of Lam's work. He is a very talented writer.

We would recommend this to:


Fans of historical fiction, those interested in the Vietnam war.