Review: ‘Broken Birds, The Story of My Momila’ by Jeannette Katzir

The difficulty with reviewing memoires is that you are basically reviewing someone’s life.  The author is actually a character in the story.  The other characters are their loved ones.  For that reason, I’m going to try to separate out the personal and try to review this solely on its merits as a book. 

Broken Birds is a family drama revolving around two Holocaust survivors who emigrate to the U.S. and raise their family of five.  The beginning of the book tells the interesting story of Channa & Nathan’s childhoods and war time experiences.  While Channa and her brother were living as outlaws in the forests of Poland, Nathan endured the horrors of the concentrations camps.  After the Nazi defeat, their families were gone and they each sought out new lives in New York City, where they met and fell in love.

This portion of the book was incredibly interesting.  I especially liked Channa’s story, because I didn’t know much about the Partisans, a group of Jews who hid from the Nazi’s and committed acts of sabotage on the Nazi infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the other 85% of the book revolves around an endless stream of family bickering.  The characters keep repeating that the only people you can trust is family, yet these people continuously screw each other over.  The worst part is that none of them learn from their mistakes, and continue entering into business deals with each other.  I’ve heard the definition of insanity is doing something over and over and expecting different results.  If that is the case, all of these people are insane! 

The worst occurs when the mother dies and her will has to go to probate.  This miserable woman, whom for some reason the narrator idolizes, tears her family apart with her grossly unfair final wishes.  First, Channa completely cuts her husband Nathan out.  He worked his whole adult life for this woman, and trusted her to handle the family finances, only to have her leave him penniless.  Then comes the properties.  Channa and Nathan owned two homes, the one they lived in and a rental property.  She ends up leaving one home to her five children in an even split.  The other property she leaves solely to her son Steven.  This sets off a long, drawn out squabble between the siblings where they all act like super greedy five-year-olds.  Honestly, I hated them all by the end.  In fact, I saw the book as just another way for the author to try and win people to her side in this childish argument. 

One other note… This is a self-published book on Kindle, and the author has it priced at $9.95.  This is grossly over-priced!  (I got my copy free in exchange for an honest review.)  The author might want to re-evaluate this.

Overall, I give Broken Birds…

Plot – 2 bookmarks

Characters development – 1 bookmark

Historical information – 4 bookmarks (I would have liked the parent’s experiences during the war to be fleshed out and expanded.  It was really the most interesting part of the story.)

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Honestly, I have nothing.  I didn’t care about any of these people enough to think about it.)

Review: AMERICAN ON PURPOSE by Craig Ferguson

I heard somewhere once that many people become comedians in order to hide their inner demons.  Think about all of the brilliant comedians out there who have died from suicide or substance abuse over the years.  Andy Kaufmann, John Belushi, Richard Jenni.  Richard Pryor set himself on fire during a heroin binge, for Christ’s sake!  Craig Ferguson could have ended up this way as well.  His inner demons were drug and alcohol addiction.  While Craig’s checkered past gives him some funny material to draw on for his act, this incredible honest autobiography follows the role substances played in his life—including how he almost killed himself.

Aside from his sordid past, American On Purpose follows Craig on his journey from working-class Glasgow to a millionaire citizen of the United States.  It truly is a modern “American Dream” tale.  From the time he was a little kid watching the first moon landing, Craig dreamed of coming to the United States—the land of possibilities.  As an American myself, I sometimes take those possibilities for granted.  While the book isn’t all “Kum-bi-yah” and “the U.S. is perfect”  (it isn’t), it does serve as a reminder of our country’s good qualities. In America, a C student can become President and a tacky chick from the Jersey Shore can become a household name.  The possibilities that exist for us are virtually limitless.  Of course, most of us are not rich or powerful or famous—that’s not the point—the point is that the possibilities feed our dreams and with dedication and hard work, those dreams might become real. 

Okay, back to the book.  It wasn’t the most brilliantly written book I’ve ever read, but it was touching and funny and honest.  What more can one expect from an autobiography? 

Overall, I give American On Purpose…

Plot – 3 bookmarks (Follows Craig’s life)

Honestly – 4 ½ bookmarks (You might wonder how I am able to judge a book’s honesty.  Let’s just say I know it when I read it.  Craig did not pull any punches when discussing his past.)

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – That’s a no brainer.  There are several pages of photos in the middle of the book. 

Review: ON WRITING by Stephen King

Review: ON WRITING by Stephen King

First, an update on me.  My reading for fun has taken a hit the last couple of weeks, because I’m taking this stupid MBA class that is totally kicking my ass.  On top of that I have had to break down and get a day job.  I know!  That sucks the big one!  After sixteen months of retirement (unemployment), my sugar daddy has decided I need to make some cash.  I’m only going to work part time, 20 hours a week, so I still should be able to continue my writing.  I’m telling you all this because my personal reading might take a hit and therefore, my blog will not be updated as often as it has been in the past.  Don’t worry, even while working full time, I still read two novels a week, so the blog will still be plenty active. 

Now, on to business.  On Writing.  Whether you like his style of books or not, I don’t think anyone can disagree that Stephen King is a genius.  My reading history with King has been perilous.  As a teen, I read every book he wrote—devoured them like candy—until The Tommyknockers.  I’ve never quite forgiven him for The Tommyknockers.  It killed me to have to put it down, but seriously—250 pages on the inner workings of a battery?  I understand that King was coked out of his mind when he wrote it, and it showed, but his editor should have had a “come to jesus” talk with him at that point. 

Okay, I know King has been drug and alcohol free for fifteen years now, but I just wouldn’t let myself go back to him…until On Writing.  Mr. King, I want to publically forgive you for The Tommyknockers and let you know that I’m a believer again. 

On Writing is part memoir/part guide for new writers.  As a writer myself, I am fascinated by those who have “made it” in the business.  Since King is one of the most recognizable and prolific authors of our time, there is no greater expert out there to talk on this subject.  In fact, reading the second half of the book was like King having the “come to Jesus” talk with me.  He called me out and kicked my ass on all of the things I’m doing as a writer that I shouldn’t—and he’s 100% right.  I needed this book right at this time.  I am ¾ of the way though my second novel and have completely fallen out of love with it.  Since King wrote this in second person, it felt like he was talking directly to me, calling me out on all my bullshit excuses.  I needed that. 

On Writing is not just a dressing down—the story was very inspiring as well.  King has been through a lot of crap over his career, some of his making and he’s honest about that, but he has come through it strong.  Most of all, this book showed me that even successful writers have been through the same self-doubt and aggravations that I go through.  He too had a formidable stack of rejection letters wracked up.  Finishing this book made we want to tackle that manuscript again.  Thank you, Mr. King. 

Overall, I give On Writing…

Plot – 3 bookmarks (primarily non-fiction, but there is a personal narrative which threads through.)

Practical Application – 5 bookmarks.  (Every writer should read this book—preferably when they are down on themselves.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Stephen King as himself.  

Review: "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls

Personal narrative, or autobiography, has always held a special place in my heart. For many years, personal narrative was all I wrote. The problem with personal narrative is that you have to have actually experienced things that people want to read about. Jeannette Walls has lived one of those lives that is so incredible, that it reads like fiction.


The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls details her experiences growing up in poverty with two eccentric and neglectful parents. More than once while reading her story I wondered how much more these poor children could endure. Her artistic mother was childlike and selfish, expecting her kids to take care of her. She had the most incredible selective vision and a huge case of denial. The father reminded me a little bit of the father in Paul Theroux’s The Mosquito Coast. Rex Walls was brilliant to the borderline of insanity, but never quite falling over that edge. He did have a roaring case of alcoholism, which prevented him from turning his inventive schemes into money-makers. This left the five children of the Walls family to go hungry and without adequate clothing or shelter for most of their childhood. While the circumstances were difficult, Jeannette Walls also was able to find moments of beauty in her upbringing and reasons for hope.


Reading The Glass Castle is a little like having your eyes opened to something that you don’t want to see. We hear stories about poverty in the United States, we know about all of the government programs out there to help the poor, yet families like this do actually exist. For this reason, I think people need to read this book.


Overall, I give The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls…


Literary Merit/Writing Quality – 5 bookmarks (The voice was very strong.)


Thematic Development – 4 bookmarks
 Honestly – 5 bookmarks (Very important in personal narrative…)


Dream Cast (Otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Jeannette Walls photo is on the back of the books, so she starred as herself. A younger Gary Busey (Rex Walls/Father), a younger Carole Kane (Rose Mary Walls/Mother).