Reviews for Tea

The average rating for Tea based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-03-13 00:00:00 Kevin Leblanc I am sitting cross-legged on the floor of my living room, sipping tea out of a mug with a farm scene on the front--a barn and a silo and green fields and a farmhouse, canopied by huge, beautiful night stars. It is my third cup of the day and has gone cold twice already. To me, this tea is a thing of permanence. A reminder of my father before me and his mother before him, and I suspect it will be a reminder of me to my children, if ever they are to be born. I have no memory of tea tasting new and adventurous, because it has always been. It is infinity, spherical, and permanent. I do, however, have fond and strong memories of the ever-presence of tea in this little life of mine. Drinking cup after cup, a bag at a time, when I worked in Rhode Island. Me in my little rehearsal studio with strong, sweet cups of tea in round, white mugs with an apple painted on the front. The caffeine kept me awake for hours. Today, thinking back to a sentiment from years ago, I resurrected the teapot my father bought me when I went away to college. I hope this teapot never breaks--I am sure I couldn't recover from the loss. If I were to visit my father today, he would be drinking the largest cup of tea known to mankind. A 64oz mug that my mother made a few years ago when she took a pottery class. My father's tea is weak--one generic Target brand tea bag--and scalding hot. He will microwave this tea over and over again throughout the day, and when his mug is empty, he'll start all over again. He is a chain-drinker. Tea does not remind me of my mother. There are other things that remind me of my mother--Harry Potter, New England beach vacations, Pennsylvania, a potter's wheel, Girl Scouts, veterinarians, my dead grandmother, the sci-fi channel, and infinite other things. After 317 pages, I can't tell you what reminds Isabel of her mother. Perhaps it's intangible. But, I don't think it's tea. I'm not sure I can think about this book in any solid terms. It is an ok story, but I can't pull much depth from its pages. It will not speak to me for years to come. It will only hover in the atmosphere for the next few hours or days, until something else covers it over for good. I've finished my tea. No more today. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Books mentioned in this book: The Diary of Anais Nin, 1931-1934 Nicholas Nickelby David Copperfield Great Expectations Pickwick Papers No Exit The Way We Were Love and Death The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Nashville Brigadoon The King and I On the Waterfront A Midsummer Night's Dream The Little Foxes Equus Marat/Sade The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds Othello Cat on a Hot Tin Roof A Streetcar Named Desire Godspell The Miracle Worker Guys and Dolls My Fair Lady I Can Get It for You Wholesale These are mostly plays, since Isabel was a theatre person.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-04-30 00:00:00 Sarah Oneal Tea is a very strange novel. Broken down in Morning, Afternoon and Evening it tells pieces of the life of Isabel Gold. The beginning of the book deals with her family, her strange, and depressed mother, her born again best friend who calls God on her shoe phone as they re-enact scenes from Get Smart and her realization that she is frightened that her mothers mood will wear off on her if she touches her. The middle of the book deals with Isabel's coming of age, realizing that she is a lesbian and finding her way through life in the 70's and becoming an actress. At the end of the book we find Isabel living in Manhattan struggling in her relationship with a depressed girlfriend who reminds me of her mother when she is in her dark moods. I guess it would be like glimpsing different aspects of any ones life. Isabel seems extremely ordinary to me. Sure she had a tragic childhood event but the rest of her life seems pretty mundane. When she was 8 she buries notes and things in yards so that in the future people will dig them up and know about the people who lived where she is, sort of like this novel, glimpses of her mundane life thrown together in a book. I thought that the the death of her mother would make more of an impact but it was just a blip on her radar. It doesn't even really seem to come up except at strange moments, like on her birthday when she imagines what her mother would have given her as a gift. If you like character analysis and not plot driven books than this is one for you. Personally this was not one that will make my list of recommended books.