The Blue Notebook by James Levine

This was selected by my book club, and as I was reading it I thought IMMEDIATELY about my friend Erin and how much she would love this book...then I realized that she is the one who chose it. One of the things I like about my book club is that not everyone enjoys the same style of writing so we get a some variety in what we read. Erin, for example, loves writers who use a lot of descriptive words, are imaginitive and create elaborate images for the reader through their use of figurative language. I'm more of a literal person, so it's unlikely I would have selected a book on my own, which is why I read pretty much every book that is suggested to me.

James Levine is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where I used to live, so I was excited to read this book. I assumed it was some sort of medical memoir like most of the books written by doctors. I was VERY wrong!

The story is told by Batuk, a 15-year-old Indian prostitute and I'm amazed that Levine was able to capture her voice the way he did. I never once questioned the authenticity of the narrator. This is an inside look at the world of child prostitution, told from Batuk's perspective as it is essentially a compilation of what she has written in her blue notebook.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. It's a quick read and if you like "flowery literature" you'll love Levine's style.