Sunday, September 11, 2011

Bastard, Conqueror, King

Today's book is about the well-known English King, William the Conqueror. He famously conquered England in 1066 after the battle of Hastings and ruled England thereafter. He's also known for instituting probably the first census of England in the great survey of the property of England and Wales in 1086 recorded in the Domesday Book. Someday, I would like to have a look at the Domesday Book. Today, however, I will stick to the book I'm reviewing.

The book is The Conqueror by Georgette Heyer. Yes, Ms. Heyer, beloved for her fluffy Regency romance, also dabbled in other periods of history. This book covers William's life before he conquered England and became King; when he was just a "humble" Duke of Normandy. William had a difficult life - he was illegitimate, but his father left no legitimate heirs and William had to fight to maintain his hold on the duchy.

In typical historical novel fashion, Heyer does not tell the story from William's perspective, but invents a best friend, Raoul de Harcourt and has him narrate the story. Although that may even be too much of a description for how the book is actually written. The book is written from the perspective of an omniscient narrator, mostly centering around Raoul, although his Saxon friend Edgar, William's wife Matilda, and even William all get their turn. The problem, really, is with the style of the narrative. The book reads more like a medieval chronicle or a retelling of a myth. William was here and did this, he rode here and fought battle here. He's always putting on some sort of armour or clothing described in medieval terms, drinking wine from horns, and galloping on horses. There's not really any description that grounds the story for the reader. Only vague descriptions of where the parties are. I didn't really get a clear sense of place and time, other than it was long ago and far away. I prefer historical novels to really set me in the place and time, and then invite me in, so it becomes the present to me when I am reading and I have to actively recall the current year as I set down the book. This book felt like I was reading a medieval chronicle and I didn't really become absorbed in it. Maybe it's a function of how historical novels were written in 1931.

Also, every now and again, Heyer would put in a somewhat anachronistic conversation. Usually her characters speak in "ye olde English", using somewhat archaic forms of speech and using the ancient terms for things. However, sometimes Heyer would drop the archaic forms of address and have characters speak in a fairly modern way. This was slightly jarring.

And, my usual criticism with historical novels - historical flaws. Now, given that the book was written 80 years ago, it could be that new scholarship has verified some of the problems found in the book and that the specific facts I have problems with were unknown to the writer. Let's hope!

Both of my issues surround William's wife, Matilda. (I guess I've just spoiled the book there, but, really, with historical novels there are no spoilers. It's already happened!) Matilda is the daughter of the Count of Flanders and was married to William after a somewhat "rough wooing". (The legend is that Matilda wouldn't have William, because he was a bastard. He then beat her, and that brought Matilda around. The legend is the basis for what happens in the book.) That is not my historical problem, however. The legend tells that Matilda rejected William because he was a bastard. However, Heyer has Matilda reject William both for his illegitimacy and because she is a widow and had sworn never to marry again. Where did this come from? Now, I am far from an historian, but neither Britain's Royal Families by Alison Weir, nor Wikipedia, mention anything about a first marriage for Matilda. I have no idea where this came from. And, since ultimately it has very little bearing on the story, why put it in?

The second historical falsehood involves the character of Judith of Flanders. In the book, she is described as Matilda's sister. (She marries a Saxon nobleman whose brother Harold is defeated by William at Hastings.) However, Judith was not Matilda's sister. She was Matilda's aunt. A little detail, but important. I understand that Jean Plaidy (another historical novelist) described Judith as Matilda's sister in her novel about the time period, so it may by a case of not enough in depth research. Further, Matilda and Judith are nearly about the same age - so Judith would have been a very young aunt to Matilda! That could explain the confusion about their relationship.

Despite my criticisms, I did enjoy the book and really was interested in the pull of cultures represented by Raoul and Edgar. It's sparked my interest again in this time period, and I may have to check some books out on this from the library. The story was a good one, I just wish the telling of it had been better.



Saturday, September 3, 2011

A Queen Among Men

This will be an interesting book review. I bought the book The Lady Queen: The Notorious Reign of Joanna I, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone, with some Christmas money. I started it right away and quickly got bogged down. I felt the book dragged and that there wasn't enough focus on Joanna. Then various library books and life events intervened and I put the book down for awhile. Then I picked it up again and read through a few more marriages and intrigues before getting sucked back into the pile of library books threatening to go overdue without being read. Eventually I picked up the book again about a week or so ago and tore through it. I was fascinated and wanted to know all about Joanna. So I have finished the book, but it almost feels like I've read two different books!

I think, in order to get an accurate perspective on the book, I'm going to need to read it again, all in one sitting. That's not likely to happen soon, but here are my thoughts on the book after my recent split reading of it.

Joanna was Queen of her own realm in a time when women didn't usually rule their own kingdoms. Even Eleanor of Aquitaine, for all her own power, was nominally just a Queen Consort. (That said, I believe that she was Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, so she wasn't entirely powerless.) Joanna ruled on the turbulent Italian peninsula from 1343 to 1382. As she was predeceased by her father, she succeeded her grandfather to the throne. Sadly, Joanna was beset by a number of male cousins both from Hungary and from the Italian region who thought that they should be king. Joanna and her sister were involved in various schemes by these cousins and forcible and unhappy marriages were not uncommon. In addition to all of that, Goldstone weaves in the history of the Popes in Italy and Avignon, problems in central Europe (Hungary), wars in France and Spain as well as the battles between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. That's a lot of story for one small book!

That's where I had problems with it initially - I felt that the author was too focused on really trying to set Joanna firmly in her time period and show just how interconnected everything was that she lost sight of Joanna and her story. I understand that all of these other issues were going on at the time - and that they did affect Joanna. However, Joanna's story was complicated enough (especially with all of that family!) that I felt swamped by the additional information. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed the latter half of the book more - there seemed to be more focus on Joanna. Joanna really hit her stride as a Queen and I felt the end of the book reflected that.

One other nitpicky note - I would like the year I'm reading about to be put up in the top right hand/left hand corner of each page. The book covers so much information and packs in so many dates that sometimes I would forget where I was and would have to flip back a few pages to get to the last date with a year attached to it to figure out what was happening. I think that would also help humanize Joanna a little bit - the reader could look at the date and think, Wow, Joanna's only 20 and look at all the stuff she was dealing with at the time! It would help draw a connection between the reader and the subject.

If you are interested in obscure European royalty (that probably shouldn't be obscure!) you should check out The Lady Queen. I would be interested to know how it reads all the way through as opposed to when it's broken up by a long stretch of time. I find Goldstone to be slightly dry at times, but eventually the subject overcomes the writing. Queen Joanna deserves to be better known - although maybe fiction would be a better home for her. I look forward to reading a fictionalized version of this fascinating Queen's life.





Sunday, August 28, 2011

De Medici

When reading historical novels, I tend to stick to novels about English history. I know the history better, and I think that there are more of them in English language. However, I recently decided to branch out into French history with The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis.

For those of you who may not know, Catherine de Medici was Queen of France from 1547 to 1557. There is a lot of interest right now in that period in English history (I would call it middle Tudor - just after Henry VIII and before Elizabeth I) so I'm wondering if some of that interest will spill over into France and the other countries at the time. It is kind of neat to catch the references to some of the Tudor folk we know so well. (Not to mention Mary, Queen of Scots - briefly Queen of France when she married Catherine's son.)

However, I digress. Catherine grew up in Italy as part of the extended de Medici clan. At one point, apparently, she was imprisoned as a child. She eventually married Henri II - at that time just a Prince of France - and they had a number of children. The Dauphin predeceased their father, which eventually paved the way for Henri becoming King after his father, Francois. Henri is also probably very well known for his mistress; the beautiful Diane de Poitiers - who was probably 20 years older or so than the King. (Thanks, Wikipedia, for helping out with these facts!)

The book begins in Catherine's childhood. The unstable political times are set out, and we quickly learn of Catherine's precocious intelligence and early love for astrology. That said, the part where Catherine murders a stableboy to help her and her aunt escape is pure fiction. I like some plausibility in my historical fiction.

Catherine is imprisoned in a number of convents and is finally freed to go live with the Pope, himself a Medici. Catherine is supposed to marry her cousin Ippolito and rule Florence with him and Catherine finds herself in many compromising situations with her cousin. Again, that is another aspect that is problematic - I don't think that the opportunities the author describes would be there.

However, Catherine is married to Henri and moves to France. I enjoyed this part of the book - I liked the author's twist in that Diane was an early passing fancy of Henri's, but he had to keep pretending that she was his chief mistress to appease the factions at court when he really was in love with Catherine. While that may not be historically valid, I thought it was an interesting interpretation of the historical record. Catherine survives the early death of her husband and is the power behind the throne for her sons who succeed as king.

Overall, this book was okay, but didn't really live up to my expectations. A book called The Devil's Queen about Catherine de Medici - I want more. I would have liked a more in-depth look at Catherine's life; the pacing of the book was off. We skipped entire years early on so we could slow down right at the end before the St. Bartholomew's day massacre - which ends the book. I found the pacing slow at the end and may not have minded if we'd gone into all these little historical details before. More historical details altogether would have been nice. I wasn't really pulled into this book like I am with other historical novels. When reading a good historical novel, the reader should have difficulty recalling current time and place when putting the book down. That did not happen here.

I also wanted more showing, less telling. Sure, the author told me that Catherine was intelligent, smart, and ruled well, but I wanted to see that. More of Catherine ruling instead of just sort of hearing about it. I also thought there wasn't enough astrology/mysticism in the book. For someone who was purportedly so interested in astrology, Catherine really only went through a few mysterious ceremonies. Yes, both horrific, but then she'd abstain from anything remotely mystic for long periods of time. I didn't get the sense that astrology was really a passion in her life. I suppose the author was trying to show a different side of Catherine - instead of the ruthless harpy everyone knows, this Catherine had the love of her husband and was at heart a good person, who only turned to the "dark side" of astrology when things were truly desperate. For a "devil's queen" she was not really very bad at all!

This book was an okay read, but not a great one. For a version of Catherine de Medici which mixes in more of the demonic and mystical, try The Master of All Desires by Judith Merkle Riley. Catherine de Medici is one of the supporting players in that book and I think her personality and interest in the supernatural really comes across well in that book. But, if you just want a primer on Catherine de Medici, this book would probably be alright. Hopefully with the interest in this time period in English history, maybe some really excellent writers will adopt this period in French history and give us a true "Devil's Queen".





Thursday, August 18, 2011

Ancient Egypt

So, where has my summer gone! Apparently I've been too busy to read. That's not entirely true - I've been busy reading Agatha Christies. I know those aren't everyone's cup of tea, so I've been trying to sneak something else in there on the side.

That something else is Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge. As you may recall, Ms. Gedge (from Alberta!) is one of my favourite authors. She specializes in novels about Ancient Egypt. I haven't read them all, but I think her earlier works are more my favourite than her later ones. She's also dabbled in a few other genres with a Celtic novel The Eagle and the Raven and a fantasy novel Stargate. Both of them are pretty good - I like Stargate as it has a strong sense of fatalism mixed in with the fantasy elements. (Note - has nothing to do with the movie/TV show Stargate.)

Child of the Morning is the first novel Gedge wrote. But it's good - really good! One reads it and can only marvel that this is a first novel. From the beginning her characterization and scene-setting abilities are spot on. The reader is pulled into Ancient Egypt; a world so far away from ours that it might as well be fantasy. Yet in reading Gedge's books, she makes the characters come to life so the reader has someone to grab onto in this strange, new, exciting, world.

This book is about a female Pharaoh, Hatshepsut. She is maybe not the only female Pharaoh that Ancient Egypt has, but she is certainly one of the best known (after Cleopatra, of course). She is responsible for some beautiful architecture in Egypt. She was also so hated after her death that her successor tried to obliterate her name and image and so erase her from history forever. Fortunately for us, he was unable to do so.

We begin with Hatshepsut as a child; stubborn, autocratic, willful. Spoilt, even. Already with a drive for power and independence. Women in Ancient Egypt apparently had some freedoms denied their sisters in other areas of the Ancient world, but Hatshepsut was a free spirit, even for a princess. The reader observes how Hatshepsut develops and joins her in her quest to become Pharaoh, aided and abetted by her father.

Gedge creates a complete world for Hatshepsut. We learn what the Ancient Egyptians wore (very little, apparently!), ate, drank, and did. The research must have been meticulous in order for this level of detail. But the detail doesn't obscure the story as it often can -rather, it enhances it. Of course, the book was published in 1977, so there are new details about Hapshepsut's life that Gedge could not have known, but it is a remarkable work of research nonetheless.

I also enjoyed how Gedge did not feel the need to end her book on a happy note. It is not a tragic book, but the ending is realistic. The reader is left with sense of loss, but it all makes sense. We remember the happier times documented earlier and are satisfied.

Child of the Morning is an excellent book for anyone interested in Ancient Egypt and a peek into the lives of its royalty. This is an excellent book - an amazing first effort from a very talented writer. I enjoyed Child of the Morning very much and was thoroughly swept away into Ancient Egypt. This is a good read for any time of the year. Summer is good - you can commiserate with the heat in the book. (Although not this summer!) Winter is better - you can immerse yourself into Egypt's shining sands without having to pay for the airfare. Whatever time of year you read it, this book is excellent. Enjoy!



P.S. Also, who doesn't love that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats! They knew a thing or two - I know my two rule my house and demand absolute obedience from their puny human servants.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

One Day at a Time

Hello faithful readers - sorry for the delay in posting! I was rather busy last weekend, but things have calmed down now, and the rest of the summer should be smooth sailing from here.

The book I am going to talk about today is One Day by David Nicholls. It is about Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley, who meet on July 15, 1988 on their last day of university. The book follows the progress of their relationship by checking in with them on July 15th for the next 20 years or so. This was another one on the Entertainment Weekly Top 10 Fiction. The book has already been optioned for a movie with Anne Hathaway (love!) and Jim Sturgess (who?).

So far, I seem to be really enjoying the non-fiction of the list and not enjoying the fiction books as much. This book is no exception. I really hated the first few chapters, but I persevered, and grew to like it. It was not bad. Do I want to own it? No. Was it a mildly enjoyable read? Yes.

I was very intrigued by the one day per year format, and I thought it really added to the book. I would read about something that the characters were planning for later on that year, and I'd have to wait until the next check-in to find out what happened. I thought that was a neat trick.

On the other hand, however, that's almost all the book had going for it. I don't think I'd be interested in the characters of Emma and Dexter if the book had just been written in a normal way. Your main characters should be able to carry a book no matter how it's written. But I just wouldn't be interested enough to read about them without the conceit of only learning about their lives one day at a time.

I might be interested enough to read about Emma - especially as I think she sort of had short shrift in this book. It's supposed to be about two people - Dex and Em - but I think the author focused more on Dexter's journey and grow than he did on Emma's. And there was some sort of inconsistent characterization at the end: Emma is thoroughly annoyed with her friends with children, yet only a few years later she wants a baby desperately. There was no hint of this complete change of mind at all.

My main problem is with the character of Dexter. He starts off as the kind of guy who is, well, a jerk. He's a lad - to use the British slang (in keeping with the Britain-set book). He tarts around with girls, drinks and drugs, thinks he's so amazing, has some sort of trust fund so he doesn't really have to work - in short, he's not a very likeable character. And he doesn't really change or grow - he does, to some extent - but is essentially the same person at the end as he was at the beginning. Unlike Emma, who does grow and change, but who is not documented as well as Dexter. With this type of characterization, it is very hard to see what Emma sees in Dexter. Sure, a woman might be swept off her feet by a pretty face, but if he's a jerk, she'll realize that sooner or later and come to her senses. Unless she's the sort of woman who will put up with jerkiness for the sake of being in a relationship. And Emma is not that sort of woman.

I also had an issue with the structure of the book. The book opens with Emma and Dexter's meeting on July 15, 1988. But, the reader does not really learn about what happened on that day. It's briefly alluded to, but not enough to form any definite conclusions about what happened. While at first I was annoyed (how are these two people supposed to make some epic connection over an encounter that brief!), I eventually came around. I liked that the author wasn't showing us what happened, but letting us make up our own minds. Until the end, after the climax of the story, when the author flashes back to July 15, 1988 and shows us what happened. I think that was a mistake, story-wise. By then, I didn't want to know about July 15, 1988, because I already had my own idea of what happened. He should have told us at the beginning, or not at all.

From all of this, it sounds like I hated the book. I truly did not - after I got into it, it was an enjoyable read; mostly because each day ended on a cliffhanger that wouldn't be resolved until the next yearly check-in. It's not a terrible book, but neither is it an amazing book. It is a nice, light-hearted summer read, however. If you're looking for something light and summery, this could be the read for you.


Sunday, July 17, 2011

Summer Retreads

For whatever reason, in the summer I find myself rereading a lot of my favourite series. I know that the summer is typically either the time when people challenge themselves with difficult classics that they don't have time to read during the rest of the year, or entertain themselves with light and fluffy beach reads. Sadly, there is no beach where I live. Nor do I feel the need to challenge myself with something difficult and possibly unpleasant. Instead, I turn to favourite series that I've enjoyed in the past.

Currently I'm reading both Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms series and Laurie R. King's Mary Russell series. I'm nearly finished the 500 Kingdoms series - there were a number of the 500 Kingdoms books at my branch of the library last week, so I managed to grab a bunch in one fell swoop and read them in order. I'm just working on the last one, The Sleeping Beauty, which is my least favourite of the series. This is the one in which she attempts to meld Terry Pratchett-style humour with her usual earnest fantasy. For me, it is not a success. I don't always find that humour comes across well in books, and I'm not a fan of Terry Pratchett-style humour anyway.

I'd read my copies of the Mary Russells that I own last month, and really enjoyed them. I wanted to read a few more in the series and, as luck would have it, my library also had a number of Mary Russell books last week, so I picked those up too. It's nice when the library actually has the books that I am looking for, so I don't have to wait to order them in! I am reading them somewhat in order: I own The Beekeeper's Apprentice, A Monstrous Regiment of Women, and The Moor, so I read all of those back-to-back (which is not entirely in order). I picked up A Letter of Mary, Justice Hall, and Locked Rooms from the library, and am reading those in order.

However, I am also re-reading another series which I am finding very enjoyable. Everyone knows of my love for Agatha Christie mysteries and those featuring her diminutive detective, Hercule Poirot, in particular. I've reread the books so many times that one would think that there's nothing new left in novels for me. However, this summer I decided to reread them in order. Much to my surprise, I have never read Agatha Christie's Poirot novels in their publication order. I usually just read through them at random, picking and choosing books at whim. I am rather enjoying reading the books as Christie wrote them.

So far, I have read: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, The Big Four, The Mystery of the Blue Train, Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, Murder on the Orient Express, Three-Act Tragedy, and Death in the Clouds. I am currently working my way through one of my favourites; The ABC Murders. While the books are not strictly chronological - in that they do follow the natural progression of time but that you don't need to read them strictly in order - it is enjoyable to watch the relationships between the characters develop. The friendship between Poirot and Hastings deepens and grows, the animosity between Japp and Poirot mellows. And, too, the reader understands little references throughout the books to prior crimes which Poirot helped solve.

It was, I think, somewhat of a mistake for Christie to marry off Hastings so early and send him to Argentina. It makes for somewhat of a stretch after The Murder on the Links to have him conveniently turn up in London to help solve cases with Poirot. Fortunately, he does not appear in too many: The Big Four, Peril at End House, Lord Edgware Dies, and The ABC Murders so far. And, some of Poirot's greatest mysteries are without Hastings: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Murder on the Orient Express.

Murder on the Orient Express is one of my favourite Hercule Poirot novels. The solution is so clever and it all just unwinds at the end. I can't help thinking about all the behind the scenes manipulation of the parties on the train. I would like to read a novel from the point of view of the train passengers - it would be fascinating.

I also must point out Peril at End House: this is not one that my mother has a copy of, so it's not one I read a lot growing up. As a result, it is, for me, one of the lesser known Poirots in that I never remember anything about the book until I read it again. Although, I must admit, that even though I have read the Poirots so many times I usually don't remember who the murderer is. I think I do, and then realize at the end of the book that I have remembered the red herring whom Christie wants me to think has done the murder! However, there are a few in which I do know who the murderer is. In that case, it is fun to read the book from the murderer's point of view and try to grasp all the little clues that Christie put down for me to figure out who the murderer is.

Probably one of my least favourites is The Big Four. This was Christie's attempt to write a real "thriller" with spies and vast international conspiracies. I just don't think it works as well for her. Her real strength is in the type of English-country-house mysteries with tricky puzzles - not in the realm of international espionage. It does not work as well for me as some of her other books.

I'm only about one third of my way through the Christie canon, and I'm looking forward to reading the remaining books. This may last me until the end of the summer! It's especially interesting reading the earlier Poirots at the same time I am reading the Mary Russells as they are both set in the 1920s. (However, I've moved on to the 1930s with Poirot by now.) It's fun to compare the subtle differences in writing between a writer who is writing contemporaneously with the time period, and a writer who is writing of the time period in a historical sense. Not to mention that the two are completely different writers and characters. I would, however, love Laurie R. King to set up a situation in which Poirot and Holmes meet. She's brought in other fictional characters, surely she could set up a meeting between England's two most famous sleuths? Such a book has the potential to be amazing. I'll keep my fingers crossed - Ms. King has a new Mary Russell out in September - maybe this could be the one!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Pioneers for Grownups

Recently I wrote about my love for Laura Ingalls Wilder and her "Little House" series which inspired me to be a pioneer when I grew up. Well, the books did not end with These Happy Golden Years. Laura wrote three other books which detail her travels after These Happy Golden Years. Are they suitable for children? Sure - older children. But there is quite a difference in style and tone between these latter three books and the earlier books in the "Little House" series. Those who like the "happily ever after" feeling of These Happy Golden Years (which ends on the occasion of Laura and Almanzo's marriage) will not want to read any further. Those interested in Laura's story - the good and the bad - will want to read on.

The First Four Years is a story unearthed after Laura's death. Obviously it is a first draft of a book she probably intended to write later - it is very short and the events are hasty and sketched-in without the wealth of detail Laura usually provides. However, the writing is still clearly her voice. It tells the story of the first four years of Laura and Almanzo's marriage: Laura agreed to give farming a try for four years. While her Pa had farmed, Laura had grown up more as a pioneer girl than as a farmer's daughter. She was reluctant to settle down on a farm, so she and Almanzo compromised on four years.

These four years have joy, but there is also sadness that hits Laura and Almanzo. Sad events had occurred before to Laura - her sister Mary went blind from illness. However, those events were not chronicled in a book. These sad events are, although briefly. Laura and Almanzo lose their second child, a son, as a baby; Laura and Almanzo get diphtheria; they go into debt; and their house burns down. But there are happy times too: sleigh rides, pony rides, the birth of their daughter Rose, the beautiful little house Almanzo builds for Laura.

While Laura's earlier books may have glossed over some of the tragedies and heartbreak the family suffered, this book meets it head on. Not everything is rosy for the pioneer family, and farming is difficult and hard with the farmer completely at the mercy of the elements. It would have been nice if Laura could have finished this book in her usual style, but the spare prose only serves to emphasize the hardships the family suffered. This is a darker book than the other "Little House" books.

The next book On the Way Home, details further travels of Laura and Almanzo. Their attempt to make a go of it as farmers in South Dakota failed. They then moved to Florida, hoping that the climate would be better for Almanzo. However, Florida failed them too and they moved back to South Dakota. This is where the story picks up.

Laura and Almanzo have decided to move to Mansfield, Missouri - the Ozarks, the Land of the Big Red Apple. It is 1894, but the family is moving by a familiar mode of transport - the covered wagon. A more modernized version than the one Laura traveled in a child, but a covered wagon nonetheless. Laura kept a diary of their trip and her diary entries form the majority of the book. A brief introduction is provided by Laura's daughter Rose, who was 8 at the time of the move. It is interesting to hear her recollections of her childhood with the mother we all know so well. Rose grew up to be a famous writer of her own and her introduction is filled with wit and charm. Mansfield would end up being Laura's home for the rest of her life. Finally, she and Almanzo had found a place where they could settle.

The last book in the series, West from Home, details further travels by Laura. The year is 1915 and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition has come to San Francisco. So too has Laura's daughter Rose with her husband Gillette Lane. They work as writers for papers and magazines. Rose invites Laura to come out for a visit to see the Exhibition. She does, and the book is a collection of the letters she wrote home to Almanzo. Just as Laura was her sister Mary's eyes as a girl, so to for the exhibition was she Almanzo's eyes. It is interesting to get a glimpse of San Fransisco - a young, eager city - and the spectacular exhibition through Laura's eyes. We also get a glimpse of her relationship with Almanzo and her love of their farm, Rocky Ridge, at home in Missouri.

With that story, Laura's journey is complete. We have followed her travels from a little log cabin in Wisconsin to a final train journey out to San Francisco. She had literally traveled across the entire North American continent - and mostly prior to the use of cars or trains. Her stories provide us a window on a vanished world whether happy - in the "Little House" series, or sad, in The First Four Years. These books are an excellent resource for anyone who wants to know what it was like in the "olden days."



Sunday, July 3, 2011

Thursday, meet Thursday

Those who have read this blog before know of my love for the extremely creative and very unique novelist Jasper Fforde. (He's so unique, his last name needs 2 F's!) (Actually, I think that's Welsh.) Anyway, the latest Thursday Next book is out and it's a treat of creative weirdness.

By now, I really hope everyone knows who Thursday Next is: the Spec Ops agent in an alternative-universe Britain who also fights crime inside novels. (See what I mean about the creativity!) In our last meeting with Thursday, in First Among Sequels, several years had passed and Thursday was older as were her children, Friday, Tuesday, and Jenny. The book ended on a bit of a cliff-hanger as Thursday was pulled back into the world of Jurisfiction one last time.

One of Our Thursdays is Missing takes everything you know about Thursday Next, the Bookworld, and Jurisfiction, and turns it all inside out and upside down. After 5 books, I wasn't sure where Fforde could go, and he's totally surprised me by reinventing the series and looking at things from a whole new point of view.

Yes, the main character in this book is still Thursday Next. But not that "real-life" Thursday Next that we've come to know and love after several books. This is Thursday's doppelganger; the "fictional" Thursday Next who in First Among Sequels was so hippy-dippy. She's less so here, but still retains an essential sweetness and naivete. I think this is very clever of Fforde - it gives the Thursday series a new breath of life and allows the reader to see Thursday and her adventures from a new point of view - even though it's sort of the same point of view.

But Fforde also plays around with the Bookworld and gives it form and shape. Whereas previous incarnations of the Bookworld focused more on the library and Jurisfiction, this novel looks more at the Bookworld and at the "characters" (literally!) who populate it.

This book is a crazy fun-house ride of amazing. There is a plot surrounding the mystery of the missing Thursday Next (the "real-life" one), but it's almost secondary to exploring and learning about the Bookworld from a fictional person's point of view. Plus, the plot is fairly convoluted and I think I'm going to have to read the book again to really get what was going on!

For fans of the series, you've probably already picked this book up. For new readers, I wouldn't recommend starting here. I think you should begin with the first Thursday Next novel - The Eyre Affair. This book changed how I read books forever - I now cannot read any book without thinking of all the things that are going on behind the scenes. I can't recommend this series enough - but begin with the first book and then work your way up to One of Our Thursdays is Missing. I think you will appreciate it a lot more. Speaking of, I may have to begin again with the first book and reread the series this summer myself! It's always a crazy-fun time with Jasper Fforde and I highly recommend all of his books.


Sunday, June 26, 2011

A Haunted Room

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to write about today's book. It's not that it's a bad book - in fact, it is probably one of the best books I've read all year. It's just that I think it might be even more effective when read if you go into it totally blind, knowing nothing about the plot, and slowly put all the pieces together. I knew generally what the book was about when I started, but I think it might have been even more of a gut-punch feeling if I'd read it blind. So, for those of you who want to go in to the book completely blind, here's the title and author: Room by Emma Donoghue. You can stop reading the blog now.


For those of you who want to stay and learn more about the book before deciding to pick it up or not, I will tell you my usual limited amount of facts. I will try to be even more circumspect about this book than usual, because I think the suspense factor is high with this one.

Room is about a little boy, Jack, and his Ma. Jack and his Ma live in a very special place which Jack calls Room. The denizens of Room are Bed, Blanket, Lamp, Rug, and some other friends. Jack is 5, and you see the world of Room through his eyes. I could probably give away the central "secret" here - the bookflap does so - but I'm feeling reluctant. I started the book with an innate sense of horror - but I wonder if the reader would have the horror slowly grow on them as they figure out just exactly why Jack and his Ma live in Room in the first place.

And, yes, horror is the right word. This book deals with some serious subject matter that is haunting to the reader. Yet, by having a young boy as the narrator, the horror is made more accessible and, to some extent, managed. The reader is given breathing space to discover the world through the wonderful viewpoint of Jack.

Jack is an amazing boy. He is intelligent and bright. I think the author gets the voice of the 5-year-old just right. You never forget that Jack is a child, and while part of your self is recoiling in horror at the circumstances that Jack and his Ma are in, the other part is marveling at the amazing voice of Jack. Jack doesn't know any better - the horrors we see are simply not present to him, and his voice and viewpoint help the reader inside the world.

Room is very suspenseful. At one extremely tense point, I wanted to turn to the end of the book and read the last page to ensure that everything would come out okay and that everyone would be okay. I'm glad that I didn't and managed to stick through the suspense. I enjoyed that the book did not end where it could have ended - if this were a stereotypically happy-ending movie. Room is a little more complex than that - the author takes you to the edge with Jack and Ma and then through into different kinds of adventures.

Room is a terrific book. The subject-matter may be horrific, and the narrative will haunt you, but the book is extremely well written. You attach yourself to the characters of Jack and his Ma and become totally lost and insensible of time or bus stops. This was one of the top 10 books of 2010, and I see why. Do read it - it is not a horror book; there are no bloody/gory scenes in it. It's not scary in that way - it's more of a haunting-type of scary, but good. Very, very good. Read it - blind or with the limited info I gave here (although astute readers may have figured it out already) and let me know if this book haunted you too.


Saturday, June 18, 2011

Pioneer Days

It's a lovely rainy Saturday where I am, so do you know what that means? It means I get to spend the whole day on the couch with a book (or books) and hopefully a cat or two - if they can stop being so adorably cute napping on the bed for awhile.

A good series for a rainy day, or any other day, for that matter, is the Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This series was my go-to commuter book a few weeks ago, and I made it through the whole series in a very short amount of time. As a child, these books were responsible for my ambition to be a pioneer when I grew up. And now, if the apocalypse happens and we go back to a world without electricity and automation, I feel that, with the help of these books, I'd manage to survive.

The Little House on the Prairie series is a fictionalized version of the life of the author, Laura Ingalls Wilder. Yes, Laura was a pioneer girl, but her story had a few more ups and downs than is portrayed in the series. That said, it is my understanding that the events in the stories did happen - except names have been changed at times, and some other events left out to streamline the narrative. Other than that, this is the story of Laura's life.

The books begin when Laura was a little girl living in Wisconsin in Little House in the Big Woods. You meet Laura, her Pa, Ma, and sisters Mary and Carrie who all live in a log cabin in the woods. Life was difficult, but you can sense the real love and commitment this family had. Laura comes across as a headstrong little girl who often just can't measure up to her perfect big sister Mary.

In the next book, Little House on the Prairie, Laura becomes a real pioneer girl when the family moves, by covered wagon, to "Indian Territory" (in what I gather is now Kansas). This book is where I realized just how poor the family was. They lived in a log house on the prairie with a dirt floor! It must have been so hard for the family to give up everything they knew and take a chance in a vast, open land, far away from friends, family, and anyone else who could help them if something went wrong. It is sad at the end when the family has to leave their little cabin and move on, as they had inadvertently settled in land the government meant to use for something else. I wonder how their lives would have changed if they'd been able to stay.

Farmer Boy takes a quick detour away from Laura's family to tell a tale about the childhood of her husband, Almanzo Wilder. The contrast between Almanzo's family and Laura's family is striking. Almanzo's family were prosperous farmers in New York and Laura's family were small-time farmers and game hunters. Almanzo's family still had the same responsibilities to store food before the winter, but they had been settled in New York for longer and had built up more stock and fields and were more prosperous. This is also a good book to read if you like descriptions of food - Almanzo was a hungry young lad and Laura writes the most amazing descriptions of the gigantic feasts this family ate.

On the Banks of Plum Creek picks up Laura's story again. The family has gone back North-East and now have settled in Minnesota. This is the first of the books where hard times befall the family and the reader gets a sense of the fine edge a farmer walks on. Laura's Pa built them a beautiful new house on credit, intending to pay for it with his first crop. But the grasshoppers ate the first crop - what is Laura's Pa to do? The reader feels sorry for the Ingalls family - being forced to start all over again after moving from Indian Territory, and having that fresh new start end badly, forcing yet another new start.

Laura's family starts all over again in Dakota Territory and it's back West for the family in By the Shores of Silver Lake. However, this western trip is different than the one to Kansas. The country is more settled, and while at times they are the only family about, the building of the railroad ensures that they won't be the only settlers for long. Secondly, there's a new baby sister, Grace, and Carrie is getting older. Finally, Laura's nemesis and older sister, Mary, has gone blind as a result of scarlet fever. This is where Laura's gift for description begins, as she becomes the "eyes" for Mary.

The next book in the series, The Long Winter, is a book about just that - the famous "Long Winter" of 1880-1881, when there were so many blizzards that the train with supplies could not get through and people nearly starved or froze to death. Certainly Laura's family nearly starved during that long, cold, dark, winter. The book does make for grim reading, but it is heartening to see the family pull together to survive the Long Winter.

The final two books in the series Little Town on the Prairie and These Happy Golden Years, deal with Laura's teenage years in the little town of DeSmet, where her family had ended up in the Dakota territory. Her Pa had a claim near town, but the Ingalls family spent most of their time in town, especially during the winter. In town, Laura attended schools and socials, met friends and attended church. She also got her teacher's license and taught school, among other jobs, to help make money to send Mary to the College for the Blind in Iowa. While Laura did not want to teach school, she did not shirk from her duty in helping to provide for a better education for Mary. It is interesting to me that all Laura had to do get her teacher's license was to pass an exam. And after she finished a term teaching, she went back to being a student in the DeSmet school! Further, she never even managed to finish high school before leaving to get married.

Yes, These Happy Golden Years deals with Laura's teenage years and Almanzo's courtship of her. As much as I enjoyed reading about the young Laura in the early books, I enjoyed reading about the older Laura more and seeing how her headstrong ways had been smoothed out, while not losing any of her essential nature. I enjoyed reading about the long-ago fashions and entertainment. The pioneers may have worked hard, but they also enjoyed a good time, just like we do now.

The series ends with Laura and Almanzo's marriage, and Laura's new life as a farmer's wife, instead of a pioneer's daughter. Those who know the Little House books know that the series does not really end there, but I will address those three remaining books in a separate post - these books are written for children and the remaining three books have a different audience.

Upon rereading these books, I realized just how much work is was to be a pioneer family, and just how much people were at the mercy of the seasons. Today we live in an essentially seasonless world, where we can get any kind of fruit whenever we want shipped in from anywhere, and wear whatever clothes we like because the inside is heated/cooled for our needs. Sure, snow in the winter is an inconvenience, but we don't have to worry about storing up enough food in the fall to ensure we don't starve over the winter.

I love the family dynamic in these books. Laura's Pa and Ma grew up in a different time, and so have some different notions of parenting, but their hopes and concerns for their daughters are not much different than people's concerns now: education, friends, and finding a spouse. Laura's Pa loved his daughters and was a gentle and affectionate father with his girls. Ma was stern, but kind and did her best to mould her headstrong little girl into a true lady.

I also enjoy the relationship between Pa and Ma (Charles and Caroline). You can tell that Charles is an incurable romantic, a born adventurer who always wants to be moving on - the eternal optimist who thinks that life just over the horizon must be just a bit better than what's here and now. That is tempered by Caroline's cool realism. While she did not always agree with where Charles went, she and the family followed him faithfully and she always did her best with what they had. Her practical management kept the family together when a less practical woman may have let the family fall apart after following Charles' dreams too often. And Charles accepted Caroline's need to have their daughters educated and settled in De Smet when he may have preferred to keep moving West. While the books are about Laura, the relationship between Charles and Caroline is the core of the series and one sense their deep respect and love for each other.

I loved the books as a child, and I enjoy them now more as an adult. The stories are still excellent, but it is interesting to read between the lines and see the situation the family was in, how poor and how desperate they were at times, but how they still managed to pull together somehow and make the best of everything. There was a sense of "duty" in those days that I think is missing now. These are good, wholesome books and enjoyable reads, for both children and adults alike.



Sunday, June 12, 2011

Saturday Morning at the Bookstore

Second only to my love for the library is my love for the bookstore. So many books! My only complaint is that they are too expensive for me to take all of them home. What I often end up doing is just wandering around, seeing what's out there, and then trying to remember the names so I can look them up on the library website and get them out for free! (Well, not free, exactly, but for the low, low, price of $12 per year!)

Anyway, I had a coupon for 20% off, a discount card, and some gift certificates, so I went to the bookstore Saturday morning. The bookstore is, frighteningly for my husband, only a 15 minute walk away from our house. It's a good thing I'm cheap and don't buy a whole lot of books! I picked up 4 books Saturday morning and only spent $7. That's pretty good for 3 books and a magazine, I think.

How do I approach the bookstore? Like most shopping trips, I find it is better to go by yourself - you don't have to worry that your significant other is getting bored sitting over in the military magazine section while you debate for 30 minutes the merits of two nearly identical history books. Ahem. Anyway, I went by myself Saturday morning and I could wander around at will without worrying.

I wanted to try and stay under or around my gift certificate limit, which I managed to do, somewhat. In order to do that, I wandered around to all of my favourite sections, checked out what I liked, assessed the price and my interest, and then went back to all the sections to make my final choices. My trip around the bookstore went something like this: History, Mystery, Fiction, Fantasy, Cookbooks, Gardening, History, Mystery, and Magazines.

In the history section I picked up We Two Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill. It's a book about the relationship between Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert. I've read many books about the Queen, but nothing that really focused on her relationship with her husband so specifically. I am especially intrigued by the promised excerpts from their journals and letters. A very close runner up was a new biography of Catherine of Aragon by Giles Tremlett. While I do own two books about Henry VIII's six wives, I haven't read much about them as individuals, so I think this would be very interesting to read.

In the Gardening section I picked up Lois Hole's Perennial Favorites by Lois Hole. The late Ms. Hole is something of a gardening guru here in Alberta, and her books are full of good advice and timeless wisdom. I very nearly picked up a different book on perennials, but you can't go wrong with Lois Hole!

I didn't find anything in the Cooking section that I wanted to buy - besides, my kitchen bookshelf is full, so I either need to purge some cookbooks or get a bigger shelf. Somehow, I think getting a bigger bookshelf will win out.

Likewise, I didn't find anything in the Fiction section that I wanted to buy either. Most of the fiction I read is classified as either Mystery or Fantasy/Sci-Fi anyway, so I'm probably not going to find anything I want in the Fiction section. Plus, I already have the new Jasper Fforde (which is confusingly sometimes classified as mystery and sometimes as fiction) so there wasn't really anything there for me.

In Fantasy, I hesitated over the Mercedes Lackey 500 Kingdoms series, as they had a number of them in paperback. But I didn't want to spend my entire gift certificate on one series, and I couldn't decide which one to get. So I didn't get any.

Similarly in Mystery, I hesitated over the Laurie R. King Mary Russell series: they had some there, and I am collecting the series, but I wasn't sure which one to get. Plus, they've changed the paperback format slightly, so the new copies won't be quite the same as the other ones I have. Which is so annoying - why do they do that? I don't mind having books of all different looks on my shelf, but it does make it difficult to organize them nicely by size if the editions in a series aren't the same.

While I didn't get a Laurie R. King book, I did pick up another Agatha Christie, as I'm trying to broaden my collection past the Poirots and Marples. I picked up the all-time scariest Christie ever - And Then There Were None. There were a few different editions there - I just picked the cheapest. I'm looking forward to reading it. In the daylight.

A random mystery/romance novel caught my eye about a Madam named India, a handsome British Spy, and espionage. I almost bought it of the shelf just for the picture on the front alone. It sounded really interesting. However, when I'm buying books, I tend to go for the tried and true, so I didn't get it. And sadly, I can't remember the name, so I don't know if I'll have any success in finding it at the library. I'm off to search for it after this.

And, finally, I finished up in the magazine section where I bought The Hockey News Magazine Draft Preview 2011. I'm a very well-rounded reader! The draft is coming up in two weeks, and I'd like to know a little bit more about these prospects. So far, they are scarily young. In a few years, I'll be old enough to be their mother!

So, that was my fun day at the bookstore. One note, however, don't expect posts about any of these books soon! I have just a few books on my beside table to get through first.... Right now, I am reading: Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, The Lady Queen by Nancy Goldstone, One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde, Room by Emma Donoghue and I just finished my commuting book yesterday - Pat of Silver Bush by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Not to mention all the other books I've finished recently and haven't posted about, and some other new books that I got for Christmas and haven't had a chance to start yet, and the library book that's been sitting under a pile of Jane Austens for a few weeks....

As you can see, the trip to the bookstore was not necessary. But it was fun! And while I don't go that often, I do enjoy going when I can - although I will always prefer the library. Happy Reading!



Wednesday, June 8, 2011

He-La!

This is, quite possibly, the best book I've read all year. (So far.) I am so glad I decided to follow Entertainment Weekly's top 10 non-fiction books, otherwise I would never have read this gem. Sometimes top books are top books for a reason - they're well written, exhaustively researched, and extremely engrossing.


What book am I talking about? The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Go read it as soon as you can. (I'm returning my copy to the library tomorrow before I get hit with some overdue fines!) This is an amazing book. It's Skloot's first book too - she really knocked it out of the park with this one. It is an amazing story.


The book consists of three stories:the life of Henrietta Lacks and her amazing cells, the life her children led after her death, and Skloot's own journey to uncover the truth about Henrietta Lacks and to meet with her descendants. But who was Henrietta Lacks? And how did she become responsible for so many medical and scientific advances?


Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who was born in 1920 in Clover, Virginia - a small town which no longer exists. In pursuit of a better life, she moved to Baltimore with her husband and 5 children, including youngest daughter Deborah Lacks. But life did not improve in Baltimore for Henrietta. She developed a very rapid-growing form of cervical cancer. Cancer treatments in the 1940's-50's were still in their infancy. The doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital succeeded in reducing the tumor in her cervix, but soon found out it had spread everywhere throughout her body. Henrietta died shortly thereafter, in 1951, leaving 5 children, several very young. Before her death, researchers at the Johns Hopkins hospital had taken a biopsy of the cervical cancer cells to use in their research.


The goal in research at the time was to create an immortal cell line. Cell samples were taken to the lab, only to be thrown away in disgust when the cells failed to thrive. But Henrietta's sample was unlike any other cell line - the cells grew rapidly. The cell line was named He-La, after Henrietta's initials, and soon it was being used in labs around the world. But for years, the identity of the woman whose body provided those cells has been forgotten.


Skloot tells the story of Henrietta Lacks and her descendants, while weaving through it the story of her own discovery of Henrietta Lacks, He-La, and her quest to contact Henrietta's descendants and write the book. Many pharmaceutical companies have profited from He-La; yet Henrietta's descendants cannot get medical insurance. Skloot addresses the questions of fairness and ethics in medicine while painting a compelling story of the development of medical research from the 1950's onwards. Skloot also draws you in to the life of Henrietta's daughter Deborah and her discovery of her mother's miraculous cells. He-La has affected the Lacks family in both good and bad ways and Skloot addresses the bad side, without being sensationalist. The He-La burden has not been an easy one to bear, and the reader really begins to feel for Henrietta's daughter Deborah and her journey to find meaning in He-La and to learn about her mother.


Skloot handles the science well - she doesn't dumb it down, but explains it in clear words as to make it understandable to the average reader. I found this book fascinating and compelling. It was impossible to put down. I enjoyed the stories of the three women: Henrietta, Deborah, and Rebecca. This is an amazing book. Even if you don't think you are interested in science, cell lines, and cancer research, you will be drawn in to the story of He-La. Skloot finds the human side of medical research while giving the history of cancer treatments, an interesting overview of medical treatment and the segregation of America, and inviting discussion on medical ethics. This is a fantastic book. Go read it.



Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Fantasy Remedy

It's been some tough times out there for fantasy readers - or at least for this one. I can't really seem to find any authors out there that I like besides my usual. Sure, I've tried some other books, but I can't really get into that earnest, Celtic-esque fantasy stuff. I'm tired of the usual fantasy stereotypes - as I'm sure many fantasy readers are. Fortunately, I have found the remedy!

The remedy is a read through the delightful little book: The Tough Guide to Fantasy Land by Diana Wynne Jones. This is a must-read for anyone who is tired of the usual fantasy stereotypes and is looking for a little fun with their fantasy. The Guide is just that - a guide of the usual fantasy subjects. The reader takes on the persona of a tourist who is undertaking a guided tour through fantasy. This little book is the guide. You are provided with a map and a helpful set of definitions of the various people (Minions of the Dark Lord) and places (Citadels) you might encounter in Fantasy Land, what you might eat (Stew), what you might wear (Boots), and what you might do for fun (Fights) (Scurvy) (Incident).

Now, I'm not always one for humour in my fantasy, but Wynne Jones very nicely deflates some of the pomposity surrounding the usual fantasy tropes with her definitions. In short, she really "takes the piss" out of some of the tired traditions of fantasy novels. The definitions are quite clever and the book is very interesting to flip through. At times, her references to Management (who is running your tour of Fantasy Land) put in mind of Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next universe and I couldn't help but think of tours running in the behind-the-scenes of some of my favourite fantasy novels, and some of the classics (like Lord of the Rings).

It is clear that Wynne Jones loves fantasy, and loves to poke fun at it. What kind of genre is it that can't poke fun at itself? This is a good browse for those of you who are tired of fantasy and for those of us who love it despite itself.



Monday, May 30, 2011

Summer Hours

Hello faithful readers! You've probably been wondering where your faithful blogger went. In a word - outside! It's finally nice enough that I can get outside and garden. Combine that with a career change where I no longer work from home, and I seem to be spending less time in front of the computer.

I still am reading a lot, however. But my reading location has changed, as most of it is now on the train to work. As a result, I'm digging out some old paperbacks I haven't read for years and some childhood favourites. I'm also trying to read my top 10 list books, some new favourites, some books that have been on the shelf for a little while, and some library finds. I'm still reading! I'm just finding it a little more difficult to get the results out to you.

So, like the libraries in my fair city, I have decided to begin summer hours. (The libraries in my area are closed Sundays from May long weekend until September. Not everyone has Saturdays off, you know!) I will post once a week, minimum. (And no, this update does not count as a post!) I'm still interested in your ideas and opinions, and I hope that you're still interested in the books I'm reading, but while it's nice out, we should all be outside. Enjoy your summer!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Fantasy Update

I do completely read books, honest! And I've read a number of great ones lately (and am currently reading one I'm super excited about) but I feel that it's important to tell you about the ones that don't work out too. It keeps me honest and maybe down the line it will help me figure out the books I do really like to read.

The latest incomplete book is A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. Yes, I know - A Game of Thrones! Didn't I just recently defend this book in a vitriolic blog post? Didn't I express my excitement and longing to read it? I did do all those things. And then I read the book.

Or, to be fair, read probably about only the first fifth of the book. I love fantasy; I really do. (I just finished reading Mercedes Lackey's The Snow Queen and a hilarious one by Diana Wynne Jones that I am going to talk about soon.) But I did not love this fantasy.

It is vaguely Tolkein-esque: there's a map and at least part of the world seems vaguely Celtic or Western European. Martin writes from the viewpoint of several different characters. The reader gets a brief snippet of an important event before the chapter ends and we move on to the next character's point of view. I didn't enjoy the rapid changes between characters. Maybe it's supposed to keep the book moving: I just felt it held it back. There's a way to change viewpoints between characters, and I felt this was not it. Sharon Kay Penman does it very well: there's one main character, a number of minor characters, and then very inconsequential characters whom we just meet at the beginning of a chapter. They're sketched out quickly, they help you understand where the story's going and tell you about events the main character could never know about without being totally historically inaccurate. Then they disappear. I found Martin's way somewhat jarring. You never really got to settle inside a character.

I did see how Martin reads like Tolkein but with less depth. His characters are more like characters than beings in a narrative myth-arc. The problem is that you never really get to settle in with a character as you are always being wrenched off into another character. I would have settled with a few less major characters. Or maybe more of an omniscient narrative as opposed to a story with multiple third-person narratives.

I read the synopsis of A Game of Thrones on Wikipedia and the book sounded great! Too bad that I couldn't get into it and that the conspiracy/plot took so long to develop. I had understood that A Game of Thrones was about a conspiracy for a kingdom and I didn't get that so much from the beginning. Maybe a little glimpse of one, but I wanted to be right in the room with the conspirators.

Further, the background was too complex. I do read a lot of history/non-fiction and I can keep track of sprawling royal families, but for some reason the vast networks of kinships in A Game of Thrones seemed to be too much. Everyone seemed to be referring to some earlier cataclysmic event that the reader was not privy to. Why not start the story there? And why have so many different houses and characters that a multi-page appendix is needed to describe who these people are and to whom they are related.

A note to the New York Times writer regarding the sex scenes that were placed in the show (from the book) in order to "entice the ladies". Well, this lady remains un-enticed. First, incest. (Gross!) And then an older greasy barbarian gets to sleep with the lovely young highborn maiden who is beautiful and the heiress to some long-lost kingdom, naturally. I'm not sure whose fantasy this is, but it isn't mine!

And, finally, for those of you who have read the book, the part with Sansa's direwolf was too much. Yes, make us love an animal right before you take it away so cruelly. (I was trying to avoid spoilers for those who have read the book, but that may have given it all away.) I'm sure that event leads to great repercussions further on, but I was not interested in sticking around to find out.

So, another one bites the dust. Maybe I'll skip over the part I really disliked and try reading it again later. But probably not. Life is short, and there are books I'd much rather read. Like One of Our Thursdays is Missing, the latest book in the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. I'm just about to start Chapter 14 and it is fabulous!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Queen of Egypt

One of the 2010 popular non-fiction books that I was really excited to read was Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. I have just finished the book, and it indeed lived up to my expectations.

This book, obviously, is about Cleopatra. She was the last Pharaoh of Egypt before it became a province (or a part of, somehow) the Roman Empire. We all know about Cleopatra, right? The oversexed, manipulating seductress who was the lover of most of the men in the ancient world. She had 8 husbands, right? Or was that Liz Taylor? This book takes all of those misconceptions and, in retelling the story of Cleopatra's life, explains how our perception of her has been shaped by who wrote the history.

Of course, who wrote the history would be men. And not just any men, Roman men. They had no reason to like Cleopatra and a strong, intelligent woman would be anathema to them. Schiff has to fight through centuries of prejudicial interpretations of Cleopatra's life based upon antagonistic sources. Schiff does an excellent job of peeling back the layers of misogyny and showing us what Cleopatra may have been like.

Sources are a problem for this time period - there are not very many of them and they don't always agree on the facts, can be biased, and can be entirely untruthful as well. But Schiff perserveres and shows the reader what Cleopatra could have been like - indeed, what she should have been like, had we the proper sources and knowledge.

The test of a good non-fiction book is to be sad and slightly exhausted at the end. Sad because the book is over, exhausted by the journey you just took. You take that kind of journey here in Cleopatra. I really felt I had a better understanding of the Egyptian Queen and her place in the Ancient World. Schiff touches on her great romances with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, as well as her children and family life. But Schiff also looks at Cleopatra as Queen and ruler - at the decisions she had to make, and the success she made of her reign. Schiff made ancient Alexandria come vibrantly alive - it's a place I would like to visit, if they ever invent time travel. (Actually, that's true for Egypt in general - it's really Ancient Egypt I want to visit.)

This is an excellent non-fiction book. I recommend it to any readers who want to learn more about Cleopatra and the drama of the ancient world. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of the book. Cleopatra did not come alive, exactly, in these pages (the sources are too limited and the distance in time too far), but I gained a better understanding of her and her life.

Two points to wrap up with: first, Hollywood has already optioned the book for a movie. Angelina Jolie will be playing the title role. It will be interesting to see if it ends up good, or very bad. Secondly, I would like to point out that Schiff thanks the Rutherford Library at the University of Alberta in her acknowledgements at the back. Thank you, Rutherford Library, for helping make this great book possible! Yay!


Sunday, May 15, 2011

Fantastical Swords

I think I may have mentioned today's featured book on this blog before, but I don't think I've given it a starring role. If I have, let me know! Today's great read is The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.

Now, we all know that McKinley is one of my favourite fantasy authors. It has to be her great characters and storytelling ability. You identify with and are interested in her characters. You want to know what happens to them. You are pulled in to their story.

The story of The Blue Sword is a sort-of sequel to The Hero and the Crown. I say sequel because the book occurs in the same land and among the same people as The Hero and the Crown. Indeed, Aerin (the heroine of The Hero and the Crown) makes an appearance in this book. I say sort-of because the book takes place many years after Aerin's adventures.

The book begins with Harry Crewe's (short for Angharad) arrival in Daria at the fort where her brother is stationed with the army. Harry's father has just died and she is now an orphan. She has nowhere to go except to be with her brother and the lead diplomat, Sir Charles, of the new Homelander colony of Daria, is kind enough to take her in. Harry does not miss Home, and comes to love the harsh, desert-like surroundings of her new home.

However, there is trouble in Daria. The people of the North are trying to push over the hills and into the province. The original inhabitants of Daria, the Hillfolk, are trying to push them back with all their might, both magical and military. Their King, Corlath, comes to the fort to ask for the army's assistance. He is refused, but sees Harry. There is magic afoot, and Corlath knows that Harry is the key to something bigger. Harry must come live with the Hillfolk and learn their ways. Her presence is essential to halting the North.

I really love this book. I love the quiet stubbornness of Harry and her practical realism. I love the intertwining of magic with colonialism: Harry's homeland of Home sounds nothing more like Victorian England, and Daria as one of it's colonies. Yet the people of these colonies have magic, and ride fabulous horses, and live in tents. I enjoy Harry's journey. Everything is new to her and so we experience it for the first time too. It is neat to check back in with the people of Daria and see what changes have happened since Aerin's time, and hear the myths that have grown up about the events that occurred in The Hero and the Crown.

This is a great fantasy read for anyone who loves horses, swordplay, the desert, and magic. Further, it is just a great story. That is what pulls me into a novel is the great story. This story happens to be fantasy, but it is a great story nonetheless. I highly recommend this book - it is very enjoyable and an excellent read.


Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Austen or Aston

I was inspired by reading all my Jane Austen books to read an author who writes sequels to the Austen books - specifically, sequels loosely based on the characters in Pride and Prejudice. This author is Elizabeth Aston. She is smart, however. Instead of writing books based on the characters from Pride and Prejudice, she moves down one generation, and began writing about Elizabeth and Darcy's daughters. I think this is wise. Elizabeth and Darcy have already had such a perfect story that I don't think any other author could do them justice.

I began reading Aston's books with her story Mr. Darcy's Daughters, about the 5 daughters of Elizabeth and Darcy and the mischief they get up to while searching for husbands. The next book in the series is The Exploits & Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy, about the youngest of the 5 Darcy daughters. After finishing the tales of Darcy's daughters, Aston turns to other members of the family. She writes about Cassandra Darcy, daughter of Anne de Bourgh, in The True Darcy Spirit. The next book features no Darcys at all, but Collinses: Aston features Charlotte and Eliza Collins, the daughters of Mr. Collins and the former Charlotte Lucas, in The Darcy Connection. Aston rounds off her series with The Second Mrs Darcy, a book about Octavia Darcy, widow of a cousin of the Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

I have read all these Aston novels and enjoyed them. In the realm of Austen sequelists, her works are pretty good - and that's saying a lot as there are some pretty bad ones out there. I had thought the series ended with The Second Mrs Darcy, but realized recently that a new Darcy-related book had come out - Mr. Darcy's Dream. I ordered it from the library and read it.

Mr. Darcy's Dream is about Phoebe Hawkins, the daughter of Georgiana Darcy and a Sir Giles Hawkins. Phoebe is disappointed in love, as her father refused his consent to an engagement with the young man that Phoebe loves. Phoebe later finds out that the young man is apparently still consorting with the actress she thought he had given up, and her heart is shattered. She refuses to participate in the London season. Wanting to cheer up their daughter, Georgiana and Giles send Phoebe to Pemberley with the summer along with her cousin, Louisa Bingley. Stunningly beautiful as well as kind and warm-hearted, Louisa Bingley has undergone 3 London seasons without an offer. She is tired of the social life and would welcome a quiet summer at Pemberley with her cousin. Of course, the girls do not get the quiet time they are looking for as they get sucked into the local dramas of the residents around Pemberley and as both Phoebe and Louisa must contend with affairs of the heart.

Mr. Darcy's Dream is good, light-hearted fun. By choosing characters that aren't exactly in the Austen novels, Aston is free to do with her characters what she wishes, while still staying true to Austen's original ideas and feelings. Aston does pretty well too - the writing's appropriate for the period but still modern. Mr. Darcy's Dream is perhaps a little more light-weight than some of the other contenders in Aston's Darcy universe, but it is a nice light read. (My favourites are the two about Darcy's daughters - good fun!) I do enjoy how all the novels are set within the Darcy extended clan of cousins and in-laws, so the reader gets updates on what happened to favourite characters from other books.

If you want one opinion on what happened to Elizabeth and Darcy after Pride and Prejudice, try an Elizabeth Aston book. They are generally good reads. Of course, nothing can be as sparkling or witty as the original, but Aston writes well and the books are enjoyable and are moderately true to the time, unlike some other Austen sequelists I have read. I am looking forward to the next book about the extended Darcy clan.



Wednesday, May 4, 2011

All About Austen

Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors. Her delightful Regency novels have inspired a whole genre of modern-day writers who write Regency Romance. The talented Miss Austen only wrote 6 books, and I thought I would reread them all to see if I could determine my favourite. Below, then, is my list of Austen novels, from least favourite to most. (And, yes, I know Austen left an unfinished novel, The Watsons, which I have not included on my list.)

#6: Northanger Abbey
This is my least favourite of Austen's books. It's one of her earliest works, and while other early books were reworked, Northanger Abbey was not and I think it shows. It's Austen, so it's still better than a lot of books out there, but it's not my favourite and is really only in my collection for the sake of completeness.

I see where Austen was going with the parody of the Gothic novel, but a lot of the humour is really time-specific. And Catherine Norland is not Austen's most memorable heroine. She did grow on me a little by the end, but at times she's as annoying and silly as Lydia from Pride and Prejudice! However, it's interesting to read to compare with the later Austens and see how her talent developed. The talent is there - it just needs some refining.

#5: Mansfield Park
I think of this book as "What happened to Lydia at the end of Pride and Prejudice". The situation in which Fanny Price's mother finds herself in the novel is how I think Lydia ended up after Pride and Prejudice. I don't hate this book - but it's just not as good as Austen's other works.

Perhaps part of that is heroine: Fanny Price. Poor little meek, quiet, put-upon, shy Fanny Price. She is overlooked by everyone and treated as the poor cousin by her whole family. She does not have Emma's strong will nor Elizabeth's sparkling wit. She's also a bit of a prude. (By today's standards.) Further, a lot of the characters surrounding Fanny are more interesting, such as Mary Crawford and Fanny's cousins Maria and Julia.

That said, the book is still an interesting read and tackles some darker subjects than other Austen books - slavery hovers around the edge, divorce, elopement, playacting. It is a reflection of the times, and I am happy at the end for the happy ending of Fanny Price and rejoice in the downfall of evil Aunt Norris. Aunt Norris has to be one of the most reprehensible characters that Austen has ever created. If you like a quiet, moral heroine, then Mansfield Park is the book for you.

#4: Emma
Yes, Emma comes in at #4. Yes, sacrilege, I know! I don't hate Emma, it's just that there are other books that I like better. The problem is Emma herself. She is so perfect that she is almost insufferable. She has wealth, beauty, and independence. She is the Queen Bee of her little world, and she knows it! However, Emma does realize her blind spots by the end of the novel, and everything wraps up satisfactorily.

One of Jane Austen's strengths is that she creates stories so excellently. Her novels always take place in the middle of a story, not the end. There are certain events that happened to create the situation in Emma, and the reader is left wondering what will happen at the end of the story. The story in Emma is about Emma Woodhouse, but it's intertwined with the story of poor Jane Fairfax, silly Harriet Smith, and the wayward Frank Churchill. I am drawn to Jane's story and would be interested in a companion book to Emma (written by a modern author) called Jane about the story of Jane Fairfax. I would love to hear the events of Emma from her point of view.

One final thing about Emma - the movie Clueless is loosely based on it. Clueless is one of my most favourite movies of all time. So, now, when I read Emma, I keep picturing the scenes from Clueless in my head!

#3 Sense and Sensibility
This is the first Jane Austen book that I read, and it still has a special place in my heart. Austen does an excellent job here of contrasting Elinor's sense with Marianne's sensibility - and showing that Elinor feels just as strongly as Marianne, but is better able to conceal her feelings.

I love the sisterly bond that Austen creates here - which is unique in all her books. Emma doesn't seem to have a close relationship with her sister, Elizabeth is close only to Jane (the rest are too silly), Fanny Price is separated from her sister, Catherine Norland's sisters don't really factor into the story, and Anne's sisters are terrible people! Of course, this kind of leaves out Margaret - but she is so much younger that she doesn't really factor into the story at all.

Again, the real story seems to have happened before Sense and Sensibility started with the events in Colonel Brandon's life. I would like to read more about his early life - but by a competent author! So far, I haven't read anything from an author based on Sense and Sensibility that is any good.

This is a good book. I love the sweeping romanticism of Marianne and the events with Willoughby. (Did Austen have a problem with a man whose name began with "W"?) And I love Elinor's strong feelings that she tries to hide behind a facade of good sense to be strong for her mother and sister. Fanny Dashwood joins Aunt Norris in the pantheon of Austen's great villians. And, of course, everything comes right in the end.

Also, the movie adaptation with Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman is amazing. Go watch it right now.

#1: Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion
Yes, I have a tie at first place. Don't make me choose! I love both these books equally, and could not pick a single winner. Pride and Prejudice is a perfect novel. The characters, dialogue, plot - all are perfect. But Persuasion and the character of Anne Elliot have my heart.

First, then, Pride and Prejudice. This book is perfect. (Plus, isn't my lovely little copy divine!) The epic romance of Elizabeth and Darcy is one for the ages - their sparkling dialogue and wit makes me wish we talked like that nowadays. Sweet Jane, friendly Bingley, silly Lydia, and hateful Caroline Bingley are just a few of the memorable characters from this best known and best loved of Austen's novels. I can't say anything more than go read this book. It is a perfect English novel. I reread it quite often and notice new things each time. It is a charm and a delight.

The BBC adaptation with Jennifer Ehle and (swoon) Colin Firth is the THE definitive adaptation. Do not watch any others. Mmmm....Colin Firth swimming in the pond....

Sorry, drifted out there for a moment! The only problem with that BBC adaptation is that I've seen it so many times that I picture the actors from it when I'm reading the book. I suppose that's not really a bad thing...

Finally, Pride and Prejudice has what has to be one of the greatest opening lines in literature: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

And, finally, Persuasion. I know this book is not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it. I love the character of Anne Elliot. Anne is gentle and quiet, easily persuaded because she doesn't have the power to cross the wants of other people. Elizabeth Bennet is someone I'd want to have in my circle of friends for her wit and generous heart. But Anne Elliot would be my best friend with her gentle good sense and loyalty.

Anne Elliot is a lovely girl who is surrounded by a silly and selfish father and sister. Parted from her great love by a well-intentioned mother-figure friend, she has not found another. I like that Anne is a little older than Austen's other heroines and that the book is more about love renewed, than first love. It is a quieter book than Pride and Prejudice - autumn to its spring. But the love story in it is just as passionate as that of Elizabeth and Darcy - more so, maybe for the years separating the characters. The final climatic scene with the exchange of letters is tense and exciting - and it's just an exchange of letters! It is just another example of Austen's terrific writing style.

I value Pride and Prejudice as a witty acquaintance who makes me smile. I love Persuasion as a gentle friend who tells me her heart.

So, there you have it, faithful readers, my favourite Austens. What's your ranking? Disagree? Agree? Is Colin Firth the best Darcy of all time? Is that just a silly question? Debate in the comments below!