tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48478779525158706222024-03-19T07:54:05.153-04:00No Cupcakes For YouHappyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.comBlogger377125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-14635628803787513012012-10-23T11:33:00.003-04:002012-10-23T11:33:41.296-04:00NW<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpB-ATC9DFSBBmMPFrwmeTSTbwOuOlhHf_rtZdopmXAcmbu7XA5CErgU5THXrZvdNpAW3TqQcXGqfv0EIDEL_LMEwWq9i4cQ4L39mmq6FOHauWYAXAKFYQSZtSm-3cA22WQeFIZj5S4U/s1600/166604354.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLpB-ATC9DFSBBmMPFrwmeTSTbwOuOlhHf_rtZdopmXAcmbu7XA5CErgU5THXrZvdNpAW3TqQcXGqfv0EIDEL_LMEwWq9i4cQ4L39mmq6FOHauWYAXAKFYQSZtSm-3cA22WQeFIZj5S4U/s320/166604354.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><a href="http://www.us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9781594203978,00.html?NW_Zadie_Smith">NW</a></em>? Zadie Smith’s new novel? I waited seven years for you.
Now that we have finally spent a few days together what am I left with? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was it worth the weight? I say yes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>NW</em> is not straight forward storytelling and good thing
because given the story I could have thought I was reading a Jodi Picoult
novel. Two girls, different classes, different ethnic groups, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>different side of the tracks, societal issues,
race issues, questions about marriage, parenthood and career, then people grow up.
It’s the kind of story that when you compare the basic elements of the plot you
know that this is a tale that is published every day but none of those books
are written like <em>NW</em>.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The novel is stylized but not at all inaccessible. This is not
two girls waiting for Godot. It’s very readable. There are the Big Life Events
you expect for this type of an over the years, coming of age novel but they are
not always presented in the way that we are used to. NW is more challenging
than experimental. There is nothing in Smith’s technique that’s style over
substance but there is a shuffling timeline and nontraditional storytelling
that make good use of her excellent writing skills and do require the reader’s
attention.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like the way Smith writes. In contradiction to the plot
(And how many 1000’s of novels fall into the same category an <em>NW</em>? Should I even
be quibbling about that? Am I only doing so because Smith has taught me to
expect so much from her? ) the writing in NW is ambitious. Smith’s play with
structure is intriguing and creative. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
ear for dialog and her dissection of London are brilliant. This is a big
picture novel where ideas are in play and Zadie Smith manipulates it all.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">P.S. What do you think of the eye chart cover? Boring I say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-31712256958101742582012-10-18T07:11:00.000-04:002012-10-18T07:11:44.759-04:00Bring Up The Accolades<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0g-DjI7aK1zn5hYdWMNKvy4p7ot3NSSTxKRje9cDUtBnX_dv_vI2PuWwN892cESXq6A7OnJB6iMWYa2lM9Gl69pcq936K1FA4MAbCLUeOO9_gjJHS-zp_E3X2DOWlV1bt1ZOs9XPml0/s1600/154236126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0g-DjI7aK1zn5hYdWMNKvy4p7ot3NSSTxKRje9cDUtBnX_dv_vI2PuWwN892cESXq6A7OnJB6iMWYa2lM9Gl69pcq936K1FA4MAbCLUeOO9_gjJHS-zp_E3X2DOWlV1bt1ZOs9XPml0/s320/154236126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Hilary Mantel won the Man Booker again! She is one of only three people to ever win it twice and the only woman to ever do so. She is the only person to ever win for the first two novels in a planned trilogy AND she is my girl! And Bring Up The Bodies deserves to win.<br />
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Go Hilary!!!<br />
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I cannot wait for book 3 in the Thomas Cromwell trilogy!</div>
Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-16723870734236812092012-10-04T09:58:00.002-04:002012-10-04T09:58:51.867-04:00Telegraph Avenue<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePjDT61_mrC3riPMqJNJzqzyTFLUWVeOah3njPVpV7jWUDe6paDrpQzLzLo5fb2M-ti_e1ltTMfoGKrTFUbvExCmIJpxYopQ_ipOi1igWnevzg2fepu05RvCa4piJzPOBihLbzJx9sGU/s1600/175021466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjePjDT61_mrC3riPMqJNJzqzyTFLUWVeOah3njPVpV7jWUDe6paDrpQzLzLo5fb2M-ti_e1ltTMfoGKrTFUbvExCmIJpxYopQ_ipOi1igWnevzg2fepu05RvCa4piJzPOBihLbzJx9sGU/s320/175021466.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the constants in <a href="http://michaelchabon.com/">Michael Chabon’s</a> novels, aside from
excellence, is his obsession with pop culture. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has never been so much in evidence as in
his new novel, <em><a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Telegraph-Avenue-Michael-Chabon?isbn=9780061493348&HCHP=TB_Telegraph+Avenue">Telegraph Avenue</a></em>. You are never more than a couple sentences
removed from another pop culture reference. However as the pop quotient has
been ratcheted up in this new novel, the overall success of the story is a
little down. That being said <em>Telegraph Avenue</em> is still worth reading but maybe you’re
left not quite as satisfied as you have been with his previous novels?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Telegraph Avenue and the surrounding area is home to a
varied lot including the business that is at the heart of novel and the soul of
the community, Brokeland Records. The store is a poor but honest, sad but true,
mod kid kind of place, a second hand record store. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for the citizens think modern Frank Capra;
the novel has the same positives and the same cynicism as in one of his
movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eccentricities rule, most people
are basically good hearted (especially if they live paycheck to paycheck) and
The Man could stick it to you at any time. As is usual in this Chabon novel the
characters are treated with affection and are very well developed but you have
seen them before. That isn’t usually the case with Chabon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What I enjoyed the most about <em>Telegraph Avenue</em> was the sprawl. Watching
Chabon manipulate the ever widening, deepening and intertwining storylines that
build right from the beginning in this novel is pure pleasure. For me this is Chabons’
greatest strength and biggest appeal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
has the talent and the smarts to build a world with its own defined history and
relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-89837674693049209252012-09-15T12:24:00.001-04:002012-09-15T12:24:15.483-04:00The Bellewether Revivals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuKJV_gOlLpxxeQqGznldBxRDRcAM80mXx3SuKd3tV2ShLG50UxgJJhHQA6lXlu2xJT58bWIPFF6CKy8lxgQk-6b8qQls_21h1fMBfOLB1kvryfMTz-mAIBvpbHRSNRK7Hi2OUPWYvMI/s1600/154294709.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeuKJV_gOlLpxxeQqGznldBxRDRcAM80mXx3SuKd3tV2ShLG50UxgJJhHQA6lXlu2xJT58bWIPFF6CKy8lxgQk-6b8qQls_21h1fMBfOLB1kvryfMTz-mAIBvpbHRSNRK7Hi2OUPWYvMI/s320/154294709.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Why did I finish reading <em><a href="http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670023592,00.html?The_Bellwether_Revivals_Benjamin_Wood">The Bellwether Revivals</a></em>? Why didn’t
I quit in chapter 2 when I realized I didn’t like any of these characters and
that I knew this plot? I am not a proponent of finishing a book just because
you have started it. Drop it I say! You have better books waiting for. Poor pitiful
me was stuck at a swim meet with no other reading material. What was I going to
do? Put the book down and talk to people? EEK. Heaven forbid.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You know I can’t even say that somewhere inside this just
plain icky novel stuffed with unlikable characters is a good one trying to get
out. The plot is a rehash of the poor, townie outsider seduced into joining the
group of educated but immature, moneyed, morally questionable, twenty
somethings with what they like to think of as radical ideas and too much time
on their hands. Sound familiar? You’ve read it, seen a movie about it and
watched that After School Special* that covered it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Save yourself. Don’t be tempted by a nice cover or
interesting blurb or sale price or even a Free sign. Let my mistake be your
warning. Avoid <em>The Bellwether Revivals</em> and always keep a back-up book in the car.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*You have to be a certain age ---and maybe a girl--- to
answer this question but didn’t you love, love, love an</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202179/">After School Special</a>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-87180903983719221602012-09-13T15:07:00.000-04:002012-09-13T15:07:04.125-04:00The Mirrored World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTvpT8XcaWXM1MeZCY-2TXSYzFv6hmV-hhV4tlveqv01eDT1nGTKLohFv8FeGjXVOrD44RExbIVEQxV7zUiEPIznUGqQ7IcJu2iWpgaOUXnj7vTcnf-D-hm_JCemCJoRDJOpoUNG9ZJg/s1600/103117694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTvpT8XcaWXM1MeZCY-2TXSYzFv6hmV-hhV4tlveqv01eDT1nGTKLohFv8FeGjXVOrD44RExbIVEQxV7zUiEPIznUGqQ7IcJu2iWpgaOUXnj7vTcnf-D-hm_JCemCJoRDJOpoUNG9ZJg/s320/103117694.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If there is someone out there who doesn’t have a soft spot on the
bookcase for <em><a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/books/The-Madonnas-of-Leningrad-Debra-Dean?isbn=9780060825317&HCHP=TB_The+Madonnas+of+Leningrad">The Madonnas of Leningrad</a></em>? If there is and it’s because you
haven’t read it okay---However you really need to get to it.--- but if it’s because you didn’t like it…? Then what the
heck? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my favorite reading surprises of a few years ago
(Was it 2007 maybe?) was <em>The Madonnas of Leningrad</em> by <a href="http://www.rusoffagency.com/authors/dean_d/debra_dean.htm">Debra Dean</a>. I had not heard much
about it prior to publication but when it came into the store I was intrigued
and needed to read it right away. After that it was my great pleasure to put it
into the hands of many customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dean’s new novel, <em><a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Mirrored-World-Debra-Dean/?isbn=9780061231452">The Mirrored World</a></em>, like Maddonas is set
in Russia.* This time we are taken to St. Petersburg in 1736 where Dean tells
us the story of</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <a href="http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2010/01/st-xenia-blessed-fool-for-christ-of-st.html">St. Xenia</a>. Also known as The Fool For Christ, Xenia was
canonized in 1988. She had devoted herself to the betterment of the poor
throughout St Petersburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRSCqj42W4N2fJlQ02bMzyMmdG5KlqnpGea6EBwNngd_RBcfK-BzgjYF5VNOu_G1AhajeL26QvtMJ2siOju7Lom5az0eFOUDulO6n9tRkkCKFShmPtWO_eY00Tleo0_x04R50WGkGRfE/s1600/St_+Xenia+of+St_+Petersburg+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZRSCqj42W4N2fJlQ02bMzyMmdG5KlqnpGea6EBwNngd_RBcfK-BzgjYF5VNOu_G1AhajeL26QvtMJ2siOju7Lom5az0eFOUDulO6n9tRkkCKFShmPtWO_eY00Tleo0_x04R50WGkGRfE/s320/St_+Xenia+of+St_+Petersburg+2.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the novel, Dean uses a fictional narrator, Dashenka, to
take us through Xenia’s story. They come together as girls when a fire
devastates St Petersburg and 2,000 homes are destroyed. Dashenka’s family takes
in Xenia, her sister and her Mother. (Is any of this based on fact? I don’t
know. I have not researched Xenia so I’m going with Debra.) The two girls grow
up close and happy. Eventually the time comes for all three girls to enter
society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One finds happiness, one finds
money and one finds despair and they all find melancholy. When tragedy comes everything changes in ways
no one can foresee. Their lives as women are not what their girlhoods trained
them for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dean’s use of a narrator works well in <em>The Mirrored World.</em> Dashenka is
the reader, the thinker in the family and the fact that she is a female as well
immediately sets her as an outsider. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
intellectual curiosity coupled with her devotion to Xenia allows us to trust
her observations and opinions. Dashenka has no ax to grind, nothing to gain by elevating Xenia or tearing her down. The plot, the setting of 18<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> Russia
and the many overlaps into the imperial court also fit nicely into the grand
storytelling tradition of using a narrator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdbz49cvak6cIGPL94ziMNgkTUiI6SlfXlExXY694grFr6lNNzTu5cCAtZ5rcJr1Fx2cg9tN-JgaDrdCHgCy0lR7Nr4glRM_7L4tWDTxWbURgdXGdYjy8zSrh8vLYRBiLPSH8KAW1D1U/s1600/185877341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkdbz49cvak6cIGPL94ziMNgkTUiI6SlfXlExXY694grFr6lNNzTu5cCAtZ5rcJr1Fx2cg9tN-JgaDrdCHgCy0lR7Nr4glRM_7L4tWDTxWbURgdXGdYjy8zSrh8vLYRBiLPSH8KAW1D1U/s320/185877341.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>The Mirrored World</em> was such a pleasure to read. I adore how Debra
Dean writes. It’s an overused description but I have to say that Dean has a
great turn of phrase. You get lulled into the novel, you're enjoying every minute and WHAM! You are stopped dead in your tracks by how Dean phrases something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> Dean</span> has the knack
of brevity down as well. Her words are carefully chosen to perfectly fit the time period,
the mood, the characters and to do their job where the plot is concerned. I could
certainly stand for her to be the kind of writer who puts out a book a year!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*In between The Madonnas of Leningrad and The Mirrored World
came the short story collection, Confessions of Falling Woman. Obviously I
didn’t read that book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-36740689480006563302012-09-09T15:58:00.000-04:002012-09-09T15:58:00.041-04:00A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RdBVc3kuvM1IEKnpuVIUvHSP2dODupd5a0qN8m64MwmmJNZYd8Bs1UtCZAvooqVxi8FDXVyiFEuuaYfWRO_LH6njXRvU3KPQtLNnvgDlGYSnuM7wnhbgNX_62NdS9oXnEw-tc-2r3wY/s1600/175853687.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3RdBVc3kuvM1IEKnpuVIUvHSP2dODupd5a0qN8m64MwmmJNZYd8Bs1UtCZAvooqVxi8FDXVyiFEuuaYfWRO_LH6njXRvU3KPQtLNnvgDlGYSnuM7wnhbgNX_62NdS9oXnEw-tc-2r3wY/s320/175853687.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another debut novel, another winner. It seems like 2012 has
been a good year for first timers. What do you think? The latest in this series
of good reads for me is <em>A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar</em> by <a href="http://www.ladycyclistsguide.com/about-the-book">Suzanne Joinson</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The action in<em> <a href="http://www.bloomsburyusa.com/books/catalog/lady_cyclists_guide_to_kashgar_hc_115">A Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar</a></em> is set in
1923 and involves sisters Eva and Lizzie. They are on their way to do mission
work in the Chinese governed, Muslim city of Kashgar. Lizzie despite her
frailness is the zealot on this trip although she does have other passions.
Eva, who has brought along her prized bicycle, is looking for adventure and a
possible book contract for a travel guide. The third wheel on this journey is
Millicent Frost. She is the expert, the one who is going to see them to Silk
Road city of Kashgar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There is also a contemporary side to the novel. Joinson has
divided the action between the missionaries and the story of Frieda in present
day London. ---Let’s take a full stop here for a moment. When have you ever
read a novel that toggles between a historical setting and a contemporary one
where the author manages to keep them both of equal interest? Does the word
never come to mind? There must have been at least one or two books over the years
that I have read that used that device and the Miss Modern Times part has been equal
to the historical portion but I cannot for the life of me think of them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Frieda is a professional expert on Islamic youth and little
else. She is questioning her relationship with a married man, helping a homeless
filmmaker get on his feet and inheriting things from some mysterious person she
seems to have no connection with. Taybo is the homeless man. He is a refugee
from Yemen whose visa has expired. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The locales, the period details and the politics in Lady
Cyclist’s are all layered in with a casual simplicity that creeps up on you. No
beating you over the head with research here. (Yipee!) The excellent characterizations
in Lady Cyclist’s are successful fed by these details and the plot. Eva,
Lizzie, Millicent and Frieda are all carefully drawn. Their very interesting
quirks and their search for themselves all come about naturally but don’t
assume that equates to a See Dick and Jane kind of obviousness. Joinson uses
her talent to let you bring all of these particulars together and discover for
yourself the depths of the idividuals and the relationships. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Can Frieda’s search for the reasons behind an unknown
benefactor’s gift, the wonderfully interesting inventory of the inheritance,
her relationship with Taybo and her everyday living problems really compete
with the story of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>three white women who
take off in 1923 searching for all different freedoms in an unstable country?
The answer is a surprising yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hats off
to Joinson for pulling that off! In <em>The Lady Cyclist’s Guide to Kashgar</em> she has
married skillful writing with an emotionally and historically rich story about
independence, abandonment and love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-6074140743503227502012-09-02T01:21:00.004-04:002012-09-02T01:21:44.090-04:00Cover Crush<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A favorite new to me cover. I do not know when Bantam changed
their cover of <em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/40441/david-copperfield-by-charles-dickens/9780553211894/">David Copperfield</a></em> to this:</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEXaVqJlfhdCBDcX00F_C0CnhzHoooTH1KGx8GnPVeTuvJrqz95jTwvoT2hPjGaG8_qh4vj-v_MuZ-oIUg5BdinhFjED9XykRhrtC_UxbIbCfdFNB0NewrLEIl3Klt8zyhm-ZBU2ouRs/s1600/148040445.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIEXaVqJlfhdCBDcX00F_C0CnhzHoooTH1KGx8GnPVeTuvJrqz95jTwvoT2hPjGaG8_qh4vj-v_MuZ-oIUg5BdinhFjED9XykRhrtC_UxbIbCfdFNB0NewrLEIl3Klt8zyhm-ZBU2ouRs/s320/148040445.jpg" width="193" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> but I am thrilled that they did. Look at that! It
is terrific. The suit ties the image to the period and the lack of a body in
the suit creates an everyman anonymity that echoes the novel.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> I think that this cover is very
compelling and appealing. Cover designer Marietta Anatassatos you get an A++</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And yes I did buy this edition of <em>David Copperfield</em> because of my cover crush regardless of the fact that I did not need another edition of <em>D.C</em>.</span></div>
</div>
Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-65652326347400548682012-09-01T23:55:00.001-04:002012-09-01T23:55:24.620-04:00The Orphanmaster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOljAHkaq29kFMTQufhL1kkxruIT1BnczClg36br5gFV4xQF_tMlOwb69wcQdv2nhHvH8LmhxufX3sQF06Ju5Mn6vnOz5gSn6OE93kslgxfMyvJCtZK3OJFdHpl1MP522-byjzYsICb4s/s1600/159440429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOljAHkaq29kFMTQufhL1kkxruIT1BnczClg36br5gFV4xQF_tMlOwb69wcQdv2nhHvH8LmhxufX3sQF06Ju5Mn6vnOz5gSn6OE93kslgxfMyvJCtZK3OJFdHpl1MP522-byjzYsICb4s/s320/159440429.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Historian <a href="http://jeanzimmerman.com/">Jean Zimmerman</a> has written several very well received histories
among them Love Fiercely, A Guilded Age Romance and The Woman of the House: How
a Colonial She-Merchant Built a Mansion, A Fortune and a Dynasty. Her most
recent book is also her first novel, <em><a href="http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780670023646,00.html?The_Orphanmaster_Jean_Zimmerman">The Orphanmaster</a></em>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Set in 1663 New Amsterdam, <em>The Orphanmaster</em> is the story of the murder
of an 8 year old African-American slave, Piddy Gullee, the economics of orphans and the Charles the II sanctioned
hunt for the murders of Charles the I. Sounds good right? Yes but there is one
problem. Every bit of research Zimmerman has done for this novel is right there
in your face.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Zimmerman doesn’t do herself any favors by not letting go of her
historians need to educate mindset. At times (and by that I mean often) The
<em>Orphanmaster</em> is an endless fact dropping storm settled over top of the plot. It
is difficult to gain a reading momentum at the beginning of The Orphanmaster
given the mini lessons that Zimmerman keeps interrupting her story with. It’s
all really interesting but too much lecture and not enough action. There is a noticeable
lessening of this here-is-all-my-research style but it never fully disappears
into the novel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On the plus side is Zimmerman’s main character, Blandine van Couvering
and the setting. The potential in historical fiction for the heroine to be a
way ahead of her time superwoman is always there. It’s a rare writer who can
avoid that trap but Zimmerman does. In fact she does an excellent all way round
with the characters. You are going to meet some interesting people in <em>The Orphanmaster</em>.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe this is the element of the novel
where Zimmerman’s background in nonfiction gives her a leg up on other writers.
Certainly that same theory can apply to how well she recreates a very gritty, realistic
1663.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite my complaints about the heavy-handed history lessons they are
interesting. I did learn a lot Ms. Zimmerman. <em>The Orphanmaster</em> is stuffed with
very satisfying melodrama, creepiness and memorable characters. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p>P.S. The cover? A+</o:p></span></div>
</div>
Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-8396429661135224282012-08-26T07:47:00.001-04:002012-08-26T07:47:37.714-04:00How Some of my Reading Choices Are Made<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some guarantees that I will not read a novel:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it promises to alter, enhance or change my
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it is described as: comic, funny or will make
me laugh out loud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">3.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it has a dog or cat on the cover.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">4.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it is set in Ireland.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it was praised by my friend Lily. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">6.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it has a blurb from Anita Shreve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">7.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it is about Jane Eyre’s daughter,
stepdaughter, cat, or gardener.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">8.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it is fiction about Jane Austen’s’ personal
life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">9.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it set in ancient Greece.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">10.</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it is in any way about contemporary politics
in the U.S.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-5983406153817594042012-08-07T14:33:00.000-04:002012-08-07T14:45:27.116-04:00Homesick<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9B1NlLdjB_oEaQmO0PK7sXm0-1HbAUO_9r5NQ0e76MT3g6rsf1yuFo7SJ17-UfNAm9y2XCNxh7Uqn-dCFZv9lLC4Qm56QkmsyGfVsNjynVw7yADx-cTxhQao4HMKubBZb_kwTnp_xhs/s1600/172062794.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9B1NlLdjB_oEaQmO0PK7sXm0-1HbAUO_9r5NQ0e76MT3g6rsf1yuFo7SJ17-UfNAm9y2XCNxh7Uqn-dCFZv9lLC4Qm56QkmsyGfVsNjynVw7yADx-cTxhQao4HMKubBZb_kwTnp_xhs/s320/172062794.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/216112/homesick-by-roshi-fernando">Homesick</a></em>
by Roshi Fernando comes very, very close to being the novel her publisher
(Random House) claims right on the cover that it is but alas… a novel it is
not. However it isn’t quite the dreaded interconnected short stories either. It
is more a series of life studies and it is wonderful. How is that possible when
it isn’t successful as a novel or a short story collection?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In<em>
Homesick</em>, Preethi is a part of the large, extended Sri Lankan family living in
London. Her journey from child to adult is the underpinning for Homesick. Each
chapter is devoted to a family member or members. Sometimes Preethi figures directly
into the story of this relative sometimes not. As the title indicates these
loosely written studies all draw on the immigrant experience. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
details of both the physical and emotional lives of her characters that
Fernando packs into <em>Homesick</em> are impressive and intriguing. There is a vivid
emotional range explored in Homesick that resonated for me. These lives that
are not yet at home in London and no longer at home in Sri Lanka have
compelling stories. Immigration is not a common occurrence in most of our lives
but we’ve all been homesick. Fernando makes this experience as seen by families
and individuals joyous, heartbreaking, sinister and always interesting and
sympathetic. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The
physical manifestations of the characters new and old lives are a fascination
throughout the book. Locations, foods, products, clothing, games, slang, pop
culture and traditions are all prominent hallmarks in Fernando’s tales. These
elements all work together to create an inescapable flux in these lives.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So
what goes on here? As I’ve said <em>Homesic</em>k is wonderful but it is not successful
as a novel or as a short story collection. Why? In both cases Homesick is too
sketchy, unfinished, unpolished to work when judging it by either form.
But…when you take it for what it is an examination of lives undergoing massive
change told in a disjointed storytelling way it’s really quite marvelous.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will absolutely read what <a href="http://www.roshifernando.com/">Roshi Fernando</a>
writes next. My dissatisfaction with the form of Homesick was far outweighed by
my enjoyment of her writing while reading it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And yes. That is a beautiful cover.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-90748792634322473172012-08-02T06:28:00.002-04:002012-08-02T06:28:20.632-04:00Who Is More Delicious?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu00DA2mJknpIWxnUUKcsAKCnbPxK0R6U1cPXuEL8bFva196CXPGsiP3Msfsl3Doav9j-BfMEmx4J3IZjWMF-jAsTaVwqp37xitNVv-9viIVF3r7XQlnwTPL45TCEPTWdDeFnkKd_Smv0/s1600/myrnaloymain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu00DA2mJknpIWxnUUKcsAKCnbPxK0R6U1cPXuEL8bFva196CXPGsiP3Msfsl3Doav9j-BfMEmx4J3IZjWMF-jAsTaVwqp37xitNVv-9viIVF3r7XQlnwTPL45TCEPTWdDeFnkKd_Smv0/s320/myrnaloymain.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Really? Anybody? Those are your choices?<br />
<br />
People, people, people think. Of course it is Myrna Loy. She is the most delicious, fabulous actress ever. Who is more charming? Let me get that one, nobody.<br />
<br />
Today is Myrna Loy day on Turner Classic Movies. <br />
<br />
So call in sick and spend the day with the unparalleled Miss Loy. </div>
Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-41518802486028192662012-08-01T11:54:00.002-04:002012-08-01T11:54:36.272-04:00The Newlyweds<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MO-vSMo2gP4mxuQZqh_DEIwSHPCubRXWtRLNdRCj8irCwVZnuqGja9e6te98xrGmreBeudYWFdwgl63EyywJcLuJqvYF7oreH86TjH1sa7bxx0zD1ju2a-oTKXt3uNFi1SjDLbo6qPc/s1600/159635050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2MO-vSMo2gP4mxuQZqh_DEIwSHPCubRXWtRLNdRCj8irCwVZnuqGja9e6te98xrGmreBeudYWFdwgl63EyywJcLuJqvYF7oreH86TjH1sa7bxx0zD1ju2a-oTKXt3uNFi1SjDLbo6qPc/s320/159635050.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have to say I am not usually the audience for contemporary
love stories. I’m too hard hearted and bitter to be objective—it’s a pitiful
story. BUT. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was looking forward to
reading <em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/56364/the-newlyweds-by-nell-freudenberger#blurb_tabs">The Newlyweds</a></em> by Nell<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Freudenberger anyway. I have never tried her short stories, <em>Lucky Girls</em>,
but I was a big fan of her novel, <em>The Dissident</em>. And. I completely heart the
cover on The Newlyweds, magnificent. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>The Newlyweds</em> is the story of Amina, 24, and George, 34. Amina
is a native of Bangladesh and George is an American living in Rochester when
the meet via the internet. The stars align and the fall in love. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both of them are searching for something other
than what they have known and they seem to find it in each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Freudenberger has used the internet’s potential to bring
anyone together to write this novel about a modern day mail order bride and
mail order groom. It’s funny to think that this method of connection is so common
now. How did that happen in such a short time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Freudenberger makes good use of juxtaposing Amina and George’s
similarities and differences, especially with Amina. Her longing for change
parallels her homesickness very nicely. Also the struggle with a bond built in
cyberspace verses the real, absolute bonds built over a lifetime. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The great strength of the novel is that despite cultural differences
and family interference the trials and tribulations of Amina and George are not
operatic. They are most impressively natural and everyday even including the
Bangladesh angle. While Amina’s immigration and culture add to the complexity
and tension of the couple’s relationship, not to mention the interest level for
the reader, it is an important element of their relationship not the sole focus
of it. The problems brought on by sex, work and family and equally important. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The weakness in this story is George. Unfortunate
considering this is a two character tale with George being character #2. He is
not as fully fleshed out as Amina and consequently not as engaging.
Freudenberger has not given him any kind of a backstory or emotional pull that
can compete with Amina’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I view <em>The Newlyweds</em> as strictly Amina’s story I like it
much better than if I think of it as a novel about a couple. Maybe that makes
the whole thing unsuccessful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe but
I did enjoy following Amina’s journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-60763072783694666782012-06-16T20:44:00.000-04:002012-06-16T20:44:09.419-04:00The Coward's Tale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXCczmOYHUexDjD-VWqhuJ4hxNdHJ0C6h6eDhk_uamgOkUwBSqUfbojHBRFQiK9P0ms6MnIaWxZHZ5ELiFq_jfyqCLpfPuX-giGijk5vVZ6_vmgeMe2ogMq3iPJqhMLOet5-ZI5nc7O8/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXCczmOYHUexDjD-VWqhuJ4hxNdHJ0C6h6eDhk_uamgOkUwBSqUfbojHBRFQiK9P0ms6MnIaWxZHZ5ELiFq_jfyqCLpfPuX-giGijk5vVZ6_vmgeMe2ogMq3iPJqhMLOet5-ZI5nc7O8/s320/untitled.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I could not help myself. I read it anyway. The facts were
right in front of me, I ignored them. I knew it was going to end in tears but I
did it anyway. I have no one to blame but myself. When I look back I know what
my downfall was. It was the cover. Look at it. It’s great isn’t it?</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In my defense I did not purchase this book. It was sent to
me a gift. It was described by my friend as something she was positive that I
would , “love and want to pass on!” She was half right. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Would I have selected <a href="http://www.bloomsburyusa.com/books/catalog/cowards_tale_pb_729">The Coward’s Tale</a> if I had come across
it at my local? I would certainly have picked it up to look at---that terrific
cover remember? However I would have read the back of the book and I think then
that I would have put it down. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whatever my friend. This is all speculation. I am not in
procession of a Wayback Machine and I did read the book so I have to deal with
it. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Coward’s Tale is about a boy who is sent away to live
with his grandmother. The boy becomes friends “with the town’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>begger-storyteller” who regales him with the
town’s “lore”. I kid you not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is
what happens in the novel and that is how the publisher describes it. In that
casual, every town has one sort of way. I’m not sure that we have a
beggar-storyteller in my town but then again we have downsized since the
economy collapsed a couple years ago. Our beggar-storyteller may have been
forced to take early retirement or a new position in the highway department. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So the author of The Coward’s Tale is Vanessa Gebbie. She is
an accomplished author with two published short story collections to her
credit. Oh no let me correct that. Vanessa Gebbie is the author of three
published short story collections. The cover of The Coward’s Tale may proclaim
that it is “a novel” but don’t you believe it. The Coward’s Tale is a short
story collection using that old The Town’s Beggar-Storyteller <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as a sloppy device that enables Gebbie (and
her editor)to string short stories together and pretend that this is a novel.</span></div>
Let my foolishness be a lesson to you.</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-70151832257059177592012-05-28T07:15:00.000-04:002012-05-28T07:15:06.194-04:00Bring Up The Bodies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnPVNm_Ty12kCwv3lv6paGtRr7rn6xmra-t5GsH1FWRbXsg29o-RZUdZo2sfNGOxnOGN1YGqv3Xk88ImCxgjh51Lm0A8rlZrPDUPXLfsg2hoUyVtnTx2zdjozwvJWib2EBL-nOLAs-A0/s1600/ann.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnPVNm_Ty12kCwv3lv6paGtRr7rn6xmra-t5GsH1FWRbXsg29o-RZUdZo2sfNGOxnOGN1YGqv3Xk88ImCxgjh51Lm0A8rlZrPDUPXLfsg2hoUyVtnTx2zdjozwvJWib2EBL-nOLAs-A0/s320/ann.png" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I think that I have proclaimed my deep love for <a href="http://literature.britishcouncil.org/hilary-mantel">HilaryMantel</a> loudly enough and often enough to qualify me as her a stalker. So I was
all prepared to adore her new novel <em><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/bringupthebodies/HilaryMantel">Bring Up The Bodies</a></em> and guess what? I did! ~~Sigh~~
Happiness complete.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So…first there was the superb, award winning <em><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/wolfhall/HilaryMantel">Wolf Hall</a></em>. Has
everyone heard of this? Good. Has everyone read this? If not go do so we’ll be
here still heaping accolades on Ms Mantel when you get back. If the rest of you
have had the great good sense to read <em>Wolf Hall</em> we’ll move on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">In Bring Up The Bodies Thomas Cromwell is older, more
seasoned and more pressured than ever. Marriage number two for his liege Henry
is not working out. Queen Anne’s personality and son-less womb are not winning
her any support at court and is alienating Henry. Henry’s eye is roving. He’s
sees greener grass and it will fall to Cromwell to make it all happen. You knew
that much before you got to page one but of course it’s the telling that makes
<em>Bring Up The Bodies</em> so absolutely divine. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hilary Mantel somehow produces magical writing with the same ease that it takes the rest of us to open a can of tuna. Writing that
all at once makes familiar facts suspenseful, creates humanity and
understanding in the traditional bad guys of history and builds ambience and
setting with brief, well placed descriptions of an object or a smell or the cut
of a dress. At the same time Mantel is inside of Cromwell along with all the dead friends, family and foes he cannot shake loose of writing through him. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The amazing marriage of Hilary Mantel and Thomas Cromwell
has already produced two magnificent novels: <em>Wolf Hall</em> and <em>Bring Up The Bodies.</em>
The final book in this trilogy is in the works and it cannot arrive fast enough
for me.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">P.S. You could absolutely read and adore <em>Bring Up The Bodies</em>
without having read <em>Wolf Hall</em>? Yes, but why would you want to?</span></div>
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-10149476674831304262012-05-14T05:38:00.000-04:002012-05-14T05:38:03.499-04:00Arlington Park<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGAqqyTydK3wkEYdQk4uFrO-xoP9nSTZ1uS3Xgg_d8B32GkDTfleeeYjtz1SehfTIwKkmy8mnxDR_L6Vrj0Iab3gNIV6i_wlR7I5SJY4JYPCWrBmfPDY6wozbUX9qBrQnOIv7meq_MPSA/s1600/arlington.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGAqqyTydK3wkEYdQk4uFrO-xoP9nSTZ1uS3Xgg_d8B32GkDTfleeeYjtz1SehfTIwKkmy8mnxDR_L6Vrj0Iab3gNIV6i_wlR7I5SJY4JYPCWrBmfPDY6wozbUX9qBrQnOIv7meq_MPSA/s320/arlington.png" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We all understand that you never know what goes on behind
your neighbors’ curtains, right? We’ve learned this from relationships, novels
and every Lifetime TV movie ever made. We got it. The yards in the neighborhood
might be beautifully groomed, the car in the driveway the latest model, the children
all smiles at the bus top but peel back the veneer and voila! The seamy
underbelly of suburbia. This is the territory that <a href="http://literature.britishcouncil.org/rachel-cusk">Rachel Cusk</a> covers in her
novel, <em><a href="http://us.macmillan.com/arlingtonpark/RachelCusk">Arlington Park</a></em>.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Have you read anything by Ms Cusk? She has the surgeon’s
skill of cutting away and cutting away until the entire tumor is exposed and it
serves her well in <em>Arlington Park</em>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cusk
dissects the lives of four women who are far from old but whose youth is gone.
They are all wives and mothers. Over the course of day, Cusk's plot illustrates the varying states of unhappiness, paralysis, nursing
slights and general discontent of her characters. Arlington Park is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>where those whose dreams have always included
an element of being “on the way up” discover the emotional cost of that life. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cusk writes with uncompromising honesty about
her characters. Yes she opens that older than dirt curtain idea <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but that is only her first step in dissecting
the relationships, choices, home lives and society of her women. <em>Arlington Park</em>
is not a feel good novel of friendships tested among disparate women while they
chew the fat over endless cups of tea. It’s a much darker story about not
always likable people by a very talented writer</span></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-43347058446304881302012-05-06T19:45:00.001-04:002012-05-06T19:45:05.158-04:00Blue Asylum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlWFRQZM2luzPIH5HpdPPhm8bP59FnjnZiKvUtd4jir3pN1EjwS9aWXuUSYFPli-LBYnW3tjraPboU2gHt1cz-zLVUYBQMPnqChK9RyJUE9CGvNIJUnPenuGvl0vZ8xB5GeCUOuYyEM8/s1600/blue.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnlWFRQZM2luzPIH5HpdPPhm8bP59FnjnZiKvUtd4jir3pN1EjwS9aWXuUSYFPli-LBYnW3tjraPboU2gHt1cz-zLVUYBQMPnqChK9RyJUE9CGvNIJUnPenuGvl0vZ8xB5GeCUOuYyEM8/s320/blue.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If I’m poking around for something new to read and the words
Civil War pop up, I move on. My interest in historical fiction from that period
began and ended with <em>Gone With The Wind.</em> Then because I hearted the cover on
<a href="http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/hmh/site/hmhbooks/bookdetails?isbn=9780547712079&srch=true"><em>Blue Asylum</em></a> so much I disregarded my embargo and read on. Once again judging a book by its
cover has led me to reading happiness. Shallowness has so paid off for me
over the years! </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Essentially <em>Blue Asylum</em> is the story of a young wife, Iris,
with abolitionist beliefs married to a southern slave owner who has her
committed when she acts on her beliefs. Once at the island asylum of Sanibel Iris is
subject to the treatments of an egotistical doctor, the fantasies of his son
and is herself attracted to a traumatized Confederate soldier. There are unique
touches to the whys, wheres and hows but emotionally it’s the usual pile on of drama after drama for a hoop-skirted heroine.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">You could take that basic plot description and check <em>Blue
Asylum</em> off as romantic soap opera. It is but it’s that and more in the hands of a strong writer like <a href="http://www.kathyhepinstall.com/about.php">Kathy Hepinstall</a>.
This makes all the difference in the world my friends. Within the theater of the true to life <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>historical elements, the war, slavery and
marriage laws Hepinstall is able to create interesting, period-accurate
characters (Halleluiah!) whose personal dramas unfold engagingly and realistically against a well researched ambiance.
The union of all these parts without any one component over powering the other
makes for a rich, smart read.</span></div>
<br />
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-73197524377907521742012-04-28T21:40:00.001-04:002012-04-28T21:40:46.903-04:00No I In Team? Who Cares?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfG8SpKCJs_UaKC_4RcFyzOSsfIyiCJgGv3YR__dZz-FOvt01_w3rSH-3AVAVl4At0qxTM5lZLsOmpg5BOFPrCtL4KsKE5UuslIeBWTQs_2-HKQfE6vAhmsTiMVrLQ3h0ZqxwjBG1JMg/s1600/777.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHfG8SpKCJs_UaKC_4RcFyzOSsfIyiCJgGv3YR__dZz-FOvt01_w3rSH-3AVAVl4At0qxTM5lZLsOmpg5BOFPrCtL4KsKE5UuslIeBWTQs_2-HKQfE6vAhmsTiMVrLQ3h0ZqxwjBG1JMg/s1600/777.png" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_23_133565477225374">
Sometimes I am just the super proud Aunt who only has good will towards one. I am not always willing to be one of the spectators clapping for every single kid participating--- and pretending to care about them. </div>
<br />
Today was one of those days. I had no ill will towards any other competitor but I wanted only one to reign supreme and she did!<br />
<br />
Niece S had a spectacular meet and I am THRILLED for her!<br />
<br />
<div id="yui_3_2_0_23_133565477225372">
There is no I in team but there is one in win my friends. </div>
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-78468353590593395192012-04-26T22:52:00.002-04:002012-04-26T22:52:30.212-04:00The Secret River<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AT3n3MYL_WjHGd_fG-NA-6nzpiGdwjeE5bg_AW8-AZ_pbca2lJ-tSoR5_muXoW4inSmv5HZYOTAnfdvwsyhB0bx6m8dtHthwbdCMJsudTms3nZCOjAEUNjF2Z6XAriyPXltSPK_N6HI/s1600/secret.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8AT3n3MYL_WjHGd_fG-NA-6nzpiGdwjeE5bg_AW8-AZ_pbca2lJ-tSoR5_muXoW4inSmv5HZYOTAnfdvwsyhB0bx6m8dtHthwbdCMJsudTms3nZCOjAEUNjF2Z6XAriyPXltSPK_N6HI/s320/secret.png" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was the best of times it was… jail or Australia for
William Thornhill. That’s the way the cookie is crumbling in author </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://kategrenville.com/">Kate Grenville’s</a>
novel <a href="http://www.groveatlantic.com/#page=isbn9781841959146%20"><em>The Secret River</em>.</a> Set in 1806, <em>The Secret River</em> is the story of a convict
settlement in New South Wales. Forced by circumstances to steal, William is
caught and wins the all expenses paid, one way cruise to an Australian penal
colony. William’s life sentence is the re-making of him. He has been a petty criminal
since childhood and avoiding the gallows in exchange for a new life for himself
and his pregnant wife has the potential to take him from no-hope poverty to a
chance.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once in New South Wales, William begins the arduous process
of going from convict/slave to freeman with help from his wife Sal and their children.
Still struggling with the poverty that has dogged him all his life, he
eventually stakes a claim to land along the Hawkesbury River. Alas even working
himself up to being a landowner does not bring smooth sailing for William and
Sal. His claim brings him in conflict with the native aborigines. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The uneasy coexistence between the white
settlers and aborigines is in constant danger of tipping into violence. This
relationship is the real heart of the novel.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Grenville has hit one out of the park. She has taken the
classic settle the west novel and made it new and powerful with wonderful
writing. <em>The Secret River</em> is a novel of escalating struggles and discord told in
nimble and penetrating writing. I am hearting this riveting novel.</span></div>
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-28908832553108281212012-04-21T21:55:00.000-04:002012-04-21T21:55:02.325-04:00One Big Damn Puzzler<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TFhCueSRh5oGHqNct3twtrWRVnVkTdY9ogr5sOzFfQ-OgGkJbaBZvrRS2kecCPOUTWq2ifQd8bin829RfXrnRCa0e9mRStZ3f4e8S7BxxaOLzaam8Q9wa0vBiRjdTDakIDzjPohyphenhyphenwzg/s1600/one.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4TFhCueSRh5oGHqNct3twtrWRVnVkTdY9ogr5sOzFfQ-OgGkJbaBZvrRS2kecCPOUTWq2ifQd8bin829RfXrnRCa0e9mRStZ3f4e8S7BxxaOLzaam8Q9wa0vBiRjdTDakIDzjPohyphenhyphenwzg/s320/one.png" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><a href="http://www.harpercollins.com/books/One-Big-Damn-Puzzler-John-Harding?isbn=9780061132186&HCHP=TB_One+Big+Damn+Puzzler">One Big Damn Puzzler</a></em>. The title says it all doesn’t? It’s
got mod all over it. You know you are in for a circus of eccentric characters with
some sort of bad government or evil billionaire or organization that secretly
rules everyone’s lives hidden away at the center of the storyline and by the
end of the novel Aunt Betty’s goat has been reunited with his childhood friend chicken
(who barks) and Dimitri the bus driver/Greek immigrant has had his musical
based on the life of Woodrow Wilson produced---and it’s a hit! The thought of
it makes me wince tiredly. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But guess what? I was right and I was wrong.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This novel by John Harding is a circus of eccentrics and it
does have bad government at its heart but I am happy to say that the likes of
the goat, chicken and Dimitri do not materialize and therefore neither does my
tiredness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead <em>One Big Damn Puzzler</em> is
a rambunctious but controlled adventure with a great deal of wit.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On an island paradise in the South Pacific, American lawyer William
Hart has arrived. He has decided that the islanders are owed reparations from
the U.S. government. The British had beat the Americans to the island and left
behind pigs that now ruled the jungle, unfinished buildings, the English
language and Shakespeare. The Americans hadn’t been such benign tourists. They
left behind guns, land mines and a taste for soda. The island culture that
resulted from natural development, the British and the Americans is unique. The
evolution of the islanders could alter dramatically once again based on Hart’s law
suit and would that be a good thing?</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As Hart gets to know the island and its’ citizens author
Harding keeps everything broad but still human. By doing this Harding saves <em>One
Big Damned Puzzler</em> from being pure farce. His creation of the islands’ history has
enough reality to be accepted as possible so that when he places his peculiar
characters within it their behavior and lookout become on one level a natural
progression of their historical experience. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I did enjoy <em>One Big Damn Puzzler</em>. Occasionally Harding seems a
little too eager to point how amusing he can be but that is a minor complaint. This
novel is a clever, well imagined look at a trampled over society that survived
anyway. </span></div>
</div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-35075961249927894682012-04-15T23:54:00.001-04:002012-04-15T23:54:41.595-04:00Island of Wings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaBsIcyfNh0eJ8JP5ZVTLB-DHEvICSq_uGoay_LQbiaWqneE84eyCda0Ts6taXw7e7UKGNuyfiRTgcSVog4crK96_dNLx5IIm_lfVQuKiQqno0tkGNn9zZw3A0SFI17Xy9nVXvAjcfHA/s1600/island.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimaBsIcyfNh0eJ8JP5ZVTLB-DHEvICSq_uGoay_LQbiaWqneE84eyCda0Ts6taXw7e7UKGNuyfiRTgcSVog4crK96_dNLx5IIm_lfVQuKiQqno0tkGNn9zZw3A0SFI17Xy9nVXvAjcfHA/s320/island.png" width="211" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do you follow the <a href="http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/prize.html?v=180311">Orange Prize</a>? I do. Of all the literary prizes that I take note of the Orange Prize consistently yields me the most interesting things to read. I did used to have this same relationship with the Man Booker as well but that love affair has cooled recently. Anyway. This years’ Orange has given me a couple wonderful treats including <em><a href="http://us.penguingroup.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780143120667,00.html?Island_of_Wings_Karin_Altenberg">Island of Wings</a></em> by Karin Altenberg.</span> <br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 1830 the Reverend Neil MacKenzie and his wife Lizzie arrive on the island St. Kilda to do missionary work. The MacKenzies are hopeful, in love and happily expecting their first child. They are full of vigorous believe that their efforts to educate the populace of the island on all topics but especially God will set them all on the right path. And. If the island happens to turn more British during the process? So much the better. Don’t think that because the topic is religion and the island is in Scotland not Africa or Asia <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that Island of Wings isn’t also about colonialism.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>St. Kilda was settled a thousand years before the MacKenzies arrived to do a makeover by Gaelic speaking Norsemen. Arriving at St Kilda the young couple is shocked to discover a place that seems medieval compared to the luxuries they left behind. Although only 40 miles off the coast of Scotland, the island might was well be 400 miles away for all the comfort that is there. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few times a year the taxman would come to the island to collect revenue and to drop off supplies otherwise the islanders provide for themselves what they need. This is a hardscrapple place to live. The islanders are raggedly dressed, their homes are filthy, malnutrition is rampant and one in three newborns does not survive their first week. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">These challenges that met the MacKenzies are quickly compounded. Only Neil speaks Gaelic so Lizzie’s isolation is immediate. Lizzie’s child is still born and the wretched bleakness of the lives around her further forces Lizzie into her own world. Neil’s efforts to convert the natives are hardly successful and his plans to reorganize how they do their farming have dire consequences. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In a spare writing style Karin Altenberg has done four things very well in <em>Island of Wings</em>: history, geography, people and politics. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She has given us intriguing historical details, a world impossible to imagine, characters that change not because they grow older but because of circumstance and experience and a powerful lesson in the politics of faith. <em>Island of Wings</em> is an impressive, thoughtful novel.</span></div></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-90994125746856521892012-04-13T12:59:00.000-04:002012-04-13T12:59:05.500-04:00Maps For Lost Lovers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bWfZI3Ov0SXJ65RVvQw9MUQw41Qv2GC3RPyUhDiS31hJLH-U7Z4S4SU2z-VLPMrReSbdbC2pJ7iUDgg1tLPEGvtrldIuGpvStoaKOyKQpHiwhofNpZjEzU88Q431kQoJIxDHAGncxG8/s1600/maps.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bWfZI3Ov0SXJ65RVvQw9MUQw41Qv2GC3RPyUhDiS31hJLH-U7Z4S4SU2z-VLPMrReSbdbC2pJ7iUDgg1tLPEGvtrldIuGpvStoaKOyKQpHiwhofNpZjEzU88Q431kQoJIxDHAGncxG8/s320/maps.png" width="207" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/5834/maps-for-lost-lovers-by-nadeem-aslam">Maps For Lost Lovers</a></em> by <a href="http://literature.britishcouncil.org/nadeem-aslam">Nadeem Aslam</a> might remind you of <em>Brick Lane</em> by Monica Ali. Both novels take place in immigrant enclaves in England and feature characters tested by loves that defy their beliefs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each book vividly portrays characters living their lives with old world values that are out of context in the contemporary world. What sets <em>Maps For Lost Lovers</em> apart is the inclusion of a <em>Lord of the Flies</em> like violent desperation and lack of optimism. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aslam’s novel takes place in a Pakistani immigrant community. The isolation of the community within the City is compounded by the Pakistanis determination to keep their neighborhood a solid slice of their homeland. This is not a happy place, not a place where change is tolerated. Within this quarter of the city judgment and gossip rule the day. You are weighed against your neighbors. Are you religious enough? Are following the traditions correctly and with enough zeal? Are you too worldly? Are your children all they should be? </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The disappearance of lovers Jugnu and Chanda has happened before <em>Maps For Lost Lovers</em> begins. It is this event however that drives the novel. The police have arrested Chanda’s brothers. They believe that the brothers killed the couple to avenge the shame brought on their family by Jugnu and Chandra living together. They broke Islamic and law and were given the ultimate punishment for their sins. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">As Jugnu’s well meaning brother Shamas, his wife Kaukab and the community await the killers’ trial the dissection of their lives, the desire for more freedoms by their children and the advancement of western culture into their every day existence dominates thoughts and conversation.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">For Kaukab these are particularly trying times. She is the poster child the book for the restrictions put on women in the name of religion. She is a uniquely sympathetic character in this novel. Middle-aged, she has spent her life a devout Muslim, accepted her arranged marriage and raised her children according to religious canons and to the best of her ability. Those children are now chaffing against their Mother and the rules she represents. Kaukab strongly disapproved of Jugnu and the three times married Chanda’s behavior but she is tremendously distressed that the lovers were killed and that the bodies of the lovers lay undiscovered for days. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Author Nadeem Aslam’s use of the “honor killing” of Jugnu and Chanda in order to dissect the minds and culture of a Pakistani community works beautifully in terms of straightforward storytelling. The lovers, their family (including a painful study of Chanda’s parents) and the killers are all represented in this well written, discussion worthy novel. Aslam is able to resist creating easy villains but maybe not so able to always avoid preaching. Reading <em>Maps For Lost Lovers</em> gives you the chance to enjoy lush writing and to enter a powerfully examined world.</span></div></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-50216284739205305492012-04-12T19:20:00.004-04:002012-04-12T19:39:07.202-04:00How Greedy Is J.K. Rowling?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItGcdAHM8vTTtiKHHtQ3zfJu1nJ3Ey5aH5hyphenhyphenZdg-JQp_ZPyct3ZYm4NATtaLk2gHCR__YMXw5BbpaGCYVU9GhykW3tcLkIv7SaFR_cASKPyIScKnTMEAFyFOk4XdQLiilVXPxoPsJXyc/s1600/untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhItGcdAHM8vTTtiKHHtQ3zfJu1nJ3Ey5aH5hyphenhyphenZdg-JQp_ZPyct3ZYm4NATtaLk2gHCR__YMXw5BbpaGCYVU9GhykW3tcLkIv7SaFR_cASKPyIScKnTMEAFyFOk4XdQLiilVXPxoPsJXyc/s320/untitled.png" width="320" /></a></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115679">J.K. Rowling's first adult novel, <em>The Casual Vacancy</em>, is being released in September 2012. <br />
<br />
</div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115681"></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115683">As someone who has worked in <span id="misspell-0">bookselling</span> for 25 years believe me I know what a Big Deal this news is on many levels. As a reader who was never captured by the Harry Potter novels the news is of mild interest. As a consumer who buys on average ten to twenty books a month I am outraged that <em>The</em> <em>Casual Vacancy</em> is priced at $35.00.<br />
<br />
</div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115685"></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115687">$35.00. I kid you not. That the book is already heavily discounted for pre-publication sales at many places is a <span id="misspell-2"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_133426954115610491">separate</span></span> issue. Little Brown has priced this novel at $35.00. Why? Obviously because they think that this is what the market will bare. Do you think this book will be worth $35.00? <br />
<br />
</div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115689"></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115691">As the Harry Potter books came out <span id="misspell-3"><span id="yui_3_2_0_21_1334269541156127">their</span></span> prices out paced the average adult hardcover novel by about $10.00 and were on average $17.00 more than other hardcover YA novels. Why? Because people were willing to pay that much for them. The whole thing was a <span id="misspell-4"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_133426954115610557">phenomenon</span></span>.<br />
<br />
</div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115693"></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_21_133426954115695">Although as I've said I have no desire to read <em>The Casual Vacancy</em>, I do have four relatives that will want it as soon as it is available. Ordinarily, as the book provider in the family I would buy them each a copy (As I did with all of the Potter novels.) but I'm not going to do that. I refuse to spend my money on this overpriced book. Let Little Brown and J.K. Rowling be as money grubbing as they want to be I am not going to contribute to their wealth. </div></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-77847502786160929322012-04-10T21:47:00.000-04:002012-04-10T21:47:01.575-04:00The Lifeboat<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvk4Msptd9wPMjUOY8MrNn_CLj9KhXBibPv0e35jzkfJLrq2DMZDO7-DoMC7fyMX9zGgZAbOzH_76Rh2mpyzg2-2QpiCCyYrm1aT5DhZLue_8xNwEcw_R1KMtT8SWMSloF3BWRXogL8WM/s1600/lifeb.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvk4Msptd9wPMjUOY8MrNn_CLj9KhXBibPv0e35jzkfJLrq2DMZDO7-DoMC7fyMX9zGgZAbOzH_76Rh2mpyzg2-2QpiCCyYrm1aT5DhZLue_8xNwEcw_R1KMtT8SWMSloF3BWRXogL8WM/s320/lifeb.png" width="211" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Gather together my friends and let me tell you about the time that all the pre-pub publicity was true! It was a happy, magical time throughout the land. Everyone rejoiced. Heavenly choirs were heard. The book was <em><a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/books_9780316185905.htm">The Lifeboat</a></em> by <a href="http://charlotterogan.com/">CharlotteRogan.</a></span><br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is the early days of WWI. Runaway newlyweds Harry and Grace are sailing back from England to New York when their ship, the Empress Alexander, sinks. Harry gets Grace, maybe by way of a bribe, on one of the overcrowded lifeboats and for the next two weeks she and her fellow survivors are adrift on the Atlantic. In the dangerous little world of the lifeboat loyalties are made and broken, small victories are negated by life threatening setbacks and self preservation takes an unbreakable hold.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At the start of the novel Rogan tells us that Grace and two other women passengers from the lifeboat are in New York on trial for their lives. The charge is murder. The two women have pleaded self-defense, Grace has pleaded not guilty. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The novel is the journal of events that Graces’ defense attorney has her write down. In doing so she also tells the story of her young life thus far. At 22 Grace has gone from pampered daughter to jailbird in short order. Her dispassionate narrative is compelling but flawed: the document is from her perspective and therefore slanted, it is being written after the fact and she is recalling a time when the effects of malnutrition and dehydration bring her memory into question. By the same token the testimonies of the other survivors and defendants carry the same caveats. </span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rogan has crafted a remarkable character in Grace. That’s an especially good thing since the novel spends most of its time inside her head. If Grace didn’t let an engagement to another woman impede her marrying Harry to ensure a financially secure future how far will she go to survive when the water and food run out on the lifeboat? Is Grace just young or is she calculating? She worries as much about how her new in-laws will receive her as she does about surviving the sinking. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Thanks to Rogan, during the two weeks adrift the veneer of society cracks in fascinating ways. The first ordered steps on the boat soon give way to power struggles, illness, THIRST and paranoia. Graces’ telling of the harrowing day-to-day of the passengers is also filled with interesting thoughts and questions about religion and morality.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite the fact that from the start of the novel you know that Grace has survived the shipwreck <em>The</em> <em>Lifeboat</em> is extremely suspenseful. How did Charlotte Rogan accomplish that? <em>The Lifeboat</em> is no potboiler cataloging shortages, storms and deaths so what combination of impressive skills and magic has made it so complex? So gripping? I do not have a clue but whatever it was…thanks! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em>The Lifeboat</em> is one of my favorite reads so far this year.</span></div></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-66342999108427728902012-04-08T19:49:00.000-04:002012-04-08T19:49:25.482-04:00A Spot of Bother<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Udr2Ew2Fs74qJBg-7vqedom6sLbH1n6X2eanLtIfLSONQPVXPqvkHw4pYDngZ9md-PblgYCjSsLU5Tdptas_hszyuzolSHNJXU6LS2FkHHjU_sXSoBgOZcwwe6uHHais23CIT2OtXuE/s1600/chiif.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Udr2Ew2Fs74qJBg-7vqedom6sLbH1n6X2eanLtIfLSONQPVXPqvkHw4pYDngZ9md-PblgYCjSsLU5Tdptas_hszyuzolSHNJXU6LS2FkHHjU_sXSoBgOZcwwe6uHHais23CIT2OtXuE/s320/chiif.png" width="207" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">How has Mark Haddon fared after his mega hit <em>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</em>? I have been meaning to find out but other books, so many other books have interfered. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now onto <em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/73401/a-spot-of-bother-by-mark-haddon">A Spot of Bother</a></em> by Haddon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Poor, poor George. He wants to settle in and enjoy a quiet retirement. That isn’t going to happen. Life is interfering with George’s hopes. George has built himself a sanctuary, a shed in the backyard but where is the peaceful solitude? Well as long as his wife is having an affair with a colleague, his extraordinarily bad-tempered daughter is going to marry--for the second time--the inappropriate Ray, son Jamie’s relationship with his lover Tony is spinning out of control and George silently worries that rash on his hip might be skin cancer we can’t hold out much hope for a tranquil retirement. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The good news is that according to the doctor the rash is just eczema. The bad news is that George doesn’t believe the doctor and that George’s growing depression is real. He has taken to getting on all fours and hiding behind the furniture. As the marriage plans become more frantic and disruptive <em>A</em> <em>Spot of Bother</em> could have turned into an <a href="http://www.ealingstudios.co.uk/EalingStudios/history_home.html">Ealing</a> version of <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042451/">Father of the Bride</a></em> (the Spencer Tracy/Elizabeth Taylor version not the too embarrassingly bad to even watch without covering your eyes Steve Martin/Diane Keaton version)but instead it dwindles into a why bother collection of alternately amusing and stilted domestic trials. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So…I guess for me Mark Haddon hasn’t fared well. Too bad. <em>The Curious Incident</em> was such an original book and while <em>Spot </em>has its moments of oddball appeal, it is not a worthwhile follow up to <em>The</em> <em>Curious Incident</em>. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Aside from what <em>A Spot of Bother</em> is or isn't I wonder why Random House didn't change the title for the U.S. edition. A spot of bother is such a very English expression. It is not used over here at all. What is that title supposed to say to American audiences? And. As long as we're on this topic, the cover? I've read the book and I don't get it. Icky.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Oh well. Haddon has a new novel due out soon called, <em><a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/216964/the-red-house-by-mark-haddon">The Red House</a></em>. This one is due out in June 2012. We will hope for better.</span></div></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4847877952515870622.post-23053018966429898772012-04-07T06:54:00.000-04:002012-04-07T06:54:20.029-04:00The House of Velvet and Glass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTe0tsbrvj2bwD0aXHnHs41fvbW7PR9NkKmQV9Zfp25-pZC45rnKB0PEChrV-s2_KhQjvdi8PHCXaNW_VRlaQYzhLczAsYEmgIgg4pCg_zV1v6JwD1gr_XIocbpKk5vVs9rpdGiCj0pOg/s1600/house.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTe0tsbrvj2bwD0aXHnHs41fvbW7PR9NkKmQV9Zfp25-pZC45rnKB0PEChrV-s2_KhQjvdi8PHCXaNW_VRlaQYzhLczAsYEmgIgg4pCg_zV1v6JwD1gr_XIocbpKk5vVs9rpdGiCj0pOg/s320/house.png" width="214" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">~~Sigh~~</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><em><a href="http://www.hyperionbooks.com/book/the-house-of-velvet-and-glass/">The House of Velvet and Glass</a></em> is the second novel by </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://katherinehowe.com/">Katherine Howe</a>. Her first was <em>The Physick Book</em> <em>of Deliverance Dane</em>. Did you like that one? If so stop reading now. You will like Howe’s new novel as well. If you didn’t like it you can stop reading soon.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Howe’s new novel, <em>The House of Velvet and Glass</em> is every bit as suspense-less, flat and over wrought as Howe’s first novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time Howe sets her story in 1915 Boston. She tosses together the Titanic, WWI, spiritualism, romance, opium and SECRETS into a pasty soap opera soup from which there is only one escape. Breathe easily though the escape is an easy one; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>just close the book and move on to better things.</span></div></div>Happyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15989169044258106471noreply@blogger.com0