Novels Now

The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan

Pages: 305
First Published: Aug. 25, 2009
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

The stone walls of Loretto Academy are so thick I can sit curled up on a windowsill, arms around the knees tucked beneath my chin.

Reason for Reading: The book takes place in Niagara Falls, Canada and that is where I live plus the historical time 1915-1923 is a favourite period I like to read about. I was excited to read a book set in my city and the cover is beautiful and actually blew me away when I saw it in real life.

Comments: I’ll start off by admitting I may be a little biased. There is something captivating about reading a book when you recognize the street names, know the buildings mentioned, have been to the natural landmarks and live a block away from the church the family attended. But when I also find myself reading a brilliant epic love story I think my insider knowledge is more of a bonus than a bias.

Bess and Tom come from different classes. Bess is the 17yo daughter of an influential man at Niagara Power and lives in Glenview Mansion. She attends a Catholic Girls Academy (even though the family isn’t Catholic) and leads a sheltered life. Tom is about 22 and is the local riverman. He catches fish for pay, pulls dead bodies out of the river, works a few nights in the saloon he has a room over and is always on hand when help is needed down at the river. When these two meet each other it is love at first sight but many things stand in their way including themselves.

While the beautiful love story is the main plot there are many other themes running through the book. The plight of women during this period is masterfully woven into the story with unwed pregnancy, suicide, women working during the war, and women being given the vote during WWI if they had a husband or son overseas. The effect the war had on the women as they stayed home and wondered if their husbands would ever come home and the plight of the men who did come home who were wounded beyond repair and others who had unseen wounds, those of the mind that don’t heal so easily.

It is also a story of the environment as the whole history of the harnessing of the power of the Falls for electricity takes place during this time period. Sir Adam Beck, the government, the big business and everyone else it seems is so excited about more and more electricity at less cost that nobody seems to know what it is doing to the river itself, nobody but Tom that is, who knows the river like the back of his hand, and what he sees scares and saddens him. The characters all stand out wonderfully but it is Tom, a true hero, who captures your heart.

A riveting book. I could hardly put it down and read it very quickly. It is emotional; there is sadness. I almost cried at the end, with a lump in my throat, mad, for a moment, at this tragedy we call life. An astounding first novel! Ms. Buchanan is a talented writer with a future ahead of her. I will be interested to see where she goes with her next novel. Highly Recommended! This one is certainly going to make my top ten list this year.

Glenview Mansion Then

Glenview Mansion Later in the ’80s

For a picture of it now visit the website where you can see it has been turned into executive tourist apartments. Blah! I wish it was turned into a museum the public could visit!

He was hunting just then, hot on the trail of something obscure, tracking a rare butterfly-like quotation as it fluttered through thickets of dense tropical paragraphs. The chase seemed to require the utmost concentration; still, he couldn’t help but think later on that if he’d only glanced up from the work, he might’ve seen something: a look in her eyes, a foreshadowing of doom, perhaps a train ticket in her hand or the words I’m Leaving You Forever stitched on the front of her coat. - from Last Night In Montreal, page 3 -

Lilia awakes one night when she is seven years old and finds her father waiting for her outside in the snow. She walks out of her home and into his arms. What follows is a life of constant travel - moving from place to place with the sensation of being hunted, changing identities, and an inability to create lasting relationships.When Lilia meets Eli, a young man studying dead and dying languages in New York City, she knows she will eventually leave him. But when she does just that, the act puts in motion a series of events which will not only change Lilia’s life, but the lives of those around her.

Fifteen years later in another country Lilia pressed her forehead against a windowpane in Eli’s apartment, looking out at an uncharted landscape of Brooklyn rooftops in the rain, and came to a somewhat unsettling conclusion: she’d been disappearing for so long that she didn’t know how to stay. - from Last Night In Montreal, page 9 -

Last Night In Montreal is a novel which intersects the lives of four flawed characters: Lilia, scarred by events she cannot remember but from which she constantly flees; Eli, stuck in one place and unable to move forward until he becomes obsessed with Lilia; Christopher, the private investigator who gives up everything to find a missing child and uncover the mystery of her disappearance; and Michaela, Christopher’s daughter who is abandoned by her parents and haunted by a girl she only knows through her father’s notes. The mystery surrounding Lilia’s abduction serves as the focal point from which the other characters’ stories revolve. As they are all drawn into Lilia’s life, they are forced to come to terms with their own weaknesses, desires, and fears. Thematically, the story is one about loss, repressed memory, family secrets and identity.

Lilia is a complex character whose life is not her own. She has no recollection of her years before the abduction and seems unable to stop traveling - a compulsion which allows her to see the world and yet not be a part of it.

She moved over the surface of life the way figure skaters move, fast and choreographed, but she never broke through the ice, she never pierced the surface and descended into those awful beautiful waters, she was never submerged and she never learned to swim in those currents, these current: all the shadows and light and splendorous horrors that make up the riptides of life on earth. - from Last Night In Montreal, page 119 -

Last Night in Montreal is Emily St. John Mandel’s first novel, and it is a stunning debut. Told from multiple viewpoints and moving back and forth between the present and past, the book is compulsively readable. Mandel’s writing is flawless - poetic, compelling, and achingly beautiful. Perhaps the strongest aspect of Mandel’s prose is her ability to fully develop her characters - people who are adrift and searching and often in pain, but who attract the reader’s empathy and admiration despite their weaknesses.

Last Night In Montreal is one of those books which once started cannot be laid aside. Disturbing and dark at times, it is a novel which will haunt the reader long after it is completed.

Highly recommended.

Map of the Invisible World by Tash Aw, 342 pages

I don’t know enough about the history in Indonesia to comment on what all happened in this book, but this book made me want to look up and read some other books about Indonesia in the 1960s. I know there was a movie called The Year of Living Dangerously, but I didn’t realize it was based on a book based on a speech by the president and I wasn’t aware that the Dutch ‘owned’ Indonesia before their independence. Indonesia in this tumultuous period is the setting for this novel, providing a backdrop for some broken lives.

Adam’s foster father Karl, has been taken into custody as a part of a repatriation program, and Adam hasn’t seen his brother since they were separated at the orphanage ten years earlier. He goes to Margaret, an American who has lived in Indonesia for most of her life and has a connection to Karl from her teenage years, for help in finding Karl. Margaret and her American contacts are in a bad spot as the climate between US and Indonesia are not good. Adam ends up meeting some students from Margaret’s university and gets caught up some revolutionary activities.

It sounds a bit complicated, but it is not. The book looks at the growing pains in Indonesia in 1960s through the lives a small number of people. Some interesting questions of what makes a person a citizen of a country - by birth or by choice, as well as families made by birth or by choice are raised. Margaret is white but has Indonesia in her heart and really understands the land, but is considered an outsider. Karl is Dutch by heritage, but has lived a quiet life on an outer island and not part of any ruling class except by his heritage. Adam is Indonesian but doesn’t feel like he belongs anywhere. His real brother, living a privileged life in Malaysia, is the biggest outsider within his adopted family.

All in all a good read. The setting and history in Indonesia were very good, and the main character of Margaret was independent and strong. Adam was a smaller character even though it is his life that is the center of the book. With the immigration of people all around the world, it is a good idea to think about what makes a person a citizen of a town or country, and it isn’t just being born there. It must get very complicated in countries that were colonies of the European nations, with generations that have lived in and grown up there, but are still considered outsiders.

rating: 4/5

Once Dead, Twice Shy by Kim Harrison
Madison Avery, Book 1

Pages: 232
First Published: May 26, 2009
Genre: YA, paranormal
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Comments: Madison dies on prom night with her date holding her hand. Not as romantic as it sounds though. As he’s only her date because their dad’s set it up for them and she’s not really dead as she was scythed by a dark reaper and managed to steal his amulet in the morgue when he came to claim her soul, thus she claimed his powers. Now she’s been taken in by the light reapers and being taught there way while living on earth, as a dead girl, having several people’s memories of that fateful night erased, but when the truth of whose stone she really carries comes out she is left alone at home with a guardian angel to look after her. Of course, this is exactly when the enemy strikes but instead of going for her they go for someone close to her and Madison must spill the truth of her death to a living person and that person soon becomes the only one whom she can only trust as light and dark and fate and choice battle it out with each other.

A fabulous book! What a whirlwind read from start to finish. The two main character’s Madison and her friend, Josh are wonderful, well-rounded teens who at first seem stereotyped. Josh being a gorgeous, jock with an attitude and Madison a goth girl who tries to be as weird as possible but we soon see this is not so as we learn their many layers to discover that looks are often deceiving. Fabulous plot! I just love angel stories, but only when they are actually heaven sent angels. And while not harped upon it is mentioned these angels do come from heaven and that’s enough for me. The story contains two factions, both originating from the same place, one dark and one light and each containing angels, reapers, and timekeepers. From above they can visit the higher beings, seraphs, or call upon lower beings, guardian angels, in this case a cute little cherub named Grace with a real fun sense of keeping her protectorates from harm. One night while looking after Josh she makes his little brother stub his toe every time he swears making a restless night for everyone!

I hate to admit this is my very first Kim Harrison book but I thought it would be a great place to start and I was right as it has me anxiously awaiting the next in this series and even more eager to read her adult books. This is her first book for YAs.

One thing bothers me about the book and that actually has nothing to do with the writing but the cover. Which I will say that I do love, but after reading the book you will know that Madison’s hair style is referred to over and over again. It really takes on a point of symbolism in the story and the girl’s hair style on the cover is so not the one in the book. Really, what’s up with that?

Not to end on a negative note for such a great book, one thing I especially liked and am often particular about in serial books is that the book did have a complete and final ending. One could read this book and happily not need to continue on, but on the other hand it does end so obviously as really just the beginning of a whole new story. Everything has changed so much since the beginning, one can only wonder what life will be like for the main characters and the newly befriended ones now. Great stuff, bring on book #2!!

Arctic Chill by Arnaldur Indridason, 344 pages
translated by Bernard Scudder and Victoria Cribb

continuing mystery series review questions:

Give a brief summary of the book:
A young Thai boy has been found stabbed on the playground. Erlunder, Elinborg and Sigurdur Oli investigate, looking into possible racial motives. Erlunder has another missing person investigation, his personal interest, he is also working on.

Likes?
The mystery was good. We really are a part of the detectives investigation in this book and only get to know what they know, making this a real police procedural. The story moves along pretty quickly as the police follow one clue after another. There was lots of discussion about immigration in Iceland and the attitudes and prejudices that can happen. I think in some ways I can identify with the Icelanders; living on an island really isolates a place and on Prince Edward Island we deal with some of the same type of issues in terms of culture and ‘the Island way of life.’  Also, the extreme weather can shape a people. I’m not saying that our weather is as bad but it helps to define culture and people. The weather and lack of sunlight is a real part of the atmosphere in these stories.

I really like the three main characters and their ongoing stories. I can’t say much about that, but Erlundur is slowly, oh so slowly, growing and becoming more socially aware of the people around him. There is more development in the possible mystery surrounding his brother’s death when they were children.

Dislikes?
Not much to add here. When you get a good mystery series going it’s like good times with old friends, so you don’t really notice any of their faults.
I dislike that there is only one more book, after Hypothermia which according to Wikipedia, will be published in 2009, left to be translated.

Additional Thoughts:
I noticed the dedication was to Bernard Scudder, the translator who died in 2008, hence the two names for translation. That’s really sad, because I would imagine the translator of a series greatly contributes to the atmosphere and tone and overall impression of the books. The fact that Indridason dedicated this newest translation speaks to the respect and appreciation that he must have felt to Scudder for his translations.

4/5

Near mid-century when Edward was born, the full moon was years from being the brightest. That would happen - in terms of luminosity and size - in the last month of the century. As a child growing up, however, Edward found much splendor and mystery in the moon. It kept changing and following him around, a rock with its own rhythms, much like girls, and he knew he was years away from understanding girls. - from The Brightest Moon of the Century -

Christopher Meeks has transitioned from short stories to his first novel - and the result is a book which draws the reader in with humor, empathy, and a gentle understanding of what it means to live our lives with a sense of wonder.

The Brightest Moon of the Century is organized into nine distinctive chapters which allows the reader to experience the life of Edward Meopian from the age of 14 through his 45th year. Edward is a bit of a nerd and socially naive, a character who consistently made me feel for his struggles and celebrate his triumphs. As a young boy, he loses his mother to a tragic accident and it is perhaps this one event which shapes the man he ultimately becomes. Forced to attend a private boy’s school by his father (who is seeking his own happiness while struggling in his role as single parent), Edward must confront bullies and figure out his place in the world. Edward’s teenage challenges and search for love in the first two chapters reveal Meeks’ finally honed sense of humor and understanding of what it means to be young.

Guys would never talk about, say, what brand of acne medicine they were using, or what great pants another guy was wearing, or wow, good color for a golf shirt. Didn’t girls want to know how far someone got on a date? Or did they talk about how their boyfriends got boners and they happily let them suffer? The more suffering, the better a girl you were? If so, Annie was a fantastic girl. - from The Brightest Moon of the Century -

Edward moves from his childhood home in Minnesota to college in Colorado, later makes his way to Los Angeles (where he tries to follow  his dream of becoming a movie director), and finally ends up in rural Alabama managing a mini-mart in a trailer park (my favorite part of the book). It is through these years of his life that Edward struggles with self-discovery, faith, and fate.

“Failure seems to follow me around,” said Edward.

“You’re no failure, son,” said the officer, and Edward turned to face him. “This is God,” said the man. “Or the disorder of life, if you like. This is what we all have to live with.” - from The Brightest Moon of the Century -

In the final chapters, the reader watches Edward grow into middle-age and discover that often the joys of life are balanced with pain. Edward is revealed as a man who empathizes deeply with others and never loses his hope and optimism despite tragedy.

And this is what I love about Meeks’ writing ability - he gives us characters who are very human and who face many obstacles in life, and then he infuses their stories with hope.  As in his previous short story collections (reviewed here and here), I found myself caring deeply about the characters in The Brightest Moon of the Century.  Meeks writes with a wry humor as he shows Edward tripping and stumbling through the world with a refreshing openness to what life has to offer.

He was simply going to be open to the moment, like a sunflower or the Hari Krishna guy at the airport. - from The Brightest Moon of the Century -

Christopher Meeks’ work is joyful, funny and sensitive. The Brightest Moon of the Century is a satisfying read and one which made me hope that Meeks will continue to write novels.

Visit the Author’s Website where you can find many reviews of all of Christopher Meeks’ work.

American Rust by Philipp Meyer

Pages: 343
First Published: Feb 24, 2009
Genre: literary fiction
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

Isaac’s mother was dead five years but he hadn’t stopped thinking about her.

Comments: Set in a small dying former steel mill town in Pennsylvania, this is the story of two young men (20yrs old). Issac, who is called the smartest person in town except for maybe his sister and had been expected to go straight to college after high school. But his mother dies, his father is in a crippling accident at work and his sister leaves for an ivy league school 3 months after their mother’s death, leaving him to stay with his father. The other is Poe, the legendary high school football player who could have gotten a football scholarship to any college but had always been a bad apple and had no interest in doing any more school, even if it was on a scholarship.

These two boys are strangely enough best friends, each other’s only real friend to be exact and one day there lives and those around them are changed forever. Within the first chapter Issac decides he’s hung around long enough, takes his father’s four thousand dollars of savings and leaves to head to California to go to school. Along the way he meets Poe who doesn’t want to come with him, but agrees to walk to the city limits with him. They spend the night in the abandoned steel mill and three homeless men arrive. Issac knows this is not going to be good and he tries to get Poe’s attention and says he’s going out for a leak. Poe knows what Issac is up to but he’s in the mood for a fight. Issac hears a scream, some thuds and more noises that sound like Poe. He enters through the back door to find his friend, Poe, being held at knife point while another man is obviously about to go at him. Isaac picks up a large iron ball bearing and pitches it across the room hitting the man square in the face and obviously killing him. This is how the story opens.

The book is told in a third person omnipotent point of view with each chapter coming from a selection of different character’s view point: the two boys, Isaac’s sister, Poe’s mom, the chief of police and occasionally Isaac’s father. The narrative takes a little getting used to as it feels strange to jump from one person’s head to another’s but it doesn’t take long to get used too as this is a page-turner from chapter one onwards. The writing is a delight to read, the characters become very real to the reader and the story of the lives and thoughts of these people in a dead-end situation all around is very compelling. These people do not lead happy lives and the book is somewhat raw in it’s telling but that only makes the characters more real. It is not ultimately a sad story though, as the characters learn about hope, love, friendship and redemption. I honestly didn’t know whether this was going to be a book I’d like but I have to say it’s the best book I’ve read this month.

I know it’s only January but I’ll be holding the other books I read this year up to this one as I choose my favourites of the year. Recommended!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

Pages: 290
First Published: Jan. 27, 2009
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

Old Henry Lee stood transfixed by all the commotion at the Panama Hotel.

Comments: Henry Lee’s wife has been dead for six months when he comes upon a crowd outside an old hotel that has been boarded up since the war years. The belongings of about 40 families that were sent to Japanese internment camps have been found in the basement. Henry remembers his past.

The book switches narrative from the present (well, 1985) to Henry’s past when he was a boy of twelve. He met a Japanese girl the same age and they became friends but Henry’s father was a staunch Chinese Nationalist and considered all Japanese the enemy since Japan had been attacking China for the last ten years.

This is a beautiful book. Beautifully written with a beautiful story to tell. It is a tale of friendship and enemies, love and hate, two very different families and the children who fall in love. Almost like World War II version of Romeo and Juliet. The story is bittersweet, hence the title, and the characters of Henry, his father, and Keiko, the American-born Japanese girl are fully realized.

I found the historical aspect fascinating. I often read World War II stories from a Chinese point of view and this was quite unique. The story was riveting and a page-turner that I couldn’t put down. I don’t usually read love stories, especially unrequited love, but the tale told here is simply beautiful and much more than just a love story.

The only quibble I have is that the author tried to present an unbiased point of view in regards to the Japanese internment camps and while he succeeded I would have liked a little more background on the “why?” of the situation for readers who know nothing of the Japanese atrocities of WWII. It was very briefly referred to but a little more information would have presented a truly balanced point of view.

In all, this is a wonderful tale and will be truly enjoyed by anyone who enjoys a good WWII story or Asian fiction.

From wikipedia:

As a medical term, gigantism can refer to “pituitary gigantism”, which is due to prepubertal growth hormone excess. This is sometimes equated with acromegaly, but more precisely, an excess of growth hormone leads to “pituitary gigantism” (vertical growth) if the epiphyseal plates have not yet closed, but it leads to “acromegaly” (lateral growth) if they have closed.

Even before I emerged from my mother’s womb in 1953, people began warning my mother that the infant she carried was going to be huge.

I really enjoyed this debut novel — particularly the first 3/4 of it. Tiffany Baker has created a very extraordinary character in Truly Plaice. First called a ‘little giant’ by her teacher Miss Sparrow, Truly is the exact opposite of her very petite, pretty, and perfect sister Serena Jane. Teased and humiliated by her classmates and community, Truly actually copes fairly well with her large size. Her genetics have treated Truly unfairly, but there are some positives in her life as well. She has the love of three very special people in her life, and she is thus able to tune out the mean-spirited ones who torment her. Not afraid of hard work either, Truly only sometimes feels sorry for herself and tries to make the best of every situation she’s in. (I always think it’s best not to know too many plot points before reading a book so I’ll stop there to avoid spoilers.)

The book covers the first 35-40 or so years of Truly’s life, and as said previously, I very much enjoyed the first 3/4 of the book. I actually read through the first part very quickly, but I did feel that the last 1/4 of the novel dragged a bit. There are also some ethical decisions made by the characters that are quite controversial, and I’m not quite sure how I stand on those issues myself so my thoughts about the ending are mixed. However, I’ll definitely be looking out for Tiffany Baker’s next book. She is a promising new novelist who knows how to craft unique characters and a unique story.

A special thanks goes to Hachette Book Group for sending me this book for review. The Little Giant of Aberdeen County is being released today (January 8th).

2009, 341 pp.

4/5

Eclipse by Richard North Patterson was released today. Would you like a copy? Just comment with your #1 favorite book and your #1 worst book of 2008. Drawing will be held Saturday. North America only.

Good luck!

Etta
By Gerald Kolpan
Completed December 28, 2008

Etta is the debut novel by journalist Gerald Kolpan. Inspired by a documentary about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Kolpan became interested in the mysterious Etta Place – Sundance Kid’s lover. Kolpan researched Etta, turned up very little, and decided to write a fictional account about this elusive woman.

In this story, Etta is really Lorinda Jameson – a wealthy girl sent west to escape the Italian mob who wanted to kill her to settle her father’s debts. Trouble followed Etta, though, like a bad shadow. Once settled in Colorado, she was sentenced for murdering a man who attempted to rape her. She was rescued by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and later joined them in their train and bank robberies. She also fell in love with the Sundance Kid (really named Harry Lonbaugh).

With little known about the real Etta Place, Kolpan had many holes to fill. He did plenty of research about everyday life during the turn of the century, from outlaws to train robberies, and bathing customs to cuisine. He structured his story with narratives, diary entries, memos from the Pinkertons and newspaper stories. The historical information and story structure advanced the story nicely.

However, I questioned how Kolpan developed the character of Etta. For example, I could not wrap my arms around how a woman of privilege so willingly embraced an outlaw lifestyle, with very little moral debate about what she was doing. Her diary indicated that she was stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, but it was not a convincing enough argument for me, considering Etta’s upbringing.

I also was unsure on why Kolpan added Eleanor Roosevelt to the story. Etta and Eleanor became friends in this story after Etta saw Eleanor’s work with the poor. Eleanor Roosevelt is one of our most honored women, and it doesn’t seem plausible that her path would cross with this debutante-turned-robber. And if their paths were to cross, it seemed unlikely that they would become such close friends, again considering Mrs. Roosevelt’s life and Etta’s career.

Despite these reservations, I enjoyed Etta. I would recommend it to readers who wanted to learn more about the social and economic history of the United States during the turn of the century. ( )

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy, 452 pages

Fiction or non-fiction? fiction

What led you to pick up this book? I love Maeve Binchy, and it is her newest release. A staff member at school brought it in and I scooped it right up.

Summarize the plot, but don’t give away the ending!
Following the lives and loves of the staff of a cardiac clinic in Dublin, Ireland.

What did you like most about the book? What did you like least?
I loved that characters from many of Binchy’s other books were in this one. It gives an update on some characters from Evening Class, Scarlett Feather, Quentins, Whitethorn Hills and Nights of Rain and Stars.
The characters are realistic, modern people that fight with their family, have good friends, and hope for a better life and love.
That was only a problem in that it has been many years since I’ve read some of the books. It isn’t necessary to know all the back story, but it provides a sense of remembrance. There are so many characters that if feels a bit like a series of short, interconnected stories. I would just get to know a character and then their part of the story was done.

Have you read any other books by this author? What did you think of those books? I’ve read all of Binchy’s books, she’s one of my favorite authors.

What did you think of the main character? I guess Clare was the main character. She was strong in her job and inspired loyalty, but didn’t get along with her daughters. Fiona was also a main character and she was also a wonder woman type, everyone loved her and she knew how to deal with everyone, but was fighting some internal battles.

Any other particularly interesting characters?
The twins, Maud and Simon are quite amusing and I foresee a story of their own soon.

Share a favorite scene from the book. The wedding at the end, with all the characters.

What about the ending? Aw, wonderful ending all tied up with all the characters. You don’t read Maeve Binchy to have the characters end up unhappy.

Which of your readers are most likely to enjoy this book? Why?
If you haven’t read any Binchy, I wouldn’t start with this one. Evening Class, Whitethorn Hills and Nights of Rain and Stars are more stand-alone stories and would be what I would recommend. If you’ve read Binchy before, I don’t have to tell you to read this one. You’ve already got it.
I would recommend Binchy to fans of LM Montgomery. They both set a location and character so well, with star-crossed lovers, pride and honor getting in the way, and then pretty much perfect, idealized endings. I get the same sense of comfort reading both authors.

released in Canada in October, 2008

to be released in US in Feb, 2009

Sligo made me and Sligo undid me, but then I should have given up much sooner than I did being made or undone by human towns, and looked to myself alone. The terror and hurt in my story happened because when I was young I thought others were the authors of my fortune or misfortune; I did not know that a person could hold up a wall made of imaginary bricks and mortar against the horrors and cruel, dark tricks of time that assail us, and be the author therefore of themselves. - from The Secret Scripture, page 3-4 -

Sebastian Barry’s fourth novel opens in an Irish mental hospital with the voice of Roseanne McNulty who, in the 100th year of her life, has decided to write her memoir and hide it beneath the floorboards of her room. As Roseanne revisits the past, the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital is being dismantled due to safety concerns. Roseanne’s psychiatrist Dr. Grene is attempting to evaluate the patients to determine if they can be set free, or must be re-committed in the new hospital. The story alternates between Roseanne’s memories of her past and Dr. Grene’s written thoughts in the present. As the novel progresses, the mystery of Roseanne’s life unfolds and Dr. Grene uncovers a secret in his own life.

Barry’s novel covers the period of the Irish Civil War (1922-23), as well as WWII and is steeped in the history of the Catholic Church and the politics of Ireland. There is a magical quality to the novel with rich and mysterious characters (including a priest who plays a large role in Roseanne’s life).

Early on, the reader becomes aware of discrepancies in Roseanne’s memories and part of the tension in the novel is one of separating the truth from fantasy. What is real and what is false?

For history as far as I can see is not the arrangement of what happens, in sequence and in truth, but a fabulous arrangement of surmises and guesses held up as a banner against the assault of withering truth. - from The Secret Scripture, page 55 -

But I am beginning to wonder strongly what is the nature of history. Is it only memory in decent sentences, and if so, how reliable is it? I would suggest, not very. And that therefore most truth and fact offered by these syntactical means is treacherous and unreliable. - from The Secret Scripture, page 293 -

Barry’s writing is simply gorgeous. Lyrical and descriptive, the reader can hear the lilt of the Irish voices and see the desolate countryside of Ireland.

Always the deluge of rain falling on Sligo, falling on the streets big and little, making the houses shiver and huddle like people at a football match. Falling fantastically, in enormous amounts, the contents of a hundred rivers. And the river itself, the Garravoge, swelling up, the beautiful swans taken by surprise, riding the torrent, being swept down under the bridge and reappearing the other side like unsuccessful suicides, their mysterious eyes shocked and black, their mysterious grace unassailed. How savage swans are even in their famous beauty. And the rain falling also on the pavements outside the Cafe Cairo, as I tugged at the boilers and the machines, and gazed out through the fuggy windows with burning eyes. - from The Secret Scripture, page 125 -

The Secret Scripture is a novel about love and betrayal, truth and fantasy, sin and redemption … an intimate look at the history and religious politics of Ireland as it collides with one woman’s life. Barry is the consummate story-teller, weaving his fantastical account beautifully and creating a truly memorable character for literary fiction lovers.

Highly recommended.

Coventry by Helen Humphreys

Pages: 177

First Published: Aug. 2008 (Feb. 2009 in US)
Genre: historical fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:

The swallow arcs and dives above the cathedral.

Comments: This book tells the story of Nov. 14, 1940, the evening and night that Coventry, England, an industrial town, was bombed to a wasteland by a German air raid during World War II. Two women’s lives are explored in the days leading up to that fateful night and when they meet their lives are forever changed and joined together forever more.

A beautiful little novel, or perhaps better called “novella”, running in at only 177 pages. English town life is deftly described. How both World Wars affected a nation of people is expressed in a simple nonetheless captivating language. Yet the horrors of experiencing and entire night of bombing air raids is chillingly effective in this stunning novel.

I have heard my own Gran (now 92) describe her fear of the air raids in England. To this day she is terrified of thunder, as it sounds like bombs dropping, and she shudders when hearing police, firetruck, etc. sirens as they remind her of the air raid sirens and the bomb shelters. Reading this book has helped me to experience that terror.

Even so, the novel is also a sentimental and bittersweet story of two women and two young men affected forever by war. I highly recommend this book. It is a quick read and well worth it.

The English translation was first available in 2008.

I pressed my hands to my heart. I felt dizzy again, as I always do when I step out of the shadow world of pointless watching and waiting and come face-to-face with reality. How much simpler reality is!

I can’t quite figure out if I like Sandor Marai’s novels or not. Earlier this year, I read Embers, and I also rated it 3.5/5. I thought parts of it were beautifully written, while other parts dragged. The monologues in that book went on and on and on… Also, the translation was from Hungarian to German to English, and I think something was definitely ‘lost in translation.’ Anyway, although I rated Esther’s Inheritance the same, I do believe I prefer it slightly. The translation of Esther is directly from the original Hungarian.

Just as in Embers, the crux of the novel is a confrontation. Esther is in her mid 40’s and lives only with a female relative. It seems that she (and much of her family) have been ripped off (in the nicest way possible) by Lajos the Liar. Now, several years later, he’s come back to visit, and we get the expected confrontation between them.

We hear the details of their past, learn about misunderstandings and miscommunications, and wonder if Esther is being suckered again by his charms or if Lajos really has some legitimate excuses. Just as in Embers, the ending didn’t quite satisfy, but I’ve begun to realize that maybe that was the point of both stories after all.

1939 [2008 for the English translation], 148 pp.
(3.5/5)

The 7th Victim by Alan Jacobson

Pages: 420
First Published: Nov, 2008 (Sept. in US)
Genre: crime thriller
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:

“Dispatch this is Agent Vail.”

Comments: FBI Profiler Karen Vail is on the case of a serial killer who follows a ritualistic routine in his violent and gruesome murders of young brunettes. Karen also has some personality clashes with members of the squad and troubles in her personal life. She is recently divorced from a bitter, angry man and her son does not want to visit at his father’s home anymore. She also must finally deal with the fact that her mother’s Alzheimer’s has reached the point where she needs constant supervision.

This murder case is taught and tense. The writing is gripping and it is evident the author has done his research. The characters are incredibly real and the plot is intense. Jacobson pulls no punches and twists and turns the plot until the reader is shocked with the ending results. Plus the author stuns the reader by solving the mystery just a little too far away from the end of the book making the reader wonder what could possibly happen next but this is where he then throws in his penultimate twist. I dare any reader to figure out “whodunit” before the final reveal.

One of the best stand-alones in this genre that I’ve read in quite some time. If you enjoy psychological suspense thrillers I can’t recommend this book more highly. I am certainly intrigued enough by Jacobson’s work here to go back and read his two previous books, False Accusations and The Hunted, and look forward to his next book.

‘Tis The Season! by Lorna Landvik
Contemporary Fiction - Epistolary
2008 Ballantine Books
Finished on 11/2/08
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Product Description

Bestselling author Lorna Landvik shines in this delightful holiday novel of redemption and forgiveness.

Heiress Caroline Dixon has managed to alienate nearly everyone with her alcohol-fueled antics, which have also provided near-constant fodder for the poison-pen tabloids and their gossip-hungry readers. But like so many girls-behaving-badly, the twenty-six-year-old socialite gets her comeuppance, followed by a newfound attempt to live a saner existence, or at least one more firmly rooted in the real world.

As Caro tentatively begins atoning for past misdeeds, she reaches out to two wonderful people who years ago brought meaning to her life: her former nanny, Astrid Brevald, now living in Norway and Arizona dude ranch owner, Cyril Dale. While Astrid fondly remembers Caro as a special, sweet little girl left in her charge, Cyril recalls how he and his late wife were quite taken with the quick-witted teenager Caro had become when she spent a difficult period in her life at the ranch as her father was dying.

In a series of e-mail exchanges, Caro reveals the depth of her pain and the lengths she went to hide it. In turn, Astrid and Cyril share their own stories of challenging times and offer the unconditional support this young woman has never known. The correspondence leads to the promise of a reunion, just in time for Christmas. But the holiday brings unexpected revelations that change the way everyone sees themselves and one another.

At once heartfelt and witty, ’Tis the Season! bears good tidings of great joy about the human condition–that down and out doesn’t mean over and done, that the things we need most are closer than we know, and that the true measure of one’s worth rests in the boundless depths of the soul.

I don’t usually read “holiday” books, but a couple of weeks ago, as I was helping set one of the Christmas tables at work, I spied the new Lorna Landvik book. The colorful cover caught my eye, so I flipped it open and discovered it’s an epistolary. What perfect timing!! I had just set my new end cap and knew this would be the perfect eye-catching book to sit in the #1 position on the display. Of course, I really like to have read all the books I recommend, so I got a copy and brought it home to read as soon as I finished my current book.

What a treat!! I could have easily read it in an afternoon, but as life seems to go around here, I wound up reading it over the course of two days.

It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed one of Landvik’s books (gave up on The Tall Pine Polka and haven’t felt compelled to read The View from Mount Joy), but this is a winner! As with most epistolaries, the exchange of correspondences between multiple characters takes a bit of time settling into who’s who. But once the characters were established, I quickly devoured the book. And, just in case you’re not a fan of Christmas-type books, this spans five months prior to Christmas. I’m tempted to say it really isn’t a holiday book at all. Just happens to conclude in December.

This is definitely a quick read, but it’s also one of those feel-good books that we can all benefit from during this hectic and stressful time of year.

If I haven’t been able to convince you, check out Lesa’s review for more details. ‘Tis the Season! won’t wind up on my Top Ten for 2008, but I’m so glad I took the time to read it. Perfect brain candy after a couple of very long months!