My Name is Mary Sutter (Nicola)
My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
Pages: 364 pages
First Published: May 13, 2010
Publisher: Viking
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
“Are you Mary Sutter?” Hours had passed since James Blevens had called for the midwife.
Reason for Reading: I’m very interested in this time period especially involving stories of women. The doctor angle grabbed me right away.
Mary Sutter is a twenty-ish young woman who is an experienced midwife. She comes from a long line of maternal midwives. Her twin sister was trained for a while too but she was pretty, flighty and not interested in midwifery while Mary, on the hand, was not satisfied with midwifery. She wanted more, she didn’t want to nurse, she wanted to be a doctor and was determined to become one, no matter what. Medical schools would not accept her application, she could find no doctor to apprentice her. Then the Civil War happened and she snuck onto a train full of male “nurses” (really any volunteer who would go, mostly drunks) being sent to the front. Thus begins Mary’s apprenticeship and journey from charwoman to doctor.
The historical setting is wonderfully done. It is genuine yet the war aspect, meaning the political/tactical aspects of war are kept to a minimum. We’re given enough information to know and understand what is going on but not bored to tears with a “war book”. Medicine is the focus of this book. For the first part of the book we experience childbirth in the 1860s. The complete use of midwives for this situation unless something horrible goes wrong and then a doctor is called in with his dreadful chloroform and forceps. Mary is known as the best midwife in Albany, even better than her mother, now that she’s grown older. Then we see how a doctor (a male) gets his license as a surgeon: a year of apprenticeship with another doctor and then 6 months of courses at a college where he would be lucky if he even got close enough to a body to touch it.
Women of course were not doctors at this time. In fact, only certain kinds of women, would be nurses. No self-respecting girl from a reputable home would become a nurse. When Dorothea Dix put out her first call for nurses wanted during the Civil War she was only allowed by the government once her call described the type of woman wanted as over thirty, hard working, plain looking, wearing black or brown with no jewelry, sober and “can exercise entire self-control”.
The history of medicine as it grows through the War is fascinating as they know little of diseases and infections. There is one surgeon who gets laid up by having his hands burnt who is already a proponent of microscopy who goes around collecting samples so he can perhaps learn more from this tragedy. The descriptions of the wounded, the unsanitary conditions in the makeshift hospitals and non-stop amputations is sickening.
Mary is a determined figure who sets out to do what she wants to do. But at what price? She has many decisions to make along the way. What we want to do and feel compelled to do may not always be the right thing to do and Mary often has to look back on her past decisions and wonder. This makes Mary a real, flawed character who though she is an admirable woman of her time fighting for her rights and those of women everywhere is also someone who has to make choices, some right, some wrong, to get where she wanted to go and she ruminates upon this often.
The final component of the story is a love triangle involving three men with Mary at the centre. Plain, tall, certainly not attractive Mary, has three men in love with her. Mary knows she is plain, her mother knows she is plain and each of her suitors definitely mentions she is plain but there is something that attracts them to her, especially her determination and loving nature. Which of the three she ends up with may be a surprise but I was overjoyed.
A fabulous read, compelling, hard to put down. I did find it somewhat of a slow read, not for any bad reason, but simply I had to slow down my natural reading pace to simply take it all in. Riveting!
31 Bond Street (Literary Feline)
She tried to summon her best composure but her expression changed like a cloud movement: flashes of red emerged in sudden streaks across her face, and tears began coursing along her cheeks. her countenance betrayed such anxiety that Connery eyed her closely. His instinct told him to remain still–emotional moments like these were often followed by a confession. [pg. 15]
31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan
Harper Collins, 2010
Crime Fiction; 352 pgs
Harper Collins, 2010
Crime Fiction; 352 pgs
When Dr. Harvey Burdell, a New York dentist, is found brutally murdered in his own home, behind locked doors, suspicion immediately falls on those in the household, particularly Emma Cunningham whose sudden production of a secret marriage certificate between her and the doctor two weeks before the murder raises eyebrows and puts her innocence in doubt. Emma is a woman who is desperate to hang onto the last vestige of her social status, both for her daughters’ sake as well as her own. She is near broke and facing eviction when she first meets Dr. Burdell. Dr. Burdell seems like a gentleman through and through. Only, he isn’t nearly as perfect as he seems. As the investigation into his murder unfolds, it becomes clear that Dr. Burdell had many secrets and just as many enemies.
With the media, public opinion, and the ambitious district attorney, Abraham Oakley Hall, already poised to hang Emma, Henry Clinton steps in to defend her. He puts his own career on the line to do so.
Ellen Horan’s novel, 31 Bond Street, is lush with detail. The mystery is tightly woven, at times intense, and always interesting. The story went in several unexpected directions. I had my theories, but nothing was quite as simple as it seemed. The narrative follows events as they unfold from the moment the body is discovered and is interspersed with flashbacks to the months before the murder, offering insight into the characters lives and motivations. New York was a character of its own: the bustling streets, the spreading out of a city, the back alleys and the upper class neighborhoods. I felt as if I was right there in the middle of the events as they transpired.
I hadn’t realized when I first began reading 31 Bond Street that it was based on a true crime that took place in 1875 New York. In a way, I’m glad I didn’t know as I might have been tempted to run and look up the story before finishing the novel. While that isn’t always a bad thing, I’ve found, this is one book I preferred to go into blind. I look forward to reading more by Ellen Horan in the future.
Ratings: 
(Very Good)
You can learn more about Ellen Horan and her book on the author’s website.
Source: Book provided by publisher for review.
Printed with permission by author, Wendy Runyon (aka Literary Feline) ; © 2010. All Rights Reserved.
Nick of Time (Nicola)
Nick of Time by Ted Bell. Illustrations by Russ Kramer
Nick McIver, book 1
Pages: 434 pages
Ages: 11+
First Published: Sept. 1, 2009
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
“Hard a’lee, me boys!” shouted Nick McIver over the wind, “or be smashed to smithereens in the jaws of Gravestone Rock!”
Reason for Reading: I have the second book, but thought I had better read the first book, well … first. I read this aloud to my son, as he loves seafaring adventures.
Set in 1939, just before war is declared, on the smallest of the Channel Islands. Nick’s father is lighthouse keeper and a secret spy for politician Winston Churchill reporting back any German U-Boat activity in the Channel waters. A strange man called Billy Blood kidnaps Nick’s dog Jipper and thus starts a seafaring adventure that will cross time. Billy Blood is a pirate of Admiral Lord Nelson’s time and not only has he taken Nick’s dog, he has also kidnapped Lord Hawke’s two children. Lord Hawke, Nick and his friend Gunner go back in time with a time machine device of Hawke’s which Blood just happens to have the only other existing one. While there they must help Nelson’s fleet out of a dangerous situation that only Nick can guide them through. Meanwhile, back at home, Nick’s younger sister, Kate, has been left with Commander Hobbes to take some vital information about a special U-Boat to England unbeknownst that said U-Boat is hot on their trail.
Rip-roaring adventure from beginning to end in the fashion of “Treasure Island” and in the same vein the illustrations are a handful of full-page drawings as one would find illustrative plates in an old copy of “Treasure Island”. A gripping story with Nick certainly in the lead as main character. He is an independent twelve-year-old, though respectful to his parents, who was born with the sea in his blood. He spends as much time as possible out in his boat sailing the waters in good and bad weather, even mapping a route through a dangerous coral reef into a cove. His hero is Admiral Lord Nelson and he thinks of him every time he starts to feel discouraged in life. His sister, Kate, is only seven and maintains her position well, despite being cute and funny she is smart as a tack and manages to save the situation at the last minute many times.
We both loved this book. The story is engaging and the shared time between the two time periods is very exciting. The chapters alternate with one set of characters in 1805 then back to the present with the Nazis in 1939. All of the main characters are likable and each has a sense of humour which adds a light tone in between the action scenes. The story is realistic and the battles scenes in 1805 are not for the very young or sensitive as battle wounds are described in full, and blood and violence are shown in their proper place in war, though never unnecessarily or gratuitously. The pirates, and well most adults, do use a small amount of language using the British curse words bloody/bleeding frequently and taking the Lord’s name in vain quite often. Since I was reading aloud, I was able to say the words about half the time as they applied, something really was bloody in the battle and I spoke the Lord’s name in a way that the character was now calling upon Him rather than swearing, the other half of the time I edited it out. But these are two small complaints in a book aimed at this age group.
I just love finding books that are definitely aimed at boys, there are of course many girls who enjoy this type of action and they have the character of Kate to identify with, but I appreciate when the male/female characters are brother/sister thus eliminating the awkward love angle or the even more annoying battle of the sexes angle. Kate and Nick are especially a nice team as they are loving family members, far enough apart in age that Nick is Kate’s parent-in-absentia figure and Kate adores her big brother.
A wonderful book with family values, adventure, really bad guys (pirates and Nazis) and an edge of your seat action set in exciting historical times. Looking forward to Book 2 in the series.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Nicola)
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Pages: 288 pages
First Published: Jul. 29, 2008
Publisher: Dial Press
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Dear Sidney, Susan Scott is a wonder.
Reason for Reading: I’ve wanted to read this since the minute it came out! The title is the first thing that grabbed my interest then of course all the positive reviews. Somehow the book just kept getting pushed further down my tbr pile until finally it rose to the top when it was randomly selected as my final book for the Random Reading Challenge.
I’ll keep this review short since there are hundreds, make that thousands of reviews already online. I feel like I may be the last book blogger to read this book! As anyone who reads my reviews regularly might have guessed: how could I not have absolutely loved it! Everything I enjoy in this type of book is present here, historical fiction written as a collection of letters with a cast of eccentric characters. Perfection! I just love epistolary novels and they read so fast it is almost impossible to put the book down. Each and every single character was a dear and getting to know them through someone’s letters somehow seems so personal and insightful. I loved everyone though I must say Dawsey and Isola were my favourites.
As to the historical content, while the book takes place one year after the war it often feels to be in the here and now as the letters are full of reminiscences of wartime experiences. I must say that even with all my reading of World War II, I had not known that the Channel Islands had been occupied. It didn’t surprise me, tactically I can understand how the situation happened, but I’m surprised it has never been mentioned in my previous reading. It was an eye-opener for me and I’m now quite interested in finding out more about the occupation and the experiences of people from different points of view.
A delightful little book, that is a quick read with dramatic, tragic, romantic and comedic moments to be found throughout. A truly beautiful book not to be missed!
Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show (Literary Feline)
She sprang from the womb and waved to the crowd. Then she smiled and took a bow. [opening. pg. 3]
Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show by Frank Delaney
Random House, 2010
Fiction (historical); 448 pgs
Random House, 2010
Fiction (historical); 448 pgs
A young man on the cusp of adulthood has lead a relatively good life up until that point. His father is a well-respected farmer and seems happily married to his mother. Everything changes, however, when he attends a traveling show performance with his father one evening. His father refuses to return home, emphatic that he is joining the show. The elder MacCarthy is smitten with the show’s lead act, Venetia Kelly, an interest that had begun two years before, unbeknownst to the son. Ben MacCarthy is forced to grow up very quickly after that. Tasked by his mother to go after and bring home his father, Ben must give up his own dreams of college. The year is 1932 and the story takes place in Ireland, a beautiful and yet tense backdrop. Political tensions are high with the upcoming election and subsequent battle for power. What follows is a story full of intrigue, drama, comedy and family loyalty and strength. It is also rich in history with a dash of Irish lore. I laughed. I cried. I held my breath in anticipation of and fear. What sounds like a simple story is far from it. Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show is quite complex, with many layers.
What I found most exquisite in this novel was Frank Delaney’s writing. Narrated by an older Ben MacCarthy as he attempts to document the events that took place during the early 1930’s. He begins by setting up the characters, introducing them and sharing a little of their background. It was almost too much, but just when I was growing tired and wondering if the book would go on like that forever, Ben’s narrative moved into the story and the events that changed his life forever.
I really came to care for the characters. Ben, in his innocence and naivety, was charming and thoughtful. He does what he has to do with the confidence of the young, yet he is still unsure and scared at times. His parents seemed like good people, hardworking and persevering. There were moments I was less than sympathetic with his father, quite a few, actually, but I could see why Ben held him in such high regard. I really felt for Ben’s mother. She lost so much in all of this. The Kelly family remains difficult for me to describe. King Kelly, Venetia’s grandfather, is a cold man, charming in his own way, but clearly used to using people to reach his own ends. Sarah King, Venetia’s mother, and Venetia herself were held at a distance for the first half or so of the book–untouchable almost–but not without reason. The author dazzled the reader with their beauty and skill, both on stage and off. Both were actresses, you see. It is only as time goes on and Ben reveals more that we are given a deeper view of the two women. Venetia, eccentric as she is, never really loses her luster.
The side characters are just as intriguing. From Mrs. Hass, the King’s housekeeper, to my favorites, Miss Fay and James Clare, a smart and supportive pair who offer their help to Ben along the way. James Clare was an especially interesting character; his occupation involved traveling around Ireland collecting and telling stories. He knew just the spin to put on a story. The most ordinary of circumstances seemed like an adventure when he was through weaving his own tale.
The political undercurrent that runs through the novel plays a significant part in the novel. Just as the MacCarthy family is facing serious upheaval of their own, so seems to be the government. Violence threatens to erupt from under the surface and Ben unwittingly finds himself at the forefront of it all.
As I read Frank Delaney’s novel, I couldn’t help but be entranced. The art of storytelling is in high gear in the novel, both as a theme running through the novel and the way the book was written. I would love to hear this novel narrated–I imagine it would be just as wonderful in the right narrator’s voice. Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show is definitely one I will be keeping around. I can see myself returning to it again and again, each time getting something new out of it.
Rating: 
(Very Good +)
Source: Book provided by Interpersonal Frequency LLC for review.
Vanishing Girl (Nicola)
Vanishing Girl by Shane Peacock
The Boy Sherlock Holmes, His 3rd Case
Pages: 307 pages
Ages: 10+
First Published: Oct. 13, 2009
Publisher: Tundra Books
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Irene Doyle gasps.
Acquired: Borrowed a copy through Inter-Library Loan.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
This third entry into the series is not as dark or scary as the previous two and there are no dead bodies this time either but this mystery involving kidnapping and robbery is very clever and full of twists. Irene is back on the scene after an absence in the last book and is a welcome return. All the regular characters, including the new Mr. Bell, are also assembled and while of course there are some new characters involved in the plot the character development is all saved for the regulars.
A spoilt rich girl just home from three years in India, daughter of a Lord in politics, in kidnapped. A few months go by without a single word or trace of her then suddenly an anonymous tip tells of her location and she is rescued but the culprits have escaped. The family retires to the country to relax and immediately their home in the city is robbed, not just robbed but almost totally emptied of its contents and days later the daughter is caught again. Sherlock has been on the case from the beginning and has clues that have sent him the wrong direction. But not only does he have to solve this crime for his own pride before the police, there is also a little boy’s life at stake that Irene is desperate to save and finding the missing girl is crucial.
Another page-turning, exciting mystery that I’ve come to expect from Shane Peacock. Peacock gives a nod to Holmesian fans by naming the missing girl’s family the Rathbone’s. Holmes character as a boy is really developing in this book towards the man we eventually will come to know. Up to and including this point he has been searching for cases to solve to show up Inspector Lestrade and prove himself to the police and the world that he is a genius detective. I haven’t liked this aspect of the young Holmes as it runs contrary to the adult Holmes’ confident arrogance. In this book young Sherlock comes to a realization about this aspect of his behaviour and changes. His relationship with the young Lestrade is also explored in this novel much further than it has been so far and we see the inklings of their future relationship. Malefactor has been a wild card up to this point and his true character is finally revealed in this book as well.
Vanishing Girl is a satisfying read for followers of the series as we get another clever, exciting mystery, set in an accurate historical portrayal this time concentrating on the contrast between life of a child in a poor orphanage and life as a neglected but spoilt rich girl. We also come to a major point in all the major characters’ development that will affect their behaviour now in future volumes. I have book 4 in my line-up and am looking forward to it.
Early to Death, Early to Rise (Nicola)
Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison
Madison Avery, Book 2
Pages: 228 pages
Ages: 13+
First Published: May 2010
Publisher: Harper Teen
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
The car was hot from the sun, and I pulled my fingerprints from it as I slunk past.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
A fabulous sequel to Once Dead, Twice Shy! An exciting story from beginning to end that had me glued to the book until I was finished. Once again Kim Harrison finished off with a nice, neat, satisfactory ending without the use of a cliffhanger, though leaving the loose threads and plot direction for the next and what may be the last book of a trilogy. All the characters from book one return so that even though we’ve had to wait a whole year for this book, their familiarity quickly comes back to mind and the author does give quick mentions throughout of events that happened in book one to refresh our memory without going into a rehash of book one except for a quick half-page prologue.
I really don’t want to say a lot about the plot in the book as it carries on from book one taking the main character Madison Avery, who is dead, further along with the job she has been assigned and I don’t want to give plot spoilers for either book. We get a greater insight into the workings behind the scenes and while this actually is an angel book where the angels come from heaven and god (with a little g) is once mentioned, the author has taken great liberty to create her own fictional vision of how death works and what part angels play in helping souls to reach heaven. Harrison’s vision is fantastical (having nothing to do with Christianity) but does pose some seriously tough questions about free will.
The characters are wonderful. Madison grows into some of her powers and finds it’s not all fun and games to be a supernatural being. Madison grows to connect closer and even bond with some of her supernatural friends, Barnabas the light angel and Nakita the dark angel and Grace the guardian angel. Madison’s love interest Josh, is not an integral part of this story, but in the brief page time he gets at the beginning and end their relationship does take a step in the right direction.
Some very cool ideas at work in this sequel which not only entertained me but had me thinking and and seeing the point of view of both sides, the Dark and the Light. While, morally, I know where I stand, I can understand the various points of view. It will be very interesting to see how all threads and issues are resolved though I do have an idea as to a possible direction. A great series that I am really enjoying. Just wish I didn’t have to wait a whole year for the next book!
The Red Door (Nicola)
The Red Door by Charles Todd
Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery, Book 12
Pages: 344 pages
First Published: Dec. 29, 2009
Publisher: William Morrow
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
She stood in front of the cheval glass, the long mirror that Peter had given her on their second anniversary, and considered herself.
Reason for Reading: I’ve always wanted to read a book by this “author”. The reason for reading the book now though is that this was actually the very first book I received in 2010 to review and while I was putting my piles of review, won, tbr, etc. books onto my new bookcase I found it grouped with the wrong books so I rectified the situation by making it my next read.
Jumping in with book twelve in a mystery series has the potential to cause some problems. As to an ongoing personal story there was only a brief mention of that at the beginning and the end, plus some vague references to previous solved crimes which didn’t interfere with my reading at all. What did make the book hard for me to get into was the character of Ian Rutledge. By this time, he is a well established character and readers are presumed to know him already. Being new to this type of character did hinder my getting settled into the story, especially since Rutledge is unlike any other inspector I’ve come across. Set two years after the end of the Great War, Rutledge is a war veteran who secretly suffers from emotional effects of the war, shell shock, which is now known as post-traumatic stress disorder. In particular, he carries around with him, so to speak, one of his fallen soldiers, Hamish, who speaks to him in his head and Rutledge needs to physically be aware that there is space for him, though he will never look at him, they do have conversations and Hamish can be considered to be Rutledge’s partner as would be found in other books. This took some time for me to actually comprehend and now makes me want to start this series from the beginning.
The story itself is wonderful. A full cast of characters connected in one way or another makes the list of suspects large but finite. The writing spends much time on the characters lives, giving each individual a real and true representation. Rutledge is given two cases to work on. The first involves a lone widow whose husband never returned from the War, who is found murdered at her own front door. The second is of a wealthy man who mysteriously disappears from hospital. The man turns up safe after being away long enough to cause considerable worry but soon Rutledge has more than just one body on his hands. A very clever mystery. What I usually term a “thinking man’s” mystery. There are several secrets and mysteries along with the murder to solve and reveals come slowly and can change the reader’s whole take on things. I had fun having the satisfaction of figuring out some secrets and mysteries but never could hold on to the murderer. In the end I was surprised.
I really enjoyed this book. The time period is a perfect setting for British mysteries, invoking the charm of the the Golden Age writers, yet I wouldn’t call this a cozy. This is much more a psychological drama with a lot of insight into the after effects of war, in all sorts of ways throughout British society. A very satisfying read and one that I will be adding to my must read list. Though I’ll have to start at the beginning to get the full story on the intriguing Inspector Ian Rutledge.
Captivity (Nicola)
Captivity by Deborah Noyes
Pages: 352 pages
First Published: Jun. 1, 2010
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
A bell is tolling for me, Clara thinks, awakened in her chair by the wind.
Reason for Reading: The Victorian era is my favourite time period to read about and I always find the Spiritualist movement fascinating, in that famous, intelligent people were some of the most hardy believers.
Set in the 1830s to 1850, this is a tale of two stories. First is based on the true life story of The Fox Sisters who could talk to the dead through rappings and virtually were the beginning of the entire Spiritualist movement. Secondly, is the story of Clara, 40 or close to, spinster who lives with her aging father. She has made herself reclusive for many years after the scandalous ending to a short but passionate affair of the heart. The main character from each story eventually meet but the point of view continues to switch back and forth from one person’s tale to the other’s.
I had a hard time getting into this one. I struggled through the first hundred pages not because they were hard to read but because I found the Fox sisters devoid of character. There are three of them. Alice, the youngest, starts out as a main character but eventually drifts to the background and is not ever given any personality for the reader to hold any opinion of her whatsoever. Alice is replaced by the eldest sister, Leah, who is the stereotypical mean, bossy, all business older sister and while we are given an outline of who she is, that is all the reader has to go by and no personality shows through that one doesn’t feel for her either good or bad. The sister who is given the protagonist’s part is middle sister, Maggie, and it takes an awful long time for her character’s development to attain the point of having her own personality. Thus making those first pages hard for me to get through.
On the other hand, I was taken with Clara’s story right away. She is a woman “of certain age” whose father, after many years of it being just the two of them, has started to bring round a widow who is obviously insinuating herself into her father’s graces and trying to interfere in Clara’s solitary, reclusive lifestyle. Clara goes back to the 1830s and slowly tells the story of her first (and only) love, the terrible tragedy and why she has ended up stowed away in her own room for so many years. This is what kept me reading for those first hundred pages.
Clara’s story eventually meets the present and Maggie and Clara meet. At this point the two stories are still told separately but the characters from each story now overlap. It is also at this point the pace picked up for me. Maggie became an interesting person with depth. Not until the end of the story do we get to see the inside workings of Maggie’s seances but we see the drain they have on her and both her feelings of pleasure and pressure at having to perform.
Ultimately though, this is a story of unrequited love and bitterness. Clara has three spinster aunt’s who try desperately to marry her off, while she has no interest. Then once her affair of the heart has broken her they become nasty and mean-hearted to Clara for she had what they never did. Maggie also finds herself a man who is devoted to her but he is a gentleman and he wants her to choose between her scandalous lifestyle and him. Then there is Leah, in the background, who always has a different husband. These women think they need a man (or needed a specific man) to set them free but they all hold themselves captive by there own doings. A man’s love will not set them free. They must set themselves free first, then they will be at liberty to love.
The second half of the book was really good, kept me turning the pages and I’m glad to have read the book. An interesting look inside one of the more unusual fads of the Victorian era.
Impatient with Desire (Nicola)
Impatient with Desire by Gabrielle Burton
Pages: 248 pages
Ages: 18+
First Published: Mar. 9, 2010
Publisher: Voice
Rating: 5/5
First sentence:
Imagine all the roads a woman and a man walk until they reach the road they’ll walk together.
Reason for Reading: The Donner Party has always intrigued me, as it does so many others.
The majority of this book focuses on the The Donner Party’s journey, told through the eyes of Tamsen Donner in a journal format and a collection of letters to her sister; eventually the letters stop and the journal begins to be written to the sister. The story starts as the pioneers are hunkered down for the winter in the mountains but does not run in a linear format. Tamsen goes back to the days of her and George Donner’s meeting, she also tells her biography before she met George and does likewise for him. The story flips from the present winter conditions where they are trapped back to the day they decided to start their journey and the majority of the book is devoted to telling the tale of these pioneer’s voyage along the trail, how they got off the usual path and ended up trapped in the mountains for winter.
Being told from Tamsen’s point of view is unique; presenting a hardy, robust, adventurous female pioneer who often has more gumption than some of the men. One becomes attached to Tamsen right from the start. The author has done a wonderful job of creating a character that the reader is invested in and actually hopes for even when historically we know the terrible facts. It isn’t until the very end that the cannibalism is dealt with and the author doesn’t make a big deal out of it either. She shows how it may have come about. She also shows how three different families, in their own huts, may have handled and been affected by the terrible but life-saving, gruesome act. This part of the story is not sensationalized, it is only described in a few short pages, leaving much to the imagination.
This was a page-turner for me. A quick read, with short journal entries and letters it is so easy to just keep turning the pages! An eye-opening story which I think does the Donner Party a service in the eyes of history. With Tamsen Donner’s real journal never having been found this is a story we will always wish we could have a glimpse of her eye-witness accounts and this book satisfies, bringing Tamsen Donner alive again as a brave and determined pioneer woman.
Bleeding Heart Square (Nicola)
Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
Pages: 432 pages
First Published: Mar. 3, 2009
Publisher: Hyperion
Rating: 4.5/5
First sentence:
Sometimes you frighten yourself.
Reason for Reading: The book sounded perfect for me: a British historical mystery set in the thirties which the blurbs assured me was “beautifully crafted”.
I have found myself a new favourite author! After reading this book, I want to get my hands on anything else by this man. This is a clever book, very intelligently crafted and written with a literary flair. His combination of mystery and history is absolutely superb.
There is so much story here and a mystery that morphs itself in so many directions it’s nearly impossible to give a summery. The publisher’s don’t even bother to try with their brief blurb on the back of my trade pb edition. What can I tell you? Lydia Langstone is an upperclass woman who walks out on her husband because he hits her. She ends up a #7 Bleeding Heart Square, a boarding house, where her Father, a drunk, but jovial sort of fellow when he’s upright, lives. She has never met him before but decides to stay with him and gets herself a job in a lawyer’s office. Lydia then finds herself in a mystery that has already started; the owner of the boarding house, a Miss Penham, vanished a few years back without a trace, except for a letter arriving from America saying she’d runaway with an old flame. Some accept the letter as true, others believe it to be a forgery. It is within this atmosphere that Lydia gets caught up in the suspense and secrecy which seems to involve all boarders in the house, including her father. Which then spreads further afield and Lydia is on the trail of her own family’s secrets and mysteries which lead home to her mother and husband.
The story takes so many twists and turns it makes for fascinating reading. What starts out as a missing person case morphs into several different crimes: murder, rape, kidnapping, suicide, impersonation and so on. With WWII only a few years in the future Britain’s political scene and the founding of the British Fascist party only adds to the heavy atmosphere that seeps from the pages of this book. With a combination of crimes, characters, secrets, atmosphere and even politics Bleeding Heart Square has just the right amount of “it” to make me love this story. Once you’ve been shaken up and down along with the plot and everything settles down for the finale, a final screeching reveal hits you which you’ve actually been wondering about since page one. You see every now and then someone comes along and narrates in the second person, taking to you,the reader, about some diary entries. One wonders who this person is at times, then at others gets used to the voice and forgets to remember to wonder which character is doing this. The amazing conclusion wraps everything up with a satisfying bang and I’ll say I was riveted from start to finish. I’ll be looking at his other books now, hopefully he has another set in my favourite era of 1850-1950.
Beautiful Assassin (Literary Feline)
Imagine, a woman in a tree, a silly, foolish young woman holding a gun and preparing to kill a man she does not even know. [excerpt from Beautiful Assassin]
Beautiful Assassin by Michael C. White
William Morrow, 2010
Fiction; 464 pgs
For all the books I have read over the years set around or during World War II, I have yet to explore every facet of it. The Soviet Union’s involvement is one such area I am still relatively new to. And so, when the opportunity arose to read and review Michael C. White’s novel, Beautiful Assassin, I was quick to volunteer. The novel opens with an American journalist on her way to meet who she believes is the namesake of the novel, a woman she has long been searching for. The two women talk long into the night as Tat’yana tells the story of her life all those years ago.
Tat’yana was once a Soviet Hero, having killed over 300 soldiers. She had come to the United States as a guest of Eleanor Roosevelt, but under the watchful eye of the Soviets who dictated just about every word she spoke and every move she made. She had been told her purpose was to draw support from the Americans and to encourage the U.S. to become more active in the war, to fight the Germans alongside the Soviets. Only, she soon learned that she was to also glean as much information as she could from her new friends. Tat’yana did not want to be a spy as it went against her very nature. She was loyal to her country, but she also knew the faults of her government. She was put in a difficult situation, having to choose between her country and a new one.
Tat’yana is not someone anyone would expect to become a soldier. She was an academic, a poet. When tragedy befell her family, however, she was desperate and full of rage. The only thing she wanted to do wass strike out at the enemy. Her skills in marksmanship proved an asset in the war.
Although women fought alongside men in the Soviet Union, Tat’yana and other female soldiers did not have it easy. There were those who did not believe a woman’s place should be on the battlefield and they made life difficult. As Tat’yana tried to prove herself in a man’s world, she quickly learned that it would be an ongoing battle. While others sought to keep her in her place, Eleanor Roosevelt had other ideas. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt instantly takes a liking to Tat’yana, a capable, strong woman, as does Tat’yana to Mrs. Roosevelt.
There was so much I liked about this book. Tat’yana is an interesting character who evolves as a person over the course of the novel. Because Tat’yana is telling her story in hindsight, she has insight into the events that took place all those years ago, and so she comes at it from a place of maturity we might not have seen from her younger self. Tat’yana is by no means perfect. She is strong and yet vulnerable. She did not always make the best or even the most heroic choices.
At 464 pages, this novel has a lot packed into it; it is at once a war story, a political thriller, and a historical novel with a touch of romance. Although I enjoyed nearly every aspect of the novel, my favorite time was spent when Tat’yana was in the Soviet Union. I felt like I got to know Tat’yana best during that time as well as her family, including her husband and her relationship with him.
Once Tat’yana arrived in the United States, I felt as if the plot began to overshadow the characters. I found the later romance portion of the novel difficult to buy into if only because Captain Taylor was not as well-developed a character as I would have liked. He is charming and mysterious, and while I could understand the attraction between Tat’yana and him, I never felt like I got to know him as well as I did her character. I never lost my fascination and interest in the story and of Tat’yana, however, and I was anxious to see how it all turned out in the end.
Beautiful Assassin was a satisfying read overall. I enjoyed the time I spent with Tat’yana and look forward to exploring the author’s other novels.
Rating: 
(Good +)
For more information about the author and his books, visit his website.
Source: Received book through BookBrowse First Impressions Program.
Printed with permission by author, © 2010, Wendy Runyon (aka Literary Feline) of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved.
Pearl of China (Nicola)
Pearl of China by Anchee Min
Pages: 278 pages
First Published: Mar. 30, 2010
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
First sentence:
Before I was Willow, I was Weed.
Reason for Reading: I am a huge fan of Pearl S. Buck, having read almost all of her books.
The book purports to be the fictionalized story of Pearl Buck’s life in China told through the eyes of a lifetime Chinese friend. Pearl’s mother went to the US to give birth to Pearl after losing several babies but soon came back to China with the babe in arms and Pearl was to remain there well into her thirties, except for brief periods away while she sought higher eduction in the US. She even married and came back a missionary herself. Willow, her fictional friend, tells the story of her own life and how it intermingled with Pearl’s and through this the reader gets glimpses into the great writer’s life, who though she was white on the outside was Chinese on the inside.
The book is enjoyable and we are given a touching look inside the day-to-day life of a small Chinese village, Chin-kiang, from the early 1900s through the end of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. The villagers themselves are eccentric and lovable and the reader falls in love with the people and way of life, though one must watch out for the war lords, in Chin-kiang before the terrible atrocities of the revolutions started.
I’m not sure I completely agree with the author’s portrayal of Pearl’s mother and father. She does have the personalities correct but it somehow feels overboard. It has been a long time since I read Buck’s two biographies, that each tell the same story, one through her father’s eyes, The Fighting Angel, the other through her mother’s, The Exile, so I can’t say anything concrete but I am left with an odd feeling here.
The same goes for Pearl actually. Since the author chose the rather strange narrative of telling Pearl’s life through the eyes of a (non-existant) Chinese best friend from childhood, the reader can only experience those parts of Buck’s life in which the friend is involved. Thus creating long passages of time where Pearl Buck is not present. I have only read Buck’s first biography, My Several Worlds, but there is a large amount of information missing on Pearl’s life and the topics that were close to heart. I’m rather dismayed that Anchee Min glosses over the atrocities of the Nanking Massacre so quickly, as it is a subject that Pearl writes about in much detail.
Now, rather than being the story of Pearl Buck, this novel is more the story of Willow a Chinese peasant who happened to know Pearl Buck. We are shown how her childhood is influenced as she becomes like a sister to Pearl and Carie (Pearl’s mother) becomes like a mother to her for her entire life, as her own mother died when she was very young. Her father is converted to Christianity, fake on his part to start with, but eventually a true convert and the reader sees how being a Christian in Mao’s China affects ones life. Actually, the most riveting part of this novel is the Mao years. I always find reading about the Cultural Revolution almost unbelievable and then terrifying when the reality sets in my mind.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. I think it is a mistake to assume this is a book about Pearl Buck and will be better enjoyed with the understanding that it is the story of a peasant girl who knew Pearl for thirty-odd years. I certainly enjoyed the writing style and if I had known nothing about Pearl S. Buck to begin with, it would be a teaser of an introduction to this great woman and perhaps may make readers look up some of her lesser known work. This is the first Anchee Min book I’ve read and I see she has written several others; I will definitely be reading her backlist.
The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag (Nicola)
The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag by Alan BradleyFlavia de Luce Mysteries, #2
Pages: 348 pages
First Published: Match 9, 2010
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
I was lying dead in the churchyard.
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
Flavia’s second case follows the traditional set up of the golden-age of classic British mysteries. A travelling puppet show comes to town, but not just anyone; this is Ruper Porson famous for his television puppet show. He agrees to put a show on for the village. At this point the reader is completely immersed in the story, introduced to all the characters, in the village, and the newcomers, along with bits and pieces of backstories but never enough to let us know who is going to commit a murder. And a murder there will be, just like the classic Agatha Christie we know this is all building up to the right moment and we’ve figured out who will get murdered and probably when but not how.
Once the murder has been committed the rest of the book follows through keeping the pacing and formatting similar to the classic British mystery. Of course there are a few modern twists, our protagonist is an 11-year old girl, who is fascinated with poisons and completely knowledgeable in chemistry and herbs to be able to make an unlimited amount of poisons and their remedies. Flavia is a very interesting character. She is bright and knows it but is never smarmy or ignorant to adults. She knows when to use the child side of her to get more answers for certain witnesses. Flavia starts out by totally expecting the police to take her on as a deductive member of the team from her experiences showing them her skills last time but when she is questioned and then sent along she is feels indignant that they would dismiss her so easily. So Flavia takes on the case by herself, sneaking around, traveling by bicycle (just like the old-time female British sleuths!) and getting interviews that the police couldn’t possibly succeed in as well as she, beloved child and fellow villager, is able. The author seems to have a good hold on her character by this point, as she is now entirely believable as a child, which I had problems with in the first book. It is good to see the character more realistic and fleshed out.
I will say though, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I think the original uniqueness of the situation has worn off a bit and while the book is so comparable to a typical Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh, I do prefer my mysteries nowadays to start right off the bat with the murder. O course that’s just me. Flavia de Luce is going to be a winner with all lovers of British cozies, one you’ll surely not want to miss.
The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno (Nicola)
The Transformation of Bartholomew Fortuno by Ellen Bryson
Pages: 338 pages
First Published: June 22, 2010
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5
First sentence:
Light from April’s full moon swept over the Museum’s facade and down the building’s marble veneer.
Reason for Reading: I’m a fan of the time period and as macabre as it sounds, old-time circus “freak” shows.
Set in 1865, the year that Lincoln was killed, New York, this story takes place in The American Museum an establishment of Oddities and Curiosities run by one Phineas Taylor Barnum (P.T. Barnum). It was here on the fourth floor that his Curiosities lived: the fat lady, the giantess, the strong man, the conehead, the rubberman and Bartholomew Fortuno, the World’s Skinniest Man. Late one night Barthy sees Barnum leading a woman totally covered in wraps into the building. Mystery surrounds this woman, she is to be a new show but Barnum is slow to let out what her “talent” is and the others all gossip and slowly find things out until it is finally revealed. Barnum himself is totally infatuated with this woman, bringing Mrs. Barnum, the senior partner, onto the scene causing problems for everyone. But Bartholomew has also become enamoured of her and become her friend and likewise she has befriended him. This is ultimately a story of love, how deep love can run, and can it survive extreme divisions.
I was hooked on this book from the beginning. I have a (what some may call macabre) interest in the old circus side-shows (freak shows, if you will) and this book is set in my favourite time period so there really was no doubt I was going to like it. The story is not based on any actual real historical incident but the background historical details are real. Barnum ran The American Museum for many years before he went into the circus business in his 60s. The story is very compelling and is more about the side-show performers than it is about Barnum. The narrative is told from Bartholomew’s point of view; he has a unique sense of his strangeness and is quite proud of it but he becomes challenged as to whether he is truly one of the Curiosities, who is that way by nature as he claims to be, or a Gaff (a fake) who has chosen to be the way he is. This becomes a big theme in the book as does a love triangle that develops, well in reality two love triangles consisting of the same two people with different thirds.
The book is certainly well-written, attention grabbing and page-turning. I read the book withing 24 hours. There are two big reveals, obviously the secret of the new performers oddity as I’ve mentioned and another which isn’t revealed until the end of the book. My problem was that I guessed the first as soon as the character was introduced and the second shortly afterwards so my race to the finish was not to find out what the reveal was but simply to see how the characters would react. It was fun getting there and I did enjoy the book but I can’t say the ending pleased me much. I would have liked it to have gone a little further with two specific, separate characters before ending. But that’s me.
Grease Town (Nicola)
Grease Town by Ann Towell
Pages: 232 pages
Ages: 8-12
First Published: Feb. 9, 2010
Genre: children, historical fiction
Rating: 3.5/5
Reason for Reading: I’ll pretty much read any juvenile/YA Canadian historical fiction on topics which are new or interesting to me.
Summary: Loosely based on a true incident in the Sarnia area of Ontario, Canada, this book tells the story of an oil boom town, the people who fled there and focuses on the friendship between a white boy and a black boy. The book’s main historical event is a race riot which left the blacks homeless and very little actual information survives of it today.
Comments: I really enjoyed this book aimed at pre-teen children set during the 1860s. The descriptions of an oil boom town and both the shady and eccentric characters it attracted are wonderfully described. The atmosphere is not unlike that of the Goldrush towns. What makes Oil Springs different is that it is populated by both whites and escaped American black slaves. The author shows how the practice of the times, paying the blacks less money than the whites, became easy fodder for insurgents to come in and stir up dangerous feelings with the less desirable characters in town. While not only describing the horrifying results of a senseless race riot the author also shows how easy it is for someone determined enough, in this case a pair of American bounty hunters, to create a mob mentality and control it by preying on their insecurities. Very insightful and at a level that the targeted audience will understand.
The narrative voice is very intriguing and works very well, also. At first the narrative seems to cross over the line and speak directly to the reader, which is a little unsettling but then the reader realizes that the narrator is not speaking to them. The narrator is speaking to someone else, whom he eventually starts calling sir and we realize that what we are reading is a written account of the main character’s experience in Oil Springs, perhaps a journal or a letter or something else but written directly to someone. Finding out in the end the purpose of this written narrative makes for a great realization. An enjoyable book which I will definitely be passing on to my 9yo for his bedtime reading.
The Lotus Eaters (Literary Feline)
Helen picked her way back home using the less traveled streets and alleys, avoiding the larger thoroughfares such as Nguyen Hue, where trouble was likely. When she first came to Saigon, full of the country’s history from books, it had struck her out little any of the Americans knew or cared about the country, how they traveled the same streets day after day - Nguyen Huge, Hai Ba Trung, Le Loi - with no idea that these were the names of Vietnamese war heroes who rose up against foreign invaders. That was the experience of Vietnam: things in plain view, their meaning visible only to the initiated. [pg 7]
The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
St. Martin’s Press, April 2010
Fiction; 400 pgs
I watched the film The Hurt Locker recently. I have had difficulty putting my thoughts onto paper about it and so you haven’t seen a review. One thing in particular that stood out for me, however, was the scene where Staff Sergeant James is grocery shopping, followed by a scene of him trying to talk to his wife about his experiences in the Iraq War as she prepares a meal. These are very revealing scenes. The soldier goes from intense and life threatening situations in Iraq to the every day monotony of life back home. His wife is not able to understand what he has been through, everything he has seen.
The violence and shared horrors, the adrenalin rush, the camaraderie and strong bonds that form between the soldiers, and the sense of duty and honor . . . War can change a person. It can make adjusting to home life upon return difficult. It is not uncommon for soldiers to return to battle even when they don’t have to. Some feel most comfortable there in a way many of us who haven’t experienced it can’t even begin to understand. I thought of this as I read The Lotus Eaters. A different war, a different time period. A novel about photojournalists rather than a movie about soldiers. The pull of war, of danger, seduces some almost like a drug. It makes the title of Tatjana Soli’s novel all the more fitting.
I was drawn to Soli’s The Lotus Eaters because of the setting. The novel is set in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. It is the story of an American female photojournalist, Helen Adams, who is set on following in her father and brother’s footsteps, wanting to know how her brother died and to experience some of what he must have as a soldier in the Vietnam War. It is also the story of Linh, a Vietnamese man who has lost everything and who is doing what he can to survive. And then there is Sam Darrow, an American photojournalist whose entire life is wrapped up in shooting wars.
The novel opens as Helen is making her way home to her apartment in Saigon where Linh, bedridden and in need of medical care, is waiting. The Americans are fleeing the city as the Communists take over, the final sign of a war lost. Helen struggles with whether to leave with Linh or stay to see the changeover first hand, capturing it on film. Her decision made, the novel, and her thoughts, shift to the past and the reader is taken to the moment she first arrived in Saigon and from there her story and that of Linh’s and Darrow’s unfold.
I fell in love with this novel from the very first word. My biggest regret is that I read the novel without my reading journal handy and so my notes are few, and I don’t have a record of the many quotations that especially moved me. The author’s writing is beautiful. There was a melancholy and underlying tension about it which helped to create the tone of the novel. None of the characters in the novel are perfect, each one flawed and multi-faceted. They are tormented but driven, eager but at times reluctant.
Helen changes quite a bit during her time in Vietnam. She arrives as a naive young woman, eager to make a name for herself and prove she can hold her own in a man’s world. She has her work cut out for her and, even at her most fearful, she is courageous. As the novel progresses, Helen grows stronger and wiser but there is a recklessness there too, much like that of veteran photographer, Darrow, who finds comfort and meaning in war. He sees something in Helen, a hint himself in his younger years, but also someone who may finally be his match.
Linh’s story intrigued me. He is Darrow’s assistant and proves to be an invaluable companion. He is the biggest mystery of all throughout the novel, but as his personal story unfolds, I was even more drawn to him, and I couldn’t help but wish I had known him in real life.
Through the author’s words and the characters’ eyes, I could understand their love/hate relationship with Vietnam. It is a beautiful country. The Vietnamese people were tenacious and adaptable. They had to be given the circumstances of the country’s history. The author’s knowledge and interest in Vietnam shined through on every page. She included a bibliography at the end of the book for those interested in reading more about the country. While her story is fiction, there is truth woven in. Soli did not take sides but presented a realistic and complicated picture of events in Vietnam at the time.
The Lotus Eaters is beautiful, dark, and thought provoking. War is cruel and Soli does not hold back from sharing the ugly side of it. Within it too, however, are sparks of humanity and compassion. The author does not leave that out either. In fact, it is often those moments, that help Helen through the darker moments. The Lotus Eaters is an amazing novel: a love story just as much as it is about the Vietnam War and the impact war can have on those touched by it. After having just finished it, I am still hesitant to pick up another book, still caught in its spell.
Rating: (Outstanding)
Source: Book for review provided by the publisher.
The Fairest Portion of the Globe (Literary Feline)
Forcing his head up into the deluge, Clark peeled back an eyelid and squinted. The heavens had paled to a deathly green, with clouds rolling and tumbling, black as midnight with fire boiling inside. A great sheet of white lightening ripped the sky so violently that Clark felt it vibrate through his hair to his heart and down into his bare feet, warm against he mud. [pg 11]
The Fairest Portion of the Globe by Frances Hunter
Blind Rabbit Press, February 2010
Fiction (Historical); 421 pgs
A recent death in the family motivated me to pull out the family tree my husband and I began working on years ago. It had been a year or two since I last looked it over or given it a much needed update. I found myself reading through the names, going back through our families’ histories. One branch of my family, I can trace back to Virginia (and Germany before that) during the late 1700’s, which is the time period of Frances Hunter’s novel, The Fairest Portion of the Globe. As I read the novel, I could not help but imagine what the life of my ancestors must have been like in early America.
For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in history. When I was in school, I had a particular fondness for U.S. history. To this day, I still enjoy visiting historical landmarks whenever I travel. In recent years, my interest in history has taken a more broad form. I am drawn to the history and cultures of other countries, sometimes more so than my own. And yet, my interest in U.S. history has narrowed some. I find myself interested more in 20th century history. It shows in my fiction reading. I am not sure why that is exactly. Perhaps something to explore at greater length another time . . .
It’s been years since I last read a book set in early American history. When the authors approached me to review The Fairest Portion of the Globe, I felt a spark of excitement that took me back to those days when I couldn’t get enough of early U.S. history.
Frances Hunter is a writing team of two sisters, Liz and Mary Clare. The Fairest Portion of the Globe is their second novel, sort of a prequel to their first book, To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis and Clark, but readers do not have to read one to enjoy the other.
The authors take great pains to create as accurate a history as possible and yet also make the history come to life for the reader. It is a novel, after all. There was nothing textbook about it. It was an engaging and suspenseful book to read. I originally had written my own summary of the novel to include with my review, but it ended up being a bit too long. I think the authors sum it up best on their website:
La Louisiane–a land of riches beyond imagining. Whoever controls the vast domain along the Mississippi River will decide the fate of the North American continent. When young French diplomat Citizen Genet arrives in America, he’s determined to wrest Louisiana away from Spain and win it back for France—even if it means global war.
Caught up this astonishing scheme are George Rogers Clark, the washed-up hero of the Revolution and unlikely commander of Genet’s renegade force; his beautiful sister Fanny, who risks her own sanity to save her brother’s soul; General “Mad Anthony” Wayne, who never imagined he’d find the country’s deadliest enemy inside his own army; and two young soldiers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, who dream of claiming the Western territory in the name of the United States—only to become the pawns of those who seek to destroy it.
From the frontier forts of Ohio to the elegant halls of Philadelphia, the virgin forests of Kentucky to the mansions of Natchez, Frances Hunter has written a page-turning tale of ambition, intrigue, and the birth of a legendary American friendship—in a time when America was fighting to survive.
There are several story threads that run through the novel, and quite a few characters to follow, but I was never lost or confused as to what was going on. In fact, I was quite intrigued by each of the characters’ stories. My favorite, however, involved George and William’s sister Fanny. Fanny is married to Doctor Jim O’Fallen, George’s good friend and right hand man. He is the one who is able to keep George sober and has a gift for dealing with the political aspects of putting together an army. Jim is well liked and respected by the Clark family. Knowing how much her brother relies on Jim, Fanny is afraid to tell anyone about the other side of her husband, his darker, more violent side. I ached for Fanny. She was such a good-hearted young woman and yet she was trapped, feeling helpless and alone. Jim is one of those characters I was truly hoping would get what he deserved in the end the more I read about him.
Alex Michaux, a botanist from France whose wife died in child birth, was another character who stole my heart. He is completely out of his element, tasked by Citizen Genet, the French diplomat, with helping General George Rogers Clark put together an army to take against France. He merely wants to explore and study the flora and fauna of the New World, going further west.
For me, one of the most intriguing characters in the novel is General James Wilkinson, a proud man who is trusted and respected by the Clark brothers. He has his secrets, however, and like Lewis, I never quite trusted him, unsure of exactly what he was up to.
As a mystery reader who often figures out the whodunit pretty quickly, there were quite a few surprising twists in this novel. I never knew what would happen next. Well, except for the ultimate outcome. The novel is based on actual historical events after all. Even so, I learned quite a bit I hadn’t known before and even spent some time doing my own research.
The novel did get off to a slow start. I am not sure that could be helped, given the need to set the story up. Once William Clark was introduced, the story picked up, and it really took off for me when Meriwether Lewis appeared on the scene. I really liked both Clark and Lewis, and enjoyed watching the friendship bloom between them. Some of my favorite types of stories are origin stories, and The Fairest Portion of the Globe related the origin of the two great explorers’ friendship and eventual partnership.
Lewis and Clark are legends in American history. They’ve always seemed a bit larger than life as a result. The authors offer a more personal glimpse into their lives, as well as into the Clark family, reminding me that they were real people with real fears and failings.
Meriwether Lewis is a bit of a wild card, an ensign in the army and newly assigned to William Clark. In his first introduction to his commanding officer, Lewis nearly shoots Clark off his horse (one of my favorite scenes). I confess that I developed a little crush on Lewis. He is sharp and not much gets by him. He seems like the kind of person who would make a good friend, trustworthy and honorable even if a little hotheaded. William Clark, on the other hand, is more levelheaded, although no slouch either. He is a strong leader and really cares about the men under him. He is also very loyal to his family.
I felt so bad for George Rogers Clark, William Clark’s brother. He’d done much for his country, only to be left high and dry in the end. He put so much of himself into his new mission, including sobering up. Like his brother and the rest of his family, I wanted him to have some of that old glory. Yet I could also see how this new situation could end up like it did before. What if the French didn’t follow through with money and back up? It all seemed a little too shaky from my perspective, especially given what I knew about Citizen Genet from the beginning chapter.
It was interesting seeing America through the eyes of the characters, discovering what life must have been like in 1794, the year the novel is set. The beauty of the land, all that open space, the hardships the people endured, and the life a soldier led (The very thought of picking maggots out of my food turns my stomach).
There was one passage in particular that had me running to my computer to do a little research. Lewis, at one point in the novel, is reading a book and, from the description, I knew it had to be a real book. While we can’t really know if Lewis ever read that particular book, just from the descriptions of his character–his curiosity and his love for learning–I imagine that he very likely would have enjoyed reading. And when books are scarce and there’s a lot of downtime, what’s a soldier more likely to read than a popular novel? I finally broke down and e-mailed the authors asking for the title of the book since my own rudimentary search turned up nothing. That little excursion has piqued my interest in that particular book now as well.
I confess that I nearly turned down the opportunity to read The Fairest Portion of the Globe. I was a little intimidated by the fact that the novel was about such prominent historical figures–silly I know. And I also worried that reading the novel would feel too much like homework. Yet, there was that spark I talked about earlier, of revisiting a time in history that I once loved and had such a curiosity about. I took a chance and am so glad I did.
Frances Hunter’s The Fairest Portion of the Globe was not only informative, it was also entertaining. I got misty-eyed, I chuckled, and I even held my breath (oh my gosh, that ending!)–and that’s even knowing a bit about how history would play out.
Rating: (Very Good)
The Little Known (Literary Feline)
The Little Known by Janice Daugharty
BelleBooks, Inc, February 2010
Fiction (YA); 234 pgs
The Little Known is the story of a nine-year-old African American boy named Knot in 1960’s segregated Georgia. While out riding his cousin’s bicycle, he comes across a bag of money, dropped by a bank robber who was fleeing from the police. Knot could have easily spent some of the money on that bicycle he’s been wanting, but he knows he’d have to explain himself. Instead, he decides to give the money away, hoping to make life better for those around him. Only, it does not quite work out that way.
Knot is a sweetheart of a boy who is coming into his own. He seems so innocent at times and yet like an older soul at others. He has been poor all his life and believes that money can make things better. He quickly learns, however, that having money does not correlate with people doing the right thing. Knot is also struggling with his identity, trying to figure out his place in the world–and in his family.
The author captures the essence of a poverty stricken, close-knit community, full of internal strife and yet coming together in times of need. Knot lives with Marge, a woman whose weakness is alcohol. I didn’t much like her at first, but the more I got to know her, the sorrier I felt for her and the more I hoped she would pull herself together for Knot’s sake. She really wasn’t a bad person, just a damaged one. Many of the characters in the novel are damaged in some way, white and black alike. Among them are the family next door with the drunk abusive husband; the daughter whose mother is mentally ill and often runs naked in the neighborhood; and a girl who is handicapped but whose family can’t afford a wheelchair. I wouldn’t have minded if some of these other characters had been more fleshed out, however. Then again, this is Knot’s story more than anyone else’s.
And although the author did not go into it as much as I would have liked, I was especially drawn to Knot’s relationship with Becky Bruce, the white girl and the daughter of Sammy Bruce, a man who terrorizes not only those in the black community but his own family as well. Becky is a sad child, withdrawn and easy to tears. While Knot tries to dismiss her at first, he can’t help but feel the need to help her, somehow rescue her from her father. He is fearful though; the colors of their skin make friendship dangerous.
While Knot is my favorite character in the novel, coming in at a close second is the pastor. Knot admits that he likes to go to church every Sunday for the food. Sometimes it’s the only good meal he’ll get that week. The pastor plays the role of the father figure and is perhaps the one stable person in Knot’s life.
Race does play a part in the novel. There is always an undercurrent of tension in that regard. Knot is one of a handful of black students in a school that has recently been integrated. And in the society at large, there is a clear demarcation of who holds the power: the white man. As the story unfolds, however, there is definite hope that change is coming.
Overall, this was a touching novel of forgiveness and hope. On the surface, it is a simple story, but it has several layers, some of which I’m still discovering after having finished it. This is a novel I think both adults and children would enjoy.
Rating: (Good)
Source: Read in e-book format which was provided by publisher for review.
The Wives of Henry Oades (Jill)
The Wives of Henry Oades
By Johanna Moran
Completed February 28, 2010
The Wives of Henry Oades, the debut novel by Johanna Moran, was inspired by a court case from the late 1800’s. Henry Oades was accused of polygamy when his first wife, who he thought was dead, found him in California. By the time the first Mrs. Oades’ arrived, Henry had remarried, and in the eyes of anti-Mormon California, he had broken the law, despite the unusual circumstances.
Drawing from this court case, Moran built a story around Henry, his first wife Margaret and his second wife Nancy. Henry and Margaret were living in New Zealand, and after several months, the native Maori kidnapped Margaret and their four children, and burned down their cottage. A family friend was visiting Margaret at the time of the abduction, and her body was found in the ashes. Henry assumed it was Margaret, and after months of waiting, he lost all hope for finding his children. He set sail for San Francisco and a new life.
Once settled in Berkely, Henry happened upon another house fire – one leaving a pregnant woman, Nancy, widowed and penniless. Henry felt a bond with Nancy and proposed marriage. Nancy agreed, more for the financial security, and settled into Henry’s dairy farm. A few weeks later, Margaret and the three surviving children found their way to Henry’s doorstep.
California was very anti-Mormon during this time, so the Oades’ living arrangements caused enormous public outcry. Slain pets, tainted food, thrown tomatoes, public sneers and court cases all plagued the family as they tried to adjust and figure out what to do.
In a time when divorce was taboo and annulment meant illegitimizing your children, both wives stubbornly refused to leave Henry. The women, unfortunately, did not have a lot of resources without their husband’s support. It was interesting to see how the wives awkwardly tried to fit into the same household – Margaret with her stoicism and Nancy with her emotions. They got it working but not without a lot of bumps in the road.
Highly recommended for readers of historic fiction, The Wives of Henry Oades was a fast, page-turning read full of interesting characters and rich history. I look forward to more books by Johanna Moran. ( 
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