Novels Now

Miss Skeeter move her eyes back to the window, on Miss Hilly’s Buick. She shake her head, just a little. “Aibileen, that talk in there…Hilly’s talk. I mean…”

I pick up a coffee cup, start drying it real good with my cloth.

“Do you ever wish you could…change things?” she asks.

And I can’t help myself. I look at her head on. Cause that’s one a the stupidest questions I ever heard. She got a confused, disgusted look on her face, like she done salted her coffee instead a sugared it. – from The Help, page 10 -

The year is 1962. The place is Jackson, Mississippi. The issue is civil rights. Kathryn Stockett’s best selling debut novel, The Help, is narrated in the unforgettable voices of three women caught up in history and courageous enough to believe things can change simply by sharing their stories.

Skeeter is the white daughter of a cotton farmer. Despite her mother’s wish that she marry a prominent man and become a good Southern wife, Skeeter dreams of a different life for herself – that of a journalist and novelist. Unlike her closest friends, Skeeter doesn’t understand the division between whites and blacks – least of all the hypocrisy of having black women care for their homes and children, but denying them the use of their bathrooms because of fear of “disease.”

Aibileen is the black maid of one of Skeeter’s best friends, Elizabeth. Large, loving and sensitive, Aibileen mourns the loss of her son while wrapping her arms and heart around the white children in her care. Skeeter offers her hope of change – that this new generation might somehow see the racism of their parents and teachers and reject it.

Minny, anther black maid who must face the untrue accusation that she is a thief, is filled with energy, honesty and anger. Her unflagging spirit and kind heart lift her above an abusive marriage and give her the courage to join Aibileen and Skeeter in a project which will shake the racist foundation of a town whose views of segregation have stood fast for far too long.

A Dreft commercial comes on and Miss Celia stares out the back window at the colored man raking up the leaves. She’s got so many azalea bushes, her yard’s going to look like Gone With the Wind come spring. I don’t like azaleas and I sure didn’t like that movie, the way they made slavery look like a big happy tea party. If I’d played Mammy, I’d of told Scarlett to stick those green draperies up her white little pooper. Make her own damn man-catching dress. - from The Help, page 50 -

Thematically, The Help explores parenting, moral values, the many faces of racism, women’s friendships, and the power of joining our voices in a common cause. Skillfully crafted using three narrators in alternating chapters, The Help is a book which is hard to put down. Stockett is a talented storyteller who takes her time in fleshing out her fascinating and complex characters. I found myself growing to care immensely about Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter. I worried about them, found myself cheering them on, and hoped for a positive resolution of their conflicts. There were moments when I had to remind myself that these were fictional characters, not real people. Perhaps it was the power of their stories, the reminder that less than 50 years ago what they were experiencing was part of our historical record, but Stockett’s characters came alive for me. I felt their fears, their joys, their hurts and triumphs. There are very few books which follow me into my dreams – but The Help was one of these. I went to sleep thinking of the book, and woke up wondering what would happen next in the story.

Kathryn Stockett has written an important novel about what it means to be human regardless of the color of one’s skin. Sensitive, disturbing, and ultimately hopeful, The Help is a must read book.

Highly recommended.

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!

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Pages: 371
First Published: Jun. 9, 2009
Genre: historical fantasy,
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

Peter Petford slipped a long wooden spoon into the simmering iron pot of lentils hanging over the fire and tried to push the worry from his stomach.

Reason for Reading: The Salem witch trials have always been a favourite reading topic of mine so this book obviously piqued my interest.
Comments: It’s summer break and Connie has just finished her orals for her PhD. She intends on spending the summer coming up with a dissertation topic but her mother has asked her to clean up the ancient family home (which Connie knew nothing of) so she can sell it. Connie says yes against her better judgement and ends up spending the summer in an early 18th century home with no electricity or phone. Upon her arrival she finds a mysterious key with the name Deliverance Dane attached and so begins her research which will take her back to the 1690s and the Salem witch trials as she follows through the 18th century history of mother and daughter passing along a book of utmost importance to the family. But Connie’s research also turns deadly as she falls in love with a young man who has a terrible accident and her research becomes obsessively important to a superior at school. Connie ultimately must face a shocking question when she is asked to ponder whether some of the Salem witches might actually have been real witches.

When I first started reading this book I had no idea it contained such a strong supernatural element. Fortunately, I love fantasy and to find the book delving into witch lore was a pleasant surprise on my part. I really enjoyed this book. It was a really fun read. The narrative switches back and forth from the past, 1690s and early 1700s, to Connie’s modern day 1991 and also includes her reading from journals and newspapers as she researches the past. Connie herself is a likable character whose straightforward, no-nonsense character is compromised when she meets up with events that challenge her beliefs. The two storylines, past and present, are easily connected and I enjoyed them both equally well, I just wish Deliverance Dane’s character had been given more background as she remains rather a vague character.

The plot itself is on the predictable side. I had several things figured out at the start of the book and always seemed to be one step ahead of the plot but, nevertheless, I did still enjoy the whole story and read the book eagerly. I also found Ms. Howe’s idea of a Christian witch rather fascinating and entertaining. A unique mythology of witchcraft blended with excellently researched Puritan New England. This will be enjoyed by fans of historical fantasy.

The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl

Pages: 386
First Published: mar. 17, 2009 (paperback coming Oct. 6, 2009)
Genre: Historical fiction, mystery, literary thriller
Rating: 3.5/5

First sentence:

Neither of the young mounted policemen fancied these subdivisions of the Bagirhaut province.

Reason for Reading: I’m always interested in Victorian historical fiction plus I’ve read two other books this year that concerned Charles Dickens: ‘Drood’ by Dan Simmons and ‘Wanting’ by Richard Flanagan. Therefore I thought why not add a third to the mix especially since this concentrated on Dickens last novel as did ‘Drood’.

Comments: Dickens has just died leaving his last book “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” only half-finished. But one of the partners of his American publishing house James Osgood is certain he may be able to find clues to Dickens’ intentions for the story’s ending if he travels to England which leads him into a much deeper, darker and dangerous mystery than he had counted on. The book also flashes back a few years to a plot line that follows Dickens’ final book tour of America and the trials and tribulations that accompanied him on that last trip. And finally, the book follows a third less frequent plot line of Frank Dickens, Charles’ son, who is an officer stationed in India. The time period being consistent with the recent death of his father.

This is a much researched and historically accurate tale as far as Dickens and his family and acquaintances go. Many small real life incidents of his life are included which adds authenticity to the period. I found the characters and the setting to be spot on with regards to Victorian attitudes and ambiance. While the book is populated fiercely with a motley crew of characters, two do stand out as the main characters and I found both James and Rebecca to be both truly believable and completely compelling. Rebecca never stepped out of her place as a woman of her times but as a divorced woman working as a bookkeeper she took no nonsense from anyone as regards her sex. I loved her stinging, yet witty remarks, that kept her completely within her confines as a Victorian woman.

The plot follows many clues and red herrings sending James and (sometimes) Rebecca all over London’s shadier sides and to the East End and finally to the dregs of opium dens and thieves quarters. While certainly an interesting read that did keep me reading, I found the pacing slow. It was a book I could put down and not be in a hurry to pick up again. Not because I wasn’t liking it but just that it didn’t have that certain intensity to it. The ending does increase in pace and there is a typical high energy rush in the final chapters as the mystery is solved, which is all rather cleverly done on the author’s part.

One thing I did find fascinating was the description of the the cut-throat world of American publishing at the time. The underhanded dealings, the nefarious goings on, the blatant disregard for international copyright, and in particular the way in which the Harper Brothers were portrayed. If the beginnings of Harper & Bros. and the characters of the brothers themselves have been portrayed realistically here an historical fiction on their family would be an amazing read.

This book would be enjoyed by anyone who enjoys a good literary mystery but I also think it will satisfy all the people who did not like ‘Drood’ by Dan Simmons very much because of the supernatural elements. Now I loved that other book, but for those of you who didn’t, I think you’ll love ‘The Last Dickens’ more than I did.

Sacred Hearts
By Sarah Dunant
Completed August 15, 2009

The third novel in her Italian Renaissance series, Sarah Dunant transported her readers into the everyday lives of nuns in her latest book, Sacred Hearts. Set in a convent in Northern Italy, Dunant continued her pristine historical writing through strong characters and women’s quests to find freedom during a repressed era.

The story centered on a young novice, Serafina, who entered the convent against her will. During 16th century Italy, the price of dowries was exorbinantly high, and families with more than one daughter often had to choose which one would get married. Serafina’s sister was chosen for marriage, leaving the young woman to become a “bride of Christ,” including a smaller dowry that was given to the convent. Serafina was an accomplished singer and had a lover “on the outside,” and was heartbroken to be confined to a convent.

Serafina disrupted the everyday lives of the convent - ranging in emotions from hysterics to depression - and her advocate was Suora Zuana, the convent’s healer. Suora Zuana took the young novice under her wing, attempting to show her that nuns had more rights inside the convent than outside.

As in her past books, Dunant created unforgettable characters - ones that taught us more about the history than the plot itself. One of the more fascinating characters was the convent’s abbess, Madonna Chiara. The abbess was incredibly savvy, despite her near-lifelong seclusion, and her astute handling of convent politics made her that more interesting. Her adversary was Suora Umiliana - the novice mistress who disagreed with Madonna Chiara’s leadership of the convent. And in the middle was Suora Zuana, whose healing included the body and soul.

While I enjoyed the characters, there were times when the plot of Sacred Hearts dragged, and I became less interested in the “main” story of Serafina and more interested in the political chess game between Madonna Chiara and Suora Umiliana. I wished Dunant made this conflict more central to the story. Sacred Hearts, in my opinion, is the weakest of the three Italian Renaissance stories because of this plot issue. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad book. It just means its predecessors (The Birth of Venus and In The Company of the Courtesan) had a stronger mixture of characters, plots and historical framework. Lovers of historical fiction, especially of the Italian Renaissance, should find all of Dunant’s books to be compelling and explorative reads. ( )

Free Agent by Jeremy Duns
Paul Dark Trilogy, Book One

Pages: 338
First Published: June 23, 2009
Genre: espionage, thriller, historical fiction
Rating: 4.5/5

First sentence:

As I edged the car onto the gravel, the front door of the house swung open and Chief’s steely grey eyes stared down at me.

Reason for Reading: I don’t typically read modern spy novels as I’m not interested in today’s political climate. However, I used to be quite addicted to them in the eighties when I read the likes of James Bond, Robert Ludlum and Gorky Park. When I read the synopsis that this was set in the middle of the Cold War, the plot really intrigued me.

Comments: Paul Dark is an MI6 agent, has been since World War II and still is now in 1969. Since the War, the various British agencies have found KGB double agents within its ranks and every now and then another one comes to light but it’s been years now since they’ve uncovered any. Now a Russian wants to defect and he says he has information on a British double agent who has been working for the KGB since WWII, that’s 24 years of leaking information to the other side! MI6 wants to know who this agent is and Paul finds himself one of the agents whose been around that long and thus, falling under suspicion. Paul starts to find out that his whole life is starting to unravel and as he becomes cornered he decides to fight back.

Set first in London, then quickly moving to Nigeria amidst the fighting of the Civil War in 1969, this is a fast-paced, exciting and shocking thriller. Filled with just the right amount of historical and political information to make the reader knowledgeable without *ever* going overboard into boredom territory. The book has obviously been heavily researched. After reading the final paragraphs of Chapter One it is impossible not to be completely hooked on this book. In fact, I dare you to read *just* the first chapter. With so many twists and turns in the plot one never really knows who the bad guy(s) is or are. Paul knows more than the reader does so we are often shocked rather nonchalantly by a sudden action of the main character. But there are also many secrets that Paul is not aware of and those reveals are brilliantly crafted by the author. This book will keep you guessing right up to the last page where the ending is not what you think it’s going to be.

Paul Dark’s character is well written. He’s one of these ambiguous sorts who is not really a likable character, he can be downright nasty and cold hearted at times, but the author has made him human and Paul grows on you and by the end of the book I actually liked the guy, well as much as you can like that type. Secondary characters were hit and miss. Some really stood out whether they lasted one chapter or several, such as a female journalist and Chief. While others seemed rather two dimensional, Paul’s superiors, and others were rather stereotypical, the lazy, drinking, fat, colonial office head just putting in his time. But whether the characters were fully fleshed or not I will say they were all very colourful.

A very satisfying read. A cleverly crafted thriller. I will definitely be reading the next two in the trilogy. I’ve also been reminded how much I enjoy reading Cold War spy novels and will have to make sure I read one every now and then.

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Pages: 291
First Published: Mar. 16, 2009
Genre: gothic, historical fiction
Rating: 3/5

First sentence:

It was bitter cold, the air electric with all that had not happened yet.

Reason for Reading: The description of the book intrigued me: the time period, the small town, gothic atmosphere and I always take a second look at “mail order bride” stories from the 19th cent. and this was close enough.
Comments: Ralph Truitt, 54, is a wealthy owner of the manufacturing business that employs most of the population of a small town in Midwestern Wisconsin. A widower of twenty years he places an Ad for “a reliable wife” and after a certain amount of correspondence a ticket is sent and Catherine arrives to become his wife. Both parties have deep dark secrets and alternative reasons for embarking on this marriage of convenience. Mr. Truitt soon comes clean and spills his soul to Catherine, before the wedding, telling the tale of his past and his ultimate purpose for her to perform as his wife. Catherine, on the otherhand, keeps her own past a carefully hidden secret and goes to great lengths not to have her devious intentions become known.

This is a hard review for me to write because as I was reading the book I started off not liking it, then I would be ok with it, then I did not like it and back and forth until the ending chapters which were tense and hard to put down. Whether I liked it or not, the plot kept me reading and at no point after “Part One” did I think of putting the book down.

“Part One” had me thinking I’d made a big mistake with this book and that it was just going to be romantic drivel. I do not read pure romance books and found myself rolling my eyes and hoping something more than two people hating each other, having constant conflict, then secretly falling in love and finally admitting they love each other was going to happen. Fortunately, that was not this book and much more did happen.

The plot is intriguing; it goes places one doesn’t expect. Both Catherine and Ralph are very complex characters though their personalities and actions did not leave me caring much about either of them. I had no concern as to whether either of them had a happy ending though I was intrigued as to what happened to them, if that makes sense. The greatest theme running through the book is that of Ralph who has confessed and is now accepting and living his life as penance for his past life of lust, violence and lack of family commitment. Catherine’s life is similar, though she is at a different stage.

One thing that bothered me was the s*x. There was lots of it. Not graphic, but what I would call descriptive and it really wasn’t that, that bothered me but the constant presence of it. If the main characters were not having s*x, they were thinking about past encounters or fantasizing about present encounters and future encounters. When not doing any of those they would imagine the s*x lives of the people they passed on the street or drive by houses and wonder what s*x took place within those buildings. Not that this was a past time they did together, it was simply something within each of them that they naturally thought about all the time when they were alone. It was really overkill for me.

As I’ve said, even though there are certain parts of the book that I did not like or that annoyed me, the plot is intriguing and meaningful. Characters are not likeable but are compelling. I’m glad to have read it. I would also most likely read another book by the author if the subject matter interested me. He does recommend a photographic book to read in his note at the end which I have put in an ILL request for which he based his atmosphere on in this book: the long, seemingly non-ending Wisconsin winters that seemed to drive people at the end of the nineteenth century to a certain kind of madness.

a mercy by Toni Morrison

Pages: 167
First Published: Nov. 11, 2008 (Paperback - Aug. 11 2009)
Genre: historical fiction, literary fiction
Rating: 2.5/5

First sentence:

Don’t be afraid.

Reason for Reading: I am in the process of reading all the author’s books. This is her latest as of July 2009.

Comments: The time is 1680, the place is colonial America. This is the story of four women: Rebekka, an English girl sent to America as a wife whose family paid a monetary dowry; Florens, a black slave child (later woman) who is traded in exchange for partial payment of a debt; Sorrow, a European (Irish I find myself thinking for some reason) foundling coming to womanhood who is given as a gift to protect her from the growing boys in her current household; finally Lina, another child (later) woman who remembers vividly some small parts of her Native American life before she is sold and paid for. All these women belong to a man who doesn’t believe in slavery, who despises those who does. He is a fairly decent, kind man but ultimately wants to have the riches of those he despises. But most of all, as the jacket flap states: “A Mercy reveals what lies beneath the surface of slavery. But at its heart it is the ambivalent, disturbing story of a mother who casts off her daughter in order to save her …”

The story is told in many voices: all the woman have their turn (some many times), the man behind the women and the farm hands. The story is told in a progressive forward movement but also slips into flashback scenes to give backgrounds to the characters. In such a short book, this becomes quite confusing at times. I spent a large majority of the time not knowing who was speaking until halfway through their narrative. Generally, I enjoy switching points of view and flashbacks but the book was just too short for me to get a grasp on anything really substantial. I must say for half the book I was under the impression Lina was a Native American and then I came to think she was African and I’m pretty sure she’s Native, but I could be wrong… Needless to say, the book confounded me more than enlightened me in any way.

I couldn’t connect with any of the characters, nor did I really find the story emotionally charged which is something I’ve come to expect with Toni Morrison, from her books I’ve read so far. There is also a heavy theme of religious (namely Protestant) intolerance running through the book. First from a Dutch settler (Calvinist) towards Catholics in general, then Anabaptists causing grief in those other settlers who don’t understand their ways and finally the term used becomes “the Protestants” (though I still think we are talking Anabaptists) as the slave people talk of how the Protestant’s religion says that certain people such as savages (ie. blacks/natives, etc.) are not equal in God’s eyes to them. This theme is pretty heavy handed throughout and I didn’t know what to make of it. Does Morrison try to say slavery began with Anabaptist intolerance? Protestant intolerance? Christian? Religion, in general? I don’t know anything about Anabaptists but when you get to broad terms such as Protestant or religious intolerance for each one intolerant person there are many good-hearted embracing people and I just don’t buy into the “religion is the root of all evil” camp.

A readable story but with each chapter change the figuring out of where you are and what’s going on distracted me from enjoying the book as much as I could have otherwise. Fans, go ahead and read it, you may like it a lot more than I did. Never read Toni Morrison before? Don’t start with this one.

It was Kabutri’s question that triggered Deeti’s vision: her eyes suddenly conjured up a picture of an immense ship with two tall masts. Suspended from the masts were great sails of a dazzling shade of white. The prow of the ship tapered into a figurehead with a long bill, like a stork or a heron. There was a man in the background, standing near the bow, and although she could not see him clearly, she had a sense of a distinctive and unfamiliar presence. – from Sea of Poppies, page 7 -

Deeti, an Indian woman who grows poppies, has a vision of a ship – an odd vision because she lives 400 miles from the sea and has never seen a boat such as this…but her vision is a premonition and the ship has a name: Ibis. Thus begins Amitav Ghosh’s sprawling, historical saga Sea of Poppies. What follows is a story with a vast cast of characters whose paths ultimately cross enroute to the island of Mauritius aboard the Ibis – a former slave ship manned by a motley crew including an opium addicted captain, a freed American slave, and a foul-mouthed first mate with a penchant for cruelty. The voyagers include Paulette (a French woman with a sense of adventure who is fleeing an unacceptable situation in India), and Neel (a man who has been convicted of a crime he did not commit). But it is the Indian indentured workers who take center stage in a novel about caste, freedom, and human connection. And it is Deeti who becomes the central figure – a strong woman who marries beneath her caste and is respected by the other women aboard the ship.

The novel is beautifully imagined and captures the hopelessness of the opium factory workers, the daily lives of the villagers, the violence of ship law, and the diversity of an India in the mid-nineteenth century. Ghosh’s use of language in the novel is brilliant. Filled with strange words, pidgin English, and unusual sentence structure – the book at first seems unwieldy. But Ghosh succeeds where other less talented authors might not. The language, used with appropriate context, becomes almost like a musical score in a movie. Ghosh’s use of language demonstrates the way language can unite or divide people, and confuse or clarify situations. It is a powerful technique that works.

Historically, Sea of Poppies is set just prior to the Opium Wars and revolves around the British involvement in India and their trade practices exporting opium from India to China. Ghosh reveals the damage done by British colonial rule and the devastation wreaked upon the Indian economy, as well as society at large. Although apparently Ghosh’s creative inspiration was the indentured people of India, he says in an interview: “[...] once I started researching into it, it was kind of inescapable – all the roads led back to opium. The indentured emigration [out of India] really started in the 1830s and that was [around the time of] the peak of the opium traffic. That decade culminated in the opium wars against China.”

Ghosh is skilled at creating character…and in Sea of Poppies the characters are memorable and complex.

This was a personage of formidable appearance, with a face that would have earned the envy of Genghis Khan, being thin, long and narrow, with darting black eyes that sat restlessly upon rakishly angled cheekbones. Two feathery strands of moustache drooped down to his chin, framing a mouth that was constantly in motion, its edges stained a bright, livid red: it was as if he were forever smacking his lips after drinking from the opened veins of a mare, like some bloodthirsty Tartar of the steppes. The discovery that the substance in his mouth was of vegetable origin came as no great reassurance to Zachary: once, when the serang spat a stream of blood-red juice over the rail, he noticed the water below coming alive with the thrashing of shark’s fins. How harmless could this betel-stuff be if it could be mistaken for blood by a shark? – from Sea of Poppies, page 13 -

Although filled with adventure and interesting plot twists, Sea of Poppies is also about what makes us human in the face of crisis. One particularly memorable part of the novel to me was when Neel loses his caste and is convicted of the crime of forgery. Thrown into jail, he is forced to share a cell with an Asian named Ah Fatt who is hopelessly addicted to opium and lies in his own waste. For Neel, a man of stature who is fastidously clean, the situation is almost unbearable. And then he makes a self-discovery about what it means to care for another human being:

To take care of another human being – this was something Neel had never before thought of doing, not even with his own son, let alone a man of his own age, a foreigner. All he knew of nurture was the tenderness that had been lavished on him by his own care-givers: that they would come to love him was something he had taken for granted – yet knowing his own feelings for them to be in no way equivalent, he had often wondered how that attachment was born. It occurred to him now to ask himself if this was how it happened: was it possible that the mere fact of using one’s hands and investing one’s attention in someone other than oneself, created a pride and tenderness that had nothing whatever to do with the response of the object of one’s care – just as a craftsman’s love for his handiwork is in no way diminished by the fact of it being unreciprocated? - from Sea of Poppies, page 300 -

It was moments like these in the story which elevated it above the typical historical novel.

Some readers have found the ending of Sea of Poppies to be abrupt and unresolved. I would agree. However, this book is the first in a planned trilogy which may explain the ending. At any rate, Sea of Poppies completely enthralled me and I am looking forward to the next two books.

Readers who love world and historical literature, and who enjoy richly textured sagas will love Sea of Poppies.

Highly recommended.

Read more about the book and planned trilogy.

Read more about Amitav Ghosh and his work at the author’s website.

Read an interview with the author.

Neil Armstrong is My Uncle & Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me by Nan Marino

Pages: 154
Ages: 8+
First Published: May 12, 2009
Genre: children, realistic fiction
Rating: 3.5/5

First sentence:

Muscle Man McGinty is a squirrelly runt, a lying snake, and a pitiful excuse for a ten-year-old.

Reason for Reading: Obviously enough, a title like that makes you like twice plus the historical setting of the moon landing caught my eye and the book looked like an interesting change of pace for me.

Comments: Tamara Ann Simpson’s best friend has moved and now in her house lives a ten-year-old boy who is always smiling and is a skinny runt so she’s nicknamed him Muscle Man; only problem is he loves the name. In fact, he never seems to get any of the sarcastic comments she throws his way, he’s always smiling and being nice to her. But the real thing that bothers her is why nobody can see through his lies? Neil Armstrong is his uncle? He’s training for the next Olympics? But when he says he can beat the whole kickball team singlehandedly, Tamara thinks this is her chance to prove to everyone he’s just a wormy liar.

This is a wonderful little book. Tamara is not exactly a bully, but she is the one in her gang of friends who has the mouth and calls things as she sees them without thinking about someone’s feelings first. Tamara does not have a happy life at home and when her best friend moves away quite suddenly it hits her hard and she experiences a loss like she’s never felt before. But there is something about Muscle Man that she doesn’t know and if she’d stop being so selfish for a minute she’d realize she is the only one who is not seeing Muscle Man for who he really is. So Tamara learns one of those hard lessons of life.

There are lots of fun childhood moments as the neighbourhood children gather together each day and play on the street in a way that is really not seen much anymore these days. There are also poignant moments such as when the reality of the Vietnam War comes to the street. Tamara’s character is well-defined, a feisty, hard-headed yet lonely and neglected child that the reader sympathises with. Wonderfully written and a quick read. This is a little book that packs a big punch! A good read. Recommended.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Ballantine Books, 2009
Fiction; 290 pgs

Historical records tell us very little about Leonardo Da Vinci’s mother, Caterina. All that is really know is that she had Leonardo out of wedlock and that he was taken from her by his father’s family and raise by them.

Robin Maxwell tries to fill in the blanks and the remarkable work of historical fiction. Catereniagrew up in a small village with her father, Ernesto, an apothecary.Her mother died when Caterina was very young. Ernesto was a true believer in education and educated Caterina even though it was almost unheard of for a woman to have an education. He also taught her how to be an apothecary.

One day Caterenia was gathering plants for the apothecary when she happened to meet Piero, the son of the richest family in the village. After that they met regularly until he finally propose marriage. With the promise of marriage, they consummated their love for each other.

Piero went home to tell his family about his future wife and he was forbidden to see her again, let alone marry her. A couple months after that, Caterina realized she was pregnant. After she gives birth, is when the story really spices up!

Caterina was an intelligent, kind, caring mother who would do anything for her son, even at great personal risk to herself and her identity.

Robin Maxwell writes a very colourful story of Caterina and her relationship with her son. She captures the essence of the Italian Renascence with vivid prose and includes details of real people such as Leonardo da Vinci and Lorenzo de’Medici.

Maxwell did make one mistake, when Leonardo was almost 16 years old, Caterina was 21. She was 15 when she had him. The math does not add up at all. LOL!

Despite that, Maxwell wrote a stirring portrait of Renaissance Italy and Leonardo da Vinci’s mother.

Highly recommended!

Will Somers starts out with a dull life in the country on the family farm. Even his family admits that he doesn’t make a good farmer. That doesn’t leave him with any real options, until an option lands in his lap.

Will is one of the few lucky country children that had an education. He is given to a merchant, Richard Fermer , to work for. He has a good head for numbers and he must do the books and take inventory. He is good at what he does, but it bores him. The one shining light in his new life is Joanna, Master Fermer’s daughter. He knows that it would not be possible to marry her, yet he dreams of a life with her.

One day Master Fermer told Will that he would be going to Court with him to conduct business. He meets King Henry and while the king and other royalty bowl, Will cracks a joke. With that, Henry scoops up Will to be his royal fool.

Will witnesses everything at court. The six wives, Henry’s mood swings, everything. He become King Henry’s companion and confidante and stand by him through it all. However, he still pines for Joanna through the years.

I could go on and on about this wonderful book but I wouldn’t want to give you any spoilers. This book was first published in 1959. It is now being re-published by Source Books and is coming out this month. Though it was out in 1959, I didn’t find it dated by today’s standards.

My only small complaint is that I would have liked it a bit longer. Some of King Henry’s six wives are barely touched upon.

Margaret Campbell Barnes envelopes the reader into the pages of her book. It is a compelling read and captures the period and Will Somers well. This book is hard to put down! Highly recommended!

4.5/5

Honora Kelly of Galway Bay had her life worked out. She was to become a nun. Her parents wanted this for her and she was quite willing. She was just about to start her days in the convent when she saw a mysterious man and his horse rising out of the sea. This man, Michael was to change her destiny forever.

It was love at first site, Honora wasn’t going to be a nun after all. Yes, her parents were disappointed as they wanted a better life for her. Yes, in Ireland, the convent was a better life. However, her parents really liked Michael and eventually agreed to giving their daughter’s hand in marriage.

Michael and Honora Kelly made a life for themselves farming. They raised horses and a variety of crops. Most of the crops went toward paying rent to the brutal English landlords but the potato crop was for the family. They had an abundant supply of delicious, life sustaining” pratties”. Enough to sustain their growing family.

Then the potatoes blight happened. It was the beginning of the potatoes famine for the entire country. The first year, they we able to selvage a few pratties. They found a way to survive. However, the second year there was nothing to selvage. Michael had to walk miles to work breaking up rocks for the government for pennies a day. The family lined up for soup every night, and every once in a while Honora’s father, a fisherman, had fish to sell.

The third year it was announced that there would be no more government jobs or soup lines. The land lords wanted the Irish families to leave and if that meant dying, that was fine with them.

Michael and Honora made the gut wrenching decision to leave their beloved country and head for “Amerikey”.

This book has something for everyone. It is Irish historical fiction, a family saga, a story of the American immigrant experience, and even a romance. It started off a bit slow for me however, there was quite a bit of Irish mythology at the beginning that wasn’t to my taste. I’m sure that there are other reader who would enjoy this part.

Within about 75 pages, I really warmed up to the story. So much so that I became a part of the Kelly family every time I picked up the book. I experience their joy’s, sorrow’s and triumphs along with them. I even felt that pangs of hunger that the family suffered. Mary Pat Kelly has a poetic writing style that sweeps the reader in. Her strong characters are well drawn out and is the landscape and back drop. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Mary Past Kelly.

4/5

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson by Lyndsay Faye

Pages: 325
First Published: Apr. 28, 2009
Genre: historical mystery
Rating: 3/5

First sentence:

At first it seemed the Ripper affair had scarred my friend Sherlock Holmes as badly as it had the city of London itself.

Reason for Reading: I always enjoy a good book featuring Holmes but this time I must say it was my pet true crime case Jack the Ripper that pulled me towards this book even more.
Comments: The plot is what you would expect. The real-life Jack the Ripper case has been put into the the fictional London of Sherlock Holmes and in this world Holmes becomes involved in trying to solve the case. The book itself has been approved by the Holmes estate and is very true to Holmesian Canon, including characters and history from previous stories with footnotes to show from whence the references came. The Jack the Ripper information has also been thoroughly researched but is much more vague and not nearly as in-depth. This is much a story of Holmes, first and foremost before it is a story of Jack the Ripper.

I’ve read all of Doyle’s Holmes works, though I must say it was a long time ago, but I still felt the genuine tone of the original books come through in Fayes’ writing. While one knows the plot, per say, of the Ripper murders she has added some shady characters and goings on that Sherlock must also unravel along his way to solving the bigger case. Also, while Faye stays true to the main facts of the Ripper case she does deviate away from the facts into fiction to make the story her own (or should I say Holmes’ own). Jack the Ripper purist will not find a plausible solution to the case but then they shouldn’t be expecting one with a fictional detective on the case.

An enjoyable book but one I must say that never really grabbed me tightly. It was a pleasant read that didn’t ever get me excited as to whodunit. Holmes and Watson were portrayed well, and fans will be sure to be pleased, but I just didn’t connect with any of the other characters nor did the plot ever get me turning pages faster than normal. Overall, a pleasant, enjoyable mystery but nothing extraordinary.

Even if I had the key to Pa’s request, I had no idea how to tackle a murder investigation. All I could do was to remain vigilant - an early morning sparrow, picking up tidbits of information, hungrily following any leads that presented themselves. - from The Scent of Oranges, page 81 -

When a young woman named Linda returns to South Africa for the funeral of her father, she is drawn back in time to her childhood growing up on their farm amid the orange groves. Although it was she who discovered her murdered brother’s body, she has no recollection of the crime. But when she is given a letter from her father asking her to re-investigate the details of the murder, Linda finds herself once again embroiled in the mystery of her brother’s death which includes dark, family secrets.

Joan Zawatzky’s novel The Scent of Oranges is part mystery, part historical fiction. Zawatzky paints an unflattering picture of post-apartheid South Africa - a country of poverty, violence and inadequate medical care where TB and AIDS take their toll. Despite this bleak portrayal, Zawatzky also reveals the beauty of the countryside where belief in ancestral spirits are interwoven with ghosts of the past.

Rain had brought flowers, leafy tendrils and a mass of weeds to the brittle veld. I picked wet jacaranda blossoms, popping them as I once had and sniffing their faint perfume on my fingers Blue borage was flowering and I followed its trails as it crept along hedges, over trunks and boulders. - from The Scent of Oranges, page 211 -

I was back in the orange groves on a crisp golden morning when I saw them for the first time. Beneath the trees, I noticed a ripple in the leaves hugging the ground. Was it a mouse or small animal? I lay in a furrow holding my breath. I had dug welts into my thighs by the time I saw them, three shimmering creatures darting between the trees and only as tall as one of Pa’s beer bottles. Their pointed brown faces were too small and their features far too fine to discern details. I watched fascinated until a breeze swept them away. - from The Scent of Oranges, page 186 -

The book is narrated through Linda’s point of view and its strengths are the descriptions of South Africa and its people. I did not find the mystery itself that compelling - perhaps because the pace of the story is slow and early in the book Linda is often met with silence to her inquiries about the murder. Zawatzky takes a long time to build tension and resolve the conflicts which are introduced between the characters. This meandering pace is frustrating at times. I also found the dialogue to be the weakest element of the novel - stilted and unconvincing, all the characters began to sound the same to me after awhile. Because of this, I found myself feeling distanced from the characters as though I was observing their story, but not part of it.

Despite these flaws, Zawatzky does an adequate job in revealing the cultural divide between the native people and the western, often affluent population of South Africa. The magical elements of the book - visits from spirits and the belief in voodoo - were well written and compelling.

The Scent of Oranges is not a dynamic read, but readers who wish to learn more about the culture of post-Apartheid South Africa will find this novel enlightening.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Pages: 466
First Published: Apr. 30, 2009
Genre: Gothic, historical fiction
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

I first saw Hundreds Hall when I was ten years old.

Reason for Reading: Sarah Waters had a new book out! Need I say more!

Comments: The Ayres family have lived at Hundreds Hall since the early-mid 1700s and now in post-war times (WWII) there remain three family members, one live-in servant and one half-time servant under its roof. During the war, they did their part for the war effort giving their rooms over to soldiers, their land over to the army for its use, their silver for melting, their furs, woolens, linens, etc for cutting apart and making clothing, handing down clothing they didn’t need for those left without homes after the bombings and now that the war is over they have little left. Mrs. Ayres, in her fifties, not old by any means, seems old as she belongs to a different generation and the children try to keep the facts of their penury from her. Roderick, returns from the war a cripple and after recovering from his wounds tries to keep the dairy farm and the estate running for his mother’s sake even if it kills him. Caroline is called home from the WRENs to nurse her brother through the long recovery from his injuries at his homecoming and then settles down to help with the estate; a robust, active, yet plain woman she is many years past the expected age of marrying yet she still hopes and now she can be found either in the kitchen with the women help or out on the land helping out the dairy farmer. But this is nothing especially special about the Ayres family, this is a situation that a geat many of the landed gentry of England found themselves in post WWII and the only way they managed to survive was to sell off the land piece by agonizing piece.

What makes the Ayres special is Hundreds Hall itself. Naturally without the money, the manpower or the resources it is falling to pieces and slowly crumbling around them. Most rooms have been completely closed off and more and more are closed off each season but that is not it either. Upon the new live-in maid’s arrival she immediately falls ill of a stomach ache and confides in the doctor that something bad is in the house. He tells her she is homesick and not to be silly. The other maid eventually becomes aware of a presence causing trouble in her kitchen. Roderick is found many times bumped and bruised in the night and he claims someone is moving large pieces of furniture in his room. In fact Roddie starts having many unexplained, even dangerous, episodes. Mrs. Ayres is not herself anymore. She has heard voices and seems to be living in the past. Caroline herself is looking at books on Poltergeists and Phantasms in the library. While the Doctor is trying to cope with everyone’s mental state he finds out first hand that there are some things that no matter how much he tries to explain them away reasonably, he knows what he has seen with his own eyes and heard with his own ears and can’t quite shake the feeling. Has an old family madness caught up with them all? Is there a ghost in the house? A poltergeist perhaps? Or maybe, it is that the house itself is evil?

This is something a little different for Waters. I’ve only read Fingersmith myself so far but I’ve read plot summaries of the others and feel confident in saying this is not her usual comfort zone. I loved the time period and the look inside the lives of post war gentry, while the doctor who comes from a poor background adds contrast to the two different ways of life even in hard times. There is a romance between the doctor and one of the female characters that slowly develops during the book and doesn’t really come to a head until near the end of the book but it is an element that keeps the story on a basic plot, the relationship between the two, as all the madness is going on sometimes taking over the plot but always returning to that basic thread; which holds the book together well in my opinion. In fact, it is the ending of this book that infuriated me. It did not end the way I had expected and I was quite shocked with the outcome and actually quite annoyed that things ended up the way they did. I’ve had time to recuperate now, but that is the sign of good characterization, when a book’s characters mean so much to you that you are invested in them and want all to end well for them all. When a book can make you get mad at it, because you are on the charaters’ side that’s when I know I’ve just read a brilliant book.

Sarah Waters is a brilliant storyteller. Right from page one I was dragged into her world and could not escape. I read this book much more quickly than I would another book of the same page length. I took it everywhere with me and could not stop reading. Comparing it to Fingersmith, it didn’t have as many twist and turns and excitement but then it is a different type of book. This is an atmospheric book and a splendidly well-crafted ghost story. Enjoy!

But Carlotta, though her bedside lamp glows, sleeps; down the hall, Maximilian sleeps; around the corner, Pepa, serene princess, sleeps; and, most sweetly of all, an angel on pillows of gossamer, the tiny Agustin sleeps with his thumb in his mouth, never dreaming that his home is being abandoned, his father’s and mother’s clothes, shoes, knickknacks, jewelry, books, and papers packed up. - from The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire -

While Americans fight and die during the Civil War, another battle continues in Mexico. Political unrest within that country sets the stage for a French invasion led by Louis Napoleon. Propped up by the French and accompanied by his wife Carlota, the Archduke of Austria (Maximilian von Habsburg) reluctantly arrives in Mexico City to secure his role as Emperor. Faced with no child of their own, Maximilian and Carlota arrange a plot to take custody of a toddler, whose grandfather was the first Emperor of Mexico, in order to provide an heir to the throne. Agustin de Iturbide y Green is the child of a Mexican diplomat and an American belle with ties to Washington politics. The Iturbides agree to the custody arrangement when it becomes evident that Maximilian intends to take the child with or without their consent. Within days, however, Agustin’s distraught mother begins a campaign to reunite with her child - and in so doing ignites an international scandal while Maximilian’s empire begins to crumble and Carlota slips into madness.

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is a fictionalized re-telling of this time in Mexican history. Filled with colorful characters, the novel brings to life an event which has been buried in the history books. Mayo tells her story from a variety of viewpoints, alternating between the parents of Agustin, Agustin’s aunt Pepa, Agustin himself, Maximilian and Carlota, political heads of state, and those who surrounded the families as nannies, butlers, and cooks. It is a complex cast of characters.

Mayo’s writing is detailed and obviously well-researched. Her sense of place and history are strengths of the novels, with detailed descriptions of setting including the clothes and food from that time period. Mayo quickly embroils her reader in the politics of the time, including the internal workings of the royal family as well as international governments. Most of the characters are real persons of history, but their interactions are largely imagined. Mayo deftly reveals the subtle interplay which made up royal intrigue in the mid to late 1800s.

The complexity of the novel and number of characters (with foreign names) confused me at times. I think it might have been helpful for Mayo to include a “cheat sheet” of dates and events, along with characters and their relationship to each other, especially for readers like myself who do not have in-depth knowledge of history during the mid-nineteenth century. Although Mayo’s writing cannot be faulted, I found myself drifting at times in a sea of details that were difficult to sort through. **EDITED TO ADD - Thank you for Ms. Mayo for providing a terrific reference to all characters in this book here.

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is impeccably researched and beautifully rendered. Those readers who love complex historical novels and who want to learn more about this time period in Mexican history will enjoy Mayo’s work.

Shanghai Girls
By Lisa See
Completed May 12, 2009

Shanghai Girls is the latest book by best-selling author, Lisa See. Readers have raved about her Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, which I have not read, but I jumped at the opportunity to read See’s latest book. Overall, I was not disappointed.

Pearl and May were young Chinese women living in Shanghai before the Japanese invasion in World War II. They modeled as “beautiful girls” – young ladies who exhibited the modern Chinese woman: young, vibrant, intelligent and happy-go-lucky (with no bound feet!). When their father gambled away their earnings, the girls faced an arranged marriage, which would alleviate their father’s debt. Devastated, Pearl and May faced the reality that they would leave their beloved Shanghai and the modern lifestyle they carved for themselves.

Then, the Japanese invaded Shanghai, and Pearl and May struggled to stay ahead of the “monkey men.” They eventually met their husbands in Los Angeles, living with their husband/strangers and an overbearing father-in-law. From this point of the story, we learned about the treatment of Chinese-Americans before World War II and during the Red Scare. Like many times in American history, politics and fear clouded our country’s decisions, and Pearl and her family fell victim to prejudice.

Shanghai Girls was written only from Pearl’s viewpoint. She began the story as a 20-year-old-woman and ended the story in her forties. Through her eyes, we learned about Chinese traditions, the atrocities of the Japanese invasion of China and the prejudice against the Chinese. The historical information provided in this story was educational and interesting. If you like historical fiction, then Shanghai Girls should pique your interest.

My only complaint about this book was the pace. See dropped the reader into the middle of the story line, where we lived the story with the characters, and then fast-forwarded through other parts (in a “show, not tell” way). The fast-forwarded parts, in my opinion, could have been told differently – or perhaps deleted. If it’s not interesting enough for the story line to give it a full treatment, then maybe it’s not important to include it?

Despite this shortcoming, I recommend Shanghai Girls to readers who enjoy historical fiction, learning about different cultures and women’s history. I look forward to reading Snow Flower and the Secret Fan someday soon. ( )

Colleen Gleason
353 pages

The Bleeding Dusk is the third book in The Gardella Vampire Chronicles. I have enjoyed this series so much that I have actually delayed reading them. I am so not ready for this series to end but I just bought the last book in the series, As Shadows Fade, this past weekend. Now I am not sure I will be able to wait any longer. It is total comfort and escapism for me. Historical Fiction…Vampire Fiction…perfect fusion.
In this installment we find Victoria still in Rome. She is in mourning for her beloved Aunt Eustacia as well as her husband. She must step into her aunt’s role as the leader of the Venators and lead them on in their quest to fight the evil vampires. She barely has time to adjust to her new role and recover from her recent losses when sinister events begin swirling during Rome’s Carnivale.

This is pure fun for me and even though I am not normally a big fan of the romance genre, I love this series. Victoria, Max and Sebastian continue to be likable characters for me as well as Wayren and the rest of the Venator family. I hope to have time to devour the last two books in the series next week. I am dying to know who Victoria chooses. I know who I’d choose.(5/5)