...Soldier, Psycho (Part II)

Ok, I took my grand old time posting the second portion of my previous rant.  Please ‘scuse me.  For some fabulous reason, Blogspot has decided to muck up my formatting as well...please forgive!

1356 by Bernard Cornwall- If I haven’t mentioned this already, one of my favorite genres is that of historical fiction.   I get to immerse myself in a totally foreign time frame, and ‘experience’ what life may have been like in different eras.  Inevitably, I come out of such novels with a renewed sense of gratitude that I live in this particular generation!   Although obviously taken with a grain of salt, I’m actually quasi picky about what historical fiction I read and I prefer to stick with ‘mostly accurate’ HF when I can find it. (as an aside, I stumbled on to this link  a while back, and it gave me some neat starting points.) But I digress!! (have you noticed? I do that sometimes!)

Ok, back on topic: Bernard Cornwall is apparently an incredibly prolific writer who stays often within the realm of HF.  1356 was my first foray into his work, and I have to say, I loved it.  Based around the Battle of Poitiers that took place between the French/Scots on one side, and the English on the other, Cornwall paints an incredibly vivid picture of what battle was like in (yup, you guessed it!) 1356.  Vivid, but not unforgivably and gratuitously violent.  Cornwall complements his work by including historical notes and maps- and I was so drawn into the intertwining stories and battles that I CONSULTED THE MAPS!  (Have I mentioned that I NEVER consult maps in novels? The first time I ever grasped the layout of Middle Earth was earlier this year, when I bought a poster map for my son to consult as we began to read LOTR together.)   But, maps or no maps, this story was a winner.  Characters were engaging, human, and believable, the story was well crafted, and I learned about history in spite of myself- I felt so proud.  Coincidently, my older brother is a HUGE history buff, and loves anything and everything having to do with battles, (descriptions of battles, descriptions of weapons used in battles, descriptions of armor worn in battles…you get the picture) and so when I finished reading this, the first person I called was my brother.  ‘Course, since I’m his little sister, he won’t listen to me for another 2 years.  I hope YOU take advantage sooner J Let me know if you do!

The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell- Ok, so this book has been viewed, reviewed, and lauded up and down 5^th Avenue twenty times already.  I know I’m merely adding my voice as one among a clamor, but here goes.  We get introduced to the novel’s narrator, Rose, in the midst of prohibition era New York.   Rose is a bit of a mystery unto herself, for all that she is the window through which we glimpse the tale.  Rose is a typist for a police precinct; she is charged with recording and transcribing the confessions and statements of the felons brought in to the station for various and sundry crimes.  We do get a very tangible feel for what the occupational hazards of such a job may have been and a fascinating perspective on the profound trust necessary to complete such a task.  Men (and presumably some women) were tried and convicted on the basis of what another human person wrote.   Scary, no?

At any rate, Rose has carved out a life for herself, climbing her way up from an anonymous beginning in a convent school, to reaching a respected position in civil service.  Rose, is, if nothing else, very respectable.  Then we meet Odalie, who comes to join the typing pool, and promptly turns Rose’s world upside down. 

I still hold that my favorite flapper/20’s/prohibition novel that I’ve encountered is Amor Towles’ Rules of Civility.  The Other Typist is not a novel in the same vein at all, exuding a much more of manipulative, distrusting sense throughout.   In fact, the better I got to know Rose as the narrator, the less inclined I was to believe her. That being said, the setting, the backdrop of the story as it were, is incredibly exquisite.  The author created an incredibly tangible environment that may have you sneaking into dilapidated wig shops at odd hours of the day.

 

 

And then it ended, and I was confused. Have at it, then come back and tell me what it was all about.  

Hangman, Housewife, Soldier, Psycho (part 1)

 

No, no I’m not talking about “Game of Thrones”; but I might get to those later.  No, I wanted to give a glimpse into the first handful of books that I’ve worked through thus far this summer, and as you may have gathered from the title, they were a bit of a mixed bag.  These four tomes have been wildly different, and have also varied enormously on my very own personal scale of likeability. SO, since I know you are all breathless to hear my thoughts...here goes!

 

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch: I know, I couldn’t pronounce his last name either- but seriously don’t let that stop you!! This is a murder mystery pure and simple.  Only not really. It’s actually a murder mystery set in seventeenth century Bavaria, in a little village that has survived its share of hardship.  You know, like the bubonic plague, a scourge of ‘witch burnings’ a generation or two back, etc.    The town has a very real sense of order and tradition about it, and is held on course by the councilmen who oversee the laws, the merchant/tradesmen who guard the trade (and thereby the livelihood of the villagers), and the Hangman, who carries out the just punishments meted out by those who govern. 

As you may gather from the title, our Hangman is the linchpin upon which the story rests.  Far from the hulking, axe wielding, belly-baring sycophants who tend to bear the moniker in popular legend, Jakob Kuisl is a quiet, God-fearing man who loves nothing more than tending his family, studying science, and plying his side-trade of medicine man.  But suddenly, orphans from the village begin disappearing, and turning up dead.  Fingers are pointed at the village midwife who spent time with them, and suddenly, the witch hunts from years ago begin to foment again.  In order to save lives, and seek out the truth amidst rumors, superstitions and evils real and imagined, Jakob must work together with the village doctor to find the true culprit, and thus restore peace to their village.  I have to say, I have not read a mystery that was this much fun in a long time.  Potzsch manages to deal with some very dark themes, and creates a multi-layered scenario, populated by believable, three dimensional characters who are various parts believers in faith, superstitious of evil, truth-seeking, manipulative, and desirous of justice…and that’s just on the town council!  Do yourself a favor, and pick this one up.

 

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: this is one of those books that I grabbed because I was seeing it everywhere.  NPR covered it more than a few times, there were excerpts posted, author interviews, and rave reviews.  So, having had my interest piqued, I ordered it from the library and sat down to see what the hype was all about.  Was it engrossing? Yes. Was it well-written? Yes.  Did I like it? Not remotely. 

Based on the sudden disappearance of Nick’s lovely wife, Amy, the pages begin to spell out what looks to have been the rise, and pitiable fall of the marriage of a young couple who have it all together.  Set in the muggy Mississippi we learn of the slow crumble from the ivory tower experienced by Nick and Amy, and then are brought face to face with Amy’s abrupt erasure.  She is simply…gone.  Suspicion, of course, immediately falls on Nick (isn’t it always the husband? At least when there is no butler?) who must do his utmost to prove to both the law and the reader that  he didn’t do it!  But as lie begets lie, we are confounded again and again by damning revelations, false facades, and human error.  I’m not gonna lie, there were a few instances where I literally breathed out “idiot” under my breath.  And then we get to hear Amy’s side of the story.  

And here’s the rotten part; I can’t gripe sufficiently about how I feel without ruining the surprise for you!! And boy oh boy, where there surprises!

So, one might assume that this would be a winner- engrossing story, empathetic characters, tightly wound twists and turns….but I have to say unabashedly that I pretty much hated it.  If you decide to try for yourself, I’m sure you’ll see why.

Yes, yes, I know that’s only two out of four! If you’re not sick of me yet, the other two will be forthcoming soon J

Have Library Card, Will Travel

So, I’m in situation that I’m sure many individuals can relate to.    While I would LOVE to spend my summer reclining in the sun, with a cool, frosty beverage in my hand, a warm wave slipping up to rinse the sand from between my toes, it’s just not in the foreseeable future.    It appears that someone lost the necessary paperwork on my trustfund, and well... (sigh...)This makes me a bit sad, but, as I’m not destined for faraway climes anytime soon, I’ve decided to make the best of it by curling up my pasty-white self into a corner of the couch (or stretching on a deck chair- life’s really not that bad J ) and diving headfirst into a plethora of promising looking tomes that I’ve heard of, read about, or inadvertently discovered.  

Truth to tell, my journeys have been pretty exciting;  So far this summer, I’ve been to Mississippi, France, Bavaria, New York and quite a few other uncharted regions!  Now, that being said, some of those journeys that I’ve taken haven’t ended up how I would have picked, and there were a few that had me downright irate…when you travel by book, you have to travel by the book, if you catch my meaning.  You can’t alter an ending just because it displeases you; you can’t change an outcome to save a beloved character (even if you see their fate descending on their heads like the snapped string of the sword of Damocles), and no matter how hard you slam a book shut and then proceed to rant, rave, and lose sleep over a rotten ending, you must accept the simple fact that the book doesn’t care.  

 This can be a hard truth to face, especially when we invest our time (and sometimes our emotions, if the author’s gifted) in pouring ourselves into a story, grow attached to the characters (some of them, anyway), who, either in spite (or because) of their flaws and foibles still manage to speak to us and draw us in.   It can be a bit of any unrequited love, you could say; or maybe a single sided infatuation.  Even if we invest ourselves in a promising book, we can still end up being betrayed, enraged, outraged or just feeling downright gypped. 

 Luckily, this is not always the case!  In fact, more often than not, we as the readers end up awash in a sea of tranquility that stretches around us as a story takes hold.  A great author can navigate us through the ebbs and swells that batter our vessels, steering through the salty depths of an experience by the guidance of universal truths that speak out as constellations to sailors amidst a black night.  When you are lucky enough to journey into a book like that, my friend, don’t let it get away.  Keep it, buy it, shelve, save it; and when necessary, take that trip again when your life needs a respite.

What books steer you true?   What speaks to you, guides you, refreshes you?  What have you found that, unlooked for, makes you laugh while reading in the doctor’s office, or cry on the subway, or cuss at the culmination?  In addition to those that can guide us, I feel (and some may disagree) that any book that slips off the page and pulls a human emotion from the depths of your heart is a book worth having read.

Happy travels!