Full of Remorse- Three quick reviews to pacify our insatiable audience...

So, I have woefully neglected our little corner of blogging, and I’ve been so very sad about it!  In an effort to make it up to you, here are my takes on the last three notable books I’ve delved into…
 I'm still a total sucker for re-takes on fairy tales, and as such, "Entwined" by Heather Dixon.  This is one of the best that I've encountered in a long time.  If you've ever read Robin McKinley's "Beauty", (a retelling of Beauty and the Beast) you might find that the literary styling is very similar. "Entwined" is a redo of the story of the 12 dancing princesses, which has long been a favorite of mine. (If you’re into fairy tales and folklore, make time to check out SurlaLune.com.  Interesting site.) Ms. Dixon weaves an absolutely entrancing story of the princesses, their circumstances and their suitors.   A little humor, a dark history, and a lot of dancing; I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I also just finished "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern. There was quite a bit of media hype about this, which was one of the reasons I decided to look into it, and it is a neat read.  Set in the Victorian period, it’s the tale of an ethereal and mystifying circus, in which two rival magicians vie for glory.  Ms. Morgenstern’s tale has some very arresting and intriguingly fantastical descriptions, and if you can call a non-illustrated novel ‘visually astounding’, this is it. But as descriptive as the writing was, I always felt that I was only getting the 2 dimensional version.  I wanted a bit more than what was presented.  For those of you who have watched the movie "The Prestige", this is sort of along similar lines, only (sadly) less compelling and much more polished over all.  I felt as if I could wander through the “The Night Circus” in white kid gloves, and never muss them.  To my mind, a circus implies a dark, seamy underside where lurks the barely restrained power and mystique that bulges at the seams of the canvas tents.  Still, it was an interesting book, but I can't bring myself to rave about it.

Lastly, I read "The Scorpio Races" by Maggie Stiefvater, which was also brought to my attention by outside sources.  Apparently, this lady has written some wildly popular teen fiction regarding star-crossed were-wolves.  I'm happy I didn't know that before I read "Scorpio", because it would have irrevocably biased me against picking up the book.   I had a similar reaction to this as I did "The Night Circus"....felt that the story line had so much promise, but it took me a while to get into. The story revolves around a horse race on a small Scottish (?) island, where the horses racing are water horses.  Not hippos, but the capaill uisce of mythology (meat eating horses of the sea which have a tendency to drag their riders to the depths.) Cool, huh?  But I felt like it just didn't deliver on its promise.  Any story placed by the restless ocean is incredibly attractive to me…Maybe I’m just too finicky, but, like the ocean, I wanted a bit more depth, and a little more undertow.  But again, I would recommend it, because maybe you'd have a different reaction or appreciation to/for it than I did. 

Overall, of the last tomes that I've tackled, "Entwined" is far and above the winner.     Check 'em out, and let me know what you think!

            

East of Eden by John Steinback

This month's post is contributed by a guest author, Joy G.   Joy is actually the one who first introduced me (Dorothy) to give East of Eden the ol' college try, and I've loved it since I first cracked the binding on it.  But enough about me, let's hear it from her! 

Joy G. says....

As a guest blogger sitting in for my two sisters I have the pleasure of reviewing one of the best novels I have ever read.  East of Eden by John Steinbeck, is also the only of Steinbeck’s books that I like at all.  So if you have ever read any of his other books and thought, “Darn that was depressing,” get ready to celebrate because he actually wrote something that was not a sucking void of depression.  There are so many things I enjoy about this book, that I would be unable to enumerate them all in this post.  I will do my best to give you a quick and dirty version.

Steinbeck introduces us to a number of characters in this book who you will fall in love with.  These people are rich and varied and truly alive even when in the midst of terrible pain.  One of the characters you are unlikely to adore is Kate.  She is one of the most evil characters I have ever met in the pages of a novel.  She makes Sauron, the White Witch, Voldemort and some of the other villains of our day look mild.  The reason for this is not due to some side plot wherein Kate can blast people with her laser beam eyes.  Instead what is so chilling about her is that she could be real.  Her evil is at once subtle and like an impenetrable wall that crushes everything good and beautiful in its path.  If you have ever read another gem entitled People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck, which is Dr. Peck’s discussion of a psychology of human evil, then Kate will already be a familiar entity.  If you have not be prepared because she is not someone you would want to invite for dinner or fall in love with for that matter.

As I already stated the book is far from depressing, so it does not just have a great villain.  Another aspect of the story that I cherish every time I re-read it (about once every couple years) is the way Steinbeck told the story.  East of Eden, he proposes, is a telling of his family history interwoven with another famous family, that of Adam and Eve.  This wonderful tapestry draws you into a story that at its center is an interior struggle between good and evil in the hearts of Eden’s men and women.  His retelling of the Genesis story is refreshing and as well done as Lewis’ retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth, Till We have Faces.

The last thing I will share is that of the stories setting.  Steinbeck paints a picture of California as it was during his childhood and before.  As with everything else this book has to offer the backdrop of the book is subtle, complex and entwined into the story to deliver a work of fiction that many refer to as Mr, Steinbeck’s opus.  I must say I agree entirely.

My sincere hope is you get yourself a copy, possibly a bottle of red wine, and you curl up in front of your fireplace to fall in love with this novel.  If you do not have any of those things but the book it will still deliver, I promise.  It will leave you longing for more, and you will be compelled to return and rediscover the richness of this story again and again.

Cheers to at least one not depressing Steinbeck novel!

Joy



The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Ever get the feeling that you’re singing a discordant note in the choir?  Me too.  My discordance has the pleasure of being both literal and figurative- I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.   But what I’m referring to in this case is the fact that I tend to disagree with book critics on a regular basis. Not always, mind you, but in many cases.  Pardon the stream of conscience divergence from our normally stately book reviews, and bear with me here for a minute whilst I rant.

When I come up dry on reading ideas, my two favorite websites to go to are barnesandnoble.com and npr.org.   B&N has some neat reviews of their bestsellers that you can skim through to try to find out what all the people with disposable income are purchasing, and NPR has an awesome section on books, period.   NPR is my top choice, because it never ceases to bring books to my attention that I would have otherwise never stumbled upon, and pique my interest in genres that I would have decried any interest in.   Some of these I have thoroughly enjoyed! However, the exception that is niggling at my brain tonight is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.  Grossman’s novel is touted as an acceptable stop-gap for those of us struggling with the painful conclusion that we’ve matriculated through seven blissful years of Hogwarts, have been handed our walking papers and are being forced back out to the muggle world, now safe from Voldemort, and a little duller for the safety. 

The Magicians is definitely a grown up novel.  There are friendships and painful coming of age relationships, dysfunctional families, and great loss.  There is magic involved, a dark, elemental magic that incinerates the careless, feeds on personal pain, and is available only to the intellectually elite. (I already feel excluded.)  The novel also corrupts much of what is beloved about our childhood concept of ‘magic’, taking particular aim at bastardizing a whole ream of children’s fiction literature and its creator.  Apparently, the main characters in The Magicians have idolized a set of children’s stories entitled Fillory and Further written by Christopher Plover.  Disclaimer: I have never read Plover’s work.  The Fillory novels focus on a magical world which exists outside of ours, and is inhabited by intelligent, talking animals and magical creatures who desire the help of some British children who routinely get called over to help solve the woes of the world.   Oh, and in The Magicians, Fillory is a real place.  With real problems.  You follow so far?  Said magicians embark on dreamed of magical quest to find nothing but pain, disillusionment and severely misguided philosophy.

Maybe this is my beef with Mr. Grossman:  the entirety of his novel is aimed at destroying the best loved elements of fantastical fiction (i.e. mystery, heroism, the proving of virtues and humans besting their inherently troubled nature).   Additionally, the Fillory novels in question seem to bear remarkable semblance to C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, which makes any mudslinging on the kid-lit fiction unacceptable to a book-nerd such as myself.  I feel as if some bored journalist tried to mate the original ingenuity of Harry Potter, with Donna Tartt’s depressing and nihilistic The Secret History.  The unappealing result seems to be The Magicians.  

The Paris Wife by Paula McClain

Title: The Paris Wife

Author: Paula McClain

Genre: Historical Fiction

So, when launching into a novel that centers on a man’s first of four wives, one has to be open to the possibility that it’s not a happy story.   Such is the case with Paula McClain’s The Paris Wife which introduced me to Hadley Richardson; Ernest Hemingway’s first wife.   Now, this would seem to me a tough storyline to sell to a publisher~ this isn’t the wife he ended up with, it’s not even the one he lasted the longest with ...”just” the first one.

Here’s the beauty of the novel; McClain takes on what we all know to be a melancholy and hopeless tale, but speaks it through the unsuspecting eyes of Hadley Richardson.  While we, the readers, can’t help but try to identify the various and telltale warning signs that the story is peppered with, Hadley comes across as a fresh, intelligent and self-giving woman who manifests a strength and resilience that one can’t help but admire.  Indeed, she embodies those attributes so well that it’s no wonder Hemingway fell in love with her.  Her unassuming and honest nature served as a great comfort to him, and her loyalty to him is above reproach, even if completely unreciprocated.

I happen to really dig Hemingway’s novels.  If not the content, I truly love the completely transportive quality of his writing, which inevitably makes me want to swim in the ocean in the south of France, and dry off in the sun, sipping on cold, unnamed white wine in a sweating bottle.  But, after reading The Paris Wife, I’m forced to accept the fact that he was a womanizer, who tried desperately to write beautifully, and lose himself utterly into whatever experience was directly in front of him.   While the novel is labeled Historical Fiction, (I think mainly due to the first person narrative) the information it contains is traceable back to records kept by Richardson, and works by Ernest himself.

I suppose that Paula McClain’s novel is a bit like a stained glass window; a beautiful work of art whose true purpose is meant to illuminate another’s story.  I was rooting for Hadley from page one, became better acquainted with her and her illustrious husband, and finally couldn’t wait for her to reclaim herself by the end. 

Daniel Silva's Gabriel Allon Series

Titles Include: Moscow Rules/The Defector/The Rembrandt Affair/ and more!!

Author: Daniel Silva

Genre: Spy/Mystery

The Gabriel Allon series written by Daniel Silva are the most addicting spy novels you will ever read.  Gabriel Allon is an Israeli spy who is a modern Jewish hero.  He saves lives, restores justice and unveils historical secrets. This sounds like a copy of superman or any other superhero but Gabriel has so much depth compared to those guys.  He is a very talented art restorer who listens to Italian opera and appreciates beauty.  The depth continues with the revealing of his own sufferings and hardships that have contributed to this hero persona.  It is not like Hannah Montana who has “the best of both worlds”.  When you’re a spy, an occupational hazard is that you are never off duty~ even when you’re off duty.  Gabriel is a character that you would love to have coffee with, although he would not say much ….because he lives a secret life.

Daniel Silva not only has an art for storytelling and character development but intrigue as well.  Once you start one of his stories it’s so hard to put down that you find yourself shirking your duties to read and then being sad when the last page is read.  Though this is a series, each book can be read in their own right.  Silva makes sure within each book the history of the character is known. Silva also does an excellent job putting historical events, people and circumstances within the story.  As a history major I am surprised at things that are divulged and find myself looking them up for validity.

 I discovered this series upon leaving for a 6 hour road trip so I grabbed an audio version for the car ride.  I was so enthralled the time flew and the dreaded drive home was actually highly anticipated because I wanted to finish the story.

So if you love thrillers, spy novels, historical fiction, Middle Eastern relations with Europe, art history or politics this series is the set you have been looking for.

Daniel Silva please keep writing!

“Killing Pablo” by Mark Bowden

Another Guest Contribution, this one from the esteemed and incomparable Mary Boryschuk!

Title: Killing Pablo

Author: Mark Bowden

This searing, all encompassing account of the CIA and multi-national organization’s manhunt and subsequent death of Pablo Escobar is truly fascinating and proves the euphemism “Truth is stranger than fiction.”  While one is not supposed to judge a book by its cover, go ahead and do so!  A picture paints a thousand words and the image of a handful of heavily armed men brimming with delight while standing over the body of the dead drug lord like a bagged deer is enough to make anyone curious at the very least. 

Bowden, an exceptional journalist, states facts, not just about the demise of Escobar, but of the world he lived in and the country he created in Colombia fueled by funds from US citizens and their new “all the rage” habit.   The destruction Escobar wrought, the public support he bought (both with development and terror) are epic and Bowden does a masterful job of laying the landscape for the average reader unfamiliar with the details of the culture and “war on drugs” begun primarily and apparently unsuccessfully by Reagan, (unless you count the oodles of dough it brings each year to the federal government.)  Bowden covers the depths and heights of politics in both the US and Colombia and the only possibly perceived drawback in this fascinating piece of writing is perhaps the tedium of following the necessary drawing of relationships between the countries.   It is, however, well worth the trouble!  

I believe the History channel adapted the book for television in a special titled the same and, despite being a biased English teacher by profession, the book is exponentially better than the movie.  The detail which Bowden uses to describe the man, the myth, the legend of Escobar, as well as the futility of the countries that pursued him, is spellbinding.  It is eye-opening, fascinating, and whispers of the seemingly dead art of unbiased journalism. 

I can’t recall the name of it but Pablo Esobar’s son did a documentary (I believe it was on HBO) about the aftermath of his father in his own life and an attempted reconciliation with the sons of Luis Galan, a leading candidate for president of Colombia, who stood up to Escobar and paid the price with his life.  I didn’t see the whole thing but it was powerful as well.

Very Valentine & Brava Valentine by Adriana Trigiani

Title: Very Valentine, and Brava Valentine

Author: Adriana Trigiani

Genre: Fiction

Toto Says:
 

The Valentine trilogy is a refreshing look at life in an Italian-American family.  Italian American families have a very delicate balance between traditions brought over from Italy and acquired American traditions.  Each family varies on how much of each make up their family life but Italian-Americans in and of themselves are their own culture.  This beautifully written trilogy is about a single woman named Valentina who struggles with being a modern woman living New York City and yet holding on to her “old world” traditions. 

Trigiani is a wonderful writer and has proven this over and over in her several best selling novels.  In both Very Valentine and Brava Valentine the reader feels as if they are sitting at the huge family table eating pasta, drinking wine and participating in loud conversation.  This isn’t your typical romance novel. You will never guess what is going to happen next or how it ends.  So come on and walk with Valentine through the countryside of Italy, swim with her in the caves of Capri, dance with her in Argentina and stand on her rooftop garden in Greenwich Village and smell the tomatoes.  Can’t wait for Part III!

Dorothy Says:

Ok, I have one gripe about Trigiani’s books; feel free to read them and judge for yourself.  Here’s the deal: within the entirety of the extensive family structure that Trigiani has created in the Valentine books, there is not even a single example of a decent marriage.  Now, you may be rolling your eyes as you read this, sighing, and saying “Who cares???”  Well, it’s my blog, and I care.   Allow me to first preface my remarks, and then air my grievance for a bit. 

Valentine Roncalli is the central character in the books. She is a thirty-something young woman, who is happily working her way up the ladder of craftsmanship in the family shoe business and on her way to becoming a master of custom leather shoes. She is pretty, funny, and socially adept, and she is not married.  THIS IS NOT MY GRIPE!!!  I love the character, and I’m not here to even insinuate the fact that because she is not married, she is in some way unfulfilled, deficient, or leprous.  In fact, I would be vilely offended if someone did try to make that argument.

Here’s what does irritate my sensibilities:  Throughout the first two novels in the trilogy (haven’t read the third yet), the author assigns a laundry list of infidelities, desertions, and tragedies to the married couples within the story.  To those married couples in the story who escape the plague of infidelity, there are other various and obnoxious qualities attributed or insinuated: Sister A’s husband exudes a caveman-era prejudicial streak as wide as the Mississippi; Grammom (a fabulous and peppy septuagenarian) professes to never having had joy with Grandpa, and the offspring of all these marriages are either constantly obnoxious, repressed into rigidity, or vehicles for bitterness. 

Now, I’ve read more than a couple of books in my life.  I am adequately aware of the appearance of the theme of infidelity and troubled marriages within literature; many of the best works in history address this in one way shape or form.  Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, for example, is incredibly adept at portraying the joys and sorrows of the choices made by his characters.   However, I was very saddened by the incredibly wide brush of doom with which Trigiani paints matrimonial and family life in her stories.  Anyone who is married knows it sure ain’t easy, and anyone with kids knows the sacrifice that children entail.  That being said, all the freedom in the world can pale in comparison to holding your sleeping babe in your arms, or climbing under the covers to curl up next to your best friend in the entire world.   In the midst of all the day-to-day, there is an inherent and objective beauty to both Marriage and bearing children.  The fact that this was completely negated within the framework of the Valentine books is, I feel, a woeful injustice.