English Refugees and Bees

Little Be by Chris Cleave is the story of two women from two different worlds who end up colliding through a tragic incident. Little Bee is a young woman who is in an immigration detention center outside of London, England. Originally from Nigeria, she fled from her mother country because of men who murdered her family, only to find herself detained in another uncomfortable circumstance. Sarah is a British magazine editor who happened to be with her husband on a beach in Nigeria when Little Bee and her sister ran across her path. The story picks up in England a couple years later. Little Bee is just getting out of jail, and Sarah’s husband has just committed suicide. In each other, these two women find a comrade. Sarah and Little Bee struggle with the past horror they both went through and look to a future where they can both be freed from the pain of what was inflicted upon them.

On the back of the book, there is very little description given as to what the plot of the story is. “Once you have read it, you’ll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don’t tell them what happens. The magic is in how the story unfolds.” That is the quotation from the back cover and it is a letdown. This is a great marketing technique to make readers want to know the mystery behind the story, but all in all, this was not a Sixth Sense kind of novel where you cannot give away the ending or ruin the story. Like many novels, you are not given the full story at the beginning, it unfolds for you. 

What makes this novel think it is so special that readers must be forewarned not to talk about it with those who haven’t read it? If its only special feature is that you don’t know the major plot point prior to reading it, it’s a pretty pathetic novel.

The novel is split between the voice of Little Bee and Sarah. I found myself rolling my eyes during Little Bee’s chapters. The writing is well done, but the things the author has Little Bee say and think are a little out there. It was over the top. Sarah is practical, but Little Bee is more of a dreamer, which makes sense when you find out the meaning of her real name.

I didn't particularly like the characters and I wasn't a fan of the story. I liked where the story was starting to go at the end, but then was disappointed by the vague ending.

If you are into immigration issues and refugees, then this is a book that may interest you. For me, it didn't do anything. It brought to light that yes, we have issues with immigrants and this young woman’s story was tragic, but I just wasn't interested. Maybe that makes me like everyone else who overlook real world problems, but this is my fun reading time, damn it! I’m allowed to overlook problems when I need an escape. 

Three Colonels and Jane Austen

In June, I will be hosting a number of Jane Austen themed programs including a Jane Austen impersonator. In preparation for the festivities, it’s my duty to read as much Austen inspired literature as possible. What a difficult life I leadJ Thus here is the first installment of my Austen Inspired reading.

Napoleon Bonaparte has escaped Elba and is back on the continent to claim France as his dominion. Here begins our tale. Over in jolly old England we meet back up with two of our favorite Colonels from Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, that is Colonel Fitzwilliam and Colonel Brandon. There is a newcomer to this bunch in the form of former rogue, Colonel Buford. We follow the three through their romantic entanglements with other well-known characters and then in the end, at the Battle of Waterloo. This novel focuses on new relationships forming between Colonel Buford and Caroline Bingley along with Colonel Fitzwilliam and Anne de Bourgh.

Although it had its eye rolling love scene, this novel was well done. Jack Caldwell did a wonderful job of bringing to life new characters, while keeping the old relationships at arm’s length as to not ruin the relationship the reader had formed with Jane Austen’s characters in former novels. He writes about characters who are seldom mentioned or minor characters in her other books. In this way, he doesn't have the problem of both remaining true to Austen’s main characters and pleasing fans by remaining faithful, yet adding onto the stories.

I found some of the characters' actions a bit unbelievable. For example, though I truly enjoyed her as a character in this book, I do not know that Caroline Bingley could completely reform herself from the woman she was in P&P. Caldwell goes into the detail of how Caroline sees the error of her ways, but it’s just a little too righteous for a character who was such a social climbing ninny. He also has Mr. Collins have a realization about Lady Catherine and even apologize for his errors. No. Stop right there. Mr. Collins is fun and annoying because he is so oblivious. Don’t turn him into something he isn't.

I truly enjoyed the parallel story lines and even the intermingling of other notorious characters from Persuasion and Northranger Abbey. Caldwell also did an excellent job portraying the characters and military strategy during the Battle of Waterloo. Other than my discomfiture with characters’ actions, as stated above, I did not have any complaints. The story is fast and compelling. I found myself wanting to stay up late and get up early to read this novel.

If you are a Jane Austen fan, might I suggest An Assemble Such as This by Pamela Aidan. It is the first in a trio of books written from Fitzwilliam Darcy’s perspective as his journal during the period of Pride and Prejudice.

Presidential Romance

A friend recommended a book to me and was rather insistent upon my taking a look at it because she thought it was so sweet. Because she’s my best friend and it seemed to mean a lot to her, I picked up the book. Mary Higgins Clark typically writes mystery/suspense novels, but she had a hankering to write a historical romance with none other than our nation’s first president, George Washington, and his lovely wife, Martha or as she was called, Patsy. The book is A Mount Vernon Love Story and it works on two fronts seeing as George loved his home, Mount Vernon, and he loved Patsy, who eventually lived in Mount Vernon.

The novel starts as Washington is stepping down from the Presidency and handing the reigns to Adams. From here, George reminisces about his younger years and thus other chapters take place before and during the Revolution. Every two chapters or so, the novel flits back to George as he’s leaving the Presidency and anticipating his return to Mount Vernon. The novel deals mostly with Washington’s personal life, but of course his military and public years cannot be ignored. This, however, is a novel about love and the trials that George deals with on that front. God knows that even a general has a hard time with strategy when it comes to love.

The novel was sweet. My dear friend was right. It is an easy read, weighing in at a measly 230 pages. I enjoyed learning about the personal history of George Washington and a little about Martha. Washington was a very measured and disciplined man, so seeing his affection and adoration of his wife and stepchildren was enlightening. My problems with the book stem from the writing style and the depth of the story.

Obviously, when talking about the public and personal life of a president, there’s a lot to cover. I applaud Clark for taking on such an enormous undertaking, but I felt there was a lot missing. She skimmed over major events in Washington’s life and did not go as in depth with his personal life as she could. This is a rich subject and I felt that it only touched on the surface and quickly ran on to the next event. The other thing that threw me off was the chapter to chapter jumps from old George to young George and the terrible transitions from one to the next. Yuck. Just do a chapter at the beginning when he’s old and have a good transition into his early years, then at the end go back to him going to Mount Vernon after his term is finished. Boom. I just made your book better Mary Higgins Clark.

Return to Fairyland

I cannot believe I forgot to post this from back in October/November, so here ya go!

While perusing the children’s section, I ran across The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherine M. Valente, the sequel to The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I immediately locked into its purple allure with the familiar cover design and long title. It was stunning that I had not been informed there was a sequel to Valente’s book! Luckily, it just came out.

September is swept back to Fairyland where things are amiss. Magic is rationed because all the shadows of fairyland’s creatures are being taken to Fairyland Below and the shadows hold the magic of a being. September’s quest this time around is to get the shadows back to Fairyland so that magic might once again return. The problem is that the Queen of Fairyland Below is Halloween, September’s shadow! Shadows are the dark side of a person. The yearnings and contained attitudes and personality that the human person does not show. After failing to convince the shadows to go back to being 2 dimensional slaves of their human counterparts, September must find the prince of Fairyland and wake him from an enchanted sleep so he can take power back from Halloween. Along the way, September discovers all sorts of inhabitants of Fairyland Below, and some somewhat familiar faces.

As in the first book, Valente writes beautifully. I often wonder at this being a children’s book. Although the subject material seems childish, the writing and content are sophisticated and philosophical. It is deep and thought out with themes of family, love, self-awareness, coming-of-age, and so much more. The characters are intricate and it often reminded me of Alice in Wonderland with riddles and strange ways of saying things or getting to a point. The vocabulary is advanced as are the ideas presented. Sure a ten year old could read this, but an adult could read it too and get a lot out of it. This is a great example of a book that you would read when you’re young and reread when you’re older, just to find hidden meanings and new ideas.

I preferred Fairyland Below to Circumnavigated actually. I think the plot of this one ran a bit smoother. Maybe I just enjoyed it more, but either way, this is a fantastic book. As September is getting older, she’s dealing growing up, finding an occupation, and a place for herself. This theme runs throughout the book and lends to part of the coming-of-age aspect of this read. However, it does not slap you in the face like some coming-of-age novels, with overly referenced teenage angst and troubles or morals. This is a novel that lets its reader puzzle on meaning and interpretation.

This is fantasy, as you can tell by the title, because it deals with a pretend world, so it was just up my alley. If you have not read the first book, you need to in order to understand the plot and characters fully in this book. I highly suggest giving this book a read. 

Another Paranormal YA Romance

Cassandra Clare takes on her first YA novel with a series called “The Mortal Instruments”. Book One is City of Bones. You can tell this is a first novel. The crappy side of YA literature shines through in this attempt at writing.

I’m being harsh? Perhaps. But I’m tired of crap being pedaled off as Young Adult literature. It seems all authors have to do these days is come up with a paranormal romance plot, add a mysterious boy and a girl who discovers an alternate world she never knew existed, and BOOM! You got yourself a best seller. Why are they selling and so popular then if they’re crap, you ask? Well it’s because they’re compelling. You want to know what’s going to happen. They’re world building and that creates a mystery of what these other people, this other world, is like. So even though I found myself rolling my eyes while reading this book, I kept going because I had to hear the ending.

Clary is a fifteen year old whose world has just flipped on its side. She sees a murder of something not human by three teens who no one else can see except herself. Then a day later, her mother is kidnapped and Clary is attacked by a demon. Suddenly, her eyes are opened to a world that was hidden to her from birth: the world of the Clave, Shadowhunters who are descended from angels to protect humans from demons. She meets Jace, a mysterious Shadowhunter with golden locks, who brings her into his world and helps her find her mother, who has been stolen by Valentine, a Nazi-esque ex-Shadowhunter.

Ok I’ll start with the good, so you don’t think I’m a one sided bitch. The plot is a rich one, kind of Constantine-esque (the movie with Keanu Reeves). I wanted to read the book when I found out it is being made into a movie. There’s a lot to build on in this plot: God versus Satan, the ultimate good versus evil, creepy and frightening creatures, and a world that encompasses so many aspects of the supernatural. This is a plot that keeps moving and keeps you interested. I completely understand why the book is popular.

Now the bad!! Goody goody, there’s so much to say. First I need to go with the characters. I didn’t feel attracted or sympathetic with any of them. They were so 2D. There was nothing that felt real about them.  As in a lot of YA novels, their emotions were so overly dramatic and their characteristics were stereotypical. The mysterious, hot guy who tries to shut out the world until the main character comes around. O wait he’s sarcastic. Who would have guessed!? The girl who’s artistic and doesn’t feel like she really belongs…because she doesn’t! Wow. Revolutionary!  The main guy, Jace, is the mysterious warrior man, but upon meeting Clary, our main character, he just starts telling her about this secret world. REALLY!!?? If he’s so secretive why is he doling out this information to a complete stranger? It feels like it’s going against the character’s personality and against the underworld society.

The plot. Warning, I’m going to spoil the plot here so STOP reading if you do not want to hear it. Clare, the author, stole from Star Wars! She took that whole Luke and Leia plot line and put it in her book along with the whole evil father part. First, dude, you can’t just steal stuff from Star Wars and then crap on it. Not Cool. Second, what is up with incest as a plot line these days? Creepy. O and Clare completely cops out on the religion aspect of the story. Obviously if there are demons, there is a demon leader, i.e. Satan, and if there is a Hell and a Satan, then there is a Heaven and angels (Newton’s Law). I mean the Shadowhunters are supposedly descended from angels, but Clare denies the existence of one God. Instead, Jace doesn’t know if he believes in God and no one actually knows if angels exist. Come on Clare! If you’re going to write a book that’s essentially about angels and demons, you got to adopt some sort of overarching belief. I don’t care if it’s the Flying Spaghetti Monster and his beer volcano, but there needs to be a heaven and a hell, thus rulers of both.

The writing. The story is narrated from Clary’s perspective. She is the main character, and as the reader, you’re discovering everything at the same time she is. That makes sense. I got angry when out of the blue, one chapter was partially written from Jace’s perspective. Then back to Clary’s. You can’t just throw that in out of nowhere! Come on! The writing was juvenile. He said, she said. Discovering characters' names, personalities, and plot points in the most obvious of ways. There was no artistry here.

I’ll give Clare props for putting out a bestselling first novel, but that’s about it. My coworker tells me Clare’s “Infernal Devices” series is much better, and after giving myself some time away from this genre, I think I’ll give her other series a read. I know many people love this series. People also enjoy bathroom humor. It has its audience, but it’s certainly not polished or thoughtful.

This was a very long review. Sorry, I just needed to get that venom out of my system and onto the internet. You’re welcome world!

Falling Stars

A star falls from the sky and puts action into motion in Neil Gaiman's adult fairy tale, Stardust. You see, in Faery, a star is not just a lump of heavenly rock, but a woman. Tracking this woman are a witch, brothers seeking their birth right, and a love sick young man. Faery is a place where trees can be helpful or harmful, and magic and strange creatures lurk around corners.

The novel moved quickly. Adventures were not drawn out and characters were not overly complicated. Although I felt each character had much more to say and do in their time, Gaiman did not spend much time getting into the complexity of each person. He did a good job of holding a balance between giving details and keeping the plot moving. I felt he could have gone into more depth, but I was happy for a shorter read that took me through the fantastical land of Faery. There was one scene, when a unicorn is murdered, that was a little disturbing and went into more detail than necessary.

I listened to the book and thought it was a well done reading. Gaiman was the narrator and I’m always intrigued and somewhat put on guard when the author reads their own work. Some authors don’t know when to give control over to an actor who will read it better, but Gaiman was wonderful. He has a lovely voice and read the book well. I would recommend listening to this if you enjoy books on tape.

Overall, I would recommend this to a reader who enjoys fantasy novels. It felt like a Young Adult novel, but it did brush on more adult language and scenarios at points, so I’d say this is aimed at ages 15-adult. It was not one of my all-time favorite reads, but it was fun and easy. If you enjoy Neil Gaiman’s writing, I would suggest you try The Graveyard Book which is about a boy raised by ghosts. If you enjoy adult fairy tales and magic, I would suggest author Patricia Wrede. She writes alternative fairy tales along with books about magic in an alternative pioneer setting. 

Castles and Comfort

Winter brings out the romantic in me. Not so much lovey-dovey romance, but the romantic spirit, like Byron or Shelly. I want to read a book while cuddled up and drinking a warm beverage, preferably in a mountain cabin with a roaring fire in the hearth. You get the picture. This mood makes me want a sweet and atmospheric title, something typically in England and about rural life. Perfect timing for I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith.

Originally, this book was published in 1948, but it takes place in 1930s England. It is told as a 17 year old girl’s journal. Cassandra is a bright girl with hopes of becoming a writer. The Mortmains live in a castle, literally a castle with towers and a moat, that they have a 30 year lease on. Although once a successful writer, Mr. Mortmain is now an eccentric man who keeps to himself and reads detective novels alone in the gate house. He hasn’t written in years and the family is in dire straits without an income. The novel starts out with the family struggling to find money to live on. As the novel continues, adventures and new neighbors rouse the Mortmains from the doldrums and poverty.

Cassandra is an energetic, witty, and sweet narrator. She writes from her heart and is down to earth. The ending is bittersweet and I was surprised to find that it did not wrap up the way I expected. This was the perfect book for my mood. It is relaxed and atmospheric. I got the feel for the countryside and ancient castle. As in many journals I did question the author's truthfulness and her true character at first. You never know if journal writing makes the person more bold and energetic than their actual personality, but after several chapters and hearing about how Cassandra described situations she was in and conversations she had, I got the feel for her and came to really enjoy and trust her.

Originally, I was a bit bored with the book. It was slow and didn't seem to be developing into anything other than a desperate family searching for a way out of their needy situation. After about 30-50 pages, however, the plot started to develop and Cassandra hit her stride in writing.

I very much enjoyed this novel. It was pleasant and lovely. The narration was one of my favorite parts and the characters were memorable. I enjoyed the eccentric family and Cassandra’s details about them. The last chapter of the book was so well done and the last lines will forever remain in my memory. 

If this is a novel you enjoyed as well, try reading The Montmaray Journals by Michelle Cooper. They are also about an impoverished family who use to be something more. The novel is written as a journal from young Sophia’s perspective. If you want something a little more offbeat, but still a coming of age story in an eccentric atmosphere, try Swamplandia! by Karen Russell. I would certainly tell any Jane Austen lovers to give this one a read as well and vice versa.