Natasha Solomons

From my blog:

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Edelweiss Plus for the ARC for review consideration.

Rosaline is willful and energetic and loves the outdoors, which is not what Verona requires of a young noblewoman. After falling for Romeo, Rosaline figures out that he is an unspeakably wicked predator who prefers young girls. However, the rot of corruption goes even deeper in the ruling powers of Verona, and Rosaline is determined to uncover the truth, and protect her cousin Juliet. The fact show more that Rosaline is about to be shipped off to the nearest nunnery by her hard-hearted father makes her vulnerable, which Romeo exploits.

Despite being pretty enraged about the story most of the time, I couldn’t put FAIR ROSALINE down, even far past my bedtime.

A hint of mystery and the need for Rosaline to play detective makes this retelling even more entertaining. While adding many elements to the Shakespearean tragedy, Solomons does not diverge from Shakespeare’s plot until the very end, and I loved how she did it. Very clever! show less

When her mother dies, young Rosaline Capulet is told that she must enter a convent. She negotiates a respite, determined to live a little and so gatecrashes a party held by the family's enemies, the Montagues. There Rosaline meets the handsome, older Rmoeo Montague and falls crazily in love. Romeo promises marriage but Rosaline hears rumours and is unsure so breaks it off. Then Romeo turns his eye on her younger cousin, Juliet.
I really loved this book! Solomons has taken a minor character show more from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and woven a whole story around her. Rosaline has no presence in the original play but here she is pivotal to a complete retelling of the story. Romeo comes across as a predator and Juliet a victim but the voices that are loudest are those of the women of Verona, powerless to the whiles of the men. show less

In Shakespeare's play, 'fair Rosaline', Juliet's cousin and Romeo's infatuation, does not appear in person or speak for herself. She is a plot device, created to bring the 'star cross'd lovers' together (Romeo sneaks into the Capulet house to meet Rosaline but falls for Juliet instead.) Natasha Solomons therefore had a pretty blank slate to create a backstory for Rosaline, but chose to base her personality on two other Shakespeare characters with the same name and turn her into a victim of a show more grooming ring involving Romeo and Friar Laurence.

Now, I'm all for holding men accountable for their crimes, even 400 year old fictional fuckboys, but I found this take on Shakespeare's play a bit of a stretch. Yes, Romeo dropped Rosaline for her thirteen year old cousin, which even the playwright had issues with, but turning him into some kind of pretty boy bait who ruins a string of girls in order for Friar Laurence to pimp them out to the rich men of Verona is - a lot. Rosaline turning amateur detective with the aid of the nuns, tracing biblical calling cards and sniffing out poison, also threw my suspension of disbelief into overdrive, although I admired her initiative and agency. Before the proverbial hits the fan, however, we have to plough through pages of teenage moping from the fair Rosaline, which, much like Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, reduced any sympathy I might have had for her.

A good idea carried too far. show less

The original UK title for this book, Mr Rosenblum's List: Or Friendly Guidance for the Aspiring Englishman, is so much better. I don't know why the publisher felt the need to change it.

Jakob "Jack" Rosenblum, his wife, and their infant daughter seek asylum in England just before World War II. Unfortunately, they find themselves treated poorly because of both their German accents and their Jewish surname. (I didn't realize that England "detained" citizens of German ancestry during WWII, much show more like the U.S.'s treatment of Japanese-Americans. Jack is released because he owns a carpet factory that has been turned over to the war effort.)

After the war, Mrs. Rosenblum is perfectly happy living in a predominately Jewish neighborhood in London, but Jack's greatest desire is to be a true Englishman. He initially follows a list of ways to assimilate provided by a local organization, but goes on to write his own list. The one item he's unable to complete is joining a golf club, so he decides to move out into the countryside and build his own. Various conflicts with the country farmers ensue.

For a long time, I really wasn't sure where this book was going. Certain events occur that indicate the ending will be a sad one: Jack's golf course being destroyed, Sadie nearly dying, Jack's course not being approved by the local council, etc. If you want to know the tone (but no details) of the ending: it all ends extremely conveniently and happily. It was a little too convenient for my taste.

In many ways, this book reminds me of [b:Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|6643090|Major Pettigrew's Last Stand|Helen Simonson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320539020s/6643090.jpg|6837577]: the English countryside setting, the golf club, class snobbery, treatment of immigrants, impending development of the land, etc. There is some humor in this book as well, but not to the extent I found in Major Pettigrew's dry wit. In general, I would say if you like [a:Helen Simonson|2995577|Helen Simonson|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1253622119p2/2995577.jpg], you will most likely enjoy Natasha Solomons. show less