Laura (lindsacl)'s 2012 Reading - Part 3

Our pond in early May, 2012
Observant visitors will notice a change in the landscape since February ...

Garden slideshows: (clickable thumbnails)
1) Progress in April & May, creating a new space behind our house (5 photos)
2) The same space in early July. Filling out nicely (8 photos).
1) 2)



My WikiThing contains my personal threads from a variety of LT groups and group reads, past & present. After 5 years here I felt like I needed an archive, even if it's only useful to me!

Long-term Project: Middlemarch - Books I & II | Book III | Book IV

Books completed ("details" jumps to location in this thread where review & links can be found)
21. A Game of Hide and Seek - details
22. A Dance to the Music of Time: Fourth Movement - details
23. Dark Fire - details
24. None to Accompany Me - details
25. The Sleeping Beauty - details
26. The Observations - details
27. Gone Girl - details
28. Salvage the Bones - details
29. Gillespie and I - details
30. The Song of Achilles - details
31. Angel - details
32. The Accidental - details
33. Homestead - details

Long-term Project: Middlemarch
Progress: Book III (Waiting for Death), 342 pages total
Source: Kindle
Why I'm reading this now: Three reasons:
- I watched last year's LT group read from the sidelines, and the very positive reactions encouraged me to read this doorstop of a book (~900 pages).
- Book blogger dovegreyreader is sponsoring a year-long group read, and I liked the idea of tackling Middlemarch in installments.
- Finally, this is a JanetinLondon Memorial Read. Janet was active in the group read, and loved the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's almost time for dovegreyreader's Team Middlemarch discussion of Book III, Waiting for Death. Doesn't that title sound ominous? Well, we certainly are waiting for the death of a certain elderly gentleman, since his estate may benefit others we have come to know. But there's much more going on in these 100 pages, and several lives hang in the balance. Young Fred Vincy got himself hopelessly in debt, and permanently damaged a relationship by borrowing money he could not repay. Then he was struck with typhoid fever, and I thought OK, that's the death we're waiting for then. But no, Dr. Tertius Lydgate saved the day by correcting the first diagnosis and making sure Fred received proper treatment. Whew! Fred lived to see another day.

Then Lydgate continued to prove his medical superiority in attending to Edward Casaubon, who suffered a heart attack shortly after returning from his honeymoon with Dorothea. Lydgate advised Casaubon to take it very easy, but chose not to share the severity of his condition. Instead, he told Dorothea that Edward's heart condition will kill him someday. Pretty tough news for our young bride, especially when it's expected she will keep a brave face and pretend everything is fine. So are we waiting for Casaubon's death then?

Will Ladislaw made a brief appearance from offstage, sending letters describing plans to visit his uncle (Casaubon). I suspect future entanglement between Ladislaw and Dorothea, but George Eliot has so far kept that at bay. Dorothea asked her father to reply to Ladislaw's letters, expecting him to warn off Ladislaw due to Casaubon's poor health. But her father offers him accommodation at his place instead! Now was that a tactical error on Dorothea's part, or will she be happy to see Ladislaw?

Meanwhile, Dorothea's sister has become engaged to Sir James Chettam. Lydgate and Rosamond Vincy are seen together often enough to spark widespread gossip about their possible engagement.

Oh, and that death we were waiting for? It was the elderly gentlemen after all, and not at all unexpected, but he does give a dramatic performance on his deathbed, so it was worth the wait. :)

I have high hopes for Book IV, Three Love Problems, because of its spicier title and all the groundwork laid in Waiting for Death. Like Book III, the next book is a bit over 100 pages spread out over 10 chapters. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to approach this. With Book III, I decided to read a segment each time I finished one of my other books. But I found I left too much time between Middlemarch reading sessions. Each time I sat down to read, I had to flip back a few pages to reconnect with the story. For Book IV, I'm going to set a weekly goal of (pages or chapters), and make sure I stick to it. We'll see how it works.

Morning Laura- Hey, I'm first! The rewards for an early bird! I NEED to get to Middlemarch one of these days. Enjoy your day.

Whoa, what a beautiful garden you're creating! Just lovely.

Enjoying the recap of MM - it's an amazing book. I'm always seeing Casaubon or Lydgate or someone in everything I see now.....

Laura - congrats on your latest thread. Bit disappointed that your photos haven't loaded onto my computer - hopefully later

1: Observant visitors will notice a change in the landscape since February ...

Yikes. Suddenly it's growing. Do you have to maintain it, or can it be wild? ("Yikes" was never my response to spring, until I owned a lawn.)

Gardening enthusiasts, here's a slideshow of a new garden space behind our house.

I noted also the helpful site plan.

Perhaps you'd be interested in this group, where gardening journals are sprouting: www.librarything.com/groups/gardensbooks.

Beautiful garden layout. It helped a lot to have those two little chairs near the balcony - the area is bigger than I first thought. Lovely.

Love how green your pond area is! Looks lovely

Hello Mark (early bird), Amber, Lucy, Paul, Katherine, Judy and Chelle! Whew!

Yes Mark, you do need to read Middlemarch someday. My Sparknotes-style posts don't count!

Lucy, that's funny but I could see how it would happen. My husband and I are doing that now with certain characters from A Dance to the Music of Time.

Paul, I hope you can see the photos on your next visit!

As for the garden ... some of our property is left to "go wild" but the area in the photo does need regular tending.
Helpful site plan? Do you mean this?

I forgot all about it -- that's from when we bought the lot 8 years ago. The green rectangle is the house. The lawn immediately around the house gets mowed regularly, as lawns do. The perimeter of the pond needs mowing too, but for some reason less often. The hubster vows he will mow the pasture more frequently this summer than last, because if you don't it turns into a giant patch of multiflora rose.

The new garden is immediately behind the house and runs the length of it. The first photo shows its full length, taken from steps that lead down from the deck. I took the pond shot from about the same spot on the steps, but turned 90 degrees left. In other words, we'll be able to sit on the terrace and face the pond. We just had some outdoor furniture delivered today!

And no one noticed there's a tree missing from the pond photo! Sometime after my February picture we took it down, it was not a healthy tree.

Love the restful green of your pond area Laura, wonderful on the eyes.

I really enjoy Middlemarch and re-read it myself last year.

Hi Laura, thanks for the Middlemarch refresher. It reminded me of how much I loved the book. The garden looks like it will be a lovely addition to your home. It will be great to see its progress.

Hey! There's a tree missing from this side of the pond! (Well, I can't help it if I didn't get here in time to say so before you told everybody.)

Hello Caroline, Bonnie & Linda! Thanks for stopping by.

THERE WAS A COW BY OUR POND TODAY!

Our house is next to a cornfield which in turn is next to a pasture belonging to a dairy farm. One of the cows got loose today and wandered across the field into our yard. I was working from home when suddenly my dogs went ape. I ran around in a state of panic until I figured out how to reach the dairy farmer. The cow wandered off into our orchard (right near her pasture, she was clearly trying to figure out how to rejoin the herd), and a while later a crew showed up to fix whatever was wrong with the fence and get the cow back where she should be.

It was all quite funny, except for a few minutes when I was afraid she would come close to the house and trample all over our new garden.

21. A Game of Hide and Seek ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My Virago Modern Classics collection
Why I read this now: It's the monthly readalong for the Virago group's Elizabeth Taylor Centenary

Harriet and Vesey grew up together as playmates and friends. One summer while caring for Vesey's cousins, they realize their affection has blossomed into something more:

'I cannot put down what happened this evening,' she wrote mysteriously. 'Nor is there any need, for I shall remember all my life.' And, although she was so mysterious, she was right. Much in those diaries would puzzle her when she turned their pages in middle age, old age; many allusions would be meaningless; week after week would seem to have been wiped away; but that one entry, so proudly cryptic, would always evoke the evening in the woods, the shadows, the layers of leaves shutting out the sky, the bronze mosses at the of the trees, the floating sound their voices had, and that explosive, echoing cry of the cuckoo. (p.21-22)

But Vesey goes off to Oxford and Harriet remains at home. She picks up tidbits of news from his aunt and uncle, but they lose touch and eventually Harriet makes her own way. She finds a job in a gown shop, marries Charles, a respected business man, and they have a daughter, Betsy. Harriet thinks of Vesey often, but for the most part she is a reasonably happy wife and mother.

Until one day, nearly 20 years later, when Harriet and Vesey run into each other at a dance. Dancing with Vesey, Harriet is overcome with memories and emotion. They do not see each other often -- Vesey is in the theatre, and travels around the country -- but they exchange letters and find reasons to meet anytime he is nearby. Charles feels Harriet's distance, but can neither draw her out nor express his own feelings. The strain rubs off on Betsy, too. Even though Harriet sees how differently people respond to her, she desperately wants to believe they're fine. It's just her, responding differently to them.

Taylor's writing is exquisite. The story unfolds very slowly, with the rich observational detail Taylor is known for. And it's emotionally intense as well. In the first part, the reader feels the pain of young love -- we want Harriet and Vesey to accept the love they feel for each other, and live happily ever after. We feel pain in the awkwardness of their parting, and the pain returns when they meet again in middle age. By that time, I had come to appreciate her marriage to Charles. I was caught up in Harriet's dilemma, simultaneously wishing for things that might have been, and wanting to maintain the comfort and security of her family life. The ending is ambiguous, and yet felt completely right.

In her biography, The Other Elizabeth Taylor, Nicola Beauman called this "Elizabeth's most flawless, most nearly perfect novel." I couldn't agree more.

Can now see the pond Laura and I am impressed. Your good review of another of Taylor's books reminds me that I need to start on her sometime soon.

Laura, I'm really enjoying seeing the pictures of your pond, and now your garden too, as the seasons change. You live in a beautiful place.

And that was another great review of A Game of Hide and Seek. I just thumbed it.

Catching up on new threads before they get too long seems my only hope of being up to date, these days. I love the photos and plans of your garden and am amazed by the size of it - that's quite a lot of land to look after, even if some of it is left to grow wild. And cows wandering in to take a look too! At least you don't have a moose loose, like Lucy!

I haven't read any Elizabeth Taylor yet - I've avoided the group read because I don't yet own a single one of her books in my VMC collection and I am trying to read some of the ones I do own before acquiring more. But I see I have good things in store when I do get round to her.

Lovely pictures, Laura! And your review of A Game of hide and Seek makes me that much more eager to get to it...

I picked up A Game of Hide and Seek a few months ago, Laura, and I'm looking forward to it even more after your review!

Hi Laura, love the garden plans. My plan is to try and maintain the two very small islands in which I'm trying to grow stuff! A cow by the pond. That's something we don't have a chance of seeing around here.

I have my first Elizabeth Taylor book home from the library. I'm excited! Your reviews have made her a must-read author.

Wonderful green! What a wonderful garden it's going to be! And I have to go back and look for the tree. I could say that I thought you had taken the picture from a different vantage, but that would be a lie.
A Game of Hide and Seek is a Taylor that I haven't read, and I don't know why I'm not reading it now - except that my ER ARC just arrived this afternoon, and everything else is on hold.

>16 PaulCranswick:: glad the pix came through that time, Paul!

>17 phebj:: thanks Pat. I think you may be the one who got me started on sharing photos of nearby nature ...

>18 gennyt:: Genny, welcome back! I admire your restraint in reading the VMCs you already have. Luckily I had all but one of Taylor's novels when this started and was able to rationalize acquiring the missing one!

>19 katiekrug:, 20: Katie, Rebecca, I do hope you enjoy it!

>21 Donna828:: I certainly didn't expect to see a cow by the pond, even though they are quite a common sight at the dairy farm nearby. Which Taylor are you starting with?

>22 LizzieD:: Peggy, would that ARC be Bring up the Bodies}? Get reading so you can tell us all about it!

Oh my 4.5 stars. I didn't think I could squeeze this one in this month Laura and I still don't but I think I'll have to get the book and at least make an attempt. Oh yes, thumb.

>24 brenzi:: My work is done. :)

I only have six Taylors and thought I would just stick with them but Hide and Seek sounds like a MUST. First MUST - FIND a copy!

I can't claim to have really noticed the missing tree -- but I did have a fleeting thought when I first looked at the photo that it was less 'cluttered' - not enough to go back and find out why.

22. A Dance to the Music of Time: Fourth Movement ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: On my shelves
Why I read this now: This is the last volume in a series, and I wanted to finish it.

I approached the fourth movement of A Dance to the Music of Time with mixed emotions. Having thoroughly enjoyed the first three volumes (rating each 4-5 stars), I was ready for more of the same. But I was also a bit sad to be coming to the end of the series, knowing I would have to leave Nick Jenkins and many, many other interesting characters behind. And things started off pretty well. The first novella, Books do Furnish a Room, was set in the post-war period, with Nick entering his forties. On a return visit to his university, he realizes:

The probability was that even without cosmic upheaval some kind of reshuffle has to take place halfway through life, a proposition borne out by the autobiographies arriving thick and fast -- three or four at a time at regular intervals -- for my review in one of the weeklies. ... their narrative supporting, on the whole, evidence already noticeably piling up, that friends, if required at all in the manner of the past, must largely be reassembled at about this milestone. The changeover might improve consistency, even quality, but certainly lost in intimacy; anyway that peculiar kind of intimacy that is consoling when you are young, though probably too vulnerable to withstand the ever increasing self-regard of later years. (p. 3)

Reading these opening pages prompted reflection on the past decade of my life, having just left my forties this year. I found I could relate to Nick in a different way than before. Books do Furnish a Room brought new characters into the dance, along with familiar faces like Kenneth Widmerpool, who was introduced in the very first novella and has reappeared in unusual situations, usually when you would least expect it.

Unfortunately, Anthony Powell wrote two more novellas after Books do Furnish a Room. I found them a slog. Reading Temporary Kings and Hearing Secret Harmonies was a lot like watching a favorite television series that has gone past its prime. The dance metaphor failed to work as well, mostly because so many important characters were lost in the war. Powell brought in new characters Nick supposedly knew twenty years before, but being unknown to the reader these encounters lacked spark. In addition, Powell's writing was strongest in the earlier books, which covered the 1920s through 1940s. In Hearing Secret Harmonies, published in 1975 and set in the 1960s, Powell comes across as a crotchety old man who couldn't understand what those crazy hippie kids were up to. The plot became outlandish, I lost interest, and the last book became a forced march to the finish.

However, when I step back and think about the twelve novellas in their entirety, this is an amazing body of work depicting a specific slice of England in an enormously readable and enjoyable way.

That's an excellent review, Laura. I have the first two movements on my shelves and am trying to find the right time to begin the dance....

Now I know that I have to reread *Dance*! I don't remember what I thought of the last two volumes, so I need to get busy so that I can find out. I suspect that you're right, though.
Meanwhile, Bring Up the Bodies is entertaining me a lot more than Wolf Hall did. I'm not sure whether it's a result of HM's dumbing down her writing or of my being accustomed to her style. I am liking the fact that Cromwell's nephew, son, adopted son, etc. are older and able to interact with him at home. They are very witty. Jane Seymour is not, and contrasting her with Anne Boleyn is effective. I don't quite know how HM does it: the characters are deeply observed and yet remain great mysteries. I like it! I probably even love it!!

Hi There

Thanks for posting such lovely photos.

Oh that's unfortunate that Dance ended on a sour note for you Laura;-) I'm going to read this at some point but I'm kind of excited that I will be starting Olivia Manning's The Balkan Trilogy after I finish my present book.

Hi Katie, Peggy, Linda & Bonnie!
Glad to hear the new Mantel is so good. I'm really looking forward to reading it.
I've never read The Balkan Trilogy Bonnie, so I will eagerly await your reviews!

23: I certainly didn't expect to see a cow by the pond
The cow probably didn't expect it so much either.

28: This is the last volume in a series, and I wanted to finish it.
Congrats! What are you taking on next?

>34 qebo:: now that you mention it, the cow did seem a bit bewildered.
And as for your second question Katherine, the other series I'm working on at the moment are the Matthew Shardlake mysteries by C.J. Sansom, set in the Tudor period. I'm currently reading the second in the series, Dark Fire. It's just the thing for me right now, not too heavy but not fluff either.

Interesting take on the last two volumes which I read rather differently..... and found, in some ways, the most meaningful. Widmerpool felt to me to be the key to everything. He avidly partakes and reflects every social trend while Nick hangs back observing .... becoming increasingly alienated, baffled and bemused. What I admired in the end was that Powell doesn't judge. But for me, Widmerpool's life, took on a dimension that Nick's did not, which I think Powell meant for me to do.

That's interesting, Lucy. I found humor in Widmerpool, in the way he always seemed to turn up when I least expected it. I can see where Powell intended us to derive "meaning" from his character, and from the juxtaposition of Widmerpool and Nick. Widmerpool makes completely different life choices, and therefore ends up in a very different place. But then I thought Nick's "hanging back" was more of a literary device -- he did very little but all the action revolved around him as observer.

I love thinking about books.

"I love thinking about books."

Me too, Laura!

I enjoyed your review of the last dance. In a work of that size, there are sure to be a few letdowns. It's the complete picture that's important, and it sounds like the Dance was a good experience overall. I can't help thinking about long books I've read such as War and Peace and, yes, Infinite Jest. There were dry parts and challenging aspects in both of them, but I'm so glad they are part of my reading history.

Hi Laura. Congratulations on finishing A Dance to the Music of Time! I've started A Game of Hide and Seek and hope to make it over to the discussion thread this time.

In all that I forgot to add CONGRATS for finishing such a long and involved work - I remember when you began!

Very interesting thoughts re. the *Dance* books. And reading the quote, once again I realized I need to reread vols 1-3, I missed most of those reflection parts, because those long and complicated sentences are not made for listening.
Congratulations for finishing them all!

Oh, and I am glad to see that at least Widmerpole will still be around in the last 3 volumes.

Have I said? When I lent my copies of *Dance* to a friend, I'd call and say, "What are you doing?" She'd say, "Oh, I'm Widmerpooling."

Thanks for keeping the glow of my accomplishment going y'all! And Peggy, special thanks to you for introducing me to *Dance* in the first place.

I've been reading C.J. Sansom's Dark Fire this week. Bodies everywhere, people dropping like flies. When will Matthew Shardlake figure out what's going on? I haven't a clue myself.

I just finished it myself. I had it partially right which of course means that the solution isn't that simple.

I need to re-read the first two books in the series. I don't think I became a devotee until book #3!

Bring up the Bodies is just fab... There was a discussion today on a Historical Fiction page on FB, with some folks being a bit sniffy about what they see as the "literary fireworks" and talking about their being a "party line" because WH did so well. I'm like, what party line?? I just thought it was a great book! It immersed me so deeply in the time and place that I struggled to get out again. I can't wait to see whether Mantel thinks Jane Seymour is really a bovine creature, or whether there's a deeply buried Machiavellian side to her. Oh why oh why can't I read volume 3 NOW???

Bravo, re "Dance", Laura! One of those accomplishments that only other book geeks truly understand. ;)

23. Dark Fire ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My shelves
Why I read this now: I was looking for something light after my recent reads.

Dark Fire is the second in the Matthew Shardlake mystery series. Shardlake, a lawyer, is capable enough to be occasionally retained by Thomas Cromwell, but his work also takes him to the darker, poorer areas of London. In this book he's juggling two such disparate cases. First, he's called in to defend Elizabeth Wentworth, a young woman accused of murdering her cousin Ralph by throwing him down a well. Elizabeth refuses to speak to anyone, behavior which can only lead to a guilty verdict and death. The court wants to deal with the case quickly -- after all, there are hundreds more waiting. But Cromwell needs Shardlake on another case, and uses his power to buy time for Elizabeth.

Cromwell's case is by far the more interesting of the two, and concerns a mysterious substance capable of generating intense, destructive fire. Known as Greek Fire or Dark Fire, the substance could be an important weapon in the King's quest for power. Cromwell is under pressure to stage a demonstration for King Henry VIII. Dark Fire is known to be available in limited quantity, but its properties are not well understood, and the formula has been stolen. Cromwell offers Jack Barak as an assistant to Shardlake, and the two set off to learn as much as they can about the origins of Dark Fire and the people currently controlling its use in London. Shardlake finds himself moving in new, influential circles, as a guest at banquets hosted by the aristocratic Lady Honour. Unlike most people, who see his hunchback as evidence of inferiority, Honour treats him with respect. The banquets give Shardlake the opportunity to observe others who are influential in the case, including Cromwell's rival, the Duke of Norfolk.

This being a murder mystery, it's not too long before bodies start dropping right and left. The plot is quite tangled, and it's difficult to tell who's on the side of good vs. evil. Meanwhile, Shardlake continues to stay connected to Elizabeth's case. There are a few leads to follow up on, and some surprise developments. Thankfully progress is glacial, because he really has his hands full chasing down Dark Fire. Along the way, C. J. Sansom provides the reader with rich detail that brings 16th-century London to life. The summer heat exacerbated odors associated with human habitation; women held bouquets of posies close to their faces to mask the smell. Sanitation techniques were primitive: at one point Lady Honour casually warned an attendant to "watch out for that turd," and I realized this was probably a fairly common occurrence (ewww...!). I also enjoyed the book's historic context (summer of 1540 ... Thomas Cromwell ... anyone?), and the way everyday murder and mayhem touched the controversies of King Henry VIII's court.

I liked your review, Laura. I'm glad you mentioned the ummm...unsanitary nature of the times. Sansom doesn't pretty things up for his readers. I enjoy the realism of his descriptions, although his mysteries can get pretty convoluted and contrived.

Thumb for that review Laura. You nailed it especially well and I found the history of Dark Fire (all true) really interesting. I do love the way Sansom puts his mysteries together.

Great review, Laura. I liked the book for the same reasons as you, though I do remember feeling it was longer than it needed to be and being more than ready to move onto something else by the time I finished!

Donna, Bonnie, and Dee ... I agree he runs on a bit and the mysteries can get contrived. One thing I noticed in this book, but couldn't work into my review without sounding petty, is overuse of the phrase "hue and cry." Everything caused a hue and cry, honest to god. It drove me nuts after a while. Made me want to scoop a turd out of the Thames and fling it at Sansom. :)

51: hue and cry
Funny how overuse of a word or phrase grates once you notice it, though I can't say I've ever been tempted to your reaction. I notice it in my own writing too, after I've set it aside for awhile. This is the job of an editor. I'm keeping an eye on the series...

I find I just gallop through these books so their length hasn't particularly bothered me--he is an academic and long-windedness is an occupational hazard. The historical accuracy pleases me (I just lose it when people are eating potatoes in Arthurian novels), turds included. Never even noticed "hue and cry"! I think I must overuse certain phrases too so maybe I'm inured to it.

Oh yes, the Shardlake series! I quite liked the first two and really should get to #3 soon. Would be a nice summer read. I wonder if Sansom would have timed his books differently had he known about the upcoming Cromwell hype with the Mantel trilogy.

#54 The first Shardlake novel came out about 9 years ago, so Sansom was way ahead of Mantel on the "Cromwell hype" curve. How do you think he might have timed them differently? I think the Tudor era has always made an intriguing setting for fiction. Shardlake and Mantel have really taken it to a high level, in their different ways.

24. None to Accompany Me ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My shelves
Why I read this now: This has been on my TBR for four years ...

Set in barely post-apartheid South Africa, this is primarily the story of Vera Stark, who has spent her career working for a legal foundation as an advocate for housing rights. Her longevity makes her an unofficial executive director, and she commands tremendous respect. While Vera and her work are at the center of this book, it is also a moving portrait of two marriages. Vera is a strong woman, and fiercely independent. Her husband Ben needs her more than she needs him. Vera's past figures heavily in her present, and in her relationship with Ben. Vera and Ben have very liberal views about race, and are long-time friends with a black South African couple, Sibongile (Sally) and Didymus Maqoma. Sally and Didy have only recently returned from exile, and in a surprise turn of events Sally is elected to an important post, and Didy finds himself on the sidelines.

Several threads run concurrently through this book. One of Vera's black colleagues, Oupa, shows the reader a different layer of black society from that of Didy and Sally, and presents one of the more moving parts of the novel. Vera and Ben's adult children have relationships and challenges of their own, and intersect with the parents' lives in interesting ways. Sally and Didy's daughter Mpho is a teenager, causing her parents angst as she comes of age. And then there's Vera and Ben, whose relationship appears unshakable, but is actually threatened by a number of forces.

Nadine Gordimer also has a lot to say about the political structure taking shape in her country at the time of publication (1994), and its effect on everyday people. I suspect there were nuances in the text that went completely over my head. Deeper knowledge would have helped me appreciate the political context underpinning this study of characters and relationships.

#55: Sorry - only saw the post today. Yes, I know and it is just a guess that - had Wolf Hall appeared earlier and had Sansom known about the upcoming Cromwell hype (which he couldn't) - he might have set another 2 or 3 novels before July 28th 1540, giving the reader the opportunity to see some more of Cromwell in his role as Shardlake's employer.
In Mantel's books we see the world through Cromwell's eyes and it's interesting to see him from the perspective of a dependent person who must fear him. I read books 1 and 2 of the series shortly after Wolf Hall and wished I could see more of Sansom's take on this fascinating character.

#57 Yes, that would have been interesting, wouldn't it? Endlessly fascinating.

I do so agree, but you have now driven me to Revelation which I am going to start immediately. Thank you!!
Lovely reviews as always, Laura! You make me want to read more Gordimer, so I will - but not now. I'm busy with Sansom.

Gordimer's novels always seem so thought provoking on several levels, don't they? Like Peggy, I now want to read more Gordimer and think I probably will before the end of the summer. I must be lacking in imagination but I prefer to read books set in hot countries when it's warmer here!

Gordimer definitely requires thought and concentration. I had to work to get into the book and while there were aspects of it that were just OK, there was something that really tugged at me too.

there were aspects of it that were just OK, there was something that really tugged at me too.

That was my experience with the last two of hers that I read!

Gordimer has the same effect on me -- she really did shape my views about the role of whites in race relations and ultimately how important it is to participate. She wrote an amazing story I read so long ago, I may have been barely out of my teens, that blew my mind completely - that was about a very pretty white girl who becomes involved in the apartheid movement -- all about the complexities of this -- of her motives, of the responses of those around her -- Gordimer nails the whole thing, and it is a very uncomfortable read, but then leaves you with this understanding that the girl is, in fact, heroic, but in an entirely unexpected way. Brilliant.

Laura - Gordimer is a difficult but rewarding read. Love her short stories which cut straight to the core of things superbly (Lucy, great post btw) and I have read July's People earlier. Am going to read her celebrated award winner The Conservationist this year and am not expecting an easy time!

Thanks for the Gordimer encouragement. I have another of hers on my TBR gathering dust ...

Great review - and the subsequent discussion encourages me to get to know Gordimer's works. But it sounds as though it may not be easy going. Any suggestions on where best to start?

Helen

Thank you Helen! This is only the second of her books that I've read. My introduction to Gordimer was The Conservationist, which I chose simply because it won the Booker Prize and I was on a quest to read all of the winners. But I actually liked this one a bit more, because I really got into Vera's mind in a way I could not with the male protagonist in The Conservationist. So, that's just my two cents, I wish I had a broader perspective to offer!

I just delurked since that is the fashion these days, but I don't have any real Gordimer expertise at all. Wish I did!

Peggy, you're always welcome!!

In the meantime, I've read June's Elizabeth Taylor novel, The Sleeping Beauty, but am holding off on my review because I'm also facilitating the discussion.

Now reading Jane Harris' The Observations, although this weekend has been too busy for reading.

Thanks Paul -- i should find that story, it forms the backbone of my own ethical code; there's a Truman Capote story too, about not boasting or exaggerating - it's non-fiction, actually, from a trip he took with a ballet company touring Russia in the 50's, whenever I'm tempted I recall Capote's scorn for the jerk on the train, bloviating away.

Lucy your Truman Capote reference reminded me of Philip Seymour Hoffman, who played Capote in the biopic, and I was reminded of him because yesterday the hubster and I saw Hoffman as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman on Broadway. He was AMAZING. We went to the matinee performance; the show closed last night. I read the play in high school but the written word doesn't deliver nearly the power of a performance.

We just watched Capote last night...I'm not sure why it's taken us so long to get around to it. What a performance that was by PSH. I wish I could have seen him in Death of Salesman, but then Dustin Hoffman's performance in the movie a few years back would be hard to replace in my mind.

#70 Lucy, do you remember the name of the Capote piece you're referring to or what collection it might be in?

Lucky folks to see great performances in Death of a Salesman. I've seen three or four productions, but not the two you've named.

Some years ago, Brian Dennehy took his turn with in on Broadway, and it was wonderful and revelatory. I'm sorry I missed the Dustin Hoffman one - most of the time Willie is cast as a physically big man, mainly (I think) because the first cast starred Lee J. Cobb and that set the image. Hoffman's stature would have made a difference. Dennehy had an uncanny ability to show the sexual energy between Willie and Laura, which I saw in no other casting - it made their relationship make so much sense.

I'm sorry to have missed Dennehy's performance too----I wish more Broadway productions were preserved on film. But I know a lot of the actors don't agree about that.

Lincoln Center Library often does film Broadway shows, but the direction for a stage play is often not useful for film. The one general exception I must make is for the efforts of LTLive. If you haven't heard of it, I suggest you check out the website. The National Theater records live current productions and makes them available on specific days in movie houses across the globe. For instance, the brilliant production of last year's new play "Frankenstein" is being reprised this coming week in movie houses. Check the website for a venue near you. It usually costs $15 for what amounts to the best seat in the house, and this production in particular took our combined breath away. The casting includes the two leads, the 'creature' and Dr. F, switching roles each night. We're going back to see the casting we didn't see last time.

We've seen several of them, and none were less than satisfying, although they do vary from B toA++++ (in the case of Frankenstein and another play "The Collaborator"). Recommended to everyone.

72 - Linda - That took some digging around to find!-- The essay appears (or is the whole book?) in The Muses Are Heard when he travelled around Russia with a company that was putting on Porgy and Bess in 1956. The real issue is when and where did I pick up the book. I know I don't own it - and I know I was in my very early 20's if that. I'm going to add it to my library right this minute!

Please excuse the hijack Laura!

Thank you for going to the trouble to identify the title for me, Lucy! I have The Muses are Heard in the anthology, The Dogs Bark. I was hoping it might be part of that. I'm taking it off to bed now, to read some of it. Is this a wonderful community or what????

Very interesting thread hijacks going on here!
>73 ffortsa:: Dennehy had an uncanny ability to show the sexual energy between Willie and Laura, which I saw in no other casting ... didn't happen with PSH either. It was hard to see why she put up with him except that was just what wives did in that time period.

Funny, but both Brian Dennehy and PSH are actors for whom I have an illogical (i.e. no reason for it at all) hatred. Just can't stand either of them. Silly, I know. I do agree with you, Laura, about plays and the written word - it's just not the same to read them and not see them performed. Makes it difficult to teach them, really.

My father has suffered some sort of Parkinsons-related dementia incident and was hospitalized today. My brother and I are both heading to Ohio tomorrow to deal with his care, with my mother, and with all related issues like housing. I may be completely absent or I may check in here to keep my sanity. Time will tell.

Thinking of you....

Oh my. Good, I'd expect, that you brother will be there too.

I'm sorry, Laura. I hope when you get there that you find it's not as bad as you fear. I'll keep you and yours in my prayers.

Oh Laura I'm sorry to hear that. I'll be thinking of you.

I'm so so sorry, Laura. I'll be keeping you and yours in my thoughts.

Oh Laura, sending all my best thoughts and wishes.

Me, too.

oh, that's tough. I hope your plans fall into place quickly and with as good results as possible.

I'm so sorry Laura, what terrible news! Sending good thoughts your way.

Sending good wishes....

Sending you some positive thoughts!

Hope all is well with you and your father, Laura. I'm glad your brother will be there for support. I'm thinking of your whole family. ((Hugs))

Really sorry to read your news Laura. Good luck for the next few days.

So sorry to hear the news about your father Laura. Will be thinking of you this weekend.

Thanks everyone, I'm in Ohio with my family now. Dad's doing OK all things considered, but I don't think my dad is ever coming back to the house he and my mom have lived in the past 20 years. My brother and I have to help them with a lot of important decisions.

I really appreciate all the supportive comments -- you guys are great!

#95 I'm glad your Dad is ok but it's sad news to hear he may not be able to live at home anymore.

It sounds as if you and your brother have been a great support for your parents. Not an easy time for any of you!

This is tough -- I just erased a whole paragraph about it -- you don't need to hear about this now. Hang in there.

This is always such a difficult time of life. I'll continue to keep you in my thoughts as you wrestle with this Laura. I hope your brother is as helpful to you as it sounds.

Again, I greatly appreciate the support from everyone here -- just further testimony to the wonderful community that is LibraryThing. I'm not doing a lot of reading but I'm going to add a couple of entries here to keep things up-to-date.

25. The Sleeping Beauty ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My Virago Modern Classics Collection
Why I read this now: It's the June read for the Elizabeth Taylor Centenary, and I'm hosting a discussion on my blog.

Elizabeth Taylor's sixth novel is unusual, in that it has a male protagonist. Vinny Tumulty is a fifty-ish man living under the thumb of his domineering mother. He has a large number of women friends, having been unable to muster the passion required to turn friendship into romance. In the opening pages, Vinny has come to the aid of his recently widowed friend Isabella, who lives in the aptly named seaside town of Seething. Early on, Taylor makes sure we know Vinny is not one to learn from his mistakes:

Nearing fifty, Vinny felt more than ever the sweet disappointments only a romantic knows, whose very desires invite frustration; … Past and future to him were the realities; the present dull, meaningless, only significant if, as now, going back along the sands, he could say to himself: ‘Later on, I shall remember.’ To link his favourite tenses in such a phrase was to him the exhalation of romance, and the fact that such phrases had preceded all his disappointments, heralded all the counterfeit and treachery he had worked or suffered, could not detract from its magic. He disdained to learn from so drab a teacher as Experience. (p.22)

While visiting Isabella, Vinny spies the young and beautiful Emily, the "sleeping beauty" of the title. He makes a point of meeting her, and is smitten. Emily lives a reclusive life with her sister Rose, who runs an inn. Emily's primary responsibility is caring for Rose's daughter, Philly, who suffers from developmental disabilities and will likely never live independently. Rose is repressed and insecure, resenting her sister's good looks while being "obsessed by sex as only those who fear it can be." As Vinny and Emily's relationship develops she becomes increasingly agitated and resentful. But Vinny has a secret in his past, that threatens his plans for wedded bliss with Emily. As he is trying to defuse the situation, others are trying to bring it to light.

The Sleeping Beauty is a richly layered story with several sub-plots that could easily have been short stories or novels in their own right. There is of course Rose, who is alone even though she is surrounded by others. A bevy of middle-aged women give comic relief through their past-times and attitudes. Isabella's son, Laurence, is a moody character study and his romance with a girl in town runs along in parallel to Vinny & Emily, providing contrast as well as depth. These threads become intertwined as Vinny becomes further involved with Emily, and the book appears to be heading towards a dramatic conclusion. However, the ending left a lot unanswered for me. This is characteristic of Taylor, who doesn't go in for high drama, and as with her earlier work it has kept me reflecting on The Sleeping Beauty long after I turned the last page.

26. The Observations ()
No review
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: Lots of people raved about it during Orange January.

I pride myself on reviewing every book I read, but circumstances are such that I just can't get into it right now. Especially for a book that started strong, but disappointed me by the end. I enjoyed the main character but I kept waiting for a "wow" in the story and it never came.

Laura, just popping back in with more support - keep a good heart.

I didn't like The Observations that much.

102: I loved Bessie but thought the plot was weak. I kept expecting a clever twist or turn of plot which never came!

I hope things are going okay, Laura.

Exactly, Dee.
And yes, things are going ok. Heading out to visit assisted living facilities now. Have a good day, all.

Thinking of you.

I went quiet for a few days here, so I thought I'd post a brief update.

On the family front, my dad has been discharged from the hospital and moved directly into a continuous care community. He requires anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months of nursing care, a sort of rehabilitation period with intent to move to assisted living at the same location. We are working on arrangements for my Mom now. While she knows she cannot / should not live alone at home, she is balking at the thought of moving into an assisted living facility. I think this is mostly about coming to terms with a reality she wasn't prepared for, so it's an emotionally difficult time for all concerned. My brother is still on the scene, trying to deal with all of this. We exchange messages during the day and usually talk in the evening -- a recap of the situation and somewhat of a therapy session for him. Yesterday was a rough day, because it was both his wedding anniversary and Father's Day, and he was unable to be with his family. It's all rather sad and stressful, and it's hard for us to accept, too. I'm sad about things they will no longer be able to do and places they will no longer be able to go. I hope after some time they will have established new relationships at their new home and feel liberated by no longer having to manage a household. But that seems a long way off right now. The silver lining is that this has brought my brother and I closer together. We made a good team while I was in Ohio, and I feel good about working through things in partnership.

On the reading front, I started Salvage the Bones which is very well-written, but I know it's heading for some heavy/ominous stuff. Then I got caught up in the "buzz" about Gone Girl, a crime novel, and picked it up on impulse yesterday (taking advantage of daughter's B&N employee discount!). I am well into the story now and hooked. I'll come back to Salvage the Bones later when I feel up to it.

Hi Laura- Thanks for the update! I'm glad things seem to be stabilized at the moment, even if there are some big decisions yet to be made.
I can't wait to try Salvage the Bones and I also ordered Gone Girl. I should get it any time now.

I was wondering how things were going, but you and your brother have made great progress in a short amount of time. It's good that the two of you work well together and have the same goals, and that a continuous care place is available.

I went through this with my sibs, and it did bring us closer. And that helped a lot. (I'm more in the position of your brother regarding my mom, but my sibs are very supportive, and it helps that my brother is an MD and can talk the MD talk when necessary.) It's definitely had a positive effect on my relationship with my sister - we are much closer now and more forgiving of each other than before.

Things are sure to settle down as your mother accepts the situation. And I've found that the continuous care facility takes a huge burden of worry off our shoulders, as I'm sure it will yours. It was and continues to be a great help to my family.

I'm thinking of you and your family, Laura, as you go through making these difficult decisions. I hope your mother becomes more accepting of the idea of receiving help. After going through this with my parents, I have vowed to be cooperative when my time comes. Actually, with the quality of facilities in this area, I'm somewhat looking forward to it. I just hope I can still enjoy reading in my dotage!

You know my thoughts are with you.

#108 Thanks for the update Laura. I'll be thinking of you all - those are tough decisions to make. I'm glad your brother is there to share them with you.

The transition sounds about as caringly and competently managed as could be, and the relationship with your brother is a significant silver lining.

Several years ago my parents moved to a retirement community with tiers of care. For now they have a house, without the burden of maintenance, and round the clock staff on call in case of trouble. They made the decision so their children wouldn't have to, for which I am grateful, and so far their health has been fine, but all of us are mentally shifting to the what ifs, and I'm alert to reports of friends and acquaintances.

Hi Laura, I'm so far behind with peoples 75 challenge threads. Reading can be a reasuring retreat and respite when there are heavy duty emotional and family issues to contend with.

Need to pull an Elizabeth Taylor from the shelf this year, I have several I haven't yet read, and several I haven't yet got either.

My review of The Sleeping Beauty is now posted in message #100.

Hi Laura, it's so very hard to work through this family stuff but I'm glad yo have a supportive sibling to get through it with. I also hope your mother comes to see the wisdom of giving up on maintaining her old home although I know how very hard that is. Facing this type of situation is probably the hardest thing children have to do. I think you are doing remarkably well.

I found myself tearing up just thinking about what you are going through. That has been the silver lining, being closer to my siblings. I won't go into all the details, as they are endless (I have so many brothers and sisters it's ridiculous) but the most intense shift was with my bro. who lives in Chestnut Hill. He and I weren't so close (seven year diff.) friendly, but not close - but being on the scene we shared the work together and developed such a deep bond. We had a whole routine of calling after visiting my mother (mini stroke dementia) to 'debrief' and my bro always had wonderful jokes and could make me laugh and feel better, and I did my best to do the same for him. We spent hours and hours together playing cards in hospitals or just hanging out - and we both had such a sense of respect for each other at the end of it, that we were both, well, grown-ups, able to deal and behave.

This has to be very very hard for your mother - a change she might not have had to make for awhile.

Anyhow, I send you hugs and all my best wishes.

Lovely review of The Sleeping Beauty, Laura. I'm about 2 books behind with the whole thing!

27. Gone Girl ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: A recent impulse buy
Why I read this now: I first heard about it on a recent Books on the Nightstand podcast, and then began picking up more buzz. And then I just gave into temptation!

On her fifth wedding anniversary, Amy Dunne goes missing. A neighbor calls her husband Nick, to report the front door wide open and the cat out on the lawn. Nick rushes home from work, and inside the house he finds signs of a struggle. Police and detectives arrive and begin their investigation by questioning Nick. This seemed like a perfectly natural way to gather the first facts, but then Nick, as narrator, something that sent chills down my spine: "It was my fifth lie to the police. I was just starting."

Why did he lie? Which of his statements were true, and which false? Did Nick have a role in Amy's disappearance? This is just the beginning of an intense, fast-paced thriller. Nick and Amy tell their story in alternating chapters. Amy's chapters are diary excerpts beginning several years earlier, when she first met Nick. She describes their romance, their marriage, and the circumstances that caused them to move from New York City to Nick's hometown in Missouri. Meanwhile, Nick's chapters describe the investigation and more recent events in his life with Amy. By the time the two narratives converge, the reader has a complete picture of their marriage. Or do they?

Whenever I thought I was onto something important about Amy's disappearance, Gillian Flynn would take the plot in a dramatically new direction. Previous facts were shown to be fiction. Mysterious clues were explained, and seemingly normal events suddenly appeared suspicious. There's not much that can be said about Gone Girl without revealing critical plot details. Suffice to say this story of a troubled marriage, and the psychological drama between the couple, is a page-turner that will keep you guessing from start to finish.

Skipping this review... I am halfway through GG, into the second part and wish I could just hibernate with it and finish it in one big gulp but 'tis not to be :( It is really well done!

I like to have a few fast-paced psychological thrillers around for when I can't concentrate on anything else and your and Bonnie's reviews have made this one very tempting!

What Dee said :-) Very well-reviewed - tempting without giving anything away.

>122 Soupdragon:: this would be very good for that purpose, Dee. It was just the right thing for me, at a time when concentration was difficult.
>123 souloftherose:: thanks Heather!

You have convinced me that I need to read Gone Girl! It sounds great!

>125 ChelleBearss:: my work is done :)

Yep, adding it to the wishlist - sounds great!

Well, this is nice. I have a 19-year-old daughter who:
a) was swooning over the Anna Karenina trailer this past weekend (amazing cast, director, etc. ... to be released in the US in November)
b) feels compelled to read the book first
c) asked me, "who is that translator you recommend?" (Pevear and Volokhonsy, not because I've read their work, but because so many LTers have)
d) used her B&N employee discount to buy a copy today!!

I love having kids like that -- warms my heart!

128 : Apparently your work is pretty well done there too!

It will be interesting to see what she thinks of it. I reacted completely differently when I read it in my 50s compared to when I read it as a teenager.

But yes, what qebo said.

#130----Yes, dying for love doesn't have the romantic appeal it once did, does it?

Well, not just that, but also Anna's utter selfishness, plus not caring about family disruption.

>129 qebo:: ha! love it.
>130 rebeccanyc:: I reacted completely differently when I read it in my 50s compared to when I read it as a teenager.
Hmmm ... maybe we should BOTH read it? She being a teenager, and me being in my 50s (just). OMG, it's over 800 pages.

Add to daughter's commendable traits: doesn't flinch at a chunkster.

That's another thing that has changed for me with age----I used to revel in a great long book like that---now, I imagine how many others "normal length" books I could read in the same amount of time. I really wish I could get over that. It doesn't please me at all.

Laura- I only skimmed your review but I'm so glad you loved Gone Girl. I plan to get to it very soon. I had to buy that baby!

Laura - Your daughter sounds a gem - I read Anna Karenina in my late teens too and it was a memorable early Russian Lit read.
Truly heartbreaking news about your Dad - your brother and yourself have some very difficult decisions ahead for your Dad and more especially for your Mum whom I'm sure has difficulties adjusting to a changed situation. I was brought up in large part by my Gran who spent her last few years in a dementia induced haze which was very hard so I can appreciate all you are going through and send you plentiful hugs from over here.

But AK is such a readable book . . . and then when you finish it you can move on to War and Peace -- even longe! When I read that as a teenager I skipped the war parts, but I loved them when I read it in my . . . ahem . . mature years.

By the way, I just looked at the trailer and it would so NOT make me want to see the movie. I guess I'm not a teenager any more!

I hear you, Laura. I love it that I seem to have raised two lads who only want books for Christmas--well, books and handknit socks.

I guess I'll go ahead and get the Pevear and Volokhonsy translation for my iPad (it's free anyway) as I've never read Anna Karenina even when Oprah was reading it.

Excellent review of Gone Girl Laura. I like to read the heart-stoppers every once in a while;-)

>139 brenzi:: did you say free? I looked up the Kindle P&V edition and it's not free.

Hmmm THIS is described as the Pevear and Volokhonsy translation.

But if you click to look inside you see it's the old Constance Garnett translation.

OIC now. Thanks for that.

Bummer! Bonnie, I was hoping you'd found buried treasure!

I also wanted to wave to Paul in #136 and say thanks for stopping by with such supportive comments about my mom & dad. Dad has made very good progress in nursing care and is likely to be approved for assisted living soon. Still a ways to go to develop a plan for my mother, and I will likely be heading to Ohio again soon. My brother has spent enough (perhaps too much) time there and it's really wearing on him.

I finally finished Gone Girl, Laura, so came back to read your review. Well done! I may just refer people to your thread :-)

What a trip that book was!

Hooray for your daughter wanting to read AK! I first read it at university too and loved it although I don't remember finding it a romantic book. I hope they haven't tried to change it for the film.

Just realised the UK release date for the film is September - how am I going to fit in a reread before then?! (Bizarrely it's not released in the US until November - why does it take 2 months to travel across the Atlantic?)

#144 Pleased to hear there's been some good progress for your Dad. Will keep you and your brother (and Mum and Dad) in my thoughts.

Don't mention it Laura - wishing both of them all the best. x

>145 katiekrug:: Thank you Katie, I was just over on your thread and left a comment there too.

>146 souloftherose:: I've never understood film release dates. Thank goodness the Harry Potter films were always released on the same day in the UK or the US, else the media hype would have ruined it for the others. I wonder if they were released worldwide on the same day?

>147 PaulCranswick:: thanks Paul!

28. Salvage the Bones ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: On my shelves -- I bought it a few months ago.
Why I read this now: Just because ...

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept through the southern United States, and became the sixth strongest Atlantic hurricane in recorded history. Salvage the Bones describes the life of one poor, rural family during 12 days before, during, and after the disaster. The narrator, 15-year-old Esch, lives in Bois Sauvage, Mississippi with her father and brothers Randall (17), Skeetah (16), and Junior (8). Their mother died after Junior's difficult birth, and their father has lived in an alcoholic fug ever since. Randall spends most of his time playing basketball with friends, hoping to go to a special camp the family really can't afford. Skeetah cares for his dog, China, and her litter of puppies. China is a trained fighting dog; Skeetah hopes her puppies command a high price -- perhaps enough to pay for Randall's basketball camp.

Esch watches all the men from a distance, and escapes into her mythology book. Esch dreams of a better life, but she's also just discovered she is pregnant. The father is Randall's friend Manny, who uses Esch for sex. Esch has a history of casual sexual encounters, but to her, Manny is different and she hopes that one day he'll take her seriously.

The first few chapters paint a vivid picture of life in Bois Sauvage, and the great divide between black families like Esch's and the more affluent whites. This divide is illustrated most dramatically through dog fighting, which provides a way to make money, but wins and losses also establish social status within the community. The dog fighting scenes are horrific and have put many people off reading this book. I can't say I blame them. And yet, I was struck by Skeetah's love for China, the sacrifices he made for her well-being, and the courageous acts he performed on her behalf.

Soon there are reports of a big storm in the gulf. Esch's father tries to prepare, even as the reports begin to show something really big is on the way. I grew more apprehensive with each passing day, and I found the scenes describing the storm and its aftermath quite emotional and intense. Everything changed in the space of a few hours:

there is nothing but mangled wood and steel in a great pile, and suddenly there is a great split between now and then, and I wonder where in the world where that day happened has gone, because we are not in it. (p. 251)

Jesmyn Ward writes from experience. In a short essay at the end of the book, she describes living through Katrina when it ripped through Delisle, Mississippi. The emotional impact of surviving a tragedy permeates this well-written and moving novel.

Powerful review, Laura. I wish I could stomach the dog fighting part because the rest of the book sounds darn good. I'm glad there are so many other good books out there calling to me. It looks like another good reading month coming up. I'm well into The Night Watch for Orange July.

Wonderful review Laura. I'm hoping her second book lives up to the promise of this electrifying debut. Thumb!

Excellent review of Salvage the Bones, Laura. I'm glad that you were able to look beyond the dog fighting to grasp the humanity and depth of this powerful story.

#120: but then Nick, as narrator, something that sent chills down my spine: "It was my fifth lie to the police. I was just starting."
Reading this sentence sent chills down my spine, I think I caught another book bullet...

I am glad your Dad has made some progress. Wishing the best for all of you!

Hello Donna, Bonnie, Darryl & Nathalie.

The dog fighting part really was difficult to read. I am absolutely opposed to it. But it was so much a part of their culture, and in some ways a metaphor for how they lived, that somehow it made sense. I was also so invested in Skeetah's relationship with his dog, I know this isn't the case for everyone who breeds dogs to fight, but he loved her almost more than life itself.

Nathalie, that is a chilling sentence, isn't it? And there are many more, as you will see if you act on that book bullet!

And thank you (and everyone else who's been visiting these weeks) for the kind words of support about my Dad.

#149 Glad you enjoyed Salvage the Bones, Laura. I may have mentioned somewhere how great I thought it was.

I know that's one book I can't read but respect everyone who has saying that it is a well written, powerful story.

I posted a new garden slideshow up in message #1.

Laura- Fantastic review of Salvage the Bones. This looks like it's my kind of book. I have it on audio and plan to get to it, sometime this month.
I am loving Gone Girl. It looks like I'm following you around a bit.

Your garden looks lovely. Very peaceful. I'll be right over ;-)

Ah, Laura. I join in the general thanks that your father is doing well and that your mother is getting used to the fact of change. I have to quote my friend's mother, who could have gone home from assisted living but decided to stay: "They cook for me; they clean for me; they take care of my clothes. Why would I want to leave?!??!!!"
Glad you're enjoying some good books right now!

I've read some excellent reviews of Salvage the Bones, Laura but yours is the first which has made me actually want to read it! Onto the wishlist it now goes...

I loved hearing about your pleasure in having a literary daughter. I'm hoping my bookworm, fourteen year old son keeps it up. I was very pleased when he read 1984 after hearing it was an influence on the writer of The Hunger Games.

>160 katiekrug:: Katie, I should host an LT garden party! Come on over, and have a glass of iced tea.

>161 LizzieD:: Great perspective, Peggy. I think Mom will get there. We've engaged a care manager to work with her directly, gain a better understanding of her needs, and develop a plan. This relieves the pressure of having to make a decision while my brother and I are breathing down her neck (metaphorically, of course), and it makes it her decision.

>162 Soupdragon:: Great story about your son, Dee! I would have been pleased with that, too.

The garden photos: Um, wow. When can Charlie and I come visit?

Wonderful garden. The house doesn't look bad either! Very envious of all your space, compared to my perch in NYC.

157: It's growing! Love the steps too.

>161 LizzieD:: that's a great perspective. I hope I can think like that when "the time" comes.

>164 scaifea:: what, you wouldn't bring Tomm with you?! :)

>165 ffortsa:: funny thing, Judy, we are constantly waffling between the benefits of urban and rural/suburban life. For example, we can't queue all day for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park, and there are other things that we don't have ready access to. But we love having a large garden, and the wildlife that visit our pond, and so on. What we really need are TWO houses but that's not gonna happen!

>166 qebo:: thanks Katherine. The steps were the first part of the project; the hubster built them last year. They were long overdue, because it's downhill from the deck/driveway into the back yard and if it was wet or snowy you'd be taking your life into your own hands going down the hill.

>167 tiffin:: I know what you mean! Today my brother posted this as his Facebook status: Please, Lord, help to avoid the self-centered rigidity that seems to come with age. (he's going home soon, thank goodness). This is something I fear, and I don't want to be the one digging my heels in and causing trouble for my kids.

Back to Amber's question: visitors are ALWAYS welcome! Especially LT folk.

My parents, after dealing with their parents and observing aging friends, placed themselves in a retirement community. This is partially altruistic so my brothers and I won't have to make decisions, but partially so my mother, who tended toward rigidity even in her youth, maintains control; she knows what to expect, and can make sure everyone else knows what she wants done. We get periodic updates of legal documents, lists of possessions to divvy up now, etc. There's a CD of music to play when she's no longer able to read; she wants to die with Mozart. It's all a bit irritating and a bit amusing, and I am grateful. A worry before the move was that my father would miss his basement workshop, but as it turns out, he's glad that he doesn't _have_ to fix anything; there's a maintenance crew on call, and if he _wants_ to fix something himself they've established that he's competent and will allow it.

My folks also moved to a retirement community, and in addition bought long term care insurance before it was really common. Dad liked the life in their retirement community, played golf, joined the computer club, went bowling, updated the textbook he had written and handled the shipping, so he had a little business as well. (Mom pretty much stayed at home or roamed the supermarkets looking for bargains.) They very much did not want to be a burden to their kids.

Ha! I didn't include Tomm because he's not a social being - he'd rather hermit himself at home.

>169 qebo:: I think, on the whole, that I would rather have had my parents do that than have to gather their lives in order and do all that stuff myself, as I had to when Dad got Parkinson's. After he died, Mom determined that she wanted to move into a retirement apartment community with all of her meals and housekeeping provided (she's legally blind and has bad osteoporosis), which has been a blessing for both of us. It's such a relief to know she is safe and cared for, and that someone will know pretty immediately if she has problems.
>170 ffortsa:: that's how I feel too.

Laura, I'm in for the garden party! Your place is a nature lover's delight. Someone has put in lots of work at your house. When do you find time to read?

Wondrous! I LOVE hostas -- I've come to be a bit of a nut about them. Especially those dark blueish/green ones. I've noted too they put of a scent - delicate and just..... the epitome of freshness.... not all the time but now and then and you have to have 'enough' of them to get the effect..... I'm working on that in my new garden here.

>173 Donna828:: Someone has put in lots of work at your house.
That would be the hubster, Donna. He has an eye for design, which I sorely lack. And he has time: over 10 years ago he left the workforce, initially to purge negative aspects of a job and figure out what he wanted to do next, but our kids were small and we immediately found benefit in him being a stay-at-home dad. Now that they are older, he has time for projects like the garden.

I mostly just pull weeds :)

29. Gillespie and I ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: On my shelves -- I bought it a few months ago with a birthday gift card.
Why I read this now: I got an early start on Orange July (this was long-listed for the 2012 prize).

I could make this my shortest review ever, just by saying I loved this novel from start to finish, and if you haven't read it, you should. I don't want to tell you too much more about it, because its magic is in the storytelling.

But I'll give you a little teaser ...

Harriet Baxter is writing a memoir, specifically the story of her relationship with the artist Ned Gillespie and his family. Most of the novel is set in Glasgow from 1888-1890. Harriet met Ned quite by chance while visiting the first International Exhibition, in 1888. One thing led to another, and her relationships with Ned, his wife Annie, and their two young daughters grew. When tragedy struck the family, Harriet was right in the thick of it. But not necessarily in a good way.

Every so often the story is interrupted with a chapter narrated by Harriet in 1933, when she is 80 years old and living in London. These segments show us a different Harriet, perhaps the one she became after the tragedy, but more likely the Harriet she's been all her life.

Which made me wonder: what really happened in 1888? Then I would read on, looking for the "real Harriet" in her version of events, but still not completely sure who the "real Harriet" really was. Does that make sense? Of course not -- but that's the fun of reading Gillespie and I. There are so many twists, turns, and nuances that keep you guessing long after you've turned the last page. And I suspect there are as many interpretations of events as there are readers -- just get your hands on a copy and enjoy the magic.

nice, enticing review! And I must also say lucky you to have such a talented husband.

#176. Well, you're tempting me with that one! Onto the wish list it goes.

Edited to fix message number.

>176 lauralkeet:: thanks Judy, and yes I do feel pretty lucky most days!
>178 laytonwoman3rd:: Linda, do you mean #176, Gillespie and I? I think you'd like it!

Nice review of Gillespie and I, Laura. I'm still amazed that it wasn't selected for the Orange Prize shortlist this year, or for last year's Booker Prize longlist. Even though I loved The Song of Achilles and Painter of Silence this was the best Orange book of the year, IMO.

Thanks Darryl, I re-read your review after posting mine, and I remember it piqued my interest in the book. I'm reading Song of Achilles next!

Laura - happy 4th of July - I am glad to see Gillespie and I met with such acclaim. Enjoyed your review.

#179 Yes, I mis-typed the message number. Edited it now. Thanks.

Oh yes I thought you'd probably like this one and what do you know....Dazzling, wasn't it? And yes, it certainly would have been a very worthy Orange winner.

I'm happy to see yet another fan of Gillespie and I. I'm going to try and squeeze in Song of Achilles during Orange July but it may have to be carried over into August. Too many big books planned and too much company!

Morning Laura- Thanks again for the Winterson interview link. It was excellent. I hope I can squeeze in Oranges sometime this year. Enjoy your Sunday.

30. The Song of Achilles ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: On my shelves -- I bought it a few months ago with a birthday gift card.
Why I read this now: It's Orange July; this book won the 2012 Orange Prize.

I knew this book would become one of my favorites almost immediately. In just a few pages, I was completely immersed in the story, and found myself picking up the book anytime I had a minute to spare. And it's unusual for a book to bring real, honest-to-goodness tears to my eyes, but this one most certainly did.

The Song of Achilles provides back story to one aspect of the Trojan War: the relationship between Achilles and his close friend, Patroclus. As author Madeline Miller wrote in her Reader's Guide,

I found myself particularly moved by his (Achilles') desperate grief over the loss of his companion Patroclus. Patroclus is no more than a minor character in the Iliad, yet Achilles mourns him with a shocking intensity, unlike anything else in the entire work. Why? Who is this man whose death could undo the mighty Achilles?

Achilles is a mythological figure, son of the goddess Thetis, a sea-nymph, and the mortal Peleus. At the age of 9, he hand-picks the exiled prince Patroclus as his constant companion. Patroclus gains status and privilege, and as the boys grow their relationship strengthens into love. Thetis is displeased and tries to separate them, but their love is too powerful. When armies are assembled to do battle with Troy, Patroclus is there at Achilles' side. Achilles has known for years that he will become the Greeks' greatest warrior; the siege of Troy is his chance to shine. But there are other prophecies that weigh heavily on Achilles and Patroclus, not to mention the reader.

Madeline Miller breathes such life and emotion into her characters. Thetis is frightening; King Agamemnon is arrogant and cold-hearted; Odysseus is crafty. Achilles is beautiful, and the love between him and Patroclus is simultaneously intense and sweet. It's heartbreaking to watch the prophecies be fulfilled, and yet Miller offers an ingenious denouement that is wholly satisfying.

This 2012 Orange Prize winner is my best book of the year so far.

Wow, The Song of Achilles seems to have quite an effect on its readers! If it's a five star read and your best book of the year so far Laura, I don't think I should miss it!

Hooray, you loved it!!! I had tears too. I hope her next one is on its way...

Mm hmmm, mm hmmm not surprised. Not surprised at all.

>188 Soupdragon:: Dee, you'd love it. I hope you get to it soon.
>189 cushlareads:: Cushla, I'm not a weepy sort, even with weepy books. So if I do actually tear up, I know it's a winner!
>190 brenzi:: I know Bonnie, if you liked it -- I'll like it!

Just catching up...

So sorry about the struggle to carve out a new living arrangement for your parents... even if it has brought you and your brother closer, that's quite a price to pay. I dread what will happen when my parents are unable to live independently. There's the financial issue -- my father has only his pension, my mother has nothing -- and there's the practical issue. My brother is very much of the school of thought that "I have three young children and you have no one, therefore this is all your responsibility". Essentially, he wants me to abandon my life here in NY and move back to Toronto to care for our mother. No compromises. Push has not yet come to shove, but...

Glad the good reading has helped cope with your other stuff! I should probably think about Anna Karenina. I think at 17 I tried to read it in French, but quickly bogged down. The rationale was that I would read it in translation anyway, so why not? That's how I read Quo Vadis and some other classics. Silly me...

Two five stars in a row - two great reviews, as I have come to rely on.

31. Angel ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: My Virago Modern Classics collection
Why I read this now: It's the July read for the Elizabeth Taylor Centenary,

In Angel, Elizabeth Taylor's seventh novel, the author puts Angelica Deverell under her high-intensity microscope. At the tender age of 15, Angel decides she wants to be a writer. Her writing is sub-par, and the resulting books are trashy, but while the critics are universally negative her work appeals to a certain clientele. Angel comes into money and fame before she is mature enough to handle it, and this fosters an unbelievable arrogance. Angel accepts feedback from no one, not even her publisher or her mother.

Angel uses people to achieve her own ends, and when she's done with them, she's well and truly done. Although her aunt Lottie paid for her schooling, Angel completely rejects her and will not allow Lottie in her home, even to visit her sister (Angel's mother). As a young woman, Angel befriends Nora Howe-Nevinson and her brother Esmé, niece and nephew of the wealthy Lord Norley. She takes Nora's loyalty for granted (what with being a famous writer celebrity and all), and uses her to get to Esmé. Needless to say, Angel is not a likeable character. Fortunately, Angel's behavior has a down side. As Angel goes through middle and old age, her arrogance is undiminished but her life becomes increasingly lonely and pathetic.

This book is more bleak than Elizabeth Taylor's earlier novels. And yet, it's also full of what Taylor does so well: economic phrases that brilliantly capture the essence of a character or setting. While this wasn't my favorite Taylor novel, it was a well-written character study that held my interest to the end.

Did she base that on the life of Marie Corelli?

>195 tiffin:: why yes, so it says in the introduction ... or maybe it was in Beauman's biography. Anyway, I read it somewhere. Well done, Tui.

E.F. Benson was a friend/acquaintance of Marie Corelli, so it all rang a bell. I have a couple of her books: Awfully Dramatic! Not bodice rippers but definitely fainting couchish.

Long-term Project: Middlemarch
Progress: Book IV (Waiting for Death), 457 pages total
Source: Kindle
Why I'm reading this now: Three reasons:
- I watched last year's LT group read from the sidelines, and the very positive reactions encouraged me to read this doorstop of a book (~900 pages).
- Book blogger dovegreyreader is sponsoring a year-long group read, and I liked the idea of tackling Middlemarch in installments.
- Finally, this is a JanetinLondon Memorial Read. Janet was active in the group read, and loved the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm now about halfway through George Eliot's Middlemarch, and a fine Victorian novel it is. This weekend was originally the scheduled date for Team Middlemarch discussion, but various events required dovegreyreader to defer discussion until late August. Well, I know all about life interfering with reading plans, so that's no problem, but I figured I'd better set down a few thoughts on Book IV now, before it's a distant memory.

I was intrigued by the title of this book -- Three Love Problems -- and hoped for a bit of high romance. That's not what I found, but I still enjoyed the interwoven tales of Eliot's varied characters. The book opens with Featherstone's funeral, and the reading of his will. There were surprises right off the bat as we learned of a distant relative, and poor Fred Vincy did not come into the inheritance he'd hoped for. This is all the more tragic, since we know Featherstone destroyed another version of his will just before his death, a version which might have been of greater benefit to Fred. Not only does Fred now have to choose a profession (shock! horror! working for a living!), but his diminished prospects could also affect his sister Rosamond's prospects for marriage. However, she remains steadfastly committed to Tertius Lydgate, and they accelerate their marriage plans.

Meanwhile, Casaubon is becoming increasingly grumpy with Dorothea. He blames her for the arrival of his cousin, Will Ladislaw, when in truth Dorothea's uncle, Mr. Brooke, invited him. Will's attraction to Dorothea is obvious to all but her, and Casaubon can hardly contain his jealousy. Dorothea is blissfully unaware, and advocates for Will to inherit Casaubon's wealth. You can imagine how that went over. Meanwhile, Casaubon asks Lydgate to give him the straight story about his health, which did nothing to improve his mood. Things are quite strained in the Casaubon household these days.

I'm finding it useful to consult Spark Notes at the end of each book. This is partly because of the group read's slow pace. I read about a chapter a week, 10 chapters in all, and by the time I finished some of the early details had slipped my mind. Also, Eliot explores a number of social issues, which the Spark Notes explain very well: the dependence of women on men, the rise of industrialization, the rise of the middle class. Reading up on these topics has provided much more insight to what Eliot was trying to do with this novel.

Book V, The Dead Hand, is about the same length as Book IV. I will probably hold off on starting it until after the Book IV Team Middlemarch discussion so as not to get too far ahead of the group.

32. The Accidental ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: Orange July

Eve and Michael Smart, and their children Magnus and Astrid, rent a house in Norfolk for the summer, hoping to escape the stress of everyday London life. One day a young woman named Amber appears on their doorstep, and everyone is so caught up in their own cares, each assumes she is known to one of the others. Astrid thinks she's a friend of Eve's; Eve thinks she's one of Michael's university students, etc. Amber stays for dinner, and spends the night, albeit in her car. Time passes and before you know it, Amber is firmly entrenched in their lives. She's a dubious role model and mentor to 12-year-old Amber, the object of 17-year-old Magnus' passion, and the one woman Michael wants but can't manage to seduce. Amber also becomes privy to several deep family secrets, some shared with her directly and others obtained through her powers of reason.

It's all very strange, because she's not particularly likeable. You'd think one of the parents would kick her out, but every member of the family is so locked inside their own head that no one understands the effect she's having on them collectively. As Amber inserts herself into the family, she shares remarkably little about herself, and yet manages to get everyone else to let their guard down. Each family member has the chance to tell their version of the story, taking turns as narrator, which enables the reader to get just as deep into each person's psyche as Amber does. Ali Smith used very different writing styles and techniques for each character, underscoring the differences between family members. On the other hand, Amber's chapters are decidedly sparse, so as readers our understanding of her is just as limited as the family's.

I was initially intrigued by Smith's quirky writing, but eventually tired of it. The story seemed about equal parts positive and creepy. Only when the family returns to London does the full impact of Amber's visit become clear, and the whole thing struck me as quite creepy indeed. And while this book gave me some interesting thoughts to ponder, I was left wishing some of the family relationships and related themes were further developed.

Well you have come up with the same opinion of this book as I did when I read it a few years ago Laura. I mean, it's such an oddball concept---someone, a stranger, showing up and inserting herself in a family's life like Amber did. Totally bizarre. But Smith likes these crazy situations. Her newest There But For The has a dinner guest going upstairs to use the bathroom and locking himself in the spare room....for months. I think she thinks she's being clever but it comes off as too clever, to me anyway. Better luck with your next read.

At least you have Middlemarch going and that's got to be some comfort. I just loved that book. But I would never tolerate that pace for reading it. I started with the group read last year but soon just went off on my own because of the slow pace and they were reading a bit faster than your GR is. I guess that's the reason I don't do very well with GRs---that slow pace, when you want to keep reading just, well, sucks.

Bonnie, I agree with you on all counts! I was initially intrigued by There But For The but it sounds too similar to this one and just over-the-top quirky. And as for Middlemarch ... the slow pace is kind of getting to me now. I'm finding it more difficult to retain what I read, than if I were reading it more continuously. I may step it up on my own come August or September.

Laura- Congrats on starting Middlemarch and now being halfway. Yah! I NEED to get to this book. Maybe, I'll notch a place for it early next year.
To bad about the Accidental. I've had this one in the stacks forever and now no one seems to love it.

Such a lot of good stuff going on, Laura. And thanks and a thumb for the review of The Accidental. I have it to read, but now I don't feel any great pressure. Even I couldn't hack only a chapter a week of Middlemarch. I believe I'd have to go ahead and read it - a good thing can go on too long - then refresh or research as the rest of the group caught up. Are they discussing in enough depth to justify the pace? I guess I could go check since you gave us a link. Thanks!

>203 msf59:: thanks Mark! Well, maybe you've dodged a book bullet with The Accidental ...
>204 LizzieD:: Are they discussing in enough depth to justify the pace? No, they're not Peggy, which is also a factor. It's not like our LT group reads, which are highly interactive sometimes for weeks at a time.

So, yeah, I think I'm talking myself into just finishing it.

Hi Laura. The Accidental sounds very odd. I think I will skip that one and There but for the sounds quite odd too!

Hope your next read is better for you!

I have an intense aversion to writers trying too hard to be clever...

>206 ChelleBearss:: Chelle, it was ... now I just need to write my review!
>207 Chatterbox:: Oh yeah Suz, you'd best stay away from The Accidental.

33. Homestead ()
Reviewed on LibraryThing & on my blog
Source: Public library
Why I read this now: This was my last book for Orange July

There's a surprising amount of depth and meaning in this slim novel, that builds slowly and quietly through each of its 12 chapters. The story is set in a remote region of the Austrian alps, and told in the voices of women from 1909 to 1977, who managed life, love, and family on their rural homestead.

Life was hard: subsistence farming, few "modern conveniences," limited educational opportunities, and a clear but restrictive definition of a woman's role. Most women made do and were happy; some worked hard to escape. In the opening chapter, Anna, a young mother, receives a mysterious postcard which appears to be from a long lost lover. The post-mistress makes sure everyone knows about it, causing much gossip. Anna imagines the writer and his lifestyle and composes an elaborate reply, which she later abbreviated to a simple acknowledgement and apology, because his card has been misdirected. As this unfolds, the reader is also introduced to Anna's husband and children, characters who will figure prominently in later chapters.

In a rural area such as this, everyone seems to be related to everyone else. Thankfully Rosina Lippi included clan charts showing the genealogy of each homestead. While careful study of these while reading reveals small spoilers, I found them invaluable to keep track of generations and relationships.

Every one of these women was amazing, in their capacity for physical labor, and their commitment to families and to one another. Each chapter reveals details about those who came before, some of which were closely guarded family secrets. This provided the depth I mentioned before, and usually sent me off to re-read earlier chapters, taking new facts into account. When I reached the end, I felt like I had an incredibly rich tapestry in my hands, and I stood back to admire Lippi's achievement.

Great review, Laura. I loved that book too.

As often seems the way, I had very similar views to you on Angel and The Accidental, Laura!

I think I borrowed Homestead from the library once but never got further than the first few pages. Now I think I should try again. And I really, really want to read Middlemarch but you know how it is, so many books...

Fabulous review of Homestead Laura - trust you are having a belter of a weekend.

Hello Linda, Dee, and Paul. Dee, I can see why you might have set Homestead aside. The pace is slow, and sometimes it seems nothing much happens. It became much more interesting when the connections between chapters began to emerge, but that took a while.

Paul, I trust a belter is a good thing? It's not been a particularly wild weekend but the weather is milder than it's been in weeks, making yesterday's long-overdue garden tending much more of a pleasure.

#209: It is too bad my local library does not have that one. It sounds like a book I would really enjoy. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Laura.

* waves *
Hi Stasia! It's nice to see you here.

Thanks, Laura. I am trying to get back into the group as I have time. I miss everyone a lot.

Glad you could get outside at last - isn't it funny to think that 'milder' in this case means less hot!?