Cariola's 2015 Challenge

I decided to head up this year's thread with a portrait believed to be of Lucy, Countess of Bedford, one of the great female patrons of the Stuart period. Lucy Harrington Russell supported a number of poets, playwrights, and scholars, including Ben Jonson, Michael Drayton, Samuel Daniel, George Chapman, John Florio, and John Donne. A close friend of Queen Anne and a powerful figure at court, it was she who secured Jonson's first commission for a Christmas masque. In turn, Jonson wrote roles for her in most of his masques performed at court and dedicated to her his play Cynthia's Revels and a number of poems, including this one, which depicts her as his muse:

This morning timely wrapt with holy fire,
I thought to form unto my zealous Muse,
What kind of creature I could most desire
To know, serve, and love, as Poets use.
I meant to make her fair, and free, and wise,
Of greatest blood, and yet more good than great;
I meant the day-star should not brighter rise,
Nor lend like influence from his lucent seat;
I meant she should be courteous, facile, sweet,
Hating that solemn vice of greatness, pride;
I meant each softest virtue there should meet,
Fit in that softer bosom to reside.
Only a learnèd, and a manly soul
I purposed her: that should with even powers,
The rock, the spindle, and the shears control
Of Destiny, and spin her own free hours.
Such when I meant to feign, and wished to see,
My Muse bade BEDFORD write, and that was she!

While most of the compliments in the poem are conventional nods to beauty and virtue, in calling her "a learnéd, and a manly soul," Jonson (a bit of a misogynist) reveals Lucy to be a most unusual woman of her day. In "To Lucy, Countess of Bedford, with Mr. Donne's Satires," Jonson again praises her for her discerning tastes: "Rare poems ask rare friends." Donne, too, reaped the benefits of her patronage: she was godmother to his daughter (named Lucy in her honor), and "Twickenham Garden" was written at her primary residence. The countess was reputed to be an accomplished poet herself, but none of her work survives.

Top Five Books of 2014:
History of the Rain by Niall Williams
Atonement by Ian McEwan (reread)
Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (reread)
Restoration by Rose Tremain (reread)
Welding with Children by Tim Gautreaux




Currently Reading
The Pretender's Lady by Alan Gold

BOOKS READ IN 2015:
January
1. Stoner by John Williams
2. Burning Bright by Ron Rash
3. Dylan Thomas: A Centenary Celebration edited by Hannah Ellis
4. The American Lover by Rose Tremain
5. Outline by Rachel Cusk
6. Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob
7. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
8. Arden of Faversham by Anonymous (reread with my students)
9. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

February
10. The Shoemaker's Holiday by Thomas Dekker (reread with my students)
11. Richard III by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
12. An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
13. Uppity Women of the Renaissance by Vicki Leon
14. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
15. The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster (reread with my students)
16. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)

March
17. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
18. Almost Famous Women by Megan Mayhew Bergman
19. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
20. How to Be Both by Ali Smith
21. The Winchester Goose by Judith Arnopp
22. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton (reread with my students)

April
23. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
24. Cold Mountain by Charles Fraser (reread with my students)
25. Miramont's Ghost by Elizabeth Hall
26. Bettyville by George Hodgman
27. A Bit on the Side by William Trevor
28. The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley (reread with my students)
29. Othello by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
30. Fever by Mary Beth Keane
31. 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford (reread with my students)
32. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
33. The Old Maid by Edith Wharton
34. Q & A by Vikas Swarup (reread with my students)
35. The Tempest by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
36. The Changeling by Thomas Middleton (reread with my students)

May
37. The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
38. Odysseus Abroad by Amit Chaudhuri
39. Academy Street by Mary Costello
40. The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman
41. Moone Boy by Chris O'Dowd

June
42. The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace
43. The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais
44. The Green Road by Anne Enright

July
45. A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor
46. We That Are Left by Clare Clark
47. The Americans by Chitra Viraraghavan
48. Cat Daddy by Jackson Galaxy
49. Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone

August
50. The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman
51. Galore by Michael Crummey

September
52. A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman
53. Neverhome by Laird Hunt
54. The Point of Vanishing by Howard Axelrod
55. The Madness of Love by Katherine Davies
56. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

October
57. Blood Royal by Diana Norman
58. Thirteen Ways of Looking: Fiction by Colum McCann
59. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson
60. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
61. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

November
62. A Pledge of Better Times by Margaret Porter
63. The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Safak

December
64. Did You Ever Have a Family? by Bill Clegg
65. Simon's Cat: Off to the Vet . . . and Other Cat-astrophes by Simon Tofield
66. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin
67. The Pretender's Lady by Alan Gold
68. News of the World by Paulette Jiles
69. Artful by Ali Smith
70. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

Welcome back!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Deborah!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Deborah!

Happy New Year!

Hello, everyone, and Happy New Year. Will be back from NH tonight and will get my thread in better order ASAP.

Happy New Year from me too! I look forward to another year of great reading!

First book review of 2015!



1. Stoner by John Williams

As someone who taught in the English Department at the University of Missouri-Columbia for several years, has been in academia for several decades, and is preparing for retirement, I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated this beautifully written, understated novel. William Stoner grew up on a hard scrabble farm outside of Boone, Missouri. As he approached his high school graduation, he was surprised when his father decided to send him to college to study Agriculture. In his sophomore year, William discovers a love for language and takes his professor's advice to focus on becoming a teacher. With hard work and the support of his mentor, he completes his PhD and is hired by Mizzou as an assistant professor.

There's nothing terribly unexpected in Stoner: he's one of the many who seem to get stuck on the academic path. (It's a story I know well.) William marries the first girl he falls for, a high-strung St. Louis socialite who seems to be perpetually disappointed with life, constantly reinventing herself, and family obligations become obstacles in his way. Stoner is hen-pecked by his wife and bullied by some of his colleagues; he is loved by some of his students and disdained by others. He has his days of brilliance in the classroom, but most of the time he feels unable to convey his love of and excitement about literature. He often recalls the words of his graduate school friends, Dave Masters, who believed that the university is "an asylum" for those who can't fit anywhere else. In many ways, Stoner is simply a tale of quiet endurance.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Oh, that sounds like a good one - thanks for the review!

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

>10 Cariola: A good choice for first read of the year. I had picked it up at a used book sale last year, attracted to it because it was a NYRB. Never heard of it anywhere but enjoyed it and thought "where have you been all my life". I agree with "quiet endurance".

2. Burning Bright by Ron Rash

I'm always looking for new short story collections, and several LTers recommended Ron Rash. While I can't say that he has become an instant favorite, I did appreciate these stories and will likely look for more of Rash's work in the future.

The stories are set in Appalachia, most of them in contemporary times, but one dates back to the Civil War and another, "Hard Times," to the Depression era. All of the characters struggle with poverty and the fast-changing times. A man joins a coworker in raiding Confederate graves for buckles and other artifacts that they can sell to collectors; it's the only way that he can pay his mother's hospital bill. A farmer tries to catch whoever or whatever has been stealing his eggs. A pawnbroker attempts to rid his aunt and uncle of their meth-addict son and his girlfriend. A young boy steals valuables from the dead bodies in a downed private plane to support his parents' meth habit. Rash presents these stories in a straightforward, no-nonsense, non-judgmental manner: his characters are simply living and surviving the lives they have been dealt as best they can. My only caution: don't read this is you're in the mood for something uplifting. While I empathized with most of the characters, their stories were often quite depressing.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Nice to see that Restoration was one of your top books last year. It's been on my shelf for more than ten years--and this may be the motivation to get to it soon.

Stoner, also on my shelf, but for a much shorter time, seems to be getting good reviews everywhere, so I hope to read it soon, as well. For ages, I thought it was a book about a....well, stoner. :)

Happy new year, Deborah!

OK. Stoner is officially going on my wishlist. Or maybe straight to my Kindle.

>10 Cariola: - Stoner sounds like a more quiet, reflective kind of novel. That does sound good. Wonderful review!

Wonderful! Both Stoner and Restoration were among my favourites of last year as well.

>15 arubabookwoman: I thought the same thing! There were more stoned people in Rash's collection--just a few alcoholics in Stoner. Restoration was a reread for me, as were a few others in my top books list; I assigned them for my Seminar in Historical Fiction, and the students loved them as well.

I own Stoner and enjoyed Restoration last year. So have you read Merivel? I do love R. Tremain!

>20 LizzieD: Yes, I read Merivel when it first came out--good, but not as good as Restoration.

Happy New Year Deb! I hope you had a lovely holiday in New Hampshire. Congratulations! You read two books in three days!

>22 Whisper1: And I read FIVE books in the last week!! Haven't done that in a long, long time.

Incredible! Think of how many you can read when your retire. I'm trying to remember, am I right that your brother lives in NH?

>24 Whisper1: Yes, my brother retired from University of North Texas and he and his wife built a lovely home in Sharon, NH. We spent most of the time I was there just relaxing, and they don't like to watch TV, so that meant a lot of reading time. And of course, I read while hanging out at the airport and on the planes.

Happy New Year to you! Stoner was one of the (sadly, many) book club books that I didn't get around to last year. This year will be the year I try and catch up!

Hi Deborah and Happy New Year! Very brave of you to head up your thread with a poem by "a bit of a misogynist" LOL. I really MUST get to Stoner (enticing review!) and Restoration both of which reside on my shelves. I hope to follow your reading more consistently this year.

So what other books did you assign as part of your HF seminar?

I'm pondering going to this year's Historical Novel Society shindig, if I can get myself organized.

One of the highlights of the frothily forgettable Deborah Harkness trilogy involving witches was the presence of your Lucy of Bedford as a character.

Which reminds me that one day I want to re-read Antonia Fraser's very good book about Jacobean women.

>10 Cariola: Stoner was the first NYRB I ever read and I still remember it to this day. Your comment "In many ways, Stoner is simply a tale of quiet endurance" is dead on, Deborah. Any book that sticks with me a good 10 years after reading it is something special. Thanks for the reminder that I need to read it again, but I am almost afraid to: Will it have the same impact on me as it did the first time I read it?

>27 brenzi: I actually wrote my dissertation on that "bit of a misogynist"! Hope you find some great books this year.

>28 Chatterbox: I decided to narrow the seminar to novels set in England and to study them in historical order. We started with Bring Up the Bodies, went on to Restoration, then Regeneration, Atonement, and Small Island. I tried hard to find something appropriate set in the Victorian period, but the only ones were doorstoppers that would hog too much time. It was a great seminar, and some of the students produced excellent papers.

Haven't read the Harkness novels but you've made me curious.

As you may know, I've been doing research for a historical novel; the plan is to start writing when I retire, which will likely be this May. Would love to gop to the convention . . . maybe next year.

>29 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. I think Stoner will stick with me, too.

3. Dylan Thomas: A Centenary Celebration edited by Hannah Ellis

Dylan Thomas has always been one of my favorite poets. As a teenager, I owned the whole Caedmon series of Thomas reading his own verse and that of others, and I played it over and over. Last year marked 100 years since his birth, and this collection of essays is in celebration.

Overall, I was disappointed in the book. Most of the essays covered familiar biographical territory, and none of them were what I would consider literary criticism that would shed light on any of Thomas's poems. I was mildly interested in one essay on plagiarism: when he was very young (12-18), Thomas apparently plagiarized a number of poems that have now been purged from his collected works. Most of them had been printed in children's magazines, and Thomas had made minor changes--the kind of thing my students do with their papers. A few reminiscences of Wales and Thomas's early life were a pleasure to walk through, like a familiar path. I can't, however, recommend the collection to anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of Thomas and his work, or to anyone coming newly to his poems.

2.5 stars.

4. The American Lover by Rose Tremain

I was really surprised when I came in to write this review and saw a 5-star rating--but then I noticed that only one other person had rated the book. Different strokes, etc. I am a fan of Rose Tremain and was really looking forward to this new collection of short stories, but for me, overall, it disappointed. I give her credit for focusing on a wide variety of characters, time periods, and settings, and for her very fine dialogue. But I've come to the conclusion that Tremain is at her best writing historical fiction. In fact, two of the stories that delve into that genre are perhaps the best in the collection. "The Jester of Astapovo" begins as the story of an unhappily married stationmaster's desire to have an affair with an older woman and ends telling the story of Leo Tolstoy's last days, dying in the stationmaster's cottage. It's by far the best of these stories. "The Housekeeper" is narrated by the woman who served as the model for Mrs. Danvers; she has a haunting affair with novelist Daphne du Maurier.

"The American Lover"--a woman looks back on a doomed love affair.

"Extra Geography"--Two schoolgirls decide to fall in love with someone. anyone, the next person they see: their female geography teacher, a middle-aged New Zealander.

"A View of Lake Superior in the Fall"--A Nashville couple retires to the North.

"Man in the Water"--A young woman swears she saw a man in the water that no one else saw.

"Juliet Greco's Black Dress"--a young woman models herself after Juliet Greco.

"Smithy"--An old man tried to move a stained mattress that has been thrown on the road.

"BlackBerry Winter"--A daughter deals with her ailing, cranky mother over the holidays.

"Lucy and Gaston"--conversation between a long-married in which Gaston recalls his father's wartime death in a typhoon.

"The Closing Door"--After Eowrld War II, widow Marjorie struggles with sending her daughter Patience to boarding school at her inlaws' insistence.

"21st Century Juliet"--Aristocratic Juliet records events in her diary, including her relations with her parents and her passionate affair with an Eastern Europen construction worker.

These are the kind of stories in which not a lot happens outside of the characters, but quite a lot goes on inside them and within their dialogue. If you care about the main character, this works; if you don't, it doesn't.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

5. Outline by Rachel Cusk

Outline begins when a woman on a plane bound for Athens is prodded into conversation by the man sitting next to her who narrates the history of his failed marriages. We learn that the never-named woman, a writer, has been invited to teach a creative writing course; her Greek students will all write their short stories in English. Each of the nine subsequent chapters is also told as a conversation, and it's a bit of fun to look for the links between them ("tension" and failed marriages being just two of them). The connections between them indeed fall into the shape of an outline, the kind you made in elementary school, where each main idea cascades into a set of subtopics which, in turn, are broken into their parts. This is a novel where the connections between parts are more significant than the chain of events (which is, in fact, simply the narrator listening to other people's narratives). It's a risky experiment, but Cusk pulls it off quite well.

All of the narrators are a bit self-indulgent and self-aggrandizing, and some are more likable than others. I found most interesting the writing students' descriptions of their stories--all of them based on memories--written in response to an assignment to write a story with an animal in it. As we watch the visiting author listening to these almost one-sided conversations, we learn much about her as well.

Overall, Outline is a clever, inventive, and finely written novel.

4 out of 5 stars.

I'm wowed by your reading. I'm retired. So what have I been doing with my time?????

>34 LizzieD: :) My brother keeps telling me that I won't have as much time as I think when I retire. I'm pretty determined to get more "me time" in!

Hello! Love your review of Rachel Cusk's Outline it sounds intriguing. Will add it to the library order list. This group is proving to be very profitable for my local branch (Fortunately only 60p per book order!)

I knew there was a reason I was avoiding other people's threads. I come away with far too many books I want to read. Outline and Stoner both sound like books to add to my reading pile.

Have you read Dear Committee Members? It's an epistolary novel where the protaganist is a Creative Writing professor at an unnamed small private college. It's written entirely as reccomendation letters written by the professor for his students and fellow faculty. It seems like a book you would enjoy.

>36 charl08: Glad to be of--er--help??

>37 AlferdPacker: That sounds like an interesting book. I've experienced all the ins and outs of academia (search committees, job hunting myself--twice, tenure and promotion, committee work, etc.--so I like like reading these books. Stoner is my most memorable read so far this year.

6. Treacherous Beauty: Peggy Shippen, the Woman Behind Benedict Arnold's Plot to Betray America by Stephen H. Case and Mark Jacob

Overall, I found this biography to be disappointing. The authors' sole point was to conclude that Peggy Shippen, wife of Benedict Arnold, was a key figure in his treason plot. Once they made the point, there wasn't much for them to do aside from repeat it and repeat the same evidence from letters over and over. All we really learn about Peggy is that she was a Philadelphia belle, pretty and lively and admired by British spy John Andre, and that, as a wife, she proved to have a good head for figures and household management. When Arnold's treachery was uncovered, she either went temporarily mad or feigned madness in order to escape detection of her role in the plot. Eventually, she was given a choice: go back to your father's house in Philadelphia, or join Arnold in the British enclave in New York; she chose the latter. (Arnold came across as particularly despicable in this account, not only plotting to betray the patriots and possibly set up the capture of Washington, but constantly plaguing the British with demands for more cash in return for his efforts, even years after the war for independence ended.) The couple and their children moved to London, but Arnold, forever the speculator, moved them to Canada in hopes of cashing in on a land scheme. It didn't work, and they headed back to London, where Peggy lived until her death.

Only about 60% of the book is composed of actual biography; the rest is a long list of acknowledgements, an even longer bibliography, and a long index. The whole thing could easily have been covered in a monograph, if not a 30-40 page article.

3 out of 5 stars.

>39 Cariola: Well, that got me to look up Shippen, a notable name in these parts.

>40 qebo: Yes--in fact, I teach at Shippensburg University. The book said that Peggy's grandfather, Edward Shippen, founded the city. He also had property in Lancaster, where they retreated when things in Philly got uncomfortable after the Arnold affair.

>41 Cariola: Yeah, Edward is buried in Lancaster, and his house was replaced by the YWCA a century ago.

*out of lurk* Hi, Deborah! *into lurk*

>43 LizzieD: Hi, Peggy! Come on in and stay awhile--don't just lurk!

7. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare--reread with my students
8. Arden of Faversham (Anonymous)--reread with my students

9. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train, a new thriller that has been getting a lot of buzz, is narrated by three women. Rachel Watson, the main character, is a divorced, childless alcoholic still clinging to her ex-husband, Tom. Afraid to tell her landlady that she has been fired, Rachel rides the train into London every day, pretending to go to work. The train just happens to go past her former house, where Tom now lives with his new wife and daughter. Rachel becomes obsessed with an attractive couple who live a few doors down the street; she watches them from the train, fantasizing about the perfect life she believes they have. Obviously an unreliable narrator (she has frequent blackouts), Rachel is the most intriguing of the women in the story. The other narrators are Tom's new wife, Anna, who fears that Rachel will do something crazy, and Megan Hipwell, the young woman idealized by Rachel. The crime line takes off when Megan goes missing, and Rachel thinks she may know something important . . . if only she could remember what. She becomes as obsessed with the case as she has been with Tom and the Hipwells, and the reader is left to guess what is real and what is imagined.

I don't usually read thrillers, but this one got a lot of hype, so I thought I'd give it a try. Initially, I was caught up in the story, but by the end, it seemed to drag on, driven by far too many coincidences.

3.5 stars.

10. Richard III by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)
11. The Shoemaker's Holiday by Thomas Dekker (reread with my students)

12. An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

I know I'm in a very small minority, but I found this book pretentious and dull. It's pretty much a nonstop monologue--a 72-year old woman rambling on about her life in Beirut, past and present. Divorced, childless, and estranged from her family, Aaliyah begins to translate a novel into Arabic every January 1--but no one has ever read any of the 37 novels she has translated and stores in her bathroom. She throws in a plethora of international literary references and her opinions of various writers along the way. Frankly, I just didn't find her or her life of much interest. I'm not surprised that one of the books mentioned as being similar is The Elegance of the Hedgehog--a book I really detested and ultimately couldn't finish.

2 stars. (Maybe not that many . . . the scene where she and her lover get aroused by his squeezing blackheads out of her back tempts me to knock it down even further.)

Another lurker emerges...I may try the Ron Rash collection. He's been praised to me, my daughter published him in the literary journal she helped found at the University of Tennessee (Grist), and he should be "my thing", but I couldn't get into Serena because I found the title character to have no substance.

Thanks for the warning about An Unnecessary Woman and The Girl on the Train. Squeezing blackheads? Yuck!!

13. I skimmed through this book just for the fun of it, so, unlike some other readers, I didn't get bent out of shape by questionable inclusions, urban legends, or inaccuracies. It's not exactly what I'd call a scholarly book, but I can find those when I need them. Leon recounts in short (two to three page) essays the 'achievements' of a wide variety of women, including queens, artisans, murderesses, witches, and crossdressers, amongst others. It's the kind of book you'll want to grab and skim when you're too tired to focus on anything longer or heavier. It was just the right type of reading for a cold, windy winter's evening--just fun, if you don't take it too seriously.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

>49 laytonwoman3rd: If you read Kindle books, Ron Rash's Burning Bright is on sale at Amazon for $1.99.

>52 Cariola: Thanks for the heads-up, Deborah. I've ordered it. I like short story collections for the Kindle.

Hi Cariola! Just stumbled upon your thread and thought I'd leave a mark. Happy weekend (almost over).

>53 laytonwoman3rd: Me, too! Hope you enjoy it!

>54 The_Hibernator: Hello! Hope you find some good reads here.

>51 Cariola: Worth it for the cover / title alone. Will look out for it!

14. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

I have to admit that it took me a long, long time to engage with this novel. The first half is incredibly slow-moving, and, while I did end up liking the book, it could have had the same effect if it had been about 150 pages shorter. In addition, while I love stories with multiple narrators, the use of multiple narrators AND switching back and forth in time made it unnecessarily convoluted. On the basis of comments from LT friends who said the book got much better after the first half or so, I stuck it out to the end. While I can't say that All the Light We Cannot See will be one of my top reads of the year, on the whole, I was glad that I stayed with it.

The novel's two main characters are Werner, a German orphan with a talent for radio electronics, and Marie-Laure, the blind daughter of a French museum's lock master, both of whom are about 13 years old when the chronological story begins. When Werner's aptitude is uncovered, he ids taken from the orphanage and his sister, Jutta) and placed in a Hitler Youth school where his talent will be developed for use in the war. Initially thrilled to have an opportunity better than working in the mines, Werner ignores the twinges of his conscience and follows all orders--even those that ultimately destroy his best friend.

When the Germans invade Paris, Marie-Laure and her father flee to the seaside town of Saint-Malo, where her reclusive great-uncle Etienne lives. Her father may carry with him the museum's most valuable jewel, a large diamond known as the Sea of Flames--or he may be carrying one of four replicas of the diamond. For me, the Saint-Malo chapters were the most engaging in the book, mainly because of the well-developed characters and relationships.

Into the mix comes a cancer-ridden German officer charged with finding and bringing back to Berlin the treasures of the France--including the Sea of Flames.

That's all I will say about the plot, aside from the fact that, as one would expect, these characters inevitably come face-to-face with one another. I might have rated this book a bit higher if my expectations had been a little lower, and if the exposition chapters hadn't been quite so plodding. Still, All the Light We Cannot See is a worthwhile and at times very moving book.

3.5 stars

15. The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster (reread with my students)

16. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)

>57 Cariola: Thanks Deborah for the encouragement to finish that book. I got bored and bothered also by the continual switching back and forth. I guess I should resume it.

17. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Based on a true story, the novel focuses on Agnes Magnusdottir, a servant accused of murdering her master (and lover) in early nineteenth-century Iceland. The court, deciding there was no appropriate (or affordable) place to keep her until the day of execution, sent her to live with the family of a remote district magistrate. Through Agnes's conversations with her young pastor, Toti, and with Margret, the magistrate's wife, we learn the sad facts of her life and the truth behind the murder. The story, which is apparently legendary in Iceland, brings to life the disadvantages of being poor, abandoned, and female in the period with heartbreaking accuracy.

My sole criticism of the book, which indeed engaged me throughout, is that it was perhaps a bit overly dramatic.

4 out of 5 stars.

18. Almost Famous Women by Megan Mayhew Bergman

The concept for this short story collection is a terrific one: each story focuses on an 'almost famous' woman. Included are the sister of Edna St. Vincent Millay; James Joyce's mad daughter, Lucia; Oscar Wilde's lookalike niece, Dolly, a socialite and heroin addict; Lord Byron's three-year old daughter, Allegra; a black lesbian trumpet player risking violence by playing in a racially mixed jazz band in the 1950s American South; Avowed atheist Butterfly McQueen (Scarlett's maid from "Gone with the Wind"); and many more. The narrators are most often peripheral characters--a childhood friend of Dolly Wilde, a nun who cared for Allegra in the convent; the bus driver of the all-girl band; a young girl who tries to bring McQueen to Jesus.

As I said, this was a great concept, but unfortunately, most of the stories fell flat.

3 out of 3 stars.

19. The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare (reread with my students)

Hi Deborah - I've heard so many good things about Burial Rites that I want to get to it soon. Too bad about Almost Famous Women; I'd been looking at it.

>61 Cariola: Too bad the stories don't live up to the concept; I really like the idea. But "Oscar Wilde's lookalike niece"--oh my. I hope that's not what drove her to heroin.

>64 laytonwoman3rd: There's a photo of most of the women before each story. Dolly indeed looks exactly like her Uncle Oscar! You can find a few photos of Dolly here. Be sure to scroll down to Cecil Beaton's portrait. I'm trying to find the one in the book, which looks even MORE like Oscar.

Here's another good link: 9 Things You Should Know About Oscar Wilde's Niece. It even has side-by-side comparison photos.

20. How to Be Both by Ali Smith

Ali Smith is perhaps the most successful experimental writer publishing today. Not one to rest on her laurels, she tries something new in each successive novel. Smith takes another creative leap in How to Be Both, this time in terms of form and in playing with ideas about simultanaeity and flexibility. She writes two stories here, one that of a minor Italian Renaissance painter named Franchesco, the other centered around George, a 16-year old girl dealing with the loss of her mother in the 21st century. Despite the difference in time periods, the two seem somehow to coexist: Franchesco looks out from his own painting, hanging in a London museum, to see George looking; and George develops a strange sense of recognition with the artist, whose work she had first seen while traveling in Italy with her mother. The linked stories create a complexity that is hard to describe or summarize. It's something that the reader lives and feels while immersed in the book rather than intellectualizing it. In a way, the symbiosis between George and Franchesco helps the former to transcend the boundaries of time and space, bringing her mother close again, while George gives Franchesco an understanding of the timelessness of art and another way of seeing.

This review probably doesn't seem to say much that is concrete; as I said, How to Be Both--both Franchesco and George, both then and now, both male and female, both alive and dead, both here and there--is a book to be experienced as well as read. Lovely writing for each distinct character's voice, a creative and philosophical stretch that offers not only pleasure but hope.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Lovely review (and lovely book, one that has stayed with me after I read it).

I loved How to be Both too! Such an interesting structure, really creative,

21. The Winchester Goose by Judith Arnopp

I needed something a bit fluffy to read while recuperating, and this fit the bill quite well. It's a fairly impossible story, so be prepared to suspend your disbelief. The story is told by several narrators, and we first meet Joanie Toogood, the conventional 'good-hearted whore,' one of the so-called "geese" under the protection of the Bishop of Winchester. Joanie was put to the trade at the age of 12 and has raised two younger sisters since their mother died. She develops a special affinity for one of her clients, Frances Wareham, a runaway heir whose brains are obviously not in his head. For awhile, he, too, is one of the story's narrators and eventually gets recruited as a spy at the court of Henry VIII. Two other main narrators are the Bourne sisters, Eve and Isabella, daughters of a slightly down-and-out gentleman who are delighted to be called to court to serve the new queen, Anne of Cleves (and later Katherine Howard). The headstrong Eve falls for Wareham, refusing to marry the man her father has chosen--and gets the man she wants instead. She might have made a better choice, for a few days after the wedding, she finds him in her maid's lap. Her anger drives Frances away, but soon Eve ventures into London on her own to find him. Paths cross, and this is where the more unbelievable (yet still enjoyable) elements of the story start to spin out.

The novel is fairly well written, but the characters, while generally interesting, are (as another reviewer said) rather one-dimensional. As I said, good for a lark, but it won't be at the top of my list.

3.5 stars.

Thumbed your review of How to be Both, a book I probably wouldn't pick up without recommendations from readers like you and >68 lauralkeet:. It's on my list now, though.

>70 laytonwoman3rd: good!

I've been putting off reading How to Be Both for far too long. I'll make it my business to read it this coming quarter. Thanks, Deborah!

>70 laytonwoman3rd:, >72 kidzdoc: I think you both will find it intriguing and enjoyable.

22. A Chaste Maid in Cheapside by Thomas Middleton
23. Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
24. Cold Mountain by Charles Fraser

All reread with students in several classes.

25. Miramont's Ghost by Elizabeth Hall

I got sucked into buying this book--not my usual fare--when it was on a Kindle special. My rating of 1.5 stars is somewhat generous, based on the simple fact that it initially drew me in (and it was also fairly short). It's the mid-19th century in France, and young Adrienne lives in what seems to be an almost perfect world in her aristocratic grandpere's mansion. Her mother, the beautiful but unhappy Genevieve, is a distant mother who pretty much sits around waiting for her husband to either visit or call her to Paris (which doesn't happen often). But at least Adrienne is adored by her grandpere and her governess, Lucie. But when Adrienne begins to have visions, she rattles some family secrets. Apparently her grandmere also had the second sight, and the family locked here away so that people wouldn't talk about her. She died a few weeks after Genevieve's birth.

Enter the evil older aunt, Marie, and her pampered son, Julian. Marie disapproves of everyone and everything. She has come home for two reasons: first, because Julian, a priest, needs to recuperate from being poisoned by the eucharist wine at his church in New Mexico; and second, to ransack the house for treasures to take back to America for the palace Julian intends to build in his next southwestern parish. Marie and Julian return to France periodically to cause more havoc throughout the novel, until eventually they take Adrienne with them to Colorado.

While the title suggests that this is a horror story, there is no ghost in Miramont until the epilogue.. But in the meantime, there is an abundance of cruelty, sexual abuse, child molestation, lies, betrayals, and unbelievably bad parenting. By the time I got towards the end, the "ick factor" was pretty high. (Can you think of one more revolting, abusive situation? Of course you can.) If the author's intent was to make me want to kill Marie with my bare hands, she succeeded. But that isn't enough, in my view, to make a novel good.. Like Adrienne, I felt somewhat betrayed by the author and the way she kept inserting more and more horrors into the story. I stayed up late last night to finish the book--not because it was so engrossing, but because I just wanted it to be over.

1.5 stars.

26. Bettyville by George Hodgman

George Hodgman's memoir is mainly that of a 40-something gay man who leaves Manhattan to return to his small town home of Paris, Missouri to care for his 90+ year old mother, Betty. Betty is becoming more and more feeble and seems to be in the beginning stages of dementia, constantly asking George questions like "What's the capital of Portugal?" and "What's the name of that drink we drink at Christmas?" It's a very moving story of a man who always longed for an understanding that his parents were just not able to give, yet who realizes that they loved him and did the best they could.

The episodes George relates, both from his past and from his years of caring for Betty, are told with both affection and humor. He regrets never sharing with his parents the truth about his own sexuality and his struggles with addiction--but that's just the way it was back then. As many times as George assures his mother that he will never leave her, that he will stay with her until the very end, Betty still fears being left to die on her own. But at one point, she finally breaks down her guard and thanks George for taking good care of her.

I found the memoir interesting, particularly because I lived in central Missouri for six years, and although I never visited Paris, I was familiar with many of the other communities mentioned (Booneville, Moberly, Mexico, and Columbia, where George frequents Lakota Coffee while his mom has her hair cut at the Waikiki Hair Salon). Bettyville is a poignant memoir of a fading mother and of her son's regrets and triumphs.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Oooohhh.... sorry to see you were sucked in by a Kindle special with Miramont's Ghost, which didn't work for you but on the bright side, I am here to wish you a Happy Easter weekend!

Nice reviews of Miramont's Ghost (ick) and Bettyville, Deborah.

27. A Bit on the Side by William Trevor

This small collection of short stories was a bit of a disappointment. I have enjoyed several of Trevor's novels and story collections, but this one just didn't move me like other of his works. For the most part, the stories are about ordinary, mousey, even dull people living ordinary, dull lives. While this is true of other Trevor stories, his use of language has always been powerful, making me interested in and empathetic with the most ordinary of characters. That didn't happen for me in A Bit on the Side; for me, Trevor's usual poignancy was missing here.

Two rereads with my students:

28. The Roaring Girl by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley
29. Othello by William Shakespeare

>79 Cariola: That's unfortunate...I've recently picked up a copy of that one myself.

30. Fever by Mary Beth Keane

A few years ago, I read Anthony Bourdain's biography of "Typhoid Mary," an Irish immigrant cook who unknowingly started an epidemic in early twentieth-century New York. Fever also focuses on Mary Mallon, but, being fiction, it gives her character more depth and creates empathy for the way she was hounded, isolated,villainized, and humiliated. Keane's story's antagonist is a Dr. Soper, the researcher who tracked down Mary as a healthy typhoid carrier and determined that the bacilli were passed on through her cooking. Never having been ill herself, Mary finds it hard to believe that she could be the source of the disease that had killed two of her employers' children and several others and had sickened a number of her coworkers. But in quieter moments, she ponders all the deaths she had attended in Ireland and on the ship crossing the Atlantic, and the death of an employer's toddler whom she had grown to love.

Keane covers Mary's forcible arrest and hospitalization, her exile to an island hospital for consumptives, her suit to be allowed to return to a relatively normal life--as long as she promises never again to work as a cook. She also provides a colorful yet sympathetic portrait of life for the working class in New York, ca. 1900-25. And then there is Mary's complicated relationship with Alfred, her German lover, with whom she has lived since the age of seventeen. I found this novel well written and engaging and recommend it to those interested in historical fiction of this period.

4 out of 5 stars.

>81 laytonwoman3rd: It wasn't awful, just dull in comparison to Trevor's other works that I have read.

31. 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford (reread with my students)

32. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This isn't the sort of book that I would normally read, but I was trying to unload paperbackswap credits before their new policies (pay-per-swap or purchase an annual membership) went into place. I'm just not that into magic and fantasies; never read a Harry Potter book and probably never will. So I have to say that I liked it more than I expected to--but it still isn't quite my cup of tea. I'll give the author points for creativity: the contest between two master magicians is something I've seen before in a number of movies, but the addition of having two talented apprentices play out the battle with neither knowing the opponent's identity was quite clever. And she created some dazzling illusions, described in similarly dazzling prose. But overall, I found the book a bit too long and convoluted. I enjoy complexity, but due to the general subject and the lack of particularly engaging main characters, I felt that I had to work harder to sort it all out than, in the end, was worth it.

3.5 out of 5 stars

>85 Cariola: I enjoyed it more than I thought I might, but I'm like you about it overall. It wasn't my sort of read from the onset.

>82 Cariola: This book is on the tbr pile for awhile. It is time to see if the library has a copy and read it. While I'm recovering my goal is to read the books more of the books I have accumulated throughout the entire house. So far, I've made progress. I haven't purchased any books since the beginning of the year when I went on two bookcloseouts.com frenzied buying sprees.

But, when something looks really good, then I try to get the book from the library. So far, this is working.

I hope the semester ends for you. I won't be able to return until mid July. Sadly, I won't get the opportunity to say good bye to some of the students I really like.

33. The Old Maid by Edith Wharton

As her wedding day approaches, Charlotte Lowell reveals a long-hidden secret to her cousin, Delia Ralston: the foundling that she has been visiting as a charity project is actually her own daughter, born as the result of a brief affair with one of Delia's former beaux. (Don't worry--no spoilers; this is something you learn in the first few chapters, and I promise to give nothing else away.) The reactions, decisions, and solutions that follow will deeply affect the lives of the two women, as well as that of the little girl, Tina.

As so often, Wharton sets her story in upper crust New York society at the end of the nineteenth century, a world propelled by money, property, lineage, and rigid rules of etiquette. But the most interesting aspect of The Old Maid is the shifting relationship between the cousins, Delia and "Chatty" (Charlotte). Wharton delves deep into their psychology, exploring their fears, resentments, and motivations over the course of twenty years, all of them revolving around the often conflicting values of maternal love and family loyalties. This is, as another reviewer noted, a sentimental story--but not in a maudlin, melodramatic way. I consider it a fine addition to my Wharton shelf.

4 out of 5 stars.

The below were all reread with students in my three courses:

34. Q & A by Vikas Swarup
35. The Tempest by William Shakespeare
36. The Changeling by Thomas Middleton

Hmmm that's a Wharton I haven't read and in fact haven't heard of! I have a slew of her books in Virago editions and somehow convinced myself that was "all she wrote" so to speak.

>90 lauralkeet: I believe this short novel is part of Old New York--which is available in a Virago edition.

>91 Cariola: oh, okay, I have that one. Thanks!

>88 Cariola: A few weeks ago I read House of Mirth. Wharton does indeed shine a bright light on the many strict rules and regulations that lead to ones downfall as soon as the slightest unacceptable thing happens.

>85 Cariola: What a great review. Like you, I don't enjoy fantasy. I haven't read Harry Potter books nor did I venture down the Hobbit series road when they were so popular years ago.

I hope your weekend is a good one.

37. The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler

Having just finished The Night Circus, which wasn't exactly my cup of tea, my first thought once I got into the first few chapters of The Book of Speculation was: "Oh, crap, another book about circus people with paranormal abilities!" Fortunately, it was a lot more and a lot better than that. The book's chapters alternate between the present day, in which the protagonist, research librarian Simon Watson, is about to be permanently laid off due to budget cuts and his house about to fall into the sea, and the late 1790s, when Peabody's Portable Magic and Miracles, a menagerie of contortionists, clairvoyants, a miniature horse, a counting pig, a wild boy, and a mermaid, travelled the eastern US states.

The story begins when Simon is sent a strange book full of odd names and sketches, by Martin Churchwarry, an antiquarian bookseller. Neither seems to know exactly what it is, but Churchwarry has noted the name "Verona Bonn" in it and tracked down Simon as one of her descendants. Indeed, this was the grandmother he never knew, a woman who at one time worked as a circus mermaid and who--oddly--drowned at a young age. Simon recalls how his mother, also an excellent swimmer, had taught he and his sister how to hold their breath underwater for up to ten minutes. But she, too, drowned young, assumedly a suicide--on the same date as her mother.

If there's an upside to getting laid off, it's that Simon has plenty of time to conduct research into his family's past and track down more information about Peabody's and the mysterious book, which seems to be a carnival record book of sorts. And if there's an upside to being an about-to-be-unemployed research librarian, it's that you have plenty of contacts and resources, as well as time. Even after his last official day of work, Simon still has that access through his longtime friend (and maybe sometime girlfriend) Alice McAvoy, who still works in the small Grainger Library.

On top of all this, Simon has two other major worries: the historic childhood home in which he still resides is crumbling, and his sister Enola, a highly strung drifter who works as a carnival tarot card reader, is coming for a visit. Not to mention that the ominous date on which his mother and grandmother both drowned is fast approaching.

So--I don't want to give any more than this--all of which you will learn in the first few chapters. There are a lot of mysteries to be sorted out, and along the way, you'll meet a number of wonderfully drawn, intriguing characters, including: Enola's boyfriend Doyle, The Electric Boy; Hermelius Peabody, carnival manager; Amos, the mute, who transforms from Wild Boy into several new incarnations; Madame Ryzkhova, the tarot reader; Benno, the contortionist; and the beautiful Evangeline, mysterious mermaid extraordinaire. Not to mention about a million horseshoe crabs.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Oh, this sounds too good to pass up. On the tbr pile it goes.. What a great review. Thumbs up!

96> Linda, if you like, I can send you this ARC. It also came with a little pamphlet by the author on how to create an old book.

Great review of The Book of Speculation, Deborah! I'll put it on my wish list as well.

38. Odysseus Abroad by Amit Chaudhuri

OK, lets say this up front: not much happens in this book, so if you're looking for action, better skip this one and go back to Game of Thrones. It's a short, simple, introspective novel about a young man and his uncle. It's the Thatcher era, and Ananda has been in London for two years, studying English literature and trying to become a poet. He lives with his bachelor uncle, Radhesh, in a basement bedsit. There's an attractive woman living downstairs and a party that apparently goes on 24/7 upstairs. The book focuses on a single day in their lives--sort of an homage to Stephen Daedalus, if you will, or even Clarissa Dalloway. (The Odyssey reference is a bit tongue-in-cheek.) But besides their quarrels over the relative value of Keats v. Tagore and the quality of Indian food in England, Ananda's narrative goes back in time, telling the story of Radhesh's past, of how his own parents met and married, of his sad poet-uncle who lived in Ceylon, and of his own disappointments. The relationship between the two is a kind of Push Me-Pull Me: on one hand, they represent the typical generation gap, intensified the conflicting desires to fit into English society and a longing for home; on the other, they are united by the ties of blood, of family, of familiarity, of India. A quiet little book with moments of insight and of humor, Odysseus Abroad will not shake your world, but it might make you think a bit. Overall, a fast and enjoyable read.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for that very nice review of Odysseus Abroad, Deborah. I was curious about it, and based on your comments I'll buy and read it next month.

Thanks for your offer, which I will accept. I can offer to send you Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard. Are you interested? If so, can you please send your home address to my home page. Alas, my address book is on my work computer, and I don't plan to go there until July 13.

>101 Whisper1: I just sent you a PM, Linda.

>100 kidzdoc: Darryl, the NYC gave it a bland review, but I liked the characters, their conversations, and Ananda's musings.

>103 Cariola: Part of me thinks that any challenging novel written by a woman is doomed to receive a lukewarm or negative review; The Luminaries and The Song of Achilles come to mind straight away. I've gotten to the point where I hardly read the NYT book reviews anymore.

>104 kidzdoc: But Amit Chauhury is a man. :)

>105 Cariola: Umm...clearly my neurons were crossed when I typed that message. I've read at least three books by Amit Chaudhuri, and I certainly know that he's a man!

For some reason I was thinking about A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson, which I believe received a lukewarm or negative review in The Paper of Record. Hmm...I just looked, and the two NYT reviews of it I found online were very positive ones.

Don't mind me...

>106 kidzdoc:
Darryl, I immediately thought of your post when I saw the review of Odysseus Abroad in today's NY Times Book Review. It was quite a good review UNTIL you read the last sentence:

"Odysseys Abroad" in an attractive wisp, a time capsule for anyone who knew the still scruffy London of the mid-1980s. Chaudhuri's readers will admire his skill - and wish the book were not, in the end, as bland as the British food of yore."

>107 catarina1: Yep, that's what I meant. Big buildup to the smack-down.

And "smack-down" is was. But your review was so good that the book is on my TBR. I'm going to my local library to see if that system has it.

39. Academy Street by Mary Costello

Academy Street is a short, introspective novel about an Irish woman's mostly sad life. Tess Lohan's mother dies when she is only eight, and the loss, coupled with her father's distance and simmering resentment at being left to raise four daughters and two sons on his own, has left its mark on Tess. As she grows up, she finds it difficult to connect with almost anyone except her sister Claire, feeling somehow detached or different from others. And she has a hard time standing up for herself, even saying what she wants. So when it is decided that she train to become a nurse, she does. And when it is decided that she will follow Claire to New York and live with her aunt, she does. And life becomes even more stressful--or boring?--when Claire and her family move to the other side of the country. Tess's life seems to become a series of losses and estrangements.

There are moments of joy in Tess's life: one great (if brief) passion; her son Theo's early years, when mother and child seem to be almost one; her unexpected friendship with a neighbor; the pleasures of reading and learning. Small joys, indeed, but enough to carry her through. Along the way, Costello takes us inside Tess's heart and mind, allowing us to eavesdrop on her quest to understand herself, her life, and those around her. The novel takes us into Tess's 60s, ending with (yes) another tragedy and more losses. But at least she seems to begin to make sense of it all.

If this sound like a bit of a downer--well, it is. On the plus side, I felt that I understood where Tess was coming from, how she thought, why she backed away from life. And the novel is beautifully written. Academy Street may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy deep character studies, you may enjoy it, as I did.

4 out of 5 stars

Hi Deb

I just finished Orphan Trail by Christina Baker Kline. There is a lot of text regarding one of the main characters who was originally from Ireland and how she and family were treated upon arrival in America.

I am now drawn to your recent read and will see if the local library has a copy.

I hope you are enjoying the spring and the respite from academia! I admit that I really have mixed feelings about returning in July.

>111 Whisper1: I know how you feel, Linda. For the last few years, I actually cried when it was time to go back in the fall.

I've read a number of good books about the Irish and Irish immigrants lately: History of the Rain, Fever, and this one.

40. The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

The Fair Fight is an excellent and highly original historical novel, beautifully written. It's set in late 18th-century England, and revolves around the daughter of a madam who becomes a female boxer (she fights only men, however). There's a lot more to the story than that, however. The novel is divided into sections told by different characters. The first is Ruth, the boxer, who describes her life in "the convent," her jealousy of her beautiful sister, her entry into the ring, and her "marriage." The second narrator is George Bowden, a handsome young man with limited prospects who is in love with more than one person. He lives off Perry Sinclair, a wealthy heir and old school chum; they are friends with Granville Dryer, a gambler who is Ruth's sponsor and her sister's "fancy man." Then there is a third narrator, Charlotte Sinclair, Perry's sad, repressed sister, a former beauty who survived the pox that killed her parents, sister, and another brother, but was left horribly scarred. I love the distinctive voices of the well-drawn characters and the way their lives keep crossing. It's a hard one to put down!

4.5 out of 5 stars.

41. Moone Boy: The Blunder Years by Chris O'Dowd

Suffice it to say that watching this Irish sit com on HBO is far preferable to listening to the book it's based on. I was also disappointed that, while one can say that the show is true to the book, the book adds nothing that isn't in the show--which I had already seen. If you aren't familiar with it, it's set in the 1990s in Dublin, and the main character is 12-year old Martin Moone, who is beset upon by his three older sisters and the local bullies. To combat his loneliness, he invents an imaginary friend (played by O'Dowd in the series). The show is topical and funny; the audiobook, not so much. At least it was short.

2 out of 5 stars

Well, I've missed loads of stuff since I was last lurking. I don't think I liked Academy Street as much as you - I think it suffered from covering similar territory as Brooklyn in my head. I've not come across The Fair Fight at all, and your comments make it sound good, so will have to have a look for that at the library. Thank you!

Nice review of The Fair Fight, Deborah. I never would have guessed that female boxers existed in England during that time!

42. The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace

The Painted Bridge is set in Victorian London. Anna, recently married to a much older vicar whom she barely knows, finds herself confined to a mental asylum for the supposedly crazy act of leaving home to go to the aid of shipwreck victims. No matter how hard she tries, she can't convince anyone that she is not mad. There is the usual sadistic matron, the arrogant doctors, a collection of pathetic patients, some of whom are no less mad than Anna but confined for various indiscretions. A secondary character, the asylum owner's teenage daughter Catherine, befriends Anna. It's clear that Catherine, whose "heroine" is The Fasting Girl seen at a local fair, has bona fide mental problems, including anorexia; her mother is concerned, but her father--the supposed expert on madness--is in denial. Anna's only hope for escape is a young doctor who photographs the patients, believing that these fixed portraits can reveal the true states of their minds.

Wallace creates a horrific picture of the treatment of the mentally disturbed. Along the way she examines the discrepancies in acceptable "moral" behavior for men and women at the time. Overall, this was a fairly interesting but not earthshaking read.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Nice review of The Painted Bridge, Deborah. Your review reminded me of the book Inconvenient People:
Lunacy, Liberty and the Mad-Doctors in Victorian England by Sarah Wise, which desccribed several notable cases of hospitalization of several well to do people who were quirky, troublesome or "inconvenient" for some reason, often times because they were in possession of money or other material items that a close family member wanted, but who were not truly mentally ill or deserving of institutionalization.

Gosh, you've been doing a lot of good reading, Deborah! If I didn't have your thread starred, I certainly would do it now! Lots of stuff that I want to look into, and some that I have on the shelf that I can look into anytime.
The only two I can comment on are *Unnecessary Woman*, which I loved in spite of the bump squashing and pretension and *All Light*, which I didn't.
Meanwhile, I'm possessing my soul in patience for July when I will feel it's O.K. to put *Both* on my Kindle for the Orange July read. Sort of silly, but that's how it is.
This fall and winter when you're missing teaching, remember that I would really love to read something Jacobean with you. I loved *Malfi* without any help; I'm sure I'd love it more with. Then there are all the great ones I haven't read even once. Please keep me in mind when you get to the point that you'd be happy doing a tutored read. I don't want it to be a burden.

>119 LizzieD: I wasn't crazy about All the Light We Cannot See, and I'm finding it less memorable as time goes on. I might have enjoyed An Unnecessary Woman if I hadn't listened to it on audio . . . the reader may have made the main character sound even more unlikable than I thought she was.

Sure, I will keep in mind doing a tutored Jacobean play reading. I've never done one before so I will have to check out how others have led them. Are you mainly interested in the revenge tragedies, or would you give one of the comedies a try?

I've read only tragedies, and as I indicated, those, not well. (How many commas can you get into a 10-word sentence?) I'm game for anything by anybody - actually, I've read only Webster and Tourneur, and those so long ago that I'm ashamed to say that I've read them. Pick a favorite!

Hi Deb. I hope your summer is going well. How nice it will be for you not to return to academia in the fall. How I envy you! I admit returning in July will be most difficult, both physically and emotionally. These months of recovery have given time to pause and realize my heart just isn't in it any more. Alas, I need this super duper expensive health care plan until I am sure that the surgery holds and all fuses.

I'll be 63 in September ....then, two more years to go. I'll work hard, but not my usual crazy pace. I'l skate, but not win any medals.

>122 Whisper1: Hi, Linda. I saw your lovely garden on facebook this morning--glad you've had the time and energy to enjoy it! It doesn't quite feel like retirement yet (actual date is August 7), except when I get some annoying email that normally I would have steamed over. Now I can just click Delete. Hopefully you will find, as I did, that with retirement on the horizon, it's easier to start saying "No" at work and to use shortcuts. As a Virgo, I know all about perfectionism!

No wonder we relate so well. I am also a Virgo. Please remind me of your birthday. Mine is Sept. 18th. I fit so many of the attributes of this sign.

I agree re. emails. I have not be on line answering emails from co workers or students. I need to get the clear message to them that I am NOT working during disability. However, a friend asked me to respond to something she sent last week.

I discovered 5,700 email messages, most of them were notices from stores regarding sales, etc., but a great deal started with "I know you are recovering from severe surgery, but I wonder if you could help with......."

I did not answer any of them! This is new behavior for me and a clear sign that I am changing work habits and will continue to do so in the next two years. I don't think Lehigh owes me, but on the other hand, as an exempt employee, I've worked thousands of unpaid hours. So, working like a normal way instead of a crazy pace sounds sane and fair to me.

GOOD for Linda!!! GOOD for you, Deborah!!! Retirement is pretty close to heaven, I must say.

I'm glad that you are very close to retirement. I have been retired for about 15 months. And it is truly wonderful. The place where I used to work was extremely stressful and frustrating. I was only hanging on to increase my retirement. Until I got to a point where I just could not take it any more - life is just too short. I'm sure you will be very happy once August arrives.

>126 catarina1: That's exactly what I did. I made it to 66, but the changes to the curriculum and the admin's refusal to replace faculty who retired, died, or left for other positions over the past three years made the thought of another year unbearable. Shakespeare, my best course, will no longer be required for the English major, and freshman writing courses will be capped at 30-35 instead of the recommended 22. Time to go! I had a lot of health issues last semester that were caused in part by stress and by not taking the time to care for myself, and that helped me to make the decision.

>124 Whisper1: I have been cleaning out my work email account--deleted over 6000 emails already and have just gotten started on the Sent emails. I've also had two extra bags of paper for each biweekly recycling pickup; all of those teaching notes, syllabi, handouts, etc. are going. I'm still working on emptying out the office. I gave away almost 300 books to a charitable book drive; I just didn't want to bring them home.

I'm on the cusp, so I have a few Leo tendencies as well (August 26).

Stopping by with hellos and making note of The Fair Fight and The Painted Bridge.

Good for you Deb. You a re really making progress cleaning things out and starting a new!

43. The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Well, this is one rare instance in which I think that the movie was far better than the book. The story focuses on Hassan, a young Muslim from India with a natural talent for cooking: his taste buds are "the equivalent for a chef to what perfect pitch is for a musician." After being struck by a tragedy in Mumbai, the family moves first to to London, then to Lumiere, France to open a restaurant featuring Hassan's mother's prized recipes. Unfortunately, their new place is across the street from a three-star Michelin French restaurant run by the haughty Mme. Mallory. The entire movie and a significant part of the book focus on the relationship between Hassan and Mme. Mallory, who at first tries to drive the family out of town but eventually mentors the young Indian. Even though the characters are somewhat stereotypes, I found them rather charming on film--but less so in print. And the last third of the book, when Hassan is trying to establish himself in Paris, tends to drag, and then leaps to an ending. The film's director was wise to bring back Mme. Mallory near the end and even to suggest a budding romance between her and Hassan's father. By the end of the book, however, we just find out that she is long dead. Bummer.

2.5 out of 5 stars.

>130 Cariola: I enjoyed the movie, but I thought the Paris part of that dragged a bit as well. So, no need to read the book. Thanks for the review.

Yes, thanks for the good review. Because I trust your judgement, I will skip reading the book.

I hope you are taking some break from cleaning and organizing and enjoying some summer time.

44. The Green Road by Anne Enright

In the past, I've generally found Anne Enright's novels to be rather depressing. This one, too, has its dark moments, but it also has moments of love, hope, and humor. Rosaleen, an Irish woman in her 70s, has called her four children home for Christmas, telling them that she plans to sell the family home. The chapters move amongst Rosaleen and her four children, going from past events to the present. Each has tried but found it impossible to break ties with their needy (perhaps even selfish) but distanced mother. Dan, the eldest, first declared that he wanted to join the priesthood, then moved to North America; Emmett gravitated towards humanitarian work in South Africa. And while the two daughters stayed in Ireland, Hannah moved to Dublin, married, and took up a love affair with alcohol,, and Constance, who appears to be doing the best--married to a successful man, lovely children, large house--seems to be suffering most of all from her mother's constant demands and martyr-playing.

The Green Road IS an Irish family saga, but one for modern times. It's also a deep exploration of the parent-child relationship and its lifelong consequences. Beautifully written and engaging, it has put Anne Enright back on the literary map for me.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

45. A Memory of Violets by Hazel Gaynor

(No spoilers here: everything in the first paragraph you will learn in the first two or three short chapters.)

This is yet another of those novels in which women in two time frames intersect, but at least the time frames here are close enough together that characters in each can actually meet. The stories revolve around two parallel pair of sister, one in each time period. In 1912, young Tilly Harper leaves her unhappy home in the north to take a position as housemother in a London home for disabled flower girls--poor girls who, like Eliza Doolittle, made a living selling nosegays and bouquets on London's streets. In her room, she finds a mysterious wooden box that contains, among other things, a shamrock-embroidered handkerchief, a rag doll, a collection of pressed flowers, and a journal written by former resident Flora Flynn. Reading the notebook, Tilly learns that Florrie, a crippled orphan, had never gotten over a traumatic event that happened decades earlier: while selling flowers one day, someone pulled the crutch from under her, and before Florrie could get back on her feet, her little sister Rosie, who was only four and nearly blind, had been stolen away. Florrie's sad notebook details her lifelong search for Rosie and the hole left in her heart by her sister's disappearance. Coincidentally, Tilly also has a disabled sister, but she and Esther are far from devoted to one another. As the story develops, we learn what happened to Esther and how Tilly's family was affected by this tragedy and by her the earlier death of her father, who was serving the queen in South Africa.

Gaynor does an excellent job of weaving together the stories of these sisters, contrasting them while reconciling their differences. She also creates a realistic view of the London streets and, through extensive research, the charitable institution set up to provide orphaned and disabled flower girls with a safe haven and meaningful work. The writing sometimes falls into the prosaic, and there may be one or two coincidences too many in the plotline, but the story and characters are interesting enough that these minor flaws may be overlooked. Overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who likes to read about late Victorian London life.

4 out of 5 stars.

46. We That Are Left by Clare Clark

I had a very hard time getting into this book, mainly because I just didn't care about any of the hothouse characters. They were more than odd, they were all spoiled, self-centered, obsessive, and mean, whether children or adults. I know the author meant to portray an upper crust family, but I really don't want to read about people that I dislike so much. It also bothered me that they seemed to be drawn not from Downton Abbey, as one reader suggested, but from Ian McEwan's Atonement (even though the latter's setting began just prior to World War II). And there was way too much detailed description of THINGS! I kept waiting for something to happen or for the characters to get more interesting. For me, neither ever happened. Very dry. If I want to get the flavor of World War I and its effect on England, I'll go back to Pat Barker's Regeneration series, or even Mrs. Dalloway. This was just plain boring, in my opinion.

2 out of 5 stars.

Thanks for writing about your latest mostly-interesting reading, Deborah. I'll at least keep the Enright in mind!

47. The Americans by Chitra Viraraghavan

This was an ambitious project--in fact, maybe a bit TOO ambitious. I usually enjoy novels about Asian immigrants, and I usually enjoy novels with multiple narrators whose stories are woven together. The main issue I had with this book is that there are too many narrators, and the very brief chapters devoted to each were not enough to develop strong characters and keep my interest. If I put the book down for a day or two, I had difficulty remembering who was who. Was it Kamala or Kavita who was the doctor? Which one's father was visiting, and what was his name? Why is this character's name CLN and what does it mean again? Is it Rangi or Ranjan who is married to Kavita? Shoshhanna--wait, that's not an Indian name. Oh, she must be part of Ariel's story, the sole immigrant who isn't from India. And don't even ask me about all those men connected to the gangster who enslaves women like Pink Girl. You get the point. There are links between some of the stories: Tara is Kamala's sister, and she meets CLN on the plane; CLN is Kavita's father; Ariel works as a house cleaner for Kamala. But sometimes these links feel forced for the sake of an overly complicated plot outline. I also felt like some of the characters were stale old stereotypes--for example, the teenage daughter who rolls her eyes at everyone and everything Indian because she wants to be 100% American; the wise, kindly grandpa who knows all and forgives all; the self-involved career woman; etc. With so many stories going at once, how does one come up with a satisfactory ending? That's something I don't feel the author has quite figured out. Some seemed forced, others just petered out. While I can't say I hated this book, I sure didn't love it. Much of the time I found myself irritated with the stereotypes, stilted dialogue, and confusion. Comparisons to the work of Jhumpa Lahiri are way off the mark.

2 out of 5 stars.

48. Cat Daddy: What the World's Most Incorrigible Cat Taught Me About Life, Love, and Coming Clean by Jackson Galaxy

I'm a fan of Jackson's Animal Planet series, 'My Cat from Hell,' so I grabbed this audiobook when it was on a daily special. It's read by the narrator himself. Just as on the show, he's sometimes a little over the top and sentimental, but after listening to his book, I can better understand why: he has had a lot to overcome in his life, from detached parents to addictions to drugs, alcohol, and food. (He weighed over 400 pounds at one point in his life.) Along the way, he gives some good cat care tips and sums them up at the end as well. Not a bad easy day listen!

3.5 stars out of 5.

In case you're not aware, there'll (probably) be a Philadelphia meetup in August: https://www.librarything.com/topic/193378 .

Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone.

In the 13th century, four sisters from Provence made advantageous marriages, and each ended up a queen. The eldest, Marguerite, married the heir to the French throne, Louis IX, when she was only 13. It wasn't until the death of her domineering mother-in-law that she was able to exert her influence over her weak-willed husband. Eleanor became the wife of the English king, Henry III and helped to mastermind a series of wars and peace treaties. After several engagements were broken off for better prospects, Sanchia, reportedly the most beautiful, married Richard of Cornwall, a much older widower who was Henry's brother and reportedly the wealthiest man in England. When he literally bought the position of King of the Romans (Germany), she, too, became a queen. Beatrice, the last sister, wed Charles of Anjou, the ambitious brother of Louis XI, who managed to secure an Italian crown.

Historian Nancy Goldstone details the personal and political lives of these influential women, the courts in which they thrived, and the wars (including the Crusades) and manipulations in which they became involved. While we often tend to think of medieval royal women as little more than baby machines or inspiration for minstrels, each of these sisters played an active role in the workings of her husband's kingdom. It's a fascinating story--even if it does sometimes get a bit bogged down in battle details and confused by multiple occurences of the same or similar names. A few readers on Amazon complain that there are historical inaccuracies; I really wouldn't know, but often "inaccuracies" end up being a different interpretation of players and events. I enjoyed the books and think anyone with an interest in medieval women and/or politics would probably like it as well.

4 out of 5 stars.

I love your reviews. While I am happy that you are retiring, I cannot help but think of what the students will be missing in accumulating knowledge from your wonderful brain!

All the best to you!

>141 Whisper1: Why, thank you, Linda--that's very nice of you to say (although I'm not so sure the students would agree with you).

Four Queens goes on my wish list!
Thanks for the review

>141 Whisper1: I think (from personal experience) that it is years later that we realize how great some of our professors were.

I do hope that you are retiring with positive thoughts that you changed some lives and imparted wisdom. Of this, I have no doubt!

Now, you can concentrate on your book. I believe you mentioned that it would be of the Tudor era. Are you thinking of focusing on a specific character?

144> Yes, I have a woman in mind who led a very fascinating life! I just need to work on a story arc and decide if I want to tell her story from her POV or from someone else's.

Wishing for 4 queens with thanks!
Looking forward to hearing about book progress!!
YAY RETIREMENT!!!!

50. The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman

Although this was an VERY long historical novel and (it took me over a month to finish it), I loved every minute of it. Diana Norman takes a spin off Restoration actress Margaret Hughes and creates a fascinating portrait of London under Charles II, James II, and William and Mary. The novel is peppered with characters drawn from life: poet and playwright Aphra Behn, who becomes a close friend of the main character; Prince Rupert, to whom she becomes mistress; the Earl of Rochester, one of her patrons; the actor Thomas Betterton; General John Churchill, poet John Dryden, and many more.

The novel begins when Penitence Hurd, a 17-year old Puritan born in the colonies, arrives in London. Circumstances have caused her to flee her home and go in search of her aunt, the black sheep of the family. Penitence is dismayed to learn that her aunt runs the Cock and Bull, a flourishing brothel, but, having no place else to go, she agrees to stay and work as a seamstress. The story takes off as the Great Plague of 1666 begins to decimate the neighborhood. As it follows the twists and turns of Penitence's life, it takes us to the stage and the court; to the Somerset countryside and Newgate prison; through the decadent reign of Charles II, the Bloody Assizes that followed Monmouth's rebellion, and the Glorious Revolution. It's a huge landscape, but Norman's wonderful eye for detail and her indomitable main character make the journey through it so worth the effort.

Norman is a new author to me. Unfortunately, she has passed away, but she left a treasury of novels over the years, both under her own name and her pen name, Ariana Franklin. (The 'Mistress of the Art of Death' series was published under that name; I'm less interested in this mystery series.) Although Norman's novels are often referred to as Historical Romances--and there is a slight romance woven into the storyline here that gets put on hold for 20 years but wraps up in the end--, it's the thrilling, solid history that shines through The Vizard Mask. I can't wait to read more of Diana Norman's work!

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Thanks for the review of The Vizard Mask. I just downloaded it to my Kindle. I had read the first one or two of the Adelia Aguilar series when they were first published, enjoyed them despite some less satisfactory aspects. Have you read/looked into the Makepeace Hadley series? My local library only has her books writing as Ariana Franklin, alas.

>148 catarina1: I downloaded A Catch of Consequence to my kindle a few days ago--enjoying it so far!

What a great review of Vizard Mask. Are you enjoying retirement?

I will take a major step toward that goal this week when I tell the Chairperson of the department that in two years I will retire. I'm giving this notice far in advance so the department can think about what is needed to fill the position.

If the person whom I supervise as my assistant decides to apply for the job, I think she would be a good choice, and I would need to start training her now, particularly regarding the financial aspect of the publications.

I have two years of editors slated for the chief position on the yearbook. After that, I have no idea if they would keep that publication in our department, or if they would farm it out.

This long six month short-term disability time provided the opportunity to think a lot about my future and the need to enjoy life. But, I need to plan financially and I'd like to be able to build more of my pension and social security base.

Good for you that you made this decision!

51. Galore by Michael Crummey

I'm glad that I didn't read any reviews of this book before I started it; if I had, I probably would never have picked it up. I'm not a fan of so-called "magical realism" and likely would never use that term to describe Michael Crummey's Galore. Yes, it has its mystical components, but they are well woven into the traditions, history, and lore of Paradise Deep, the remote Newfoundland fishing village in which the novel is set. This is a huge multi-generational saga focused on the conflicts and convergences of two extended families, the Devines and the Sellerses. A word of advice: I listened to the book on audio, and while John Lee is one of my favorite narrators and did a wonderful job with this material, I might have enjoyed the book more had I read it in print. I found myself floundering at times to remember exactly who the characters were and how they were related, wishing that I had some kind of family tree or cast of characters to help me out. (I understand that there is such a family tree in the print version.)

If you've read other reviews, you know that the novel opens with the residents of Paradise Deep gathered on shore to harvest a whale, and when they cut into its belly, a pale young man emerges, half-dead. Taken in and brought back to health by the the matriarch of the Devine family, he is named Judah, and he becomes legendary for the whiteness of his skin and hair and for the smell of decaying fish about him that can't be washed away. Judah never complains--in fact, never speaks--whether he is being accused of a crime that he did not commit, married off to the Widow Devine's granddaughter, sent out to sea with the fishing crews, imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, or committed to a lunatic's cell.

But Judah is only one of the fascinating characters whose stories spin out in Galore and its series of feuds between Anglican and Catholic, rich and poor, union members and company bosses, accusers and accused, ghosts and the living, husbands and wives, and more. Crummy's eye for description and detail and his unique yet realistic characters draw the reader into the world of Paradise Deep and the dilemmas faced by its inhabitants. It is a world that I hope he will allow us to visit once again in another novel.

The character I found most intriguing was Newman, a young Connecticut doctor who signs and perennially renews a contract to serve the people of Paradise Deep. On his first day, he falls madly in love with Bride, a pregnant young woman about to be married who has come to request that all her teeth be pulled. Newman hides his passion for years, seeing Bride through a difficult childbirth and waiting well beyond her widowing to speak of his feelings. He is both an outsider and a fixture of the town as the years proceed, and his insights as both allow the reader a fuller assessment of the inhabitants.

If you are a fan of multi-generational sagas, as I am, you will enjoy meeting the Sellerses, the Devines, and their neighbors and watching the progress of their lives and families. I'm looking forward to reading more of Crummey's work!

Wonderful review of Galore!

>152 lkernagh: Thank you!

I always wait for the next Michael Crummey book to come out! I enjoy his work and did like Galore a lot!

52. A Catch of Consequence by Diana Norman

I really enjoyed The Vizard Mask by Diana Norman, so I was eager to try more of her work. This one is the first in a trilogy that revolves around Makepeace Burke, a tavern owner in colonial Boston. On the night after riots in opposition to the Stamp Act, Makepeace launches out from her dock to pick up traps and finds instead a drowning man. As a good Christian, she feels compelled to pull him from the water and bring him home to nurse back to health, but his dress identifies him as an English aristocrat--a dangerous man to have in her house in dangerous times, especially since Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty use her tavern as a meeting place. Romance, of course, ensues. Events force Makepeace to sail for England, along with her brother Aaron, an aspiring actor, her mute Indian servant, her black housekeeper Betty, and Betty's son, Josh.

Things get better for Makepeace. Then things get worse--much worse. And soon the romance becomes a tale of survival for the sake of revenge. Makepeace is a survivor, and she survives solely on her wits and the strength of her hatred. While what happens to Makepeace, both in America and even more so in England, is truly horrific, her monomaniacal lust for revenge blinds her to any kindness and starts to make her a bit unlikable. Near the end, Norman goes into a blatant and annoying feminist rant about how women who have business smarts should not be held back because of their gender. I'm all for that sentiment, but it could have been handled more subtly.

As you can probably tell, I didn't enjoy this novel as much as the previous one, and I'm less eager to get to the next two in the Makepeace series. I may go back to another Norman novel, Blood Royal first.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

53. Neverhome by Laird Hunt

There is much to admire about Neverhome: the lyrical prose, the sensitivity to women's issues, the message of war's dehumanizing influence, etc. The basic premise is that the young Thompsons feel an obligation to fight for the Union, but since Bartholomew is "too soft" and would likely end up killed, Constance dresses as a man, takes the name of Ash, and signs up. It's a situation not unheard of, though most women disguised as male to accompany their husbands into battle. "Gallant Ash" is an expert rifleman and soon learns to kill with no remorse. There's a horrific scene in which she "disguises" as a woman and enters a cabin to bash in one man's head with a jug and shoot his companions in the head--and this is the first of many such incidents. In letters home to Bartholomew, we learn how they fell in love; and we suspect that her inability to give birth to a child caused an estrangement--a sense of personal failure--that hastened her march to war. In time, Ash's true gender is discovered, and she is confined to a mental asylum. By then, this reader had begun to wonder if there was more than the "craziness" of a woman going to war that put here there: Ash has come across as a disturbed person through a series of surrealistic dreams and conversations with her dead mother, not to mention some questionable decisions and actions. As others have mentioned, the novel's conclusion isn't the happy, expected one, but its disturbing nature is a fitting end to the bitter cruelty that Constance/Ash has suffered and caused.

What I found somewhat annoying was that I never got a clear sense of exactly WHY Constance felt the need to go to war, and it didn't make a lot of sense when I started asking myself questions, like how did Bartholomew get out of being conscripted, and how he managed the farm on his own if he was such a weakling, and why his neighbors didn't question where his wife had gone. So for me, this book ended up as an interesting psychological study of one character and a devastating look at the effects of war.

3 out of 5 stars.

Deb, I so enjoy your thought provoking reviews!

You are making the most of your retirement! You have me with The Vizard Mask, and I expect it will be on my Kindle almost immediately. I really needed a new author of huge tomes! I know how much Bonnie and others enjoyed Galore, so it's waiting on my reminder list. Thanks, Deborah! Keep reading and keep the fine reviews coming!

54. The Point of Vanishing by Howard Axelrod

I don't often read memoirs, but this one sounded interesting. I was particularly drawn to the idea of someone isolating with nature--and in the beautiful woods of Vermont, no less--to gain insight and wisdom. Howie Axelrod seemed to have everything: loving parents, good friends, a scholarship to travel in Italy, a talent for writing, and he was about to enter his senior year at Harvard. But a freak accident during a pick-up game of basketball left him blind in one eye, and his world suddenly changed. As a lot of people (including, I think, myself) would do, Howie puts on a stoic "I'm fine" face in public. But his descriptions of adjusting to the blindness tell another story. For one thing, he has lost all sense of depth perception--which, in turn, leads him to start feeling awkward around other people, even family. He retreats to a house far out in the Vermont woods for two years in an effort to find himself, feel comfortable with his body, search for meaning.

I was captivated by the first third of the book, but then I started to get bored. This is not Henry David Thoreau. For one thing, Howie doesn't REALLY isolate: he has phone access and speaks with family and friends fairly often; he has Nat, who comes to remove the snow; he has a car and goes into town to shop and have lunch at a diner, where he meets and befriends the British owner and her teenaged daughter; he goes home for Thanksgiving. (One of the things he learns is that he really needs other people.) And the "into nature" plot is fairly skimpy. He meditates on snails, then feels triumphant when he crushes an especially large one with his bicycle. He watches chickadees, but not so much for their beauty and habits as for the way he perceives their shadows.

And I really found the idealized descriptions of his Italian girlfriend annoying. These parts of the book really highlighted the adolescent self-absorption that other readers have noted.

The book might appeal more to regular readers of memoirs or to those with more interest in coming-of-age stories. And that's not me.

2.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Gee, if I'd only known, I could have milked up my lack of depth perception. I've had a "lazy" eye all my life, and effectively only use one eye. But it's hardly catastrophic or crippling, except when it comes to going up & down stairs (slowly), or parallel parking the car. That vehicle behind me is always WAY closer than I think....*crunch*.

Of course, if his blind eye is physically damaged, or doesn't move in sync with his other eye, I can see how that would make one feel self-conscious of one's appearance to others. My lazy eye flies off into the stratosphere when I get tired, so I sort of look at people side-ways to minimize the effect. But I can't say I've ever felt the need to hide in the woods.

>160 kac522: He says his eye looks normal. While playing basketball, another guy's finger hooked into his eye, and the optic nerve was severed. He goes on quite a bit about the difficulty of going down stairs but also complains about other depth perception issues. He works as a journalist for a living, so I'm guessing he was milking the entire experience for book material.

Hi Deb. I'm thinking of you and hoping that you are enjoying your retirement.

Deborah, it's you! Thank you so much for enjoying By the Book: Writers on Literature and the Literary Life enough last year to put it on my wish list. I have a copy now, and I'm sure it will be a good companion at bedtime for the next couple of months or so.

>162 Whisper1: Retirement is great--not a single moment of regret.

>163 LizzieD: You're welcome! I did enjoy that one.

55. The Madness of Love by Katherine Davies

I wasn't sure quite what to expect of this short novel made up of short chapters headed by rotating character's names: Fitch, Melody, Leo, Boares, Valentina, Jonathan. It started out with a good deal of sadness: Melody's brother has committed suicide, Leo loves but is spurned by Melody, Valentina's brother has broken a promise, Fitch hopelessly crushes on his teacher, etc. It took me awhile before I remembered that I had bought the book because it was promoted as a modern-day riff on Twelfth Night--and then I got it! Suddenly it became less tragic and more comic, a romp in which everyone was in love with the wrong person for the wrong reasons. Leo, the rich amateur musician who lives in a castle-like mansion, loves Melody because he has always loved Melody and can't imagine being matched with anyone else (he's the Orsino figure). Like Shakespeare's Olivia, Melody mourns a brother who has drowned and falls in love with another woman (Valentina)--only here there is no confusion of gender. Valentina, whose brother has sailed off to their childhood home in Sri Lanka despite a promise that they would go together, is hired by Leo to landscape his garden--and falls hopelessly in love with him. Melody's students, led by Fitch, play the roles of Feste and his crew; they torment the stuffy Mr. Boares (aka Malvolio). Davies doesn't hesitate to deviate from the original plot, enough to make her novel intriguing rather than solely derivative while retaining those "aha!" moments of recognition.

Overall, a light, fun read for the end of summer.

4 out of 5 stars.

56. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson

I really enjoyed Tove Jansson's novel The True Deceiver and really wanted to like this one as well, but it just didn't click with me, and I'm not entirely sure why. Well, for one thing, books that focus on children don't often interest me, unless the main character is a child I can relate to. This is a quiet, uneventful little book about a girl visiting her grandmother, who lives on a Scandinavian island, for the summers after her mother's death. That's pretty much it. Yes, the grandmother sometimes says wise things. And yes, the girl learns about nature and life. And yes, they form a relationship. But that's it. Maybe I was in the mood for something else, maybe I was looking too hard for some kind of philosophical truth beneath the surface. Whatever the reason, it just didn't grab me

For those who are interested, it's semi-autobiographical, and this edition includes family photographs of the author's niece Sophie and her grandmother on the island.

3 out of 5 stars (maybe less but I'm taking into account my dashed expectations).

57. Blood Royal by Diana Norman

This is the third novel I've read by Diana Norman over the past few months. It's set in England in the early 18th century, when George I, a German cousin of the late Queen Anne, was the first Hanoverian king and Jacobite plotting was still in full swing. Lady Cecily Fitzhenry is dragged into a plot to free her uncle, an ailing and imprisoned Jacobite. When her role is discovered, Prime Minister Robert Walpole works to bring about her ruin by marrying her off to an elderly sycophant and confiscating all of her property. From that point on, Cecily's sole purpose in life is to bring down Walpole. Of course, she is bolstered by dreams of the young man she fell in love with at first sight, her uncle's cellmate, who had promised to return to her from exile in Barbados.

As is typical of Norman's novels, this one rambles all over the place--but not without design. Cecily runs from debtor's prison to running a country tavern, from partnering with a highwayman to plotting with Jacobites for the return of James Stuart, all the while intent on destroying Walpole. Circumstances--primarily Walpole's outrageous legal acts--and life outside of London cause her to begin to empathize with the common man's (and woman's) plight. And of course, she finds love along the way (but not iwhere she initially expected).

The novel is well-written and well researched, although Norman takes a few liberties with chronology for the sake of telling a good tale. She has created some fine, engaging characters, including not only Cecily but also her sister-in-law Dolly, the part-time highwayman Tyler, the lawyer Cameron, and others. This isn't the best of Norman's novels that I've read so far (that would be The Vizard Mask, by a mile), but it was still an enjoyable read.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thirteen Ways of Looking: Fiction by Colum McCann

I have had mixed feelings about McCann's work: some I have absolutely loved (Transatlantic), some not so much (Dancer). Those feelings culminated in his new collection. Initially, I wasn't too impressed with it, but, as another reviewer wrote, I found myself thinking about the stories long after finishing them and having phrases and images pop back to mind unexpectedly. That's the sign of powerful writing. It was also a little hard to put aside the title's allusion and to avoid looking for links to the components of fiction as a craft and art. The first story, a novella of the same title told in thirteen segments (each headed by a short verse including blackbirds), quite obviously focused on perspective: the perspectives of the various cameras recording the last day of Judge Mendelssohn's life and those of the detectives who review them; the judge's own perspectives on the past and the present and the people around him; the objective narrator's perspective of the police questioning process; etc. I have to admit that this piece did not engage me as much as others, mainly because it seemed too much like an intentional and rather heavy-handed experiment in fiction. The second story, "What Time Is It Now, Where Are You?," seemed to continue this pattern. It is not so much the story of Sandi, a woman serving in Afghanistan, and her night on voluntary guard duty, as the story of the writer creating her story, who keeps asking himself questions as he develops character background and plot. I had read the third story, "Sh'khol," before, as an Amazon original, and was as moved by it the second time as the first. A divorced woman who translates Hebrew literature is spending Christmas in her new Galway cottage with her son, a child adopted from the Balkans who is afflicted with fetal alcohol syndrome, when a potential tragedy occurs. McCann plumbs the depths of her strengths and her failures, her sadness and her joy in a way that few others writers can do. At this point, my attention moved away from the mechanics of fiction, getting thoroughly involved in the story. The final piece, "Treaty," seems to return ever so slightly to that structure, focusing on the themes of forgiveness and acceptance when Beverly, a 76-year old nun who years ago was captured and abused by a Central American rebel, believes that she sees the man in a broadcast report on peace treaty negotiations and flies to London to confront him. It's a difficult task to write of such horrific things and to find the right tone for describing the process of becoming--and always being--a victim, but McCann is up to it, perhaps due, in part, to his own recent experience of being attacked on the street when he tried to help a woman who was being beaten.

So, in the process of reading, feeling, thinking about this book, my rating changed from an initial 3 stars to 4.5. It's not unflawed, but it is indeed beautifully written, and it did, indeed, get me to consider the situations described from varying perspectives while admiring the force of a powerful writer.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Hi, Deborah. Thanks for your good reviews of your good reading!
I'm happy to have The Vizard Mask safely on my Kindle, and I don't think I'll be a lot worse off if I miss the others. I was not thrilled with TransAtlantic although I didn't dislike it. I don't guess I need The Madness of Love, so perhaps I leave unscathed.

>168 Cariola: I'm really looking forward to reading this - even more following your review. Have you read Songdogs?

>168 Cariola: I haven't yet read Song Dogs, but it's on my wish list. Hope you like this new one.

Nice review of Thirteen Ways of Looking, Deborah. I've enjoyed three of the books I've read by him, so this book is already on my wish list.

A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson

Atkinson's Life after Life was one of my top five novels a few years back. It's series of "What ifs" in the life of Ursula Todd, born in the 1910s: what if Ursula had been stillborn or lived into old age, married or never married, stayed in England or spent years in pre-war Germany, etc. To me, it seemed as much an exercise in writing--what an author decides to do with his or character and plot--as the kind of spiritual quest others have suggested. A God in Ruins tells the story of Ursula's youngest brother, Teddy, who we know from the earlier book was a heroic RAF fighter pilot during World War II. (If, like me, you read the first book several years ago, you'll begin by questioning your memory about what happened to Teddy there . . . ) Here, Atkinson gives us another "What if"--but only one, and that comprises the bulk of the novel. The novel moves back and forth through time, from Teddy's wartime experiences to the early years of marriage and fatherhood, on into old age and, finally, death in 2012. He's a likable character, a decent man who cares deeply about the men in his crew and his family, continually trying to put things right without offending anyone. Most touching is his relationship with his two grandchildren, neglected by a mother who blames every flaw in her character and misadventure in her life on the fact that her own mother died when she was nine. Some chapters are devoted not to Teddy but to Viola, his only child, and her treks through commune life, drugs, several marriages, novel writing, and failed motherhood, and a few focus on Teddy's grandchildren, Bertie and Sunny. As other reviewers have mentioned, Atkinson also gives us through Teddy a detailed inside look at the experiences of war, particularly those of a bomber crew captain.

While I liked this book well enough, it can't compare to its predecessor. I can't really explain why without giving away too much of Atkinson's "surprise" ending, but for me, the "what if" just didn't work and was totally unnecessary. This could as easily--and perhaps better--have been a stand-alone novel about someone NOT a member of the Todd family. And I found some of the spiritual speculation in the last pages a bit heavy-handed and forced (not to mention irritating). Still, putting that aside, the book is well written, the characters well drawn, and the main story fairly engaging.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

>173 Cariola: - Great review. Makes me wonder if I should re-read Life after life before tackling A God in Ruins. Like you, I thought Life after Life was a great read and yet, if you asked me today what the story was about, I would end up giving you a blank stare before admitting, "I really don't remember."

>170 charl08: I heard him speaking on the radio about his attack and the writing process and am now even more interested. He came across as very modest but with a lot going on. I hadn't realised the title was a literary reference either.

>175 charl08:, >173 Cariola: These last two titles are both taken from other works: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens, and Hamlet.

60. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

It has been many years since I've read a novel by Anne Tyler. I read Breathing Lessons shortly after it first came out and read almost all of the books she wrote in the next few years. But by the time I got to Ladder of Years, it started to seem like I was reading the same book over and over--the same character types, same focus on family dynamics, often even the same setting--, so I stopped. Returning to Tyler's work after an almost 20 year absence, I find that her latest, A Spool of Blue Thread, is pretty much more of the same. The story is told in four sections, one very long one that takes up about 3/4 of the book, and three short ones. The focus is the Whitshank family, led by Red and Abby, who are in their 70s, and their four grown children. Red's father Junior worked hard, moving from his roots in poverty to ownership of a successful construction company. As a struggling contractor, Junior had built the house of his dreams--for another family, however, and they had many specifications that Junior considered mistakes. The house came up for sale after Junior's business began to succeed, and he bought the house and made changes to suit his ideal home. When Junior and his wife Linnie were killed in an accident, Red Whitshank took over both the business and the house on Bouton Drive. His adopted son Stem and daughter Jeannie now work for him, second daughter Amanda has married well, and son Denny, well, he's pretty much a drifter. The family home is the novel's main locale and a kind of character itself as the various Whitshanks, their memories, their secrets, and their conflicts keep returning to it.

I enjoyed the initial long section, even if much of it was exposition explaining the history of the house, of Linnie and Junior, of Red and Abby's courtship and marriage, of Stem's adoption, Denny's emotional issues, etc. I think what Tyler was trying to do was to clarify all these various "family stories" and the characters' different perspectives under one roof. But the three shorter sections seemed tagged on, maybe even unnecessary. The first simply retells in detail Abby's story (mentioned so frequently in the beginning section that it has become a family joke) of the day she first fell in love with Red. The next explains why, perhaps, the family knew so little about its idealized patriarch and matriarch, Junior and Linnie, and the last focuses on Denny, who in the end is both changed and unchanged but at peace with himself and his family.

On the basis of the first section alone, I would have given this book 4 stars, but in the end, those weaker sections and their stereotypical characters, dropped my rating to a three.

3 out of 5 stars.

61. Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maas

I signed up for NaNoWriMo this year in hopes of pushing myself to set aside the research on my own novel and to start writing the story instead. I watched a NaNoWriMo webinar in which one of the authors recommended this book and the workbook of the same title. Both were already on my shelf, so I decided that reading it might be a good way to get going. Maas is both a writer and an agent, and he provides guidelines for what he feels is essential to any novel written for today's market (meaning both readers and publishers). While I can't say that I learned anything earthshaking or terribly new here ,the book is well organized and full of well-chosen examples to explain the points the author is making. I had been floundering with several structural and narrative issues, and Maas's text helped me begin working through them. I found myself thinking of my novel as more of a a whole piece--a unified work rather than scattered thought. I still have a lot of questions, but perhaps the workbook, which I plan to start tomorrow, will help with answering those as well.

4 out of 5 stars.

>177 Cariola: I've had a very similar reading experience with Tyler. Some of her stories have really stayed with me...Saint Maybe, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. But Ladder of Years and Digging to America were total duds, as far as I was concerned. I have a couple more unread on my shelves, but I won't be in a hurry to add A Spool of Blue Thread.

So many great reviews to catch up on here! In the meantime Deborah, would you drop by my thread when you have a chance to weigh in on how I should run my personal challenge next year, in which I ask people to select books from my tbr... https://www.librarything.com/topic/196363#5325391. I'd definitely welcome a selection from you when comes time to collecting book title suggestions!

Hmm, it doesn't look like I will be making it to 75 books this year. :(

62. A Pledge of Better Times by Margaret Porter

This novel is based on the life of Lady Diana De Vere. At the age of twelve, she was caught stealing flowers in the king's garden--by Charles II himself. Fortunately, he is charmed by the girl and introduces her to his two sons, born from his long affair with actress Nell Gwyn. The author takes us through the last years of Charles's reign and through the Glorious Revolution that deposed his brother James II and put William and Mary on the throne, on through the reign of Queen Anne, and finally into the beginning years of the first King George. Unfortunately, what could have been an intriguing political story soon becomes a run-of-the-mill romance. Without her knowledge, Diana's father arranges her marriage to Charles and Nell's son (the Duke of St. Alban's), but he sets one condition: Charles must first win Diana's love. He does this pretty easily, and most of the rest of the book tells about her little crises of doubt in his love and the usual romantic glop.

3.0 out of 5 stars.

>178 Cariola: I agree with you regarding Anne Tyler. When I read Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, I praised this book to friends. Then, I read many of her following books, and then, like you, grew weary of the repetition. I may read A Spool of Blue Thread, but it isn't high on the list.

63. The Architect's Apprentice by Elif Safak

I don't usually review books that I haven't finished, but I'm making an exception for this one. Let me start by saying that: 1) I was listening to the audio version; 2) I hate magical realism or anything that smacks of it; 3) I don't usually like books told by child or teenage narrators. When every time I listen to (or read) a book and keep hoping it's going to get better or that it will end soon--well, life is just too short for that. So it's a matter of taste, in the long run: I'm just giving my opinion, but don't take my word for it. The book has gotten some good reviews, so if you think you'd like it, be my guest. But when I checked today to see how far along I was in the book and saw that I had listened to it for more than six hours but had more than ten to go, I returned it to audible (something I rarely do). If I learned anything, it's that I can only take so much elephant training. And I find it particularly irritating when writers of books set in any country with sultans and palaces adopt this weird, naive voice, as if every story with this setting has to sound like 'Arabian Nights.' This was especially disappointing as I really liked Honor by the same author.

1.5 out of 5 stars.

(I don't think I've ever counted a book I haven't finished towards my goal of 75, but this was such a long and painful read for me, one that took me away from a lot of other books that yes, I'm counting it!)

64. Did You Ever Have a Family? by Bill Clegg

This is a very moving and insightful novel about the ways that people deal with grief and the bonds between them. On the night before her daughter's wedding, June Reid's Connecticutt house bursts into flames, killing her daughter Lolly, Lolly's fiancé Will, her ex-husband, and her current boyfriend: only June, who had fallen asleep in the wedding tent, survives. After the funerals, June gets into Will's car and heads for small town in Washington state where he grew up and where he and Lolly had spent a particularly happy vacation. The story shifts among a number of characters and their perspectives: June herself; Lydia, the mother of June's boyfriend, Luke; Silas, a teenager who worked for Luke; Will's parents; Kelly and Rebecca, owners of the hotel June lands in; Will's parents; George, the father Luke never knew; and Cissy, who knew Will as a boy, works for Kelly and Rebecca, and later befriends June. While this is a sad story of grief, loss, and regrets, it isn't totally bleak. There are plenty of good memories, and the connections, caring, and forgiveness between these interconnected people lift the novel high above the gloom. It's beautifully written, and Clegg gradually releases clues to what really happened as the characters gain insight into themselves. The book has been on several prize lists, and deservedly so. Highly recommended.

4.5 out of 5 stars.

65. Simon's Cat: Off to the Vet . . . and Other Cat-astrophes by Simon Tofield

I've been a big fan of Simon Tofield's animated series for years--he really knows cats and cat behavior, and these shorts get me laughing every time. This is the latest book based on his cat's adventures. About 1/5 of it deals with going to the vet; the other cartoons explore Simon's cat's relationships with a kitten, a grumpy neighbor, various dogs, windows, boxes, toys, food, the Cone of Shame, and, of course, Simon. A delight for cat-lovers, it would make an excellent gift! If you've never seen the animated shorts, you can find them on YouTube. Enjoy!

4 out of 5 stars.

>185 Cariola: Yeah, I just read that one too, and LOVED it.

>187 lauralkeet: I am almost always a sucker for alternating narrators, and this was such a moving story, so many subtle connections between the characters.

Hi Deb
How is retirement? Will you visit your daughter over the holidays? All good wishes to you.

Hi Cariola

I was just thinking the same thing - just finished #63 and we're well into December. I scrolled down to the next post in the Group to see if anyone else was failing to thrive and here you are with a fantastic selection of books that you HAVE read this year.

Hope there is some light in your December days.

Jen

>189 Whisper1: Retirement is still good, and the more I hear from former colleagues, the happier I am to not be teaching this year. Ellen and I are both flying up to NH to have Christmas with my brother's family.

>190 JenMDB: I'm not really worried about the likelihood of not making it to 75 books this year. I've made it every year I've been part of this group, but much of that has been forced reading and rereading for classes. Now I can take my time and enjoy reading whatever I choose. I've also had a run of not very good books that I started and then gave up on. It took me many years to learn that life is too short to read books you're not enjoying! I always felt some kind of obligation to the author . . . .

I'm glad you're enjoying your retirement, and reading what you like, Deborah. I'm about to embark on that phase of my life, and I'm really looking forward to it.

66. A Manual for Cleaning Women by Lucia Berlin

Well, I'm going to have to step outside of the majority on this one, at least in part. Let me begin by saying that there is much to admire about Berlin's style: tight, compact stories; a way with metaphors that become a kind of shorthand; a knack for tossing off a startling sentence in unexpected places; some very intriguing characters; and a way of ending a story that leaves an impact, without wrapping it up with a bow on top or letting it wander off into nothingness. I really enjoyed the first third of the collection, but then I got bored, and the reason was the repetitious content. I just got tired of reading about alcoholics, drug addicts, lousy husbands/boyfriends, negligent mothers, and sisters dying of cancer. Don't get me wrong: I'm no Pollyanna, and I don't expect stories to always end happily ever after (that would bore me, too). I'm not saying that this isn't real life for some people, nor that these stories didn't develop complex relationships. I'm simply saying that I got bored and had a VERY hard time finishing the collection. I would give it a 4.5 on style and a 2.5 on content, hence the 3.5 star rating.

3.5 out of 5 stars.

67. The Pretender's Lady by Alan Gold

This historical novel focuses on Flora McDonald, the young Scottish woman known for helping Bonnie Prince Charlie escape to the rugged Isle of Skye months after his defeat at Culloden, the prince disguised as a seamstress. Much of the story is familiar, but Gold has spun a brief romance between Flora and Charlie during the escape--one that resulted in a son whose true identity was hidden. At least until Flora decides to use his paternity to halt the rising American Revolution. The story is far-fetched (her grandson even meets Napoleon . . . ) and a bit too romancey for my taste. But I'll give him some points for creating a lively character in Flora and for his depictions of the rugged Scottish countryside.

3 out of 5 points.

Gee, Deborah, I'll surely give Pretender's Lady a miss - thank you for taking one for the rest of us. I live in the section of NC settled by Highland Scots including my ancestors (Flora's honest-to-real son is buried about 15 miles from here), and we are big on all things Scottish. A romance between Her and the Prince is more than I can contemplate.

Have a lovely holiday, Deborah

I'm wishing you a happy Christmas and a year full of wonderful reading.

I hope you're enjoying your holiday, Deborah.

Thank you for the holiday wishes! I have been in New Hampshire visiting family and just got home late tonight. I hope you all had a fab holiday and enjoy an awesome 2016!

68. News of the World by Paulette Jiles.

This book's title, News of the World, comes from the occupation of it's main character, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who travels from town to town in North Texas, charging a small admission for people to hear him read the news. At one stop, he is asked by an Indian agent to take on the task of returning a 10-year old girl, Johanna Leonburger, to her nearest relations; she had been captured by Kiowa four years earlier when raiders killed the rest of her family. She wants nothing more than to escape and return to the Kiowa; she remembers nothing of white society and speaks neither English nor German. On their journey, they run into people both good and evil. What kept me involved was the growing trust and affection between the Captain and Johanna and the way they worked as a team to defeat their enemies and overcome obstacles.

This short book (only about 200 pages) was a great choice for reading during holiday travel.

4 out of 5 stars.

69. Artful by Ali Smith

I wasn't sure quite what to expect from this book, and now that I've finished it, I'm not quite sure what to make of it. As other readers have suggested, it's the kind of book that you probably need to read more than once to fully appreciate. The book is based on four lectures given by Smith on art and literature that are woven into a loose plot: a grieving woman tries to connect with her deceased lover through her books and writings. There are plenty of keen insights into how art in its various forms (including written art) works, and Smith makes some fascinating connections between well-known and lesser known poems, novels, essays, and short stories. But at the end, I felt somewhat overwhelmed by the structure and the sheer numbers of literary references and quoted passages.

3.5 out of 5 points (subject to change on rereading).

>202 Cariola: I'm not a fan of books of lectures but this sounds interesting. I recently picked up her collection of short stories Public Library and Other Stories and would recommend it. Not only are the stories linked to ideas about reading, but in between each one there are quotes from readers about the importance of libraries and reading.

Thanks for the review of the Paulette Jiles book. I have a previous one of hers on the shelf that I've been meaning to get to. Must move it to the top of the pile.

70. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide

Much as I love cats, this book did nothing for me. The narrator, a thirty-something writer, and his wife rent a guest house on a large Japanese estate. They are visited by a neighbor's cat, whom they call Chibi. The wife gets attached to the cat and gets upset when it goes to other homes. About 2/3 through the book, it gets hit by a car and dies. The wife is depressed. Lots of esoteric discussions about ownership, attachments, art, light, angles, landscaping, etc. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever the author was trying to achieve, it didn't work for me.

2 out of 5 points.