As the title suggests, this is the 10th book in the Women's Murder Club series, on which Patterson collaborates with other writers; in this particular case, with Maxine Paetro.
Recently married American detective Lindsey Boxer has been called to investigate an unusual crime. A teenage girl is found, abandoned, in the road. She is bleeding and on the verge of death. She's recently given birth but her baby is nowhere to be found.
Alongside Lindsey's case, a friend - Yuki Castellano - is prosecuting the case of a woman accused of murdering her husband. The case seems simple; the woman was found in the house, with the gun used in the killing, and with gun shot residue on her hands. The woman says that an intruder shot her husband, and she used the gun to fire shots to scare him away.
Neither case is what it seems. Lindsey uncovers evidence to suggest that the accused woman could be innocent and she struggles to find any evidence at all to help locate the teenager's missing baby. It quickly becomes clear that both the woman accused of murder, and the teenage mother, have secrets they're keeping close and that both have ways of confusing the investigations into the crimes that affect them.
Will Lindsey be able to solve both mysteries? Is the accused guilty or innocent of murder? Where is the baby?
James Patterson is a master of crime fiction, with numerous titles, including books for children, to his credit. When you pick up one of his books, you know just what you'll get. Well crafted plot lines, a knowledge of police and legal systems in the US and a way of building characters through their home lives, as well as through the crimes with which they are attached to the story. He does it with effortless ease and style.
For lovers of American crime/mystery, this is recommended
"10th Anniversary" is published by Arrow Books, ISBN 978 000 9957 07 45
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
The Twins by Saskia Sarginson
Identical twins can be a mystery and an enigma to many people. Are they telepathic between themselves? Do they like to be dressed alike or do they strive for originality? Do they cleave to each other or move heaven and earth to be unique?
Isolte and Viola, the twins in this story, have an usual childhood. Their mother is a free spirit living in a rundown cottage in the woods; their father unknown. The girls play together, whisper together and, yes, often feel each others feelings. In childhood they are also mildly prescient.
They meet, and become friends with, another pair of identical twins, this time boys from a dysfunctional, local, family. Together the quartet run wild and, as adolescence beckons, Viola and John become closer.
But this isn't Enid Blyton and things begin to change when Isolte and Viola's mother, Rose, meets a widower who has a young daughter, Poppy. The twins resent these intruders, especially when Rose insists that they allow Poppy to join their games. During this final summer of innocence, the 4 older children do all they can to discourage Poppy from following them until, quite unintentionally, they lose her. In the aftermath, Rose's new romance falls apart and tragedy follows tragedy.
Years later, Isolte is a fashion designer for a London based magazine but Viola is chronically ill, haunted by the past. In desperation, Isolte revisits their childhood haunts to try to resolve buried traumas. Can she succeed and, in the process, free both herself and her twin from shadows of the past?
This book illustrates how few of us leave our childhoods behind when we grown up, whether for good or ill. Childhood might be innocent, but it can carry the seeds of destruction. Blending joy and tragedy, light and a darkness of the soul, this book is a wonderful debut for this new writer.
Recommended
"The Twins" is published by Hachette, an imprint of Little, Brown, ISBN 978 0 7499 5869 5
Isolte and Viola, the twins in this story, have an usual childhood. Their mother is a free spirit living in a rundown cottage in the woods; their father unknown. The girls play together, whisper together and, yes, often feel each others feelings. In childhood they are also mildly prescient.
They meet, and become friends with, another pair of identical twins, this time boys from a dysfunctional, local, family. Together the quartet run wild and, as adolescence beckons, Viola and John become closer.
But this isn't Enid Blyton and things begin to change when Isolte and Viola's mother, Rose, meets a widower who has a young daughter, Poppy. The twins resent these intruders, especially when Rose insists that they allow Poppy to join their games. During this final summer of innocence, the 4 older children do all they can to discourage Poppy from following them until, quite unintentionally, they lose her. In the aftermath, Rose's new romance falls apart and tragedy follows tragedy.
Years later, Isolte is a fashion designer for a London based magazine but Viola is chronically ill, haunted by the past. In desperation, Isolte revisits their childhood haunts to try to resolve buried traumas. Can she succeed and, in the process, free both herself and her twin from shadows of the past?
This book illustrates how few of us leave our childhoods behind when we grown up, whether for good or ill. Childhood might be innocent, but it can carry the seeds of destruction. Blending joy and tragedy, light and a darkness of the soul, this book is a wonderful debut for this new writer.
Recommended
"The Twins" is published by Hachette, an imprint of Little, Brown, ISBN 978 0 7499 5869 5
Child of Vengeance by David Kirk
For centuries Japan was closed to the western world; an insular world of war lords, rivalries, pride and murder, all in the name of honour.
Musashi Miyamoto (this is the western name style) is a legendary figure in Japanese history. He is believed to have been born in 1584 to Munisai Shinmen and his wife, Yoshiko. He was a ronin samurai (samurai without a master, or lord) who fought in many battles and wrote a treatise on strategy, tactics and philosophy titled "The Book of Five Rings" and a book titled "The Way of Walking Alone" which contained 21 precepts on self-discipline.
Much of his early history is conjecture, although it seems likely that he was raised by his uncle, a Buddist monk called Dorinbo. David Kirk's book focuses on Musashi's adolescence, when he was known by his childhood name of Bennosuke, and what happened to him after he fought his first duel, aged about 13, defeating the champion of a local lord. This set his feet on the path to becoming a samurai, following in his famous father's footsteps.
The boy, Bennosuke, became a common soldier and learned his craft of swordsmanship through battle, duels, hardship and solitary practice, in constant fear of being unmasked as the killer of the champion and seeker of justice after his father's horrific death. His chance to wipe the slate clean, and begin again, arrived during the infamous battle at Sekigahara in October 1600, where treachery and deceit wiped out the flower of a generation of Japanese warriors.
David Kirk breathes life into the boy, Bennosuke, and seeks to explain why a warrior of such talent and, presumably, in much demand for a lord's retinue, should be a ronin. His scholarship about this period in Japan's history - it's code of honour, brutal battles, the tradition of seppuku (ritual suicide by self-disembowling then beheading by another warrior) and the samurai traditions - is exemplary. Bennosuke is a sympathetic character who captures the heart and imagination as he fights for survival in a world for which he is ill equipped. I haven't read more comprehensive detailing of 16th century Japan since James Clavell's "Shogun". Like this earlier book, "Child of Vengeance" brings to life a fascinating period in the history of Japan's history.
Recommended
"Child of Vengeance" is published by Simon & Shuster, ISBN 978 1 47110 242 4 or Ebook 978 1 47110 243 1
Musashi Miyamoto (this is the western name style) is a legendary figure in Japanese history. He is believed to have been born in 1584 to Munisai Shinmen and his wife, Yoshiko. He was a ronin samurai (samurai without a master, or lord) who fought in many battles and wrote a treatise on strategy, tactics and philosophy titled "The Book of Five Rings" and a book titled "The Way of Walking Alone" which contained 21 precepts on self-discipline.
Much of his early history is conjecture, although it seems likely that he was raised by his uncle, a Buddist monk called Dorinbo. David Kirk's book focuses on Musashi's adolescence, when he was known by his childhood name of Bennosuke, and what happened to him after he fought his first duel, aged about 13, defeating the champion of a local lord. This set his feet on the path to becoming a samurai, following in his famous father's footsteps.
The boy, Bennosuke, became a common soldier and learned his craft of swordsmanship through battle, duels, hardship and solitary practice, in constant fear of being unmasked as the killer of the champion and seeker of justice after his father's horrific death. His chance to wipe the slate clean, and begin again, arrived during the infamous battle at Sekigahara in October 1600, where treachery and deceit wiped out the flower of a generation of Japanese warriors.
David Kirk breathes life into the boy, Bennosuke, and seeks to explain why a warrior of such talent and, presumably, in much demand for a lord's retinue, should be a ronin. His scholarship about this period in Japan's history - it's code of honour, brutal battles, the tradition of seppuku (ritual suicide by self-disembowling then beheading by another warrior) and the samurai traditions - is exemplary. Bennosuke is a sympathetic character who captures the heart and imagination as he fights for survival in a world for which he is ill equipped. I haven't read more comprehensive detailing of 16th century Japan since James Clavell's "Shogun". Like this earlier book, "Child of Vengeance" brings to life a fascinating period in the history of Japan's history.
Recommended
"Child of Vengeance" is published by Simon & Shuster, ISBN 978 1 47110 242 4 or Ebook 978 1 47110 243 1
Wednesday, 23 July 2014
The Litigator by John Grisham
David Zinc is a lawyer in the rarified American world of corporate law. His speciality is in company law, far from criminals, court rooms and the slightly seedy world of ambulance chasers and bail-bondsmen. He is paid lots of money, has a clever and beautiful wife and a lovely home. Then, one day, he implodes, walks out of his job, spends the entire day in a bar, drinking, and wakes up the next morning to find he's accepted a job with one of the ambulance chasing firms of 2 partners that his business colleagues despise.
Living from hand to mouth, taking cases for tiny fees, working in an attic box room at the firms' premises, David hasn't been as happy for a long time. Then a big case drops into their laps. All their resources, and more besides, goes into working a case that could earn them millions of dollars. While pursuing a large, pharmaceutical company, David learns the craft of court room law. He meets movers and shakers at the top of his chosen profession and grows in confidence.
But the big case has been built on a foundation of sand and, when things go horribly wrong and the firms 2 partners both melt down at the same time, David is left to pick up the pieces. Will his kindness to strangers provide the lifeline he, and the partners, need, or will David go his own way with the wind-fall that has dropped into his lap?
This book is, as you'd expect from Grisham, full of the fizz and excitement of courtroom law, fast paced action and twists and turns. His characters have real heart and the black humour he uses is punchy in the character's hands. Clever, knowledgable and snappy, this is a good read.
Recommended
"The Litigator" is published by Hodder ISBN 978 1 444 72972 6
Living from hand to mouth, taking cases for tiny fees, working in an attic box room at the firms' premises, David hasn't been as happy for a long time. Then a big case drops into their laps. All their resources, and more besides, goes into working a case that could earn them millions of dollars. While pursuing a large, pharmaceutical company, David learns the craft of court room law. He meets movers and shakers at the top of his chosen profession and grows in confidence.
But the big case has been built on a foundation of sand and, when things go horribly wrong and the firms 2 partners both melt down at the same time, David is left to pick up the pieces. Will his kindness to strangers provide the lifeline he, and the partners, need, or will David go his own way with the wind-fall that has dropped into his lap?
This book is, as you'd expect from Grisham, full of the fizz and excitement of courtroom law, fast paced action and twists and turns. His characters have real heart and the black humour he uses is punchy in the character's hands. Clever, knowledgable and snappy, this is a good read.
Recommended
"The Litigator" is published by Hodder ISBN 978 1 444 72972 6
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Richard Bach
This little book was first published in 1972 but it continues to be an inspirational text of great charm and power.
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull is a seagull like no other. He has dreams of being the perfect flying machine, unlike his contemporaries who use their gift of flight simply to squabble and fight over food and to move from one spot to another for breeding or resting.
Jonathan spends hours and days trying to perfect his flying skills, developing manoeuvres that no other seagull has even dreamed of. In striving for greater goals, he learns some life lessons that carry him into a new and enchanted existence. Even in the face of fierce opposition from his own kind, Jonathan never gives up, nor does he shrink from progress.
Jonathan dreams, and makes his dreams come true. An example to human kind as well as seagulls.
I love this story; it lifts the heart, encourages the spirit and makes every dream seem achievable. Highly recommended.
"Jonanthan Livingstone Seagull" is published, in the edition I read (86 pages, many of which are illustrations and photographs) by Thorson Element, ISBN 0-00-649034-4
Jonathan Livingstone Seagull is a seagull like no other. He has dreams of being the perfect flying machine, unlike his contemporaries who use their gift of flight simply to squabble and fight over food and to move from one spot to another for breeding or resting.
Jonathan spends hours and days trying to perfect his flying skills, developing manoeuvres that no other seagull has even dreamed of. In striving for greater goals, he learns some life lessons that carry him into a new and enchanted existence. Even in the face of fierce opposition from his own kind, Jonathan never gives up, nor does he shrink from progress.
Jonathan dreams, and makes his dreams come true. An example to human kind as well as seagulls.
I love this story; it lifts the heart, encourages the spirit and makes every dream seem achievable. Highly recommended.
"Jonanthan Livingstone Seagull" is published, in the edition I read (86 pages, many of which are illustrations and photographs) by Thorson Element, ISBN 0-00-649034-4
My Last Duchess by Daisy Goodwin
I'll show my prejudice now. I was a bit wary of taking a book by an author called Daisy. I associate the names of flowers, in authorship, more with soft romance and bodice-rippers than with the kind of books I normally choose, but choose this one I did.
Cora Cash is the rich, rather spoilt, only child of an American industrial tycoon. Her mother, a social climber of renown and considerable success, is determined that her daughter will marry an English aristocrat. This is the turn of the 19/20th centuries and quite a few American heiresses are on the same mission - it's fashionable to exchange wealth for titles and both sides benefit.
Daisy dislikes the cold, old fashioned and run down English houses of the great and good and dreams of how they could be improved with some solid American money. She's sponsored into English society by a well-connected hostess and, in a convenient twist of fate, is thrown from her horse, while on a hunt, in woodlands belonging to a rather reclusive and impoverished Duke. So far so usual.
However, Cora's ingenuity and strong will are put to the test severely when she makes a series of serious mistakes in her new life as an English Duchess. She finds herself to be the subject of gossip and, when her reticent husband absents himself on several important occasions, Daisy is left wondering if he has any feelings for her at all.
Does Cora give up and go home with the childhood sweetheart who comes to re-claim her? Or does she tough it out to become what her mother always wanted her to be? Will her father's money come between her and her new husband, or will it revive the fortunes of the house, the title and the estate?
OK, so this is a pretty standard romance, but Daisy Goodwin write well and keeps the story moving forwards without any sticky-sweet cliches (apart from the horse episode). It's not bad, and kept me entertained as I enjoyed the summer afternoons in the sunshine. Mind you, I still don't know why the words "My Last" are in the title.
"My Last Duchess" is published by Hodder Review, ISBN 978-0-7553-4808-4
Cora Cash is the rich, rather spoilt, only child of an American industrial tycoon. Her mother, a social climber of renown and considerable success, is determined that her daughter will marry an English aristocrat. This is the turn of the 19/20th centuries and quite a few American heiresses are on the same mission - it's fashionable to exchange wealth for titles and both sides benefit.
Daisy dislikes the cold, old fashioned and run down English houses of the great and good and dreams of how they could be improved with some solid American money. She's sponsored into English society by a well-connected hostess and, in a convenient twist of fate, is thrown from her horse, while on a hunt, in woodlands belonging to a rather reclusive and impoverished Duke. So far so usual.
However, Cora's ingenuity and strong will are put to the test severely when she makes a series of serious mistakes in her new life as an English Duchess. She finds herself to be the subject of gossip and, when her reticent husband absents himself on several important occasions, Daisy is left wondering if he has any feelings for her at all.
Does Cora give up and go home with the childhood sweetheart who comes to re-claim her? Or does she tough it out to become what her mother always wanted her to be? Will her father's money come between her and her new husband, or will it revive the fortunes of the house, the title and the estate?
OK, so this is a pretty standard romance, but Daisy Goodwin write well and keeps the story moving forwards without any sticky-sweet cliches (apart from the horse episode). It's not bad, and kept me entertained as I enjoyed the summer afternoons in the sunshine. Mind you, I still don't know why the words "My Last" are in the title.
"My Last Duchess" is published by Hodder Review, ISBN 978-0-7553-4808-4
As Sure as the Dawn by Francine Rivers
This is the 3rd and final instalment in the 'Mark of the Lion' series. Artretes, the German warrior and gladiator slave. When he learns of the existence of his son, given away by the child's mother, Julia, Atretes lover, he vows to find the boy and reclaim him. Hadassah, the central character of the first 2 books, is living with the surgeon who saved her life, as hi assistant and is gaining a reputation as a miracle worker.
Julia is sick and Marcus, her brother, increasingly in love with Hadassah but not knowing where she is, is struggling with his conscience over his hedonistic lifestyle.
Eventually Artretes finds his son but is thwarted in in his attempts at reclaiming him by the boy's foster mother, Rizpah, a Christian widow. Concerned for his son's future and home-sick for the family and friends left behind in Germania, he begins the long journey home, taking Rizpah with him and accompanied by a Christian, retired, Roman Centurian, Theophilus.
On their long journey, Artretes is exposed to the Christian teachings of his companions and gradually grows in faith, But he's headstrong and impulsive and his young faith is tested when the little party arrives at Artretes home village.
Can Artretes hang on to his faith? Will he abandon it or will Jesus' influence in his life grow and strengthen? Will Julia and Marcus be reunited? Will Julia be able to make amends and find forgiveness for her selfishness and wrongdoing?
The climax to the story of Marcus, Julia, Artretes and Hadassah, together with Rizpah, Theophilus and all the other characters in this story, flows into a future of faith, strength and following the path set by God and not by selfish desires. As inspiring story and, even for non-Christians, a lesson in morality and the art of good living.
"As Sure as the Dawn" is published by Tindale Fiction
Thursday, 17 July 2014
An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers
This is the second of Francine Rivers' 'Mark of the Lion' trilogy.
This stage of the story of Hadassah and Atretes opens with Alexander Democedes Amandinus, the elder brother of Julia (see previous post - "A Voice in the Wind"), witness the sacrifice of Christians in the Roman arena, including Hadassah, his sister's personal maid. Sickened by a spectacle he has never particularly enjoyed, he leaves Rome, temporarily, for Ephesus, where his father has a trading depot.
Hadassah has not, however, died in the arena. Rescued when attention is diverted elsewhere, she is taken from the arena and nursed back to health in secret, although she is left with terrible scars from her injuries by the lion.
Meanwhile, Julia has been determined that she will have Atretes as her lover but, convinced that she will be a social outcast if she does this openly, she enters into a meaningless marriage with a gay friend as cover. Atretes is heartbroken when she rejects his proposal of marriage just as he has been able to buy his freedom with riches earned from patronage at his disposal.
In Ephesus, Marcus finally admits his feelings about Haddash, little realising that she feels the same for him. Will they find each other? If they do, how can they be together as Hadassah is still a slave - and a slave in hiding, at that - and dreadfully disfigured by the lion's injuries? What happens to Julia? Can she regret, and be forgiven, for her vengeful act of condemning her slave to the arena?
As before, love and faith are the building blocks of this story. Francine Rivers writes with passion about these, and about the Christian faith in the early days of the Church. Her research is meticulous and her commitment to good writing shines through.
Recommended, but read "A Voice in the Wind" first!
Published by Tyndale Fiction, ISBN 10: 0-8423-1307-9
This stage of the story of Hadassah and Atretes opens with Alexander Democedes Amandinus, the elder brother of Julia (see previous post - "A Voice in the Wind"), witness the sacrifice of Christians in the Roman arena, including Hadassah, his sister's personal maid. Sickened by a spectacle he has never particularly enjoyed, he leaves Rome, temporarily, for Ephesus, where his father has a trading depot.
Hadassah has not, however, died in the arena. Rescued when attention is diverted elsewhere, she is taken from the arena and nursed back to health in secret, although she is left with terrible scars from her injuries by the lion.
Meanwhile, Julia has been determined that she will have Atretes as her lover but, convinced that she will be a social outcast if she does this openly, she enters into a meaningless marriage with a gay friend as cover. Atretes is heartbroken when she rejects his proposal of marriage just as he has been able to buy his freedom with riches earned from patronage at his disposal.
In Ephesus, Marcus finally admits his feelings about Haddash, little realising that she feels the same for him. Will they find each other? If they do, how can they be together as Hadassah is still a slave - and a slave in hiding, at that - and dreadfully disfigured by the lion's injuries? What happens to Julia? Can she regret, and be forgiven, for her vengeful act of condemning her slave to the arena?
As before, love and faith are the building blocks of this story. Francine Rivers writes with passion about these, and about the Christian faith in the early days of the Church. Her research is meticulous and her commitment to good writing shines through.
Recommended, but read "A Voice in the Wind" first!
Published by Tyndale Fiction, ISBN 10: 0-8423-1307-9
A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers
This is the first of a trilogy, by this author, and the story centres on 2 main characters - Hadassah (a Christian Jewish woman) and Atretes (a Germanic tribal leader) and is set in the Roman empire of 70AD.
Both these characters have been taken prisoner and sold into slavery by Roman soldiers. Haddash has been taken from Jerusalem after the city fell to the Romans after the great Jewish rebellion. Solomom's Temple was destroyed by an army led by Titus, a future Emperor, and the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, decreed that the Jewish nation should be destroyed and its people scattered. Atretes was taken when his tribe's rebellion against Roman rule was defeated.
The story tells us of how each of these characters adjusts to life in slavery; Hadassah in the household of a wealthy merchant's family and Atretes in the arena as a gladiator. Hadassah accepts her fate, earning her the affection and respect of many, Atretes is in a constant state of rebellion against his captivity and dreams of returning home. She has utter and complete faith in her God and Jesus Christ, whilst Atretes has faith in no-one and nothing.
Their lives cross when Hadassah's mistress, Julia, meets and falls in love with Atretes. Nowadays we'd say she was a 'groupie' and Julia was certainly captivated by Atretes performance in the arena and engineered a way to meet him, as Roman ladies sometimes did with their heroes. Atretes comes to admire Hadassah, although he doesn't understand her, but when she is condemned to the games by her jealous mistress, Atretes must face his demons in a much more personal way than ever.
This story is about love and faith and of how these twins can either separate or join together. In separation is loneliness and despair, whereas joining makes them both, and the people who experience them, stronger.
For lovers of historical fiction, highly recommend.
A Voice in the Wind is published by Tyndale Fiction, ISBN 10:0-8423-7750-6
Both these characters have been taken prisoner and sold into slavery by Roman soldiers. Haddash has been taken from Jerusalem after the city fell to the Romans after the great Jewish rebellion. Solomom's Temple was destroyed by an army led by Titus, a future Emperor, and the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, decreed that the Jewish nation should be destroyed and its people scattered. Atretes was taken when his tribe's rebellion against Roman rule was defeated.
The story tells us of how each of these characters adjusts to life in slavery; Hadassah in the household of a wealthy merchant's family and Atretes in the arena as a gladiator. Hadassah accepts her fate, earning her the affection and respect of many, Atretes is in a constant state of rebellion against his captivity and dreams of returning home. She has utter and complete faith in her God and Jesus Christ, whilst Atretes has faith in no-one and nothing.
Their lives cross when Hadassah's mistress, Julia, meets and falls in love with Atretes. Nowadays we'd say she was a 'groupie' and Julia was certainly captivated by Atretes performance in the arena and engineered a way to meet him, as Roman ladies sometimes did with their heroes. Atretes comes to admire Hadassah, although he doesn't understand her, but when she is condemned to the games by her jealous mistress, Atretes must face his demons in a much more personal way than ever.
This story is about love and faith and of how these twins can either separate or join together. In separation is loneliness and despair, whereas joining makes them both, and the people who experience them, stronger.
For lovers of historical fiction, highly recommend.
A Voice in the Wind is published by Tyndale Fiction, ISBN 10:0-8423-7750-6
Friday, 11 July 2014
The Poisoned Crown by Maurice Druon
How often have you picked up a book that you know you ought to read (everyone says you should and the critics rave over it) but you just can't see what all the fuss is about? This happened to me with this book.
I love history. It was my favourite and best subject at school. I love reading historical novels - and this is an historical novel. So what's not to like? Well, this book received a review from the Sunday Times which read "Dramatic and colourful as a Dumas romance but stiffened by historical accuracy and political insight". that's it, exactly - the word "stiffened" says it all.
To me, this book is neither history nor fiction but a weird mixture of both and neither. It preaches like the worst history teacher and totally fails to entertain as a novel should. At least, that's how it seems to me.
The story centres on King Louis X of France and his new Queen, Clemence of Hungary. Louis's previous Queen has met a sticky end in prison after being condemned for adultery and poor Clemence is walking into a viper's den of barbarism, intrigue and ambition. Louis is a weak king, totally unlike his father, Philip IV, and the kingdom is falling apart under his reign. What should be an exciting, page turning, gallop through this blood-curdling period of French history turns into a turgid history lesson that had me yawning from page 4. Did I finish it? No. Do I recommend? Only if you like your fiction as dry as a bone and your history full of impossible made-up dialogue.
This edition of The Poinsoned Crown (first published in 1956) is published by Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-749129-2
I love history. It was my favourite and best subject at school. I love reading historical novels - and this is an historical novel. So what's not to like? Well, this book received a review from the Sunday Times which read "Dramatic and colourful as a Dumas romance but stiffened by historical accuracy and political insight". that's it, exactly - the word "stiffened" says it all.
To me, this book is neither history nor fiction but a weird mixture of both and neither. It preaches like the worst history teacher and totally fails to entertain as a novel should. At least, that's how it seems to me.
The story centres on King Louis X of France and his new Queen, Clemence of Hungary. Louis's previous Queen has met a sticky end in prison after being condemned for adultery and poor Clemence is walking into a viper's den of barbarism, intrigue and ambition. Louis is a weak king, totally unlike his father, Philip IV, and the kingdom is falling apart under his reign. What should be an exciting, page turning, gallop through this blood-curdling period of French history turns into a turgid history lesson that had me yawning from page 4. Did I finish it? No. Do I recommend? Only if you like your fiction as dry as a bone and your history full of impossible made-up dialogue.
This edition of The Poinsoned Crown (first published in 1956) is published by Harper Collins, ISBN 978-0-00-749129-2
Saturday, 5 July 2014
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan
Ian McEwan is a Booker prize winning novelist (for 'Amsterdam' in 1998) and I sometimes find such eminent writers almost impenetrable! However, 'On Chesil Beach' is a short novel (just 120 pages or so) and a must-read to any self-respecting blogger, so I took the plunge.
In 1962 Edward and Florence have just been married and have arrived in Dorset for their honeymoon. The story revolves around the 2 or 3 hours it takes for their marriage to fall apart. Too much information when you haven't even read it, yet? Sorry!
We learn how the couple met and fell in love. We hear Edward's voice, describing his chaotic childhood in a country setting, and Florence's voice tell of her privileged upbringing among the educated elite of Oxford. Each has had a sexually repressed adolescence. Edward, however, wants sexual freedom from his marriage whereas Florence is very afraid of what marriage, and Edward, expects of her.
This is a sad little story of 2 people who imagine that love will conquer, when all it does is blind them to each other's true personalities and needs.
I read it through (it didn't take long) but half wish it hadn't. It left behind a feeling of deep sadness for the mess people can make of their lives, with far reaching consequences, because of secrets, lies and repressions, which lasted a long time.
'On Chesil Beach' is published by Random House, (and others in different covers and formats), under several different ISBN numbers.
In 1962 Edward and Florence have just been married and have arrived in Dorset for their honeymoon. The story revolves around the 2 or 3 hours it takes for their marriage to fall apart. Too much information when you haven't even read it, yet? Sorry!
We learn how the couple met and fell in love. We hear Edward's voice, describing his chaotic childhood in a country setting, and Florence's voice tell of her privileged upbringing among the educated elite of Oxford. Each has had a sexually repressed adolescence. Edward, however, wants sexual freedom from his marriage whereas Florence is very afraid of what marriage, and Edward, expects of her.
This is a sad little story of 2 people who imagine that love will conquer, when all it does is blind them to each other's true personalities and needs.
I read it through (it didn't take long) but half wish it hadn't. It left behind a feeling of deep sadness for the mess people can make of their lives, with far reaching consequences, because of secrets, lies and repressions, which lasted a long time.
'On Chesil Beach' is published by Random House, (and others in different covers and formats), under several different ISBN numbers.
Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
What's it like to be one of identical twins? This book describes one such relationship beautifully, ensuring that the characters of parents, friends and lovers all play their parts in revealing the poignant, funny and spine-tingling moments of a pair of sisters who are as close as 2 people can be.
Daisy and Violet both have psychic powers. Their school days are marked by this difference, making their classmates either curious or aggressive. Their mother is withdrawn and ineffectual, their father is pre-occupied and distant, so the sisters rely on each other. As they grow into adulthood, Violet embraces her special senses, using them to gain notoriety whilst Daisy denies them so strongly that she even changes her name.
When Violet has a 'sense' that disaster will befall their home town, the sisters are drawn into a public world that Daisy abhors. Will the disaster happen? How will Violet cope if her powers prove less than accurate in such a publicly humiliating way? And how will Daisy live with the consequences of her actions, actions that betray everything she cherishes?
Curtis Sittenfeld describes twin-ship with depths and compassion; she expresses both the frustration of never being absolutely unique individuals (which most of us take for granted) with the emotional closeness that can only come from such a relationship. The characters in this book are vividly described, even when they inhabit only a small part of the story. Clever, amusing and gentle, this is a well told and page-turning story.
Recommended
'Sisterland' is published by TransWorld Books, ISBN978-0-55277-659-2
Daisy and Violet both have psychic powers. Their school days are marked by this difference, making their classmates either curious or aggressive. Their mother is withdrawn and ineffectual, their father is pre-occupied and distant, so the sisters rely on each other. As they grow into adulthood, Violet embraces her special senses, using them to gain notoriety whilst Daisy denies them so strongly that she even changes her name.
When Violet has a 'sense' that disaster will befall their home town, the sisters are drawn into a public world that Daisy abhors. Will the disaster happen? How will Violet cope if her powers prove less than accurate in such a publicly humiliating way? And how will Daisy live with the consequences of her actions, actions that betray everything she cherishes?
Curtis Sittenfeld describes twin-ship with depths and compassion; she expresses both the frustration of never being absolutely unique individuals (which most of us take for granted) with the emotional closeness that can only come from such a relationship. The characters in this book are vividly described, even when they inhabit only a small part of the story. Clever, amusing and gentle, this is a well told and page-turning story.
Recommended
'Sisterland' is published by TransWorld Books, ISBN978-0-55277-659-2
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