Two-plus stars. This had promise, but fell a bit flat. While the descriptions of life for Jews in Vienna at the end of the 30's was interesting and un...moreTwo-plus stars. This had promise, but fell a bit flat. While the descriptions of life for Jews in Vienna at the end of the 30's was interesting and understandably moving, once the action moved to England the story lost its fizz. Part of the problem is that I didn’t much like the main character, so the story suffered by being in first person. Plus I don’t like feeling conflicted about being sympathetic to a plight more than to the person suffering the plight. Shouldn't a person's suffering make her more sympathetic?? Not necessarily to me, and I don’t want to bother wondering if this is a character flaw. Regardless, I don’t think the book came across as less cohesive and captivating because of my maybe-flaw – I think the book simply wasn’t as gripping as it could have been. (less)
As you’d expect, the story is a sitcom come to life: a work-obsessed attorney loses her job in a dramatic way and then plunges alone into the countrys...moreAs you’d expect, the story is a sitcom come to life: a work-obsessed attorney loses her job in a dramatic way and then plunges alone into the countryside à la Jane Eyre, only to wind up being taken in as a housekeeper by some nouveau riche couple. The twist is. . . get ready. . . she doesn’t know how to cook! Or run a washing machine! You can imagine the hilarity. In fact, you have to imagine the hilarity, because there isn’t much written for you. That’s not to say the book isn’t entertaining. It moves quickly, and it ends up validating the effort and skill involved in keeping house, which I liked. Plus I found the nouveau riche couple to be oddly engaging. (“Oddly” because they reminded me of Southern caricatures written by someone who didn’t know any actual Southerners and just created people out of stereotypes — like a hick couple who hits it big in the tire business and moves into a mansion but doesn’t know to lose the big hair and get grammar. Of course the characters in this book are English, as is the author, which goes to show that mediocrity knows no nationality.)
The big flaw is that even though this kind of book is bound to be contrived, it still needs to retain some believability. I can buy stumbling onto the one house that would take in a stranger (we buy it in Jane Eyre), finding skulduggery at work, true love next door, and a host of other improbabilities because at least they’re possible. But our heroine, in disgrace at her law firm, googles herself and finds a million entries about how she’s become a national lawyer joke; at one point the tabloid press even starts following her “story”! The problem is that, in reality, lawyers show up on our radar only if we’ve hired them. A criminal defense attorney may have his day in the sun with a celebrity client, but other than that, who cares? Quick — name a contract attorney! Anyone?? How about any kind of attorney you don’t know personally? The fact is that nobody cares if a lawyer loses her firm a lot of money and then becomes a housekeeper; the whole public ignominy angle is too manufactured even for chick lit. It reminded me of Shopaholic, where a would-be fashion writer somehow becomes a national figure and then a national scandal. How??? It’s as though Sophie Kinsella is projecting some deep desire to be in the center of the public stage, holding the nation’s microphone tearfully in hand. (Actually, I wouldn’t mind that either, but only to rail on the government power grab and people who talk during movies.) I wonder if her “Oh no! The world is watching me during my moment of crisis!” fantasy was brought on by too much reality TV, or . . . more likely. . . if reality TV exists precisely because so many people do have this desire for public display? Chilling thought.
At any rate, that’s probably not enough to condemn the book. It has its moments. And I think if it had been written differently I would have had patience for the more unrealistic aspects. However, the style was so aggressively breezy that it became wearisome. The author should have put more effort into creating a story that holds together and less time trying so desperately to be witty.
Mercy — three paragraphs on a Costco paperback! (less)
While this is ostensibly a novel of secrets spanning four generations, most of the “secrets” are fairly obvious. I kept waiting for the blow to fall —...moreWhile this is ostensibly a novel of secrets spanning four generations, most of the “secrets” are fairly obvious. I kept waiting for the blow to fall — murder? incest? buried treasure?? Alas, no. The narration shifts among different-but-related storylines, all of which, to be fair, I found intriguing: in 1913 a child who can’t remember her name turns up on an Australian dock carrying a book of fairy tales; in 2005 her granddaughter tries to uncover the mysteries of a hidden garden in Cornwall; in Victorian England a wealthy young woman flees her family . . . only to have her orphaned daughter found and taken back to them. In each case I wanted to find out the whole story, but I figured they’d tie together with more punch. Where were the dark secrets-within-a-secret? Where were the gasp-aloud revelations? I know we’re not always going to get Darth Vader breathing, “I am your father!” but a few big shockers would have been nice.
Maybe if the novel were presented a bit differently — as a family saga, not some mysterious tale — then I wouldn’t have been disappointed. It’s really a story of several women and the far-reaching effects their decisions have on their own and each other’s lives. Woven throughout are fairy tales by the mysterious Authoress; it's hard to miss their thematic, at times allegorical, significance. They connect the generations through themes of foundlings, sacrifice, and the dangers of wanting what you can’t have. If you like fairy tales, this would be a plus, but I could have done without them.
Kate Morton is a bit heavy-handed in her characterizations, and, as with The House at Riverton, there’s a bizarrely devoted sister-like relationship that involves extreme self-sacrifice in one of the parties and oblivious selfishness in the other. While many relationships are like this (for instance, I am self-sacrificing and my siblings are oblivious), they're not fun to read about. And with only one exception, the really nefarious characters — they’re like villains out of a Dickens novel but without the flair — sort of fade away. I wanted the satisfaction of seeing them fall off a cliff and get eaten by sharks, or be impaled on pointy fence railings, not just die lonely or disappear from the story. I would have liked less background description and more resolution. (less)
I had such high hopes! Our heroine, Grace, now a feisty but failing 98, spent her early life at Riverton House in the service of the Ashbury family......moreI had such high hopes! Our heroine, Grace, now a feisty but failing 98, spent her early life at Riverton House in the service of the Ashbury family...and then spent her adult life trying to forget about them. However, she's contacted by a filmmaker about the mysterious suicide of a World War I poet that occurred at the estate back in 1924. Is the set of the Riverton drawing room accurate? What was it like being a housemaid? Does Grace have any insight into the circumstances of the suicide? Why did the two Ashbury sisters never speak to each other again after the suicide? Grace may get sucked into remembering, but not necessarily into telling. For me this is the stuff of dreams...an English country manor, mysterious death, World War I...it should be a slam dunk! Alas, it’s more like a shot that rolls around the rim for a while before someone else taps it in.
Grace’s flashbacks are nicely interwoven with the present, and, as always, descriptions of life in service underscore how different society was a hundred years ago. But while much of the story of Grace’s interaction with the Ashbury family is compelling, it doesn’t always ring true. People just aren’t metaphysically “connected” to each other — and across class barriers! — to the extent Morton imagines them. And some of the minor characters are merely caricatures. Of course the Americans are crass, insensitive, and materialistic — and naturally, that means they must be Tories — because IS there any other type of American?
On the plus side, I liked the way Morton portrays the war’s impact. And, in spite of a few “revelations” that were so obvious I think they were probably intentionally obvious (but if so, why??), the twists at the end of the book really do pack a wallop. What bothered me, however, is the way the two adulterous affairs that caused most of the grief were glossed over, as though being “in love” excuses everything, and it’s just an unfair coincidence that destruction follows in the wake of bad choices. Still, this is only Morton’s first novel, and I liked it enough to be hopeful about her second. (less)
This fluctuates between heartwarming and trashy. A group of loosely connected people wind up together at an estate house in some small Highland town,...moreThis fluctuates between heartwarming and trashy. A group of loosely connected people wind up together at an estate house in some small Highland town, where they make friends and heal their wounded souls, all in time for Christmas. Parts of it are very sweet, and I’m yearning now to spend a Christmas in the snowy north of Scotland, but the author’s lack of moral clarity was so off-putting that it spoiled the book. It’s as though she couldn’t possibly be so judgmental as to condemn the stupid choices (like adultery and drunk driving) that cause much of the misery in the book. One of the characters is suffering a broken heart because her married lover wouldn’t abandon his wife and children to be with her, so obviously what she needs is to find a handsome man who’s heartbroken because his wife was unfaithful . . . right? They’d make a perfect pair! After all, she’s beautiful, he’s rich, and they’re both sad. The solutions to everyone else’s problems are almost as pat (though not so ridiculous), and the prose occasionally reads like a bad script for a “WE” television drama. “He ran after her, caught her by the shoulders, and turned her around to face him. He tilted her chin up and removed her sunglasses to reveal eyes sparkling with tears” or some such drivel. I mean, really — have you ever had someone turn you around by the shoulders? How would that even work with normal length arms?? Not all of it is that bad, but it’s still a waste of a great setting and some really charming characters, a few of whom I’d come to care about in spite of the mediocre writing. (less)
In the hope of attracting foreign investment, an obscure South American country hosts a birthday celebration for an opera-loving Japanese industrialis...moreIn the hope of attracting foreign investment, an obscure South American country hosts a birthday celebration for an opera-loving Japanese industrialist. They’ve managed to lure him to their third world backwater by luring his favorite soprano as entertainment. The plan seems to be a good one until, during the encore aria, a group of terrorists break through the air-conditioning vents to take the president hostage. The problem is that the president actually stayed home to watch his favorite soap opera, leaving the vice-president in charge — a man, everyone quickly recognizes, who isn’t much of a bargaining chip. Realizing they need to regroup, the terrorists let most of the guests go, keeping as hostages the vice-president, assorted foreign diplomats, the famous soprano, and the Japanese business man and his translator. With police and reporters gathering outside, the terrorists hunker down to figure out how to get their demands met.
What follows is an extraordinary exploration of human nature. As this disparate group of people pass days, then weeks, cooped up in the vice-presidential mansion, cultural and political differences are heightened and yet broken down. Unlikely relationships form, dormant talents emerge, and the characters have to take on new roles — some natural, some unexpected. It’s as though being imprisoned in a suspended, alternate universe allows the characters to become the people they really are. Their shared humanity — exemplified by the universal language of music — transcends the circumstance of hostages versus terrorists as well as the differences among the individual characters. You know a situation like this can’t end well, but it’s a beautiful and poignant glimpse into the possibilities that none of the characters, nor the reader, could have foreseen. One of my favorite books I’ve read in the last ten years. (less)
A friend gave this to me with the recommendation, “You’ll LOVE this – it sounds like you!” I assume she meant because the main character is a witty bo...moreA friend gave this to me with the recommendation, “You’ll LOVE this – it sounds like you!” I assume she meant because the main character is a witty book lover, not because she’s a critical spinster. I don’t dare ask.
At any rate, this is easily one of the most charming books I’ve read in a while. Our heroine, Juliet, spent the war writing light pieces for a women’s magazine, and now she yearns for more substantial material. When she receives a letter from a Guernsey man who has in his possession a book she used to own, and finds out that during the war he belonged to a “Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society,” she’s intrigued. She writes him back. It turns out that at the beginning of the occupation (Germany occupied the Channel Islands from 1939-1945), a group of friends had gathered for a covert pork supper, only to have to make up some excuse for breaking curfew when a Nazi officer discovered them walking home late at night. The Literary Society was the result.
Juliet begins corresponding with the various members of the society, but eventually decides she wants to go to Guernsey to meet them in person — as will you!! What a delightful assortment of characters — most of their letters made me laugh out loud, and several made me cry. Juliet’s letters are an absolute scream. Plus, as a bonus, you get an intriguing glimpse into what life was like for those trapped on an occupied island for the duration of the war. The hardships, friendships, and everyday heroism of the characters actually warmed my heart!
My only complaint is that it wasn’t until page 61 that the author managed to write in a different voice. In other words, most of the characters sound exactly alike, as though the same person is corresponding with herself. Creating distinct voices is a trick for any author, but good ones do it far more successfully. And there’s one woman, a non-member of the Literary Society, who’s so absurdly interfering that she makes Mrs. Kravitz of “Bewitched” look like an Arthur Miller creation. But the rest of the book (ridiculous sitcom character aside) is delightful enough to make up for the contrived and often predictable aspects. A quick read that will leave you smiling...and wanting to go to Guernsey! (less)
If you think life can’t get worse than being stuck in the middle of the jungle in Belgian Congo with an abusive Baptist missionary father whose brand...more If you think life can’t get worse than being stuck in the middle of the jungle in Belgian Congo with an abusive Baptist missionary father whose brand of Christianity is not so much fire-and-brimstone as napalm-and-brimstone, think again. As though the unfortunate mix of forbidding climate, deadly critters, and incompatible cultures isn’t enough for the Price family to worry about, political upheaval and natural disasters are brewing. Nathan Price is the model for everything a missionary shouldn’t be: self-righteous, dogmatic, and dismissive of foreign culture to the point of dementia. Worse, he drags along an unwilling wife (armed with Betty Crocker cake mixes) and four daughters (one of them handicapped), none of whom is even remotely prepared for what they encounter. The first half of the story details the family’s tragic misadventures; the second half traces the impact the family’s time in the Congo has on each character over the ensuing decades. But the real treat is the way the narration rotates among the mother and daughters, adding perspective depth to various events as well as quite a bit of humor. The author slaps on some political commentary that detracts from the story, but it’s still a supremely compelling read. (less)
**spoiler alert** This is one of those books you pick up in Costco when the line is really long and you need something to kill time, but then it accid...more**spoiler alert** This is one of those books you pick up in Costco when the line is really long and you need something to kill time, but then it accidentally gets rung up so you go ahead and read it. The back cover described it as “oddly gripping”, and the premise looked intriguing enough for me to actually buy the book on purpose: a wife delves into what really caused her husband’s plane to crash, only to find out...he was leading a double life!! In England!!! How could a book about loss, betrayal, and really big secrets fail to entertain? Unfortunately, none of the characters was even marginally appealing, and overall the story was just bleak and boring. There was even a contrived "love" story that, weirdly, made the story even grimmer.(less)
Because I love both murder mysteries and inventive narrative devices, I figured this would be a winner. From her vantage point in heaven (which resemb...moreBecause I love both murder mysteries and inventive narrative devices, I figured this would be a winner. From her vantage point in heaven (which resembles a suburban high school minus class requirements), a murdered girl looks down on her family, her friends, and her murderer in the years following her death. The family sort of unravels as her father keeps searching for her missing body and her mother falls apart and her siblings have to get used to life without her, but it’s not as bleak of a book as it sounds. On the other hand, it’s not as poignant as I thought it would be. The narrator ponders her brief life and missed opportunities as she watches her loved ones with a sort of wistful, detached compassion, but I still found myself getting a bit impatient for the end. (less)
This created such a stir when it came out that I borrowed my brother-in-law’s copy to see what the fuss was about — sadly, not as much as I’d hoped. T...moreThis created such a stir when it came out that I borrowed my brother-in-law’s copy to see what the fuss was about — sadly, not as much as I’d hoped. The story opens at a large country house on a stifling hot summer day in 1935. The central character, Briony, an irritating tweenie with an overactive imagination who fancies herself an author, has just finished writing a play that she wants to put on for her visiting older brother and his friend. Also on the scene are her obnoxious cousins, whom she is supposed to be nice to because their parents are getting a divorce, a mother who is AWOL with a “migraine”, a father who is busy with something else, her older sister, and their housekeeper’s handsome son Robbie, who’s getting ready to attend medical school. Briony witnesses a couple of encounters between her sister and Robbie (one rather graphic, so brace yourself) that she doesn’t understand, and then is party to a deception that wildly changes the course of their lives. The second section of the book takes place five years later and follows Robbie, now in the army, as he retreats to Dunkirk. The third section returns to Briony, who is working as a nurse as part of her “atonement” for what she did, and the final part takes place at her 77th birthday party. While sections are beautifully written, overall I thought it lacked unity, and some of the characters were so irritating that I just wanted to slap them and close the book. Frankly I enjoyed the movie far more, which I know makes me sound like a philistine, but at least the film was cohesive. (less)
You have to hand it to Philippa Gregory — she creates a lot of suspense out of a story everyone knows the ending to. Normally I don’t much go in for h...moreYou have to hand it to Philippa Gregory — she creates a lot of suspense out of a story everyone knows the ending to. Normally I don’t much go in for historical fiction, but this was available at the library on cd and I had a road trip coming up, so, in the words of Katherine Howard, “Voilà!” I was entertained, though not enthralled.
The novel spans Henry VIII’s marriages to Anne of Cleves and Katherine Howard, and is narrated by three women: Anne, Katherine, and Lady Rochford (Jane Boleyn, sister-in-law of beheaded Anne Boleyn). Anne of Cleves is both intelligent and honorable, and I felt for her as she slowly realizes that she’d exchanged the humiliations of her brother’s court for the life-threatening humiliations of Henry’s court. The only problem with Anne is her repetitive “realizations” of Henry’s insanity. “I think he must be mad!”; “I fear the king is mad!” “The country is ruled by a madman!” How many times can you be surprised by this? Anyway, it got a bit old, as did her droning on about her life being in danger, especially as we already know she doesn't end up beheaded. (Remember the rhyme: "Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.") And besides, Henry VIII wasn't insane, just selfish and corrupt.
The truly mad character is Lady Rochford, who yearns to return to the same court that had decimated her family a few years before. Even more unbelievably, she is shocked — shocked! — when her uncle, the Duke of Norfolk, proves as duplicitously self-serving as ever. I mean, isn’t it obvious that if a man will throw one niece under the bus, he’d throw another one? Her machinations seem doomed from the start simply because of who she's taking orders from.
The real star of the show, however, is Katherine Howard, the endearingly materialistic, shallow, short-sighted teenage successor to Anne of Cleves. She’s not so much stupid as supremely unintellectual, with a genius for flirtation and blindness to danger. Surprisingly, I found myself rooting for this self-serving little hussy who didn't think twice about feigning ecstasy with a disgusting old man if it meant she'd get a new dress. There's something refreshing about a person who doesn't know you're supposed to hide your materialism.
In the audiobook the women are narrated by three different actresses, which adds immeasurably to the individual voice of each character —Katherine’s portrayal was spectacular. Fun to listen to on a drive, though I wouldn't waste the time to read it. (less)
I’m convinced the first thing Jane Austen is going to do on the Day of Resurrection is hire a lawyer and sue the philistines who have commandeered her...moreI’m convinced the first thing Jane Austen is going to do on the Day of Resurrection is hire a lawyer and sue the philistines who have commandeered her name and characters. However, this book is beneath her notice. A more clichéd combination of unfulfilled women could hardly be conceived: a middle-aged woman who’s just been left by her husband; her lesbian daughter who falls easily and unhappily in love; a spinster who breeds dogs; a dissatisfied French teacher in an unhappy marriage; and finally, the six-times divorced earth mother who brings them all together for six months of Jane Austen book clubbing. They’re joined by some computer guy named Grigg, if that’s even a name, who probably was supposed to add a bit of male perspective and — surprise! — a love interest, but the book is so poorly written that he’s virtually indiscernible from the women. Their “discussions” are banal, the correspondence to their personal lives contrived, and the characters themselves both irritating and supremely boring, which I suppose must be some sort of an accomplishment. Normally I like reading about losers and rejects (A Confederacy of Dunces, my journals), but these people and their self-created angst grated on my nerves. I borrowed this on cd from the library and found myself skipping ahead because I simply couldn’t take any more of their inane conversations. And, I'm shocked — shocked! — to report that skipping parts of the story didn't really detract from its overall flow.
Confession: Embarrassingly enough, I did watch the movie on dvd because it stars that dreamy Hugh Dancy (who, tragically, looks about half my age and body mass) and the movie was not nearly as bad as the book – extremely chick-flicky, but not downright dreadful.(less)
Both charming and touching, with some laugh out loud moments. Usual Southern line-up of eccentrics, protective black women, and racist white men, but...moreBoth charming and touching, with some laugh out loud moments. Usual Southern line-up of eccentrics, protective black women, and racist white men, but the narrator is delightful and sympathetic and the relationships are poignant. Their homemade brand of mystical-spiritualism got to be a bit much at times, but it was still enjoyable. Beautifully realized metaphors and some nice motifs (storytelling, healing rituals). Very easy & quick reading. (less)
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