What a lovely, spare book this is. It's so hard to write romance well, and Trevor is so quietly adept at it, I'm bordering on worshipful.
...moreWhat a lovely, spare book this is. It's so hard to write romance well, and Trevor is so quietly adept at it, I'm bordering on worshipful.
Over one summer in a provincial Irish town, a cast of characters (who all bear a sort of dignity, even when they're in the wrong) revolve around the solemn romance between a man about to leave home forever, and a recently married orphan who has no sense of belonging anywhere in particular.
I'm sure I'll go back to this again and again. (less)
Honest to Betsy, there's a scene towards the end, where F. Scott Fitzgerald is worried because his wife Zelda has been taunting him about his size bel...moreHonest to Betsy, there's a scene towards the end, where F. Scott Fitzgerald is worried because his wife Zelda has been taunting him about his size below the belt, so Hemingway take him into the WC and they compare.
Also, there's some pretty funny insider-y stuff about Gertrude Stein -- so gossipy!(less)
I was thrilled to see that Smith has put out a collection of essays -- I've always enjoyed her nonfiction in the Believer, while her literary fiction ...moreI was thrilled to see that Smith has put out a collection of essays -- I've always enjoyed her nonfiction in the Believer, while her literary fiction has never been my cup of tea.
Her wit and her razor sharp prose are showcased here in fine form, but with an addition that I find her fiction lacks -- sensible compassion. There's an empathy for her subjects, which run the gamut from Kafka, to The Philadelphia Story to her own father, and a forgiveness that I found tempered her writing neatly.
I've written about this author before, but I'll restate my thoughts briefly: I think she gets a lame rep because...moreHoly Shit! Read this book!
I've written about this author before, but I'll restate my thoughts briefly: I think she gets a lame rep because she a woman who writes about romance, so people talk about her like she's pappy crap, but they're wrong. After all, Romance is a "woman's genre" and those don't count! It's for WEIRD PEOPLE, not the NORMAL PEOPLE who read "men's genre" like Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and comic books! She's ruthless in her examinations of character, and I'm stunned by her ability to made a story seem like it sprung out of her, whole and complete, with little to no effort on her part.
She's a dang good writer who hits all her beats.
And this second novel from her shows off all her skills.
Elspeth dies in her 40's, leaving her lover Robert, a historian of London's Highgate cemetery in mourning. Having left her flat to her her two-identical twin nieces, the children of her own identical twin, Edie, Elspeth forces both her lover and her estranged relatives together. While haunting her apartment, Elspeth continues to manipulate the still-living, and lets the mystery of what happened to drive a wedge between her and her twin unfold... whether or not innocents get in the way.
It sounds dark and brooding, and it is (after all, the background for the story is the Victorian Highgate, a place that takes exquisite pleasure in the pomp and circumstance of death) but Niffenegger also has such a talent explaining the threads that slowly reach out between two people (lovers,twins, parents and children) and tie them together -- it can either make you long for it yourself, or spark a panicked flame of claustrophobia.
This was a single-sit read for me,and it made me want to go back and re-read her other books which I have and love, The Time Traveler's Wife and The Three Incestuous Sisters. (less)
Part contemporary murder mystery, part historical fiction, and part history on the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and its infamous offshoot, the Church ...morePart contemporary murder mystery, part historical fiction, and part history on the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and its infamous offshoot, the Church of Fundementalist Latter-Day Saints, The 19th Wife is a great read.
If, by any chance, you are like me and are a somewhat (read: raging) aficionado of Mormonism, then you will be intrigued to read Ebershoff's fictional interpretation of Brigham Young's so-called 19th Wife (she was actually probably around his 55th or so) Ann Eliza Young.
I will add here that my name is Elizabeth Anne. This makes my day.
This particular Mrs. Young is still a controversial figure in the LDS faith, not because she divorced the second Prophet (several women left Young, though not legally as 'celestial' (polygamous) marriage are not lawful) but because she went on to tour the US as a lecturer, and spoke in depth about what she saw as the evils of polygamy, which was (and for some still is) the mainstay and foundation of the Mormon faith.
All the historical fiction sections, which tell the story not only of Ann Eliza, but how both her parents came to their faith, are fascinating, particularly if you are the sort of person who, went confronted with some of the tenets of ANY religion, wonder to yourself, "Who the heck believes this stuff and why?" But more importantly, Ebershoff gives all his characters, even the historical figures who come loaded with perceptions, the sort of versatility of personality, grit, and hubris that I would hope any of my characters would show.
The contemporary murder mystery, played out by Jordan, a young gay Lost Boy -- that is, one of the young men who are very frequently kicked off FLDS compounds so as to eliminate the competition for new young brides -- is also interesting, (and, if you're the sort of reader who cares about these things, I woulds say "likeable") and adds to the general page-turner strengths of "The 19th Wife."
I rec this book if you're looking for a good, smart read that will keep you looking forward to your subway rides.
(HOWEVER! If you are looking to know more about Mormonism, I HIGHLY recommend Frontline's two part documentary, which is available for free on their website. The first half is part of the "This American Experience" program, and covers the history, while the second is more "Frontline" and covers current controversies and life today in Mormon America. It's fascinating, honest, fair, and unmerciful.)(less)
This book, like a lot of books really popular with women, has been slagged off as genre writing. Even worse, genre writing for women -- because it has...moreThis book, like a lot of books really popular with women, has been slagged off as genre writing. Even worse, genre writing for women -- because it has a very romantic plotline.
Booo! Hiisssssss!
But this book is masterfully built around a fascinating and original idea:
namely that there exists a disease that causes people to slip in and out of time/space unwillingly.
I've tried to parse out where exactly Niffenegger started this -- what section was her foundation that she built out from, and I just can't. It's so well-constructed (her editor must have some serious mad skillz) I can't find the seams.
I'm going to say it: If you liked David Mitchell's "Cloud Atlas" (http://www.amazon.com/Cloud-Atlas-Novel-...) (and you should really REALLY read that book,), you should read this. I don't link the two because they merely have time travel, non-linear narratives in common, but they also have a robustness, an originality, an ability to help you transcend time and space without losing any depth of character. They have a similar flawless level of execution. They are both books that could be gimmicks, but I think they both resist.
Seriously. Someone read this and tell me what the think of the comparison to "Cloud Atlas" please!
I hesitate to say that the shootings at Columbine "affected me," since whenever I hear someone say "September 11th really affected me,"...moreI hesitate to say that the shootings at Columbine "affected me," since whenever I hear someone say "September 11th really affected me," when they were far away and usually think of New Yorkers as godless heathens,and the city as a blight on the nation, I want to hit something, but, you know...
Columbine really affected me.
So. I'm stating here that I know this is both unfair and hypocritical (and probably douchey) of me to say.
Whether or not my innate fascination with grisly occurrences (ask me anything about Jonestown, or the Donner party, or the Hale-Bopp cult deaths!), was my impetus for reading this, or an attempt to exercise my sort-of left over feelings of that first dousing of existential dread and anger, I don't really know. But either desires were more than satisfactorily met.
Cullen knows everything about this case. He knows the people, the time lines, the coverage, and the outcomes. Going so deep into something so senseless and violent can feel a bit like diving into the bell jar, but Cullen keeps the narrative from dipping into a fetishistic glamorization of Eric Harris' and Dylan Klebold's minds, and that could not have been easy.
While it was sometimes hard to keep track of just the second to second "schedule" of what happened during the shooting (which, if you didn't know, was supposed to be a bombing larger than the Oklahoma City attack), that all seems secondary to the main drive of the book's purpose: to explain that there is no answer to the question, "Why did they do it?"The shooters had vastly different personalities (and illnesses) and thus had diametrically opposed reasons.
This question slowly became a gaping psychological and spiritual maw that ate up everything in its path, haunting the community at large, but also the killers' parents more than anyone else. In an effort to fill that hole (or, if you like, for the more nefarious purposes of making a story tidy and sellable) the media was all too happy to collect stories and create a narrative of the killers and the shootings that just weren't true. For instance:
The killers were not members of the Trench Coat Mafia, they were not loners who were picked on, they did not target jocks and Christians, and the were no Christian martyrs in the shooting.
Who and what the killers actually were is best left to Cullen to attempt to explain. I highly recommend this book. (less)
The book is way way in my wheelhouse: Harry Potter meets Jane Austen? Regency era magical tomfoolery? I'm almost angry I didn't write myself.
...moreThe book is way way in my wheelhouse: Harry Potter meets Jane Austen? Regency era magical tomfoolery? I'm almost angry I didn't write myself.
(And perhaps you might recognize the bird on the cover?)
But this book proves there can be too much of a good thing: this book drastically needs to shed AT LEAST 200 pages, if not more.
I highly recommend the companion piece to this book, The Ladies of Grace Adieu, which is a collection of short stories that occasionally feature Jonathan Strange, my one of my many fictional boyfriends.
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