Paula Vince's Blog: The Vince Review, page 63

'Miriam' by Mesu Andrews

Genre: Biblical, historical fiction, Christian fiction

The Hebrews call me prophetess, the Egyptians a seer.
But I am neither. I am simply a watcher of Israel
and the messenger of El Shaddai.
When He speaks to me in dreams, I interpret. When He whispers a melody, I sing.

At eighty-six, Miriam had devoted her entire life to loving El Shaddai and serving His people as both midwife and messenger. Yet when her brother Moses returns to Egypt from exile, he brings a disruptive message. God has a new name – Yahweh – and has declared a radical deliverance for the Israelites.

 Miriam and her beloved family face an impossible choice: cling to familiar bondage or embrace uncharted freedom at an unimaginable cost. Even if the Hebrews survive the plagues set to turn the Nile to blood and unleash a maelstrom of frogs and locusts, can they weather the resulting fury of the Pharaoh?

Enter an exotic land where a cruel Pharaoh reigns, pagan priests wield black arts, and the Israelites cry out to a God they only think they know.

MY THOUGHTS:
This is a story about one family's attempts to weather the plagues of Egypt, but it's not just any family. It's a well-known Biblical family, including Miriam the prophetess, her brothers, parents and nephew. Since it's easy to think of them as holy and intimidating, I loved this glimpse into their more human sides, and the confused questions which teemed through their minds. One of the main ones happens to be, 'Okay, how do we communicate with an invisible God anyway?'

I enjoyed seeing Moses as the humble and courteous house guest who amazes his family whenever he admits that he's clueless about God's intentions and indignant about his seemingly outrageous demands. He even declares outright that given the choice, he'd rather not be anywhere near there. It's a really thought-provoking portrayal for anybody who assumes that a person's calling is bound to involve something pleasurable which he looks forward to. Moses even rolls up his sleeves to help with the most menial cleaning jobs for his hosts. Good on him.

What captured me most about Miriam's position is the grief she experiences when it becomes clear that her God has taken away the prophetic insights she'd experienced all her life. It's evident to the reader that this has nothing to do with Miriam falling short in any way. It's just that her season for receiving prophetic pictures is over, and God is now doing something different with her brothers as his new instruments. However, I can't help wondering whether I would take it personally in a similar way if I was in Miriam's shoes. It seems natural to take such a loss on board as a chastisement, wondering whether it's your own fault, and feeling envious of the others, rather than simply acknowledging that a precious phase is simply over. (But then, I think I'd look at the burden Moses carried and forget all about envy.)

I found Eleazar the most easy main character to relate to. You might remember him from the Bible as Aaron's third son. At this stage of his life, he serves as personal guard to Ram, one of the Egyptian princes, and the ultimate bad boss. Eleazar is a straightforward guy who never considers himself to be spiritual. His biggest fear is finding himself in situations where he's helpless to protect his loved ones. Of course these can occur at any moment when you work in a court where someone's head can be cut off at a whim.

There are a couple of nice romance threads for those who enjoy them. I don't usually like stories when men pull back from their wives, but in Eleazar's case I can definitely understand why! Just the same, there's a good deal of 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' types of misunderstandings between him and Taliah. Judging by these two, it would seem Professor John Gray's book would have even been valid for those in ancient Egpyt. And Miriam has a romance of her own, in her eighties. Still, she and brothers come across as if they're in their sixties, while Eleazar, in his forties, seems like a fit young guy in his twenties. He really needs that athleticism in his workplace, that's for sure!

I preferred this book to its predecessor in the Treasures of the Nile series, The Pharoah's Daughter. I'm guessing there will be one more novel to make it a trilogy, and that it will take place during the wilderness wanderings. But I wonder who the main characters will be. This novel was chunky enough to take me a fortnight to read, and although I knew what was coming all the way through, there were still enough twists and surprises in this version to keep me hooked. I thought Mesu Andrews did a fantastic job and deserves full marks.

Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah and Blogging for Books, for giving me a copy through NetGalley.

5 stars

The Legend of the Mean Girl - and Six Examples

So many mean girls pop up in literature, it's easy to assume they're all stereotypes. In a way, I wish that was true. The only problem is that most of us can probably identify at least a couple of girls from our own pasts who share some of their characteristics. Here are just a couple who have helped form the legend.

1) Caroline Bingley from Pride and Prejudice
She sets her sights on Fitzwilliam Darcy from the get go, and thinks it will be easy to take Lizzy Bennett down in small, subtle ways. Snide comments about Lizzy's supposedly inferior background, condescending insults disguised as kindness, and compliments designed to stroke the male ego are all tools in her arsenal. Caroline knows how to use them well. She seemed to inherit her brother Charles' share of slyness and calculation along with her own. He never seems to have enough nous to latch on to the artificial ways of his society. That makes him prey for the crafty.

2) Josie Pye from Anne of Green Gables
This girl is adept at calling attention to the shortcomings of others. She's even better at noticing admirable qualities in other girls, getting her jealousy stirred up, and then twisting them to appear like shortcomings instead. Josie is the type others set out to impress, and learn later that it's an impossible quest. Her attitude probably stems from low self esteem, but makes her a parasite. She feeds on put-downs of others to build herself up.

L.M. Montgomery has equivalents of Josie Pye in her other series too. Emily Byrd Starr finds herself the enemy of the supercilious Evelyn Blake. And Pat Gardiner acquires a mean girl as her sister-in-law, when critical, controlling May Binnie marries Pat's brother Sid.

3) Nellie Oleson from Little House on the Prarie
She first appears as the dolled-up little town girl who looks down her nose at Laura and Mary because they are poor. Nellie believes her shop-keeper father is far superior to their hard-working, farming Pa, who she perceives to be a loser. Never the type to keep her opinions to herself, she spreads her snobbery far and wide. Later when they're teenagers, Nellie has a good, hard go at stealing the affection of heart-throb Almanzo Wilder from Laura. To his credit, he never even notices the power-plays going on in his own buggy.

4) Pansy Parkinson from Harry Potter
Nastiness just seems to radiate from this pug-faced Slytherin girl. She's one of those people who derives genuine pleasure from making others upset. Instead of empathy, she thrives on bullying. I seem to remember J.K. Rowling revealing that Pansy was a composite of several mean girls she'd come across in her school days. And when asked why Pansy didn't end up with Draco Malfoy, JKR replied that she certainly wasn't going to let this anti-heroine get the man she wanted.

5) The Ugly Stepsisters from Cinderella
These two seem to be evidence that nastiness can be learned. They never question their mother's brainwashing that they are better than their step-sister, and therefore feel free to order her around, keep her confined to household drudgery, and call her names. It's a pity the father never noticed and put a stop to it. Several stories with nasty, conniving females also seem to have clueless males.

6) The Stepmother from Snow White
I get the impression the hapless man married a much younger woman than himself the second time round. That's why she regards Snow White as a rival for her beauty, rather than a lonely daughter to care for. And the blunt honesty of her magic mirror makes it too easy for this woman's jealousy to fester. She'd rather stage a gruesome murder than accept that she might be the second prettiest female in the land. That is one scary premise. Maybe it's even scarier that when we're little girls, we all nod and accept this without a turning a hair.

So there you have them. Although I can think of countless more examples from the pages of others novels, I thought I'd stop with these six, who most people would probably know.

If you want more examples of characters who have taken the mean girl persona to the extreme, you may enjoy an earlier post of mine, 10 Wicked Women in Novels
  

'Reviewing as a Lifestyle' by Rebecca Johnson

 

This is an interesting book I came across some time ago and re-read. I've never come across another book quite like it, and it definitely inspires me to keep reviewing. That's why it's appropriate for this blog. 

Rebecca is a positive lifestyle reviewer who is on an eternal quest to find memorable books. She is as comfortable reviewing a household item as she is reviewing a book. In fact she has officially reviewed everything in her house that can be reviewed.
Authors think she is an ideal reader as she is able to extract the essence of a book all while telling readers what they really want to know in order to make good purchasing decisions.
What Rebecca loves most about reviewing is that it makes her happy. She mostly focuses on what she likes and loves, although she sometimes writes some more critical reviews.
In this book she reveals the secret of how to get and keep a reviewer's attention. She also includes favorite quotes about the love of books and a description of her fantasy book tower. 
 
MY THOUGHTS:
 
I read an interesting book review by this lady, thought her name sounded familiar, and decided to look at more of her reviews. That's when I found the link to this encouraging and unusual little book. I thought it serendipitous because people have been asking me why I'd bother writing reviews, when they just get swallowed up in cyberspace. What makes Rebecca Johnson's book so special is her focus. Most material I've come across about review writing deals mainly with the 'How'. Without neglecting this, she also devotes a lot of space to the 'Why'. That makes all the difference.

Rebecca describes how writing her first review back in 2000 set off a life-changing chain of events. She considers each review a special gift and believes a committed reviewer serves a noble purpose. She calls herself a review addict, with a soft spot in her heart for authors of self-published books who have plugged on without much encouragement. It started as an adventure in which she believes books that were 'looking for her' seemed to find her.

I love the mutual pay-off aspect. Rebecca sees herself as a helper and bridge-gapper between readers and authors. In return, she was pleased to discover that reviewers find it easier to see the beauty in the world. If we choose our books carefully, the best and noblest thoughts filter into our minds on a regular basis. She finds that overwhelming, positive themes keep re-occurring when you review lots. One of hers is keeping your mind free of negative thoughts, which has made her a happier person than before. I like this idea of writing reviews as a sort of health tonic or vitamin for our heart and soul.

Although not many of us will become Top 10 Amazon reviewers like Rebecca, with over 5000 reviews under our belts, I'm enthusiastic now, about staying in the ranks of reviewers. Review writing is something simple and powerful we can all do.

5 stars

'Next of Kin' by Carol Preston

 

 Fanny Franks was raised to believe in honesty, equality and acceptance, regardless of background or circumstances. When she meets brothers Jack and Jim, she is drawn to them by the alienation and injustice which seems to pervade their lives. She is determined to intervene and help them find happiness, until trauma in her own life brings discrimination and shame for which she is ill prepared. In dealing with her own struggle she comes to understand what Jack and Jim are going through, and they find where they truly belong.

Genre: Historical fiction, Australian Colonial fiction, Christian/General.

MY THOUGHTS
Fanny Franks works as a kitchen hand at a hotel. She finds herself drawn to Jim and Jack Schmidt, the nephews of her German employers, because they've had a very hard upbringing.

One of the main themes is that discrimination and intolerance for people in minority groups flourishes naturally. What makes this an interesting read is that it isn't obvious the main character needs to learn this for herself. Fanny already considers herself to be an unprejudiced person who is quick to jump to the defense of underdogs. But before the events in this story take place, she's never been on the receiving end of the same treatment. She comes to understand that even though she thought she wasn't judging Jack for his approach to his own problems, in some ways she really was. It's easy to think you understand a person's situation and can dictate what their attitude ought to be, but there is nothing like unexpectedly facing what they've faced to help put things in perspective.

I got the feeling early on that Fanny would end up with Jack, but I think the clues were there because we were meant to twig. It was his Mr-Darcy-esque gruffness, which suits colonial Australia, and the way she always notices his stormy looking eyes, even though she thinks him a grouch. There's plenty of time in the story when Fanny and the boys are separate from each other, but since it's far more than just a love story, this is fine.

It takes a good story to highlight the tension between two equally rigid attitudes in such a way that we can understand both. On the one hand, there's the German migrants who want to cling to the features of their homeland. Then there's the locals who believe they need to adapt to their new country.  Carol Preston's books can always stand alone, yet when you read several of them, the characters can be linked back to others, until there's a long line of several generations in a family to follow.

4 stars

The Value of White Space

I remember learning this interesting theory about the way modern readers set about choosing their books. We unconsciously scan the appearance of the page layout, and make decisions based on the amount of white space visible as we flick through.

When the pages are dense and blocky with enormous paragraphs, we subconsciously feel daunted. They appear like huge mountains to scale, and the more-fainted among us may chicken out and put them back on the shelves. It looks like too much hard work.



However, if we see generous white space in the form of shorter paragraphs and plenty of dialogue, it gives a friendlier impression, as if somebody has thoughtfully chipped steps into the side of that mountain. And paving the way for our readers may be as simple as breaking a couple of 7-12 line paragraphs into several shorter ones, of about 3-6 lines.



Since I learned the value of providing plenty of white space in books, I've noticed the need for it in several other areas of our lives too. There's the time aspect, for example. If every hour of the day is accounted for with long to-do lists, appointments and urgent work, we're thrown right off our feet by sudden curve balls. When a friend calls needing a shoulder to cry on, or a family member suddenly becomes sick and needs to be picked up, or we get an impromptu invitation for coffee, then our day is really thrown out of whack if we don't have white space.

Another need my family struggled with was financial white space. When our kids were small and my husband had recently left his job, every cent was accounted for in rent, food and general living bills. Sudden expenses left us reeling. A toothache requiring a filling, a fridge break-down, some beneficial group membership fee looming, or a birthday present for a son or daughter. They seemed to be petty annoyances to others, but were huge catastrophes to us, because we simply had no financial white space to absorb the added costs.

I've become such a strong advocate for white space in all areas of our lives, I prefer to call it by that name rather than brushing it off with a term I've heard others give it, which is 'nothing.' At first I thought the financial side might be the exception, since the white space we needed seemed to be more money. But no, on further reflection, the white space isn't the money itself, but the fact that it would have been nice to have some left over with nothing to spend it on. White space is actually a very vital form of nothing we would do well to fit into our lives. I've often found that many of my creative ideas have come to me in moments of white space.

I'm no scientist bu white space reminds me of the infinitesimal gaps, or synapses, between nerve cells which are constantly firing messages from one to another. Or they're like the short bursts of silence between the mighty notes of music in a symphony, or even the empty space which takes up some of the nucleus of a cell. White space, meaningful emptiness, room to breathe, whatever you choose to call it, it would seem God knew it was necessary in all of creation, so it's worth fighting for in our own lives.

I'd be interested to know if any of you have ever had to struggle to fit more white space into any area.     

'The Goodbye Bride' by Denise Hunter

She only remembers loving him. But he can’t forget the way she left.

Following a concussion, Lucy Lovett can’t remember the last seven months of her life. She doesn’t remember leaving her fiancé Zac Callahan weeks before their wedding or moving to Portland, Maine. And she sure doesn’t remember getting engaged to another man. All she remembers is loving Zac more than life itself.

It’s taken Zac months to move on after Lucy left him with no explanation. He’s thrown himself into his family’s farm and his restaurant business in Summer Harbor. Now Lucy’s back, vulnerable, homeless, and still in love with him. She needs his help putting the pieces together, but letting her back into his life is a risk—and the stakes are high. If he follows his heart he’ll win back the love of his life. But if her memory returns he’ll lose her all over again.

Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance 

MY THOUGHTS:
I enjoy a good amnesia story, and the premise of this one hooked me from the start. Lucy regains consciousness to find herself wearing a wedding dress, but discovers she's about to marry some random stranger rather than Zac, the fiance she was madly in love with. Zac in turn, is upset and confused when she calls on him to help her, since she walked out on him with no explanation seven months earlier. They discover that Lucy has totally forgotten those months of her life, and as far as she's concerned, she's still madly in love with him. What had he done to upset her? 

The different facets of the memory which pop up in amnesia stories continue to intrigue me. Although Lucy has lost seven months of her life the same way a computer file may be wiped out, her short term memory continues to be remarkable. While she's waitressing for Zac, she remembers all sorts of detailed orders from pedantic diners, and moves from table to table, without ever needing to carry a notepad.

I wished the pace would pick up at times, but maybe that was because I wanted to discover the solution behind the mess, and side characters kept slowing things down. Since we all trust from the start that Lucy and Zac are soulmates who will surely end up together, the presence of  Morgan and Nick just seems to provide a bit of filler. Morgan is the jealous and nasty other woman who is romantically interested in Zac. Even her name, Morgan LeBlanc, sounds like an anti-heroine. And Nick is the typical nice guy women on the rebound seem to hook up with. There's nothing wrong with him, except that he's not Zac. We get the picture, so come on, what happens?

I wasn't sure how I felt about the ultimate revelation. You might be either disappointed or impressed, depending on whether you'd prefer Lucy's desertion of Zac to be based on intrigue and foul play, or more of a psychological basis, grounded in personal history. I'd gone into it half expecting it to be a crime story, but it's definitely a romance first and foremost. 

There's quite a bit of information about minor characters in this story. They are mostly members of Zac's family. This is a giveaway that the book is part of a series. Yes, Beau and Eden were the main characters of the first novel, and Riley and Paige's story is still coming.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for my review copy.

3.5 stars

Nine books to help us do our housework

I thought I'd clean out the kitchen pantry before Easter. After piling everything on the bench, scrubbing away sticky smears, spills and dust, and making two bags or pots into one where there were double ups, I discovered a disaster in the fridge. My youngest son admitted he was responsible. He'd laid the milk down without tightening the lid, and all the vegetables in the crisper were floating in milk, looking like some sort of raw, creamy soup. Housework isn't my favourite occupation, and sometimes I feel like I'm drowning in it. 

Still, it has to be done, so we might as well use any help to improve our frame of mind about it. I've found housework often crops up in stories.

Several old movies I've come across are so riddled with stereotypes, we may want to cringe rather than clean. In fairy tale land, Disney's Snow White scrubs up the seven dwarfs' messy little miner's hovel. She even checks that they've washed their hands before meals. Elsewhere in the wild west, Katie Brown suggests that Calamity Jane's grubby cottage needs 'a woman's touch' and shows her how to make it sparkling clean. Wild Bill Hickok and his friend Danny Gilmartin are so impressed by all the fussy trinkets and frilly curtains, Calamity decides she needs to follow Katie's example if she wants to win the heart of a good man. If you want to avoid these gems, there are warning signs to look out for. I think the main one is lots of cheesy singing. Heroines trill like little birds as they wield their feather dusters. What we're really looking for are stories that might inspire people in the real world to bother to get off our backsides for just as long as it takes to get the job done. I think I found a few.

1) The Hired Girl
14-year-old Joan Skraggs makes cleaning seem like an art form. Her willingness to just get stuck into the job helps improve the quality of her own life on several occasions. Once, her employer's son reproaches his father for keeping such a bright girl stuck cleaning the oven. The old man replies that somebody has to clean the oven, and Joan is being well paid for it. He adds, 'I notice you're not putting up your hand.'  It's true, that since we all like our ovens to be clean, we might as well get them done with Joan's matter-of-fact attitude. My review is here.

2) Until the Harvest
It's set in the 1970s, and while other girls are thinking about careers and women's lib, this heroine, Margaret, is happy to admit that she quite likes cleaning. You can make a difference to your quality of life straight away and go to bed pleased with your progress. What's not to like? You can bless others too. Wiping smears of toothpaste off the sink for her needy neighbours only takes a second and makes them happy and grateful. My review is here.

3) Jane of Lantern Hill
In theory, it sounds like a plot fail. The young heroine is coerced away from her clingy mother to stay with the father she barely remembers, and finds great satisfaction in keeping his house clean for him. It might not have worked for many other authors, but L.M. Montgomery could pull it off. We feel Jane's genuine pleasure when she manages to get a recipe right, or finds a method to remove stubborn stains. She's a born lady-of-the-house, and since our homes are our havens, whatever makes a girl happy is fine. Her dad, Andrew, gives the impression that he's doing her a great favour by standing back and letting her have her way with all the cleaning, since she's never had the opportunity to be in charge of anything before. What a guy!

4) The Thirteenth Tale
This wasn't one of my favourite novels, but I did like the character of Hannah, who revolutionises the dysfunctional household for a short period of time. The bedraggled young narrator eventually realises that the bright, angelic aura Hannah seems to wear is simply because she's clean. Of course things quickly slide downhill again once Hannah leaves. My review is here.

5) Little House on the Prairie series
These books make the weekly drudgery of a woman's daily grind sound noble and interesting. There's a chapter in Little Town on the Prairie when Laura enlists the help of Carrie and Grace to help her do a tremendous spring clean to surprise Pa and Ma, who are taking Mary to college. The descriptive writing makes it sound like a marathon, and the girls come off as total winners and heroes when the job is achieved.

6) Clara Morison
This is a colonial novel set in my own home town, Adelaide. The heroine hopes to be a governess, but finds she can only be hired as a housemaid. Next door to her employers live three sisters who do their own housecleaning, because they can't afford a maid of their own. They are my heroes. My review is here.

Some non-fiction

1) How to Win at Housework by Don Laslett
He's a male cleaner by trade, and asserts that he really is passionate about his calling. That makes me sit up and take notice. I mostly remember his chapter entitled, 'What to Expect from your Husband and Children.' You flip to that page number and find nothing but blank pages with a few grubby hand smears.

2) The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
I haven't read this new release yet, but lots of other people have been talking about it. It would seem the author uses a heartfelt approach as the basis of her method. If an item sparks joy, keep it, and if not, toss it. Reminds me of some advice I once heard that everything we own should be either beautiful or useful, or as a bonus, both. If any of my blog readers have read Kondo's book, I'd love to hear your recommendations.

3) Spotless by Shannon Lush
I bought this, along with 'Speed Cleaning' from K-Mart, because they looked pretty enough to motivate me. There's nothing like photos of other people's lovely rooms to inspire us to imagine that ours could look the same. Her tips for cleaning each room or area are pretty comprehensive too, and I doubt there's anything she didn't cover. Shannon Lush's enthusiasm for cleaning isn't quite contagious enough for someone like me to catch, but I do get inspired to think that others really do enjoy it.

As always, if you can think of any other books which might inspire us to get stuck into, or even like our housework, please let us know. 

'The Pounamu Prophecy' by Cindy Williams

 Since she watched her village burn to the ground, Mere's life has been anything but dull. Now as an older woman she has come to stay with Helene and James to finish writing her life story - a tale of injustice, revenge and reconciliation. But Helene and James have their own problems. After five years together, their marriage has become dull, predictable, boring ... and it starts to unravel. Weaving fiction with the traumatic history of the Ngati Whatua tribe of Auckland, The Pounamu Prophecy sweeps from the sultry heat of Australia to the verdant shores of New Zealand.

Genre: Contemporary fiction with some historical flashbacks, suitable for both Christian and general market. 

MY THOUGHTS: 
Mere is a wise Maori woman who is concentrating on writing her memoir now that her children are all grown up. She has plenty to share, about how she and her tribal family were victims of some corrupt political decisions in New Zealand in the twentieth century. She's staying as the guest of James and Helene, the son and daughter-in-law of an old friend of hers, and discovers their marriage of five years is a bit shaky.

I get James and Helene. Sure, it's easy to tell them to pull themselves together from behind the pages of a book, but hey, they're just being sucked into the trap of wanting to live the Australian dream and have it all (whatever that means). They both have consuming occupations, as she's a doctor and he's trying to start his own graphic design business. She's bored with the routine they've sunk into, he feels she doesn't support his dream, and their 'needs' stretch along with their budget. Then the unscrupulous but attractive Steve and Nicolette step onto the scene, adding to the main couple's illusion that maybe their lives should have panned out way different.

No matter what their faults, both James and Helene are generous hosts, honouring his mother's request and making Mere feel welcome. They never treat her presence as a burden, even though they're both trying to juggle many other stressful time commitments. That earned them my respect, because I get sick and tired of stories in which protagonists use their preoccupation as an excuse for rudeness. I also like the feeling of anticipation which is set up from the start. We know Mere's presence is bound to have something to do with James and Helene changing their attitudes, and her input will probably be something the reader can take on board too, since we live in James and Helene's same world and sometimes battle with similar feelings. 

The significance of the book's title only becomes evident toward the end, tying everything together. On the surface, it would seem that Mere's sad personal history is poles apart from the first-world, metropolitan problems that James and Helene are living. You have to get to the end to see what happens, especially around the themes of forgiveness and deciding what really matters. 

4.5 stars

'One Thing Stolen' by Beth Kephart

 

Something is not right with Nadia Cara. She’s become a thief. She has secrets she can’t tell. And when she tries to speak, the words seem far away. In Florence, Italy, with her epicurean brother, professor father, and mother who helps at-risk teens, Nadia finds herself trapped by her own obsessions and following the trail of an elusive Italian boy whom no one but herself has seen. While her father researches a flood that nearly destroyed Florence in 1966, Nadia wonders if she herself can be rescued—or will she disappear?

Set against the backdrop of a glimmering city, One Thing Stolen is an exploration of obsession, art, and a rare neurological disorder. It is about language and beauty, imagining and knowing, and the deep salvation of love.

Genre: YA contemporary, general market, medical theme.

MY THOUGHTS:
This novel provides a compassionate insight into the mind of a 17-year-old girl who suffers the sudden onset of sudden mental disorder, which is revealed down the track to be a form of early onset dementia. The condition enhances Nadia's appreciation of beauty, while simultaneously tearing apart her ability to express herself clearly.

While events which take place around her are still clear in her mind, Nadia's ability to express her feelings about them to others in spoken words is affected, and her confusion and pain shows in the scattered style of her narrative. With the use of flashbacks and treasured memories, she describes her bewilderment at becoming somebody so different to the person she considers to be her 'real self'. The bafflement and concern of her family come through strongly too.

As a backdrop to the events, Nadia's father, a university professor, has moved his family to Florence where he can research a major flood which took place there in 1966. Nadia's mother is a social worker who focuses on at-risk teens, and her younger brother Jack is a budding chef. The new environment gives Nadia plenty of scope to indulge her new habit of stealing objects which she can form into secret nests. She also develops a fascination with a strange boy, Benedetto, although other members of her family have never seen him.

The narrative becomes confusing at times, and it takes more sensitivity than I probably have to keep track of the progression of Nadia's illness, twisting her self-expression. Although research on her diagnosis is still in its early stages, the novel provides a note of hope that discoveries which have already been made in brain science and neuroplasticity may have more potential to help sufferers like Nadia in the future.

The bond of loyalty and affection between best friends is a good theme. Nadia's friend Maggie, so often the subject of fond reminiscences, arrives in Florence to do all she can to help, the moment she learns what Nadia has been going through. The section of the book written from Maggie's perspective stands in stark contrast to Nadia's confused piecings together. Nadia's heartfelt reaction to Maggie's presence is lovely to read. The two girls prove that the roots of true friendship go far deeper than what may be evident on the surface.

Overall though, it wasn't an easy book to read in spite of its good points. I never got drawn into the story to the extent that I forgot I was reading a fairly arty novel.

2.5 stars

'The Face of the Deep' by Paul J. Pastor

   Genre: Non-fiction, Christian, personal development.   Many Christians don't have a clear idea of the Holy Spirit's role in their life. Yet Scripture is full of stories that show the Spirit as a vibrant, personal being.

The Face of the Deep invites you on a quest for the Holy Spirit that journeys through our world and Bible. The adventure is infused with wonder and symbolic imagination—from the black void of Genesis 1 all the way through the explosive re-creation at the close of Revelation. You'll encounter the love and power of the Holy Spirit revealed through the beauty of creation, art, history, and theology.  MY THOUGHTS: This book examines the role which the Holy Spirit plays in our individual lives. It's not an easy book to read straight through, but when we push on, there are some nuggets to dwell on, prompting further thought. I've got to admit, I often found it easy to put down and grab other books instead. I've come across the auditory equivalent of this book many times. Have you ever tried to keep track of a sermon when the pastor seems to waffle, and keeps trying to cluster seemingly disparate points under the one heading? That's what this book reminded me of.   Paul J. Pastor spends a fair bit of time discussing his own ideas about the movement of the Holy Spirit, through what he's observed in nature, relationships, creativity and the passing of time. That's fine, except that the blurb gives the impression that he's also going to guide us to recognise definite input of the Holy Spirit in our lives based on what's in the pages of scripture. Rather than clearing readers' confused thoughts, this seems to be yet another rambling text adding to what's circulating out in the world already.
So overall, I'd say that although there are several interesting paragraphs which we could use as kick-starters for our own creativity, it's not necessarily going to help make the person of the Holy Spirit seem any less elusive.  Thanks to NetGalley and David C. Cook for my review copy 
2.5 stars