Cynthia Sally Haggard's Blog: Cynthia Sally's Blog, page 58

The English characters who inhabit these stories remain largely private (GOOD EVENING MRS CRAVEN)

[image error]GOOD EVENING MRS CRAVEN by Mollie Panter-Downes is a series of wartime stories set in Britain during the Second World War. Like most British people, Ms. Panter-Downes writes fluently and well, and renders the ordinary world in closely observed snapshots. For example:

Everyone got wedged into the room somehow, bibs were hitched round necks, and a subterranean wheezing located Mrs. Parmenter’s little fellows right under their patron’s chair. Mrs. Ramsay, carving the lamb and listening to the nurses babbling of cardigan patterns, thought moodily that this kind of thing might go on for years.

Ms. Panter-Downes’ stories become darker as the war grinds on. GOODBYE MY LOVE is about the touching parting of a young man and a young woman. When the young man unexpectedly reappears, she bursts into floods of tears, because she will have to say ‘goodbye’ to him all over again. GOOD EVENING MRS. CRAVEN is about the heartbreak of being the ‘other woman’ when your man has gone off to war. Your man is not actually your man, and another woman is his wife, and the relationship is secret (or supposed to be so), getting any news is almost impossible. Unless you resort to subterfuge. THE HUNGER OF MISS BURTON tackles an issue that would have been all-too-familiar to the people who survived through that war. Miss Burton is adult and female, and as such is supposed not to take more than her fair share, leaving the leftovers for the children. But she is so hungry! IT’S THE REACTION is perhaps the saddest story of all, about another adult single female, who yearns for another bomb to drop so that her neighbors will come out of their shells and include her in their lives. Without a crisis, her life is so, so, heartbreakingly, lonely.

There is triviality mixed in with tragedy, pettiness with kindness and the usual day-to-day problems wound together with the reality of war. If you want to know more about the war, and what life was like, these stories provide a good introduction. But you won’t learn much about the characters who inhabit these stories. Though well-defined, they remain largely private. (How English.) Four stars.

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Reading Sundays: A SURPRISING CURE (Part 11) a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard

“You must be aware of the industrial strife that is now sweeping England.”

“Aye. We know.”

“This is an incitement to violence. Your overly inflated language is going to stir up trouble.”

“Edward,” said Miriam. “Don’t be so prissy. You’ve no idea about the lives of the poor.”

I stared at her in astonishment. Had she forgotten about my own poverty-stricken past? Had my monetary success as a solicitor to Bristol’s wealthy elite erased that fact from her mind?

“You’ve no imagination” remarked Miriam, letting out an exasperated puff of smoke. “You should go and live in the slums of Bristol.”[image error]

“Miriam,” I remarked. “I think it is you who do not understand. You have never actually experienced poverty. Your father was always able to provide for you. You do not know what it is like to be hungry.”

“How like you to throw that at me,” she cried.

I held up my hands. “Miriam, let me finish. I think you have forgotten that my family was left destitute when my father died. As a boy, I had to witness the shame of my own mother going to work as a housekeeper.”

She puffed on her cigarette, her eyes hard.

“What I want you to understand, both of you,” I let my gaze sweep over that arrogant youth, “is that I will not countenance this tract. If you persist in your plans to publish it—”

“—you’ll throw us out?” he drawled.

Miriam stopped smoking and glared at me, her features hardening into a kind of bulldog mulishness. “Fine. I don’t care. Come, Robert.” He disappeared with her. [To be continued.]

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Simon Mawrer’s THE GLASS ROOM

[image error]THE GLASS ROOM by Simon Mawrer is the story of a fabulous house (based upon the Villa Tugendhat in Brno) built in Czechoslovakia in the late 1920s for a young couple. When the Nazis took over Austria in 1938, the couple fled to Switzerland with their young family, because the husband was Jewish. Subsequently, they relocated to the United States.

But the book is not about the couple who commissioned the house. Rather, it is about the house itself. So after the main characters disappear in the middle of France in around 1942, we are yanked back to the house and introduced to a new cast of characters. To the Germans who used it as a laboratory. To the Soviets who overran it on their way to Berlin. To the people who lived in Communist Czechoslovakia. And finally to the people who wanted to restore it.

In many ways, this is a wonderful book. Simon Mawrer is an accomplished writer with an ear for the nuances of many languages, not just English. But the major problem for me happened when he abandoned the original family is France and yanked the reader back to the house. At that point, I started to skim, because it was just too hard for me to connect with a new cast of characters I didn’t know, especially when I was dying to find out what happened to the young family. It seems to me that either Mr. Mawrer should have kept his focus on the family and what happened to them, or made the beginning part of the book much shorter, so that the reader wouldn’t become so invested in what happened to Liesel and Viktor, and therefore not disappointed when the focus of the book suddenly shifted back to the house. Four stars.

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A fascinating account of three infantile men (GEORGE, NICHOLAS, WILHELM)

[image error]I do not usually care for biographies, they often seem to consist of the boring trivia of a person’s daily life. But GEORGE, NICHOLAS, WILHELM: THREE ROYAL COUSINS AND THE ROAD TO WORLD WAR I is different. Miranda Carter deftly weaves together the biographies of the three cousin-emperors who together stood on the brink of the abyss in 1914: George V of England, Nicholas, the last Tsar of Russia, and Wilhelm, the last Kaiser of Germany.

What I really enjoyed about this book was the way in which it was told. Ms. Carter chose her details judiciously, so that instead of feeling swamped by the minutiae of the privileged lives of three people who ironically tended to focus of trivial details themselves, she gives you the right sweep of psychology, politics and detail to make you understand very clearly why two of these three men were an utter disaster as autocratic heads of state, while at the same time, breathing a sigh of relief that the third (Georges V of England) was hemmed in by his parliament.

The tragedy that happened at the Ipatiev House in July 1918 haunts us still. It is hard to read about four innocent girls and their brother being gunned down by the soviets, but I didn’t realize how mild-mannered, relentlessly polite “Nicky” had turned into such a monster against his own people. Nor did I realize that his hated wife had such power towards the end of their reign, that she was dismissing ministers right and left, in a fashion that would have been comical had it not been so tragic.

I also had no idea that Kaiser Wilhelm was a closet homosexual, or that he was so infantile. And what fascinated me about this book was the culture of late 19th-century Europe that promoted the infantilization of children of both sexes to such a degree that it is fair to say that in a very real way, none of these men ever grew up. It would be fascinating to read a sociological history that explains how this culture of infantilization came about. Five stars.

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THE TIME IN BETWEEN by Maria Dueñas translated by Daniel Hahn

[image error]I loved reading THE TIME IN BETWEEN by Maria Dueñas. I had never read this author before, and she did a wonderful job of keeping my nose in her book, mainly because she kept changing my expectations about what the story was about.

At first, I thought the book was going to be about fashions in the 1930s and 1940s, because every time she described Sira picking up her needle the writing became so sensuous.

Then I thought it was going to be a quest novel about how find the jewelry that slick businessman Ramiro Arribas had stolen from her, jewelry given to her by her mysterious aristocratic father whom she’d never met until she was an adult. That disastrous affair took her to Morocco and again I loved Ms. Dueñas’ descriptions of the sounds, smells and sights of that exotic locale.

Like other readers, I thought this book got better as it went along. In particular, I thought the ending was very well handled. (It was an elegant understated ending suitable to the modest heroine of the piece.) The beginning of the novel was spoiled for me by the character’s unfortunate habit of making speeches to each other, long speeches giving lots of information, which would have been better presented if it had been slipped into the text in manageable bite-size pieces. I don’t know if this was a problem with the original Spanish text, or if the translator was to blame, but it was particularly noticeable in the early scenes between Rosalinda Fox and Siri, in which Rosalinda went on and on (and on and on) about her relations with Juan Luis Beigbeder and Spanish politics. Strangely enough this problem became less glaring as the novel went along.

If you love reading about fashion and glamor in the 1930s and 1940s, you should definitely read this book. Four stars.

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Reading Sundays: A SURPRISING CURE (Part 10) a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard

[image error]I went to the door and opened it. Mr. Nicol had one long leg crossed over the other and was leaning back against the plush cushions of the sofa with both hands cradling his head. Miriam stood, gesturing with a long cigarette holder in her right hand.

“Excuse me,” I said, “but am I to understand that you are writing a pamphlet about Fry’s?”

He gave me his half-lidded look. “Yes,” he drawled.

“May I see what you’ve written?”

“Certainly.” He handed over a sheaf of paper covered in a barely legible scrawl.

It only took a page and a half for me to catch the gist of his socialist tirade against, as he termed it, Fry’s ‘exploitative’ practices against their own workers. I put the pages down.

“Fry’s is my client,” I remarked. “And I object in the strongest possible terms to this—this tract.”

He folded his arms, placed his left foot just above his right knee and smiled. “Do you indeed?”

“You must be aware of the industrial strife that is now sweeping England.”

“Aye. We know.”

“This is an incitement to violence. Your overly inflated language is going to stir up trouble.”

“Edward,” said Miriam. “Don’t be so prissy. You’ve no idea about the lives of the poor.” [To be continued.]

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THE DARKEST ROAD (FIONAVAR TAPESTRY #3) by Guy Gavriel Kay narrated by Simon Vance

[image error]Given everything that has gone before, it is not surprising that our five college men and women from Toronto and their friends from Fionavar spend a great deal of time in this volume preparing for war against the Dark Forces lead by the Unraveler and his underlings. This volume did not work as well for me as the other two did. There seemed to be way too many speeches, and dramatic moments that palled because we kept experiencing them. One of the Amazon reviewers remarked that author Guy Gavriel Kay needed a better editor, and I have to agree.

Perhaps another reason why I was feeling a bit bored is because my favorite character Prince Dia made only a few appearances. How I missed his wit & charm! Instead I had to wade through the dire earnestness and grimness of the other characters, emotions that while understandable (everyone believed the world was going to end) nevertheless came to be a bit much in this over-long novel. Four stars.

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THE WANDERING FIRE (FIONAVAR TAPESTRY #2) by Guy Gavriel Kay narrated by Simon Vance

In order to appreciate this volume, it is REALLY IMPORTANT to read (experience) the first volume first. So if you are reading this review and haven’t had a chance to experience THE SUMMER TREE, you should drop everything and get it, before continuing.

Unlike THE SUMMER TREE, it is not clear what [image error]THE WANDERING FIRE actually refers to, not that it matters much, as this volume picks up from where the first one left off. The first novel ended in May. This one starts six months later in November. The outcome of some truly terrible things that happened in the first volume have to be settled at the beginning of the second, which leads to a slow start as we are back in 1980s Toronto with our 5 college students, waiting for Kimberley Ford (the Seer) to have the right kind of dream that will enable her to tell them how to get back to Fionavar. Once certain matters have been dealt with (am not saying more so as not to spoil for the uninitiated) the friends set off on a 747 to London, so that they can go to Stonehenge. From there, Kimberley gets them to Fionavar.

But Fionavar is a tenser, darker place than before, an everlasting winter causing starvation and misery as packs of wolves and other unspeakable creatures roam around at the bidding of the Unraveller, an evil mage. Naturally our five college friends are bound to fight this menace in their various ways.

This is also a truly remarkable volume, displaying Guy Gavriel Kays many gifts with poetical prose, clever plot twists and characters we really care about. (My favorite is Prince Diarmuid, the younger “frivolous” son of the High King.) However, as with the first volume, the writing bears marks of an author finding his way. There are too many times when characters (especially mages) start making long speeches about arcane histories peopled with characters whose names are complex even as the point of their stories remains unclear. But if you love fantasy novels, you should try this one, which is particularly well-suited to teens. Five Stars.

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THE SUMMER TREE (FIONAVAR TAPESTRY #1) by Guy Gavriel Kay narrated by Simon Vance

What an amazing novel! [image error]THE SUMMER TREE, the debut novel of author Guy Gavriel Kay, blew into the historical fantasy world in 1984. Echoes of Tolkein are aplenty in this novel, not surprising as Kay helped Christopher Tolkein edit his father’s unpublished work when he was but a 20-year-old student at the University of Toronto.

THE SUMMER TREE opens at the University of Toronto, when five fellow students and friends decide to go to a lecture given by famous academic Lorenzo Marcus. However, Marcus is not quite what he seems, and thus the engine of the story is set in motion.

Although this is a spectacular debut, you can tell that it is an early work by an author still finding his craft. There are too many times where one of the characters stops the action dead in order to make a flowery speech about people with long unmemorable names in a fictional past which frankly doesn’t seem to have much bearing on the story. As one of the Amazon reviewers said, Kay’s work has gotten a lot better. This is true, but for those of us who enjoy fantasy portal mysteries, you should give yourselves permission to enjoy this one. Five stars.

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Reading Sundays: A SURPRISING CURE (Part 9) a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard

Miriam had no idea that I took a great interest in helping the poor, because I made nearly all of my bequests anonymously. How could I make her understand? But before I could form a coherent sentence she had slammed the door, and rustled downstairs towards her friend. I stood there, my hands balled into fists, How could she be so cruel?

*     *     *      *      *

Like a magpie, that fellow Nicol made his nest in our home. In the long month that followed, I realized there was no way of getting him to leave without annoying my wife. Matters were not helped by the fact that Miriam avoided me. I breakfasted alone, early, before walking to the office whereas Miriam and her friend both rose late. Once they left the house, they stayed out until late. The only time, therefore, when I actually saw them was during the weekend.

On this particular occasion, they were more animated than usual. As I helped myself to scrambled eggs and kippers I could hear their voices coming from the Drawing Room next door.

“It’s got to be provocative so that people will read it,” he remarked.

There was a rustling sound as Miriam paced across the room.“Let’s call it The Truth About Chocolate Factories.”

[image error]I raised my head. One of my clients, Fry’s, was a Quaker family who owned chocolate shops and factories in Bristol.

“That’s a good start. But how about The Truth About Chocolate Factories: Or Modern White Slavery, Its Cause and Cure. By Miriam Daniell and Robert Nicol.”

“That’s splendid, Robert. And my name is first. How thrilling!”

“I’d love to be in the Board Room when Fry’s see this.”

I went to the door and opened it. Mr. Nicol had one long leg crossed over the other and was leaning back against the plush cushions of the sofa with both hands cradling his head. Miriam stood, gesturing with a long cigarette holder in her right hand. [To be continued.]

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