Cynthia Sally Haggard's Blog: Cynthia Sally's Blog, page 67

Read an eye-witness account of Pliny the Elder’s “Manifestation,” (POMPEII by Robert Harris, narrated by John Lee)

[image error]Having just visited Pompeii earlier this year, I decided to read this book, and I was enthralled. The characters seem so real, especially that of Pliny the Elder (uncle of the more famous Pliny the Younger), a man in charge of the fleet at Poteoli (Pozzuoli). Now in his declining years, too heavy for his own good, he nevertheless sets sail into the teeth of the volcanic eruption that happens one fine day in AD 79 to help out a lady friend, who is worried about her house. Of course, he and his men have no helmets, no gas masks, nothing to protect them from the ash and rocky projectiles that are now pouring out of Vesuvius, as they gingerly make their way to Herculaneum, a charming seaside resort that lies right at its feet.

Things get so bad, they are obliged to sail on south, finally landing at Stabiae, the home of the super-rich. Pliny either suffers from a heart-attack or suffocates after ingesting the poisonous fumes, perhaps from lying down to take a nap. In any event, he dies soon thereafter, as the “Manifestation,” (his term for this cataclysm) continues.

Five Stars.

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George R. R. Martin’s A DANCE WITH DRAGONS (A SONG OF ICE & FIRE #5)

[image error]I’d like to start my review by mentioning all the positive things about this series, which keeps me reading. GRRM has created compelling characters in Sansa, Arya, Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister, Tyrion Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen, and I’m dying to know what happens to them, and how they come out of this novel. So every time I’m reading something about them I’m happy.

I’m not so happy with this novel as a piece of writing. The problem is that the structure of the story has become slack, and we have a situation with multiple characters and multiple plot-lines, which necessitates long waits between each point of view character to find out what happens next. For example, poor Sansa Stark finally left the Eyrie with her uncle-by-marriage Petyr Baelish at the end of A FEAST FOR CROWS, but no-where is she to be seen in A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. So I’m still wondering what happened to her. Instead, the plot has become bogged down in too many minor characters and their dealings, and so the momentum of the story has crawled to a halt.

What made J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series so successful, was that each book was structured around a year at Hogwarts. Unfortunately, A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, like A FEAST FOR CROWS has lost its structure, so one reads and reads with no real sense of where this story is going to end up. And so the arc of tension is either sagging, or absent.

I hope that GRRM will do a couple of things with the last two books in the series:

Ditch the prologues. I have no idea why ADWD started with Varamyr as it seemed to have little bearing on what followed. The opening would have been much stronger if we had been plunged into the scene where Tyrion is on a boat escaping Westeros, just after killing his father at the end of Book Three.
Edit out the minor characters, and make the book lean and mean by just focusing on the lives of the main characters that we have grown to know and love.

I would love a scene in which Tyrion meets Daenerys, especially as their encounter in ADWD was such a cop-out. I want to see Tyrion confront his sister and brother. I want to see who ends up on the Iron Throne. And I want to find out what happens to Bran, Arya and Sansa. Do they ever see each other again? As far as I’m concerned, I would be happy NOT having to wade through stuff about another unscrupulous sellsword, or about Theon Greyjoy and his family, or about the Dornes. Frankly, I’m no longer interested. Three stars.

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Interview Questions 22: Answered by Cynthia Sally Haggard

When did you know you wanted to be a writer?

Not until fairly late in life (at the age of 43). Prior to that, I’d been a violinist and then a cognitive scientist.

Who are your writing inspirations?

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This girl looks the way I used to look at the age of ten or so. Like me, she is reading late at night, which I also used to do…much to the annoyance of my sister!

I was the typical bookworm from the age of 10 on, when I started reading for three hours every day. I read all the classics, so of course I was inspired by Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Fanny Burney.

The actual inspirations for my novels come from disparate sources.

My first novel Thwarted Queen, was inspired by a Time Team program on Richard III.

Farewell My Life is loosely based on the story of my college violin teacher, who went to Berlin to study violin circa 1925.

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Reading Sundays: SHADES OF UNREALITY (Part 1), a short story by Cynthia Sally Haggard

[image error]Lady Cecylee Neville (1415-1495) was born a few months before King Henry V’s glorious victory at Agincourt. When she was nine years old, she was betrothed to Richard, Duke of York, a cousin to King Henry VI. Eventually, Cecylee became the mother of thirteen children, including Edward IV and his younger brother Richard III, whose bones were recently discovered beneath a car park in Leicester. Lady Cecylee’s six hundredth birthday occurred on 3 May 2015. This piece tells of an adventure she had recently.

***

Since my death, I have tried to stay abreast of the goings-on in this world of ours. and I must confess I am most curious about this twenty-first century. Never before have ladies held power so openly. But it is not just the ladies that interest me, but the toys they play with. Truly, it is magical. Fancy being able to talk to someone miles away whom you cannot see. Or fix the image of a person for eternity. Or do calculations merely by moving your fingers around. Or convert currency. And all on a little thingy that is about the size of a pack of playing cards.

My scribe remarked recently that my six hundredth birthday was nigh, so on the occasion of the marking of my Great Age, I decided to pay a visit, closing my eyes to make my wish.

***

When I opened them, I was staring at a something I didn’t understand. I appeared to be in a guardroom, because everything was in muted colors, creams, silvers, blacks. On top of a marble bench sat something that might be an animal. I had to peer closely at it, as I couldn’t see clearly. It was as if I were gazing through some thin gauzy curtains. Every so often, the curtains would lift and shift as if disturbed by a breeze. Then they would settle and the scene would gradually grow clearer. The animal resembled a cat with deep sea-green eyes and orange fur. But something wasn’t quite right, because it was bigger than most cats I know, and it seemed—softer somehow. I studied it carefully. Underneath its fur were not muscles and skin, but—padding. It didn’t look quite real…[Continued next week.]

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Fashions in the 1920s & 1930s 3: from Farewell My Life by Cynthia Sally Haggard

It is 1921, when the novel opens.

Here is an elegant lady (who could be ANGELINA, but costumed by Chanel) dressed to the nines for a walk outside. Notice how her outfit sits on her figure, and how much easier it is to move!

Compare the underwear she is wearing:

with what Victorian ladies had to wear:

and also with the Chanel outfit from 1914, which was difficult to walk in:

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A FEAST FOR CROWS (SONG OF ICE & FIRE #4) by George R. R. Martin

[image error]I can see why people have problems with this volume of A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, titled A FEAST FOR CROWS. We spend a great deal of time in the company of Brienne, Maid of Tarth as she wanders through Westeros looking for Sansa Stark, only to be told she was on the wrong trail. At the end of the book, she comes to a sad, unsurprisingly grisly end, and it all seems so pointless.

The other figure who casts a long shadow over this novel is the beautiful but cruel Cersei. As she is not a sympathetic character, and she gets increasingly paranoid throughout this book, and there is no resolution to her situation, I can see why people would get impatient.

It is true, that I found myself wondering, two-thirds of the way through, when this novel was going to come to some kind of resolution. And it didn’t, which was disappointing. But strangely enough, I did manage to read most every word, which is unusual for me as I am the most impatient person on the planet. So what kept me going?

I think the people who really kept me going throughout this volume were the Stark sisters, which is strange as we don’t hear much from them. But whenever they appeared, the volume came to life. That might explain why I stuck with Brienne through thick and thin, as she was looking for Sansa Stark, and I kept expecting them to meet up.

Otherwise, I have to agree with others who have said this needed a stronger editorial hand. In particular, I found the prologue to this piece as well as the prologue to A DANCE WITH DRAGONS (which I have just read) really unhelpful, and actually a turn-off to the book I’m about to read. In my opinion they give you hooks that are not really hooks, as they don’t seem to have much to do with the main characters. I hope that in his next volume THE WINDS OF WINTER, GRRM will do something about that. Three and a Half stars.

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A STORM OF SWORDS (A SONG OF ICE & FIRE #3) by George R. R. Martin

[image error]In A STORM OF SWORDS George Martin shows how ruthless a truly great author has to be, for in this volume we come across the infamous Red Wedding. Those of you who have seen the HBO series or read the book, know what I mean. For the rest of you, I will say no more so as not to spoil the experience.

The saga continues, with King Robb battling to save the North, with Jon Snow returning from his stint of spying amongst the Wildings with his heart torn, with KIng Stannis in the grip of an evil sorceress, with Queen Daenerys learning her craft of Queenship as this 14-year-old begins to show the makings of a truly great monarch, and with cruel King Joffrey growing even crueler, so that even his Lannister relatives (apart from his doting mother) become uneasy.

There are many wonderful moments as new characters are introduced. How I loved Lord Tywin Lannister, the cold patriarch of the family. He is so typical of a high-born medieval lord. How I loved meeting Lady Margaery and her family, especially her lively grandmother. These ladies seem so sweet, but they are cunning and ruthless in their ways too. My favorite part of the novel is the way in which Lady Margaery’s grandmother, Lady Olenna, outwits Cersei and saves the day…for her grand-daughter at least.

But you will have to read this volume to see what I mean. Five stars.

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Interview Questions 21: Answered by Cynthia Sally Haggard

What was your favorite scene to write in Farewell My Life?

The last scene of Part 1, when Russell is unmasked.

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Venetian Mask

What was the most difficult scene to write?

The very last scene of the novel, because it is so harrowing.

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Trivia Sunday 8: Farewell My Life by Cynthia Sally Haggard

Laughter in the Dark, aka Camera Obscura by Vladimir Nabokov, written in 1930s Berlin

You have five seconds to tell us who the greatest author of all time is.  In your opinion, who would that be?

Vladimir Nabokov, whose dark humor captures the atmosphere of 1920s and 1930s Berlin.

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Fashions in the 1920s & 1930s 2: from Farewell My Life by Cynthia Sally Haggard

It is 1914, just before World War I and here is an elegant lady with her greyhound (costumed by Chanel). Notice how clean & modern the lines are. Yes that is a large muff (in case you were wondering.) But what about that skirt? I first heard about it from Grandma Steffi who turned 20 in 1914, and it had a special nickname. My grandmother referred to it as a hobble skirt.

Lady with a dog, looking elegant in Chanel. She is wearing a hobble skirt.

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