Book Concierge’s Comments (group member since Feb 12, 2016)

Book Concierge’s comments from the Who Doesn't Love a Classic? group.

The Ides Of March – Thornton Wilder
2**

In this work of historical fiction, Wilder uses a combination of letters, diary entries and official documents to tell the story of the last year of Julius Caesar’s life.

Thank heavens I already knew the basic outline of this story. It was simply torture to read. Wilder divides the novel into four “books.” But the time frames overlap. For example, book one begins with a letter dated Sep 1 (45 BC), includes later entries marked “written the previous spring", has a memo dated Sep 30 near the end, followed by two undated notes, and a final document “written some fifteen years after the preceding.” Then we move on to Book Two, which begins with a letter dated Aug 17 (45 BC). S*I*G*H

The second difficulty I had was with the names / relationships. They frequently use nick names or code names when trying to ensure secrecy from prying eyes, should a letter fall into the wrong hands. THEY know who they refer to, but this reader was frequently confused.

And the third reason I found this so challenging are the many asides / footnotes / remarks that the author inserts. For example, in Book I, in the middle of a rather long “historical document” the author writes: Here follows the passage in which Cicero discusses the possibility that Marcus Junius Brutus may be Caesar’s son. It is given in the document which opens Book IV..

Now, I appreciate Wilder’s writing, and there were times in the book that I was completely engaged in the story. I was fascinated to read of the intrigue and espionage, the role of Cleopatra, etc. But on the whole … well I think I had more “fun” translating Cicero’s oration against Cataline when I studied Latin in high school (and I hated that).


LINK to my review

Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Audio book performed by Gary Sinise.
5 stars and a ❤

Steinbeck’s novella is taken from an incident in his own background. His emotional closeness to the story is evident in this tragedy.

George Milton and Lennie Small are migrant workers. During the Great Depression, they travel the small towns of California seeking labor where they can find it. Lennie is a giant of a man, who has limited mental capacity and cannot think for himself, but who can perform any labor he’s instructed to do. George is a small, quiet man; he looks out for Lennie, making sure he gets work, housing, food. More importantly George gives voice to their dreams … a little place of their own, where they can have a garden, fruit trees, a cow or goat, some chickens, and just for Lennie, some rabbits. A place where they can live “off the fat of the land” and not be beholden to anyone else, where they can take off to go to a ball game or a fair without seeking permission.

They are hard workers and George is smart enough to have a plan and try to save enough to make their dream come true, but Lennie … Well, Lennie keeps “getting into trouble,” and they keep having to flee one location for the next. When they land on a ranch near Soledad in the fertile Salinas River valley, they are hoping to finally have a place they can stay for a few months. The other men in the bunk house are friendly enough; the boss is hard but fair. But Curley, the boss’s son, is a mean, banty rooster sort of man, always looking to pick a fight. And Curley’s new wife – she is Trouble (with a capital T). Lennie tries his best to follow George’s order to stay away from Curley and his wife. But the reader knows that an altercation is inevitable.

Steinbeck’s genius here is to write a spare story that still tells volumes about the human condition. It is a story of friendship, loyalty, and love.

Sinise’s performance on the audio is flawless … well, maybe he could have raised the pitch of his voice just a tad higher for Curley’s wife. All the hopes, dreams, innocence, anger, pity, love, and sorrow of the characters are in his voice.


LINK to my review

Heidi – Johanna Spyri
Digital audiobook performed by Johanna Ward.
4.5****

This classic of children’s literature tells the story of Heidi, a young orphan girl who lives with her gruff grandfather up on a Swiss mountain. She befriends Peter, the goatherd, and becomes beloved by all the villagers.

I’d seen the Shirley Temple movie about a million times when I was a child and absolutely loved it, but I had never read the book. It’s a wonderful story about a child who has lost much but relishes all that she has. She’s intelligent, open-minded, kind-hearted and has a great generosity of spirit. She comes across several mean-spirited (and downright nasty) people, but her cheerfulness wins over many people and she eventually prevails.

I listened to the audio performed by Johanna Ward. She does a marvelous job, with clear diction and a pace that isn’t too fast for younger listeners to absorb.



LINK to my review

Anne of Ingleside – L. M. Montgomery
2.5**

This is the sixth book in the series that follows the irrepressible Anne Shirley as she grows from a young orphan to adulthood. NOTE: Spoilers ahead if you haven’t read this far in the series

This book focuses on Anne and Gilbert’s six children, who seem to all share their mother’s gift of imagination and tendency toward fantasy. The chapters focus on different children and their adventures / flights of fancy. Their dear mother, Anne, as well as housekeeper Susan hold the book together.

However, I really missed Anne in most of the book. Yes, it was fun to watch one child after another learn from his/her mistakes or be scared of shadows or foolishly believe a tall tale or relish a summer day playing in the valley and letting their imaginations soar. But, I read the earlier books in the series for Anne, and she wasn’t as prevalent in this episode. I’m not sure I’ll continue reading the series at all.


LINK to my review

I, Robot – Isaac Asimov
Digital audio narrated by Scott Brick
4****

I’ve never been a great fan of science fiction but this book has been on my tbr for ages. The thread that weaves the chapters together is Susan Calvin, PhD – a specialist in “Robopsychology.” At the age of 75, she is retiring from U.S. Robots and being interviewed by a journalist about her life-long work. She tells the stories of the advance (and decline?) of robotics.

What fascinates me about this is that it was written in 1948 and is STILL set in the future. Although Asimov’s imagination outpaced the reality of robotics as we know it today, he grappled with many of the same issues we have faced and are still facing. In Asimov’s world the scientists who first developed these tools to help humanity could not help but “improve” them beyond being mere worker-machines. And hence the Three Rules: 1) A robot must not harm a human being; 2) A robot must obey human orders; and 3) A robot must protect its own existence … but only if doing so does not violate rules 1 and 2.

As the narrator relates Dr Calvin’s fifty years of experiences in the field, the reader gets a sense of the slippery slope humanity has embarked on by relying more and more on these highly intelligent machines. It’s fascinating, frightening, thrilling and thought-provoking.

Scott Brick does a fine job narrating the audiobook. He set a good pace and was chillingly non-emotional when voicing the intelligent robots (especially the politician).


LINK to my review

The Cider House Rules – John Irving
Digital audiobook performed by Grover Gardner
4****

From the book jacket: Irving’s sixth novel is set in rural Maine, in the first half of the 20th century. It tells the story of Dr Wilbur Larch – saint and obstetrician, founder and director of the orphanage in the town of St Cloud’s, ether addict and abortionist. It is also the story of Dr Larch’s favorite orphan, Homer Wells, who is never adopted.

My reactions
I love Irving’s writing, and don’t know why this one languished on my TBR for so long. I saw the movie back when it first came out (1999), but never read the book. The movie left out a lot and compressed the timeline.

The span of the novel is about 70 years, taking Dr Larch from a young man to his death in his 90s. Much changes in the world, and yet his little corner of the world sees little difference. Pregnant women come to give birth, their children coming into the care of the orphanage, with every effort made to place them in loving families. Other women come seeking an end to their pregnancies, and Dr Larch accommodates them with compassion and skill.

What I really like about the novel is how the characters are portrayed. The reader gets a clear idea of how Dr Larch came to his decision to perform abortions, the social and moral responsibility he felt he owed the women (and girls) who came to him for help. The reader also clearly understands why Homer makes a different decision, how he struggles to love this man who is like a father to him, once he makes that decision. And the reader watches the painful separation that all parents face when they send their offspring out into the world to make their own way. How a parent’s hopes and dreams may not always be embraced by that child.

Grover Gardner does a fine job narrating the audiobook. He sets a good pace and manages to differentiate the many characters.


LINK to my review

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm – Kate Douglas Wiggins
4****

Rebecca Randall is the young girl at the center of this classic coming-of-age novel. Living on the idyllic Sunnybrook Farm with her six siblings and her widowed mother, she is sent at age nine to live with her two elderly aunts in Riverboro, Maine. In exchange for her help they will provide room and board, a suitable wardrobe and ensure she receives an education. Her mother hopes it will be “the making of Rebecca.” The novel follows Rebecca through young adulthood.

What a delight this classic is! Of course, I had seen the Shirley Temple movie several times when I was a child, but never read the book. While the novel is very different from Temple’s movie, Rebecca’s irrepressible character is the same. First published in 1903, it is set primarily in the late 19th century.

From the first introduction, as she boards the stagecoach as the lone passenger, Rebecca charms and entertains. She is ever curious, constantly moving, always exploring, and chattering away. She makes friends easily, whether it be with the elderly coach driver, or the girls and boys in her school. She makes mistakes and gets into mischief (what child doesn’t!), but she wins over even her irascible oldest aunt, Miranda.

I wish Wiggins had written a sequel; I sure would read more about Rebecca as a young woman. She’s every bit as engaging and interesting as Anne Shirley (of Green Gables) who was brought to life by L.M. Montgomery some five years after Rebecca Randall debuted.



LINK to my review

The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
4****

Rawlings’s 1938 Pulitzer-winning novel focuses on the boy Jody, his parents Ora and Penny Baxter, their neighbors the Forresters, and their hard-scrabble lives in central Florida in about 1870.

I first heard of this classic of children’s literature when I was about 10 years old, but I never read it. I hadn’t even seen the movie. I had only a vague notion about the plot – a boy and his pet deer, “the yearling” of the title. I’m so glad that I finally read it.

Rawlings tells the tale from Jody’s perspective. He’s twelve years old when the novel opens, and still spends much of his time roaming about the woods, exercising his imagination and connecting with nature. Yes, he has chores – what farm-child doesn’t – but he frequently gets distracted in the middle of hoeing a field, following a squirrel or just getting lost in his thoughts when he takes a brief break to get a drink from a nearby stream.

His father, Penny, grew up with stern parents and had hardly any childhood, saddled with responsibility at a very young age. As a result, he is willing to work twice as hard to keep his boy a “boy” for a longer period. This is a source of disagreement between Penny and Ma, who feels that Jody is past the age for greater responsibility. He is, after all, their only child, and if they are to survive (let alone prosper) Jody must take on a greater share of the work.

When Jody and his father meet disaster while out hunting, they are forced to kill a doe with a new-born fawn. Once they are back home, Jody prevails upon his father to let him retrieve the fawn, who, Jody argues, is an orphan only because of their actions. Jody dotes on Flag and treats the animal as a brother. But as Flag grows to a yearling, his natural instincts coupled with tameness and Jody’s indulgence, lead to troubling behavior. The difficult decisions that are required show how everyone has matured and grown over the course of the novel.

I could not help but equate Flag’s “growing up” to Jody’s. Both are indulged and left free to roam and both have to endure pain and suffering as a result of growing towards adulthood. I could not help but wonder if the title was more a reference to Jody than to the fawn.

What really shines in this novel is the connection to nature. I was reminded of the many times I was in the woods with my father, and the way he taught me and my brothers about plants, animals, hunting, and fishing. I feel sorry for modern urban children who have no such connection in their lives.

I particularly loved this passage:
The cranes were dancing a cotillion as surely as it was danced at Volusia. Two stood apart, erect and white, making a strange music that was part cry and part singing. The rhythm was irregular, like the dance. The other birds were in a circle. In the heart of the circle, several moved counter-clock-wise. The musicians made their music. The dancers raised their wings and lifted their feet, first one and then the other. …. The birds were reflected in the clear marsh water. Sixteen white shadows reflected the motions. The evening breeze moved across the saw-grass. It bowed and fluttered. The water rippled. The setting sun lay rosy on the white bodies. Magic birds were dancing in a mystic marsh. The grass swayed with them, and the shallow waters, and the earth fluttered under them. The earth was dancing with the cranes, and the low sun, and the wind and sky.

Rawlings uses the vernacular dialect of the time and place, and there are some uncomfortable uses of the “n” word. It’s appropriate to the time, place, and socio-economic status of the characters, and it’s not frequent (maybe six times in the 400-page book), but it is nevertheless jarring to today’s readers.

The edition I got from the library was masterfully illustrated by N.C. Wyeth (father of Andrew Wyeth). What a joy it was to examine these paintings. I looked at them and looked at them over and over as I was reading. And nearly two weeks after finishing the book, I'm still looking at them ... reluctant to return the book to the library.


LINK to my review

My Cousin Rachel – Daphne du Maurier
Digital audio performed by Jonathan Pryce
4****

Philip Ashley is the young heir to the great Cornwall estate owned by his cousin, Ambrose, who is his guardian and has been like a father to him. For health reasons, Ambrose goes to Italy in the winter months, but this time he does not return. He has married the lovely widowed Contessa and is staying for a time until her late husband’s affairs are fully settled. But then Ambrose dies suddenly, and Cousin Rachel shows up in Cornwall. Is she the bereaved widow? A temptress and gold-digger? Could she have poisoned Ambrose?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave …. Wonderfully atmospheric, gothic psychological suspense. Philip is a naïve young man who is seemingly easily manipulated by the worldly Rachel. Or is he? Is the mutual attraction a figment of his over-active imagination? Does he believe the cryptic notes cousin Ambrose sent him? Or should he shrug them off as the product of a diseased and fevered brain? Rachel, herself, is the soul of propriety one moment, and then seemingly giddy as a schoolgirl at her good fortune the next. She is flirtatious one moment, and standoffishly proper then next. She seems callously indifferent in one scene and then solicitous and concerned about Philip on the next page. She’s both captivating and infuriating!

I was second-guessing myself as often as Philip was. At the end I’m left wondering what really happened. And that’s a good thing.

Johnathan Pryce does a marvelous job narrating the audio book. He’s a talented actor and he gives all the characters, men and women, distinct voices that really bring them to life.


LINK to my review

Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton
Digital audio narrated by C M Hebert
4****

From the book jacket: Ethan Frome works his unproductive farm and struggles to maintain a bearable existence with his difficult, suspicious, and hypochondriac wife, Zeena. But when Zeena’s vivacious cousin enters their household as a hired girl, Ethan finds himself obsessed with her and with the possibilities for happiness she comes to represent.

My reactions:
I love Edith Wharton’s writing. I love the way she explores relationships and unfulfilled desires. The tension is palpable, the yearning almost unendurable.

She’s a little heavy-handed with the allegory / metaphor in this case. The setting is Starkfield, Massachusetts, in winter; as if the reader needs a reminder of how depressing and lacking in color Ethan’s life is. Though I was reading in the midst of a summer heat wave, I felt chilled. And then I felt that spark of attraction between Ethan and Mattie. Felt Ethan’s heart soar with the possibilities, only to sink with the realization that he was trapped in a device of his own making.

C M Hebert does a fine job narrating the audio book. He reads at a fine pace, and his tone is suitable to the material. After listening, however, I also picked up the text and read through several passages. I think I prefer the text so that I can savor Wharton’s writing.



LINK to my review

Island of the Blue Dolphins – Scott O’Dell
5*****

This is fast becoming a classic of children’s literature. The novel is based on a true story of a woman left behind on an island off the coast of California when the rest of her Native American tribe left the island for the mainland. The real woman who was eventually rescued and taken to Santa Barbara Mission spoke a language that no one understood. She succumbed to disease just a few weeks after arriving in California, so she was unable to tell her story, except for a few basic ideas conveyed in a sort of sign language. O’Dell imagined the rest.

Karana is twelve years old at the outset of the novel, used to the division of labor and cooperative work of her tribal family. She knows how to make clothing and forage for food, but tribal custom leaves the hunting and fishing to the men. Still, she is a keen observer and figures out how to repair an old canoe, build a shelter, secure stores of food, and clothe herself. Left alone on the island, she struggles with making a decision to hunt – will the gods be angry if she dares to craft a weapon and use it?

I loved this young woman. She’s practical and brave, resourceful and creative. She works hard at survival, but she works “smart” as well. The village area that was ideal for a community is too exposed for her to live there alone. The large flat mesa-like rock gives her safety from the pack of wild dogs but does not provide shelter from the wind and elements. She befriends one of the dogs and has a companion at last … for the first time realizing how lonely she had been before she had Rontu to talk to.

I really liked how O’Dell conveyed the importance of a connection to nature. He also gives a sense of how all-consuming the work of survival is for Karana. This is not to say that she has no elements of joy or play, but she cannot afford to be idle for long.

O’Dell has crafted an enduring story of strength, courage and resilience. The book won the John Newbery Medal for excellence in children’s literature.


NOTE: This is the second time I've read this, the first being sometime in about 1998. But I didn't record it in any way, nor write any review at that time.


LINK to my review

To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Digital audiobook performed by Sissy Spacek
5***** and a ❤

Is this the quintessential American Novel? Will it stand the test of time as Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has done? Time will tell.

I do know this, however. This is a singularly powerful novel that had a great impact on me when I first read it at age 13 (shortly after it was first published) and has never failed to move and inspire me as I’ve re-read it over the years (at least 20 times by now). It has touched generations of readers in the 50-something years since it was first released and remains high on many “must be read” lists.

There are many reasons for this. It’s a well-paced novel, a fast read with elements of suspense, family drama, humor and moral lessons. Scout is a wonderful narrator, both as a child and as an adult looking back on her childhood; and the fact that Lee was able to seamlessly move between these two viewpoints is a testament to her skill as a writer.

Many people feel this is a book about racism. I don’t think that is the core theme of the book, though it is the central plot device Lee uses. I think the major theme of the novel is personal integrity and courage – doing what you know is right when all about you seemingly disagree and even when it may be dangerous to do so, being true to your own moral compass, and instilling those values in your children by example not just words.

In this respect Atticus Finch shines as the protagonist of this work. He is a man of strong moral fiber, a man who is “the same in his house as he is on the public street,” a man “who was born to do our unpleasant jobs for us.” He embodies the lessons he tries to impart to his children: that courage is not a man with a gun in his hands but rather, “It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.”

The novel aims a spotlight on a particular time and place in America’s history. Lee writes with clarity and colors this world for the reader with descriptions that put us squarely in Maycomb, Alabama circa 1935: Somehow it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum.”

The minor characters, especially the women, are as richly drawn as the major players. I was struck by what a wide range of personalities, strengths, weaknesses and ethics Lee was able to express using characters such as Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra, Helen Robinson, Mrs Merriweather, Lula, Miss Maudie, Mrs Dubose, Miss Caroline and Mayella Ewell. Some of them appear for only a page or two, but they come alive on the page and remain in the reader’s memories.

The audio book is performed by Academy-Award-winning actress Sissy Spacek. She does an admirable job, though her accent is wrong. She is a Texan, and the Southern Alabama accent is softer than her twang. Still, by the second disc I had stopped noticing this, and allowed myself to be carried into the story by her expert reading.



LINK to my review

It's a bit "new" to be a classic, but I think it's on its way to that status ...


My Name is Red – Orhan Pamuk
Book on CD performed by John Lee
3***

Set in 16th-century Instanbul, this is a murder mystery, an art history lesson, and a love story all in one. The Sultan has commissioned a new book and directs Enishte Effendi to appoint a group of acclaimed miniaturists to illuminate the manuscript “in the style of the Franks.” But figurative art can be seen as an affront to Islam, so it’s a dangerous commission that must remain secret, and no one in the group knows the full scope of the project. When one of the artists disappears, the Sultan demands answers within three days. Was this the work of a devout follower of Islam, or is this a case of jealous rivalry for the hand of Enishte’s beautiful daughter Shekure?

I’ve had this on my tbr for a long time. I really enjoy reading international literature, and this one puts me smack dab into the world of historic Istanbul. But I found it difficult to follow because of Pamuk’s unusual style. Each chapter has a different narrator – including not only the major characters (Black, Shekure, Esther, Butterfly, etc), but a corpse, a tree, a dog, an ancient coin, and even death. Each chapter is written in first person giving the reader only that narrator’s perspective.

When he focuses on the murder and the investigation, the story is quite compelling. However, Pamuk also includes long passages on art, the history of Turkey, and the teachings of Islam. Some of these helped me to understand the culture and the references, but mostly they interrupted the story arc and sometimes had me scratching my head wondering what I had just missed.

The audio book is masterfully performed by John Lee, whose voice reminds me of Jeremy Irons. He really had his job cut out for him, given the style of writing and the many characters. There were times when I had to read the text to be sure I hadn’t missed something. Still, Lee was definitely up to the task. I would rate his narration at 5 stars. Bravo.



LINK to my review

Silas Marner – George Eliot
Digital audiobook read by Nadia May
3***

Silas Marner is a weaver who was banished from his small religious community on a false charge of theft. He moves to the village of Ravensloe, where he leads a reclusive, miserly life as the town’s weaver. His gold is stolen from him, however, reinforcing his belief that everything is against him. Until … returning home on a snowy evening he finds a baby girl asleep at his hearth. Her mother has died in the snow, and Silas adopts the child, believing that his gold has somehow been symbolically returned in the form of this delightful little girl.

A classic tale of the redemptive power of love, first published in 1861. As is typical of the novels of the era, the plot includes numerous coincidences that stretch this reader’s tolerance. There is much misery, but Eliot does give us a few moments of joy, and an ending full of hope. I did think Eliot was somewhat heavy-handed in relaying her message, however.

I know this was assigned reading when I was in high school, and I’m sure I relied on the Cliff’s Notes. Reading now, I’m reminded of the writing style of Charles Dickens.

Eliot was born Mary Ann Evans and converted to Evangelicalism while still in school. She later disavowed it, but those roots are clear in this tale. In private, however, she became estranged from her family when she moved to London as a single woman. There she met George Henry Lewes, and lived with him for some twenty years, despite the fact that he was already married. He encouraged her to write and publish. She was somewhat notorious for this open relationship and felt no one would read her novels, so adopted the pseudonym of George Eliot.

Nadia May does a fine job performing the audiobook. However, I did have trouble staying focused. That isn’t her fault, it’s simply the prevalent style of writing of the mid-19th century.


LINK to my review

Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
Digital audiobook narrated by Kate Reading
4****

One of the best opening lines of literature: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

I thought it was okay when I read it in high school. I re-read it shortly after the BBC mini-series came out and really appreciated it. I’ve seen several film adaptations. And now I’ve listened to the audio version.

It's no wonder this is a classic. Austen is simply the master of dialogue. The way in which the characters interact brings them to life. From Mrs Bennet’s hysterics, to Lydia’s self-centered teen-aged giddiness, to Mr Collins’ simpering diatribes, to Jane’s cautious and measured observations, to Elizabeth’s outrage and clever responses to Darcy and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the dialogue simply sparkles.

Kate Reading does a marvelous job narrating the audio book. Her pacing is good, moving the action forward at a satisfactory clip. She gives each of the girls a sufficiently distinct voice that I was never lost in dialogue between sisters. Of course, she has the advantage of Austen’s skill with writing each of these characters with a unique speech pattern.



LINK to my review

This was first published in 1983. It was Hijuelos' debut novel.


Our House in the Last World – Oscar Hijuelos
3.5***

Hijuelos’ debut novel spans five decades, telling the story of the Santinio family from 1929 in Cuba to 1975 in New York. Alejo and Mercedes emigrate to New York City from Cuba in 1943, where he finds work as a cook in a fancy hotel and she tries to make a life in an apartment so far from her childhood estate. They have two sons, Horacio and Hector, who struggle with their own identities; are they Americans or Cubans? It is a love story, a family saga, a coming-of-age story, and a novel of the immigrant experience.

Alejo is a man who has never met a stranger. He is exuberant and generous, always the life of the party, a loyal friend and a ladies’ man. But he is consumed by want. His life is not what he envisioned and he cannot understand how things went so wrong. He drinks to drown his sorrows and descends into melancholy. He doesn’t recognize how his actions push his children away, when all he wants is to be recognized as THE MAN and a FATHER to be respected.

Mercedes is a woman who lives in the past. She cannot let go of past glories of life with her father when she was a young girl. She loves Alejo, but the man he has become is a stranger to her. She is alone because of her lack of English and her reliance on saints and signs and dreams and mysticism. Fiercely protective of her children she doesn’t recognize that her smothering is harming them rather than helping them.

Horacio grows as a nearly feral child. Clearly his parents’ violent arguments affect him and he turns to his friends and to the streets, finally escaping into the U.S. Air Force.

And baby Hector is trapped in his own skin and desperately seeking an escape. He is neither Cuban nor American. Neither a man nor a son. His father dotes on him, but he cannot return the affection of this man who is so unreliable and prone to drunken violence.

Hijuelos’s writing is vivid and passionate, with scenes that are ethereal and full of mysticism contrasted with scenes of brutal reality. People yell in anger, whoop in celebration, cry in despair and wallow in silence.

I trust that Mother Panda doesn't mind my sharing her good news ...

Lara and her husband Michael welcomed a new "edition" in December - Warren James, 8 lb 8 oz.

Congrats to Lara and Michael!

The Turn of the Screw – Henry James
Audiobook performed by Simon Vance and Vanessa Benjamin
3.5***

A ghost story and psychological thriller. A young woman is hired to be governess to two young children, Miles and Flora. They are the wards of “the master,” their uncle, who has taken on their guardianship after their parents died in India. He is unmarried and really not interested in the children or the running of the household. In fact, after hiring the governess he tells her to simply deal with whatever comes up and not to bother him at all.

James begins the tale with a gathering of friends at Christmas. They begin telling ghost stories, and eventually one of them mentions the document he received from a young woman (she is never named). He then begins to read the tale. This opening puzzles me, because James never returns to this gathering of friends. The rest of the novel is devoted to the governess’s manuscript / notes on what happened.

Having arrived at the mansion, she is charmed by the angelic Flora, enjoying their lessons and spending time with her. She also befriends the housekeeper, Mrs Grose, who answers some of her questions about the previous governess, Miss Jessel. Things begin to go badly quickly however. A strange figure is seen in one of the mansion’s towers. Miles returns from school, presumably for holiday, but in reality has been expelled without explanation. The governess is certain that some malevolent entity is intent on capturing the children in her care, and she is determined to prevent it from doing so.

All the uncertainty and secrecy serve to increase the emotional tension in the story. It is dark, and puzzling, and disturbing. I am not a fan of the ending, which seems abrupt and unexplained. But then, a good ghost story SHOULD leave us wondering.

The audiobook is performed by Simon Vance, who voices the introduction, and Vanessa Benjamin who narrates the governess’s manuscript. They are both accomplished voice actors and do a marvelous job with James’ work.


LINK to my review

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