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FA 18 Completed Tasks
15.7 AbBY, Chronological 1910-1914The Fur Person by May Sarton (born 1912)
+30 Task
Task total: 30
Season total: 2515
20.10 Fall EquinoxDept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill
The episodes described here are broad-strokes bits of relationship trivia (and non-trivia) that add up to something like a cubist painting of a scene. You have the general idea of what happened, who these people are, what they are feeling, but not completely. I wanted to like this one more than I did. The idea of doing this was excellent. In fact, I picked this right after reading My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. I thought this would be a similar exploration of a husband/wife relationship where Lucy Barton is a mother/daughter relationship.
But this book just didn't work as well for me. The episodes described here weren't fully fleshed out, so I didn't feel that I was getting poignant glimpses into the relationship. Instead, I always felt distant from the scene.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+10 Combo (20.7 - 179 pp., 10.4 - 21st Cent. Lit. shelf)
Task total: 40
Grand total: 635
20.1 War's EndInformation Received by E.R. Punshon
Last month I read Death Among The Sunbathers, the 2nd book in Punshon's Bobby Owen series. I liked it enough that I knew I wanted to read more in the series. Going back to the introduction of the character was made simple when it was offered free.
The book opens with Owen a mere Constable, what I assume is a beat cop in the US. While he is waiting his relief, he is called to the house across the street, where a man is lying on the floor in the billiard room, dead of 2 gunshot wounds to the chest. Owen is shown into the study to phone for assistance, where he discovers the safe open and empty. Is this two crimes committed by the same person, or perhaps there were two criminals in the house this evening?
This is a golden age mystery by an author I had not heard of until recently. The writing is quite good and there is more characterization than one might expect for the genre. I have been lucky enough to get five more in the series at no cost. Now all I have to do is find a place in a challenge for them! This is quite good, though perhaps not 4-stars good, which would be my top rating for the genre. Can I give a "shiny" 3-stars?
+20 Task (pub'd 1933, contemporary setting)
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.2, 10.5 - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..., 10.9 (twice!), 20.8)
+10 Oldies
Task Total = 60
Season total = 1000 (on the nose!)
20.4 BirdsongRosewater by Tade Thompson
+20 task
+10 Combo (10.2, 10.9)
+5 Prizeworthy
Task Total: 35
Season Total: 1930
10.3 Real PlaceStamboul Train by Graham Greene
The Orient Express heads west towards Istanbul with a motley collection of passengers, some starting from Paris, others collected along the way. Carleton Myatt is a rich businessman going to the Turkish office of his company. Coral Musker is a dancer heading to a job. A mysterious doctor is returning to Yugoslavia under a false name. Janet Pardoe is the paid companion to a middle-aged female journalist who is clearly in love with her. Josef Grünlich is a criminal on the run. All their lives get tangled up during the journey.
I loved the way that Greene investigates what drives a clutch of very different individuals. There’s a shocking amount of anti-Semitism described, but it was only described, not endorsed by the author. The Jewish character and the communist come off best in moral terms, and for me were the most sympathetic characters.
+10 Task (approved)
+15 Combo (10.5 linked edition is Penguin, 20.1 set at the time it was written - early 1930s, 20.8)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (1932)
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 1100
20.10 VowelsHow to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
I thought this book was going to be broader somehow, but the science fiction in the title is all time travel, and getting a time machine has somehow become commonplace like getting a computer although you cant change anything (not a warning, a physical rule like you cant avoid gravity), and a bit of multi-dimensional physics. It's a book about finding and reconnecting with your father and how you have to connect with yourself first. And at points the science fiction all begins to feel like metaphorical, psychological fiction wearing a costume instead. It was okay, but that was it. On the plus side it was easy to read and kept me engaged in a meaningful first person narrative even though the main character was rather lost.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 combo (10.9)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 2355
20.10 Fall Equinox The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding
Review
I listened to this on Audiobook, as I had to do a lot of driving. It is long but was a great diversion on those long roads. It is hilarious and naughty and very entertaining. This is not Dickens Victorian England, but the ribald times of the mid 18th century and King George II, who like Tom was devoted to his beloved wife but still had multiple affairs. The twists and turns keep a reader on her toes. Every time I think, “okay now all will end well, the lovers unite and they live happily ever after”, another obstacle pops up! I must say Tom is his own worse enemy. It’s not his libido that gets him in trouble with the ladies; it’s his highly developed sense of honor! You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out how that is explained. I love Henry Fielding’s satire and I love the surprise ending that does make for a “happily ever after” scenario after all. I give it five stars and well worth the hours AND hours and MORE hours of reading. I’m anxious now to read his satire of Richardson’s book, Pamela. Hoping it will tickle me as much as Tom Jones.
+20 pts - Task
+10 pts - Review
+20 pts - Combo (10.3 -https://jonescounty.com, 10.5 - MPE,10.9,20.8)
+20 pts - Oldies (1749)
+25 pts - Jumbo (975)
+ 5 pts - Prizeworthy
Task total - 100 pts
Season Total - 410
Task 15.3 AbBY Chronological Moving backwards in time
1950-1954
Goodreads has Birthdate for Loren D. Estleman as
September 15, 1952
Aces and Eights: The Legend of Wild Bill Hickok (1981) by Loren D. Estleman
Spur Award for Best Historical Novel (1981)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 470 + 20 = 490
15.10 AbBY Chronologic1956-1960
In the Shadow of Statues: A White Southerner Confronts History
by Mitch Landrieu b. 1960
Task +60
Finisher Bonus +100
+25 for 10.3 five-point combo addition for each of five books (please see 10.3 task thread for approval request)
Season total: 755
15.5 AbBY (chronologically)Date Range 1946-1950
Year One (Chronicles of The One #1) by Nora Roberts
+30 Task (author born 1950)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 895
Post 710Rosemary wrote: "10.3 Real PlaceStamboul Train by Graham Greene
The Orient Express heads west towards Istanbul with a motley collection of passengers, some starting from Paris, others..."
This was approved for Real Place, but as the MPE is Orient Express, we'll use the data from that edition, which comes in at 197 pages, so a combo for 20.7 as well.
Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Post 710Rosemary wrote: "10.3 Real PlaceStamboul Train by Graham Greene
The Orient Express heads west towards Istanbul with a motley collection of passengers, some st..."
Oh, thank you! I had noticed, but I thought it would be too cheeky to claim that too :)
15.8 AbBY, Chronological 1915-1919Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl (born 1916)
+45 Task
Task total: 45
Season total: 2560
15.9 AbBY, Chronological 1920-1924Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury (born 1920)
+45 Task
Task total: 45
Season total: 2605
20.10 AutumnThe History of Tom Jones, a Foundling by Henry Fielding
(I had no idea that Rebekah was reading this!)
Review
4.5 stars rounded up
Well, now, my main complaint is that I read this in too much of a hurry, being as I was reading this as part of a game. The writing is, in a word, brilliant. I have avoided this book because I don't always go for bawdy humour, but other than the violent humour, it was very well done, indeed. That was probably also done well, but I never find that sort of thing funny, not even in cartoons.
Many of my favourite passages, however, come from the prologue chapters in each of the books, although naturally not all. How can anyone not enjoy his addresses to his critics (in a number of them), those reptiles, his delightful explanation of heroes who are not all good and villains who are not all bad and more? But there is more depth to this book than one might expect from a comic romp than at first meets the eye, and I daresay that a man who shocked and horrified the gentry by taking his housekeeper as his second wife (his first wife's former maid) was hardly afraid of adhering rigidly to the strictness of society's rules in all matters
Don't be the fool I was and put this off year after year after year. Get the audiobook, get it in print, buy it, borrow it (please don't steal it) and take your time enjoying it.
+20 pts Task
+10 pts Review
+ 5 pts - Prizeworthy
+20 pts Oldies
+20 pts Jumbo
+20 pts Combo 10.3 Jones, OK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones%2... (in Oklahoma County) 10.5 ,10.9 F-o-u-n-d-l-i-n-g ,20.10)
Task total - 95 pts
Season Total: 335 points
10.3 Real PlaceReading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
This was a very interesting memoir of living (as a woman and intellectual) in Iran when it became a ‘Theocratic-republican authoritarian’ regime. I really appreciated the personal approach that Nafisi presents. It was also interesting to think about the books she taught to her students and how they may have been received (and I thought how controversial the regime may have found them). Her memoir is focused on the female point of view and the restrictions placed on everyday life. Also, because she is a teacher and researcher of classic literature we are privy to a mini-class on some novels. I found this book particularly interesting in the viewpoints she shares regarding the chador and head scarf (used to oppress women in Iran) in light of controversies occurring in Western countries (outlawing burkas or niqabs). 3.5*
10 task
10 review
10 prize
10 combo 10.5, 10.7
______
40
Running total: 750
10.6 NoirThe Late Monsieur Gallet by Georges Simenon
+10 task
+25 Combo (10.2, 10.5 , 20.1, 20.7, 20.10)
+10 Oldies (published 1931)
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 1975
10.6 NoirThe Terracotta Dog (Commissario Montalbano #2) by Andrea Camilleri
+10 Task
+15 Combo (10.2; 10.5 - above ed by Penguin; 10.9 - 10 letters in "terracotta")
+5 Prizeworthy
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 925
20.7 A Month in the CountryA Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes
The cover says "Himes undertook to do for Harlem what Chandler did for Los Angeles." I did not feel this in the first half and certainly the writing style - particularly Chandler's noir cadence - is missing. However, at about the halfway mark, Harlem becomes fully fleshed.
Looking eastward from the towers of Riverside Church, perched among the university buildings on the high banks of the Hudson River, in a valley far below, waves of gray rooftops distort the perspective like the surface of a sea. Below the surface, in the murky waters of fetid tenements, a city of black people who are convulsed in desperate living, like the voracious churning of millions of hungry cannibal fish. Blind mouths eating their own guts. Stick in a hand and draw back a nub.The story itself opens with a con game whereby the cons purport to have a patent on paper that will turn a $10 bill into a $100 bill. Jackson brings his life savings of $1500 to be turned into $15,000. Jackson is perhaps the most gullible character in fiction, while he encounters one con game after another.
That is Harlem.
The farther east it goes, the blacker it gets.
Himes gives us incongruity inter-laced with humor in this very dark novel. Perhaps that is also Harlem and its people would understand this better than I. A man dresses as a nun and quotes (or misquotes) Bible verses. Sister Gabriel's verses are usually heavily laden with numbers, which people take to mean tips for tomorrow's numbers game. She also asks for charity, of course. And then "she" goes and locks herself in a windowless room and shoots up a concoction of cocaine and morphine. The novel includes some violence. One scene in particular was very gruesome.
I will remember this novel and would be willing to continue the series. Even with this willingness, I think it will be some time before I opt for another, if only because there is so much I want to read. This climbs the bar to 4-stars, but just barely.
+20 Task (MPE 160 pgs)
+10 Review
+20 Combo (10.2, 10.3, 10.5 - A Rage In Harlem, 10.6)
+ 5 Oldie (1957)
+ 5 Prize Worthy
Task total = 60
Season total = 1060
20.1 War's EndThe Santa Klaus Murder by Mavis Doriel Hay
A fun British Library classic murder mystery from the innocent interwar days. Sir Osmond Melbury has gathered all his family together for Christmas and is on the point of making a new will. You'd think he'd know better, but apparently he hasn't read any Golden Age of Crime mysteries, because he takes no precautions and is duly murdered in his study, right on cue.
My first guess at who did it was pretty much right, but I still enjoyed the way the story panned out, with the confusing threads, slow policemen (unfair perhaps because we get to read the different characters' stories before the police do), loyal old retainers, and chirpy amateur helping out - in fact, all the traditional ingredients. Perfect if you're in the mood for a cosy Christmas mystery.
+20 Task (published 1936 and set at that time)
+ 5 Combo (20.8)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies (1936)
Task Total: 45
Season Total: 1150
15.5 AbBY Chronological1951-1955 Barbara Kingsolver
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
+30 Task (author born 1955)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 890
15.6 AbBY Chronological1956-1960 Anthony Horowitz
The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
+30 Task (author born 1956)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 920
10.4 BookshelvesBorne by Jeff VanderMeer
+10 Task: The Next Best Book Club
+10 Combo: 10.8 Climate Change / Combo 20.5 Rachel is single throughout the book.
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 940
20.3 Birds Without WingsThe Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
+20 Task
+10 Combo: 10.3 Real Place / 10.5 Pet Day The Bastard of Istanbul (Penguin)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 970
15.6 AbBY (chronologically)Date Range 1951-1955
The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
+30 Task (author born 1951)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 955
15.1 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1939-1943
Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
+15 Task (author born 1954)
Points this post: 15
RwS total: 315
AbBY total: 15
Season Total: 330
15.2 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1944-1948
The Silent Corner by Dean Koontz
+20 Task (author born 1945)
Points this post: 20
RwS total: 315
AbBY total: 35
Season Total: 350
15.3 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1949-1953
The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
+20 Task (author born 1950)
Points this post: 20
RwS total: 315
AbBY total: 55
Season Total: 370
15.4 AbBYChronological / Date Range 1954-1958
Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
+20 Task (author born 1955)
Points this post: 20
RwS total: 315
AbBY total: 75
Season Total: 390
10.5 Pet DayThe Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien
I love this book! It is crazy and makes no sense, but that is the point. Overall, the novel is darkly comic with some true ‘laugh out loud’ moments. The narrator is naive and self absorbed and given to long thoughts/explanations/footnotes about his study of an important philosopher/scientist. He has written what he believes to be the definitive biography of the philosopher and needs money to self publish his work. The rest follows from there. It is easy to follow, but not easy to understand. Despite the fact this novel is ‘surreal’ it would be very easy to spoil it, so I’ll say no more about it.
I listened to the novel narrated by Jim Norton and highly recommend this version. He is Irish and so ‘does’ Irish accents very well, and this enriched the story immensely. 5*
10 task (flamingo)
10 review
5 prize
5 combo 10.9
5 oldie
_____
35
Running total: 785
20.3 Birds Without WingsThe Gaze by Elif Shafak
+20 task
+10 Combo (10.5 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2..., 20.3)
Task Total: 30
Season Total: 2005
15.7 AbBY (chronologically)Date Range 1956-1960
Under the Red Flag by Ha Jin
+30 Task (author born 1956)
Post Total: 30
Season Total: 985
20.8 AutumnDr. No by Ian Fleming
Now this was the kind of belief defying sensationalism that I was expecting when I started reading this series! Which makes sense as my impression was developed from the movies and this book inspired the first, tone-setting movie. I mean, Fleming provided reasonable explanations and motivations for each step but when they were added all together it was a bit ridiculous. A conveniently placed "girl Tarzan" who was really there only to inspire and desire Bond didnt help. All the women in previous books were necessary for the plot but Honey, well, wasnt. I mean, she was fine as a character, strong and self-reliant (and naive), and Bond deliberately treated her carefully, but she hardly made a difference and her very meeting Bond was far fetched. I still enjoyed the book and Fleming's voice was still strong, but it is not the best of the series.
+20 task
+10 review
+5 age (1958)
+10 combo (10.2, 10.5)
Task total: 45
Grand total: 2400
10.1 Favorite ListsThunderhead by Neal Shusterman
Review: Shusterman creates a world where humanity has triumphed over death and illness and then only way for a life to be ended is to be "gleaned" by a Scythe. Scythe's are supposedly honourable people highly trained and skilled in the art of death and charged with maintaining population growth within in the confines of only 10 laws. They are supposed to be the wisest people in society. Like any good dystopian novel, the ideal world becomes full of corruption and the protagonists struggle to fight against it. In this case, it is Scythe's who love their power too much and fight to glean with out boundaries. The world building here is really excellent. This is a young adult novel which reads quickly but plot points, descriptions and relationships are well developed so nothing feels superficial.
In the second book, we are introduced to a new character Greyson Tolliver who will likely continue to gain importance throughout the series although the reader is not really sure why. The character of the Thunderhead ( the all knowing database cloud, that retains all of humans past and present and becomes sentient) is also way more developed and contains many interesting paradoxes and philosophical questions.
There is a reason why I tend not to read series before they are done, so I can pick up the next one without having to sit on a cliffhanger for a year. I failed in that mission here and will have live with the exciting frustration until the next one is published!
+10 Task - Anika post 461 List https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
+5 Combo - Book 2 out of upcoming 3
+ 5 Combo 10.9 11 letters
+ 5 Combo 20.5 Citra is a single female protagonist
+ 10 Review
+ 5 Jumbo 504 pages
Task Total: 40 pts
Grand Total: 360 pts
10.10 Group ReadsWhat It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah
+10 task
+5 Prizeworthy
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 2020
10.8 Climate ChangeBorne by Jeff VanderMeer
In similar fashion to the Southern Reach Trilogy, VanderMeer creates a world that is never fully explained. Rachel is an omniscient narrator yet one who actively chooses not to provide all the information. I.e " there are parts of that letter I will never share with you". This style is frustrating but also engrossing, it makes you want to read further in the hope that your questions will be answered. In some ways, it leaves the reader dissatisfied. I enjoy getting all the answers in the end. For example, how did the Magician get her name? Where did she come from? While my imagination is certainly capable of filling in holes and making inferences, it is nice to know what the author imagined as backstories as he crafted the narrative.
Goodreads lists Borne as being #1 in a series but I am wondering if there is a way to continue this story in a traditional chronological way. I look forward to reading the novella the Strange Bird.
+10 Task #27 On the Climate Change Fiction list
+5 Combo 10.4 - Next Best Book Club List
+5 Combo 20.5 Rachel is a single woman running her own life
+10 Review
Task Total: 30 pts
Grand Total: 390 pts
20.10 Fall EquinoxLove and Other Impossible Pursuits by Ayelet Waldman
I've had this on my shelf for ages. It was written by the wife of Michael Chabon, one of my all-time favorite authors, and was curious to see what she had to say.
I quite enjoyed the writing and several of the characters--sadly, though, the main character/narrator did not fit in this category. She felt false and hollow and not relatable in many ways--Emilia is married to Jack, step-mother to precocious William, and grieving mother to Isabel, who died when she was only a few days old. This book is a document of her grieving process. Mostly (oddly) though, this book mostly felt like a love letter to Central Park. So much of the action takes place in different parts of the park and the surrounding neighborhoods, it took me right back to the time I lived near that beloved place so I think I may have been swayed to give it a higher rating than I otherwise might have. ("Grace is when something is more beautiful than we deserve, more elegant and lovely than it should be. Grace is like Central Park. Carved from schist and swamp, boulders and undergrowth, by a vast construction project of thousands of surveyors, dirt carters, blasting teams, roadbuilders, stonemasons, blacksmiths, and bricklayers, Central Park is, in this city of steel and glass, marble and asphalt, brick and stone, 843 acres of grace.")
+20 Task ("lovE And Other Impossible pUrsuits")
+10 Review
+10 Combo (10.5--https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... ; 10.9--"impossible"=10 letters)
Task total: 40
Season total: 2645
15.10 AbBY, Chronological 1925-1929Pronto by Elmore Leonard (born 1925)
+60 Task
Task total: 60
+100 Finisher
Season total: 2805
(and that completes my two MegaFinishes in one season...I don't imagine I'll ever do that again, but it was fun!)
What an achievement, Anika! Well done!
10.8 Cli FiThe Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
In J.G. Ballard's vision of an apocalyptic future, fluctuations in radiation from the sun have caused a level of global warming that has flooded huge areas of land and made most of the world too hot for human life. The survivors have retreated to the poles, while most of the world is taken over by giant reptiles and tropical plants that thrive in the hot wetlands.
Kerans, a research doctor, is part of a team investigating life around one former city, where the remains of tall buildings poke up above the floods. They're due to move on any time now, but the team are having strange dreams. Then one man goes missing, and Kerans, too, begins having strange impulses to stay in this prehistoric world.
+10 Task (approved)
+10 Combo (10.7 born China, 20.7)
+10 Review
+ 5 Oldies (1962)
Task Total: 35
RwS finish: 100
Season Total: 1285
Anika wrote: "(and that completes my two MegaFinishes in one season...I don't imagine I'll ever do that again, but it was fun!)"Just Wow! Congratulations!
15.8 AbBY Chronological
1895-99
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (born 1896)
Task total: 45
Season total: 360
1895-99
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (born 1896)
Task total: 45
Season total: 360
Task 20.8 Autumn (Karin's Task)Read any book published between 1678-1958 (Vivaldi's birth to Vaughan William's death), by an author born in and a resident of one of the countries of these composers: Italy, Germany, Austria, Russia or Great Britain.
Nevil Shute was born in and resident of Great Britain
The Far Country (1952) by Nevil Shute (Paperback, 362 pages)
Review: This novel is a love letter from Nevil Shute to the country of Australia. Many pages are dedicated to comparing and contrasting dreary, rationed, bombed out England to the Land of Opportunity (Australia), a land of plentiful food, surrounded by stunningly beautiful landscapes. The first half of the novel introduces us to various characters, both in England and in Australia. The second half of the novel focusses exclusively on two of those characters, who spend their time telling each other how superior Australia is to England. I liked the first half better because there was more story.
Nevil Shute’s goodreads bio states that he moved from England to Australia “for the last ten years of his life”. Since he died in 1960, that would mean: 1950/1951 to 1960. This novel was published in 1952. Working backwards, he was writing this novel while he was in the process of relocating to Australia. I presume that some of the details he included in the novel comes directly from his own experience.
Recommended for those who love Australia, and those who wish to read a gentle story about nice people.
+20 Task
+10 Review
+05 Oldies -25 to 75 years old: (1943-1993)
Task Total: 20 + 10 + 05 = 35
Grand Total: 490 + 35 = 525
20.9- ArkansasI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
# 26 on Best Southern Literature
Task: 20
Oldies: first published in 1969- 5
Prizeworthy: 5
Post total: 30
10.5- Pet DayA Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Published by Bantam Books
Task : 10
Combo:5 (10.2)
Jumbo: 848 pages - 15
Post total: 30
20.9 Arkansas (Kate's Task)Everything That Rises Must Converge: Stories by Flannery O'Connor
+20 Task
+15 Combo: 10.9 9, 10, 11 / 10.5 Pet Day / 20.10 Fall Equinox
+ 5 Oldies (1965)
Task Total: 40
RwS Finish: 100
Season Total: 1110
15.8 AbBY (chronologically)Date Range 1961-1965
Time's Convert by Deborah Harkness
+45 Task (author born 1965)
Post Total: 45
Season Total: 1,030
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Reading with Style
Books mentioned in this topic
All the Single Ladies (other topics)Infidel (other topics)
Dragonfly in Amber (other topics)
The Big Sleep (other topics)
The Big Sleep (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Rebecca Traister (other topics)Ayaan Hirsi Ali (other topics)
Diana Gabaldon (other topics)
Raymond Chandler (other topics)
Samuel Richardson (other topics)
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The Robber Bridegroom by Eudora Welty
Innocent rich man Clement Musgrove meets bandit Jamie Lockhart one night in an inn on the shores of the Mississippi. Jamie is affected by the man’s trust enough not to steal from him, but he does seduce the planter’s beautiful daughter, unbeknownst to either of them. And there is a third witness to their meeting, who will live to invade their lives again.
With a wicked stepmother added to the cast list, and mistaken identities a-plenty, this is a rollicking fairy tale for the American South with hints of feminism, witchcraft, and treachery adding to the mix. It was a lovely tale that made me smile over and over again.
+20 Task ('Complete Novels' is on the list and approved)
+10 Combo (10.9 Bridegroom, 20.7)
+10 Review
+10 Oldies, 1942
Task Total: 50
Season Total: 1055