What Are You Reading / Reviews - January thru June 2024

[Book Concierge]

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Read any good books lately? We want to know about them.
How about real stinkers? We want to know about those too!


Enter your reading list and/or reviews here. Did you like it? Hate it? Feel lukewarm?

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Happy reading!

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[Book Concierge]

The Last Ride of the Pony Express – Will Grant – 4****
Subtitle: My 2,000-mile Horseback Journey into the Old West. The Pony Express was a fast-paced horseback ride to carry the mail in the era before railroads had been completed linking the East and the West coasts of the USA. Grant decided to ride the same trail from St Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California to better understand the challenges and joys encountered by the pony express riders. I was completely fascinated by his account. And I learned a few things about the history … and myth … of the Pony Express.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Great Expectations – Charles Dickens – 3.5***
Decades ago, I read a children’s classic abridged version; I’ve also seen at least one of the film adaptations; I figured it was time to get to the original. It’s typical Dickens in that there are many characters and many hidden relationships between them, which will eventually be revealed and explain the seemingly “random” encounters. I enjoyed watching Pip mature from a child to a young man, and I loved his brother-in-law Joe Gargery. On the other hand, I thought Dickens gave too little attention to the women. Miss Havisham and Estella would be ideal main characters but were relegated to supporting roles.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Case of the Missing Servant – Tarquin Hall – 3.5***
This debut novel was just delightful! Puri is a marvelous character, and I want to follow the series just to get to know him better. But the supporting cast is also wonderful. As Puri and his team travel from the swanky Gymkhana Club to the slums of Dehli, and from a desert oasis to a distant mine, the reader gets a view of modern-day India that is colorfully vivid. I’ll definitely read more from this author.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Book Concierge wrote: "

Great Expectations
– Charles Dickens – 3.5***
Decades ago, I read a children’s classic abridged version; I’ve also seen at least one of the film adaptat..."
This was one of the very few books by Dickens that I actually enjoyed reading, but as always he has a very male supremacist attitude toward women. I remember that I commented on that in my review a few years back.

[James]

Harold Bloom, ed., Jane Austen's Emma (Modern Critical Interpretations) [1987] 150 pages

I read Jane Austen's Emma together with many critical articles downloaded from the Internet this past summer, before going to see the musical version at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Since then, as I work on the endless task of unpacking boxes of books in my garage, I found I had this older collection of critical articles. It contains nine articles written in various journals or as chapters of books between 1973 and 1985, as well as a pretentious introduction by Bloom (as always) and a bibliography of books and articles about Jane Austen. The articles were very uneven; some were very insightful and others (mostly the latest in date) were just academic posturing and "theory".

[Book Concierge]

Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir – 5***** and a ❤
Earth is threatened with an extinction-level event. Ryland Grace has just awakened from a coma while aboard a spaceship sent to fix the problem. But the rest of the crew is dead and now he has to do it all alone. Or does he? The book jacket promises “an irresistible interstellar adventure” and that is exactly what Weir delivers.
LINK to my full review

[Melissa]

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #1) by Rick Riordan
4 ★ (5 ★ in 2015)

Magnus Chase has lived a hard life and it's about to get harder. It all starts when his Uncle Randolph starts telling him about Norse mythology and a lost weapon. Then a fire giant attacks and Magnus is caught in the middle of it all. This new series is classic Rick Riordan. Magnus has a sense of humor like Percy Jackson did and the Norse mythology is just as cool and interesting as Greek mythology. I did feel though that there may have been too much information for readers in this first book. There are 9 worlds attached to Yggdrasil, the great tree, and the author tries to explain them all. I found myself researching them just to keep them straight. I have always liked how the author connects his series together and this one brings in a character from the Percy Jackson series. I also really enjoy reading the authors take on the Gods. He brings them to life like no other. Once again we have some great co-characters that join Magnus on his adventures. I look forward to the next book in this series.

[Book Concierge]

The Queen Of the Tambourine – Jane Gardam – 3***
This slim novel is written in epistolary style, as Eliza Peabody writes letters to her former neighbor. The novel won Britain’s Whitebread Award for Best Novel of the Year in 1991, but it missed the mark for me. I liked it but didn’t love it.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Royal Flush – Rhys Bowen – 3***
Book number three in Bowen’s “Royal Spyness” series of cozy mysteries, starring Lady Georgiana Rannoch, thirty-fourth in line to the throne. I like this cozy series. Georgie and her best friend Belinda are quite the pair. And I like the historical background that Bowen weaves into her plots as well.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Stolen Lady – Laura Morelli – 3.5***
A work of historical fiction with a dual timeline – 1939 in France as the Germans are invading; and 1479 in Florence, when Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint a portrait of Lisa Gherandini. In both cases one woman takes it upon herself to ensure that the portrait remains hidden away in order to protect it. Between the two storylines, I clearly preferred the World War II one. I wasn’t sure that this novel needed the 15th century story line. I really appreciated the extensive author notes / interviews and historic photos of the Louvre staff moving these treasures.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Sandalwood Tree – Elle Newmark – 3.5***
A good historical fiction tale framed by the British leaving India as that country gained its independence. Newmark captivated me with this dual story line of relationships and the difficulties two people might have as a result of different cultural backgrounds, family expectations, and emotional trauma suffered by one or both of the parties.
LINK to my full review

[Melissa]

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
5 ★

Jasper, NC, 2023: June Farrow knows her family is different and is waiting for the time when her mind will fail like her relative’s minds have. After her grandmother dies she finally finds out the truth behind the madness. It will take her on a wild adventure through a red door and she will learn what true love is and what kind of danger it can put you in.

This was an amazing story that covers 2 different time lines. The majority of the book takes place in 1951 and the author does an amazing job bringing that time period to life. My edition of the book is and OwlCrate edition the cover has the most beautiful drawing of what that red door might look like. The characters are wonderful and I ended up following into the family drama and togetherness. The Farrow family is a strong group of female characters that have a hard secret to keep.
One would think that trying to keep track of different time lines and multiple story lines would be hard for the reader, but the author does a good job making everything flow just right. There are some pretty interesting revelations throughout the book and one surprise at the end. There is also a choice to be made at the end that had me on the edge of my seat. My rating would have changed based on this choice. I loved this book and I look forward to seeing what Adrienne Young has planned for us in the future.

[James]

Supplemental Nights to the Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night with Notes Anthropological and Explanatory (Richard Burton ed.) v.6 366 pages

I began reading Burton's translation of the Thousand Nights and One Night two-and-a-half years ago, and have finally finished the sixteenth and last volume (ten volumes of the text and six "Supplemental" volumes). This volume contains eight stories from a manuscript called the "Chaviz MS), and some notes and an index, but is mainly devoted to invective (probably somewhat justified) against journalistic criticisms of his work.

[Book Concierge]

Requiem for a Mezzo – Carola Dunn – 3***
Book number three in this delightful cozy mystery series set in 1920s England. Daisy may be “to the manor born,” but she is fiercely independent. She’s also observant, intelligent and an astute judge of character. There are plenty of suspects including other performers, jealous lovers, a long-suffering sister, and a possible anarchist. It’s a fast read with a satisfying resolution. I’ll keep on with this series.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Foster – Claire Keegan – 5*****
Facing tough times, a rural Irish family sends their oldest daughter to another community to live with distant relatives she hardly knows. Keegan explores what it means to be family in this short novella. She also deals with grief and the ways we show love without words being said. The somewhat ambiguous ending is perfect for this award-winning tale.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Jon Fosse, Plays One [Eng. tr. 2002] 291 pages

Four "minimalist" plays by the 2003 Nobel Prizewinner Jon Fosse, these plays are spare and stark, dealing with the tragedies of ordinary life. Someone is Going to Come (Nokon kjem til à komme, written 1992-3, produced 1996, Eng. tr. 2002) presents a middle-aged couple who have rented an isolated house by the sea in order to finally be alone together, but even here they don't succeed in avoiding importunate others. The Name (Namnet, 1995, Eng. tr. 2002) is about a pregnant girl who comes home to her parents with her boyfriend, the baby's father; she just wants someone to care about her, but it becomes obvious that neither her boyfriend, her parents, nor an ex-boyfriend who pays a visit really have any interest in her as a person. The Child (Barnet, 1996, Eng. tr. 2002), the longest of the four at just over a hundred pages, is about two lonely people who meet at a bus stop, move in together, and are going to have a baby — but things don't work out that way. The Guitar Man (Gitarmannen, 1997, Eng. tr. 2002) is a very short monologue; an old man comes into an empty bar (perhaps only empty because no one else matters to the play, in Fosse's minimalist style), has a beer, talks about his life and loneliness, and ends up in despair. All four are written in short sentences and sentence fragments, often just breaking off in the middle, as if what they were going to say was just too unimportant to continue with.

[Book Concierge]

Midnight Howl – Clare Hutton – 3.5***
This is the fifth entry in the Poison Apple series of middle-school books dealing with various paranormal phenomena. Each book can easily be read as a stand-alone work, however. I’m not a great fan of paranormal genre, but this one is light on the paranormal and focuses more on the relationships between the kids. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the story. At its core, this is a story of friendship, loyalty and compassion.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Red Berries, White Clouds, Blue Sky – Sandra Dallas – 3.5***
In this novel, suitable for middle-school children, Dallas focuses on one Japanese-American family and their experiences inside the WW2-era internment camp near Ellis, Colorado. Dallas deals well with this episode of USA’s history. She shows how ill-equipped the camps were for the influx of residents, and details the efforts made by the Japanese-Americans to improve the conditions, and form their own governing groups within the camps. I liked how she showed the different attitudes and coping mechanisms that people employed.
LINK to my full review

[Melissa]

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
4 ★

**The main character in this book is a cutter and there are many scenes where self-harm is mentioned.**

Camille Preaker is a reporter in Chicago who gets sent back home to cover the murder of a young girl and the disappearance of another. Home is a small town in Missouri that holds some pretty dark memories for Camille. She hasn’t been back to see her mom several years. Camille’s investigation into the current case ends up bringing back those dark moments from her past and sheds a light on the real issues.

Although this story is very dark and intense, I did enjoy it. Camille is a very troubled woman and to be able to get into her head with her was an interesting experience. The way the author describes how Camille’s skin feels when she wants to cut is great. It really makes the reader understand the urge.
The who done it that is revealed at the end wasn’t really a shock, but since it could have been either 1 of 2, I picked the wrong one. Where the evidence is found was surprising and disturbing.
This book was very intense and heartbreaking on many levels. I really felt bad for Camille and her sister.

[Book Concierge]

The Lifeboat – Charlotte Rogan – 3.5***
In the summer of 1914, newly married Grace Winter and her husband Henry, set sail from London back to America. But after an explosion aboard ship, Grace is hurried aboard a lifeboat that is over capacity. As days go by with no sign of rescue it becomes clear that not all (if any) will survive. Grace is not a completely reliable narrator. There are times when I felt Grace was a weak woman content to let the wind blow her where it will. And other times when I felt she was manipulative and scheming. But then again, we have only Grace’s word for what happened.

[Book Concierge]

The Perfume Thief – Timothy Schaffert – 4****
This was a marvelous heist caper thriller, featuring interesting characters, several twists and turns and the atmosphere of Paris on the verge of world war. I found it fascinating and exciting and when it was over, I wanted to start it again to catch what I’m sure I must have missed.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Old Bones – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Childs – 3***
First book of the Nora Kelly series. An expedition to find the “Lost Camp” of the infamous Donner Party goes awry quickly. The body count rises as a major spring storm threatens to strand the expedition members. Preston and Childs are great thriller writers. They keep the reader turning pages with short sentences and chapters. I really liked Nora and will read more of this series.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Ananda Devi, Le Voile de Draupadi [1993] 175 pages [in French]

Le Voile de Draupadi is the first work I have read by this year's Neustadt Prize winner, Ananda Devi; I believe it is her second novel, but it was the earliest of her works which was available on Amazon. She is an author from the former French colony of Mauritius, of Indian ancestry, and is considered one of the major "Indian" contemporary writers.

The book opens with the protagonist, Anjali, at the bedside of her seriously-ill young son Wynn. The novel is written in a sort of stream-of-consciousness of Anjali. We learn that she is becoming gradually alienated from her husband Dev, a commonplace and corrupt lawyer. As the novel progresses we also learn of her childhood and her relationships with her brother Shyam and their cousin and childhood friend Vasanti, whose story becomes increasingly important to the novel. Dev and his family are pressuring Anjali into participating in a sacrificial religious rite involving walking on fire, the Veil of Draupadi, in order to seek a miraculous cure for Wynn, who is beyond the help of the local doctors (apparently he has meningitis).

The book is a powerful description of the history, culture and religious superstitions of the Indian (Hindu) population of Mauritius, and particularly of the status of women in that culture.

[Book Concierge]

Ander & Santi Were Here – Jonny Garza Villa – 3***
This is a YA gay romance featuring two very likeable young men facing serious life decisions. Oh, the intensity of young love. The passion and fierceness of the feelings. I really liked these two young men. My only complaint: the language here (significant use of the ‘F’ bomb) and the sexual content seem more adult than YA. It’s a beautifully told love story, but Villa could have done it with much less swearing and graphic sex.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Good Thief’s Guide to Paris – Charles Ewan – 3***
Book two in the Good Thief mystery series, has author and thief Charlie Howard in the City of Lights. I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one fell flat for me. Oh, I still like Charlie and I like the way he thinks. I enjoyed the introduction of Victoria, his agent; she really added a lot to this episode. One thing I expect of mysteries is that the conclusion answers all my questions, and this one did not. Though he did set up the next in the series rather nicely, so I’ll probably read more.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Viscount Who Loved Me – Julia Quinn – 4****
Book two in the Bridgerton series focuses on Anthony. This is a typical Regency romance. It’s so hot between the pages that an August heat wave feels positively cool. Devilishly handsome, and very rich, gentleman meets and seduces a chaste and vulnerable young woman. Sparks fly. Multiple orgasms are had. True love results. What’s not to like? A quick read that sets my pulse racing. Perfect escape.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Naguib Mahfouz, The Time and the Place and Other Stories [1962-1989, tr. 1991] 174 pages

The Time and the Place and Other Stories collects translations of twenty of Mahfouz' short stories from the years between 1962 and 1989. For the most part, these are not great considered as stories, with many having no real plot, but the writing is so incredible it doesn't matter. To give an example, my favorite story of the collection, "The Ditch", is a description of the life of an old man who has never married or had a family and just lives a boring life; nothing actually happens in the "story" — but the language, and the subtle personification of the man's house, are incredible. Many of the stories which do have a plot are so surreal that the reader doesn't have any idea what is going on or what will happen after the abrupt and ambiguous ending. These are stories which will not appeal to those who read for "the story" but those who read for language and style will find them among Mahfouz' best writing. The translator, Denys Johnson-Davies, also deserves credit, because this is the kind of book that could have been ruined by a poor translation.

[Book Concierge]

Rosemary – Kate Clifford Larson – 4****
Subtitle: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter. Intent on building a political dynasty, Joe and Rose Kennedy insisted on keeping their oldest daughter’s intellectual and developmental delays a secret from all but a few close friends. Larson does a fine job of detailing Rosemary’s life, and that of the Kennedy family. Their ups, downs, successes and tragedies have been chronicled frequently, but little has been known about Rosemary.
LINK to my full review

[Melissa]

To Kill a Shadow (Mistlands #1) by Katherine Quinn
5 ★

Kiara Frey, scarred and talked about in her village, is chosen by Jude Maddox, feared commander of the Knights of the Eternal Star and also called The Hand of Death, as a recruit after she fights another recruits we starts picking on her brother during the selection process. Kiara and Jude are very much alike and also very different. These qualities may just be the only way they will survive when the are sent in the Mist to find the missing light.

The best way to start this is, Wow! This story had me completely captivated from the beginning and kept my heart throughout. The rollercoaster of emotions was intense and my heart broke so many times. It was amazing. LOL
I loved Kiara’s fearlessness and sarcastic comebacks. She is one of the stronger female characters I have come across in a while. Jude is a great adversary for her. They butt heads so often and the scenes always brought a smile to my face.
There are some pretty heartbreaking scenes also. The events that take place after the end the mist are nerve wracking and may not be suitable for everyone. There is a warning on the first pages of the book for those who it may affect. Sometimes the reader can figure out what is going to happen, but this story had me second guessing myself. Also, the ending will leaving you begging for more. I cannot wait for book 2 to come out to find out what happens next with Kiara and Jude. There are still so many questions to be answered.

[Melissa]

River’s End by Nora Roberts
4 ★

Olivia MacBride has lived with her grandparents since the day her mother was taken from her by a monster she called Daddy. Now, 20 years later her father has been released and he is hoping the truth will be told. He contacts Noah Brady, the son of the cop who arrested him and is now a true crime writer, to write his story. Will the book draw Noah and Olivia closer together ot draw them further apart with the truth?

This was a very interesting and intense thriller with just the right amount of romance. There is no doubt right from the start that there is something pulling Noah and Olivia together. Noah messes up big time the first time he meets with Olivia and I don’t blame her for getting mad and pushing him away. I also don’t blame her for the way she acts 6 years later when he tries again. Noah ends up being a pretty straight up good guy by the end of the book.
When Olivia’s dad is released from prison and things start to happen I got a feeling that all was not as it seemed. I felt like someone else was playing the game as well. When I found out who that other person was, I was shocked. I was not prepared for that conclusion. The tense race through the forest to the conclusion had me glued to the book and I was fairly pleased with the ending.

[Book Concierge]

Bombay Time – Thirty Umrigar – 4****
Umrigar’s debut novel focuses on the residents of a particular middle-class apartment building in Bombay. Umrigar’s writing is full of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of this vibrant community. Several scenes are shockingly brutal – abject poverty, violence, pestilence. And then there are scenes of loving tenderness – a new baby, a man’s love for his wife, the devotion between a mother and daughter.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Rosalia de Castro, Cantares gallegos [1863] 146 pages [Kindle, Open Library, in Galician]

Rosalia de Castro is considered the founder of modern Galician literature, and one of the most important poets of nineteenth-century Spain; Cantares gallegos is her best-known work. Galicia is a region of northwestern Spain, on the northern border of Portugal; the Galician language, or Gallego, is closer to Portuguese than to Spanish, although it can be understood with a knowledge of Spanish and a good dictionary (I read the book in Galician, which I had no previous knowledge of, and it was not too difficult after fifteen or twenty pages.) Written after two very short poetry collections in Spanish, and her earliest novels, Cantares gallegos was the first of her two poetry collections in Galician. Galician was an important literary language from the twelfth to the fourteenth century, but although it continued to be the spoken language of the region it had not been used for literature for five centuries when a group of nationalist writers, of whom she was the most important, attempted to revive it as a literary language in the early part of the nineteenth century.

The thirty-one poems in the collection range over many subjects: praise of the natural beauty of Galicia and protest against the Castilian prejudice against Galicians, descriptions of local festivals, the longing of Galicians in economic exile for their homeland, and requited, unrequited, lost and betrayed love; the tone varies from joy and humor to melancholy. One of my favorites depicts the various "foreign" groups who attend the festival of the Virxen do Barca, in their appearance, clothing, and behavior. There is a long poem about a folklore figure named Vidal who goes from extreme poverty to riches in one night. Another poem has a girl who is scared by an owl near the cemetery. The figure of the gaitera, or bagpipe girl, opens the collection and appears in many of the poems; there is also a humorous poem about a male piper who intends to use his playing to seduce the local girls. Castro uses a variety of forms of verse; though this is essentially Romantic poetry, the lines of mixed length make her a precursor of later styles. All in all, it was a book well worth reading.
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Ruth McCollum, The Presence and Progression of Saudade in the Poetry of Rosalia de Castro (MA Thesis, Schmidt College, 1997) 110 pages

In looking for more information about Rosalia de Castro, I found this Master's Thesis on the Internet, which had a good deal of background on her life and the influences on her poetry, as well as analyses of some of the poems, although due to the particular subject it focused more on her later works than the Cantares gallegos:

[James]

Jon Fosse, Plays Two [Eng. tr. 2004] 293 pages

Three plays, A Summer's Day (Ein sommars dag, 1998), with two superimposed timelines, about a disappearance; Dream of Autumn (Draum om hausten, 1999), where a seemingly continuous action covers many years in the lives of a couple and the man's relatives; and Winter (Vinter, 2000) about a strange relationship.

[Book Concierge]

The Paris Daughter – Kristin Harmel – 3***
There are a number of historical threads woven into this melodrama: the Nazis penchant for stealing art, the role of the French Resistance, the many Jewish families who sent their children into hiding, and the post-traumatic stress survivors had to deal with. In general, Harmel’s story kept me interested, but I thought the writing was just okay. I guessed the central plot point VERY early in the book and noticed the foreshadowing as a result.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

All the Days of Summer – Nancy Thayer – 3***
A novel that explores what a woman’s “second act” might look like. Like most of Thayer’s novels, this feature a woman in her middle years, finding new purpose as her children are leaving the nest. Heather Willette rents a cottage on Nantucket for the summer to think on what her next chapter of life might look like. But, of course, there are bumps in the road. Will everything work out? Well, there are no pretty ribbons tied around a perfect ending here, but there is positive movement and hope for a splendid future. A totally enjoyable read.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Ernst Robert Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages [1948, Eng. tr. 1953] 718 pages

Almost the final book I read last year (2023) was John Herman Randall, Jr.'s The Making of the Modern Mind; the second book I began this year (although it has taken me over a month to finish a few chapters at a time) is Ernst Curtius' European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages. Both books were written to re-assert the unity of "Western civilization" or the "European tradition" in the face of the First World War, the rise of Hitler and the Second World War. Curtius is by far the more intense, writing in Germany under the Hitler regime, after the earlier catastrophes of World War I and the chaos of the Weimar Republic; he literally says that the European tradition entered a decline in the nineteenth century (the last major literary figure was Goethe) and has already collapsed. If this perhaps seems rather extreme, it is understandable given where and when it was written. While Randall's book was not particularly influential and has been largely forgotten today, Curtius' book has had a major influence and is still important for anyone interested in the history of European literature and intellectual culture in general.

What Curtius is interested in is the relation of continuity and transformation between Antiquity and the "Middle Ages", and the transmission and modification of ancient literary culture through the Middle Ages into modern literature. Although he uses the traditional term, even in his title, he is very critical of the Antiquity/Middle Ages/Modern periodization. His second chapter (the first chapter is more or less an introduction) surveys the positions of various historians on the dividing line between the Ancient and Mediaeval periods; the arbitrary date I had to learn in high school (and have since forgotten), the death of the last Emperor in the West, Romulus Augustus, isn't even mentioned, but Curtius considers the dates of 337 (the death of Constantine — Rostovtzeff), 395 (the death of the Emperor Theodosius, who enforced Christianity and deliberately tried to destroy pagan learning and culture — Moss, and the date Curtius considers most useful), around 567 (the death of Justinian and final loss of the Western Empire), 641 (end of the "Dominate" and beginning of the Byzantine Empire — Kornemann), about 675 (Arab conquest of the Mediterranean trade routes — Pirenne, Toynbee), or even the beginning of the Carolingian period (which marks the real beginning of Mediaeval culture, thus considering the two "dark" intervening centuries as belonging to the collapse of Antiquity rather than to the Middle Ages.) He also questions the end of the Middle Ages at the Italian Renaissance or the Reformation, considering that the "Modern" period really begins with the sixteenth-century rise of science or even the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. Whatever the dates, however, he considers the periodization essentially irrelevant, preferring to examine the details of the continuity and discontinuity of specific traits. This is what he describes in detail in the remainder of the book.

This is a book which is very dense in information; I learned things on literally every page of the more than 650 pages of text (there is a long index, although unfortunately no bibliography.) Curtius says that it is written for the "lover of literature" rather than for scholars, but he is obviously thinking of those with an early-twentieth-century upper-class German classical education — the book would be incomprehensible to anyone without a good reading knowledge of Latin (there are also untranslated passages from French, Spanish, and Italian) and at least some familiarity with the Roman (and early modern) classical writers. The Mediaeval authors on the other hand he is careful to identify and put into their historical and other contexts.

The book begins by outlining the late Roman educational system, based on what would later be called the trivium and quadrivium, and especially on the teaching of rhetoric. The development of rhetoric is outlined from the time of Aristotle through the end of antiquity, with rather detailed discussion of the different styles and levels and of the figures, and its influence on theories of literature is explained in depth; this is the basis of the Mediaeval theories (and practice) of poetics. He explains the importance of "topics" and gives examples of many of the more important topics for talking about people, landscape and so forth; he devotes an entire chapter to the topic of "invocation of the Muses" from Homer through Dante (and in fact all the way to William Blake.)

As an example of his procedure, I will summarize what to me was the most interesting chapter, on "Classicism". He begins by asking, with his friend T.S. Eliot, "What is a classic?" He derives the term for a model author from "classicus", which referred to the highest of the five tax-brackets based on property in the late Roman Empire (a sixth class was the proletarians, who had no taxable property.) The late writer Aulus Gellius in discussing the proper grammatical usage of words says that the way to decide is to look at how words are used by the older writers (antiquiores), but "the classics, not the proletarians" — in other words, the writers in the "top bracket". Curtius comments, "What a tidbit for a Marxist sociology of literature!" After this one sentence, the word was not used in this sense again for a millennium and a half, when it reappears in a French manual of poetics in 1548, obviously by someone who had read Gellius; the first use in English is not until Alexander Pope. As for the word and idea of "classicism", it first becomes popular in the debates over Romanticism in the 1820's. Curtius considers the opposition of Classicism and Romanticism to be an inadequate schema which only applies to France and which has been imposed as a straightjacket onto the literary history of other countries. For the contrary or complement of Classicism, he borrows the word "Mannerism" from art history, which is the title of the following chapter, devoted mainly to the Spanish siglo de oro (which is also the subject of several of the longest "Excurses" in the second part of the book).

The longest chapter of the work is on "The Symbolism of the Book", which treats of the use of books as metaphors and particularly of the metaphor of the "book of nature". This is followed by a chapter on Dante, and an epilogue, which finishes up the book as a continuous consecutive argument, on about page 400. There are then about 200 pages of "Excurses", short essays on a variety of subjects which shed light on the arguments of the book. The English edition follows these with a lecture, "The Mediaeval Bases of Western Thought", given at a Goethe conference in Colorado in 1949 and printed as an appendix, which could serve as a summary of the work for those who do not know Latin or other languages; and a 55 page epilogue by Peter Goodman about Curtius' life and the origins of the book. Goodman ends his discussion by contrasting the book with another work which I read many years ago, Erich Auerbach's Mimesis; where Curtius emphasizes the diachronic continuity of the tradition and denies the reality of stylistic periods and Zeitgeist, asserting the complete autonomy of literature, Auerbach on the contrary emphasizes the synchronic unity of the writers in the various periods and considers the historical and socio-economic influences upon literature. I think the two approaches should be taken as complementary rather than as an "either/or" dichotomy; each deals with aspects which the other ignores.

Taking the work as a whole, I would say that Curtius' detailed studies are very impressive, his interpretations always stimulating, and his value judgements — rather problematic. In any case, this is an important book which I would recommend to anyone with the now rather anachronistic education to understand it.

[Book Concierge]

Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan – 5*****
Gosh but Keegan packs a lot into a small volume! There is not a wasted word or extraneous thought. Furlong’s inner struggle is evident in the way he behaves and the things he thinks about as he walks the streets of town on a snowy evening. When he makes his decision, he acts on it, deliberately, quietly, resolutely. He is confident he is in the right, and that gives him some comfort despite the possible (probable) consequences.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

A Curious Beginning – Deanna Raybourn – 4****
Book number one in the Veronica Speedwell mystery series, set in Victorian England. Veronica is quite the heroine! An independent woman with a healthy appetite (and attitude) regarding her own “physical needs” and a no-nonsense approach to solving problems. Veronica doesn’t need much but her wits, her butterfly net, and a sharp hatpin, but she forms a partnership with the enigmatic “Stoker.” I look forward to more books in the series to see how their relationship fares.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Little Italian Hotel – Phaedra Patrick – 3***
This was mostly predictable, but I didn’t care. It was exactly the kind of “coming of middle age” adventure I wanted to read as an escape. The characters are interesting and sometimes surprised me, and the setting was gloriously depicted. I felt as if I were in Venice or Florence. And I loved the food descriptions! A fun, fast, enjoyable read.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading [1996] 372 pages

This is a popularly written, rather than a scholarly work (although it seems reliable enough, apart from some questionable generalizations), which combines much discussion of the author's own experiences of reading with many interesting historical and literary anecdotes. Manguel's own theories of the nature and experience of reading and of literature run through all the chapters, though never presented in a systematic way. The organization of the book is neither entirely chronological or in any logical order of subjects, but the twenty-two chapters jump from one aspect to another of reading in a somewhat random way, similar to a book like Carl Sagan's Cosmos only even more so.

Among the subjects treated are learning to read, being read to, silent reading and reading out loud, the invention of writing, the different forms of the book, libraries, stealing books, reading in private, public readings by authors, metaphors of reading, censorship, and translation; there are descriptions of dozens of readers from St. Augustine to Rilke and of course Manguel. Some of the material is well-known and some is obscure and wasn't anything I had come across before. Some interesting things I learned were that library catalogers in ancient Sumer were called "Ordainers of the Universe" (as a retired library cataloger, I thought that was a good description), and that cigar workers in nineteenth-century Cuba paid people to read to them while they worked, starting the day with the newspapers and then going on to fiction and nonfiction, until one of the dictators made it illegal, which gives some context to the famous quotation from Castro about making every factory in Cuba a branch of the University of Havana.

In all, an entertaining and informative book for reading geeks like me.

[Melissa]

The Serpent and the Wings of Night (Crowns of Nyaxia #1) by Carissa Broadbent
3 ★

A human adopted by the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya has spent her whole life trying to prove herself and protect herself. She enters the legendary tournament, the Kejari, with the hopes of winning and getting a wish granted. She ends up having to make an alliance with Raihn, an enemy to her father, to make it through the trials. The only problem is that Oraya finds herself being drawn to him and it may just be her undoing.

I enjoyed the story and there were some pretty fantastic scenes, but I was put off by the constant use of the “F” word. It is on just about every page of this book and I don’t understand why. Emotions can be expressed in so many different ways. For me it was very unnecessary.
This book has some pretty sad and horrifying backstories and there is a warning at the begging of the book about this. The pain and trauma most of the characters went through is very fitting for this dark fantasy. I may continue to series, but definitely not right away. I need a break from the darkness.

[Book Concierge]

The War That Saved My Life – Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – 5*****
Ten-year-old Ada lives in a one-room apartment with her mother and younger brother. Ada, however, has never left the apartment. She has a club foot and her mother doesn’t want anyone to see Ada. So, she sits at her window and watches the neighbors. She has no friends. She’s never attended school. Still, when her brother Jamie, reports that the children of London are to be sent to the country due to the war with Germany, Ada makes up her mind to go with him. This is a marvelous story of courage and tenacity. Bradly doesn’t sugarcoat the difficulties Ada faces, from her abusive mother, to her ignorance of things we take for granted, to the anger and fear that sometimes overwhelm her. But Ada is a very strong girl. And with perseverance, she will overcome the poor start she’s had in life.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Weather Girl – Rachel Lynn Solomon – 3***
This was a cute rom-com with an underlying serious issue. Ari is a charming young woman who has achieved her dream of becoming a TV meteorologist. But she sometimes struggles to maintain her on-screen persona; she suffers chronic depression, although therapy and medication help. I liked the way Ari and Russell interacted; they seemed genuine, with real-world challenges, and recognizable coping mechanisms.
LINK to my full review

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The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies – Alison Goodman – 4****
Set in Regency England, this is a delightful romp! The Colbrook sisters – Lady Augusta “Gus” and her twin, Lady Julia – are up to any task, it seems. They are intelligent, determined, resourceful and certain of their course. They move from crisis to crisis with a sense of purpose and quick-witted improvisations. I particularly appreciate that Goodman has given us women of a certain age, who would most often be ignored. The book ends on a bit of a cliff-hangar, and I hope Goodman is a fast writer, because I can hardly wait to find out what the sisters get up to in the next episode.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Dirk J. Struik, Yankee Science in the Making: Science and Engineering in New England from Colonial Times to the Civil War [1948, rev. 1962, Dover ed. 1991] 544 pages

As the subtitle added in the Dover edition indicates, this is a history of science and engineering in New England up to the time of the Civil War. In fact, there is very little description of the actual technology, and even less of the actual science; rather it is a sociological account of the growth of science and technology and the socio-economic conditions which led to the development of one or another field at various times. It begins with the gradual assimilation of English science and technology in the colonial period (the first part, one chapter). The second part (the Federalist Period) deals with the early republic, the assimilation of European science, the development of mathematics and astronomy in connection with navigation in the Federalist period (much about Nathaniel Bowditch), the first beginnings of civil engineering in connection with highway and canal building, the origins of mass production initially in the arms industry, the beginnings of the textile industry, and the beginnings of geology, chemistry and botany in relation to the new industrialization. The third part (the Jacksonian Period) chronicles the beginnings of original science in the geological and botanical surveys of the 1820's, the expansion of manufacturing and the building of the railroads and steamships, and the increasing amount of original scientific work in the 1830's, 40's, and 50's, especially in geology and chemistry. There are short biographies of the major figures — Benjamin Silliman, Louis Agassiz, Asa Gray, Benjamin Pearce, among others — and of many people who did important but minor work. The origins of scientific and technological studies at the Universities and schools and the development of scientific institutions are emphasized.

I had hoped for more of the actual science, but given what the book was, it was interesting and informative, and I intend to read more about some of these figures, particularly Bowditch and Agassiz of whom I already have biographies on my shelves.

[Melissa]

The Scholar (Cormac Reilly #2) by Dervla McTiernan
4 ★

Detective Cormac Reilly is back with a case full of secrets. When Cormac’s girlfriend, Emma Sweeney, comes across a hit and run victim, she immediately calls him and he comes running. The case makes a tragic turn when it’s revealed that it was not an accident. Emma’s past comes back to haunt her when they find out that the deceased works in the same office as Emma and she becomes a suspect.

This was a good story with twists and turns that kept it rolling smoothly. Cormac ends up having to back away from the case when Emma becomes a suspect and the tension between the two gets bad when he starts to wonder if she really may have been involved. Emma has a very sad backstory and I felt like he had a right to doubt, but then again, he seems to know her well enough not to judge.
The characters in the book help a lot to make the story. They are all different, but in search of the same thing. Their differences make one big whole and make for a good group of people. I enjoyed the interactions between characters and the way they worked together.
The best part for me was the way the case came together at the end. There were no real surprises. I was pretty sure I knew the why, but not the who. I look forward to reading book 3 in this series. Dervla McTiernan is a great storyteller.

[Book Concierge]

Everything That Rises Must Converge –Flannery O’Connor – 3.5***
This collection of short stories was published posthumously, after O’Connor died at age 39 from complications of lupus. I like Southern literature, and particularly Southern Gothic literature. The dark themes explored in such works intrigue and interest me. O’Connor excelled at this. While her characters may be blind to their (and others’) faults, the author gives the reader a clear view.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Velvet Was the Night – Silvia Moreno-Garcia – 4****
This is the third book by Moreno-Garcia that I’ve read and by far my favorite. In this work she does NOT include paranormal, horror, or magical realism elements. Rather she writes a wonderful noir crime novel based on historical events in Mexico, with interesting characters, multiple twists and turns in the plot and an unlikely partnership that I’d love to see again.
LINK to my full review

[James]

Maryse Condé, Traversée de la Mangrove [1989] 265 pages [Kindle, Open Library] [in French]

Traversée de la Mangrove is Condé's seventh novel; I have read all seven in chronological order (as well as some of her shorter nonfiction), as I am slowly working my way through her works, although I may skip some of the later books (she is a very prolific writer). While the first six were set either in Africa or well in the past, in Traversée de la Mangrove she returns to her native Guadaloupe and to the present day; the frame story at least is set no more than three years before the novel was published.

The book opens with a retired school director, Léocadie Timothée, taking her usual evening walk in the woods near her house in the small village of Rivière au Sel, where she stumbles upon a cadaver, which she recognizes as the body of her enigmatic and somewhat reclusive neighbor Francis Sancher. We learn almost immediately that Sancher, a foreigner who had appeared mysteriously in the village some two decades earlier, is widely disliked in the community; there is speculation about who might have killed him and the reader may assume that the book is going to be a murder mystery, although an autopsy soon discloses that he died of natural causes. After his body is returned from the authorities, the villagers hold a wake at which nearly the entire community is present, from his few friends to his many enemies and some who are simply indifferent, coming only for the food and the rum. In fact the novel is on one level a sort of mystery: who was Francis Sancher (or Francisco Alvarez-Sanchez, as we find out later may have been his real name)?

The remainder of the book consists of twenty chapters, each devoted to one of nineteen people at the wake (one character is repeated), who are recalling their past lives and their contacts with Sancher; most are written in the first person, although some are in free indirect discourse instead. Some of the characters have had much contact with him, while others have only met him once or twice, but all have been somehow affected by his presence. Each person has a different understanding of who Sancher was, and we see him from all these different perspectives, occasionally learning some isolated fact about him which we try to piece together with the others. More importantly, however, we can piece together the story of the community, its history and personalities over several decades (the oldest of the characters are probably in their late seventies, the youngest at most in his teens.) There is one final chapter called "Le Devant-Jour", Caribbean French for "dawn", in which the people at the wake disperse home, leaving the identity of Sancher still enigmatic.

The novel is in a sense a socio-political study of the village itself, and by implication of contemporary rural Guadaloupe; the underlying politics of the novel (and all of Condés novels are political) are more subtle and less obvious than in most of her books. I am tempted to call the style "post-modernist", although Condé is not usually associated with that label. The device of the wake reminded me of the beginning of Olga Tokarczuk's Livre de Jacob, which is based on similar histories of the guests at a wedding, although Condé continues the device through the entire novel. This struck me as the best constructed and one of the best written of her novels I have read so far, and I would recommend it. It is also available in an English translation by her husband under the title Crossing the Mangrove.