Review: The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato

Usually, novels set in split-time are dominated by either one of its settings or the other, leaving the second to muddle along behind. Not so with The Glassblower of Murano. Although the story takes place alternately in 1681 and present-day Venice, both story lines are exceptionally strong. I love novels set in Venice, as you know that a story about treachery and intrigue will follow, and The Glassblower of Murano is no exception.

Nora Manin leaves London and an ex-husband to work as a glassblower in one of the furnace on the island of Murano. More than three hundred years previously, her ancestor, Corradino Manin, was also a glassblower, one of the best in Venice, who sold Venetian glassmaking secrets to the French. Very soon, inevitably, the Council of the Ten (Venice’s secret police force) catches wind of Corradino’s activities, and he is murdered one evening, stabbed in the back with a dagger made of Murano glass. This is the scene that the novel opens up with, and it’s definitely an eye-opener! Was Corradino truly a traitor? In the present day, Nora goes in search of what really happened all those years ago.

As I’ve said, the parallel time period thing works really well here; Corradino and his descendant Nora are both vibrant characters. There’s a fine balance here between romance, mystery, and history, which I really enjoyed. I also enjoyed the descriptions of glassblowing techniques; I hadn’t realized it was such an art. Fiorato does a great job of depicting Venice, a city that is both beautiful and dangerous at once.

I was a little frustrated with a couple of the details of this book, though. First, although there’s a scene in the Piombi (the Leads) the Doge's Palace's ground-floor prison, there’s no mention of its other great prison, the Pozzi (the Wells, located up under the eaves). There was also little to no mention of The Ten, which might have been more interesting to learn about. Still, I enjoyed this well-written, well-researched novel, and look forward to reading whatever Fiorato writes next. To be published in the US in May 2009.

Also reviewed by: A Work in Progress, A Work in Progress, Literary License, S. Krishna's Books. The Literate Housewife Review

Bits and pieces

Sometime recently, I made it to the top 500 reviewers on Amazon.com! Not a big deal, I guess, but I've been reviewing there intermittently since 2004. As my mom said just now, "what did you do to get up there? Did somebody die?"

Yesterday and today we had snow and rain here in Pennsylvania, and when I went to get to work today, my parents' driveway was completely covered in black ice. The very end of the driveway slopes downwards, and the mailbox is about 20 feet up away from the road. This afternoon, after I went to the grocery store, I came home and found that the driveway was still icy. So I parked the car on the road a little ways aways and walked up to the house (I was carrying two large things of toilet paper, so I must have looked a little bit funny).

Stuffed into the mailbox (which is average-sized) was a medium-sized Amazon package--a little worse for the wear, but the contents were fine. So it seems as though the UPS guy was afraid to come up the drive to deliver the package. But it's all good. Also in the mailbox for me was a package (bubble mailer, so it fit in the regular mail) from the Book Depository.

How was your Thursday?

Review: The Founding, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

#1: Covers 1434-1483; the War of the Roses

The Founding is the first book in the Morland Dynasty series, covering the War of the Roses from 1434 to 1483. Robert Morland, heir to the Morland estate, marries Eleanor Courteney, thereby uniting money with a family name. Eleanor quickly becomes the family matriarch, staunchly supporting the Yorkists in the struggle for the English throne. The story of The Founding covers fifty years and five generations of the Morland family.

The series is truly addictive. It’s not great literature, by any means, but Cynthia Harrod-Eagles knows how to tell an entertaining story, and none of it is contrived. The Morland family in The Founding is closely aligned with the Plantagenets, following them right up through the Battle of Bosworth Field.

Also reviewed by: Medieval Bookworm

Review: Mistress of the Monarchy, by Alison Weir

Like Alison Weir, I was first introduced to the story of Katherine Swynford through Anya Seton’s romanticized 1954 novel, Katherine. Weir’s biography is a pretty comprehensive look at this enigmatic, lesser-known medieval woman.

I have a love-hate relationship with Weir’s books: I loved The Six Wives of Henry VIII; liked Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley, and Eleanor of Aquitaine; but detested Queen Isabella and Innocent Traitor (Weir doesn’t do fiction all that well). I put Mistress of the Monarchy in the “like for the most part” category.

Katherine Swynford was born Katherine de Roet in 1350, one of the daughters of Sir Paon de Roet. She then married Hugh Swynford, and spent time in the Lancastrian household as the governess to John of Gaunt’s children. Katherine’s affair with him probably began around the year 1372, and, after producing a number of illegitimate children, married John in 1396. Katherine is the ancestor of most of the royal houses of Europe, plus at least five American presidents. History has seen Katherine as bit of a homewrecker, but in this book, Weir attempts (and mostly succeeds) in portraying her in a more sympathetic light.

This biography of Katherine Swynford is, as with all of Weir’s books, meticulously researched. It’s less overtly feminist and partisan than some of her other biographies. Pay attention to the subtitle of this biography: the book is more about John of Gaunt than it is about Katherine (in fact, we don’t even get a physical description of Katherine until after one is given of John). We also get very detailed biographies of everyone who was related or connected to her, especially Geoffrey Chaucer, her brother-in-law. After finishing this book, I still didn’t have a concrete impression of what Katherine was really like. And, because so little is actually known about Katherine’s life, Weir makes an awful lot of assumptions here about what her subject “might,” “perhaps,” or “probably” have done/ thought/ felt.

However, Weir does a wonderful job bringing the details of the period to life. It’s an accessible, readable work of history that doesn’t get bogged down in pretentious language. For someone who doesn’t know medieval Latin or Norman French, Weir does an incredible job of interpreting her sources. And the style of this book is far more lively and engaging than other books written on the Lancasters that I’ve read. I look forward to reading what comes next from Weir (according to her website, the next book is about Anne Boleyn, though she may be re-treading familiar water with that one).

Also reviewed by: Tanzanite's Shelf

Weekly Geeks

In the third Weekly Geeks of 2009, let's have fun with the classics. For our purposes, I'm defining a classic as anything written over 100 years ago and still in print. (If your memory needs jogging, see: Classic Literature Library for examples.)

For your assignment this week, choose two or more of the following questions:

1) How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it? Not sure because you never actually tried it? Don't get why anyone reads anything else? Which classics, if any, have you truly loved? Which would you recommend for someone who has very little experience reading older books? Go all out, sell us on it!

I feel as though “classic literature” is a very broad category, encompassing pretty much everything: romance, history, mystery, etc. Personally, I think highly of classic literature, though there are of course the books I don’t like and the books I don’t “get” (Joyce's Dubliners and pretty much anything by Steinbeck, for example). But there are other books that I just love—anything by Jane Austen; Wuthering Heights; Jane Eyre; Bleak House; David Cooperfield; The Woman in White; The Moonstone; The Go-Between; Vanity Fair; Great Expectations; Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day; The Painted Veil. And there are many more on my TBR list.

As for recommendations, for anyone looking to start reading Charles Dickens, the places to start are either Great Expectations or Oliver Twist. For Jane Austen, definitely Pride and Prejudice, or maybe Sense and Sensibility. And Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, while not over 100 years old, is a delightful 1930s fairy tale (and it’s much better than the movie which I was disappointed in). It’s a quick read, but very heartwarming. It’s too bad Winifred Watson never wrote much else.

Friday Finds

My TBR list has grown even more this week (actually, the past two weeks), with:


Pictures from an Exhibition, by Sara Houghteling. Novel set in WWII Paris, about Nazi art theft. ARC that’s coming in the mail.


Nine Lives, by Dan Baum. Nonfiction about Hurricane Katrina; ARC that I got through Shelf Awareness. This should be a change from all the historical fiction I've been glutting myself on lately


Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford. ARC that arrived in the mail last week.

Review: The Miracles of Prato, by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz

The Miracles of Prato is the story of a lesser-known love affair, between the Renaissance painter Filippo Lippi, and Lucrezia Butti, a novice in the Convent of Santa Margherita in Prato. According to the authors' note in the back of the book, Lucrezia was either a novice or a young lady placed in the care of the Convent. They had two children together, one of which, Filippino, became a famous painter himself, studying under Boticelli. The story is probably a romanticized version of what really happened; doing a bit more reading, I found out that Lucrezia may have been kidnapped by Lippi, and held hostage in his home. The "miracle" of the title is the Sacra Cintola, or Sacred Belt, that is the lynchpin of part of the story.

I found this book to be slow going. The writing style is excellent, but excellent writing does not a great novel make. The authors are clearly passionate about art; it's too bad that the rest of the novel can't keep up. The love story is muted, and it was hard for me to see why the painter and novice were attracted to each other in the first place. It's a pretty standard treatment of an old story. But that said, I enjoyed the historical setting; it's well-researched, and the story is an interesting composite of fact and fiction. But for a novel about the Renaissance, this book diappointed me a bit.

Review: The Needle in the Blood, by Sarah Bower

The Needle in the Blood is the story of Bishop Odo of Bayeux and his mysterious mistress, Aethelgytha. One of the mysteries of the Bayeux Tapestry is a certain panel in which there is a cleric striking (or touching) a woman’s face, with the caption “here is a cleric and Aelfgifu.” The speculation is that the scene refers to a well-known scandal of the day; maybe that of Odo and his mistress? This is where Bower fills in the gaps, and she does an admirable job with it.

In the novel, Gytha is a Saxon woman, brought low after the Norman conquest, when she is brought in to assist in the creation of the Bayeux Tapestry, commissioned by Odo and designed by his sister. Although Gytha hates Odo at first, she is nonetheless attracted to the Bishop, holy orders notwithstanding. The novel covers a ten-year period, from the Battle of Hastings to 1077. Although William the Conquror doesn't make an appearance in the novel until the end, he’s always at the center of attention, controlling Odo's life and actions.

The story is very well told. Although the technical process of embroidering the tapestry is only discussed in any detail at the beginning of the book, it was fascinating for me to learn that the events depicted on it were comprised of the experiences of the many people who created it—and that those people had different perspectives on what happened during the Conquest. There are a number of other mysteries surrounding the figures on the tapestry, and Bower fills in the missing pieces very neatly. For example, was Harold really shot in the eye with an arrow? In part, a lot of historical texts are revisionist, and the Bayeux Tapestry is proof positive of that, so I think the author did a good job with discerning fact from fiction.

The love story is very strong, though the sex scenes were a little over-the-top. In real life, Odo was later accused of defrauding the Crown and his diocese, and then planning a military expedition to Italy, ostensibly to make himself pope. It was believed that his wealth was gained through extortion and robbery. It was interesting to me to see how the author tackled Odo’s prickly reputation, and I think she did it admirably.

Cover Deja-Vu # 9

The first cover is that of The Outcast, by Sadie Jones. The cover on the left is that of Orchard, by Larry Watson. Different color dress, and the image has been cropped and tinted differently for Orchard, but definitely the same image. It's amazing how so many images are the same or similar, but there's no real way for a publisher to keep track of who used what when, for which book. Plus, it's expensive for a publisher to maintain exclusive rights to an image. Still, it's fun to look and compare!

The Sunday Salon

It’s a quiet Sunday in New York, and I’ve spent most of my weekend reading The Needle in the Blood, by Sarah Bower. I’m currently about halfway through, and, except for the rather crude sex scenes, enjoying it. It’s a novel about the Bayeux tapestry and the man who commissioned it, Bishop Odo of Bayeux, as well as his mistress, Gytha. The book opens right in the middle of the Battle of Hastings, and continues up until 1077. Odo was at some point accused of defrauding the crown and his diocese, so it’ll be interesting to see how the author treats that subject.

Since my last Sunday Salon posting, I’ve posted three reviews, for Harriet and Isabella, The Black Pearl (not really a review—just thoughts about the book), and Dark Angels. I’ve also read The Miracles of Prato, by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz, about Fra Filippo Lippi. The writing is very good, but the book is a little too heavy on the art metaphors.

I’ve got a stack of books waiting to be read, and I’m having a hard time choosing which to read next after Needle in the Blood. Which one do you think?

The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato
The Founding, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
A Place Beyond Courage, by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy
Nine Lives, by Dan Baum (nonfiction about nine people in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina)
The Birthday Present, by Barbara Vine
Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker (seeing as this is a review copy and it came out on the 8th, I should probably get cracking on it soon)
The Women, by TC Boyle

Review: Dark Angels, by Karleen Koen

I was disappointed in this book. I had high expectations for it because I loved Through a Glass Darkly. I didn’t like Now Face to Face quite as much, but I had high hopes for Dark Angels nonetheless.

Dark Angels is the prequel to both those books. It's the story of Barbara's grandmother, Alice, as a young girl in the court of Charles II, "the Merry Monarch." The novel opens upon the day Charles's sister Minette arrives home from the French court for a visit after ten years away. Afterwards, Alice secures for herself a position in the court of Queen Catherine and is a first-hand witness to the events that take place therein. While the author does a remarkable job describing the events of the time, she captures none of the debauchery and licentiousness that characterized the court of Charles II; all of the characters seem lifeless and flat. There's a mystery included, I guess to add some excitement, but it was anticlimactic. It’s almost as though the author started out with one idea and quickly moved on to another.

Alice in the 1670s is 16 and mature beyond her years. The problem I had with Alice's character is that she appears to be a completely different person from the woman she becomes in Through a Glass Darkly and Now Face to Face. I found myself completely disliking the Alice who appears here. Another thing I disliked was the relationship between Alice and her future husband, Richard. There was none of the "spark" that I expected. It left me thinking, "now what?" Let's hope there's a sequel planned. As a novel about the Restoration period, I recommend Kathleen Windsor's Forever Amber over this book.

What Kind of Reader Are You?

I've seen this floating around lately, so I thought I'd do this for fun! I think it's mostly true. I especially loved the question about lost luggage.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Literate Good Citizen
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Review: Harriet and Isabella, by Patricia O'Brien

Harriet and Isabella is a novel about the relationship between Harriet Beecher Stowe and her sister, Isabella Beecher Hooker. Set in 1870s and ‘80s Brooklyn, the story alternates between Henry Ward Beecher’s deathbed and the time when he was involved in a scandalous adultery case, in which he was accused of grossly immoral conduct and practicing free love. Harriet, the abolitionist, supported her brother, while Isabella, the suffragist, took the side of his accuser, Victoria Woodhull. As Beecher lies dying, Isabella comes back to Brooklyn to see if she can mend old wounds.

In the back of the book, the author says that she went to Brooklyn and interviewed present-day members of Plymouth Church, to see what they thought of the Beecher scandal. While some members of the congregation thought that Beecher never had an affair, I’m with O’Brien in terms of wondering what really happened. And the author does a fine job in this novel of presenting both sides of the scandal. Isabella’s point of view is the focus of this novel, but it’s equally about Harriet and her struggle, both personally and professionally.

The author spent a long time wandering the neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights; as a former resident of the neighborhood, I was very pleased by the fact that everything in terms of geography was described in minute detail. Since I know the neighborhood so well, I could just see in my mind’s eye the conversations that took place in this book on the lawn in front of Plymouth Church, or the tea shop on the corner of Montague and Hicks.

I wasn’t crazy about the inconsistency in terms of past/ present tense. And there are an awful lot of flashbacks. But altogether, I enjoyed this wonderful book about the power of forgiveness.

Booking Through Thursday

Other things have words, too, right? Like … songs!
If you’re anything like me, there are songs that you love because of their lyrics; writers you admire because their songs have depth, meaning, or just a sheer playfulness that has nothing to do with the tunes.
So, today’s question?
What songs … either specific songs, or songs in general by a specific group or writer … have words that you love?
Why?
And … do the tunes that go with the fantastic lyrics live up to them?
You don’t have to restrict yourself to modern songsters, either … anyone who wants to pick Gilbert & Sullivan, for example, is just fine with me. Lerner & Loewe? Steven Sondheim? Barenaked Ladies? Fountains of Wayne? The Beatles? Anyone at all…

The songs I listen to are chosen mostly based on tune, not lyrics. So the lyrics of the songs I listen to usually don’t have much meaning or depth—strange, considering I’m one of the most word-obsessed people I know.

My taste runs mostly to rock, though it’s not exclusive. Songs that I keep finding myself listening to over and over again include “Hurricane,” by Athlete; “I Still Remember,” by Bloc Party; anything by Black Tie Dynasty, Collective Soul, Idlewild, or the Kaiser Chiefs; and (don’t laugh) “Sexbomb,” by Tom Jones. I like that last because of the playfulness of its lyrics, of course.

There’s also a fair bit of eighties music on repeat right now, with “True Faith,” by New Order, a few songs by Depeche Mode, and (again, don’t laugh) “You Spin Me Round,” by Dead or Alive (whenever I listen to it, I think of the opening scene of The Wedding Singer and jut laugh). The biggest surprise on my playlist is “Happy Together,” by the Turtles. And one of my all-time favorite songs is “Heavy,” by Collective Soul. Probably the most divine 2:56 I’ve ever listened to in my life.

Cover Deja-Vu # 8

The first cover is the UK edition of Away, by Jane Urquhart; the second is the US edition of John Harwood's The Seance, to be published next month. I'm not sure what the image is, but it's intriguing, isn't it?

More books to read!

I’ve been away from home for four weeks, and when I returned, I found the following waiting for me:

The Miracles of Prato, by Laurie Albanese (ARC)
The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker (ARC, but finished copy)
The Needle in the Blood, by Sarah Bower
The Women, by TC Boyle (nice ARC surprise from Penguin; it' about Frank Lloyd Wright, told through the eyes of the four women who loved him)
A Place Beyond Courage, by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy
The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford (ARC)
The Founding, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
Darling Jim, by Christian Moerk (ARC)
The Birthday Present, by Barbara Vine (ARC)

Review: The Black Pearl, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

# 5: The Black Pearl: 1660 to 1666.
On the eve of the Restoration, the Morland family, led by Ralph, finds itself in reduced circumstances, and eager to regain lost property once King Charles returns to take his throne. Annunciata, age 15, has higher aspirations than marriage to her cousin Kit; and she goes to London, to take part in court life there. This was my introduction to the Morland Dynasty, and I have to say that it didn't disappoint! Harrod-Eagles makes English history accessible while at the same time creating an engaging, entertaining plot and characters. Although there are characters in The Black Pearl that appeared in The Oak Apple, I found that it wasn't completely necessary to read them first--although I will, since the series is such a treat.

Also reviewed by: A Work in Progress, Shelf Love

Review: The Observations, by Jane Harris

The Observations is only the fourth book I’ve completed this year, but I can already tell that it’s going to be one of my favorites for 2009. Set in the 1860s in “Scratchland,” (aka Scotland), the story follows young Bessy Buckley as she obtains employment (honest, this time) with “the missus,” Arabella Reid, at Castle Haivers, which isn’t really a castle at all. Arabella is a strange mistress, who has her maid-of-all-work keep a diary of her day-to-day activities. Later, Bessy discovers a book that Arabella is writing, called The Observations, and begins to wonder what really happened to the maid before her.

Without Bessy, this novel might be your typical Victorian ghost story. But she’s one of the most engaging heroines I’ve come across in a long time. Her personality fairly leaps off the page, and her witty, irreverent, brutally honest (and sometimes coarse) observations are entertaining, to say the least. The toilet humor of this novel might scare some readers off, though, but I thought that was one of the things that kept this book funny.

Bessy’s attitude towards her mistress is two-sided: on one hand, she feels affection towards Arabella, who she tries with all of her might to please; on the other, she bears a deep-seated grudge for her for the things she says about Bessy in her book. This conflict drives the course of the novel, causing Bessy to make a mistake that she will regret.

Admittedly, it took about a chapter or so for me to really get into this book; Bessy’s way of speaking is a little confusing at first. But the more I read, the more I got used to the style. In all, a very satisfying novel.

Also reviewed by: A Life in Books

Review: Now Face to Face, by Karleen Koen

Now Face to Face was a novel that frustrated me in a lot of ways. For one thing, there were huge gaps in the story line. Something dramatic would happen, and then there would be a gap afterwards and we would never learn what the conclusion of the incident was. For example, Hyacinthe goes missing, and we learn hardly anything of what happens of him between the time he is captured and the time he returns home.

I felt that the characters in this book were not as well drawn as they were in Through a Glass Darkly. Although a woman in the sequel, Barbara's character is flat. Sure, she has this adventure in Virginia, only to return home in the middle of a mini-civil war, but she seems completely unaffected by what's happening around her. I found her story to be very unbelievable. There's no romance; the adventures in love that Barbara had as a younger woman are written off by the author as youthful indiscretions and completely out of character for Barbara.

I wanted to hear more about the Duke of Tamworth and his grandmother, the Duchess; but I was sadly disappointed. Tony seems selfish, mean-spirited and almost a different person in this book.

The historical background of this book (ie, the fight between the House of Orange and James Stuart the Pretender for control of the English throne) was dumbed-down almost to the point of absurdity. Although this book was well-written, the major flaws show through. Koen has set the stage in this book for a sequel but there's just not enough fictional material for it.

Also reviewed by: Jackets and Covers

Sunday Salon

I’ve been busy working lately, so my reading has fallen off a bit. However, I did manage to finish The Observations, by Jane Harris, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s a Victorian-style ghost story, but so much more at the same time. Review to be posted soon.

Book buying has continued, with the purchase of The Lady Chapel and The Nun’s Tale, the second and third books in the Owen Archer mystery series. I read The Apothecary Rose in 2005, and never got around to the rest of the series because they’re so hard to find in bookstores or libraries. But I finally found inexpensive copies of The Lady Chapel and The Nun’s Tale through Powell’s Books.

Then, yesterday, I picked up two books in the Morland series: The Black Pearl (#5, about the reign of Charles II) and The Question (# 25; takes place during the Boer War). I also picked up a novel called Harriet and Isabella, by Patricia O’Brien. It’s about the relationship between Harriet Beecher Stowe and her sister Isabella Beecher Hooker, during the time that their brother, Henry Ward Beecher, went through an infamous adultery trial. It’s set in Brooklyn Heights, very near where I used to live. Currently I’m reading The Black Pearl. I’ve been told that I should start the series from the beginning, but I’ve found that I haven’t been too lost thus far.

Friday Finds

Here’s what’s been added to my TBR list:

The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy. Novel about a young American woman in 1950s Paris.




And apparently David Liss will have a new Benjamin Weaver novel out sometime this year, called The Devil's Company.

Booking Through Thursday

It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?

Here's my list (I'm going to go with favorite reads, not just books oublished in 2008):

The Meaning of Night
The Sunne in Splendour
The House at Riverton
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Go-Between
The Forgotten Garden
The Sealed Letter
Company of Liars
The Glass of Time
Devil’s Brood
The Greatest Knight
Nefertiti

Review: The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y.K. Lee

The Piano Teacher is a complicated novel. On the surface, it’s about a love affair between two British ex-patriots in Hong Kong in 1952-3. Claire Pendleton comes to Hong Kong with her husband Martin at a time when the world is still recovering from WWII; Claire takes up work as a piano teacher for the daughter of a wealthy Chinese family, where she meets Will Truesdale, the Chens’ enigmatic chauffeur. The book jumps back in time between the 1950s and the beginning of WWII, when Will is interned in Stanley, a Hong Kong camp for enemies of Japan. On “the outside” is Tudy Liang, Will’s beautiful Eurasian lover.

There’s no doubt that Lee’s writing is beautiful. But there’s something lacking in this short, terse novel that I can’t quite put my finger on. First, I think it’s the tenses she uses when taking about each story: that which is set in the 1950s is in the past tense, while the war scenes are talked about in the present tense (confusing, no?) The interpersonal relationships of the main characters take a back seat to the horrors of Stanley camp (over 3000 people housed in a hotel with bad plumbing, bad food, and other horrendous conditions), as well as the brutal treatment of the British and Americans by the Japanese.

While the war scenes were sobering, I would have liked to have seen more of the relationship between Trudy and Will. I would have liked to have found out more about Will and Claire’s relationship, too: why are they drawn together, since they seem to have nothing in common? Too, there’s a lot that’s implied about what happened during the war, especially to Trudy and her cousin, Dommie; but we never find out for sure. And the “villain” in this novel wasn’t quite what I expected, either. His motivations for doing what he did are a little odd. But as I’ve said, the writing is beautiful, the research is superb, and the setting is fantastic. I just wish that Lee had done more with her characters, because they had so much promise.

Also reviewed by: Pudgy Penguin Perusals, Medieval Bookworm, A Guy's Moleskin Notebook

The A to Z Challenge

This is the fourth challenge I'm joining for 2009, and I think this will be the last one (famous last words, right?). I've chosen Option A: reading authors A to Z. Here's a list of books I've read or am thinking about reading for it.

A: Albanese, Laurie: The Miracles of Prato
B: Bower, Sarah: The Needle in the Blood
C: Chadwick, Elizabeth: The Scarlet Lion
D: Dunday, Elaine: The Dud Avocado
E: Erskine, Barbara: The Warrior's Princess
F: Fiorato, Marina: The Glassblower of Murano

G: Gortner, CW: The Last Queen

H: Harris, Jane: The Observations
I: Irving, John: Last Night in Twisted River
J: James, Syrie: The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte
K: Kearsley, Susanna: Sophia's Secret

L: Lancaster, Jen: Pretty in Plaid

M: Moran, Michelle: The Heretic Queen
N: Notaro, Laurie: Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death
O: O'Brien, Patricia: Harriet and Isabella
P: Peacock, Caro: A Dangerous Affair
Q:
R: Robb, Candace: The Lady Chapel
S: Stewart, Mary: The Ivy Tree
T: Taylor, Andrew: Bleeding Heart Square
U: Undset, Sigrid: The Wreath
V: Vine, Barbara: The Birthday Present
W: Wise, Sarah: The Italian Boy
X: Alexander, Tasha: And Only to Deceive
Y: Byatt, AS: The Children's Book
Z: Zafon, Carlos Ruis: The Angel's Game

Tuesday Thingers

Did you know that there are 1497 authors participating in LT Authors? If you haven't checked it out, head over for a moment and see if you can find out something new about an author! If you don't have time to go snooping, have you ever looked at the LT Author page before? Did you know that it is for authors and readers alike? Have you ever looked up a favorite or new author on LT to see what they read and if they have left any comments or reviews themselves? Have you ever told an author about LT Authors and encouraged them to check the site out?

I knew that I had books by LT authors in my library (CW Gortner, Debra Hamel, Susan Higginbotham, David Liss, Kirsten Menger-Anderson, Richard Price, Deanna Raybourn, and Tatiana De Rosnay), but I had no idea that there were that many authors who participated in LT authors! The only time I’ve ever come into cotact with one of them was when David Liss left me a nice note on my profile page about his newest book (which makes me feel a little bad for not absolutely loving it).

What I also like, which is related to LT Authors, is the I See Dead People’s Books group. Essentially, readers on LT have gotten together to catalogue the libraries of famous (dead) people; some of the books in those libraries are quite interesting. Another favorite section is Legacy Libraries, so you can see exactly what books you share with what authors. Here’s an example.

Review: The Scarlet Lion, by Elizabeth Chadwick

At the end of The Greatest Knight, we saw William Marshal become one of the most powerful men in England, and married to Isabelle de Clare. The Scarlet Lion is a continuation of that novel, and in it we witness the evolution and growth of the Marshal family under the reign of King John and his son Henry. In this novel, Isabelle takes over part of the story. The books are standalone novels, but they’re best appreciated when read together or as near together as possible.

I enjoyed The Scarlet Lion, but not as much as I enjoyed The Greatest Knight. It was partially because I felt that William’s story melted into the background in favor of Isabelle’s and his children’s. And I felt as though the author basically shrugged off the Magna Carta, turning it into a one-paragraph non sequitur. Nnetheless, I greatly enjoyed this book, for many of the reasons why I ejoyed its predecessor.

Isabelle is by far the most likeable character, strong in the face of adversity. Elizabeth Chadwick writes about the early 13th century in a way that makes the politics of the period seem uncomplicated—no small feat. Fact and fiction are pretty seamlessly woven together in this novel. As always, Chadwick’s knowledge of the medieval period is spot-on, and she makes people who have been dead for 800 years seem as though they’ve only been gone since yesterday. As Chadwick says in a note at the end of the novel, William Marshal’s accomplishments were outstanding by the standards of any age, and I can definitely see why; he and Isabelle and their children fairly leap off the page. Chadwick’s writing style is engaging, and even though I knew how the story would turn out, I kept turning the pages rapidly, eager to know what would happen. I’m not sure why Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels aren’t more widely read, a shame considering how good her books are.

Challenges: The 2nds Challenge, The A to Z Challenge

Also reviewed by: Reading Adventures, A Work in Progress, Devourer of Books

The Sunday Salon

Well, today’s the first Sunday in 2009, and I must say that the year has started out auspiciously. I’ve been in Arizona for the past week, in the warm weather, and I head back east tonight (wah!).

Over this week, I’ve made inroads into my ARC pile; I finished Drood and Bleeding Heart Square. Now I’m on to a non-ARC, The Scarlet Lion, and it’s been a quick read so far. Very, very enjoyable, too, as I’m finding Elizabeth Chadwick’s novels to be. I’ll probably finish it tonight on the plane, and then I think I'll be on to an ARC of Silent on the Moor. My reading habits are sort of organic; I choose what to read next based on what I feel like.

My book buying has actually increased—I know I’ll have a few packages waiting at home for me from Amazon. Over this week, I bought Needle in the Blood, by Sarah Bower, The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato, A Place Beyond Courage, by Elizabeth Chadwick, and The Founding, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. Before the new year, I figured that most of the books I read in 2008 were written by women, and I guess I'm un-selfconsciously continuing that pattern in 2009. More book buying will occur at a later date, as I still have a couple of gift cards to Barnes and Noble in my wallet.

Two days ago I also celebrated my blogoversary here at A Girl Walks Into A Bookstore… I started this blog to better keep track of my reading, and over the past twelve months I’ve met a lot of really great people through blogging. So thank you to everyone who’s ever commented or even visited my blog! I’ve read some fantastic things this year and I’ve also read a few “wallbangers.” I also discovered the double edged sword of accepting ARCs for review. Here’s to another great year of reading and writing about books!

Friday Finds

Here are a few books that have caught (or re-caught) my attention recently:

Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, by Laurie Viera Rigler. Sequel to True Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict; coming out next May. In the first book, a 21st century woman named Courtney Stone went back in time to live the life of a 19th century woman named Jane Mansfield; in the second, Jane goes forward in time to inhabit the life of Courtney. I don’t generally read much Jane Austen fanfiction, but I enjoyed True Confessions, so I’m looking forward to this one.

The Book of Love, by Sarah Bower. By the author of Needle in the Blood; it’s already out in the UK, but not in the States until April. Set in the 15th century; about the court of the Borgias.

Blood Royal, by Vanora Bennett. This is a book that’s coming out in the UK next year; but no US release date yet. About Catherine de Valois; Christine de Pizan makes an appearance.

Stone’s Fall, by Iain Pears. Another historical novel, coming out in May; takes place in 1909 England, Paris in 1890, and 1860s Venice. At 880 pages (according to the publisher’s website), it’s another doorstopper. I enjoyed Instance of the Fingerpost, so I’m thinking this one could be good as well. And Venice—what’s not to love?

If you're in the US, save the date of June 16: The Angels Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, the author of Shadow of the Wind (apparently the second-best-selling novel written in the Spanish language, after Don Quixote), will be coming out. It's apparently a prequel to Shadow. I heard about this last, um, April, when it was announced in Publisher’s Lunch that the rights had been sold here, but then I promptly forgot about it. Did you know that Zafon wrote four YA novels as well?

The TBR Pile

The following is a list of the books on my TBR pile, in my possession at the moment. Of course, the list of “books to read someday” is much longer, and can be found here.

The Love Knot, by Vanessa Alexander
The Uncommon Reader, by Alan Bennett
The Book of Fires, by Jane Borodale
Evelina, by Frances Burney
Shadows and Strongholds, by Elizabeth Chadwick
The Marsh King’s Daughter, by EC
The Love Knot, by EC
Lords of the White Castle, by EC
The Falcons of Montabard, by EC
The Lady Tree, by Christie Dickason
Henry of the High Rock, by Juliet Dymoke
The Botticelli Secret, by Marina Fiorato
The Young Pretenders, by Edith Henrietta Fowler
The Water Horse, by Julia Gregson
The Queen’s Governess, by Karen Harper
The Victory, by Cynthia-Harrod-Eagles
The Regency, by CH-E
The Campaigners, by CH-E
The Reckoning, by CH-E
The Question, by CH-E
A Hollow Crown, by Helen Hollick
The Carlyles at Home, by Thea Holmes
Lord of the Far Island, by Victoria Holt
Bride of Pendorric, by Victoria Holt
A London Child of the 1870s, by Molly Hughes
The Penguin Complete Ghost Stories of MR James
Small Wars, by Sadie Jones
O, Juliet, by Robin Maxwell
Vainglory, by Geraldine McCaughrean
Tulip Fever, by Deborah Moggach
Miss Marjoribanks, by Margaret Oliphant
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, by Daniel Pool
The King Must Die, by Mary Renault
The Far Cry, by Emma Smith
Wildfire at Midnight, by Mary Stewart
My Brother Michael, by MS
The Moonspinners, by MS
Saplings, by Noel Streatfeild
Lark Rise to Candleford, by Flora Thompson
No Angel, by Penny Vincenzi
Within the Fetterlock, by Brian Wainwright
Vile Bodies, by Evelyn Waugh
They Were Sisters, by Dorothy Whipple
Someone at a Distance, by Dorothy Whipple

Booking Through Thursday

So … any Reading Resolutions? Say, specific books you plan to read? A plan to read more ____? Anything at all?

Name me at least ONE thing you’re looking forward to reading this year!

I don’t have any specific resolutions, though I’d like to get my TBR list down to a more manageable size. There are a number of books I’m looking forward to reading this year; the publishing industry may be on the fritz, but a lot of great books are coming out. For the present, I’d like to finish an ARC of Bleeding Heart Square that I’ve been reading for the past four days (it’s not difficult, it’s just that I’ve been working lately and haven’t had time); and I also have ARCs of The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, The Miracles of Prato, Darling Jim, and Silent on the Moor to get to as well (and there may be more, considering I’ve been at my parents house since December 12, so who knows what’s waiting at home). As for non-ARCs, I’ve got The Scarlet Lion, Needle in the Blood, and The Slaves of Solitude on my nightstand. And check back tomorrow to find out what I'm really, really looking forward to reading in the new year! So, provided I can find the time, 2009 will, like 2008, be a good reading year.

2009 Reads

January:
1. Bleeding Heart Square, by Andrew Taylor
2. The Scarlet Lion, by Elizabeth Chadwick
3. Silent on the Moor, by Deanna Raybourn
4. The Observations, by Jane Harris
5. The Black Pearl, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
6. Harriet and Isabella, by Patricia O’Brien
7. The Miracles of Prato, by Laurie Albanese and Laura Morowitz
8. The Needle in the Blood, by Sarah Bower
9. The Founding, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
10. The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato
11. Darling Jim, by Christian Moerk
12. The Lady Chapel, by Candace Robb

February:
1. A Dangerous Affair, by Caro Peacock
2. The Birthday Present, by Barbara Vine
3. The Dark Rose, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
4. Lady’s Maid, by Margaret Forster
5. The Heretic Queen, by Michelle Moran
6. A Place Beyond Courage, by Elizabeth Chadwick

March:
1. Figures in Silk, by Vanora Bennett
2. The Italian Boy, by Sarah Wise
3. Sophia’s Secret, by Susanna Kearsley
4. The Princeling, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
5. The Book of Love, by Sarah Bower
6. The Last Days of the Romanovs, by Helen Rappaport
7. The Ivy Tree, by Mary Stewart
8. The Traitor’s Wife, by Susan Higginbotham
9. The Priory, by Dorothy Whipple

April:
1. Stone’s Fall, by Iain Pears
2. The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy
3. Frenchman’s Creek, by Daphne Du Maurier
4. The Owl Killers, by Karen Maitland
5. The Crimes of Paris, by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
6. The Oak Apple, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
7. The Last Queen, by CW Gortner
8. Pretty in Plaid, by Jen Lancaster
9. The Journal of Dora Damage, by Belinda Starling
10. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, by Katherine Howe
11. The Long Shadow, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

May:
1. The Devlin Diary, by Christi Phillips
2. Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, by Laurie Viera Rigler
3. The Angel’s Game, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
4. The Principessa, by Christie Dickason
5. Madonna of the Almonds, by Marina Fiorato
6. Thornyhold, by Mary Stewart
7. Mariana, by Susanna Kearsley
8. And Only to Deceive, by Tasha Alexander
9. A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick
10. Dust and Shadow, by Lyndsay Faye
11. The Winter Mantle, by Elizabeth Chadwick
12. Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death, by Laurie Notaro
13. Emily’s Ghost, by Denise Giardina
14. The Chevalier, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

June:
1. Season of Storms, by Susanna Kearsley
2. Daughters of the Grail, by Elizabeth Chadwick
3. Wait for What Will Come, by Barbara Michaels
4. Death at the Priory, by James Ruddick
5. The Rossetti Letter, by Christi Phillips
6. Sacred Hearts, by Sarah Dunant
7. The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy, by Maya Slater
8. The Devil’s Company, by David Liss
9. The Warrior’s Princess, by Barbara Erskine
10. Past Imperfect, by Julian Fellowes
11. The Time of Singing, by Elizabeth Chadwick
12. The Counterfeit Guest, by Rose Melikan
13. The Canterbury Papers, by Judith Koll Healey

July:
1. The Maiden, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
2. Twilight of a Queen, by Susan Carroll
3. The Jewel Box, by Anna Davis
4. The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte, by Syrie James
5. The Shadowy Horses, by Susanna Kearsley
6. The Nun’s Tale, by Candace Robb
7. The Devil’s Queen, by Jeanne Kalogridis
8. Death Comes as Epiphany, by Sharan Newman
9. Falls the Shadow, by Sharon Kay Penman
10. Twenties Girl, by Sophie Kinsella
11. The Last Duel, by Eric Jager
12. Tears of Pearl, by Tasha Alexander
13. Shields of Pride, by Elizabeth Chadwick

August:
1. In a Dark Wood Wandering, by Hella Haasse
2. The Slaves of Solitude, by Patrick Hamilton
3. The Flood-Tide, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
4. The Gabriel Hounds, by Mary Stewart
5. No Dark Place, by Joan Wolf
6. The White Queen, by Philippa Gregory
7. The Aviary Gate, by Katie Hickman
8. The Coral Thief, by Rebecca Stott
9. Grace Hammer, by Sara Stockbridge
10. A Plague on Both Your Houses, by Susanna Gregory
11. Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart
12. Murder of a Medici Princess, by Caroline Murphy
13. Her Fearful Symmetry, by Audrey Niffenegger
14. Named of the Dragon, by Susanna Kearsley

September:
1. Cleopatra’s Daughter, by Michelle Moran
2. The Conquest, by Elizabeth Chadwick
3. Confinement, by Katharine McMahon
4. The Street Philosopher, by Matthew Plampin
5. Mariana, by Monica Dickens
6. The King’s Mistress, by Emma Campion
7. The Children’s Book, by AS Byatt
8. The Lady Queen, by Nancy Goldstone
9. The Tiger in the Smoke, by Margery Allingham
10. The Old Man and Me, by Elaine Dundy
11. The Making of a Marchioness, by Frances Hodgson Burnett
12. Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel

October:
1. The Tangled Thread, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
2. The Nebuly Coat, by John Meade Falkner
3. Consolation, by James Wilson
4. The Garden of Persephone, by Cesar Rotondi
5. Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle, by Manda Scott
6. The Fraud, by Barbara Ewing
7. Miss Buncle’s Book, by DE Stevenson
8. The Overnight Socialite, by Bridie Clark
9. The Lacuna, by Barbara Kingsolver

November:
1. New York: The Novel, by Edward Rutherfurd
2. The Russian Concubine, by Kate Furnivall
3. The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England, by Ian Mortimer
4. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, by Helen Simonson
5. The Lady in the Tower, by Alison Weir
6. Mary Reilly, by Valerie Martin
7. Last Night in Twisted River, by John Irving
8. The Scapegoat, by Daphne Du Maurier
9. The Champion, by Elizabeth Chadwick
10. Silk, by Alessandro Baricco
11. Kristin Lavransdatter I: The Wreath, by Sigrid Undset
12. Fire From Heaven, by Mary Renault
13. Remarkable Creatures, by Tracy Chevalier
14. The Victorian Chaise-Lounge, by Marghanita Laski

December
1. The Emperor, by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
2. The White Horse King, by Benjamin Merkle
3. The Swan Thieves, by Elizabeth Kostova
4. The Plantagenets: A Pride of Kings, by Juliet Dymoke
5. Bride of Pendorric, by Victoria Holt
6. Tulip Fever, by Deborah Moggach
7. Small Wars, by Sadie Jones
8. Saplings, by Noel Streatfeild
9. Little Bird of Heaven, by Joyce Carol Oates
10. Prima Donna, by Megan Chance
11. Nanny Returns, by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
12. Alice I Have Been, by Melanie Benjamin
13. The Book of Fires, by Jane Borodale
14. Wildfire at Midnight, by Mary Stewart