I am at least three reviews behind so today I am going to rectify one, then tomorrow another and finally the third. I am told by others not to offer excuses for my inability to get my blog posts out, but I do have excuses: most notably being on vacation, sick and taking care of elderly parents. SO those are my excuses and I am sorry for any delays in communication of my thoughts.
THE KITCHEN HOUSE by Kathleen Grissom, published Feb 2, 2010. As I said before I have had the great pleasure in meeting the author at a writers conference about three years ago. She is a dynamic speaker and she developed characters that you could love but hate at the same time. Her main characters who tell the story are Lavinia and Belle. Lavinia is an Irish immigrate who was onboard a ship bound for America with her mother, father and brother, when the mother and father died in transit. The Captain of the vessel decides to make Lavinia, who is about 5 years old an indentured servant and places her in the care of Belle in the kitchen house. He sells her brother to someone, which we do not find out about until later in the book. We meet Lavinia as she is on a carriage ride to the plantation, when they arrive, she is not talking, sick and instead of bringing her in the house she is foisted off to the man-servant to be taken to the kitchen house, where we meet Belle.
Belle who was brought up by the Captain's mother is actually Belles grandmother. The Captain had relations with his black slave and in all accounts was stricken with her death. Belle is sent to the kitchen house after the grandmother dies and the Captain marries his first wife. They have two children. Now here is the hate part, the Captain never tells his wife about who Belle is, so the Mistress of the house is convinced that Belle is the Captains concubine. He also is gone from the house except for Christmas, leaving his sickly wife to hate fully Belle.
The mistress also has convinced her son that this woman is bad news. In addition, The Mistress is always drugged because she cannot cope with the day to day life on this plantation and the absent husband who has left the running of the plantation to a man named Rankin. The Captain has also hired a tutor for his son, who is a pedaphil, but he will not listen to the house servants when they mention that there is a problem.
We travel through this family and Lavinia's life from the day she is brought to the plantation to the day she becomes in charge. We meet some wonderful characters, like momma. We wonder if Lavinia will ever understand the difference in how she is treated as opposed to the slaves. She is pretty dense about these things and because of this causes much turmoil and problems for herself and her black family. I just wanted to wallop her, the Captain, the Mistress, Belle and the everyone but the older black slaves who were trying to instruct her and keep the peace on the plantation.
One thing that was interesting is while I was reading the book, there was a newspaper article about a kitchen house and slave quarters that were being moved so that the land could be developed. The reason it was in the paper was due to the fact that there were graves beloning to the slaves somewhere on the property. Unfortunately, they could not find the graves, but at least they moved the kithcen house to a new local. I wonder if this house had as much life in it as our stories house did.
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
What's next
I am saving my review for the KITCHEN HOUSE, until I get into conversation with my book club about their thoughts. I had met the author at a writers conference and thought she was an excellent speaker and now of course an excellent writer. But this blog is about what I will be reading next. I have on my table, but have not picked up yet a book called NATIVE SON by Richard Wright. It is one of the 100. In addition, our book club selection is ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE, by Anthony Doer. I have heard it is an excellent book, I hope my dad bought it for me for Christmas, and I can start it in Feb. Then of course I have my favorite, series books, which are great to read on a snowy cold day. By Feb. end I should have at least three reviews, maybe more.
If you are snowed in, I recommend a hot beverage and a good book and towards the evening glass of wine and a good book. Of course, I will always recommend a good book.
If you are snowed in, I recommend a hot beverage and a good book and towards the evening glass of wine and a good book. Of course, I will always recommend a good book.
Friday, January 22, 2016
Gulliver's Travel's Review
Well, sorry I have not written but I have been traveling with Gulliver to some very interesting lands. I have been to lands run by Lilliputians, giants from Brobdingnag, cloud-dwellers from Laputa, magicians from Glubbdubdrib and horses from Houyhnhnms. I also have to say, I would not like to be Gulliver's wife or family because they must have had some weird reports about where Gulliver got lost at in his travels. It seems that every time he traveled he was either in a shipwreck, captured by pirates, and left behind by his crew. I would also not want to be on the ship with Gulliver.
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift published in the Everyman's Library 1991. First published in the Everyman's Library in 1940. It was first published by Jonathan Swift in 1726 after he visits England. Swift was born in Dublin in 1667 and studies at Trinity College in Dublin. This is according to the chronology in the Everyman's Library pages xl to xliv. Also in this chronology we find that GULLIVER'S TRAVELS was written about ten years after the Jacobite rising was put down, the limiting of Irish independence and the death of several queens and kings. Which is probably why there is many political statements made in this book.
Throughout the book, he is asked by the dignitaries to tell them about the place he hales from and how he came to be on their island. Gulliver manages to ingratiate himself with all the leaders, except for the Laputa who have their heads in the clouds. Which if you read this section is an indictment of people who are so smart that they think you are stupid, even if some of the things they are doing are very questionable. The best political description of Gulliver comes near the end when he is trying to tell his master Houyhnhnm (horse) about the lawyers, judges, law-breakers, prostitutes and many other people in Europe. In Houyhnhnm people are called Yahoos and are crude, gross and smelly beings who cannot talk and who the Houyhnhmn would love to eradicate if they could and were not so peace loving.
I love this book, but it did take me a bit to pull it all together. Made me think of our current politacl situations.
GULLIVER'S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift published in the Everyman's Library 1991. First published in the Everyman's Library in 1940. It was first published by Jonathan Swift in 1726 after he visits England. Swift was born in Dublin in 1667 and studies at Trinity College in Dublin. This is according to the chronology in the Everyman's Library pages xl to xliv. Also in this chronology we find that GULLIVER'S TRAVELS was written about ten years after the Jacobite rising was put down, the limiting of Irish independence and the death of several queens and kings. Which is probably why there is many political statements made in this book.
Throughout the book, he is asked by the dignitaries to tell them about the place he hales from and how he came to be on their island. Gulliver manages to ingratiate himself with all the leaders, except for the Laputa who have their heads in the clouds. Which if you read this section is an indictment of people who are so smart that they think you are stupid, even if some of the things they are doing are very questionable. The best political description of Gulliver comes near the end when he is trying to tell his master Houyhnhnm (horse) about the lawyers, judges, law-breakers, prostitutes and many other people in Europe. In Houyhnhnm people are called Yahoos and are crude, gross and smelly beings who cannot talk and who the Houyhnhmn would love to eradicate if they could and were not so peace loving.
I love this book, but it did take me a bit to pull it all together. Made me think of our current politacl situations.
Sunday, December 27, 2015
Two books- NEW YEAR
I have found the next two books in my 100 book challenge: THE NATIVE SON by Richard Wright and GULLIVER'S TRAVELS by Jonathan Swift. I have seen GULLIVER'S TRAVELS and I know the book and how it ends but I have not fully read the book. I remember when I first picked up DRACULA by Bram Stoker that I was surprised at how the the book was actually written using letters and journal entries, so I am curious as to the style of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS. I will be starting these two books soon, but will probably not finish them until the new year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY BOOK READING
HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY BOOK READING
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Don't do it. 3 reviews
While you are in the midst of a challenge do not make or accept other challenge requests. It took me forever to finish THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt because I was trying to read and still trying to read as many books as I can before the end of December. I started this extra challenge and have now finished three books including THE SECRET HISTORY. Now I am going to read some simpler books, well not that simple, the challenge still says over 150 pages. So her are the books I have completed in this December challenge so far:
1. THE JANUS STONE by Elly Griffiths, this about an archaeologist named Ruth Galloway. It is a series book set in the UK. This is the second book in the series and Ruth was introduced to us after Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson finds a body in a salt marsh, near Ruth's house. She is a professor and is summoned to help with the case, when another little girl disappears and a long closed case is worked upon. In the tension that occurs in this book, Ruth and Harry have relations, leaving unbeknownst to the Chief Inspector, Ruth pregnant.
In this book, however, Ruth is called to an interesting site by a man named Max who is also an archaeologist. They have discovered a body under a door jamb of an old house that is being demolished to make room for condo's. This is where we learn about the ancient Roman god Janus, who was the god of comings and goings. Apparently, in ritual fashion the Roman Empire, it was fashionable to behead children and lay them under the front door. We have a mystery in that the body is not that old and someone connected to the house had to have put her there over 50 years ago. What I like about the book is the information about the god's which happened to coincide with the SECRET HISTORY which was based on Greek mythology and writings. Both are about murders as well and what drives people to do psychotic things. I really like Elly Griffiths characters and would recommend this as a good read. I have already started her next book in the series as part of my challenge. It is called THE HOUSE AT SEAS END.
2. 1225 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE by Debbie Macomber. What can I say when it is close to Christmas I always read a Christmas book. I try to get in the mood. This is a book I am sure was made for television on the Hallmark channel, as Ms. Macomber has several that air around Christmas on that channel. I found it a little sugary but then it is Christmas in romance is in the air then so be it.
Fun little read.
3. THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt, First published in 1992, my copy was from 2002 and published through Borzoi Books a division of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. This book starts right of at the scene of a murder Bunny, a boy who attends Hampden College in Vermont, by his best friends. The books narrator is a young man trying to escape his family situation by moving as far away from them as possible and attending the college. His name is Richard Papen. He wants to be a Greek Scholar but the class is already full with five people, Charles and Camille, who are twins, Henry, the leader, Francis, and Bunny, the freeloader. The teacher of this course is Julius who is someone who thinks highly of himself and has many a high end friends. He also has an alternate personality that defines him as someone who would like to keep to himself. He is not the central character, but he plays some crucial roles, one being letting a sixth person in the class breaking his five person rule.
The first half of the book is the set up to the death and the search for the body of Bunny Corcoran. The second part is about the five people dealing with their culpability. I think this reads very much like a Greek Play: murder, incest, manipulation, god's and goddesses, homosexual encounters drugs, and alcohol. None of these things are described in detail, most are insinuated, but they all play a role in this book. Probably the most seen are the drugs and alcohol, that causes most of the problems, especially the death of an innocent bystander, which becomes the cause of the fallout with Bunny.
The book is 524 pages long and except for a couple of slow periods in the book, it was a great read. As I said before you start out with a snippet of Bunny's demise, then you follow Richard and his observations, every once in awhile, we get more information about the death, until the actual time he dies. I liked the Greek comparisons, the way the story read and the way the story was not packaged up at the end with a neat little bow. It made the story real.
1. THE JANUS STONE by Elly Griffiths, this about an archaeologist named Ruth Galloway. It is a series book set in the UK. This is the second book in the series and Ruth was introduced to us after Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson finds a body in a salt marsh, near Ruth's house. She is a professor and is summoned to help with the case, when another little girl disappears and a long closed case is worked upon. In the tension that occurs in this book, Ruth and Harry have relations, leaving unbeknownst to the Chief Inspector, Ruth pregnant.
In this book, however, Ruth is called to an interesting site by a man named Max who is also an archaeologist. They have discovered a body under a door jamb of an old house that is being demolished to make room for condo's. This is where we learn about the ancient Roman god Janus, who was the god of comings and goings. Apparently, in ritual fashion the Roman Empire, it was fashionable to behead children and lay them under the front door. We have a mystery in that the body is not that old and someone connected to the house had to have put her there over 50 years ago. What I like about the book is the information about the god's which happened to coincide with the SECRET HISTORY which was based on Greek mythology and writings. Both are about murders as well and what drives people to do psychotic things. I really like Elly Griffiths characters and would recommend this as a good read. I have already started her next book in the series as part of my challenge. It is called THE HOUSE AT SEAS END.
2. 1225 CHRISTMAS TREE LANE by Debbie Macomber. What can I say when it is close to Christmas I always read a Christmas book. I try to get in the mood. This is a book I am sure was made for television on the Hallmark channel, as Ms. Macomber has several that air around Christmas on that channel. I found it a little sugary but then it is Christmas in romance is in the air then so be it.
Fun little read.
3. THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt, First published in 1992, my copy was from 2002 and published through Borzoi Books a division of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. This book starts right of at the scene of a murder Bunny, a boy who attends Hampden College in Vermont, by his best friends. The books narrator is a young man trying to escape his family situation by moving as far away from them as possible and attending the college. His name is Richard Papen. He wants to be a Greek Scholar but the class is already full with five people, Charles and Camille, who are twins, Henry, the leader, Francis, and Bunny, the freeloader. The teacher of this course is Julius who is someone who thinks highly of himself and has many a high end friends. He also has an alternate personality that defines him as someone who would like to keep to himself. He is not the central character, but he plays some crucial roles, one being letting a sixth person in the class breaking his five person rule.
The first half of the book is the set up to the death and the search for the body of Bunny Corcoran. The second part is about the five people dealing with their culpability. I think this reads very much like a Greek Play: murder, incest, manipulation, god's and goddesses, homosexual encounters drugs, and alcohol. None of these things are described in detail, most are insinuated, but they all play a role in this book. Probably the most seen are the drugs and alcohol, that causes most of the problems, especially the death of an innocent bystander, which becomes the cause of the fallout with Bunny.
The book is 524 pages long and except for a couple of slow periods in the book, it was a great read. As I said before you start out with a snippet of Bunny's demise, then you follow Richard and his observations, every once in awhile, we get more information about the death, until the actual time he dies. I liked the Greek comparisons, the way the story read and the way the story was not packaged up at the end with a neat little bow. It made the story real.
Monday, November 30, 2015
Extra challenge
I have challenged my family to a quasi-duel of book reading. The rules are simple: How many books can you read in 1 month, starting in December (tomorrow). It has to be a book with chapters, it cannot be a comic or anime. Sorry Anime (Manga) lovers, if I am going to read big tomes, I cannot allow think paperbacks, also no short stories. They have to be full-fledged novels. I will accept manuals or nonfiction, only if they can prove they read the whole book. I figured this will help me get me reading some of the other 100, with a few fast reads. My husband has picked up a Clive Cussler to start with, my son a Star Wars book, I am not sure what my daughter is going to read. My book of course is the SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tart and I already have my second book called THE JANUS STONE, by Griffith. We are going to have to write a critique or synopsis of our favorite book. So lets do it.
Friday, November 27, 2015
3 reviews for the price of one
I have read three books in succession, unfortunately not the any on the 100 list, but still worthy of mention.
The first book is called THE LAST ANNIVERSARY by Liane Moriarty, first published in Australia in 2005, first paperback published in 2006 by Harper. This is a mystery about a baby who is called Enigma by the people who found her teenage sisters Connie and Rose. The mystery is that the parents Alice and Jack Munroe disappear off the island leaving behind a marble cake fresh from the oven, an overturned chair, a tea kettle steaming and a small infant, just days old. There are drops of blood on the floor and everyone assumes the worst. This happens during the depression era, so no one knows for sure what happened. The sisters get to keep the baby and then we are fast forwarded to the present time. We have Connie dead and passing the torch. She leaves all these notes for everyone before she dies, including a girl named Sophie who is not related to the family, but at one time dated a member of the family. Aunt Connie does the unthinkable and gives this stranger her house and a note on how to treat the other members of the family. It is a fun book, but has several hard topics thrown in: Postpartum depression being the strongest, career woman dealing with being alone and wanting children, discovering your sexual orientation, aging, and traits that set you apart from others. All these topics were in the book and Ms. Moriarty handled them with with ease. I really liked the characters and the surprise endings were perfect. I liked this book so much I am heading to the library to read more of her books.
Book 2: THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny, copyright 2012 by Three Pines Creations, Inc. The book is a continuation of the Chief Inspector Gamache Novels, but is not set in Three Pines as the other books have been in the past. The setting in this book takes place in a monastery in the back woods of Canada only reached by a boat and belonging to the Gilbertine Monks.What is the specialty of this order: music, more specifically Gregorian chants or the voice of God. We start off with a mystery of the past, who has the oldest book of chants and how did the monk write the neumes or early movement of the hands to tell how the music should be sung. Again we are fast forwarded to present times, and a dead monk, who is the prior and the choirmaster of the order being murdered. Inspector Gamache and detective Beaufort are called to the scene, where they set about solving a mystery where there is a vow of silence and no one has been let in for hundreds of years unless they were joining the order. This of course narrows down the suspects to those in the monastery. But there are other problems that abound to lend confusion to the concentration on Gamache, those being Sylvan Francoeur who is the head of the Police and wants Gamache gone, who will stop at nothing to get rid of him, including trying to get Beaufort to switch allegiance. Then there is Beaufort who is in a secret relation with Gamache's daughter and has had an addiction to Oxycontin in the past, he is being seduced away from Gamache with drugs and doubt. So here we are in the middle of nowhere trying to solve a mystery that is rife with discontent, suspicions and heart break. I have to say I did not like the hanging ending, but that means and extra book and a better way to solve all the problems outside of the one solved in the monastery. A hard look at addiction, especially with Oxycontin. The adage Once an Addict, Always an Addict has some merit. A good series, start with the first book.
Book 3: FIRST FROST by Sarah Addison Allen, copyright 2014, published by St. Martin's Press.
I have read all of ms. Allen's books and loved everyone of them. This book takes us back to two sisters Claire and Sydney, abandoned by their mother and left to live with their Grandmother Mary. That is all discussed in the first book about the Waverley sisters, but there are still mysteries to be solved about their grandmother and mother in this book. It is a magical book, not only in the writing but in the characters, their abilities, the Waverley house and of course the apple tree. In this book the main focus is Bay and her relationship with her Aunt Claire and her mom Sydney, her secret crush and her gift. Again this book is not only about relationships, but hard life decisions, doing things you do not want to do, blackmail and secrets. But the beautiful part is the individuals and their unique gifts, gifts that you can not run away from. It made me think of all the gifts that we ignore because we do not think that is what people want us to do. It makes me think that we need to embrace those gifts and make sure we shine. Great book. I loved the magic, especially the apple tree.
The first book is called THE LAST ANNIVERSARY by Liane Moriarty, first published in Australia in 2005, first paperback published in 2006 by Harper. This is a mystery about a baby who is called Enigma by the people who found her teenage sisters Connie and Rose. The mystery is that the parents Alice and Jack Munroe disappear off the island leaving behind a marble cake fresh from the oven, an overturned chair, a tea kettle steaming and a small infant, just days old. There are drops of blood on the floor and everyone assumes the worst. This happens during the depression era, so no one knows for sure what happened. The sisters get to keep the baby and then we are fast forwarded to the present time. We have Connie dead and passing the torch. She leaves all these notes for everyone before she dies, including a girl named Sophie who is not related to the family, but at one time dated a member of the family. Aunt Connie does the unthinkable and gives this stranger her house and a note on how to treat the other members of the family. It is a fun book, but has several hard topics thrown in: Postpartum depression being the strongest, career woman dealing with being alone and wanting children, discovering your sexual orientation, aging, and traits that set you apart from others. All these topics were in the book and Ms. Moriarty handled them with with ease. I really liked the characters and the surprise endings were perfect. I liked this book so much I am heading to the library to read more of her books.
Book 2: THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny, copyright 2012 by Three Pines Creations, Inc. The book is a continuation of the Chief Inspector Gamache Novels, but is not set in Three Pines as the other books have been in the past. The setting in this book takes place in a monastery in the back woods of Canada only reached by a boat and belonging to the Gilbertine Monks.What is the specialty of this order: music, more specifically Gregorian chants or the voice of God. We start off with a mystery of the past, who has the oldest book of chants and how did the monk write the neumes or early movement of the hands to tell how the music should be sung. Again we are fast forwarded to present times, and a dead monk, who is the prior and the choirmaster of the order being murdered. Inspector Gamache and detective Beaufort are called to the scene, where they set about solving a mystery where there is a vow of silence and no one has been let in for hundreds of years unless they were joining the order. This of course narrows down the suspects to those in the monastery. But there are other problems that abound to lend confusion to the concentration on Gamache, those being Sylvan Francoeur who is the head of the Police and wants Gamache gone, who will stop at nothing to get rid of him, including trying to get Beaufort to switch allegiance. Then there is Beaufort who is in a secret relation with Gamache's daughter and has had an addiction to Oxycontin in the past, he is being seduced away from Gamache with drugs and doubt. So here we are in the middle of nowhere trying to solve a mystery that is rife with discontent, suspicions and heart break. I have to say I did not like the hanging ending, but that means and extra book and a better way to solve all the problems outside of the one solved in the monastery. A hard look at addiction, especially with Oxycontin. The adage Once an Addict, Always an Addict has some merit. A good series, start with the first book.
Book 3: FIRST FROST by Sarah Addison Allen, copyright 2014, published by St. Martin's Press.
I have read all of ms. Allen's books and loved everyone of them. This book takes us back to two sisters Claire and Sydney, abandoned by their mother and left to live with their Grandmother Mary. That is all discussed in the first book about the Waverley sisters, but there are still mysteries to be solved about their grandmother and mother in this book. It is a magical book, not only in the writing but in the characters, their abilities, the Waverley house and of course the apple tree. In this book the main focus is Bay and her relationship with her Aunt Claire and her mom Sydney, her secret crush and her gift. Again this book is not only about relationships, but hard life decisions, doing things you do not want to do, blackmail and secrets. But the beautiful part is the individuals and their unique gifts, gifts that you can not run away from. It made me think of all the gifts that we ignore because we do not think that is what people want us to do. It makes me think that we need to embrace those gifts and make sure we shine. Great book. I loved the magic, especially the apple tree.
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