BOOK REVIEW: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

I thought I might delve into the world of young adult (YA) fiction after seeing some of the things my 12 year old granddaughter has been reading. Oh my ... but that is a separate post entirely. I was searching out some books I could send that would hold her interest and be age appropriate without insulting her more adult reading level. I found what I was looking for in a series of books by Shannon Hale that deserve to be taken seriously by adults as well as the younger set.

My reading began with The Goose Girl which is a retelling of a Grimms' fairy tale by the same title. Hale's version is still very much a fairy tale, but is wonderfully fleshed out in characters, place and politics. The original Grimms' fairy tales were short on character development and detail, instead placing the focus on conveying a lesson to be learned.

This modern telling of The Goose Girl takes place in an unknown land and time that closely resembles medieval Germany ... or at least what one would imagine as medieval Germany ... and is wonderfully resplendent in castles, medieval towns and forests. Hale's use of this place and time nicely parallels that of the original German fairy tale while adding detail to capture the imagination. I'm particularly fond of a description of the town of Bayern, looking from afar, just like a birthday cake ... the tiers of the town rise up and up until reaching the castle at the top with orange banners flying round the sides just like flaming candles.

The story begins with the birth of the Crown Princess of Kildenree who is born with the gift of "animal speak." Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isillee, or Ani for short, is more comfortable in the natural elements and with animals than she is with court society and people. This is a distinct disappointment to her mother, the Queen, who must raise Ani to be the next ruler of Kildenree. Unbeknownst to Ani, the Queen arranges a marriage that will wed the crown princess into another kingdom thereby allowing the Queen to appoint Ani's brother as the next ruler of Kildenree.

A brokenhearted, yet obedient, Anidori sets off shortly after her sixteenth birthday to marry the Crown Prince of Bayern. She is sent on this months long journey with a retinue of palace guards and Selia, her lady-in-waiting. Like any good fairy tale, Ms. Hale's story involves both good and evil characters. It becomes clear shortly after the journey begins that Selia is a jealous and evil lady-in-waiting who has put in place a plan to betray her mistress and present herself to the Crown Prince of Bayern as Princess Anidori, his intended bride and future queen of that kingdom.

Ani, who has never seemed a particularly strong person, shows an amazing strength and resilience after this betrayal by her most trusted friend. She takes refuge as a goose girl, tending the King's geese, as she awaits an opportunity to rightfully reclaim her place and denounce the murderous Selia as a faux princess.

Ms. Hale skillfully incorporates other fairy tale characteristics into her own story including magical elements (the ability to converse with animals and control natural forces), misleading appearances (I don't want to give this one away!), conquest of good over evil (did I just give away the ending?) and transformations. The transformation of Ani from a shy young girl into a confident young woman ready to become ruler of a kingdom is one of the primary triumphs of this telling of the story and distinguishes this modern version from the Grimms' tale. The tale itself is delightfully transformed into a satisfying coming of age story.

I encourage those who hesitate to read this book because of its YA status to pick this one up and enjoy the telling of a good and gratifying tale. It really is a book for young and "old" alike.

Also reviewed at:
The Written Word
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Everyday Reading

BOOK REVIEW: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Several people have asked me what I think of The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. I wasn't able to answer that question at the time since I was too busy "feeling" the story. This is definitely a book that can generate a lot of emotion.

The Glass Castle is an account of Walls's childhood growing up with her three siblings under the "care" of two very eccentric and self-involved parents. At the best of times Ms. Walls's parents are simply free-spirited and neglectful. Unfortunately, these parents are not just benignly eccentric; they place their children in dangerous situations, use them for their own selfish ends, withhold food and steal money from them.

The Glass Castle opens with three-year old Jeannette standing on a stool in front of a stove boiling herself a hot dog while her mother sings and paints pictures in the next room. A three-year old. Unsupervised. Cooking. Hmmm ... this can't lead anywhere good. The next thing you know this tiny tot is screaming as her dress goes up in flames. Jeannette spends six weeks in the hospital getting skin grafts to her torso. The nurses question her about her family and home life, but to little Jeannette nothing seems amiss or unusual about her family or her life. This is not an unusual response since most children accept their families the way they are and don't know that life would or should be any different than what they experience.

Jeannette's parents, Rose Mary and Rex, are first presented to us through the eyes of a young child. Young Jeannette sees her parents as heroic and bigger than life. Dad looms large as an inventor who is constantly reaching for the big pay-off so he can provide for his family. Mom is an artist constantly looking on the positive side and claiming that every negative twist and turn of their lives is an adventure. Through the eyes of a child these parents are simply different and the child trusts them. Doing the "skedaddle" (a euphemism for running from the law or from bill collectors) and sleeping under the stars in cardboard boxes is an adventure. Scavenging for food and water is a sign of self-sufficiency. The adult reader is given enough cues to know that all is not right with this family, yet along with young Jeannette we hope for them and admire their ability to stick together.

Our view of the world changes as we age and, likewise, Jeannette begins to see her parents through more realistic eyes as the story progresses. These adults who could once generate complete trust by asking their children, "Don't I always take care of you?" are beginning to be seen as the faulty humans they are. The days of hunger and homelessness and the promises that never materialize are beginning to wear on these children; yet they still hope. In typical childlike sincerity, the Walls children attempt to help their parents change. Jeannette is extremely hopeful that if she just tries hard enough, things will improve. She recognizes the effect her father's drinking has on the entire family, so she asks her father for his sobriety as her tenth birthday present. She creates a budget and offers to handle the family money. She tries to improve the looks of the family shack by painting it yellow. This is one tough and hopeful child.

One of the ironies of The Glass Castle is the truth of the pithy sayings tossed off by Jeannette's parents over the years. These sayings may have been offered as wisdom, but at their core they were a way for these neglectful parents to assuage their own guilt. Jeannette's father says to her, "If you don't want to sink, learn how to swim." Her mother says, in a variety of ways, that suffering creates strength and beauty: "It's the Joshua tree's struggle that gives it its beauty." All true, but not an excuse for neglect. However, Jeannette and her siblings do learn to "swim" and their struggles do bring a beauty and strength to their lives.

Jeannette's father has, for many years, promised to build a home for his family -- a glass castle. He does indeed draw up blueprints and modifies them on occasion. Jeannette believes her father's promise to build this enchanting structure and it is a source of hope over the years. Her trust and hope leads Jeannette to recruit her brother to begin digging the foundation in order to help get this wonderful project going. Despite this assistance from the children, the glass castle remains just a plan and a hope as the foundation hole sits ignored. It is a turning point in Jeannette's understanding when this hole, that should have been the foundation for the glass castle, is slowly filled with the family's garbage. Can anyone say metaphor? As the trash piles up, Jeannette can no longer pretend that her parents are other than who they are and there is the harsh realization that if she wants a different life she will need to create that life through her own initiative.

The Glass Castle is a wonderfully representative title as it describes both a father's beautiful dreams for and promises to his children as well as an indication of how fragile and impractical those dreams and promises can be. The author shows an amazing lack of bitterness toward her parents and I admire the strength she displayed in creating the life she wanted to live. Ms. Walls has indeed created beauty from her struggle. An overall good, and moving, read.

Also reviewed at:
Everyday Reading (Janssen)
Dog Ear Diary (Jeane)

So ... When do I get to go back?

Thunkity thunk bang bang CLANK! OK. This is not what you want to hear when your plane is taxi-ing to the runway for takeoff. My flight for San Francisco on Wednesday morning was already running about 1/2 hour late because something-or-other was going on with the fuel people over at the other end of the airfield. I don't even want to know what it was; it might scare me off of future air travel. My 6:45am flight finally got fueled and around 7:15 we headed toward the runway. This is when all the odd noises began. Soooo ... the pilot pulled off the runway and a little cart full of fix-it guys showed up and began looking things over. An announcement was then made to advise us that we would be delayed a bit longer since we needed to go back to the gate so the luggage compartment door could be fixed. I looked out the window to see if there was a trail of luggage scattered about the airfield and, if so, see if I could identify my carry-on with the bright yellow ribbon tied around the handle. This was a small (44 seat) regional jet and even most carry-ons don't fit in the overhead bins, so I opted to make my life easier and use the valet baggage check-in service. This is a very nice service that lets you take your baggage with you to the plane and hand it off to the valet who then immediately stows it in the baggage compartment. Well, I couldn't see any baggage laying about so was hopeful that our bags were still in the belly of the plane and would be travelling with us. Back at the gate I could hear the fix-it guys hammering away on the outside of the plane. While I waited I phoned one of my colleagues to advise him that I might be a teensy bit late for our meeting. Long story short ... the plane took off at about 7:45 and I arrived in San Francisco at 9am, grabbed a cab and made it to the meeting with about 1/2 hour to spare. My trip to San Francisco was looking up.

I was able to grab a cup of Peet's coffee to take with me to the meeting (I'd been up since about 4am) and this made me a very happy woman. The meeting (which was a working meeting) that should have taken all day was over by 1pm and some delicious looking sandwiches and salad were delivered for our lunch enjoyment. These were no ordinary sandwiches (remember, I was in San Francisco). These were smoked turkey with fig spread and swiss cheese on wonderful crusty french loaves. Mmmmm. Oh yeah, and they were paid for by the big boss. Smile.

Well, I found myself free at 1:30 with nothing to do for the rest of the day. So I headed over to my hotel and checked in. My hotel was near Union Square. For those who have never been to San Francisco, the area around Union Square is shopping and eating heaven. I had a nice 4 block walk to this shopping mecca and, well, started shopping! I wandered in and out of stores like Tiffaney's, Neiman Marcus, Ghirardelli and a host of others I was unfamiliar with; then browsed a few art galleries, stopped for a latte at a sidewalk cafe, and people watched. Before going back to my hotel to get ready for dinner I had to visit the seven story Macy's. Macy's has a presence in So-Cal, but it is nothing compared to the Macy's stores in New York City and San Francisco. I ended up in purse nirvana and decided that I absolutely MUST take home a beautiful ivory pebbled leather purse with tan saddle leather trim and strap (and no, it is not a Dooney & Bourke). I was astonished that the price tag on this purse didn't indicate that it would damage my personal funds too much. Ahhh ... what could be better than a free lunch, an unexpected day of shopping in San Francisco and a gorgeous new purse? How about dinner in San Francisco!

I met up with my colleagues at our hotel for dinner a few blocks away at E&O Trading Company. The best way to describe the food is to call it Asian Fusion or Southeast Asian cuisine. It is a blend of Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, and East Indian. I think I'm in love with the chef. We started with a tableful of appetizers including: sweet potato naan, lettuce cups with curried chicken, and corn fritters. The various main dishes ordered were: gingered pork tenderloin, tandoori chicken, mushroom noodle soup, pad thai, and grilled salmon with an eggplant paste. They were all delicious, but I thought the pad thai and the grilled salmon were beyond excellent. Most pad thai dishes are tasty but lack any delineation of flavors. The pad thai at E&O was clearly full of the flavors of lime, peanuts, and mint blended expertly. As I mentioned, the grilled salmon was served with an eggplant paste. Now, I don't like eggplant but whatever the chef did to turn that vegetable into a heavenly paste that enhanced the grilled salmon should win him or her an award. Several awards. How about angel wings. OK, you get the picture ... the food was beyond fabulous. Again, what could be better than all of this bacchanalia? The big boss pulled out his credit card and paid for the whole thing. At this point I didn't think my happiness meter could go any higher.

Well, this wonderful and unexpected day of San Francisco shopping and food carried me through my all day meeting the following day and my race to the airport to catch a plane home that evening. So what can top such a blend of business and pleasure? What can make that happiness meter go off the chart? Arriving at my home airport and seeing my husband walking toward me with a smile on his face.