The Sunday Salon: Snow Country

I pulled quite a few books from my TBR stacks that have a winter theme or setting and saved them to read during the "bleak midwinter" as it were. Well, I live in a place that doesn't get snow and often feels more like summer during those winter months. Hardly bleak. I was hoping this would be one of our "cold" winters, but it has been consistently warm and sometimes quite hot. My seasonal expectations and reality just aren't in sync this year, so I've been living vicariously through my winter themed books.

Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata is set in the mountains on the west coast of the main island of Japan. This setting is important to the story. The Introduction to my copy of Snow Country describes the setting:

"In the winter, cold winds blow down from Siberia, pick up moisture over the Japan Sea, and drop it as snow when they strike the mountains of Japan. The west coast of the main island of Japan is probably for its latitude the snowiest region of the world. From December to April or May only the railroads are open, and the snow in the mountains is sometimes as much as fifteen feet deep."

The setting and descriptive passages are often stunningly beautiful. It was this that kept me reading. The setting is cold and remote. The characters follow this pattern and this makes them unreachable and, ultimately, unlikeable. A cold and remote setting has a harsh beauty, but these same characteristics in people are unflattering. Nevertheless, it was this parallel between setting and characters that helped me overlook my dislike and focus on the writing to see the beauty of the whole.

The story takes place at a hot-springs in the snow country. Shimamura is a wealthy idle man who travels to the hot springs without his wife. Komako is one of the hot-springs geisha, a near outcast. There is a sense of wasted and decaying beauty in Snow Country and this comes across in the repeated thoughts of Shimamura about wastedness and in Komako's own impulsive and self destructive behavior. An "indefinable air of loneliness" surrounds Komako, and Shimamura's life seems empty. Shimamura is fascinated with the reflected images of others in mirrors and windows and is drawn to illusion over reality.

Again though, I'm pulled away from the characters themselves by the powerful images that the author creates. Images like that of the rounded snow covered mountain tops turned red by the rising or setting sun. This parallels Komako's white powdered neck curving to her rounded shoulders of red skin that flow and disappear into the wide neck of her kimono. Images of red and white recur throughout the novel and one could write an entire post on these images and metaphor.

I'm guessing there is much I missed for lack of cultural and literary understanding. The recurring themes  and images mean something. Metaphor is abundant. The entire novel is reminiscent of haiku that "seek[s] to convey a sudden awareness of beauty by a mating of opposite or incongruous terms … [a fusion of] motion and stillness" and a mingling of the senses. (Quote about haiku from the 1956 Introduction to the book.)

A deep vein of darkness and loneliness runs through Snow Country and this may not be to everyone's liking. Those who have an interest in Japanese literature, those who crave poetic writing, and those who love imagery or strongly visualize when they read will want to read this short novel by one of the masters of Japanese literature.

Related links:

The Sunday Salon is a weekly virtual get together where readers share thoughts about their reading. We write about books and reading on our own blogs and then visit and chat with other saloners through the comments feature.

Japanese Literature Challenge 7 hosted by Dolce Bellezza

The Inexplicables by Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest just gets better and better and has written a fast paced and moving fifth book in The Clockwork Century series, an alternate history of Civil War era late 19th century America. Priest has more developed characters and the story has greater depth than previous novels in the series. In The Inexplicables we clearly see that most people are neither fully good nor fully bad but are, instead, a mixed bag. We also see that some are driven by substances that override the normal internal checks and balances that keep us morally functional, but we've all got choices to make no matter how difficult or painful. As one character says,"The world's an uncertain place," full of what ifs and mights and our job is to keep working forward through those uncertainties ... to celebrate and build upon the good that comes through. And, yes, there are zombies.

The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey

I've gone off on a bit of a fairy tale jaunt during the past few days. I pulled out The Tale of the Firebird  and posted a glimpse of my gorgeously illustrated copy of that Russian folktale by Gennady Spirin the other day. Apparently I hadn't satiated my desire for a bit of the faerie, so I picked up The Fairy Godmother by Mercedes Lackey. What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be!

The Fairy Godmother is the first in the Five Hundred Kingdoms series. This book appears, at first glance, to be a re-telling of the Cinderella fairy tale but after reading just a few short pages I realized that this is no traditional re-telling. In fact, Lackey breaks with tradition and, well, writes about breaking with tradition.

Bits and bobs of many different fairy tales appear throughout The Fairy Godmother, but Lackey weaves a new tale and those who like to buck tradition will enjoy it. Traditionalists should also enjoy this book for the many familiar elements included. Princesses in need of rescue. Champions on quest. Dragons, fairies, elves, and evil sorcerers. And, of course, fairy godmothers. Just don't expect these characters to toe the line.

Ah. There is also a happy ending, and, as one of the characters says:

"To happy endings, however they come about!"

*******************

"Fantasy for me has always gone far beyond the magic rings and castles of the classical fairy tale, although heaven knows I love the classical fairy tales! To write or enjoy fantasy requires an open mind and heart, and the ability to believe that things are not always what they seem."
-- Mercedes Lackey

The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

The destructive force of gambling. Human passions and the difficulty of controlling them. This is the primary focus of The Gambler, a short novel with big themes by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Winners, losers, and users. Alexei, the main character, observes that " ... people not only at roulette, but everywhere, do nothing but try to gain or squeeze something out of one another." This astute yet cynical observation sums up the characters in The Gambler. The tutor, the naif, the imperious general, the wealthy matriarch ... all are driven by obsessive love/hate passions with gambling, with money, with each other and it spells ruination for them all. In the midst of these self-destructive characters are the users, the parasites, who also gamble ... gamble on the rise and fall of the fortunes of others.

Did I like The Gambler? I wouldn't use the word "like" since it was much too noir for my tastes. The Gambler looks at the dark side of human nature and is very psychological. It is also very honest, peeling back the masques of the characters ... characters who are representative of the darker side of us all with our suppressed obsessions and passions that, if let loose, would likely drive us to destruction. Yes, this makes for an uncomfortable read.

Dostoyevsky's ability to pull the reader into the tension filled mental state of a character is also quite uncomfortable, yet brilliant. These moments of extreme tension set your nerve endings vibrating and looking for release. Dostoyevsky does this in The Idiot as he describes the increasingly manic internal state of Myshkin preceding an epileptic seizure. You can feel it. Likewise, the mania in The Gambler as Alexei tries to guess the next turn of the wheel at the roulette table is palpable. Dostoyevsky's own bouts with epilepsy and addiction to gambling undoubtedly contribute to his ability to capture these states so vividly.

Some things never change. I saw something in The Gambler that took me by surprise. A reference to lawyers using mental illness as defense:

"Lawyers have taken to arguing in criminal cases that their clients were not responsible at the moment of their crime, and that it was a form of disease. 'He killed him,' they say, 'and has not memory of it.' And only imagine, General, the medical authorities support them - and actually maintain that there are illnesses, temporary aberrations in which a man scarcely remembers anything..."

Would I recommend The Gambler? Yes, with some caveats. Everyone should be able to relate to the larger theme, the struggle with our darker natures and passions and the destructive force of those passions. The 19th century struggle of Russian identity and the culture clash with other nationalities, especially the French, might be harder to grasp or understand. Dostoyevsky also pays little attention to details of settings and personal descriptions of his characters, which might leave some readers without a "place to hang their hat." There are no lovely snow swept vistas or lilac infused gardens in which to revel here. Dostoyevsky chooses to focus on the thoughts and emotions of his characters. The characters are effusive and a bundle of contradictions always undergoing some kind of internal torment. The emotions and situations will seem sensationalistic, but it is important to remember that Dostoyevsky likes to examine the depths of human experience in his writing. He has done just that in The Gambler.

A Winter Dream by Richard Paul Evans

I just finished reading A Winter Dream by Richard Paul Evans. I picked this book up just before Christmas and thought I'd read it Christmas week. Well, that didn't happen. I debated with myself whether or not to go ahead and read it this week or to hold it until next Christmas. It isn't a Christmas book per se, but it does have a lovely Christmas tree on the cover and I just couldn't get past that bit of Christmasy-ness. I finally decided that it wasn't too late to read it even if it did turn out to have a Christmas orientation. I'm glad I went ahead and read it!

I've never read anything by Evans but A Winter Dream really hit the spot for me as a thoughtful bit of January reading. The story is a modern re-telling of the Biblical story of Joseph. For those not familiar with Bible stories, it is the story of Joseph and the coat of many colors found in the book of Genesis. Joseph, in both renditions, is a dreamer ... a dreamer both literally and figuratively. The modern day Joseph is an ad man working with his eleven brothers for their father's very successful ad firm in Denver, Colorado. Like the story in Genesis, Joseph is wronged by his brothers and finds himself in a "foreign land." Instead of ending up in Egypt, this Joseph ends up in Chicago working his way up the ranks of a very prosperous transnational ad firm. Yes, there is even a "Potiphar's wife" in this re-telling. I don't want to say too much else about the storyline, but it does indeed follow the outline of the Biblical story. I often dislike Bible story re-tellings or analogies, but Evans handled this incredibly well, following a faithful storyline without being twee.

I particularly like the sense of endings and new beginnings that comes out in A Winter Dream. This made my choice to read it in early January a happy accident. Lessons learned, triumph through adversity, and forgiveness play very large in this story for the ages. It will make you think about your own life and the choices you make every day about how you will respond to circumstances. Each chapter of the book includes an entry from Joseph's diary that not only introduces the chapter but presents the reader with something to consider. For instance:

"I have wondered why it is that our greatest triumphs spring from our greatest extremity and adversity. Perhaps it is because we are so resistant to change, we only move when our seat becomes too hot to occupy."

As someone who does not like change, this spoke to me. I hope to remember it when I am forced from complacency by the hot seat.

I will leave you with the letter written to a young Joseph, before his trials, by his father:

  "... always remember that --
Adversity is not a detour. It is part of the path.
  You will encounter obstacles. You will make mistakes. Be grateful for both. Your obstacles and mistakes will be your greatest teachers. And the only way to not make mistakes in this life is to do nothing, which is the biggest mistake of all.
  Your challenges, if you'll let them, will become your greatest allies. Mountains can crush or raise you, depending on which side of the mountain you choose to stand on. All history bears out that the great, those who have changed the world, have all suffered great challenges. And, more times than not, it's precisely those challenges that, in God's time, lead to triumph.
  Abhor victimhood. Denounce entitlement. Neither are gifts, rather cages to damn the soul. Everyone who has walked this earth is a victim of injustice. Everyone.
  Most of all, do not be too quick to denounce your sufferings. The difficult road you are called to walk may, in fact, be your only path to success."

It is true too that such advice can not be fully appreciated from the front end of life, but is more often a comforting reflection as we look back.

The Shakespeare Thefts by Eric Rasmussen

The first edition of Shakespeare's dramatic works, also known as the First Folio, published in 1623 is one of the most famous and valuable books in the world. It is also attractive to thieves. A census of the First Folios in 1902 identified 152 extant copies. Nearly a century later, Eric Rasmussen and a research team went on the hunt for First Folios in order to catalog known copies in detail and to search for those that have vanished. This team of folio hunters identified 232 known copies. As Rasmussen writes in the preface to his book:

"The Shakespeare Thefts explores what my team of First Folio hunters and I learned while cataloging, in situ, each of the known copies and searching for those that have vanished. Like a Shakespearean play, we uncovered a fascinating world ... one populated with thieves, masterminds, fools, and eccentrics, all of whom have risked fortunes and reputations to possess a coveted First Folio."

The Shakespeare Thefts reminded me of a book I read years ago about the antique map trade. That trade is populated with personalities ranging from eccentric to criminal, and high levels of intrigue are involved. The antique book trade appears to be quite similar. This makes for some good storytelling, and good storytelling is what you get with The Shakespeare Thefts.

Some of the challenges faced by the research team are quite interesting. Scrutinizing antique books seems like a low risk enterprise, but what about the First Folio that is stored with Madame Curie's notebooks? The researcher that spent countless hours cataloging and describing that folio in detail was required to do so in the same room with the (radioactive?) Curie notebooks. An interesting anecdote at the very least!

A recent story involves Raymond Rickett Scott who brought what appeared to be a First Folio into the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. to have it authenticated on June 16, 2008. Because of research and cataloging done over the years, the First Folio brought in by Scott was identified as a copy missing from Durham University. Scott was not proven to have stolen the folio, but he was prosecuted and sentenced for the handling of stolen goods and removing stolen goods from Britain. The documentary Stealing Shakespeare recounts this episode for those interested.

Other stories and mysteries surrounding First Folios remain unsolved, but hopefully the research and documentation done by those like Rasmussen will be used to identify missing copies in the future and make it more difficult for those committing thievery or fraud. As Rasmussen points out: " ... having so many details recorded about an individual volume should give anyone pause when it comes to filching a First Folio."

The book is brief and entertaining (I read the 182 pages in one sitting) which will be disappointing for those wishing for an in-depth look at this topic, but it does include a photo section, notes, and an index. For those looking for an entertaining bit of real life mystery and intrigue, The Shakespeare Thefts will not disappoint -- it is a real life literary detective story that spans centuries of history.

Sixpence House by Paul Collins

Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books is a wonderful ramble that follows the author's move from San Francisco to the small Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye. Hay-on-Wye is a town of 1,500 inhabitants and 40 bookshops, mostly of the antiquarian variety. The population of this small town has its share of odd characters and Collins spends much of Sixpence House describing these eccentrics and their eccentric book collections.

Sixpence House is rambling, rather like a second hand bookshop where one subject area blends into another and the books often spill from the shelves and flow onto the floor. You never know what you will find and are sometimes surprised by a true treasure. Collins gives an account of his excursions about Hay-on-Wye and the surrounding countryside, inserting snippets and quotes from often obscure books to highlight his storytelling.

As a book lover, I fully anticipated Sixpence House to be about ... well ... books. Instead, like a browse through a second hand bookshop there was the thrill of discovery and I found myself delighted to learn all manner of British curiosities such as:

• etiquette in the House of Lords for hurling insults at the opposition
• lack of grave space in Britain
• the conversion of chapels and churches into B&Bs or shops or ...
• no recognition of right to privacy
• the preponderance of one lane country roads and sad little pubs

Sixpence House was a delightful book by a witty author that gave me a peek into a culture that, though similar, definitely differs from my own.

Lipstick Jungle: Does it help women?

I just finished reading Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell this weekend. I picked this book up on sale one day long ago because I was curious about the author of Sex and the City (SATC). I never watched SATC nor did I read that particular book, but I am aware of the basic premise. These types of books are not my usual fare and I'm not even sure what I mean by "these types of books" -- Chick Lit? Fem Lit? Hmmm ...

Anyway, Lipstick Jungle is the story of three 40-something women climbing the corporate ladder in New York City. One is a magazine executive, another a movie exec, and the third is a fashion designer. Interwoven throughout the corporate/professional climb is the age old significant other relationship storyline. In one sense, these women are not your average Jane Doe -- they have way more money and corporate/professional power than the average woman; but even as I was internally pooh pooh-ing these storylines and characters, a part of me could relate. I could relate to the gender disparities that still exist in the corporate/professional world and the way in which women are expected to be 100% available to do business and 100% available for family duties ... all at the same time.

Through her characters, Bushnell points out the way in which women who climb the corporate ladder are viewed differently and often held to a different standard by society, their colleagues and family than are men pursuing the same goals. I can still remember the first time I was called a b*tch by a male colleague because I stated that something under my purview would be done legally and according to corporate policy. I was in no way nasty about it, but apparently I was a b*tch for refusing to back down. This is only a small and rather minor personal example of the types of situations that Bushnell presents in Lipstick Jungle.

Bushnell also points out some things that are not intuitive behaviors for many women when they participate in business/professional ventures. Let's just call it the, "It's not personal, it's business" way of doing business. (Side note for those that don't know what that means. It is a quote from the movie The Godfather. Most men know about this type of interaction. Many women either do not or prefer not.)

I don't want to belabor the plot and I can only stretch the gender disparity as official treatise in this book so far, but I guess I would say that the book is interesting for bringing out this issue and does point out the need for a "thick skin" when doing business. But why not read a non-fiction book, essays or articles on these topics? For myself, I would prefer to go the non-fiction route and give these topics more direct thought rather than dredge them out of a fictional story that many women would consider "beach" reading. I fear that for many readers the book would simply be read as a women-rule-men-suck anthem. Of course, that is my own preference and opinion.

What are your thoughts? Do books like this help the cause of gender parity or do they hinder? Would most women read this book the way I did?

Note: I'm not sure what kind of comments this will generate (if any), but please be respectful if someone has a differing opinion.

The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin

Setting and basic plot

The Winter Queen is set in 1870s Moscow, St. Petersburg, and London and features Boris Akunin's sleuth, Erast Fandorin. Fandorin is a young paper pusher for a criminal investigative unit. He is quite bored with clerking and jumps at the chance to investigate the suicide of a wealthy student. Fandorin's superior believes this to be an open and shut case -- though a bit curious -- and sends his young clerk off to investigate. In the course of his investigation, Fandorin stumbles into a vast and international revolutionary conspiracy.

Language and writing

The language and writing are sometimes quite glorious. For instance, here is the opening line:

"On Monday the thirteenth of May in the year 1876, between the hours of two and three in the afternoon on a day that combined the freshness of spring with the warmth of summer, numerous individuals in Moscow's Alexander Gardens unexpectedly found themselves eyewitnesses to the perpetration of an outrage that flagrantly transgressed the bounds of common decency."

Random thoughts

As I read The Winter Queen, I kept thinking, "Wow. This is so Russian. This author writes like a Russian. Wow." Then I would remind myself that Boris Akunin IS Russian with a wonderful translator. I believe what kept throwing me was how reminiscent of 19th century Russian authors Akunin seemed. More specifically, Akunin reminded me of Gogol and Chekhov -- a bit romantic and moody, a bit surreal, with a touch of the grotesque. This particular combination has the overall effect of discreet humor. There was also a Sherlockian sense about the novel with a focus on Fandorin's deductive reasoning. Fandorin must peel back multiple layers and each layer changes the "landscape" so that he must reorient and deduce again. Oh, and Fandorin has a nemesis.

Characterization

Fandorin is naive and likeable in this opener to the series, but expect him to develop over the life of the series.

The "bad guys" are easy enough to spot, but interesting. How many authors write in a pedagogical puppeteer and "revolution through education"? I don't want to say too much and spoil it for future readers, but there are definitely some interesting characters.

The ending and a look to the future

The ending is bittersweet, but allows one to anticipate the next in the series. I look forward to reading more of Akunin's Erast Fandorin books to see how he develops this character and to experience some more of that "Oh yeah, this IS a Russian novel" surprise. *smile*

I read this for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge hosted by Literary Feline.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

Title: A Morbid Taste for Bones (Book One of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
Author: Ellis Peters
Year: 1977

Synopsis: "In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey had decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rustic villagers of Gwytherin passionately divided by the Benedictine's offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise, and all too worldly, he isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself held the bow. Brother Cadfael knows a carnal hand did the killing. But he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice... where the wages of sin may be scandal or Cadfael's own ruin." (from the back cover)

I tend to read mysteries during the winter season. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but there is something about the early darkness and the cold that makes me want to curl up under my reading lamp with a cup of hot tea and become immersed in the puzzling, unknown, and strange. Perhaps it is the idea of something enigmatic, covert, or cryptic that seems to set so well with me when it is dark and cold. The season just seems to match the atmosphere.

With all that said, A Morbid Taste for Bones is pretty low key as far as mysteries go. There is no gore, nor is the tension terribly high, and what excitement there is comes mainly at the end. I was a bit surprised that the physical historical setting is not a great focus. Instead, Peters chooses to focus on the main character, Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk, and the politics and power plays of the Medieval church.

Peters wrote the Brother Cadfael series later in her life. Perhaps this gave her a greater ability to empathize with her older character, because she captured him well. Cadfael has joined the cloister as a "retirement job." He has already lived a very worldly life. This makes him a perceptive, patient, and watchful personality. He understands the ambitions and motivations of others, and this makes him good at solving crime.

Cadfael also has a wry sense of humor. In one scene, he is listening to a younger Brother rant about the ambitions of their Prior and his plans to dig up the bones of a saint and bring them back to the Abbey as relics. While we get the impression that Cadfael does indeed find this activity a bit repulsive, he can not be overtly subversive:

"I don't see why they should want to dig up the poor lady's dust. It seems like charnel-house business to me, not church business. And you think exactly the same," he said firmly, and stared out his elder, eye to eye.

"When I want to hear my echo," said Brother Cadfael, "I will speak first."

I like Brother Cadfael not only for his wry humor, but also for his quiet subversiveness. As I mentioned above, Cadfael is not young and inexperienced. He understands the need to work within a quite intermingled societal and religious structure, but he comprehends all too well the harm that comes from power plays by the ruling bodies, both "prince" and "bishop." His subversiveness flows from his compassion and sense of justice.

"It was a long time since he had exercised some of his more questionable skills, he was glad to be confirmed in believing that he had forgotten none of them, and that every one had a meritorious use in the end."

I am very excited to read more of the Brother Cadfael mysteries! If you are looking for a well paced novel with a very likable main character and a Medieval setting, then you might just like this series too.

Also reviewed by: things mean a lot



I read this for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge hosted by Literary Feline.

Touch by Alexi Zentner

I finished this book yesterday evening. It was dusk. I'd been reading by the light coming through my window and as I read the last words, it became too dark to read any longer. It was perfect. I simply sat in silence and awe of this beautifully written debut novel. Emotions swirled within me. I let myself just feel for awhile. Then I hastily scribbled some thoughts to try and capture just a tiny bit of that emotion.

This is a story about family stories. Stories that are passed from one generation to another and, in this way, keep those who have died alive. It is also the story of a place. A north woods (British Columbia) forest and river full of mystery and magic that lurk and overshadow human endeavors and intrusions. Sawgamet is a boom town gone bust. An inadvertent logging town that seems to exist at the beneficence of the forest. It is here in this harsh and beautiful place, with crippling winters and fickle summers, that the living and dead part and meet and part again through three generations of love and loss.

Magic is woven throughout the story so seamlessly that you don't question it. The forest is a character of great age and mystery, beyond modern rationality. Jeannot is a figure of mythic proportions tied to this ancient forest, and between these two characters is woven the net that allows you to suspend disbelief in such things as the golden caribou, the quallupilluit (sea witches), a singing dog, and a miner who repeatedly rises from the dead to take his revenge.

There is also romance of a kind that burns with a heat to rival that of the cold north. Beauty that challenges the harsh rugged setting. It took me by surprise and took my breath away at times.

I mentioned earlier that I sat in the dark with my emotions and thoughts. Part of that came from feeling this story through my own story of love and loss; from thinking of those that I miss dearly and the places that I visit in order to feel their presence more acutely. I'll leave you with the words I hastily scribbled last night:

We have our own harsh yet beautiful forests that we walk through; forests that are sometimes tinged with a touch of the magical. Those places that hold memories and perhaps the lingering presence of those we have loved and lost. This is how they live on ... we remember them and we tell their stories; we pass them to the next generation. We walk again in those places where those stories have their beginnings and middles and ends. We can almost see them, feel their presence as though they have left something of themselves behind ... which, of course, they have ...

Photo credit: Nancy Devine

Thank you to Eva at A Striped Armchair for pointing this book out and writing a wonderful review that made me want to read it!

My "review" is much more an emotional response than it is a review. For a lovely and informative review, please read Kim's words about this book at Reading Matters.

Books Read in 2011

Here is a list of what I read during 2011. I was terrible at writing up my thoughts this year, but I've linked to the books I did review. There are some comments on my favorites and disappointments of the year at the end of the list. Enjoy!

January
1. The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett
2. Moon Called (Mercy Thompson, Book 1) by Patricia Briggs
3. Blood Bound (Mercy Thompson, Book 2) by Patricia Briggs
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

February
5. The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower I) by Stephen King
6. The Cereal Murders (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
7. The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower II) by Stephen King
8. The Last Suppers (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
9. The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

March
10. The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower III) by Stephen King
11. Sequins, Secrets, and Silver Linings by Sophia Bennett
12. The Gospel-Driven Life by Michael Horton
13. Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay

April
14. Queen of the Night by J.A. Jance
15. 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison
16. The Luxe by Anna Godbersen
17. A Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
18. The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
19. Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaughn
20. Falling for Hamlet by Michelle Ray
21. Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson, Book 3) by Patricia Briggs
22. Rumors by Anna Godbersen
23. 13 Curses by Michelle Harrison

May
24. Envy by Anna Godbersen
25. The Concubine's Tattoo by Laura Joh Rowland
26. Bone Crossed (Mercy Thompson, Book 4) by Patricia Briggs
27. Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson, Book 5) by Patricia Briggs
28. Sisterchicks in Gondolas by Robin Gunn
29. Splendor by Anna Godbersen
30. Kitty and the Midnight Hour (Book 1) by Carrie Vaughn
31. Kitty Goes to Washington (Book 2) by Carrie Vaughn

June
32. Kitty Takes a Holiday (Book 3) by Carrie Vaughn
33. Kitty and the Silver Bullet (Book 4) by Carrie Vaughn
34. From Barcelona, With Love by Elizabeth Adler
35. City of Bones (Mortal Instruments, Book 1) by Cassandra Clare
36. City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments, Book 2) by Cassandra Clare
37. City of Glass (Mortal Instruments, Book 3) by Cassandra Clare
38. Beach Music by Pat Conroy

July
39. The City of Ember (Ember, Book 1) by Jeanne DuPrau
40. The People of Sparks (Ember, Book 2) by Jeanne DuPrau
41. Darkfever (Fever Series #1) by Karen Marie Moning
42. The Prophet of Yonwood (Ember, Book 3) by Jeanne DuPrau
43. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
44. The Beach House by Jane Green
45. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
46. The Diamond of Darkhold (Ember, Book 4) by Jeanne DuPrau
47. Blameless by Gail Carriger
48. The Gospel-Driven Life by Michael Horton

August
49. The Dying Earth by Jack Vance
50. Witch by Barbara Michaels
51. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
52. Bloodfever (Fever Series #2) by Karen Marie Moning
53. Faefever (Fever Series #3) by Karen Marie Moning
54. Dreamfever (Fever Series #4) by Karen Marie Moning
55. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
56. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
57. City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments, Book 4) by Cassandra Clare
58. Killer Pancake (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson

September
59. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
60. Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower IV) by Stephen King
61. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

October
62. Evolving in Monkey Town by Rachel Held Evans
63. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
64. The Dark City (Relic Master #1) by Catherine Fisher
65. The Lost Heiress (Relic Master #2) by Catherine Fisher
66. The Hidden Coronet (Relic Master #3) by Catherine Fisher
67. "The Captain of the Pole-Star" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in The Body Snatchers and Other Classic Ghost Stories
68. "Alone Among Others" in The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee
69. The Victorian Chaise Longue by Marghanita Laski
70. Endless Night by Agatha Christie

November
71. Shadowfever (The Fever Series #5) by Karen Marie Moning
72. The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery
73. Snake Dreams (Charlie Moon Mysteries) by James D. Doss
74. The Widow's Revenge (Charlie Moon Mysteries) by James D. Doss
75. A Dead Man's Tale (Charlie Moon Mysteries) by James D. Doss

December
76. hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
77. Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
78. The Tales of Belkin by Alexander Pushkin
79. The Main Corpse (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
80. The Mischief of the Mistletoe by Lauren Willig
81. The Margrave (Relic Masters #4) by Catherine Fisher
82. Touch by Alexi Zentner

Favorite books of 2011:

The House on Durrow Street by Galen Beckett
This book follows The Magicians and Mrs. Quent. It's a delightful and mannered fantasy (Regency fantasy?) with a bit of gothic thrown in. Wonderful images continue to haunt me long after reading this. Mr. Beckett also managed to make my heart ache for one of his characters. A third installment comes out in March 2012 titled The Master at Heathcrest Hall.

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay
I liked this book on so many levels. The writing is gorgeous. The story is epic and moving. GGK pulls from historical folklores and creates a world that is at once recognizable and other. This is a novel about memory and loss of identity. It just about tore me apart emotionally (in a good way) and I came away from it so stunned that I wasn't able to write a review! The swirling emotions after reading this book and my awe at GGK's writing pretty much left me speechless. I did take notes while I read this, so I may still be able to write up my thoughts at some time in the future. This book bears repeated readings and I will be reading it again.

A Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones
The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones
Fantasy by Diana Wynne Jones will always make my favorites list!

Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Extremely well written YA (young adult) novel with a fantastic and balanced blend of fantasy, adventure, and romance.

The Victorian Chaise Longue by Marghanita Laski
Psychological horror at its finest. Contrasts the lives of women in Victorian times to modern (1950s) in a rather startling and effective way. Those interested in Women's Studies will want to read this one.

Touch by Alexi Zentner
I'm actually not quite done with this book, but the majority will be completed by midnight tonight so I've included it. I already know that it is one of my favorites! This is a debut novel that is just beautifully written. It makes a wonderful winter read (lots of snow and coldness and memories). It is a story about family stories, and the way in which the author weaves magical elements - golden caribou, malevolent wood spirits - throughout the "real" is seamless. Also captures the rugged wilderness of northern British Columbia. A gorgeous read and one I will probably read again.

Most disappointed by:

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
City of Bones
City of Ashes
City of Glass
City of Fallen Angels
A YA series that many bloggers loved, but it didn't live up to the hype for me. I found it to be a bit too derivative. Combine this with way more teen angst than I'm looking for, this series just isn't for me. On the other hand, teens will love it for the most part.

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

Once again Bradbury writes a story that is poetry disguised as prose. He beautifully evokes the sights and sounds and smells of childhood. In this case, it is the childhood of an autumn night, Halloween to be exact.

"The wind outside nested in each tree, prowled the sidewalks in invisible treads like unseen cats.

Tom Skelton shivered. Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. From kitchen windows drifted two pumpkin smells: gourds being cut, pies being baked.

The cries behind the locked house doors grew more exasperated as shadows of boys flew by windows. Half-dressed boys, greasepaint on their cheeks; here a hunchback, there a medium-size giant. Attics were still being rummaged, old locks broken, old steamer chests disemboweled for costumes."

This is a tale that one might have heard told around a crackling campfire on an October night. The kind that makes you jump at the sound of a twig snapping and makes you look repeatedly over your shoulder into the darkness that writhes with shadows cast by the firelight.

Eight boys in costume, turned loose on their small town on Halloween night. A haunted house. A giant tree full of Jack-o lanterns that light up and grin out at the night. A mysterious man named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud to tell them the "wild long history of Halloween."

"... the front door gave a shake, a twist of its knob, a grimace of its Marley knocker, and flung itself wide.

The wind made by the suddenly opening door almost knocked the boys off the porch. They seized one another's elbows, yelling.

Then the darkness within the house inhaled. A wind sucked through the gaping door. It pulled at the boys, dragging them across the porch. They had to lean back so as not to be snatched into the deep dark hall. They struggled, shouted, clutched the porch rails. But then the wind ceased.

Darkness moved within darkness.

Inside the house, a long way off, someone was walking toward the door. Whoever it was must have been dressed all in black for they could see nothing but a pale white face drifting on the air.

An evil smile came and hung in the doorway before them.

Behind the smile, the tall man hid in shadow. They could see his eyes now, small pinpoints of green fire, in little charred pits of sockets, looking out at them."

The illustrations by Joseph Mugnaini that appear throughout The Halloween Tree are shiveringly appropriate for the story told by Bradbury. The artist captures that slightly skewed angle that changes the normal into the creepy and the daytime into night. These are images that you might see in your dreams, or, if you look closely ... on All Hallows' Eve.

Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings is hosting the R.I.P. reading challenge again this year. The Halloween Tree would be an excellent read for those readers wishing to imbibe peril! Below are some links for R.I.P.

About the R.I.P. reading challenge
The R.I.P. VI Review Site

Graceling by Kristin Cashore (VLOG included)

Graceling by Kristin Cashore is a young adult fantasy set in a land of seven kingdoms. Some are born with special abilities called Graces. Graces can be anything from cooking, to mind reading. The main character, Katsa, has the Grace of killing with her bare hands. Gracelings are considered to belong to the King of the land and it is his choice whether or not to keep a Graceling in his household or to return him or her home to family. Those sent home are shunned. Katsa is not only a Graceling, but an orphan who is also the niece of the King of the Middluns. Unfortunately, this king uses Katsa as his thug in order to get what he wants. As Katsa gets closer to adulthood, she begins questioning the King's use of her Grace.

Since this story is a coming of age tale, the book revolves around Katsa, Po, and Bitterblue trying to find their places in the world. They are learning that the world is not morally black and white, but instead is made up of shades of gray. People are not pure evil or completely good, but are imperfect and a messy blend of both. Someone might have good intentions, yet cause hurt. Similarly, they may appear benevolent yet have evil motivations. How do you learn how and who to trust in a world with so much gray area?

Identity is a major theme, of course, and Katsa is on a major quest to discover what kind of person she is and who she wants to become. Gracelings are labeled by their Grace at an early age and this becomes a part of their identity. Unfortunately, Katsa is identified as a killer and this leaves her with very few friends. Part of the discovery process for Katsa and Po is to learn how to use their Graces wisely and to stand up to those who would manipulate them to their own advantage.

The coming of age framework of the story brings a depth to Graceling, but there is still plenty of entertainment. Cashore blends mystery, adventure, and romance and even tosses in a bit of swashbuckling. These elements weave through the novel and help pace the story. I never found myself tiring of any of these elements because they were handled so well. They were simply a part of the storytelling.

The mystery element was handled particularly well and was nicely woven into the discovery process. As the characters try to discover and shape their identities, they also discover something about their Graces. ***MILD SPOILER ALERT*** Graces aren't always what they appear to be. For instance, Katsa's Grace appears to be the Grace of killing and this label is based on the evidence of what she can do. But as she grows and reflects on her Grace she discovers that not only do Graces develop and evolve, but they are often something other than what they appear. ***END SPOILER ALERT***

Again, this is a lovely story with a blend of elements that should appeal to a wide crowd of readers. I look forward to more from this author and will be reading Fire, the companion novel to this one.

Those who have enjoyed the Bayern novels by Shannon Hale (Goose Girl, Enna Burning, etc.) will also appreciate Graceling. Hale's books are written to a slightly younger crowd, but there are many similarities and the tone of the books are analogous

I'm including the video version of this review for those who prefer to see and hear. I also tend to provide more personal comments in my video version.

Vlog: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

For those of you who prefer to watch book reviews, I've created this video so you can see me ramble on about this book!



Jackson Pearce on "Symbolism" http://youtu.be/IVOuvdxEZfc

Book trailer http://youtu.be/XWrNyVhSJUU

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
Publisher: Quirk Books
Year: 2011

The main character in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is 16 year old Jacob Portman. Growing up, Jacob loved listening to his grandfather tell fantastical stories about his life in an orphanage on an island in Wales. Tales of an enchanted place with monsters and peculiar children with unusual abilities. Jacob began doubting these stories as he grew older and came to think of them as phantasms representing his grandfather's life as a WW2 orphan in war torn Europe. But a family tragedy sends Jacob on a quest to find out if his grandfather was merely an extraordinary storyteller, or if there is truth and danger in those old stories. This quest leads him to a crumbling old ruin, in the midst of a foggy bog, on a remote island off the coast of Wales. Strange happenings here lead Jacob to ask: Are there really monsters? Are the peculiar children still alive after all these years?

Ransom Riggs weaves his tale around real vintage photographs, some of which are rather haunting (see the photo that gave me the creeps at right!). This device is quite clever and definitely adds to the tension and sense of "otherness" in the story. The book trailer makes the story seem like it might veer toward horror, but I found the book to be more disturbing, eerie and mysterious than horrific; the focus is more about what we, and Jacob, don't know and don't understand than it is about monsters jumping out at us from the dark.

A coming of age theme brings a bit of depth to the story. Leaving childhood and learning to face the monsters in our lives is every bit as disturbing as the story the author tells, but I'm not sure the author meant the story to be a metaphor so much as an excellent example of storytelling.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children appears to be a standalone novel, but the author could certainly continue the story at a later date. I would be satisfied either way. I'm not sure if the book is being marketed as a Young Adult (YA) novel or not. It could certainly be considered YA, but I think it also has a wider appeal and adult readers will find it intriguing and entertaining.

Book trailer:




Book received from the publisher through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Queen of the Night by J.A. Jance

Title: Queen of the Night
Author: J. A. Jance
Publisher: William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
Date: 7/27/2010

Queen of the Night is the fourth in the Walker family series. This series has always struck me as a bit darker and grittier than Jance's other series, but with Queen of the Night she seems to have written a more intricate suspense novel that takes the focus off of the evil deeds of the bad guys and places it on the connections between characters. The resultant beauty in those connections and the blessings that can come out of tragic events and circumstances is a major focus in this book.

The complex character relationships could have been difficult to follow, but Jance's story flowed exceptionally well and made those connections effortless to follow. The relational aspect of the book also had an extraordinary symmetry to it -- rather like the "circle of life" concept. There was a lyricism to this story that I haven't fully experienced in Jance's other works and, I think, makes this one shine above the rest.

For those, like me, who have grown up in the Southwest there is plenty of regional atmosphere. The desert flora is represented by the Night-blooming Cereus which blooms once a year and has symbolic significance to the Tohono O'oodham people. Jance also weaves into her own story some of the legends of the Tohono O'oodham people (Desert People).

This is, hands down, the best Jance novel I have ever read. Get it. Read it. Really.

*****************************************************************************
Thank you to the publisher, William Morrow an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, for providing me with a review copy of Queen of the Night through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

Books Read in 2010

January 2010
1. Girl with Skirt of Stars by Jennifer Kitchell
2. Black by Ted Dekker
3. Sweet Revenge (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
4. Trial by Fire (Ali Reynolds) by J.A. Jance

February 2010
5. Fool Moon (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher
6. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
7. Bitter Truth by William Lashner
8. Raven Black (Shetland Island Quartet) by Ann Cleeves

March 2010
9. Silk by Alessandro Baricco
10. Forest Born (Bayern) by Shannon Hale
11. Potshot (Spenser) by Robert B. Parker
12. The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
13. Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
14. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
15. Hostage by Robert Crais
16. Going Rogue by Sarah Palin

April 2010
17. Fatal Flaw by William Lashner
18. Flickering Pixels by Shane Hipps
19. Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart
20. Paper Towns by John Green
21. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
22. Monster by A. Lee Martinez
23. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
24. The Long Goodbye by Patti Davis
25. Jamaica Inn by Daphne Du Maurier

May 2010
26. The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos
27. Black Coffee by Agatha Christie (play adapted as a novel by Charles Osborne)
28. Audition by Ryu Murakami
29. Mallory's Oracle (Mallory) by Carol O'Connell
30. Sailing to Sarantium (Book One of the Sarantine Mosaic) by Guy Gavriel Kay
31. Crime School (Mallory) by Carol O'Connell

June 2010
32. Like the Flowing River, Stories 1998-2005 by Paul Coelho
33. Lord of Emperors (Book Two of the Sarantine Mosaic) by Guy Gavriel Kay
34. Beautiful Maria of My Soul by Oscar Hijuelos
35. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose by Lauren Willig
36. Soulless by Gail Carriger

July 2010
37. Elfland by Freda Warrington
38. Grandville by Bryan Talbot
39. Changeless by Gail Carriger
40. The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox
41. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton

August 2010
42. Real World by Natsuo Kirino
43. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
44. Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin
45. Catering to Nobody (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
46. Brave Story by Miyuke Miyabe
47. The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg
48. Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones

September 2010
49. The Last Girls by Lee Smith
50. Tales of Mystery & the Macabre by Elizabeth Gaskell
"The Old Nurses Story"
51. Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan) by Kathy Reichs
52. Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones
53. Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange
54. Geisha, A Life by Mineko Iwasaki
55. The Gates by John Connolly
56. The Black Tower by Louis Bayard
57. Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

October 2010
58. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
59. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean
60. The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
61. Grave Peril (Dresden Files) by Jim Butcher

November 2010
62. The Temptation of the Night Jasmine by Lauren Willig
63. Whose Body by Dorothy L. Sayers
64. Dying for Chocolate (Goldy Culinary Mysteries) by Diane Mott Davidson
65. The Betrayal of the Blood Lily by Lauren Willig
66. The Overton Windown by Glenn Beck
67. Angel Time by Anne Rice
68. Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

December 2010
69. The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
70. Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis
71. Merry, Merry Ghost (Bailey Ruth) by Carolyn Hart
72. The Magicians and Mrs. Quent by Galen Beckett

Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin

Fevre Dream has got to be one of the best vampire novels I've ever read. I found myself caring deeply about the main characters ... a human, a vampire, and a steamboat. Yes, you heard me correctly. I cared very much about the steamboat. The story takes place in the mid 1800s primarily on the Mississippi River. The settings, whether on the steamboat navigating the River or on a plantation in the Deep South, were incredibly evocative of a different time and place. I could feel the settings. I was there.

I can't tell you too much about the vampires without giving away George R. R. Martin's particular take on these supernatural beings. I will tell you though that I was intrigued.

The internal conflicts that I've found in the vampires of certain other authors was also present here -- a veritable war within to try and keep a driving and consuming evil at bay. Beauty and the creation of beauty is an important theme in Fevre Dream. The deep longing to create beauty and great shame of the need that drives them to barbaric acts makes some of Martin's vampires quite sympathetic characters.

Martin interweaves commentary on slavery into his story in some rather surprising ways. What is not surprising is the truth of slavery, which the author does not let us avoid. He presents us with a world in which some are enslaved because they are different and therefore, somehow, lesser. He makes us look, with eyes wide open, at the acts of cruelty by those who would use and destroy others; those who would obliterate what someone else has created and would, without compunction, annihilate beauty for no better reason than their self perceived superiority and ability to do so.

Fevre Dream is an incredibly moving story of a desire for unity, dreams of immortality, and the legendary times of the steamboat era. If you are looking for another book to read for the R.I.P. challenge, I highly recommend Fevre Dream.

Below are just a few of my favorite bits ...

I read this description of York several times because I was so stunned by the author's ability to describe his character so poetically:

"Whatever thoughts he had had, whatever plans he had made, were sucked up in the maelstrom of York's eyes. Boy and old man and dandy and foreigner, all those were gone in an instant, and there was only York, the man himself, the power of him, the dream, the intensity.

York's eyes were gray, startlingly dark in such a pale face. His pupils were pinpoints, burning black, and they reached right into Marsh and weighed the soul inside him. The gray around them seemed alive, moving like fog on the river on a dark night, when the banks vanish and the lights vanish and there is nothing in the world but your boat and the river and the fog. In those mists, Abner Marsh saw things; visions swift-glimpsed and then gone. There was a cool intelligence peering out of those mists. But there was a beast as well, dark and frightening, chained and angry, raging at the fog. Laughter and loneliness and cruel passion; York had all of that in his eyes." pp. 2-3

I don't have any particular interest in steamboats from the 1850s, but this description is absolutely beautiful and truly took my breath away:

"Where is our boat, then?"

Come this way," Marsh said, gesturing broadly with his walking stick. He led them half across the boatyard. "There," he said, pointing.

The mists gave way for them, and there she stood, high and proud, dwarfing all the other boats around her. Her cabins and rails gleamed with fresh paint pale as snow, bright even in the gray shroud of fog. Way up on her texas roof, halfway to the stars, her pilot house seemed to glitter; a glass temple, its ornate cupola decorated all around with fancy woodwork as intricate as Irish lace. Her chimneys, twin pillars that stood just forward of the texas deck, rose up a hundred feet, black and straight and haughty. Their feathered tops bloomed like two dark metal flowers. Her hull was slender and seemed to go on forever, with her stern obscured by the fog. Like all the first-class boats, she was was a side-wheeler. Set amidship, the huge curved wheelhouses loomed gigantic hinting at the vast power of the paddle wheels concealed within them. They seemed all the larger for want of the name that would soon be emblazoned across them.

In the night and the fog, amid all those smaller plainer boats, she seemed a vision, a white phantom from some riverman's dream. She took the breath away ..." p. 21

The rot of the South; rot under the beauty:

"By their seventh night in New Orleans, Abner Marsh felt strangely sick of the city, and anxious to be off. That night Joshua York came down to supper with some river charts in his hand. Marsh had seen very little of his partner since the arrival. "How do you fancy New Orleans?" Marsh asked York as the other seated himself.

"The city is lovely," York replied in an oddly troubled voice that made Marsh look up from the roll he was buttering. "I have nothing but admiration for the Vieux Carre. It is utterly unlike the other river towns we've seen, almost European, and some of the houses in the American section are grand as well. Nonetheless, I do not like it here."

Marsh frowned. "Why's that?"

"I have a bad feeling, Abner. This city -- the heat, the bright colors, the smells, the slaves -- it is very alive, this New Orleans, but inside I think it is rotten with sickness. Everything is so rich and beautiful here, the cuisine, the manners, the architecture, but beneath that ..." He shook his head. "You see all those lovely courtyards, each boasting an exquisite well. And then you see the teamsters selling river water from barrels, and you realize that the well water is unfit to drink. You savor the rich sauces and spices of the food, and then you learn that the spices are intended to disguise the fact that the meat is going bad. You wander through the St. Louis and cast your eyes upon all that marble and that delightful dome with the light pouring through it down onto the rotunda, and then you learn it is a famous slave mart where humans are sold like cattle. Even the graveyards are places of beauty here. No simple tombstones or wooden crosses, but great marble mausoleums, each prouder than the last, with statuary atop them and fine poetic sentiments inscribed in stone. But inside every one is a rotting corpse, full of maggots and worms. They must be imprisoned in stone beacause the ground is no good even for burying, and graves fill up with water. And pestilence hangs over this beautiful city like a pall.

"No, Abner," Joshua said with an odd, distant look in his gray eyes, "I love beauty, but sometimes a thing lovely to behold conceals vileness and evil within." pp. 114-115


This is another book not on my challenge list, but will count as one of my reads for the R.I.P. V Challenge.

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville is an urban fantasy written for young adults. This is not to say that there isn't any fun to be had for the older set though! In fact, there are some clever bits that might go right over the heads of the younger crowd; rather like some of the old Looney Toon cartoons ... enjoyed by the kiddies, but the jokes were more fully appreciated by those a bit older.

I've already tried, and failed, to write a synopsis for this wonderfully bizarre book so I thought I'd include the quite well done blurb from the back cover of the book:

"What is Un Lun Dun? It is London through the looking glass, an urban Wonderland of strange delights where words are alive, a jungle lurks behind the door of an ordinary house, carnivorous giraffes stalk the streets, and a dark cloud dreams of burning the world. It is a city awaiting its hero, whose coming was prophesied long ago, set down for all time in the pages of a talking book.

"When twelve-year-old Zanna and her friend Deeba find a secret entrance leading out of London and into this strange city, it seems that the ancient prophecy is coming true at last. But then things begin to go shockingly wrong."
- blurb from book cover

Mieville turns upside down the rather cliche storyline of prophecies and heroic quests. Just about the time I was saying to myself, "Not another book with a several hundred page quest," the author caught me out and turned all of my expectations on their metaphoric heads. And that bit in the above blurb making a wee comparison to Alice in Wonderland? It is true. The story is that strange. In fact, don't the following illustrations by Mieville himself make you think of Wonderland?

One version of a bus in Un Lun Dun.
Meet Mr. Speaker.

Mieville has a grand time playing with words throughout the book and even includes a fantastic little "treatise" on the meaning of words. You will find that in the chapter with Mr. Speaker, of course.

If you like urban fantasy with a fun twist, you should thoroughly enjoy Un Lun Dun!