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.

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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.

Oscar Hijuelos Books ... OR The Pinga Post

I didn't have this book on my "to be read" list, but when I received a copy of Beautiful Maria of My Soul from the publisher through Library Thing I decided that I should probably read The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love first. You see, Beautiful Maria of My Soul is a follow up novel to The Mambo Kings. I'm glad I did this or I wouldn't have gotten the full impact of Beautiful Maria.

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love is the story of the Castillo brothers, musicians who leave Cuba in 1949 to seek fame and fortune in New York City. The story is told by Cesar Castillo in a series of flashbacks as he drowns himself in both memories and booze seeking to relive his glory days. The setting for this walk down nostalgia lane is 1980 in a faded hotel room that keeps the past near for Cesar as he seeks to end the story of his life.

Cesar and Nestor are about as different as brothers can be. Cesar is brash and flashy. Nestor is quiet and pensive. Cesar never learns how to love and spends his life seeking one carnal pleasure after another. Nestor loves too much and dwells to obsession on beautiful Maria, the lost love who jilted him and remains in Cuba. Cesar despises the father who abused him. Nestor ... well, Nestor has an Oedipal complex and happily notes that beautiful Maria has the same name as his mother. His fondest memories are those of being coddled by his mother and embraced by beautiful Maria.

Cesar and Nestor are alike in one thing; their lack of development. Cesar and Nestor never change or mature. Ultimately, their lives have no meaning. Cesar, even while drinking himself to death, is still glorying in his stallion sized pinga. Nestor never quits longing for the past and obsessing on beautiful Maria. This lack of growth did not endear the characters to me, but it does lend itself to the creation of a deep sense of sadness and longing that permeates The Mambo Kings and washed me in waves of nostalgia. The heavy nostalgia might be a deterrent for some readers, but Hijuelos does it exceptionally well.

Another thing that Hijuelos does well is to capture the 1950s Latin music scene and Cuban-American culture of New York City. The novel is rife with details and descriptions as well as cameo mentions and appearances of Cuban-Americans like Desi Arnaz. I found it hard to tell fiction from reality sometimes as Hijuelos wove real people and places into his story.

Overall, I enjoyed The Mambo Kings for the atmosphere that Hijuelos created and for his ability to keep me reading the novel despite my loathing of his characters and the ad nauseum references to Cesar's pinga. Seriously people ... Cesar was totally overshadowed by his pinga. Should be listed as an actual character. Nuff said?

Beautiful Maria of My Soul is an expansion of the story Hijuelos told in The Mambo Kings, but this story is from beautiful Maria's point of view. In The Mambo Kings, Maria is a minor character with a major influence and presence. Maria, or the thought of her, permeates The Mambo Kings, yet we learn little about her. Who is she? Why does she reject Nestor Castillo? What happens to her?

Maria's story begins as she leaves her beloved valle (country valley) to seek her own version of fame and fortune in the big city of Havana. There she finds that it is difficult to make a living when you have no skills and are an analfabeta (illiterate). What beautiful Maria does find, is that she can capitalize on her extreme beauty and her ability to dance. She takes a series of jobs in various Havana nightclubs as a dancer and gains a certain amount of local fame. She also finds that men are willing to "take care of her."

Maria hardens over time and develops a "... general indifference to men and ... few expectations ..." as she trades a modest life and independence for the security of men with money. During a period of disillusionment, Maria meets Nestor Castillo and has an affair with him. It is a very passionate affair. Which ends. Abruptly. At Maria's request. You will have to read the book if you want to know why. Nestor is devastated, writes a haunting bolero to the painful memory of Maria and spends the rest of his life obsessing over the loss. But, this is Maria's story and Beautiful Maria keeps the focus on her.

Beautiful Maria of My Soul, like The Mambo Kings, has a strong sense of nostalgia and longing. Nestor longs for Maria. Maria always longs for what she can not have and late in life shows a suppressed regret when she says, "None of us can go back. All those memories are what? Just little dreams." Huh. Just little dreams. I didn't like Cesar or Nestor and I don't like Maria. Another "stellar" Hijuelos character. I wonder if I would hate all of his characters? But like The Mambo Kings, Hijuelos kept me reading Beautiful Maria. The scenes of Havana are both beautiful and gritty and the reader gets a sense of the changes brought about by Castro's revolution which drove so many Cubans to the United States seeking a new life. Hijuelos has an excellent ability to bring his settings to life and in Beautiful Maria he tells a story that made me want to weep for the passage of time and the "what could have been."

I won't give away the ending (or the clever bit of the novel that took me by surprise), but Beautiful Maria has a delightful and satisfying end. Hijuelos brings the story 'round and ties The Mambo Kings and Beautiful Maria, the past and the present, together into a lovely whole.

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P.S. Since the alternate title of my post is The Pinga Post, I thought y'all might want to know that pingas do not play as prominent of a role in Beautiful Maria (thank goodness) and Hijuelos manages to insert some rather amusing commentary in this newest novel about his notable exposure of pingas in The Mambo Kings.

BOOK REVIEW: Audition by Ryu Murakami

Title: Audition
Author: Ryu Murakami
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Date: June 2010
A LibraryThing Early Reviewer Book

Audition is the novel behind the 1999 cult classic Japanese movie by the same name and has only recently been translated into English. This rather short novel (190 pages) falls into the suspense/horror category.

The main character is Aoyama, a 42 year old widower with a 15 year old son named Shige. Aoyama decides to begin dating after Shige suggests, "Why don't you find yourself a new wife, Pops?" The only problem is that Aoyama is rather rusty and a bit nervous at the prospect of finding the right woman to date. A filmmaker friend suggests that Aoyama help with a casting call for a movie they don't intend to produce, and in this way audition ladies before asking them out for a date. Aoyama quickly narrows the potential wife pool down to just one young lady named Yamasaki Asami. Aoyama is quite smitten with Asami, but it becomes more and more obvious to the reader that Asami is not a benign personality. The lovestruck blindness of Aoyama and the hidden nature of Asami is the vehicle for the tension that builds to the end.

I was a bit disappointed with the level of suspense (I wanted more) and felt like the character development was lopsided. Aoyama was fairly well developed and his background and motivations understandable, but Asami seemed simply a character with a role to fill in a book. The past that made her into a monster is revealed, but I never got the impression of a wounded soul. Asami is simply a monster, end of story. Perhaps this was Murakami's way of making a point that just didn't resonate with me. I was also baffled by what I perceived to be a very flippant ending. The translation was quite readable, but I'm wondering if there were subtleties that were lost by not reading the novel in the original Japanese.

While the story itself left me dissatisfied, I found a fascinating treatise on aspects of the Japanese dining experience. The community and harmony of sushi bar dining that can alternately be seen as exclusive and xenophobic. I wish I could quote this passage for you, but I've been asked not to quote from the Advanced Readers Copy. This passage occurs in Chapter 8.

Recommended: Fans of the movie will probably want to read the novel that inspired the film.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Added note: I would love to read any reviews of this title that others write, so let me know if you have read this book. I'm particularly interested in discussing the ending and Japanese conventions when writing the horror genre (since this might explain why I didn't like the ending!).

BOOK REVIEW: Girl with Skirt of Stars by Jennifer Kitchell

Title: Girl with Skirt of Stars
Author: Jennifer Kitchell
Publisher: Pronghorn Press
Year: 2009
A LibraryThing Early Reviewers Book

Lilli Chischilly is a Navajo lawyer who has found a pair of mutilated coyote carcasses carefully laid out on the hood of her vehicle. This is clearly a message, but the meaning of the message is a mystery. In the meantime, Jerome, Lilli's childhood soul mate, has returned to the Navajo Nation and alludes to a dark and burdensome secret that he wants Lilli to discover. Lilli has this on her mind when her boss asks her to escort presidential candidate Lee, his family and handlers on a river raft trip down the Grand Canyon. Lilli rightly guesses that this is a publicity stunt and has everything to do with the politics of water and land use that is ever present in the Western United States. If all of this isn't enough, a sniper with a grudge over a century old massacre is stalking the presidential candidate and his family with massacre plans of his own.

The plot of Girl with Skirt of Stars is fast paced and kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. I did find the narrative a bit choppy and the characters lacking in depth, though, and this kept me from attaching to and caring very deeply about them. This type of book seems to call for better character development than Kitchell provided. There were also elements of the story that seemed quite important yet were never developed and just got dropped at the end. This is Kitchell's debut novel, so I'm hoping that these shortfalls are something that will improve in future.

As a native of the Southwest, I thought the descriptions of the Four Corners area were beautiful and I was drawn into the setting. The inclusion of quite a few Navajo words (there is a glossary at the end of the book) and how those words "mean" within the Navajo culture was a fantastic look into a little known people group. Language nuance is an important part of Kitchell's story.

Overall, I was pleased with Girl with Skirt of Stars and would recommend it to those interested in a fast paced novel set in the Southwest.

I would like to thank the publisher, Pronghorn Press, for providing me with a review copy of Girl with Skirt of Stars.

BOOK REVIEW: The Silver Swan by Benjamin Black

Title: The Silver Swan
Author: Benjamin Black
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2009
A LibraryThing Early Reviewers book

The Silver Swan is a follow up to Christine Falls and features Garrett Quirke, a pathologist who just can't resist investigating a mystery; in this case, a suicide which turns out to be a murder. Benjamin Black (a pseudonym for John Banville) uses a noir structure in The Silver Swan to probe the human psyche. This probing of the darker areas of human activity and the human soul does not make for a very uplifting read, but that should be expected when dealing with the noir genre. The Silver Swan is full of typical noir elements: cynical characters, bleak settings, and a sense of hopelessness. I'm not a big fan of noir due to these elements and I'm sure this affected my enjoyment of both Christine Falls and The Silver Swan. In spite of my lack of enjoyment, it is clear that Black/Banville is a fantastic writer. I enjoyed his use of metaphor, and the ability to evoke such a strong emotional reaction left me in awe of his skill. I look forward to reading those works of his outside of the noir genre.

I would like to thank the publisher, Picador, for providing me with a review copy of The Silver Swan.

BOOK REVIEW: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Title: The Uncommon Reader
Author: Alan Bennett
Publisher: Picador
Year: 2008
Reason for reading: Library Thing Early Reviewers

The Uncommon Reader is a satire that pokes fun at the British monarchy while celebrating literature. The book opens as the Queen chases her irascible corgis right up to a bookmobile parked outside the kitchen at Windsor. Entering to apologize for the ruckus, the Queen feels obligated to check out a book. Palace life changes as the Queen discovers reading and the variety of life presented between book covers. She loses interest in her day-to-day obligations and is even late to the opening of Parliament as she pursues her new interest. The Queen confuses those around her by no longer following standard conversational protocol and instead broaches more literary and thoughtful discussions. After a year of such "common" behavior, the Prime Minister takes action in order to restore the more comfortable and understandable status quo.

Bennett does a fantastic job making the reader identify with the Queen. Through the commonality of reading, the Queen takes on an unusual warmth and human depth. It is a pleasant scenario, but clearly outside of reality. That said, you will wonder how Bennett plans to bring us all back to reality without spoiling the fun ... and he will surprise with a perfect ending.

Rating: 4 out of 5


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Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

Also reviewed by:
nymeth at things mean a lot

BOOK REVIEW: Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner

Title: Murder on the Eiffel Tower
Author: Claude Izner
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Year: 2008
Reason for reading: Library Thing Early Reviewers

First line: "Wearing a tight new corset that creaked with every step, Eugenie Patinot walked down Avenue des Peupliers."

Murder on the Eiffel Tower is a historical mystery set in Paris 1889 and is the first in a series featuring Parisian bookseller, Victor Legris. The Eiffel Tower has just opened during the World Exposition, and Legris finds himself in the midst of a series of mysterious deaths apparently caused by bee stings. The four victims do not appear to be connected and the deaths seem random, but Legris is intrigued by the oddness of the deaths and decides to investigate. As he looks more deeply into the matter, it becomes obvious that there is a serial killer on the loose and, unfortunately, Legris suspects his business partner and closest friend. The plot weaves in and out of the rather atmospheric setting as Legris pursues the murderer.

The historical backdrop of the 1889 World Exposition and 19th century period detail were, to me, the star attractions of the book. I was particularly fascinated by descriptions of 19th century French architecture. Legris was annoyingly dense as he repeatedly missed obvious clues that would identify the serial killer, and the other characters were rather poorly developed and not terribly memorable (except for Joseph!). The book was translated from the French and the writing seemed stilted at times. Perhaps the translation had something to do with my lack of enthusiasm.

Murder on the Eiffel Tower was, overall, a quick and enjoyable read that will appeal to those interested in the setting, but I did not find it compelling enough to pursue the series.

Rating: 3 out of 5


Edited: In my haste I forgot to mention that the author, Claude Izner, is really the pen name of two sisters who are booksellers in Paris.

BOOK REVIEW: The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

Title: The Glassblower of Murano
Author: Marina Fiorato
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Date: June 2009 (U.S. edition)
Reason for reading: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

First line: "As Corradino Manin looked on the lights of San Marco for the last time, Venice from the lagoon seemed to him a golden constellation in the dark blue velvet dusk."

A little romance, a little history, and a little mystery make The Glassblower of Murano a fast and enjoyable read. Told from both the 17th century perspective of Venetian master glassblower Corradino Manin and the perspective of his 21st century descendant Leonora, you'll get glimpses of a Venice that in some ways hasn't changed much.

The Romance
Leonora (Nora) flees her failed marriage in London to begin life anew as a glassblower in Venice. It is here that she meets a handsome Venetian man who looks like he has stepped out of a Renaissance painting. Nora herself resembles Botticelli's "Primavera." Of course. Alessandro, the lovely Venetian man, is quite busy and not able to spend much time with Nora so it is no surprise that there are misunderstandings when his beautiful Italian ex-girlfriend surfaces. Typical. This part of the story is not particularly original, but it works. I was more taken with the romance of Venice and the beautiful descriptions that made me want to get on a plane and star gaze into a dusky blue sky while I lounged on jewel colored silk cushions surrounded by the soft light of hurricane lamps and tea lights glowing through the Moorish mullions of the windows that face my veranda. And don't forget the glass of prosecco.

The History
The history is the history of Venice and glassblowing. I thought the author did a very nice job crafting a story around historical Venice and the craft of glassblowing. Glass making in Venice is more advanced than it is in other parts of the 17th century world and so Venetian glass is highly prized and its secrets carefully guarded. This historical monopoly along with the machinations of a corrupt and power hungry republic are the historical focus of the novel.

The Mystery
The mystery surrounds Corradino Manin, a master glassblower who holds the secret of making flat reflective glass. He has long been a city hero and his name graces various places in Venice. The current viability of one of the ancient glassblowing factories falls on his reputation, so it is troubling when information comes to light that he may have betrayed his own country to sell Venetian glass making secrets to the French. Leonora, along with the guidance of an old professor and help from Alessandro, pursues the truth of what happened. Was Corradino a traitor? Is he redeemed in the end?

Overall, I was more intrigued by the descriptions and history of Venice, and by the rather cloak and dagger mystery than I was by the romance. Fortunately, the romance was blended nicely with the rest of the novel leaving me with a very enjoyable read that I can recommend. A nice summer read.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

BOOK REVIEW: Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey

Title: Wife of the Gods
Author: Kwei Quartey
Publisher: Random House
Year: July 14, 2009
Reason for reading: LibraryThing Early Reviewers

First line: "The forest was black and Darko was afraid to enter."

Inspector Darko Dawson is part of Criminal Investigations in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. He is called to the small town of Ketanu to help solve the murder of a young NGO volunteer and med student named Gladys. Gladys has previously clashed with a local fetish priest and a local healer, yet a young ruffian is targeted by Ketanu law enforcement as the "doer."

Inspector Dawson has a history with the town of Ketanu. His mother was last seen here before she mysteriously disappeared twenty-five years ago. So it is with some apprehension that he returns to work this case and reacquaint himself with his mother's sister and her family.

One of the best aspects of Wife of the Gods is the character of Darko Dawson. He is a family man with strong loyalties to his wife and young son. He also has quite a temper and a keen sense of justice, the combination of which sometimes gets him into trouble. Among his other foibles is a lusty admiration for the female form and the occasional consort with a known thief in order to obtain the weed he smokes to unwind. Regardless, Inspector Dawson is ultimately likeable in spite of, or perhaps because of, his flaws. I look forward to the author's development of this character in future novels.

Regional novels are a favorite of mine. They allow me an enjoyable opportunity to learn about places with which I am unfamiliar and to revisit places that I love. Wife of the Gods was a chance to learn something about the place, people and customs of Ghana. For instance, some "teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods" (from the back cover). This practice is a form of slavery and is controversial amongst the Ghanaians.

You may have heard this book compared to the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Alexander McCall Smith. I don't really find Smith's and Quartey's books to be similar except that they are: a) both regional detective novels, b) both character driven, and c) both set in Africa. Smith's books are set in Botswana and Quartey's book is set in Ghana. Quartey has his own voice which I found much grittier than the charm that infuses Smith's books. They are both fantastic storytellers, but they are different.

If you like character-driven-regional-detective novels, I encourage you to read Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey. It is a strong beginning to a new series.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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The author, Kwei Quartey, was raised in Ghana by an African American mother and a Ghanian father. Visit his website for more information about the author, his book, and the country of Ghana.

BOOK REVIEW: White Nights by Ann Cleeves

Title: White Nights: A Shetland Island Thriller
Author: Ann Cleeves
Publisher: Macmillan
Date of publication: September 2008

White Nights follows Raven Black in the Shetland Islands Quartet, but it is not necessary to have read these books in order. I didn't feel that I was missing anything by skipping straight to book two.

I'm always curious about the titles of books and how they fit into the story. The phrase "white nights" refers to the constant daylight during the summer months in the extreme Northern hemisphere. Several characters mention the somewhat maddening and sleep disturbing effect that the lack of darkness has on some people and the reader is left to wonder if this will play into the murder mystery. White Nights is primarily a who-done-it that I found to be well crafted. I was not able to guess the identity of the murderer. The author did a wonderful job developing the story and keeping me in suspense. I was able to put a few pieces of the whole together before she revealed the identity and motivation of the murderer, but I did not guess the ultimate reveal ahead of time.

The characters in White Nights were developed well enough to make me care about them and I hope that some of them are/will be recurring in her other Shetland Island books. Beyond the mystery, the author brought up issues regarding the place of family, community and belonging that helped further connect me to the characters.

I was very satisfied by the atmosphere of the book. It reminded me somewhat of an Iris Murdoch novel that I read years ago (the title eludes me right now). The extreme Northern setting and harsh landscape of the Shetland Islands gave the novel an edge and a haunting quality that I thought suited the story as did the cloistered atmosphere of a small village where secrets are kept for many years.

I've already purchased Raven Black and will be running out to buy books three and four in this series when they become available. I highly recommend White Nights to mystery lovers and those who like atmospheric reads.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Advance Review Edition graciously provided by the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program.

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Note to other reviewers: If you've written a review for this book, please let me know by posting the permanent URL for your review in the comments. I'll be happy to add a link to your review with my post.

BOOK REVIEW: The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie

Title: The Enchantress of Florence
Author: Salman Rushdie
Publisher: Random House
Date: June 2008

First line: "In the day's last light the glowing lake below the palace-city looked like a sea of molten gold."

The Enchantress of Florence begins with a mysterious yellow-haired stranger standing astride a bullock cart as he enters the domain of the emperor of India. He is godlike in stance, yet in appearance he is as a fool with his overly pretty face and particolored coat. The city to which he arrives is one of the grand cities of the world in both scale and wealth. Even the nearby lake seems to be made of gold. This of course is just an illusion brought about by the setting of the sun, but is an appropriate introduction to the story since it will become difficult to separate the real from the imagined as the story progresses.

The yellow-haired man is a teller of stories and he has arrived to tell a story to the Mughal of India that will either bring him fortune or cost him his life. This young man has represented himself to the Emperor Akbar as an emissary of Queen Elizabeth I. The emperor challenges the stranger's identity and would dismiss him except the yellow-haired man, who calls himself first Uccello of Florence and then Mogor dell'Amore (mogul of love), begins to weave the enchanting story of Qara Koz, the enchantress of Florence, who he claims is his mother.

But what is the Emperor to make of the stranger's story? What are we to make of the story we are reading? Identities and reality are not always clear within this magical novel. Who is the story-telling stranger? Is Qara Koz really the stranger's mother? Even the Emperor is not sure if he is simply an "I" like everyone else or a "we" of divine royalty. Reality is tenuous. Characters are imagined yet given "space" and relationship. Painters disappear into their own paintings. The story-teller feels himself fading away to nothingness when kept from telling his story. Is he merely defined by his story and without it has no existence? To add to the tenuous atmosphere created by questions of identity and reality, women are sometimes mere echoes and mirrors of someone or something else. They whisper and murmur and are ghostlike as they glide behind curtains and veils.

The author has woven layers of story around his readers, and enchants and draws us into his creation. We would come back night after night, for 1001 nights, to hear the story he has to tell. He shows us that story has power ... the power to enthrall, the power to rend apart and the power to create.

The Enchantress of Florence is first and foremost a story. It is secondarily an affirmation of the power of story. I found that I had to let go and allow Rushdie to take me where he would in order to fully enjoy this work. My criticism is limited to passages that seemed unnecessary and clumsy (e.g. the potato witches) and I wonder if the author wasn't too anxious to use as much of his extensive research as possible. The appended bibliography of works consulted is quite impressive and I look forward to reading from that list in order to expand my understanding of those historical elements that went right over my head.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Advance Reader's Copy of The Enchantress of Florence graciously provided by Random House through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

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Note to other reviewers: I like to provide links to other reviews of the same book. If you would like me to add a link to your review of this book, please leave a permanent link to your review in the comments section and I will include it as a part of this post.

Also reviewed at:
Red Room Library (Sarah)

BOOK REVIEW: The Arthurian Omen by G.G. Vandagriff

Title: The Arthurian Omen
Author: G.G. Vandagriff
Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Advance Reader's copy of The Arthurian Omen graciously provided by the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

First line: "Brother Gruffyd's old heart trembled with excitement."

Maren Southcott's estranged sister, Rachel, has asked for help locating a manuscript which will prove that the Arthur of legend really existed. Rachel is brutally murdered before Maren arrives and it is left to Maren to continue her sister's work searching the Welsh countryside for a priceless document that someone would kill for. Maren is not alone in her quest and quickly finds herself in a race with academics, antiquities dealers, and Welsh nationalists to be the first to find the document that proves Arthur was more than a legend.

The novel is quite thrilling and the author's familiarity with the Arthurian legend, with its continuing impact on Celtic culture, are strong points of this novel. I was quite drawn to the Welsh countryside and thought it very much a character of the novel. I could feel the ancient history and the misty mossiness of the castles and monasteries. I was so intrigued with the setting that I wanted to delve into the mysteries and the stories that I felt the land itself held. The novel would have been stronger with a deeper storyline connecting the land and legend of Arthur with the plot of the novel.

I felt more connected to the countryside than I did the characters. I wanted to like the characters, but I found the character development shallow and the characters unbelievable and inconsistent: Maren shows a marked lack of good judgement and is very impulsive for a woman who is supposed to be a strong heroine, and Inspector Llewelyn is quite clueless in his role as inspector. None of the characters were drawn in enough depth for me to develop empathy. I believe that an earlier placement of some character history would have helped. For instance, the cause of the estrangement between the sisters is not revealed until quite late in the novel and loses its impact as an empathy device by then.

Despite my inability to empathize with the characters and feeling a bit overwhelmed by the plethora of plot points, I found myself enjoying the novel. It was fast paced with enough suspense to keep me reading to find out who the bad guys were and how the story would end. I must admit that the ending was a surprise.

Note to other reviewers: I like to provide links to other reviews of the same book. If you would like me to add a link to your review of this book, please leave a permanent link to your review in the comments section and I will include it as a part of this post.

Also reviewed at:
Literary Feline (Wendy R.)
Back to Books (Nicola)

BOOK REVIEW: Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell

Title: Dreamers of the Day
Author: Mary Doria Russell
Publisher: Random House
Published: to be published March 2008

Advance Reader's copy of Dreamers of the Day graciously provided by Random House through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

First Line: "I suppose I ought to warn you at the outset that my present circumstances are puzzling, even to me."

Dreamers of the Day is a historical novel set mostly in Egypt during the Cairo Peace Conference of 1921. Agnes Shanklin is a forty-year-old, unmarried, Ohio schoolteacher who has lived through the Great War (WWI) and the Great Influenza of 1919. Having lost her family and inherited a great fortune, Agnes determines to take a trip to Egypt and the Holy Land. She arrives in Cairo with only her long haired dachshund as company. Very soon after arriving, Agnes meets and falls into the company of T.E. Lawrence, Winston Churchill, and Lady Gertrude Bell. We know these luminaries of history for their roles inventing the modern Middle East.

Ms. Russell sets her novel during this momentous time in history, but the story does not so much focus on the historical facts as they do on the characters themselves. We meet Lawrence, Churchill, and Lady Gertrude Bell in a way that gives insight into the personalities that drove the redrawing of Middle Eastern borders; decisions that continue to affect relationships between people groups and world events to this day.

The character of Agnes is fictional and tells the story of a middle-aged woman coming of age in a very romantic setting. Imagine lush hotels with marble floors and columns, potted palms, and blue tiled pools of water. Further imagine a trip by camel to visit the Great Pyramid and the mysterious Sphinx ... a journey into the desert that includes a full British tea under tents hastily erected by servants who serve the meal on fine bone china and silver. It is in this bigger-than-life setting that Agnes interacts with the aforementioned historical characters. It is also in this setting that she experiences her first love affair and comes to know her own mind and heart as a woman. Agnes' discovery that Karl, her lover, is a German spy adds an element of intrigue to the already full plate of historical, coming of age, and romantic aspects of the novel.

Ms. Russell shows great insight into human nature within the context of her characters and their relationships. One such insight occurs during a painful yet illuminating conversation between Agnes and Karl -- a conversation about her mother and the nature and effects of tyranny. Ms. Russell does not neglect cultural and political commentary in her novel, but I found these a bit jarring as they come from the mouth of a character enmeshed in a "history" still in the making. It seemed a bit of 21st century hindsight was leaking into early 20th century cultural and political insight, but this small "bump" in presentation did not affect my overall enjoyment of the book.

Dreamers of the Day will take you on a leisurely journey through an intriguing place and time in world events using both historical and fictional characters. It is a well written and atmospheric book that I did not want to end.

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible."
-- T.E. Lawrence from Seven Pillars of Wisdom

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Also reviewed by:
Rose City Reader