Book Review: The Book of Lost Fragrances by M.J. Rose

The Book of Lost Fragrances

By: M.J. Rose

ISBN-13: 9781451621303                       

Publisher: Atria Books

Publication date: 3/13/2012

Pages: 384

Source: I received a free copy of this book as part of the Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour. This did not influence my review of the book in any way.

Synopsis:


A sweeping and suspenseful tale of secrets, intrigue, and lovers separated by time, all connected through the mystical qualities of a perfume created in the days of Cleopatra--and lost for 2,000 years.

Jac L'Etoile has always been haunted by the past, her memories infused with the exotic scents that she grew up surrounded by as the heir to a storied French perfume company. In order to flee the pain of those remembrances--and of her mother's suicide--she moved to America. Now, fourteen years later she and her brother have inherited the company along with it's financial problems. But when Robbie hints at an earth-shattering discovery in the family archives and then suddenly goes missing--leaving a dead body in his wake--Jac is plunged into a world she thought she'd left behind.

Back in Paris to investigate her brother's disappearance, Jac becomes haunted by the legend the House of L'Etoile has been espousing since 1799. Is there a scent that can unlock the mystery of reincarnation - or is it just another dream infused perfume?

The Book of Lost Fragrances fuses history, passion, and suspense, moving from Cleopatra's Egypt and the terrors of revolutionary France to Tibet's battle with China and the glamour of modern-day Paris. Jac's quest for the ancient perfume someone is willing to kill for becomes the key to understanding her own troubled past.

My Review:

I devoured this book in just about one day. It was easy to allow all of the sensory data, especially olfactory, to come wafting right out of the pages and entrance me. I think The Book of Lost Fragrances is a timeless story told in a new, wonderful way.

Jac is a woman who works to keep her emotions at bay and her past in the past, but when her brother discovers something within the family's failing business, it begins to engulf Jac completely and force to confront the present as well as near and distant past. Jac's extraordinary sense of smell leads her to notice what the average person doesn't, bringing her suffering as well as heightened experiences. Her family's problems take the reader on a sensational ride through history and the present, from America to Paris to Egypt to China.

I really enjoyed the levels of complexity and variety in this story. Through the emotions evoked from smell, we get to experience the lives several characters from different regions and time periods. Smell is the sense that most strongly activates memory in our brains. This fact is taken to an extreme in The Book of Lost Fragrances  when a certain perfume is able to allow people to recall past lives, not just their current past. M.J. Rose was able to bring together many fields of study: mythology, archaeology, the study of olfaction and perfumes to create emotions, and Buddhism. All of the separate fields coalesce into an imaginative and entertaining book.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1

By: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Pub. Date: September 2003

Publisher: Barnes & Noble

Format: Paperback , 752pp  

Series: Barnes & Noble Classics Series

ISBN-13: 9781593080341

ISBN: 1593080344

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

The Complete Sherlock Holmes comprises four novels and fifty-six short stories revolving around the world’s most popular and influential fictional detective—the eccentric, arrogant, and ingenious Sherlock Holmes. He and his trusted friend, Dr. Watson, step from Holmes’s comfortable quarters at 221b Baker Street into the swirling fog of Victorian London to exercise that unique combination of detailed observation, vast knowledge, and brilliant deduction. Inevitably, Holmes rescues the innocent, confounds the guilty, and solves the most perplexing puzzles known to literature.

My Review:

After two weeks, I finally finished volume 1 of the Sherlock Holmes! I don't know why it took me so long to read this book, especially since I read for quite a few hours this past Saturday, for Dewey's 24 hour readathon. I know part of it is that I now have a part-time job and school is picking up in my time requirements for studying. However, the Sherlock Holmes stories were fun and I still think I should have been able to read it quicker.

Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this volume of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work. I picked the Barnes & Noble edition because it contains all of the Holmes stories, in order of publication, within just two volumes. I didn't want to buy just a single copy of one of the novels, find out that I liked the stories, and then have to buy several different books to get all of the stories. Plus, since Holmes often references past cases, I think it's worthwhile to read them in order.

This first volume included three short novels and 23 short stories. I'm not going to summarize each story, especially since I would probably give away the ending to some of them, but rather give my overall impressions. I became particularly interested in Sherlock Holmes after seeing the movie featuring Robert Downey, Jr (I highly recommend this movie, especially since there is a sequel coming out later this year!). It was interesting to see the backstory for both Watson and Holmes in the first novel of the collection, A Study in Scarlet. It provided some context for both their personal lives and how their relationship came together.

I enjoyed the novels more than the short stories, but that is also just my personal preference since I generally like longer novels more than anything else. There is more background and twists and turns in a novel than in a 15 page short story. I was able to guess the ending to some of the short stories, but not all. I highly enjoyed Sherlock Holmes deductions when he would denounce the guilty party and explain his logical reasoning. However, although Holmes was a great character to follow, I'm glad the readers view is through Watson's eyes since he can give us an account of Holmes deductions and also be a reliable narrator that will tell us everything else that is going on. I think if we were in Sherlock Holme's head, the reader would become extremely confused since I doubt many could follow Holme's thoughts when he is 'on the scent.'

Overall, I found the Sherlock Holmes stories really entertaining and I'm glad Sir Arthur Conan Doyle continued to write them, even after he got sick of them and killed off Holmes :) I'm looking forward to the second volume of the stories. I recommend these stories for anyone looking for some fun, and rather quick mysteries. Some stories are not appropriate for children because some of the murders are a little grizzly and there is also some drug use by Sherlock Holmes.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Road from the West by Rosanne E. Lortz

Road from the West

By: Rosanne E. Lortz

Pub. Date: September 2011

Publisher: Madison Street Publishing

Format: Paperback , 360pp  

ISBN-13: 9780983671909

ISBN: 0983671907

Source: ARC from publisher through Historical Fiction Book Tours

Synopsis:

Haunted by guilt from the past and nightmares of the future, a young Norman named Tancred takes the cross and vows to be the first to free Jerusalem from the infidels. As he journeys to the Holy Land, he braves vast deserts, mortal famine, and the ever-present ambushes of the enemy Turks—but the greatest danger of all is deciding which of the Crusader lords to trust. A mysterious seer prophesies that Tancred will find great love and great sorrow on his journey, but the second seems intent on claiming him before he can find the first. Intrigues and passions grow as every battle brings the Crusaders one step closer to Jerusalem. Not all are destined to survive the perilous road from the West.

My Review:

I must admit that I know shamefully little about the Crusades, so when I was offered the opportunity to read Roseanne Lortz's Road from the West, I was excited to find out it was about the First Crusade. Road from the West is the first book in the trilogy Chronicles of Tancred.

Road from the West follows Tancred, a young Marqus from the west. Tancred is out fighting alonside his Uncle Bohemond one day when he has a revelation. The men he is killing are all Christians and it must be a sin for Christians to fight other Christians. Tancred has also been having dreams where he is condemned on Judgement Day because of his sins. In an abrupt moment of clarity for Tancred, he stops fighting and calmly leaves the battlefield. From there, Tancred travels to Rome to speak to Pope Urban to learn how to cleanse his soul.

Pope Urban convinces Tancred to join in his call for a crusade to rid Jerusalem of the Muslim infidels and reclaim all the lands gained on the journey for Christians. Tancred is won over b Pope Urban's call and leaves to tell his Uncle of his new mission. Then Tancred learns that Bohemond is also joining the crusades, but not for religious reasons. Bohemond wants to gain land, wealth, and titles from himself. Regardless of motive, they set off with their troops following along together with some other western troops who also heeded the call for the crusade.

Lortz's narrative is wonderfully written. The writing is very simple, but in a good way. I felt that this section of history, which is almost 1000 years old, was fresh and easily understandable for today's reader. The actions, descriptions, and motives of most of the characters are clear and concise. Also, it felt well researched and I learned a lot about some major players of the crusades. Road from the West is a entertaining and informative read. However, I do think that the book lacked some emotion for the reader to relate to the characters. So, while I'm interested in Tancred's adventures, it's more of a passive or intellectual interest rather than an emotional need to make sure that he survives the crusade.

Road from the West is the first book of a trilogy. As I finished this book last night, I was ready to jump right into the second book. I don't know when the next book will be released, but I'm looking forward to it!

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I received one copy of Road from the West for free to review. This did not affect my review in any way and I did not receive any other compensation for my review.

Tour Schedule: http://hfvirtualbooktours.blogspot.com/2011/08/virtual-book-tour-road-from-west.html
Rosanne E. Lortz's Website:  http://rosannelortz.blogspot.com/

Twitter

Event Hashtag for Tour: #RoadFromTheWestVirtualBookTour



Book Review: The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

By: Stieg Larsson

Pub. Date: November 2010

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Format: Hardcover, 563 pages 

Series: Millennium Trilogy Series

ISBN-13: 9780307595577

ISBN: 0307595579

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

This novel not only puts the cap on the most eagerly read trilogy in years; the sequel to The Girl Who Played With Fire marks the completion of its Swedish author's career; Stieg Larsson died at the age of fifty in 2004. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is, however, too exciting and too adept to be read simply as a major author's memorial. From its onset, with "avenging angel" protagonist Lisbeth Salander lying in intensive care, this fiction pulses forward. One British critic called it "intricately plotted, lavishly detailed but written with a breakneck pace and verve...a tantalizing double finale;first idyllic, then frenetic."

My Review:

I can't decide if I like The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo more from Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. They were two different novels. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo had more action and suspense whereas The Girl who kicked the Hornet's Nest was more political intrigue and character-focused. The middle book, The Girl who Played with Fire, was a good book but really just set everything up for the third installment.

In The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, we find Lisbeth Salander, an anti-social girl with a horrible past that is coming back to haunt her, is in the hospital in critical condition- she's suffering from three gun shot wounds, one to her head. While Salander is locked in her hospital room, government and law enforcement officials and the media are scrambling to discover the truth about Salander. The people from Salander's past, meanwhile, are busy covering everything up... again.

Mikael Blomkvist, a top journalist and one of Salander's few friends, does everything he can to learn more about Salander and help her out- including figuring out how to get Salander to be able to help herself even while she's in a locked and guarded room.

One thing I loved most about The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest was the political intrigue. It was very interesting to learn more about the structure of the Swedish government. One aspect that I noted about my reaction to the political corruption though, was that because this was happening in a foreign country that I'm not familiar with, it was kind of like reading a fantasy book. Things can happen in fantasy but not in books about our real lives because as readers, we're a step removed from the location, and therefore the characters. I think if The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest took place in the U.S., or even a country that I know more about, I would have had a stronger reaction to Lisbeth's treatment because that would have meant that it could happen here... not just in a place that I will probably never visit. (I hope my connection to the fantasy genre and my reaction analysis made sense. I'm not sure if I explained myself well enough though).  However, regardless of where this took place, I was intrigued by the government/police scandals and investigations.

Another aspect that I liked from this book was that we learned a lot more about Lisbeth Salander. The reader learns all about her childhood and why she behaves the way she does and why she makes some of the decisions that she does.

On the other hand, while we learn a lot about Salander's past, she doesn't do much in her present. True, she is recovering from severe wounds, but I kept expecting her to get better, leave the hospital, and take things into her own hands... which happens, but not until about the last 50 pages of the book. Before then, it's Blomkvist who does all the running around and work to save Salander. Since the titles are based on Salander's character, I wanted her to do more, and yes, she is very interesting, but I do think that Blomkvist is the main character of the series (and especially thing final book), not Salander.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book... enough that I stayed up reading it last night and only got 5 hours of sleep. I would change a few things but I do recommend it.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Sarah's Key

By: Tatiana de Rosnay

Pub. Date: September 2008

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Format: Paperback , 320pp  

ISBN-13: 9780312370848

ISBN: 0312370849

Source: Library copy

Synopsis:

A New York Times bestseller. Paris, July 1942: Sarah, a ten year-old girl, is brutally arrested with her family by the French police in the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup, but not before she locks her younger brother in a cupboard in the family's apartment, thinking that she will be back within a few hours.

Paris, May 2002: On Vel’ d’Hiv’s 60th anniversary, journalist Julia Jarmond is asked to write an article about this black day in France's past. Through her contemporary investigation, she stumbles onto a trail of long-hidden family secrets that connect her to Sarah. Julia finds herself compelled to retrace the girl's ordeal, from that terrible term in the Vel d'Hiv', to the camps, and beyond. As she probes into Sarah's past, she begins to question her own place in France, and to reevaluate her marriage and her life.

Tatiana de Rosnay offers us a brilliantly subtle, compelling portrait of France under occupation and reveals the taboos and silence that surround this painful episode.

My Review:

I had to stay up late last night in order to finish this book. I was so drawn into the story that I knew there was no way I could fall asleep before finding out how it all ended. I was also so uncomfortable almost the whole time through Sarah's Key.


There are two plot lines running throughout the novel and both were sad and tragic. I wanted to know more (mostly, I wanted to know how it would end for the characters) while I also didn't want to read anymore because the characters were in such terrible positions.
Sarah, a young Jewish girl in Paris of 1942 is torn from her home, along with her family and Jewish neighbors, in the middle of the night by the French police. In what become known as the Vel' d'Hiv', Sarah and the others Jews were placed in a large building for days without any sanitary precautions and extremely little food. They are not told what will happen to them. During the raid, Sarah hid her younger brother in a small, locked cabinet in their apartment since she assumed they'd be home soon. Grief and disbelief struck her when she realized she was not going home and her brother was locked in a cabinet, and that she and her parents were going to be led to their deaths by the hands of her fellow Frenchmen.

Julie Jarmond, an American, is married to a Parisian man and has a daughter in Paris 2002. She loves Paris but lately she feels distant from her husband and Parisian life. As a journalist, she begins investigating the Vel' d'Hiv'. As her investigation deepens, she finds a connection between her and Sarah, leading to a wild goose chase for her Sarah.

I was horrified by Sarah's story. I had never heard of the events of the Vel' d'Hiv' or the actions of the French against the Jews in their own country. Sarah's story was incredibly tragic. Julie's story, though, also made me uncomfortable and sad. Along the way, she discovers that she is pregnant and expects her husband to be happy... he is not. He is going through a mid-life crisis and wants her to get an abortion. Julie's situation, while not a matter of life and death over a whole group of people, still deals with the possible death of her unborn baby or the death of her marriage. I could not imagine ever needing to make that choice.

Sarah's Key is enthralling and tragic, poignant and grievous. I recommend it for those ready to deal with many emotions while reading it. It's a quick read, but it definitely drained me emotionally.


My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

By: Stieg Larsson

Pub. Date: November 2010

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Format: Hardcover, 465 pages 

Series: Millennium Trilogy Series

ISBN-13: 9780307595577

ISBN: 0307595579

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

My Review:

Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thrilling novel set in Sweden (it is a Swedish book that has been translated into English). The original title of the book was Men Who Hate Women. In many ways I like the original title a lot more because it makes a lot of the points in the book even stronger. There are many instances of violence and force used against women throughout the novel, including Swedish crime statistics of violence against women that are found in the beginning of every chapter. However, the new title definitely fits in better with the series as a whole.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is about a disgraced journalist who ends up leaving Stockholm for a remote area of Sweden to write a biography of and investigate the family of Henrik Vanger. Vanger is the head of a once very prominent business family. Although their business is now slowing down they still remain a large corporation. As Blomkvist, the journalist, begins the biography he slowly learns more about an unsolved mystery in the family.

Ultimately, Blomkvist needs more help, which leads him to bring in Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo.  As they unfurl the family mystery, danger creeps closer to them.

Stieg Larsson is an excellent story-teller. I was entertained the whole time, even if I was also disturbed by the actions of some of the characters. I still always wanted to know more. I look forward to the second installment in the trilogy, The Girl who Played with Fire.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu

Uncle Silas

By: Sheridan Le Fanu

Original Pub. Date: 1864

Pub. Date: June 2001

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

Format: Paperback , 528pp   Series: Penguin Classics Series

ISBN-13: 9780140437461

ISBN: 0140437460

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

From the moment that Madame de la Rougierre is hired as governess to the young, naive Maud Ruthyn, a dark cloud of foreboding hangs over the entire household. A liar, a bully and a spy, Madame eventually leaves, taking her dark secret with her. But, unhappily for Maud, that is not the last of Madame de la Rougierre. For when Maud is orphaned she is sent to live with her mysterious Uncle Silas, a man with a scandalous- even murderous- past, and encounters Madame once more. This time her sinister role in Maud's destiny will become all to clear. With its world of spirits, locked cabinets, kidnapping and past secrets that spill into the present, Le Fanu's shocking novel of sensation is a chilling and groundbreaking psychological thriller.

My Review:

I'm torn how to rate Uncle Silas. I give it an A for atmosphere and writing but a B-/C+ for plot. Right from the beginning of Uncle Silas, the reader knows that the are reading a classic Gothic novel. The young protagonist, Maud, is naive and isolated from the world. She lives relatively alone, with only her distant father and a few servants. In order to remedy Maud's education, her father hires a governess, who turns out to be cruel and mad.

Shortly after convincing her father to fire Madame de la Rougierre, the governess, Maud's father dies. Maud then has to follow her father's last instructions, which include communicating with a seemingly-creepy man, and then following the instructions in his will. Maud's father instructs that Maud is to be under the care of his brother, Silas. Silas is a reclusive man with a rumored past... rumors which include murder.

It's during this time when the plot seems to falter. The middle of the book had very little action, and what did happen didn't really seem to build up to the conclusion at all. It may have let the suspense build up since the reader knows something bad will happen but doesn't know what or who will be the cause of it. Uncle Silas is full of seedy characters- some who turn out good and others not so good.

The conclusion is excellent. Most of the loose threads are tied up and the reader can finally breathe easily.

I recommend this book for those who like classic books with mystery and gothic aspects but also the patience to read through some tedious passages.

P.S. Isn't the picture on the cover creepy??! I did not like it sitting on my bedside table when I went to bed... it's too scary.

My Rating: 3.5-4 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Elizabeth I by Margaret George

Elizabeth I

By: Margaret George

Pub. Date: April 2011

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

Format: Hardcover, 671pp  

ISBN-13: 9780670022533

ISBN: 0670022535

Source: Personal Copy

Synopsis:

One of today's premier historical novelists, Margaret George dazzles here as she tackles her most difficult subject yet: the legendary Elizabeth Tudor, queen of enigma-the Virgin Queen who had many suitors, the victor of the Armada who hated war; the gorgeously attired, jewel- bedecked woman who pinched pennies. England's greatest monarch has baffled and intrigued the world for centuries. But what was she really like?

In this novel, her flame-haired, lookalike cousin, Lettice Knollys, thinks she knows all too well. Elizabeth's rival for the love of Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, and mother to the Earl of Essex, the mercurial nobleman who challenged Elizabeth's throne, Lettice had been intertwined with Elizabeth since childhood. This is a story of two women of fierce intellect and desire, one trying to protect her country, and throne, the other trying to regain power and position for her family and each vying to convince the reader of her own private vision of the truth about Elizabeth's character. Their gripping drama is acted out at the height of the flowering of the Elizabethan age. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Dudley, Raleigh, Drake-all of them swirl through these pages as they swirled through the court and on the high seas.

This is a magnificent, stay-up-all-night page-turner that is George's finest and most compelling novel and one that is sure to please readers of Alison Weir, Philippa Gregory, and Hilary Mantel.

My Review:

I have read several of Margaret George's works before- The Memoirs of Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, and Mary Called Magdalene. I enjoyed her previous works immensely and looked forward to this new book. George's research and attention to detail, along with her narrative skill, bring great historic figures to life for the reader.

George begins her story about Elizabeth I later in Elizabeth's life, rather than during her childhood or ascension to the throne. Elizabeth was quite a queen and it was interesting to learn more about English history, such as the Spanish Armadas, and read about the probable thoughts and decisions of Elizabeth I. Elizabeth I switches between Queen Elizabeth's point of view and her cousin's view, Lettice Knollys.

Elizabeth and Lettice are rivals, although Elizabeth is of course queen while Lettice has been banned from court... banned by Elizabeth. At first the switching between the two women seemed disjointed and interrupted the flow of the story and development of the characters, however, as the book progressed I appreciated Lettice's views more and more to gain access to the other side of Elizabeth's story.

In addition to finding the beginning a little disjointed, I also had troubles connecting with either Elizabeth or Lettice. Once I thought the narrative switching got to be clearer, I also appreciated the characters more and liked Elizabeth more. I especially liked the reflective quality in her nature, as she looked back over her long reign.

There was also a broad cast of characters that were part of Elizabeth's reign, including Will Shakespeare. Many of the characters showed the political aspect of any government. Lord Essex was the main secondary character in Elizabeth I, he was quite interesting and also a complete nuisance in Elizabeth's reign.

Overall, Margaret George's telling of Elizabeth I's reign is a fresh story with a slow beginning but engaging end.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

Book Review: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

The Devil in the White City

Author: Erik Larson

Pub. Date: February 2004

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group

Format: Paperback , 464pp  

Series: Vintage Series

ISBN-13: 9780375725609

ISBN: 0375725601

Synopsis:

Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.

Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison.

The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims.

Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.

My Review:

As the above synopsis describes for many readers, I too checked once or twice during my reading of The Devil in the White City, whether this book was fiction or non-fiction. Larson is able to weave this non-fiction tale into a story. It is not a dry history textbook, but the events surrounding the planning, erection, and aftermath of the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago come to life for the reader.

With two parallel plots, Larson gives the reader a glimpse into the incredible rush of building the 1893 World's Fair to make a idyllic dreamland and the seamier underside of Chicago. Daniel Burnham is in charge of planning and implementing the plans to building the World's Fair in two years. His tale shows extraordinary strength and will power. I think many people would have cracked early on from the pressure that Burnham withstood. His story is one of empowerment and detmination through many pitfalls and disappointments.

One the other side of the spectrum is Dr. H.H. Holmes who is a sociopath. He travels from city to city looking for his victims. His tactics show how horrible a human can become, he is inhuman. During the World's Fair, he sets up shop in Chicago because of it's easy access to single women alone in a large city. His hotel is really a torture palace for his sick mind.

I liked Larson's combination of the two men and I disliked it. It definitely showed two very different stories set in the same place and time, but that's all that connected the two men- the location and time period. Even their endings were very different, it's not like they met at some point or anything. However, both men had very interesting lives and I was fascinated the whole way through. Holmes' was a sick man and his plot always left me disgusted, but then Burnham's story showed what perseverance can accomplish.

Larson did a great job making their stories come to life and highly recommend The Devil in the White City if you like narrative non-fiction.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Readalong: Vanity Fair by William Thackeray Post 2

I am participating in the readalong of Vanity Fair by William Thackeray, hosted by Allie at A Literary Odyssey. This is the second post of two for Vanity Fair.

Vanity Fair was an interesting read. I loved the first half, which I posted about here. But I began to get bored through parts of the second half. There were a lot of lists and descriptions of the aristocracy, which I just don't care about as much as the main characters stories.

However, when the story focused on the main characters, I loved the book! I wanted to know more about Becky Sharp and Amelia's lives. I was very interested in Becky's characters. I found her scheming amusing, although I would not want her for a friend in real life. I thought Becky did have at least some personal insight to her own character when she said:

'I think I could be a good woman if I had five thousand a year. I could dawdle about in the nursery, and count the apricots on the wall' ... And who knows but Rebecca was right in her speculations-and that it was only a question of money and fortune which made the difference between her and an honest woman? If you take temptations in account, who is to say that he is better than his neighbour? A comfortable career of prosperity, if it does not make people honest, at least keeps them so. (page 414)

There are many quotes in Vanity Fair that I like, especially the ones about Becky. This is one of my favorites:

He [Lord Steyne] saw at a glance what had happened in his absence: and was grateful to his wife for once. He went and spoke to her, and called her by her Christian name, so as again to bring blushes to her pale face-'My wife say have been singing like an angel,' he said to Becky. Now there are angels of two kinds, and both sorts, it is said, are charming in their way. (page 482)

I love that Thackeray just can't resist throwing in another jibe at Becky's character! She may sing like an angel, but there are two sorts of angels, so guess which one she is!

Finally, one of my other favorite characters is William Dobbin. At first I didn't like him much because he was always sacrificing himself for others instead of trying to make himself happy, but at the end of the book, that changed and I believe that he became of the hero in the 'Novel without a Hero.' Finally, on page 662, Dobbin leaves Amelia! I love it! He finally takes control of his life and decides to leaves Amelia since she isn't able to love him back:

I know what your heart is capable of: it can cling faithfully to a recollection, and cherish a fancy; but it can't feel such an attachment as mine deserves to mate with, and such as I would have won from a woman more generous than you. No, you are not worthy of the love which I have devoted to you. I knew all along that the prize I had set my life on was not worth the winning; that I was a fool, with fond fancies, too, bartering away my all of truth and ardour against your little feeble remanany of love. I will bargain no more: I withdraw. I find no fault with you. Youa re very good-natured, and have done your best; but you couldn't-you couldn't reach up to the height of the attachment which I bore you, and which a loftier soul than yours might have been proud to share. Good-bye, Amelia! I have watched your struggle. Let it end. We are both weary of it.

I know I've included quite a few quotes, but I love how they are written. These words show the personalities of the characters. While Vanity Fair  is not an easy book to get through, I do think that it is worth it. The characters are interesting and well-described and the ending for them is justified. Some of the passages are incredibly humorous, mostly sarcastic or sardonic and witty.



Readalong: The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky Post 4

I am participating in the readalong for The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky, hosted by A Literary Odyssey. This is the fourth post of 4 total posts, it covers Part 4 in The Idiot. My previous posts can be found here: First Post Second Post Third Post

I stayed up late last night to finish The Idiot. The end of The Idiot certainly reaches a climax where all of the characters seem to run around like chickens with their heads cut off. They accuse each other of being scandalous or attention-seeking and refuse to listen to each other, preferring to live with their own views of the events around them.

Prince Myshkin is caught between two women, Nastasya Filippovna and Aglaia Epanchin. They both want him and make claims on him, which he tries to please. The Prince is far too good-hearted and/or simple to realize that he needs to make his own decision for his life and stick with it. Instead, at the critical moment in this love triangle, he falls short and stays to take care of Nastasya instead of rushing after Aglaia, whom he actually cares for. This split-moment decision really decides the fate for these three unhappy characters, as well as the surrounding characters.

Dostoevsky gives an unhappy ending to each of these characters, which I'll leave for you to read yourself, but I'm not really sure what the point is that he's trying to make with their fates. Is it their modern society/focus on money that leads them to destruction? Is it the prince's goodness that destroys them- perhaps connecting their fates to that of Jesus' in Holbein's painting that Dostoevsky mentions several times. And what is the point of Rogozhin's character and actions? He plays the pivotal action in Nastaya's fate but I'm still a little unclear as to why this was necessary? I just don't understand Rogozhin at all- is he (and everyone else) just crazy?!

I liked this story by Dostoevsky for the analysis of the characters and the story, which is actually pretty simply, that it told. The characters are definitely Dostoevsky's strong point. As I pointed out in post 3, I believe that Dostoevsky is amazing at portraying madness and despair. However, there were a few things that I did not like; for example, characters often went off in tangents during their conversations that, I assume, were Dostoevsky's own thoughts but that did not often lend anything to the story. I enjoyed some of these views in the beginning of the story that were about execution and exile of prisoners because I knew that it directly related to Dostoevsky's own life, but later on the views got to be tedious and I didn't know why I was reading them.

Book Tour and Giveaway: You Are Not Your Brain by Jeffrey Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding

Welcome to one of the stops on TLC Book Tours for You Are Not Your Brain by Jeffrey Schwartz, M.D. and Rebecca Gladding, M.D.!

You Are Not Your Brain is a wonderfully written self-help book by two prominent neuroscience researchers. Many years of research have culminated in their theory to help people stop listening to the deceptive messages produced by their own brains and become the person they want to be instead.

Do you have any bad habits that you wish you could just stop doing? These include excessive worrying or anxiety, eating or drinking to cope with stress, caring too much about what other people think, and more. Schwartz and Gladding have developed a method to overcome these bad habits through four easy steps- Relabel, Reframe, Refocus, and Revalue.

Before beginning the steps, though, Gladding and Schwartz clearly explain the background to their theory so that you know why the recommend their steps. One of the main points is to make the distinction between the brain and the mind. In their view:

the brain receives inputs and generates the passive side of experience, whereas the mind is active, focusing attention, and making decisions. (page 21)

Therefore, by saying that you are not your brain, they mean that your mind can make the conscious decisions to act or not act on what your brain is saying since your brain is passive input and output system. This is an important concept in their theory since you have to recognize the difference in order to change your actions and stop listening to your brain's deceptive messages that tell you to worry, eat, drink, etc.

After going through the basis of the theory, they then go through the steps of the program to help you. Each step has multiple exercises to practice small bits of the step until you're able to recognize and achieve the step. These exercises, if taken seriously, will really help you achieve your goals. You Are Not Your Brain is very easy to understand and has the potential to help you with your struggles to be the person you want to be.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Want to win a copy of You Are Not Your Brain? I am giving away one copy of this book from the publisher. Just leave a comment on the post with your email address and, if you want, one struggle you with and want change. This giveaway ends June 30, 2011 at 11:59pm. I will choose one winner randomly and contact them via email for their address. The book will be mailed by the publisher.

I received one copy of You Are Not Your Brain for free to review. This did not affect my review in any way and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

Book Review: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Synopsis:

"The narrator of The Gargoyle is a very contemporary cynic, physically beautiful and sexually adept, who dwells in the moral vacuum that is modern life. As the book opens, he is driving along a dark road when he is distracted by what seems to be a flight of arrows. He crashes into a ravine and suffers horrible burns over much of his body. As he recovers in a burn ward, undergoing the tortures of the damned, he awaits the day when he can leave the hospital and commit carefully planned suicide - for he is now a monster in appearance as well as in soul." A beautiful and compelling, put clearly unhinged, sculptress of gargoyles by the name of Marianne Engel appears at the foot of his bed and insists that they were once lovers in medieval Germany. In her telling, he was a badly injured mercenary and she was a nun and scribe in the famed monastery of Engelthal who nursed him back to health. As she spins their tale in Scheherazade fashion and relates equally mesmerizing stories of deathless love in Japan, Iceland, Italy, and England, he finds himself drawn back to life - and, finally, in love. He is released into Marianne's care and takes up residence in her huge stone house. But all is not well. For one thing, the pull of his past sins becomes ever more powerful as the morphine he is prescribed becomes ever more addictive. For another, Marianne receives word from God that she has only twenty-seven sculptures left to complete - and her time on earth will be finished

My Review:

The Gargoyle is a strangely compelling novel that I found hard to put down. Although I thought some of the details in some scenes were a little  too graphic, especially in the beginning, I really enjoyed reading it.

The Gargoyle starts with an unnamed narrator being horribly burned in a car crash. From there, we meet the other characters along the way who help the narrator heal physically and spiritually. The most important help comes from Marianne, a women with possibly schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder, who befreinds the severely depressed narrator  in the hospital. Marianne claims that they were lovers in the 1300s, a claim which instantly hooked me. I wanted to know more!

Marianne tells the narrators stories, both of herself and their life earlier and the stories of other lovers in history. I loved the stories of the different lovers and where they were in history. Their own story was nice but a little lackluster compared to the other stories.

Marianne also reads the narrator Dante' The Inferno and the narrator relates to Dante's version of Hell throughout his recovery, especially when he is weaned off of his morphine. The relation to The Inferno added an extra layer of depth to the two lovers story which I really liked.

The story was well written and the love stories were beautiful. I may be a gushing little girl when I say this, but the love stories were by far my favorite part. The sections that took part in the modern day were good but not as fascinating as the historical sections. However, the narrators progress through his burn recovery was obviously well researched and described. Overall I highly recommend this book as an enjoyable and fairly quick read as long as you're not offended by drug use or some explicit details.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Book Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Synopsis:

 the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

Imagine reality TV combined with a dystopic society set in the future North American region. That is what The Hunger Games is about. Collins has created an intriguing and frightening world around the main character, Katniss Everdeen. Every region of their society has two  children selected every year to compete in the hunger game- a fight to the death with only one child left at the end. Katniss is one of the children selected in District 12, her region. Will Katniss survive? If she survives, what will happen to her after the 'game' is over? I can't answer that! You need to read the book to find out.

I rarely read YA books but after my young sister recommended the series and I continually saw them pop up, I decided to give it a try. Expecting to be disappointed in the book and likening them to the Twilight phenomenon, I can honestly say that my expectations were not fulfilled. I found the story original and riveting. I liked the depth of the characters. My main complaint is the idea behind the book- a game where children compete to the death?! Who would want to read about this morbid and cruel plot? Yet, it's okay because it is set in a future that is, hopefully, completely inconceivable for us in the real world and not in a book.

One of the things that I most enjoyed about this was Katniss' character. I thought she was well portrayed in both her strengths and weaknesses. She is a survivor and doesn't give up, but she doesn't always recognize the emotions of the people around her and she has trust issues. All of this gives her a believable character. She is also well portrayed as a coming of age teenager because of the love interests involved in this story. She is always slightly confused and put-off by the boys around her, which is how many young girls feel when they know boys are noticing them but they don't know how to react or feel about it.

I'm excited to start the second book in the trilogy, Catching Fire.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Book Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Synopsis:

“ I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.” January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

What a sweet and uplifting book! Seriously. I laughed several times and found the characters highly endearing- in a book that takes place during (actually, just after) WWII in areas occupied or bombed by the Germans.

Juliet wrote a semi-weekly column during WWII in London, bringing humor to the ravaged landscape around her. After the war, though, Juliet is tired of trying to be light-hearted and witty about the war and starts her search for her next muse. It's at this time that she receives a letter from an inhabitant of Guernsey Island, the only part of Englad to be occupied by Germany during the war.

Dawsey, the writer of the letter, says that he found a book that used to belong to Juliet in a used-book shop, and he is interested in finding more books by that author, would Juliet please help him find books since it's difficult to get new books to the island. This letter sets off a series letters between Juliet and many of the inhabitants of Guernsey.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a novel in epistolary form (letters between characters). This style worked for the book since that is how many people still communicated in the 1940s, especially since the Germans had cut the cable from Guernsey to the mainland. However, it's not my favorite style of writing since I think it can prevent a depth to characters that you can get in first or third person narrations. But overall, I think the authors did a great job creating fun and quirky characters through their letters to one another.

The main thing that I enjoyed about the characters was the funny and light-hearted characters. They had all just experienced terrible tragedies in the war, yet they maintained their human-ness enough to come out of the war with their sense wit still about them. I also loved that what kept them human was books and the community they formed in their literary society. Each member of the society had a particular book that they loved to read and talk about, and this kept them free of being sucked completely into the wartime melancholy.

The one part that I did not like was the ending. Because the book is written in letters, there are no chapters or natural breaks in the story. When I got to the end of the book.... it just didn't feel like the end. The things that I wanted resolved were still left open. If you've read this book, what did you think of the ending? Did it end too quickly for you too?

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was a fairly quick book to read and I highly recommend it for someone looking to read a enjoyable book about people of love books and their community, and those who want to read something based during WWII.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Book Review: Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

Synopsis:

Sue Monk Kidd has touched millions of readers with her novels The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair and with her acclaimed nonfiction. In this intimate dual memoir, she and her daughter, Ann, offer distinct perspectives as a fifty-something and a twenty-something, each on a quest to redefine herself and to rediscover each other.

Between 1998 and 2000, Sue and Ann travel throughout Greece and France. Sue, coming to grips with aging, caught in a creative vacuum, longing to reconnect with her grown daughter, struggles to enlarge a vision of swarming bees into a novel. Ann, just graduated from college, heartbroken and benumbed by the classic question about what to do with her life, grapples with a painful depression. As this modern-day Demeter and Persephone chronicle the richly symbolic and personal meaning of an array of inspiring figures and sites, they also each give voice to that most protean of connections: the bond of mother and daughter.

A wise and involving book about feminine thresholds, spiritual growth, and renewal, Traveling with Pomegranates is both a revealing self-portrait by a beloved author and her daughter, a writer in the making, and a momentous story that will resonate with women everywhere. (Image and synopsis from goodreads.com)

My Review:

I think the reason I found this book so enjoyable was because I could relate to one of the women in the book. Traveling with Pomegranates is the story of a mother and daughter going through turning points in their lives (menopause and entering adulthood, respectively).

Ann, the daughter, is a recent college graduate in the beginning of the book who did not get accepted into the graduate program she wanted. From the moment I read that, I identified with her. I recently graduated from college in December, and was promptly rejected from the two graduate schools I had applied to shortly thereafter. One was a longshot, but the other school was my alma mater and I had been interviewed for the program, so I really thought I would get in. Ever since my rejection, I've felt loss and disconnected from the life I had while I was a student. Ann's rejection slid her into a depression which only a renewed sense of self could make her emerge.

Ann and Sue's travels in Greece and France and their home lives in South Carolina are chronicled in a back and forth manner between the two women as they forge new identities for themselves and their relationship between each other. As I read both of their thoughts and emotions, I thought about myself and my life, as well as my relationship with my own mom. Using their experiences, I tried to form words about to describe my own life, identity, and relationships to my family. I think this book may be a jumping off point for some of my own personal growth and development.

Another interesting thing the two women did was use divine female images as a way to bond to the world around them and seek inspirations for their own identies. Sue focuses largely on the Virgin Mary, especially the Black Madonna while Ann sought a divine trinity- the goddess Athena, the Virgin Mary, and Joan of Arc. The use of myth and religion played an integral roles in their journeys (both internal and external journeys) and it was interesting to learn more about the figures.

While I think many people will find this book boring (even I thought the middle part got to be long and redundant), anyone who can relate to either of the two women should find this an interesting and inspiring read. Because I identified with Ann, I wanted to know how she dealt with her rejection and how she moved on with her life. Like Ann, I wonder if my rejection is maybe the universe's way of telling me that neuroscience and research shouldn't be my life's goal. Maybe I'm meant to do something else. Or, maybe I just need to try harder next time...

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Book Review: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Synopsis:

Narnia. . .where the woods are thick and cool, where Talking Beasts are called to life. . .a new world where the adventure begins.
Digory and Polly meet and become friends one cold, wet summer in London. Their lives burst into adventure when Digory's Uncle Andrew, who thinks he is a magician, sends them hurtling to. . .somewhere else. They find their way to Narnia, newborn from the Lion's song, and encounter the evil sorceress Jadis, before they finally return home.
Digory and Polly discover a secret passage that links their houses and are tricked into vanishing out of this world and into the World of Charn, where they wake up the evil Queen Jadis. There, they witness the creation of the Land of Narnia as it is sung into being by the Great Lion, Aslan. (Image and synopsis from bn.com).

My Review:

I don't often read children's books (in fact, I probably haven't read one since my own elementary school days) but since I greatly admire and love J.R.R. Tolkien's work, and Tolkien was a friend and colleague of C.S. Lewis, and I already had this series on my bookshelf... I decided to finally read the Narnia series! I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in elementary school but I never read the rest of the series.

The Magician's Nephew is the first of the series, even though it was written after most of the others. It tells the story of the creation of Narnia, a magical land. In fact, The Magician's Nephew is very similar to the Genesis in the Bible. At least the last half is similar to Genesis. I suppose both Lewis and Tolkien wanted to create their own Christian worlds, since Tolkien's The Silmarillion is also a form of Genesis, but for Tolkien's magical world.

The birth of Narnia is witnessed by two children who stumble into the land through the ineptitude of the boy's Uncle, a self-proclaimed magician. The children, as well as a cab driver, his horse, the uncle, and a witch from another land observe Aslan, a lion and god-like figure for Narnia, breathe life into the world.

I enjoyed this book because it explains some of the Narnia that I remembered from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, as well as because it was a cute story about the adventure of two children. It was a very quick read (less than 24 hours from start to finish) and even included illustrations! :-D It was hard for me to rate this book since I can't compare to other children's books that I've read, so I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars since I enjoyed the story even though the writing style and plot were simple.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Book Review: Pamela by Samuel Richardson

Synposis:

One of the most spectacular successes of the flourishing literary marketplace of eighteenth-century London, Pamela also marked a defining moment in the emergence of the modern novel. In the words of one contemporary, it divided the world "into two different Parties, Pamelists and Anti-pamelists," even eclipsing the sensational factional politics of the day. Preached for its morality, and denounced as pornography in disguise, it vividly describes a young servant's long resistance to the attempts of her predatory master to seduce her. Written in the voice of its low-born heroine, Pamela is not only a work of pioneering psychological complexity, but also a compelling and provocative study of power and its abuse.
Based on the original text of 1740, from which Richardson later retreated in a series of defensive revisions, this edition makes available the version of Pamela that aroused such widespread controversy on its first appearance.  (Image and synosis from Amazon)

My Review:

From a modern perspective, the plot of this book is very interesting.  A poor girl serves as a maid for a rich woman who dies, leaving the girl subject to the lust of the rich woman's son.  The girl, Pamela, was raised to value for virtue over life itself so chaos ensues when Mr. B, whom she commonly refers to as her master, attempts to seduce her.

Pamela's 'master' even smuggles her to a one of his other estates in order to have his way with her away from anyone who would stop him.

I won't spoil how it turns out for Pamela.

While the book drags in places, as expected from a book first written in 1740, it still maintained my interest because of the psychological aspect.  The book is written in the epistalary form (written in letters mostly from Pamela to her parents), which gives the reader an insight to Pamela's private thoughts and feelings.  Because of the intimate nature of the letters, I was able to imagine myself in Pamela's position and empathize with her.  I found myself hoping Mr. B would leave her alone and cheering Pamela on in her escape attempts.

Besides the psychological aspect of reading Pamela's thoughts and feelings, I often compared her situation to the nature of our society today. Pamela's predicament would not have been possible today, unless she was kidnapped... but then the police would have gotten involved and found her.  Pamela was on her own when Mr. B kidnapped her, even her parents were helpless in saving her.  It was also interesting to observe Pamela's beliefs about the importance of her virtue in comparison to everything else.  Pamela said many times that she would rather be killed than seduced.  Also, her seduction would always be own fault rather than Mr. B.'s, which is directly in contrast to how we view rape today.  It is not the victim's fault today.  This is an interesting concept compared to how we think today.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars