The Book of God and Physics: A Novel of the Voynich Mystery
by Enrique Joven
Ciphers, stars and evolution.... (7/19/2009)
Not quite a page turner, but just about perfect summer reading. This factually based novel was a captivating read. The author had me hooked within the first 30 pages. It is a well researched and well written story spanning centuries of a cipher mystery surrounding an ancient manuscript and the modern group of internet collaborators trying to solve it. In addition, the interwoven stories of the current debate of Evolution versus Intelligent Design; the life of a teacher with one shining and inquisitive student; an insight into the Jesuits perspectives on creation; and, a love story.
The modern world juxtaposed with the still unsolved medieval ciphered Voynich manuscript. The pace of the book picks up in the last third as the reader travels to several locales in the final chapters. The feeling of time pressure and excitement is rather reminiscent of the DaVinci Code.
Care is taken by the author to present his characters and the context in colorful detail. You can sense the dark of the underground passages and feel the rain falling and skies darkening.
Full of historical tidbits about the stars and the work and lives of great scientists and their observations...which are examined in the context of allegations of an alleged undiscovered murder.
The writer so well developed the layered story lines and mysteries that he created an expectation for greater resolution than was given. The sequel will be on my reading list.
Valeria's Last Stand
by Marc Fitten
An Assault on the Senses (4/13/2009)
Valeria has remained a single woman all her life, in a small village with no secrets. Yet somehow, late in midlife she is struck while at the market one day by Cupid in the form of a widower, the local potter.
He is a wonder with his hands and has the heart of an artist. He awakens her sensuality. She inspires him to create art rather than function as the local potter. It is a difficult match, with a competing love interest for each of them in the form of a "lucky" chimney sweep and the local lady tavern owner.
The action and local intrigue are lively and propel the reader forward to see what will become of the characters, of different life stages, different ambitions and unrequited loves.
It is a good read that harkens back to not so long ago when one could still imagine a peaceful village, populated with folk with their minds on their work, on love and a bit of passion.
The notion of a woman of standards and who values hard work as a muse is a welcome addition to my literary imagination. Thank you Marc Fitten!
The Music Teacher
by Barbara Hall
Of Orphans and Harmony (11/12/2008)
The book is written in the observant style you expect from someone with decades of experience in teaching children and young adults, a calm and detached voice. Her words speak as teacher and as frustrated musician,her other career. Her life as "an orphan" underlies her ability to relate to the other orphans of different varieties in her life. Her story is filled with detail of relationships with some of the many who enter and leave her life according to program. The family stories are observed from a safe distance and the author's running with "quicksilver" anger over her ex-husband or perhaps at life's natural course. The author knows exactly what she wants to say, is talented enough to say it right, and not afraid of saying what most keep private.
Her writing's power and ability to make the reader think is attributed to the characters she writes about, in their way forces of nature in their own right. These include a talented orphan teen who needs much but does not want the pressure of expectation; another whose mind is perhaps deteriorating as he hears voices but exerts a focused energy, a young lover who is full of wonder and hope ethereal sweetness. There is a mix of frustration at how difficult but necessary it is for her to share life with these people was, tempered with a wistful gratitude at being able to in many ways mature and learn to find joy with them in spite of her continuous desire to get in bed and hide under the covers in her trailer home.
The physics interludes are a lovely parallel theme for the story and a nice lesson. I learned a lot about how maturity sometimes does come with aging and that it sometimes means being willing to let yourself learn to accept the moment and enjoy it. In the end we are all orphans.
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