The Scribe of Siena
by Melodie Winawer
A romp through the 14th Century (4/16/2017)
when I first started this wonderful book I wasn't sure i would like it. But I was soon hooked. The main character, Beatrice, is memorable. The love interest is faintly drawn so that the strength stays with Beatrice throughout. The idea of skipping between centuries at first is startling but soon it appears normal, or even desirable. The other characters are also richly drawn, and the touches of history are explanatory and grounding. In the end I couldn't put it down and hurried to the end to find out where it ended. The fact that the author has medical background only adds to her perspective. All in all a delicious trip to fourteenth century Italy. Highly recommended.
News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
News is Still Good (8/25/2016)
This is a delightful book. That may seem a strange adjective to use about Texas after the Civil War. But the author manages to mix tales about the region and time to bring it to life, and to portray he characters, particularly Johanna, so that they walk off the pages.
And periodically she uses language that makes the reader sit up and take notice. Two that struck this reader are "a shy and obsequious road that dodged every bank and lift and wound through the pecan trees and never insisted on its own way" and "He looked as if he had combed his stiff yellow hair with a skillet."
It was a period that this reader knew nothing about, and a social habit about how people in small towns in rural Texas got the news. Fun to read and informative.
Shelter
by Jung Yun
disappointing (12/1/2015)
I have mixed feeling about this. There are times when it is good, for instance the description of transplanted Korean life. There are times when it is bad, for instance the description of the affair with the hero, which comes from nowhere and goes nowhere. It seems like an "Oh we've got to get sex in here somewhere" episode which is jarring and breaks the flow totally. The characters are spotty. The wife is sketchily drawn and makes no sense until the end when she is explained. That could have come much sooner. In sum when it is done, I find I cannot recommend this book
The Same Sky
by Amanda Eyre Ward
two tales in one story (10/23/2014)
I awaited this book eagerly because I had read several novels about the plight of children escaping from Central and South America and found the stories gripping. At first this book grabbed my attention with the story of Carla, a Honduran child, but that attention dwindled when it came to Alice. Because the tale of Carla was relatively riveting, Alice quickly became an annoying disruption. Although their tales came together in the end, because this was a superficial book it was a disappointing one.
Bitter Greens
by Kate Forsyth
An amazing Story (8/30/2014)
At first I was confused. It seemed to be two unrelated stories. Then I was absorbed. The life and times of Charlotte Rose was very interesting. Then I was frustrated. I wanted to hear more about Rapunzel and I still didn't understand how the two were connected. And by the end I was satisfied and sated by these two stories! And I finally understood that the one was originally told by the other, and that both were richly detailed and alive. A very good read.
Small Blessings
by Martha Woodroof
The best book I've read (5/14/2014)
This is simply a wonderful book. I can't think of enough superlatives. First the language is imaginative and beautiful - a joy to read. Then there are the characters. They jump off the page at you. Who can forget Rose and Tom and Henry and of course Agnes - where would we be if we had an Agnes in our lives. And then the there is the plot. It's imaginative and full of surprises and yet it feels just right. The characters that people this book are people you would want to meet and revel in the meeting. Even Russell, the standoffish alcoholic! I cannot recommend Small Blessings highly enough. It enriched my life and filled me with joy. I read the last 3 chapters very slowly because I didn't want it to end.
City of the Sun
by Juliana Maio
A good read (1/21/2014)
I was at first put off by the colloquial style of the author but then got into the story. It is interesting because of the setting. Egypt during the second world war is something I knew nothing about, and the mixture of Egyptians, Arabs, English and Americans, and the power struggles between and among these groups is at once confusing but intriguing. And, of course the Jews trying again to escape. Parts of the story are emotionally riveting, but for the most part the author does not seem to feel the tensions of the environment she has created. All in all, a good read, not a great one.
The Daughters of Mars
by Thomas Keneally
Daughters of Mars (5/21/2013)
This was a difficult book for me to read. This author has a style that puts great distance between this reader and the characters. Thus even though there are many horrible things that happen during the course of the book: the Australian experience at Gallipoli and on the French front during World War One, and deals with the nurses experiences in those catastrophic events, I found myself very distant from the sisters who are the main characters as well as the other nurses. Death, grief, terror - all are experienced by this reader as academic events that are of academic interest. I have felt this way about the other Kaneally books I have read, but thought this one would be different. Sadly, it wasn't. At the end there is a peculiar style which piqued my interest, but it was too little, too late
Fever
by Mary Beth Keane
Fever - a book for those who like history (3/18/2013)
This is a fine book. I accepted it because I knew nothing about Typhoid Mary except her name, and wondered why her memory had lasted so long. And now I know. Mary Mallon endured a tough life and survived despite it. But beyond that, this book gives a vivid and informative portrayal about that period in our history. For instance did you know that there was a small island in New York Harbor called North Brother to which they sent all TB victims? That's where Mary was sent for years.
Her "husband" Alfred is also vibrantly portrayed. An alcoholic with nowhere near Mary's strength of character, he loved her and stayed with her for the most part, and seemed mostly bewildered by her. She did not seem to love him but was loyal and dependent which was unusual to the rest of her nature.The author does not seem to fault Mary for the sickness and death she caused, but instead blames Mary's ignorance. She could not understand how she could cause illness when she was herself well, and the notion of 'carrier' was not well understood at the time. All in all a well-written and gripping narrative which brings to life a little-known period of our history.
Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen
by Mary Sharratt
Illuminations (9/18/2012)
This is an engrossing book. Mary Sharrat's style brings the characters to life and the environment in which they lived. And Hildegard von Bingen is an amazing character. The plot has many cliffhanger turns which keep you reading. I knew nothing about her when I took this book, and now I am totally impressed. That she lived until 80, that she was walled up when she was eight, and that her visions had such power in her time - all of these were new to me. Her affair with Richardis (Caritas) is dealt with delicately so that isn't clear whether it was a homosexual relationship or merely a soul mate one. I would recommend it to book clubs especially those who are interested in historical fiction. The book does not talk enough about her music which is why I was attracted to her. But it does talk about the importance of music. It will not appeal to readers who are agnostic since it deals so exclusively with the life of religious people, and in the middle it seems as if the author has run out of superlatives and uses phrases like"the paradisial perfume" of roses. But it was an absorbing and vivid tale and I would highly recommend it
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