torontoc's Books Read in 2011

I have decided to join this group after watching it last year. I think that I would like to list my reading that I want to discuss. So not everything that I read- mysteries- will be listed on this thread.
My first book this year is
Fludd by Hilary Mantel. I really like Hilary Mantel's writing. Every book that I have read has a different "voice". This slim volume is a satire on the Roman Catholic Church and England in the 1950's. The fictitious village of Fetherhoughton is hysterical. The priest, Father Angwin, has lost his faith but in a good way although he does see devils. The bishop wants him to become more modern. A curate arrives to help the priest but who is he? Wayward nuns, buried saints, and more enliven this story. My question- what is this theme based on? Did Mantel have any experiences that led her to write a funny yet devastating satire on English rural life and the clergy? I will have to look at Mantel's memoirs.

Shoot! I just called you "Joyce" on my own thread, but I went back and fixed it, so it will just be our own little secret, OK? ;-)

Welcome torontoc. Like many, Wolf Hall was my introduction to Hilary Mantel. Fludd sounds quite good as does A Place of Greater Safety, which I've been meaning to get. Here's to a good reading year...

I loved A Place of Greater Safety even more than Wolf Hall, and have also really enjoyed a lot of Mantel's other work, including Fludd.

>4 rebeccanyc: Even more than Wolf Hall? Well that does it. I'm reading A Place of Greater Safety this year!

I have A Place of Greater Safety waiting to read this year
The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton.I just finished this book- hmm- interesting-but puzzling. I have read that it is postmodern. What I do think is that the structure and plot are obscure and the characterizations are right on the mark. That observation is based on 30 years of teaching and seeing everything! Two stories are linked. A music teacher was having a relationship with a student in a girls' high school. First year students at a drama school use this incident as the subject for their year end project. The casual cruelty of the students and the narration of a saxophone teacher tie both stories together. The author certainly gets the insecurities of adolescents. I found the ending not an ending. I like more closure.
I think that I understand why it was nominated for the Orange Prize. But I am not quite satified with this read..

6 - Welcome from lurking! The Rehearsal has been on my wishlist for some time. I keep hoping to come across it on sale somewhere.

I'm glad to see you on Club Read, Cyrel!

Thanks!
The Bolter by Frances Osborne-"The Story of Idina Sackville who ran away to become the chief seductrsss of Kenya's scandalous Happy Valley Set". I had to print part of the blurb for this book. It is a lot more lurid than the story told by Idina's great granddaughter, Frances Osborne. Idina's story is about her five husbands and life in Kenya. The rules of the society that she was born into and lived by seem so quaint to observers today. idina's first husband was no saint. preferring to spend his time with other women and really abandon his wife and sons. However, when they divorced just after the first world war, he got the children and Idina went away with her second husband. To escape from a bad marital situation, she found another man. Idina's life was scandalous and sad. The author had access to people and papers that she has used well to relate the story of her great grandmother.( Spoiler!) Both of Idina's sons died during World War II.She barely had time to begin a relationship with them ,after no contact for the majority of their lives. In fact, members of Idina's family had no contact with each other for many years. I did enjoy this biography for the description of an obsolete society.

Hi Cyrel - January 3rd and already 3 books read. I am impressed! All three above sit on my TBR pile, so your comments will keep them there.

I was sure I had The Bolter on my Giant Freaking Wishlist, but it isn't there. So glad you read it so that I could fix that error. It sounds good.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday. This first novel is a satire and has nice character studies. The story is about a Sheikh from Yemen who wants to create a salmon river and fly fishing in his country . He asks an agency that connects with the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and eventually the Prime Minister's office. A scientist, Alfred Jones is really forced to consider this task. He eventually takes it seriously as a result of talking to the Sheikh about belief. The story is told through memos, diary entries and interviews. The novel is about politics, and also the power of faith. Nicely told and entertaining.

Glad to see you back talking about books, Karen!

Fourpawz- The Bolter is a good study in class as well.

12 - Sounds interesting (added it to the wishlist). I think my dad would like it too.

If I'm remembering this correctly, Idina Sackville was a character in the film version (and IRL), "White Mischief", set in Happy Valley. Not a sympathetic portrayal, if I remember rightly.

The author of The Bolter used the book White Mischief as one of her sources. She also was able to speak to some of the people involved in the Happy Valley set. Idina Sackville was no angel!

#12 Thanks for the review. I have always wondered whether I would like that book and now I feel that I would.

I am reading The Lacuna for Orange January and I really don't like it! I am half way through and while the descriptions of Mexican culture are interesting, the main character is a cipher! No personality! I want character development!
I liked the character of the mother. I find that I want to see not a colourless narrator but someone with some sort of defined personality.That is why I liked Wolf Hall so much. I felt that Mantel gave Cromwell an identity. End of rant-I will go find a nice mystery to read and calm down.
This book-The Lacuna beat Wolf Hall for the Orange prize!!!?!!!

I feel the same way about the main character. Admittedly I read the book too fast (not my choice, it was for a book group discussion that never happened), so I think I would have liked the book better if I had read more slowly, but the main character is still blah and unbelievable.

#17 Cyrel, I didn't like The Poisonwood Bible so there's no way I'm reading The Lacuna.

I think that I would have to say that I enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible much better than The Lacuna.
I have been reading a lot more in the past four years and I think that I have been spoiled. I have noticed that I don't have much patience with narrators who don't have a defined personality. I think that because I have read books with outstanding character development , I look for it in new books.So
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver. This book gives the reader a mini-lesson in the past history of the peoples of Mexico and an overview of some of the most colourful people who lived there- the painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and the exiled Russian Revolutionary Lev Trotsky. Kingsolver puts the reader into the homes of these people. She uses her narrator, Harrison Shepherd, a young man whose Mexican mother took him from the United
States when she left her American husband. Shepherd lived a very hand to mouth existence as his mother went from lover to lover. He really educated himself learning about history from the library of his mother's first protector and cooking from the servants in the kitchen. Eventually he ends up helping Diego Rivera mix plaster for his murals. then cooking for Rivera and Frida Kahlo. When Trotsky and his wife came to live in Mexico, Shepherd become his secretary and a witness to the events that led to Trotsky's assassination. In the second part of the book-Shepherd leaves Mexico, settles in Asheville, North Carolina and becomes a popular novelist.He does have an experience with the Communist hunting Committee of Un-American Activities that changes the course of his life again. So why was I dissatisfied with this book? It did get better in the second half with the introduction of Mrs. Brown, Shepherd's able assistant. I did like the information about the culture of Mexico and the activities of the Trotsky family. Shepherd's mother was a great character. But - and here is the but. I found that the personality of the narrator, Shepherd lacking in perception and foresight. The reader can forgive this in some cases but Shepherd was a real cipher to me. He was too colourless to be the focus until the last pages of the novel. The power of Kingsolver's descriptions of the FBI and the Communist scare of the late 1940' and early 1950's is an important focus of the later half of the book. I was disappointed with this book but can see the aspects that work.

I'm stuggling with The Lacuna too. I've kept it by me for two days but haven't wanted to pick it up.

That is how I felt! I also thought that I enjoyed my read of Frida Kahlo's biography by Hayden Herrera much better that the description of her in Kingsolver's novel.

As far as I can tell, Kingsolver's real focus in her books is socio-political. i personally like the way she tells her stories, and I had no real problem with Shepherd as a narrator, because as far as I was concerned, he WAS naive and unsophisticated, totally unprepared (as were most people including a professor of mine) for HUAC and the sheer viciousness of the McCarthy days. But I also think that his main aim was to remain "undetected", behind the scenes--not to reveal himself, which would have been doubly dangerous for him. I liked the way Kingsolver used Mrs. Brown to show aspects of Shepherd that he couldn't himself.

I also think that Kahlo was too complex to be revealed in just one book. No one is unbiased, least of all biographers. I haven't read Herrera's book--and thanks for bringing it up because now I'll get it the way I've "been meaning to"--but I saw the movie, based on his book, which was very, very complimentary, very sympathetic. Well, that's one viewpoint--and I don't know if that's Herrera's total take--but my guess is that Kingsolver had a slightly different viewpoint of Kahlo which is also valid. Artists are rarely pleasant people. I don't think Kingsolver's aim was to present Kahlo in any biographical depth, but to place the "actors" in the total context of the time.

In a way, Shepherd is the vehicle by which Kingsolver can write about Trotsky, Rivera, Kahlo and the developments of the time.

I agree with your points-thanks!

Herrera's biography of Kahlo is the most complete picture -- full of detail, nuanced, admiring -- not fawning, and certainly aware of her subject's flaws. It should be read alongside Herrera's excellent edition of Kahlo's paintings: Frida Kahlo: The Paintings

#25: Thanks to the reminder, I've just added the biography to my amazon shopping cart. I looked at his book on the paintings, agonized--and then didn't put it in the cart. Time to go back and correct the omission! :-)

And so Hayden is a "her"! :-)

I join others here in praise of Herrera's biography. Herrera is considered today's foremost authority on Frida Kahlo, and this book is a must for anybody wanting to know more about this 20th century icon. The movie, indeed, is also very well done. I had the fortune of catching the Frida Kahlo exhibition at Bank Austria Kunstforum in Vienna back in September, and thus fulfilled a longheld wish to see her work. The exhibit also displayed some of her unforgettable skirts and mantilla, and her diaries which actually moved me more the paintings. I was also surprised to know that Kahlo also painted portraits, still life, and children. Though these paintings were but a handful, they were a much welcome relief after the long series of her famous surrealist self-portraits with all the tragedy, the suffering, the gore, the wounds which after some time lost, for me, some of the intended impact.

20-27: Interesting thoughts all. I love Kahlo's work so put The Lacuna and Herrera's biography on the wishlist.

In a way, Shepherd is the vehicle by which Kingsolver can write about Trotsky, Rivera, Kahlo and the developments of the time.

And that's exactly what I resent about the book. I think people who are younger than I am and/or don't know this history of the FBI, the Congress's UnAmerican Activities Committee, and all the black-balling that went on will probably be more impressed with Kingsolver's story of these times.

#29: Hmmm--could you explain a little? I'm 74, lived through those times, had a professor fired from the college I was attending thanks to HUAC, and was interested in how she developed it. But I'd like to hear more about what you've said.

Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb. I really enjoyed this book.Gibb writes about an unusual young woman. Abandoned after by her wanderlust English parents were killed in Morocco,Lilly was raised as a devout Muslim at the shrine of a Ethiopian saint. Finding herself in Ethiopia as a result of turmoil in Morocco, she becomes part of a family and embraces Ethiopian culture. Eventually she becomes involved with a doctor who sends her out of the country just after the fall of Haile Selassie. The novel switches back and forth from Lilly's story as a nurse in London in the 1980's and 90's and her life in Ethiopia in the 1970's. i learned a great about the politics and culture of Ethiopia and the nature of suffering by the exiles. Gibb had been named one of 21 writers to watch by the jury of the Orange Prize. I have to agree and will be reading more of her work.

Just stepping in seeing what's here and noticing a very interesting review of The Lacuna and the conversation it inspired. It's still on my theoretical 2011 TBR. I'll try to store the name Hayden Herrera for another time in life.

#32 - Looks good - and Gibb is Canadian!

Gibb has another book out- I have it on my TBR list!

I loved Sweetness in the Belly when I read it a couple of years ago. I'll take this as a reminder to read more by Camilla Gibb. Thanks, Cyrel!

A Dead Man in Deptford by Anthony Burgess What an amazing book! The dizzying flow of language and the chaotic atmosphere of Elizabethan England provides the background of this novel about the playwright and spy, Christopher Marlowe. Burgess really brings to life the murky plots by the Queen's spy master Walsingham, the theatres and actors,and the messy loves and disputes of Marlowe-no angel himself. Burgess describes a London and Cambridge where arguments about literature, heresy, politics and theology are held in disreputable and filthy taverns and lodgings. This is a masterwork that the reader has to navigate carefully to appreciate the language. Not for everyone I think.

Cyrel, you have convinced me to read it. I have just added this book to my Must Buy list.

Some times when I was reading " A Dead Man In.." , I felt like I was listening to one of those people who monopolize the conversation and won't stop- but what is said is fascinating!

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff. I so enjoyed this biography about Cleopatra. The author used many sources to relate the story of Cleopatra's life.Schiff takes care to inform the reader about reliable and unreliable ancient historians. She shows us a woman who was the richest in the Mediterranean area and who was, for the most part, clever and adept politically. Cleopatra's dealings with first Julius Caesar and later Mark Anthony are set out in a way that educates the reader in the realities of a Roman dominated era. However, we see that the city of Alexandria was a major cultural oasis compared with Rome at that time. Schiff provides a convincing argument about the more independent role of women in Egypt compared to the life of Roman women. Where there are gaps in our knowledge of the time, Schiff acknowledges the lack of information and provides a number of possibilities. An excellent read!

Peeling the Onion a memoir by Gunter Grass.
I gather that this memoir of Grass's early life from childhood to his early writing days in the 1950's provoked some controversy. Grass's prose seems to blend his life with some of the incidents in his novels. He pleads bad memory as he describes some of the events that shaped his growth. Grass was born in Danzig and did join the Waffen-SS as a teenager. His experiences as a soldier at the end of the war and his internment as a POW in an American camp are followed by his work as a stone cutter, and then his life as an art student. I found that the beginning of the book was a little hard to follow as Grass used his experiences as a source for his novels or was it other way round? The later sections of the book work better for me. The last chapters really speed up his description of his life up to the publishing of The Tin Drum. I get the impression that more is to follow. An interesting read. Probably the shocking part for the reader is his disinterest at the end of the war of the facts of the Holocaust. He was being honest about his feelings as a young man and I think that this is what made this book controversial.

Nice review of Peeling the Onion, Cyrel; I'll add this to my wish list.

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland. The author has written some outstanding books about artists. I really enjoyed The Forest Lover-about Emily Carr and her first that I read Girl in Hyacinth Blue. This book concentrates on the people and the circumstances behind the creation of Renoir's masterpiece, ( I have seen it in Washington and it is fabulous) Luncheon of the Boating Party. The artist paints 14 distinct personalities who are just finishing lunch at the restaurant La Maison Fournaise. The sitters were all friends and supporters of Renoir. Vreeland uses the voices of many of these people to narrate the chapters in the book. The reader learns about the politics, the role of women and life in the theatre. I found the details of this history very interesting. At first I thought that the dialogue was a little stilted. But as I continued to read,I enjoyed the descriptions of painting. I think that the reader would best have a little knowledge of the history of the Impressionist painters in order to appreciate most of the references to paintings and artists. At the end of the book I realized that I enjoyed it more than I did at the beginning. I do think that Vreeland's dialogues were better in The Forest Lover but I have to say, this novel adds to the reader's knowledge of this very important time in the history of art.

Wonderful reviews, Cyrel. My list is getting longer.

I have both Luncheon of the Boating Party and The Forest-Lover on my TBR shelf. I have to admit I'm more interested in the second book, since Emily Carr is the only famous artist ever to come from my area of the world. Your review makes me want to pick them up, even though I was lukewarm on the same author's The Passion of Artemisia and absolutely loathed Girl in Hyacinth Blue.

42 - Ooh, That one goes on the wishlist.

#44: If you have to have just one famous artist from your area, have one of the best, right? :-)
I love Carr's work.

Joyce, I would read The Forest Lover before
" Luncheon". One of my friends lent it to me last year. I thought that Vreeland really created a multi dimensional Emily Carr. Now, I haven't read Carr's writings yet-but should.

I read just a little of Emily Carr's writings a while ago and I was impressed. I will eventually get around to reading her. What a talent!

#47: The Forest Lover sounds like a winner. I've always meant to get a book of Carr's paintings, and have never done so. this should spur me to do it.

I have a question about The Forest Lover. Is there a lot of graphic material in it--reproductions of paintings, for example? I can get it on Kindle, but will NOT do so if there's a good deal of graphics.

I'm so tempted by Klee Wyck!

My copy of the Forest Lover is not illustrated, and I suspect that illustrated editions do not exist. Novels about art (or some other highly graphic subject matter) that do not include illustrations are a pet peeve of mine. Publishers should take a lesson from Barbara Hodgson's books, which are all beautifully illustrated (eg: Hippolyte's Island).

#51: Thanks! I just bought The Forest Lover AND Klee Wyck on Kindle.

Any recommendations for the best book of reproductions of Carr's art? There are several.

Sorry, I'm not familiar with any of the books on Carr's paintings. I mostly know her stuff from the Emily Carr wing of the Vancouver Art Gallery and reproductions that I run into as part of this area's art culture.

I have seen some wonderful exhibits of Carr's work- you might want to check the websites of the National Gallery of Canada ( try www.cybermuse.ca -this educational site of the National Gallery has 75 images of Carr's work.), the Vancouver Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the McMichael Art Gallery.

Shah of Shahs by Ryszard Kapuscinski. This slim volume by one of my favourite travel/political writers seems to be very current in light of the events happening in Tunisia and Egypt. Kapuscinski was in Iran just after the revolution and writes about interviews with some Persians, as well as interpreting the history of some selected photographs. He explains the reasons for the Shah's fall and the effect of his regime on the Persians. Kapuscinski presents a primer of the why of revolution and after reading it, I felt that he was describing what is happening today.Sadly he died in 2007. It would have been interesting to hear his opinion on current events.

#55

This sounds interesting. I was in Iran in 1976, where as an outsider it felt that the Shah's grip was unshakeable. Its on my list to read.

As I was reading Shah of Shahs I was so struck by the modern parallels.
( touchstones not working today?)

You Suck a love story by Christopher Moore. This book about vampires is hilarious. So rarely do I find a book that make me laugh out loud. This one does. Nineteen year old Tommy Flood wakes up to find that his vampire girl friend, Jody has made him one, too. Aside from issues of hunger, and escaping from Tommy's friends who are after him( when they are not stocking the shelves of the Marina Safeway or frozen turkey bowling) the two lovers have to hide from the police. Jody had made a deal with two detectives to leave town. The story of why, as well as the musings of Abby Normal, the teenage minion who is supposed to look after any day activities, and the many chases and close calls make this book fun to read. Recommended for those who like scatterbrain comedy.

Catching up again. Side note regarding Peeling the Onion (oh, the touchstone worked!), in message #40 - The most controversial part of that book was Grass's admission that he was once part of the waffen-SS. Up till this book he concealed it, winning a Nobel Prize in Literature in the mean time. (I haven't read the book, but read a review in the NYTimes a long time ago.)

Interesting in that he writes in a matter of fact way about his interest in joining the army.His lack of interest or belief in what happened in the concentration camps was disturbing.

Mordecai: The Life & Times by Charles Foran. Charles Foran has tackled the biography of a very controversial Canadian author- Mordecai Richler. The author is successful in letting the reader understand the background and life of this writer. Richler's traumatic relationship with his mother and his father's relatives as well as his life on St. Urbain St. give him the material for his novels. His life, friends and loves in Spain,. France and London add new layers to his work. Richler started writing novels as a very young man and worked until he got it right. It is interesting to read Foran's comments how some extremely important fiction that helped define new Canadian writing was written in Europe. Richler was protective and loving to his wife, Florence, his children and his close circle of friends. He really supported his family of five children on his writing , be it lucrative films and TV scripts, magazine articles and his novels. His humour and point of view on the Montreal Jewish community, Quebec nationalism and other subjects always got him into trouble. Foran's writes well about Richler's life. He was able to use material from Richler's archives as well as personal papers from Florence Richler. Some of the material was surprising- Foran devotes one chapter to a letter that Richler wrote to his mother. This letter explains why he never spoke to her after 1976. Foran doesn't analyse Richler's novels but does wonder why there has not been any extensive study of his work.( In fact after the biography was released in Canada ,there was a debate in the press about why Richler's works were not really studied in Canadian literature courses in universities). There are issues that future critics will look at- the role of women in Richler's books is probably a major one as well as his satire on various communities-Jewish, Canadian, native peoples and more. This biography made me want to do some rereading of Richler's books. This work is so good,- I enjoyed reading it.

#60 - This review makes me want to check out Mordecai Richler. I had never heard of him before.

As I mentioned on your other thread, Cyrel, I became a big fan of Mordecai Richler after reading Solomon Gursky Was Here about 20 years ago, and went on to read a lot of his novels. I found them uneven, but often hilarious and pointed, and will look for the bio.

I really liked Solomon Gursky Was Here.

A Wall of Light by Edeet Ravel. This novel completes a trilogy written by this Israeli/Canadian writer. The book was a finalist for the Giller Prize sometime in 2005-6. Ravel is a writer of engaging characters. The setting is Israel where each chapter reveals a diary or story of one of three characters- Anna, an actress writing to her married lover in Russia from her new home in Tel Aviv in 1957, Sonya, her daughter writing in the present about her relationship with her brother Kostya, Anna's older son and a duel search for her lover and her father, and Noah, Kostya's son writing at various stages of his life. The story of Sonya, a deaf mathematics professor gives Ravel an opportunity to describe the complexity of Israeli life. I liked the first two books that she wrote and have one more on my book pile or tower.

Annabel by Kathleen Winter.Very few books make me cry at the end This one did. Winter is an amazing writer who uses wonderful descriptive prose. She writes about Jacinta and Treadway, parents of Wayne/Annabel. Their baby is born with the characteristics of male and female. A decision is made to raise this child as a boy. Their neighbour, Thomasina is the only one besides the doctors who know about Wayne's physical condition. Both the women try to help Wayne -who is different in his thoughts and personality from the boys in their isolated town in Labrador. Thomasina did try to call Wayne by her dead daughter's name of Annabel when he was a baby. Treadway wants his child to learn and like the skills that he has used to make a living. As Wayne grows up, there is tension between his parents. Wayne eventually moves away and goes to live in St. Johns, Newfoundland and makes some decisions about identity. The final part of the novel demonstrates the love of Treadway for his child and shows the importance of true friendship and faith in oneself. I think that the book, aside from great writing, has one of the best examples of the love of a father. I was so touched by this book. I know why it was on the shortlist for many literary prizes last fall.

The Film Club by David Gilmour. David Gilmour's teenage son was doing so badly in school that he made an interesting deal with him.Jesse could drop out of school, live with him no questions asked about work, if he watched three films a week with his father. This is the story of the time Gilmour and his son watched films ( the list is at the back of the book) and their relationship. The dialogue that the two had with each other reveals growth, understanding and love. A really nice memoir about growing up and a parent's perception.

The Book of Spies :an Anthology of Literary Espionage edited by Alan Furst. I like a good spy story.This collection edited by one of my favourite spy authors serves to remind me of some really good novels.The excerpts from books by Somerset Maughm. Eric Ambler, Anthony Burgess Graham Greene and more are very different in style. I now want to reread some books and look at one that I haven't read. (Reread Ashenden by Maugham and read John le Carre and Eric Ambler)

Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska. I reread this book that was originally published in 1925. Yezierska was an immigrant to the United States in the 1890's.She lived with her family on the Lower East Side but left home when she was seventeen. Not willing to live by her family's rules, Yezierska went to night school and later college.She wrote a number of books about immigrant experiences. This book is a thinly disguised story of her life. The first thought that I had after reading this novel was the anger and passion that Yezierska had her heroine express about her role. The beginning of the book does read like a melodrama. The injustice experienced by women is a major theme. Yerierska wanted to live the life of an American and not that of a daughter in the old world. The details of life in the slums of the Lower East side are raw but believable. I read this book because I am leading a discussion of another book about the same era written by a present day author. I found that work while interesting was missing something and seemed too romantic about the Lower East Side life. I decided to read some authors " who were there" to compare. I have read most of Yerierska's short stories. She is a strong and passionate writer.

The Book of Spies sounds intriguing. I'm a big fan of some of le Carre, especially A Perfect Spy and the Karla trilogy.

I liked the book because it gives the reader a sense of the various authors. I now have some of them on my wish list!

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman. This first novel takes the form of chapters relating the stories of various writers and editors of a failing English language newspaper based on Rome. Rachman captures the personalities of a variety of characters who work for or who have some relation to the newspaper. The individual studies of character are really good.I found the first- about a older man who has not had any work for a while- heartbreaking. I enjoyed this book.

As I mentioned on your other thread, I was not a fan of The Imperfectionists but I think I'm in the minority on this!

Just poppin' in to see what you are reading, Cyrel.

I bought The Imperfectionist for my iPad for a few bucks, started it, then forgot about it. It's had mixed reviews, but I enjoyed what I have read so far.

Even the first character in the book by Rachman-who I thought was depicted as a very needy person both emotionally and physically- had not led an admirable life.
Elizabeth 1 by Margaret George.
(touchstones aren't working with this title) This author wrote one of my favourite novels about the Tudor era and Henry VIII. This book on the life of Elizabeth 1 centres on the last part of her reign. George tells that story from two points of view-that of Elizabeth and of Lettice Knollys. Knollys was one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting as well as her cousin. However, she eloped and married Elizabeth's favourite, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Although the queen forgave Dudley, she sent Lettice away from court. This book begins with the threat of the Armada and the queen having ruled England for thirty years. The earlier events of Elizabeth's life and the threat of Mary Queen of Scots have been dealt with by many other authors. George was wise to look at the latter part of Elizabeth's rule and her relationship with Lettice's son from her first marriage, the Earl of Essex. George convincingly writes about the conflicts with Spain and Ireland and the exploits of Raleigh, Drake, John Dee, Shakespeare, and even John Donne. The aging of Elizabeth's able advisors, her own innate intelligence, and the politics of her opponents are all worked in to a compelling read. I enjoyed and appreciated George's prose with her explanations and descriptions of a very exciting era in British history.

Enjoying your reviews Cyrel. Sounds like you're having a good reading year.

Thanks, Amanda- it is a good reading year! Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. I thought when I started to read this novel that it would follow a typical situation comedy of manners. However I was greatly mistaken. This remarkable first novel introduces a number of interesting people who live in the small English village of Edgecombe St. Mary. Major Pettigrew is the center of attention with his growing attraction to Mrs. Ali, the owner of the village convenience store. The story of Mrs. Ali's nephew, the Major's son Roger, and the saga of the Churchill guns are just some of the threads that work through this story. The author creates characters that are humorous, and not always totally good or bad. A good book to read if you need some uplifting!

March Violets by Philip Kerr- part of the Berlin Noir trilogy. Kerr has written a series of excellent detective stories featuring the detective Bernie Gunther. A former policeman who is now a private detective in 1933 Berlin, this story has him looking for a stolen necklace that turns into a more sinister plot. Burned bodies, corrupt industrialists and important papers lead Gunther through the underbelly of Berlin and the rising power of the Nazis. A great read.

The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr. The second in this series has Gunther joining the police again to lead an investigation into the murders of school girls and the influence of some members of a Nazi subculture. This time the year is 1938. Gunther has been a private detective looking into a blackmailing when his partner is killed. The tow plots do merge as the killings are part of a larger plan to discredit Jews. Very well written.

A German Requiem by Philip Kerr. This third book in the series of mystery thrillers takes place in 1948 Vienna. The private detective, Bernie Gunther has survived the war and is trying to make a living in Berlin. He is asked by a Russian officer to locate someone who might help a German who has been charged with killing an American officer. Gunther finds that his case leads him to a German Nazi organization who are giving information to the Americans- although they are also whitewashing the backgrounds of certain prominent Nazis. Gunther eventually finds an elusive officer -Heinrich Muller-who was supposed to have died at the end of the war. There are double crosses, much killing and an interesting ending. I have enjoyed this series and am looking for the next books.

The Philip Kerr books sound interesting, thanks for the reviews I will be checking them out.

Your Sad Eyes and Unforgettable Mouth by Edeet Ravel. This is the fourth book by Ravel that I have read. I do like her style. Ravel handles the subject of the children of Holocaust survivors in this novel. It is the story of Maya and her friendship with Rosie, Patrick and Anthony. All have parents who survived the Holocaust and the resulting damage shapes the lives of the these young people. Ravel's story of how these teenagers coped in the late 1960's and early 70's in Montreal is well told. A sad but excellent read.

Your winning streak continues!

Shadow Maker The Life of Gwendolyn MacEwen by Rosemary Sullivan. I really enjoyed this biography of MacEwen . The author was able to interview the poet's contemporaries and knew her as well. Gwendolyn MacEwen really survived a difficult childhood.( mother who was in hospitals with mental illness, a doting father who had an alcohol problem) She set out at age nineteen to be a writer and poet and she did. Teaching herself Hebrew, Arabic and Greek, MacEwen explored her many interests in mythology and a number of cultures. She wrote about 20 books and did survive as a writer although Sullivan tried to find out what early trauma led MacEwen to destructive tendencies in her life. MacEwen's disastrous marriage to poet Milton Acorn and her later relationships and travels all find a place in her work. Sullivan integrates information and analysis of MacEwen's wonderful poetry into the story of her life. Margaret Atwood was a good friend of MacEwen and lent her collection of letters and recollections to the author. This book was hard to put down. I also know some of the places that Sullivan talked about- in 1960's and 70's Toronto.

My ER book came and I read it last night. I interrupted my reading of a biography of the Canadian poet Irving Layton. Apparently Layton asked the author Elspeth Cameron to write it but did not like what she wrote. It is provocative but good.
Oh- my ER book
Building the Pauson House: The Letters of Frank Lloyd Wright and Rose Pauson edited by Allan Wright Green. This very attractive book is a compendium of the correspondence between the celebrated architect and one of his clients , an artist from California. Rose Pauson hired Wright to build her a house in Arizona. The drawings and plans are beautiful and reflect Wright's design aesthetic. The structure combines both elegant horizontal lines in wood and rough stone underpinnings. The letters of Pauson and the responses of Wright are not outstanding pieces of writing. They are just the back and forth comments about plans and finances. Unfortunately a year after the building was finished, it did burn down in a fire. This book serves as a memorial to the house and to the working relationship of a very noted architect to his client. An interesting book

83 - I got this from ER as well. I skimmed through but haven't sat down to look at it more closely yet.

Irving Layton A Portrait by Elspeth Cameron. Working with an author on their biography must be like walking on a tightrope. You have to balance the trust that the subject gives you andaccess to papers, interviews and friends with your own judgement. I wonder what went through the mind of biographer Elspeth Cameron who was asked by Irving Layton to write his biography.Cameron has written a very critical volume. She knew a number of Layton's colleagues She acknowledges Layton's importance to the development of Canadian poetry in the 20th century and the poems that she feels are landmarks. Cameron does not spare the reader with the accounts of Layton's ego, bad behaviour, and treatment of fellow poets, his five wives and his children. Cameron states that Layton did not edit his work well and published matarial that should never have seen the light of day. At the same time, Layton did work very hard supporting three households with work as a teacher in a Jewish school in Montreal and as a lecturer at Sir George Williams University. He was a tenured professor at York University in Toronto for over 10 years. Yet the contradictions pile up- admired by his students as an excellent teacher, criticized by his friends for seducing female students and having bad judgement in encouraging some younger poets, and supported by people like Leonard Cohen. Layton was all passion and bombast and yet he was the pre-eminent poet in the 1950's and early 60's in Canada. Apparently he hated this book and wrote the author many insulting letters. Cameron uses this book to give an overview of poetry in Canada and Montreal in the years of Layton's writings. The books ends in 1995. Later Layton was diagnosed with Alzheimers and died in his early 90's. In a way, his life was as he wanted to live it ,with the excess and opinions that were not popular. I did like the book . Was Cameron fair to her subject? I don't know. The questions that I think of relate to artists behaving badly. Do we put up with outrageous behavior because of their talent? ( Think of Picasso) Or should we be more critical of their day to day life? Apparently Layton wrote his own book- I must look out for it.

Interesting reviews.

Interesting questions! It seems like biographers are more often guilty of being too kind to their subjects. Poor Layton! ;-) Well, I'm not really that sympathetic towards him--he sounds like a real jerk!

One of my English Profs touched on this odd contrast between Layton's poetry, which she loves, and his personal life. She was a very straight-laced woman, and was shocked at his belief that relationships between students and profs were perfectly normal and acceptable.

I'm not sure how I feel about the questions you raise at the end - actors, actresses, musicians, etc., seem to be able to get away with less than respectable behaviour, or at least, they can still earn an awful lot of money despite doing some really inappropriate things. Why should we be more critical of writers? Should we hold them to a higher standard, because we see writing as more intellectual? I'm not really sure.

It is an interesting debate abourt double standards and talent! I don't think that anyone has answered this question. My favourite uproar was over the Picasso:Creator and Destroyer biography by Arianna Huffington. The author really hated the artist and the book is full of venom. An accurate depiction?
and my next book about equally infamous people!
The Mitfords Letters Between Six Sisters edited by Charlotte Mosley. I had read most of Jessica Mitfords books-including her Hons and Rebels and A Fine Old Conflict. The book of letters by and to the fascinating six Mitford sisters reveals their love for each other ( mostly) inspite of widely differing political opinions. The book was edited by Diana Mosley's daughter-in-law Charlotte. She does try to interpret the reasons for some of the actions of her mother in law and her sisters. Whether that opinion is justified is up to the reader to decide. Some of the letters are about day to day activities and some about thoughts on previous actions that caused some grief. Nancy was the novelist who lived in France. Diana had left her first husband and married Sir Oswald Mosely, the English Fascist leader. Deborah, who did become the " centre" for all the sisters, was the Duchess of Devonshire and responsible for remaking Chatsworth. Jessica eloped and went to live in the United States. She was a Communist
( eventually gave it up) and wrote a landmark expose of the American funeral industry. Unity, probably one most controversial sister, went to live in Germany and met and admired Hitler. When England and Germany declared war, she shot herself. Unity did survive but lived a limited life with her mother until she died in 1948. Pamela the sister who did not write many letters in this collection , was a true eccentric and lived in Switzerland for a few years before returning to England. Today, reading the letters of women who were not schooled by their equalling unusual parents, the contemporary reader may be shocked by the casually held opinions on various people.They knew world leaders and literary giants of their time. Certainly, Diana's defence of her husband and his political party,and her thoughts on Hitler ( she was a supporter of Hitler and brushed off most of his actions in the war) seem very objectionable today. Charlotte Mosely explains that most of the sisters, with their contradictions and feuds, hid their vulnerability under humour. Mosely's commentary throughout the book provides a focus and explanations for some of the sisters' actions. A very interesting read of a very different world.

Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls. The author calls this book a "true-life novel". She writes as if it was a novel but the story is about Walls' grandmother, Lila Casey Smith. Walls was going to write about her mother but realized that Lila had a wonderful story. This book is a testament to gutsy women. Lila Casey Smith was raised on farms in Texas and later lived briefly Chicago and then in Arizona.She was a schoolteacher, put herself through college, " broke" wild horses, learned to drive a car and fly a plane. With her husband , she managed large ranches. Lila Casey Smith was a survivor. This well written book is a tribute to her.

I've had The Mitfords: Letters between Six Sisters on the TBR for several years now, and will eventually get to it. I've enjoyed both Jessica's and Nancy's books.

I first read Jessica Mitford's memoirs and then the biography on her sister Unity. I know that Mary Lovell wrote a book about all the Mitford sisters and am looking for it.

The One From the Other by Philip Kerr. This is the fourth book in the series about detective Bernie Gunther. And what a mystery it is! The reader can forgive the plot lines that all come together at the end. Why? Well, what other book takes you to Pre World War II Palestine and Egypt, post war Vienna and and Munich in the company of Eichmann,escaping Naz concentration camp doctors, priests who rescued Jews and now do the same for escaping Nazis, murderous CIA agents, and Jewish Vengance squads? This was quite an adventure and I have to find the next book in this series.

>89 torontoc:, I loved the book of letters. Such fascinating women living in fascinating times. I've got a biography of them somewhere which will be interesting to read to see how an 'outsider' presents them.

Essex County by Jeff Lemire. This graphic novel collection consists of three connecting novels about people who live in Essex County, Ontario near Windsor. The stories follow one specific family through much heartbreak and troubled relationships. The first story, Tales from the Farm follows a young boy living with his uncle after his mother dies. The boy strikes up a friendship with a man who runs the gas bar and was known for his brief time in professional hockey. The readers learns more than the boy about this man. It is interesting that the graphic format is used very effectively here to express the silences and lack of communication between the characters.Ghost Stories goes back a generation to relate the story of two young men who go to Toronto from Essex County to play on a hockey team. The estrangement of the men and their later histories lead to the next novel The Country Nurse. A nurse takes care of an old man who daydreams about his past. Her history, about a nun leading orphans out of danger to Essex County is told as well. The artist/writer provides the reader with added stories and a family tree at the end of the book -this material adds to the effect of the "total" book. Essex County was one of the books nominated for the CBC "Canada Reads" series. I can see why this book was chosen and the author communicates emotion and character wrapped up in a good story.
(Touchstones a little wonky today)

41. Lamb by Christopher Moore. Moore is a very good writer. This book was fun to read, although the subject is one that is rarely satirized. The subtitle is " The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal." The narrator is one Levi, better known as Biff. He was raised from the dead in modern times by an angel who wants him to write about his times with Jesus. Biff fills in the blanks of Jesus' life between the ages of 10 to 30. Moore imagines travels to Asia to talk to the three wise men , who happen to be leaders and founders of sects of Buddhism. The story is funny and irreverent, while making some good points about religion.

Enjoying your reviews and comments, Cyrel.

Thanks, Amanda.
I was looking forward to the next book but was a little disappointed.
The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam. This novel tells the story of Edward Feathers and his wife Elizabeth, but from her point of view. Gardam initially wrote about Edward's story in the book Old Filth. I was eager to read this book since I really liked Old Filth. The story of betrayal and loyalty covered Edward's career in Hong Kong and his old age in England. The characters were complex but I was a little disappointed with the belated revelation that Edward makes at the end of the book. As well, Elizabeth's life in a Japanese prison camp and her later work at Bletchley Park do not figure in the story as much as they should.( in fact , how is that remotely possible?) I was happy to fill in the blanks of the Feathers' story but do think that Old Filth is a better book.

Thanks for that review of The Man in the Wooden Hat, and especially your comparison of it with Old Filth. I started to buy both books from a liquidation sale at a local Borders but wasn't sure if I should get both or one of them (and which of the two to get). I'll plan to get Old Filth later this week.

Old Filth was one of my favorites last year, so don't think I really want to hear Elizabeth's story. Great review though.

Thanks!

Apocalypse for Beginners by Nicholas Dickner. I thought that the characters were engaging but the story ended without an ending. I was disappointed as I liked his first book, Nikolski. Dickner created Ann and Hope Randall, mother and daughter from the Maritimes who end up in a small Quebec town. Ann was trying to avoid the apocalypse as her inheritance from her family was the curse of looking for the last day on earth and then dying. Hope made friends with Mickey Bauermann and spent most of her time with him trying to find the solution to this end of days mission. The book's narration alternates between Mickey and Hope. The charm of the story and the likeable characters is lost to me by an " non"ending. I appreciated the writing but ultimately was dissatisfied with ending.

The Balkan Trilogy by Olivia Manning. I have to thank rebeccanyc for reading and reviewing this book- last year? I think that although the trilogy is made of three connecting novels, it read well as one continuing story. I loved the history of Rumania and the run-up to World War II. Manning's description of the characters of British men and women living and working in cities about to be taken over by the Germans and her astute portrayal of the marriage of Guy and Harriet Pringle made this book a great read for me. ( all over 1000 plus pages!)

Glad you liked The Balkan Trilogy. Its sequel, The Levant Trilogy, is also interesting but not nearly as insightful.

I have The Levant Trilogy on my read next pile!

Every Day in Tuscany: Seasons of an Italian Life by Frances Mayes. This is a lovely book but I think that the reader should look at Mayes' previous books on her Tuscan life in order to understand the story. An added bonus is the inclusion of recipes at the end of many chapters. The book makes me want to go to Italy soon.

The Better Mother by Jen Sookfong Lee ( the touchstones are all wrong but this is an ARC). Jen Soonfong Lee has written a very touching story about a young man, Danny who is a photographer in Vancouver in the early 1980's. His estrangement from his parents and his friendship with a stripper by the name of Miss Val are the main themes of the novel. Hiding secrets, be it Danny's sexual orientation and love for a former lover dying of AIDS or Miss Val's disclosure of her identity to her child lead the characters to make choices in their lives. The author tells the story with very descriptive and wonderful prose. Highly Recommended.

Cyrel - how did you get an ARC for the Jenn Lee book? (She's married to one of my hubby's friends).

I subscribed to www.booklounge.ca and filled out a reuqest to be on the "editorial" board at one point- it was a couple of years ago- I get email surveys about 2-3 times a year. They have draws for books and I have received 3 wonderful books!
This book will be out in June.

I used to get books from them too, but then I changed my e-mail address and can't figure out how to update it with them. I must try again. Anyway, good to hear that the book come recommended!

A Quiet Flame by Philip Kerr. I have really enjoyed this series featuring detective Bernie Gunther. In this novel Kerr contrasts gruesome killings in Berlin in 1932 with Gunther's time in Argentina in 1950. Gunther works for a Colonel in Peron's government to look for a missing girl. However, he discovers the real story that involves transferring money from Swiss Bank accounts and hidden Nazis. Kerr mixes fact with " what would happen if" to create a compelling story of a very unsavoury time in Argentina

The Levant Trilogy by Olivia Manning. ( made up of the following novels that really work together as one book and story-The Danger Tree, The Battle Lost and Won, and The Sum of Things.) I really enjoyed reading The Balkan Trilogy and was eager to read the next set of novel that comprised the sequel. Harriet and Guy Pringle have been evacuated to Egypt during the early years of World War II. The author not only relates their story but introduces a new character, Simon Boulderstone, In alternating chapters, the reader learns about Simon's role in the war and his adventures in the desert. Harriet is really the focus in Egypt and her disillusionment with her husband. I did enjoy this book for the characters and the history of the war in this area of the world.

As I said on your other thread, I am a huge fan of The Balkan Trilogy and a slightly lesser fan of The Levant Trilogy. I also loved Manning's very different but equally psychologically perceptive School for Love.

thank you- I will have to add that book to my list of books to look for!

Tinkers by Paul Harding. I read this book for my book club meeting. I must admit that while I can appreciate the artistry of the writing style and the imagery, this was not my favourite book. I don't mind sentences that go on forever- in fact W.G Sebald used them very effectively. This is a very " impressionistic' story of a man dying and his memories of his life and his father as well as his father's recounting of his life. The two stories do meet at points.

The Road: Stories, Journalism and Essays by Vasily Grossman and edited by Robert Chandler. ( touchstones not working well tonight)
This book of Grossman's short stories and reporting is very good.I liked the commentary and history by the editors as well. The stories in some cases refer to real events. Grossman's report on Treblinka is included in this collection as well

As I mentioned on your other thread, there is little to match the power of "The Hell of Treblinka," even if later scholarship has corrected some of Grossman's facts.

Last year I read Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman and it was fantastic.

Grossman is one of my all-time favorite authors and Life and Fate is one of my all-time favorite books, so I'm glad you liked it too, Amanda.

I have to read Life and Fate soon- it is near the top of one of my book piles.
The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama. This is a wonderful story set in Japan in the late 1930's. A young Chinese man is sent by his family to his grandfather's beach house in the Japanese village of Tarumi. Stephen has TB and his father, who lives in Kobe asks that he leave Hong Kong and recuperate in Japan. During his time at the small house, Stephen meets Matsu a servant who takes care of him and later Sachi, Kenzo and Keiko. Stephen learns of their relationships and history and becomes a more mature person as a result. Tsukiyama's prose is accomplished and her insights into the human psyche are worth reading in this book.

I loved parts of Tinkers right from the start, but initially felt it was disjointed. It's definitely not the kind of book that makes you think, "Oh, I've got to read on to find out what happens next," but there were so many parts that I adored and read more than once. I could imagine, though, that given another time, or being in a different mood, I would have tossed it aside.

Interesting to read about The Samurai's Garden. I recently read The Makioka Sisters and loved it.

The speaker at my book club loved Tinkers. She read some passages out loud and the artistry was really evident. She also compared Harding's style to W.G.Sebald.

If The Dead Rise Not by Philip Kerr. This is another spy/mystery/ historical fiction novel featuring Bernie Gunther. The book is divided between Berlin in 1934 and Havana 1954. In 1934, Gunther is working for the Adlon Hotel and involved in a number of cases that lead to accusations of graft and murder. American gangsters and support of the Berlin Olympics are the main focus. In 1954, Gunther is in Havana, having been kicked out of Argentina. He meets important people from his past and several mysteries are solved. I must admit that I have liked the earlier books better but still look forward to the next.

The Puttermesser Papers by Cynthia Ozick. This satire is well written. However, it is really a book of short stories centering on Ruth Puttermesser. I found that the individual stories linked better at the beginning of the novel. The first series of events concerned Puttermesser who is demoted from her job with the city ( New York) as a new mayor takes over. Concerned with corruption, Puttermesser constructs ( although she does not have a memory of doing so) a female Golem. The Golem, self-named Xanthippe, helps Ruth become mayor and reform the city. The later downfall and Ruth's relationships with a suitor and later a newly found relative from the old Soviet Union form the rest of the collection. Beautiful writing but the stories do stand on their own. l.

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I read this book about a record executive, his assistant and various other characters whose lives intersect just after a good friend of mine died from a brain aneurysm. So although the incidents in this story have no resemblance to my friend's life -the music business was the focus of his life and this novel. Egan uses each chapter to describe one personality and shifts time so that you see the older and younger versions at various points of the story. This is a very impressive book and helped me reflect on a life lost that I really knew.

Glad you liked A Visit from the Goon Squad; it was one of my favorites of last year. Sorry about your friend.

Netherland by Joseph O'Neill. I really enjoyed the style of this excellent novel by O'Neill. Time past and present merges into the narrative by main character, Hans van den Broek. It is as if the reader were sitting down with this man and listening to the story of his life in New York and London. Van den Broek, a transplanted Dutchman lives at the Chelsea Hotel just after the World Trade buildings destruction. His wife has returned to England with their son and Hans has met Chuck Ramkissoon through his interest in cricket. The stories of both men and the difficult relationship with Hans's wife, Rachel are woven into the narrative of dreams lost and the settlements that people make. A truly engrossing book.

I'm on a roll here -- I loved Netherland too and it was one of my favorite books the year I read it and one of the very few books that reference 9/11 that I don't find annoying.

I agree!
The Naive and Sentimental Novelist by Orhan Pamuk. This book contains the essay(s) that made up the 2009 Charles Eliot Norton Lectures at Harvard. Pamuk writes about the two approaches to novel writing. He has adapted the ideas from Friedrich Schiller's work on " Naive" and "Sentimental" poets. Orhan discusses novels that influenced him and his style of writing. A very good work on the structure of the novel.

The Collected Stories of Joseph Roth translated by Michael Hofman This collection of Roth's stories are in a way a history of the era. Roth's concerns are with people and villages in forgotten corners of the old Austrian -Hungarian empire. The ideas and lives of women and men and the problems of life seem dated to the present day reader. The well crafted stories and fragments are a vital record of a past life in Europe.

The Impressionist by Hari Kunzru. I was overwhelmed by the nature of this book and the theme of identity, the satire , and the accurate and deadly views of empire, colonization and class. Wow! What a book! Pran Nath is half Indian and British. When the identity of his white father is made known to his family, he is thrown out of his house in Agra. Eventually Pran is taken Fatehpour, when he is to seduce a British major. However, he makes his way to Bombay, escapes and eventually takes on the identity of an Englishman. Pran becomes Jonathan, goes to Oxford and does become the white man that he had hoped to be. However, Jonathan is really not very perceptive. A major crisis leads him to examine who he is although the reader is not very clear as to Pran/Jonathan's fate. We do know that above all else, he is a survivor. Definitely a good read.

A Rage to Live A Biography of Richard and Isabel Burton by Mary S. Lovell. This biography was really interesting. i like the author's approach to her subjects. i think that this is the fourth book of hers that I have read. Certainly the explorer Richard Burton and his travels in Africa, India, the Middle East and South America make for interesting reading. Burton's problems with authorities are documented as well as his relationship with his wife , Isabel. Using archival material that was not seen by other biographers of the couple, Lovell refutes a number of opinions on the nature of the marriage and the support that Isabel gave to her husband. A good read for those interested in the history of exploration during the Victorian times.

A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton Porter. Every once and a while, I think about books that I read many years ago. This is one of them. I found this book at a church booksale up in the Muskoka region last summer. Written in 1909, the plot and thoughts of the author are very dated by today's standards. However, the idea of an independent woman and interests in nature were probably very forward thinking at the time. The story is sentimental and the characters all redeem themselves at the end. In a way, it is an optimistic view of life and I enjoyed reading the book and knew of the context and innocence of the early twentieth century.

I wasn't going to put mysteries on this thread- but the Shardlake series are so good. I enjoy the historical descriptions of events as well as the adventure of the plot.

Heartstone by C.J. Sansom. Ah- another chapter in the adventures of Tudor lawyer Matthew Shardlake. This story leads Matthew to Portsmouth and the war between the French and English. Two mysteries are presented. The story of Ellen Fettiplace and why she is in Bedlam and the dealings of a man and his wards are the main focus. Shardlake has been asked to investigate the case of two orphans- one now dead- by Queen Catherine Parr. Shardlake's persistence will lead to many secrets being revealed. Not only is this series interesting for the history, but the complicated plots are all well thought out.

Interested by your review of Heartstone, C J Sansom. I had a quick look on the authors page and noted that the first in the series is Dissolution. I am interested in the history but I also like a good mystery so this sounds good to me

Loved the whole series.

129> I loved Girl of the Limberlost when I was a kid, and I had much the same reaction as yours when I reread it a few years ago.

It is one of those books that require a re-read. I am just going to make sure that I don't give away my copy!
Red Azalea by Anchee Min. This memoir is interesting for the voice of the author. Many times the reader hears only the indoctrination that Min has grown up with in of her life-the ideas and rhetoric creeping into her thoughts and conversation. Min's experiences on the farm and then her life as a maybe film star show her growth as an individual. A good book to read for understanding the life of the Chinese people under Mao's rule.

It is one of those books that requires a re-read. I am just going to make sure that I don't give away my copy!
Red Azalea by Anchee Min. This memoir is interesting for the voice of the author. Many times the reader hears only the indoctrination that Min has grown up with in of her life-the ideas and rhetoric creeping into her thoughts and conversation. Min's experiences on the farm and then her life as a maybe film star show her growth as an individual. A good book to read for understanding the life of the Chinese people under Mao's rule.

Brooklyn by Colm Toibin. This is a very " lyrical" book about a young Irish woman who leaves Ireland and goes to the United States in the early 1950's. The author captures the atmosphere of both the small Irish town that the heroine , Eilis comes from and the Irish community in Brooklyn. The only point of contention that I have is with the character of Eilis, who seems to be persuaded by others to do everything that changes her life. It is beautifully written.

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson. I like reading books by Erik Larson. He depicts the most unlikely group to have represented the United States in Germany during the 1930's. The ambassador, William E. Dodd, is not like the other members of the foreign service. He is not rich and and his opinions are at odds with most of the members of his staff. Dodd seems to be an innocent in his comprehension of the political situation. At the end of his term, his warnings about the Nazis and their plans go unheeded. Dodd's daughter, Martha has affairs with Nazis, Soviet spies and more it seems. Her recklessness and attitudes are alarming. I would have liked to know more about Martha's political adventures with Russia but do appreciate Larson's book

Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart. I think that this is the best of the author's three novels that I have read. Set in a terrifying and weakened America of the future, Lenny Abramov writes about his loves and life in a diary. His love, Eunice Park texts friends and family about her struggles as well. Shteyngart imagines a future society where everyone is judged constantly on appearance, health, and net worth with their portable "apparats" or computer/smartphones. Chinese, and Norwegian companies will soon own the United States. Revolutions are crushed, and people are moved out of New York in order to make room for " high net worth" tourists. An engrossing satire and good read.

Interesting to read your thoughts on Super Sad True Love Story. I really enjoyed the first part of The Russian Debutante's Handbook, the New York part, but not the part when the protagonist goes back to Russia, and I didn't like some stories by him I read in The New Yorker, so I didn't read Absurdistan, but maybe I will try again with SSTLS.

I didn't like Absurdistan. This book is much better.

Still Here by Linda Grant. I really enjoyed this book by Linda Grant. She takes on the voices of two people- Joseph, an architect building a hotel in Liverpool and Alix, returning to Liverpool when her mother is near death. Grant uses the opportunity in her story of these two people to work in histories of Jews in Liverpool, the Yom Kippur War, Jews in pre and post war England and the firebombing of Dresden. What people keep secret in their lives is an important theme. Grant writes a good story. Her description of personalities is acute.

Thanks for those comments about Super Sad True Love Story; I think I'll read it after all.

The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. The author imagines the life of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley Richardson. Narrated by Hadley as her story, the novel starts in Chicago and moves to Paris, Toronto, Spain and the south of France. Those who are familiar with the saga of the " lost generation" of the 1920's will recognize the characters in this very good novel. A really nice read about the relationship of Hadley and Ernest Hemingway.

Spies of the Balkans by Alan Furst. I am a fan of the author's series on spies in World War 2. This latest book take place primarily in Salonika, Greece. The protagonist, Costa Zannis is a police official who becomes a key player in a group that helps German Jews escape from Berlin to Turkey. He also travels to Paris to help the British with a valuable escaped flyer and ends up in the brasserie that figures in all the books. I think that I like Furst's writing so much because I learn so much about the specific history of the places that he uses in each novel.

And Alan Furst is so good at portraying a good man caught in bad circumstances, and doing so in a nuanced way. Also, his books are relentlessly entertaining.

Agreed- I wonder why no one has filmed any of them.

Grace Williams Says It Loud by Emma Henderson This is an amazing book and has a wonderful main character. Henderson writes about the treatment of the disabled in an institution in England. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse are described very matter of factly by Grace Williams. She is brought to the "Briar" when she is 10 years old. Unable to speak and with multiple physical problems, nevertheless, Grace makes a lasting friend of Daniel. The two have many adventures as they grow to adulthood at the institution. The abandonment by family and Grace's resilience are two threads that run through this book. The love story of Grace and Daniel is memorable, I can understand why this book was on the Orange Prize shortlist.

The Boy in the Moon A Father's Search for His Disabled Son by Ian Brown. I read the series in the Globe and Mail Newspaper that Brown wrote about his son. This book relates not only the history of the author's search for answers about his son's disabilities but is also an intensely personal memoir of Brown and his family. Walker Brown was born with a genetic mutation that has been called CFC. He cannot speak,and has developed a tendency to constantly hurt himself. His father , Ian Brown is a journalist and this very moving book is the story of the father's journey. Besides telling the story of Walker's life at home and then at a group home that the family found after seven years of searching, Brown travels across the United States and to France. He interviews families with CFC children and explores the organization of L'Arche in France and Canada. Brown looks at the quality of life that his son has and the role of the disabled in our society. An excellent book.

The Third Teacher: 79 Ways You Can Use Design to Transform Teaching & Learning by OWP/P Architects, VS Furniture and Bruce Mau Design. This book has a number of contradictions. As a compendium of ideas on how to improve teaching, it is a good guide for educators and administrators. Since it was compiled by a group of architects and designers who do build furniture and schools, the examples show the best of the best. However, the irony is that there are faults with the design of the physical book itself. The pages are so heavy that the binding is not strong enough. ( My book fell apart). There is too much use of black ink ( problems with dyes that are not that good for the environment) in a book that lists environmentally aware programmes as a transforming way to enhance teaching.

Nice review of The Boy in the Moon, Cyrel. I also enjoyed it, and I'll write a review of it later this week.

The Boy in the Moon was a good book to read for Brown's thoughts on disability and coping.

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. What can I say that has not already been written? This 2011 Orange Prize winner is a great story. For a first novel, the author has created a very accomplished story. The story of Natalia, a doctor in an un-named Balkan country and her grandfather is told in a series of memories. Natalia is on a mission to innoculate children at an orphanage in the neighboring country. She is anxious to learn about the details of her grandfather's death in a small village nearby. Interspersed with her story are the stories and legends that her grandfather told her about his early life and the people that he met- the tiger's wife, the deathless man and the fate of the tiger in the zoo. The legends and the events of war and conflict figure in the lives of both Natalia and her grandfather. A really brilliant story.

Astonishing Splashes of Colour by Clare Morrall I heard about this book on LT and had it sitting on a book pile for a while. It is a beautifully written story narrated by an interesting yet unstable young woman. Kitty is the daughter of an eccentric artist. She has four older brothers who live very different lives. Her older sister disappeared when she was very little and her mother was killed in an accident. Kitty is married but lost a child late in her pregnancy. She lives in a separate apartment from her husband. The book relates the story of her life during a period when she makes some very bad choices probably as a result of losing her baby. As well, her family gives her some jarring news as well. Morrall writes about damaged souls and their effect on the people around them. Very good book. - it was shortlisted for the 2003 Man Booker Prize

The Tiger A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant. I really enjoyed this account of a murderous tiger in Russia's Far East. The wounded tiger had eaten two men and the local authorities in charge of managing the animal population had to hunt it down.This detailed story is about more than the tiger - it is about the state of the environment and the story of predators-man and animal. In a way although the book is about how the lead tracker goes about investigating how the men were killed, it is also about situation of an endangered species. Highly recommended

Indigo In Search of The Color that Seduced the World by Catherine E. McKinley. This ER book is more than a story of indigo- it is the memoir of the author and her own personal journey. McKinley goes to Ghana on a Fullbright Scholarship to research indigo and the materials or prints made with wax and cotton with this precious dye. She makes a number of important friendships with people who live in West Africa and she tracks down the earliest adire prints that she can find in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger and the ivory Coast. The book becomes a compendium of legends, history of trade and cloth and the lessons that the author learns about the important things in life. I must admit that I knew one of the authors in McKinley's bibliography list and have an out of print book that she should have consulted ( Adire Cloth in Nigeria edited by Jane Barbour and Doig Simmonds. The University of Ibadan, Nigeria 1971).
In fact while I enjoyed the stories, I was able to appreciate the significance of indigo because I had studied the process and the cloths produced in Africa and Japan in art courses. I think that a straight forward explanation of indigo, the dye, and the resist processes used to make the cloths is found in other sources. This book is about the author's encounters with African culture and what she takes from it to her own life.
As I looked at McKinley's photos of adire cloth, I realized that I had examples that I had bought from people who were mentioned in her book. ( The "Canadians" mentioned in one story!)

Nice review of Indigo: In Search of The Color that Seduced the World, Cyrel. Suzanne (Chatterbox) lent it to me last month, so I'll probably read it very soon.

It was interesting, although the sub title is probably misleading to those want to learn about indigo.

Sorry by Gail Jones. This Australian writer has created a very sensitive story of a very disfunctional family living in the outback of Western Australia. Perdita is the neglected child of two mismatched parents. Her father is a failed anthropologist who dreams of great work. He married a woman , Stella who retreats from life by reciting Shakespeare and ignoring her daughter. Stella spends time in a mental health facility at various points of the story. The reader learns quite early that the father sexually abuses Aboriginal women. As well, he seems to have been killed by Mary, the young woman who comes to care for Perdita when her mother is sent away to an institution.. At that point Perdita begins to stutter. She may have been a witness to the murder. We do find out the true story and the sacrifice made by Mary. In fact the title "Sorry" has a double meaning not only in the story but in real life as the author points out in a note . A very complex set of relationships are skillfully handled by the author in this excellent novel.

A Man in Uniform by Kate TaylorThis historical fiction novel is about the Dreyfus case in France. A lawyer, Francois Dubon, manages his daily life with work, meals with his wife and son and a daily meeting with his mistress. Everything changes when he is asked by a mysterious woman to look into the charges against Captain Dreyfus, now imprisoned on Devil's Island. Dubon manages to borrow a uniform from his brother-in-law and walk into the Counter-spy section of the French army( The Statistical Section) and masquerade as a newly arrived clerk. The story of how he finds out information to prove the innocence of Dreyfus, the sinister behaviour and coverups by a former friend and the French government and the upheaval in his household make great reading.

Cod: A biography of the Fish that Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky. I previously read the author's book on Salt. This informative book gives the history of not only this fish but the catching methods, explorers who discovered fishing areas in North America, and of course the politics. Cod have been fished out of many areas and whether they " will come back" is an unanswered question. The book also includes recipes old and new and interesting quotes. The design and illustrations are quite nice as well.

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox. What a wonderful melodramatic read! Cox created a proper Victorian plot with hidden heirs, unattainable inheritances, revenge plans, and more. Edward Glyver, the narrator, searches for his true identity. He finds out that his supposed mother was part of a plan to hide the child of her good friend, Lady Tansor. Glyver is really the son of Lord Tansor who in turn is trying to make Phoebus Daunt, his heir. Of course Daunt is Edward's enemy. For a story full of revelations of crime, unrequited loves and betrayals, Cox's style is clear and a pleasure to read. I look forward to the sequel.( which I have in my book pile.)

The Glass of Time by Michael Cox. I had this sequel to Cox's The Meaning of Night and was curious -so I read it next. Again -wonderful Victorian Melodrama. This novel is about the mysterious young woman, Esperanza Gorst, who is placed as the personal maid to the Baroness Tansor. Esperanza, or Alice as she is known to the inhabitants of Everwood is an orphan brought up in Paris by her guardian. She is to spy on her mistress- the love and betrayer of Edward Glyver (see the last book). This well told story of secrets, more killings,and sinister characters ties up the plot from the last novel and introduces more letters,and explanations of past behaviours. I knew what the revelations would be way before the plot got around to solving the mysteries. That is the only fault. However, the reader should want to appreciate the style. I do like the title of the academic who supposedly introduce both books as manuscripts from the university's library-Professor of Post-Authentic Victorian Fiction. That says it all!
I have had my fill of melodrama and the Victorians for a while- on to some non-fiction

The Sisters of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Discovered the Hidden Gospels by Janet Soskice. This biographyof two Scottish twin sisters and their adventures and scholarship in discovering a very early version of the Gospels is well written. Agnes and Margaret Smith are brought up to be physically fit and academicly knowledgeable by their wealthy father. Although both sisters marry late and are widowed, they travel widely in Egypt , Greece, Cyprus and the Sinai in the late 1880's and 90's. Able to speak many languages, including Greek and Arabic, they are able to travel to St. Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai, befriend the monks and photography a very old manuscript that proves to be very important in Bible scholarship. They were also friends of Soloman Schechter and saw the Cairo Genizah with him.The author's style is clear and very informative-I certainly enjoyed reading it.

I've ordered that, Cyrel, and am looking forward to reading it as a follow-up to Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza. Glad to know you enjoyed it.

I have Sacred Trash on my wishlist!

The Memory Chalet by Tony Judt. This slim volume of memoirs was written under very unusual circumstances. The author had ALS and would die in August 2010. These memoirs of Judt's life and ideas are dated in the text as May 2010. In a way it is hard to find fault with the author's ideas as this book is a farewell with the important milestones in Judt's life remembered and imagined as "arranged" in a Swiss chalet of memory. ( as Judt recalls in The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci by Jonathan Spence, a book that I read a number of years ago) Definitely worth reading as a memorial to an important historian.

I also started reading Judt's book The Memory Chalet in March, but have mislaid my copy after returning from a short trip. I recall that, while not all short pieces were interesting, many contained very striking observations, especially about the 1960s, 70s etc. A very interesting little book (which I hope to retrieve one of these days).

Where the God of Love Hangs Out by Amy Bloom I like this author's short stories better than her last novel. The book's selections are mainly grouped around two couples- William and Clare and then Lionel and Julia.William and Clare are married to other people but are friendsThey eventually leave their spouses and marry. The fall out from their relationship forms the theme of many of the stories. Julia is Lionel's stepmother and their relationship is traced over the years. No one in these stories is perfect but the writing and personalities created are striking. I enjoyed the insights that Bloom gives the reader in her work.

I loved Where the God of Love Hangs Out and agree it's much better than her novel, Away, and it is also better than her earlier books of short stories, so I'll be eager to see what she writes next.

I did see Amy Bloom when she came to the Toronto Authors' Festival a couple of years ago. She was on a panel and I wanted to read some of her work after.
This next book- I am shaking my head. So grim!

Tales of the Lost Ten Tribes by Tamar Yellin. I had mixed feelings about this book of short stories. The theme is based on the ten lost tribes of Israel although the stories are about nameless narrators who are rootless. The first story is the best- a young person( male? female? ) is entranced with a visiting uncle who styles himself as a traveller and adventurer. He creates much tension in his brother's house. The rest of the book relate the stories of the narrator and the people met- themselves " displaced" to quote the back of the book. The prose is accomplished but the atmosphere is always grim. I didn't get the idea that the narraor was supposed to be the same person until the last story. I'm on the fence about this book.

Silk by Alessandro Baricco. This very slim novel is really a fable about obsession. Many phrases describing the travels of the main character,Herve Joncour, are repeated in the story. Joncour travels to Japan to buy silk worms for the industry in a town in France.He encounters a mysterious woman who does not look Japanese at the home of a powerful nobleman in Japan. He nevers speaks to her but is compelled to return to Japan to see her although the only communication is a note in Japanese that she passes to him that he must have translated in France. The conclusion of the book is shocking and somewhat unexpected. Interesting and very brief read.

The French Father by Alain Elkann. This very brief but interesting fiction/memoir is about the imagined conversation that the author's father has with the man in the next burial plot in Montparasse Cemetery. The story is also about the interviews that Elkann has with the relatives, friends and lovers of Roland Topoc. the dead artist buried next to his father. Throughout the book, the memoirs of the estranged father and son, and the information about the very different person who is buried next to him merge with the memories of the author. The reader is not sure what is fact and what is fiction. Very accomplished work by the author and his translator.

oops- can't edit on my computer- so Montparnasse is the cemetery

The French Father sounds interesting; I'll add it to my wish list.

Waiting by Ha Jin. This novel gives the reader a sense of life in China under Mao. An army doctor has waited about 17 years before he can divorce his wife. Never really living together, Lin really married Shuyu so that she would take care of his mother and father while he was away at his hospital assignment. Lin became involved with a nurse, Manna Wu, who did wait for him. The story of their relationship and the boundaries that determined what they could and could do, reveals a world that western readers might have very little understanding. The end is not quite satisfying to me, but the story is very powerful.

My Animal Life by Maggie Gee. This memoir was a little unusual for me to read.The author uses the image of animal life to explain her own behaviours, and emotions. Gee related some very painful accounts of her mother and father's marriage. Gee decided to not expose all about her brothers, husband and daughter, so the view that the reader gets is about her inner life as a writer. Gee gives advice and talks about the writing process and her own personal growth. We learn about her mother and father's families, her father's abuse of her mother and herself and her thoughts on class. As a North American, reading Gee's writing on rising from a "lower class" through an excellent education to the middle class, I was not able to empathize with her triumph. This sensitivity to class is really foreign to me. Otherwise, Gee's account of her writing history,and her understanding of the good and bad in her relationship to her family was very interesting. This book is about a writer's progress.

Stamboul Train by Graham Greene. I forgot how much I liked reading Graham Greene.This book published in 1932, is about a number of people travelling on the Orient Express from Ostend to Istanbul. The rich merchant, the dancer, the exiled political leader, the killer, the muckraking journalist- it was all a great read about plots and fleeting relationships.

The Horse Boy: A Memoir of Healing by Rupert Isaacson I saw the documentary of Isaacson's trip to Mongolia to heal his son and saw the author speak. I found the book about a year later. Both book and film were very moving. Isaacson and his wife Kristen had a autistic son, Rowan who seemed to respond more positively when he rode a horse near their home. He also had a good reaction when confronted with "shamans" from Africa who Isaacson was helping. The author decided to take his family to Mongolia toride horses and see shamans there. He arranged for the trip to be filmed. The trip was quite an undertaking- with healing cermonies by groups of shamans,and arduous trips on horseback over mountain ranges to meet a specific shaman.Rowan also had the experice of riding a reindeer who belonged to one of the remote groups that the family met. During this trip, Rowan made his first friend, a little boy who was the son of the guide. Isaacson's narration of this experience was very interesting and very honest as he wrote of his doubts and then belief in the work of the healers. Rowan did improve and shed his destructive behaviours gradually. The author writes of his work in establishing a ranch for autistic children in Texas to help them relate to the world. Certainly this story is inspiring.

A World Elsewhere by Wayne Johnson. I was really looking forward to reading the latest novel by Johnson. I enjoyed his previous works for their characterization and imaginative plots. His memoir Baltimore's Mansion was excellent. But I am disappointed by this book. The names and plays on words are good. The idea that a Newfoundland native, Landish Druken and a wealthy American, "Van" Vanderluyden become friends at Princeton and that their fates are drawn together is interesting. However, the life of Druken, disowned by his father for not following his career as a ship's captain is curiously not as compelling. Druken suffers poverty as he adopts a little boy and is only relieved when the two go to live with Van at his mansion in North Carolina. The character of Druken does not lead to empathy as much as annoyance at his stupidity. His love of his young charge, Deacon is the only redeeming feature.The prose is very good but I am left curiously unmoved by the plot.
This book is on the long list for the Giller Prize.

I can't edit on my computer- so would like to point out that I spelled Wayne Johnston's name incorrectly on the last posting.

The Last Rain byEdeet Ravel. Ravel uses a six year old as one of her main narrators in this story about life on a kibbutz in Israel in the the early 1960's. Ravel also uses real life sources from the experiences of her own family at Kibbutz Susa in this multi-layered novel. The contradictions of creating a new way of living based on ideology are exposed in the narration of Dori and her life in the Children's House on the kibbutz. Ravel writes in a fragmented style, with accounts of the early days of the kibbutz in1949 and the earlier attempts to cultivate the land in 1922. The narration works although the reader has to get used to the sections of dialogue from many different sources. I did like this work and the information about what was real at the end of the book was fascinating.

Alone in the Classroom by Elizabeth Hay. I really like Hay's writing style. Her descriptions are elegant and her plot lines complex. There are two stories in this novel -those of Connie , a teacher in a small Prairie school in1929 and her niece, Anne , living in the Ottawa valley in the present.Connie struggles to help a student, Michael, to learn how to read. She is suspicious of the motives of her principal, Parley Burns, when he pays special attention to a young girl who takes the lead in a school play based Hardy's Tess D'Urberville. After a stunning tragedy that affects one family, Connie moves back east and becomes a newspaper reporter. The second part of the story involves the murder of girl near Ottawa and Connie's reporting and thoughts on the killer. The section on Anne and her relationships with Connie and Michael complete the story. There are no neat resolutions and although I thought that the last part didn't have the strength of the first part of the book, I did enjoy Hay's work.

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje. This latest book by Ondaatje is fiction but the author does say that he took a similar trip when he was young. An eleven year boy old is sent by ship from then Ceylon to England to meet his mother. He is seated at the "Cat's table" for dinner along with two other boys, Cassius and Ramadhin and some interesting adults. The boys have a number of adventures and meet some very eccentric people. Ondaatje writes about the trip and the boy's reflections years later when he is an adult. Some of the hijinks are quite serious and have repercussions later on for some of the characters. The book is well written and skillfully moves from one era to another during the course of the story. I really liked this book and the mood that Ondaatje establishes,

I'm glad that you also enjoyed The Cat's Table, Cyrel.

Enjoyed catching up on your thread, Cyrel. Want to read that book about Indigo!

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt. Dewitt has written a very entertaining story about two brothers who are hired killers in the west in 1851. Their present task is to ride to San Francisco and kill a man who has angered their boss, the Commodore. Narrated by Eli, the story relates the casual killing of anyone who gets in the way of Eli and his more bloodthirsty brother, Charlie. The language is wonderful ( although there is a lot of blood and mayhem) and the plot surprising. This is a wonderful read and I see why it is on the Booker shortlist and the Giller longlist.

The Song is You by Arthur Phillips. Phillips has a wonderful way with words and phrases. His story of a man's obsession with a young singer is expertly told. Julian Donahue is a successful commercial director who hears an up and coming singer Cait O' Dwyer. They begin to communicate through email and songs that she writes. Julian's background of relationships from his estranged wife, Rachel, his mourning of his young son,his memories of his father's love of jazz and his disfunctional brother all contribute to his actions as he tries to court Cait. The singer encourages her mysterious admirer but missed opportunities lead to surprising ( or maybe not) choices. The use of words and the way Phillips write about the profound influence that music has on the lives of his characters is worth the read of this book.

Mr. Shakespeare's Bastard by Richard B. Wright Wright is a skillful writer. I previously read his Clara Callan-winner of a Giller prize. In this novel about the life of a young woman and her mother during the times of Shakespeare, Wright imagines that the playwright had an illegitimate daughter. The story is really about the small towns of England and the city of London during the years of the 17th century. The two women who are the subjects of the plot are dependent on their relatives for their livelihood and uncommonly know how to read. The historical aspect is interesting but
Shakespeare does not figure largely in the plot. An interesting book but I do see why it was not on the Giller longlist.

Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language by Deborah Fallows The author is a linguist who lived in China with her writer husband for three years. Her recollections of her life and growing understanding of the complexity of the Chinese language make for good reading. Each chapter introduces a different concept in the learning of the language accompanied by some of the author's experiences. Fallows realizes that understanding the Chinese personality is linked to the limits and rules of the language. Her journey in language mastery ( or in some case the lack of) is tracked with anecdotes and interesting instruction in the structure of Mandarin Chinese. An informative book.

A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay. I am a fan of this writer. Her language is superb and her characters are intriguing. Two very different sisters live with their father on a farm in depression era Saskatchewan. Lucinda, the oldest, is beautiful but devoted to keeping house. The younger sister, Norma Joyce is quirky, and selfish. They both are attracted to a handsome student of weather, Maurice, who lives with the family when he comes to do botany research. How both sisters are attracted to Maurice, the outcome of their love and the resulting consequences make up the plot as the family eventually moves to Ottawa. Norma Joyce spends time in New York and ultimately learns about her own talents and what her actions have done to her family. I do like the fact that the object of her affections is portrayed as flawed. The main " action" really take places in the first two thirds of the novel and the last part is really a summing up but I still enjoyed my reading.

I've had A Student of Weather on my TBR for almost 10 years--I really must pull it out soon. Thanks for the push.

The Moldavian Pimp by Edgardo Cozarinsky Thank you to
Rebeccanyc for introducing and reviewing this book! The story of a young man who interviews an old man in a nursing home in Argentina and investigates his story is a fascinating read. The story of Yiddish theatre in South America and the almost forgotten history of Jewish pimps and prostitutes is the subject for this book. What makes it unusual is that this group founded their own synagogues and cemeteries. I have read a non fiction book about this subject-Bodies and Souls: The Tragic Plight of Three Jewish Women Forced into Prostitution in the Americas by Isabel Vincent. I knew about the history as I read this novel that has as it's focus a play that might hold truths about a real incident.

186> sounds fascinating.

Just catching up with your reading, Cyrel! What a feast!

Thanks, Lois- this next book was not very good although I wanted to know more about the subject.
The China Lover by Ian Buruma. Sometimes when a respected writer of politics turns to fiction , the results are mixed. Buruma takes the true story of a Japanese woman whose exploits are the stuff of fiction and writes about her life.He uses three narrators from the life of Ri Koran or Yoshiko Yamaguchi or Shirley Yamaguchi. The structure is not very clear from the beginning but improves as the story of this Japanese actress- who makes films for the Japanese when they control most of China and then for Americans when they control post war Japan-progresses. The true story of this woman does seem like a bad soap opera. She marries the respected sculptor Isamu Noguchi at one point and later supports the Palestinian cause as a reporter and later as a politician. Buruma's narration doesn't really give the reader a sense of the real personality of this woman although her story is compelling to read.

When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman. This is the first book in a trilogy about the Plantagenets.The war that involved the factions who favoured Stephen or Maude as the ruler of England is the subject of this historical novel. Penman writes well about the endless changing of alliances and the misery of continuous war.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. This is a beautifully crafted book. Barnes introduces a number of interesting ideas about the unreliable narrator, memories and the real truth about past experiences. Tony, the narrator, relates his history of school, his friends, his first serious girlfriend ( to him) and her eventual betrayal with one of his friends. His memories become important to him when he is left a sum of money and papers by his former girlfriend's mother. Tony's quest to find out why and his learning of part of the story form the bulk of the plot. This book is very brief- the reader would like to hear more about the relationships. Barnes has written a very skilled teaser of a story. Worth of the Man Booker? I think so.

>189 torontoc:

Ian Buruma is not exactly a writer who has "turned to fiction" after a career in another genre, and I would not describe Buruma mainly as "a writer of politics".

Buruma is a sinologist, who then studied Japanese film. Originally he started out writing about Asian culture, which gradually developed into writing about the political cultures or countries in the Asian region, Far East in particular. In the early 1990s he published his first novel, Playing the Game which I acquired earlier this year, but haven't read yet. That novel, the game is cricket, is set in India.

I am not a great fan of Buruma. He has very outspoken opinions, of course, on China. However, most of his non-fiction is of outstanding quality, with the possible exception of Murder in Amsterdam which was sentimental, and insincere.

It looks like you're working your way through the Booker Short List. So are you thinking that Barnes's book should win, or that it's just deserving to be one of the bunch?

Thank you for more information on Ian Buruma.

I did like Julian Barnes 's book but I didn't read all the Booker shortlist- I did like The Sisters Brothers. I would say that Barnes is deserving of the prize.

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance by Edmund De Waal. De Waal, a noted potter, writes about the history of his family-The Ephrussis. He follows the purchase of a collection of Japanese carvings-netsuke- from his relative , Charles Ephrussi in nineteenth century Paris who bought the collection, to Victor and Emmy who lived in early 20th century Vienna and then to his uncle , Iggy in Japan. DeWaal traces and discovers the history of his wealthy banking family from Odessa to Paris and Vienna. He records the end of their business in Austria when the Nazis take over. This is a very emotional book as DeWaal looks at the relationships of his family and their accomplishments. A well written memoir and history.

Cool Water by Dianne Warren I really liked this novel about the inhabitants of a small town( Juliet) in present day Saskatchewan. A young man whose adoptive parents have left him their farm, a bank manager dissatisfied with his present life, a older man who can't express his feelings about his sister-in-law and the ghost of a lost camel are some of the characters and stories that the reader follows in this expertly written book. The history of a hundred mile horse race from years ago provides a thread that links part of the plot line. I can see why Warren won the Governor General of Canada Literary award last year, I believe.

#196 - I will have to hunt that one down sooner or later. Thanks for reminding me.

Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan. I liked this book. The subject matter- black musicians ( both American and German) caught in the nightmare of Nazi Germany and war time Paris was written using dialect and slang that I did get used to. The narrator, Sid, is asked to go to a festival in present day Berlin to view a film made about the music group he was part of during the 1930's and early 1940. He remembers how the group escaped to Paris. Sid also reviews his troubled relationship with the gifted trumpet player, Hiero- a German citizen and also black. Betrayals and love are important themes in this story. Definitely worth reading. I know that some LT readers did not like this book -but I did.

Out of the recent Booker shortlist, this is the only title my library system has decided not to acquire. I'll keep an eye out for a copy, as I'd like to get a closer look before deciding whether to buy it.

A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel. I am always admiring of the different voices that Mantel uses in her novels- Moral and ethical dilemmas are main themes in this story of faith and the lack of it. Ralph and his wife Anna live with their four children in Norfolk. Ralph runs the family trust that manages a half way house in London and other charity concerns. The story of their life of poverty as they sacrifice for others and the hidden secret of the tragedy of their brief sojourn in Africa propel the plot. Discovery and the changes in their children's lives as they grow up are important sections of the story as Ralph and Anna face a crisis in their relationship. A very good read.

I loved A Change of Climate too! Although I'm a big Hilary Mantel fan, I find some of her work better than others (I like that she takes risks and writes very different kinds of books), and this was one I was enthusiastic about.

Nice review, Cyrel. I haven't read any books by Hilary Mantel this year, although I've meant to. I'll add this one to my wish list (and I do remember that you were also high on this book, Rebecca).

I have been seeking out Mantel's early books- she is one of my favourite authors.

The Ghost Road by Pat Barker. This novel is one of Barker's trilogy on World War I and it won the 1995 Booker Prize- it gave me a chance to compare with the present day shortlist. I 'd say that the substance and story have much more depth than some of the present day novels considered for the prize. Barker follows two men-one based on a real life person and the other a fictional character. Lieutenant Billy Prior has recoverd from shell shock and is on his way back to the front in France. His exploits with lovers, both male and female, and his diary provide the half of the novel that deals with the horrors of the war on the front.One of his fellow soldiers is based on the poet, Wilfred Owen. The other major character is a psychologist, William Rivers, who treated Prior in England. Based on a real person, Rivers compares his experiences researching a tribe of former head hunters before the war while he is working in hospital and treating the war wounded. The juxtaposition of war experiences of Prior and Rivers' work in Melanesia give the reader insights into behaviour and reality of the war. A very good book

Lost and Found by Shaun Tan. This new volume contains updated versions of Shaun Tan's three books that were issued in Australia and not available in North America. Tan also contributes commentary on each of his stories. The rich illustration techniques that are an important feature of Tan's work provide each story with a fabulous new world. The Red Tree is about finding hope. The Lost Thing is about respect for the unknown. John Marsden's story about The Rabbits is an allegory about conquering and change. Highly recommended for the dazzling visual work and stories to think about.

The Frozen Rabbi by Steve Stern-I thought that Stern's very humorous( at first) take on a Rabbi frozen in 1890 and defrosted in 2001 in Memphis by one of the descendents of his keepers was a good history of the Lower East Side and Yiddish life. The two threads of the story alternate between the present day and the stories of the Karp family who shelter the frozen rabbi. In the present, after young Bernie Karp frees the Rabbi from his ice casket, the Rabbi watches too much television. He begins a new life as a proponent of a cult like study hall and Zen Jewish establishment that proves to be very profitable. The stories of the Karp men and women as they escape from the Old
World to the new and the conflicts that they encounter are entertaining. I hated the ending however. I may have to rant about the preoccupations of some present day male writers using the Lower East Side and Yiddish culture as their source for their fiction -compared with female writers,past and present,but I won't except to say that I found the way that Stern finished his story was very uncomfortable and a little puzzling.

Sounds intriguing, but maybe not intriguing enough for me to look for it.

I was very disappointed in the resolution to the book-a really terrible one.

What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a pleasure to read the essays of Gladwell, previously published in the New Yorker magazine.The author always looks looks at issues from a new point of view. And these essays take on both the seemingly mundane( advertisements on women's hair dye) and the more profound. (the Challenger explosion).Excellent read.

The Dirt on Clean : An Unsanitized History byKatherine Ashenburg. This history of what and why people kept clean or not through out history is a fun and fast read. Ashenburg was better on the Greek and Roman and medieval times than the modern day- I kept on wanting more. ( especially after reading Malcolm Gladswell's essay on hair dye and advertising )This is an interesting history on why or why not people bathed and used water to get rid of dirt. Ashenburg's information on the state of cleanliness in the times of Louis XIV makes me wonder on the various movies about the time that don't show the grime!

Sounds like fun, Cyrel!

The Glatstein Chronicles by Jacob Glatstein. This novel has a very interesting background. As part of the New Yiddish Library, the original two books that make up this novel were written in Yiddish in 1937 and then 1940. Ruth Wisse edited the books that were translated by Maier Deshell and Norbert Guterman. The story is based on Glatstein's trip from New York to Lublin, Poland to see his dying mother in 1934. The first book covers the voyage by ship, a stop in Paris and then the rail trip to Poland. This first book really conveys some of the anti-semitism and the unease felt by Jews in Europe. The second book is a little more puzzling as the story is about the narrator's stay in a hotel in Poland after the death of his mother and just before his return to the United States. The second book really shows the various kinds of Jews living in Poland- literate and secular or orthadox and learned. I did not get any sense of the coming destruction- in fact the lives portrayed in the second novel seem to live in a " bubble" of concern with children converting, or lives comfortable or not. The first book really showed the coming war and the various political opinions of the time. According to Ruth Wisse, Glatstein had planned a third novel . An interesting read.

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche. The subject of this novel is the massacre that took place in Rwanda. The author, in his preface, states that he did use real people's stories and their names, Very well translated from the French by Patricia Claxton, the reader follows the life of Bertrand Valcourt, a Quebecois film producer working in Kigali, Rwanda. His love for a woman he meets-Gentille , their relationship and his friendship with other Rwandans as they confront the coming disaster ( a better term would be holocaust or planned mass killings) make up the plot. The author/narrator has very critical words for the UN appointed soldiers and their superiors, the Belgian and French governments, and the Rwandan government officials. The descriptions of the torture, rapes and killing are graphic.Threaded through this narrative is the story of AIDS and how so many were infected and dying. This is not an easy book to read. Another theme tied in to the AIDS theme is the role of sex-there is lots of it.
Definitely worth reading although I would also recommend Senator- then General -Romeo Dallaire 's memoir as well. -Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda

Thanks for the review of The Glatstein Chronicles. It's been on my TBR for a few months, and I am hoping to read it soon.

I wish that I knew more about translation- both of the books that make up The Glatstein Chronicles were translated by different people- but the voice of the narrator is the same-although the insularity of the characters in the second book is tragic considering their eventual fate.

Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier. Lovely historical novel about two women in Lyme , England who discover new fossils and bones of unknown creatures. Mary Anning is the one who finds the most important bones and skeletons. Elizabeth Philpot is the middle class woman who champions Mary and does collecting herself. Although Mary provides some of the most important discoveries of the early nineteenth century in natural science, both women are held back by the perceived role of females and their place in society. A very nice read.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. What a terrific book! I know that many LT readers reviewed this book long ago but I just finished it. Skloot narrated not only the story of the Lacks family but made the science of cells and medical research understandable. The treatment of Henrietta Lacks for her cancer and the aftermath of the work done with her cells ( and without her knowledge) was fascinating. The injustice of her family not knowing is heartbreaking. However, the balance of the advances made in medical discoveries through the use of the HeLa cells was a revelation to me. I hope that Skloot continues to write on these topices.

The Book of Fathers by Miklos Vamos The authors follows twelve fathers 1705 to 1999 in Hungary. Ablely translated from the Hungarian by Peter Sherwood, the link from one man to the next is the Book of Fathers that each writes in and passes down to his oldest son, and the ability to see somewhat murkily into the future. The characters are very human and not at all wise in their choices of life partners and life directions. In fact this weakness seems to be a major trait. The acceptance and denial of Jewish faith is another. Vamos writes an interesting afterword that explains Hungarian history, and explains his own history that mirrors one of the stories. Vamos was told that he was Jewish at one point in his life after assuming that he was not. He also did not know much about his own father's history. An interesting novel- it reminded me of the book on Sarum by Edward Rutherford. In both books I found that I didn't get enough of the story before the author moved on to the next century.

Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin. Le Guin takes the story of Lavinia from Vergil's Aeneid and gives her a personality and story. In the poem she is just a silent player. Lavinia narrates the story of her life as the daughter of King Latinus and later the wife of Aeneas. She is portrayed as wise and capable of making good decisions. Le Guin has animated a section of the great historic poem and saga of early Latin times and "written the women in".Highly recommended

#216, Well, you certainly liked The Book of Fathers a lot better than I did! I found it irritating because of the way the author paired each father with an astrological sign and started each chapter with a look at the natural world at the time of that sign; it just seemed kind of formulaic and the characters seemed designed to fit each sign.

I must admit that the pattern of astrological signs didn't bother me. I found the history of Hungary information very interesting.

To Siberia by Per Petterson. ( translated by Anne Born. I have to groan when I write about this book.-dysfunctional; family, intense brother and sister relationship ( the brother is very bold but clumsy in his caring for his sister), gloomy weather in Danish Jutland and the time just before and after World War II. This story of a young woman whose dreams are thwarted by time and circumstance, and her worship of her brother who does fulfill part of his desire was very depressing. I kept on thinking of the Scandinavian detective that Kenneth Branough played in a BBC series- so gloomy and bleak. I need to go and read something either happy or historical

220 Maybe I was in an irritable mood when I read it! If you are interested in the history of Hungary, I can recommend the trilogy I recently read by Miklos Banffy. They Were Counted, They Were Found Wanting, and They Were Divided. It's not great literature, but it is great story-telling, even if it occasionally borders on the soap-operish, and I learned a lot about 19th and early 20th century Hungary and its troubled relationship with Austria, its "partner" in the Austro-Hungarian empire.

I also had mixed feelings about To Siberia after really liking Out Stealing Horses. I felt Petterson was telling a little bit of the same story.

Thanks- I have the Banffy books on my wish list of books to buy.
I haven't read Out Stealing Horses yet- I do have it on my book pile but won't get to it for a while.

Losing Nelson by Barry UnsworthThis novel is really about obsession. The narrator is a middle aged man living as a recluse in London. Charles Cleasby's life is taken up with his reenactments of Horatio Nelson's battles and his writing of a book on the life of his hero. He rarely leaves the house except to go to the Nelson Club, and forgets to eat. His only company is a typist, Miss Lily who comes to help him with his book. The reader is given brief clues of why Cleaseby is so obsessed by the idea of Nelson as a true hero. Miss Lily questions about the motives of Nelson and brings Cleasby uncomfortably down to earth in their sessions. The reader learns much about the tactics and details of Nelson's battles. The event of Nelson's life that Cleasby has problems dealing with is the action that led up to a massacre in Naples. Cleasby cannot believe that his hero would be part of a dishonourable event.I was not satisfied with the ending of the book. I can believe the action taken could happen in a metaphorical way but not the way it was written.
This was not my favourite Unsworth book although I appreciated the character development.

Them: a memoir of parents by Francine du Plessix Gray. The author has had a most remarkable life- her mother, Titania du Plessix had been the muse of a noted Russian poet,was born in Russia, lived in France and then the United States and her stepfather, Alexander Liberman was a noted artist and art director for Conde Nast. Francine's father had been shot down while fighting in World War II. Her mother and soon to be stepfather arranged for the family to leave France and be admitted to the United States in 1941. Titania became a noted hat designer for Saks and Alex rose to a top position in the publishing world. The author's life was not really normal- sent off at times to live with various relatives and friends , Francine du Plessix Gray relates the complicated stories of both parents, their strengths and weaknesses, and the famous people who they socialized with. The author writes about the lives of her parents with a painful objectivity. The book won the National Book Critics Circle Award- it was a good read.

Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi. This graphic novel is the story of the sad life of the author's uncle ,a noted musician. whose private life problems led him to commit suicide. As with her previous work, Satrapi's style is very stark, with black and white artwork and blunt dialogue.

The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank. This is a well written set of short stories that feature a young woman , Jane Rosenal, as she grows up. The stories expertly relate the heartbreak of first loves, unsuitable love and the loss of a parent. Both sad and funny, the author gives us a young woman who learns about relationships. I enjoyed this set of stories.

I loved Them: A Memoir of Parents, Cyrel. Along with Two Lives by Vikram Seth and Borrowed Finery by Paula Fox, it is one of my favorite memoirs.

Two Lives was terrific- I haven't read the Paula Fox book. One of my friends with similar taste in books gave Them to me.
School for Love by Olivia Manning. I was interested in reading more of this author's works after I finished Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Triology. This early book is very interesting. Manning is able to give the reader very perceptive character study of the immature young boy, Felix- an orphan boarding at a distant relative's house, Miss Bohun, in World War II Jerusalem. Miss Bohun, herself is described by Jane Smiley, in the good introduction, as " in the English reviews of the novel ...to such great literary monsters as Miss Havisham.." Miss Bohun tries to run the lives of all the inhabitants of the house- she does do some major damage to a number of lives. The writing describing helplessness of the the characters and the growing up of Felix is skilled and accurate. I did enjoy the book and will be on the lookout for more of Manning's early work.

I liked School for Love a lot too. I wasn't aware that other work of Manning's is available, but I'll certainly look for it too.

A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos by Dava Sobel The author has written a most understandable book about the discoveries of Copernicus and the effect his ideas had on the concept of our universe. The format is unusual. Sobel at first gives the reader a well documented biography of the career of Copernicus and his situation when he first met a young mathematician,Rheticus, who would be responsible for the publishing of his theories-On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres.The theory that the earth revolved around the sun would be considered blasphemous for many years. Copernicus refused to publish because of his fear of riducule. However Rheticus not only helped Copernicus edit his findings- he took the manuscript to a publisher in Germany. Considering that Rheticus was a Lutheran and Copernicus a Roman Catholic official in a time of strife, the collaboration was unique. Sobel inserts a play about the meeting of the two men in the center of the novel. This device serves to highlight the dangers that both men faced in working together and the other problems that Copernicus faced with his bishop. The remaining third of the book related the influence that Copernicus's work had on future scientists and th reaction of the Roman Catholic Church. I did enjoy Sobel's style as she makes some very complicated ideas easier to understand. I also appreciated the many illustrations that accompanied the text.

Drood by Dan Simmons. Simmonds has perfected the " unreliable narrator". This novel about the friendship and rivalry between the writers Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens chronicles their last decades. Collins is the narrator who is the friend and co- writer of scripts and some short stories with Dickens. The reader knows that Collins takes a lot of laudanum and later morphine to deal with his pain from gout. Wilkie describes the tragic event when a train carrying Dickens went off the track at Staplehurst and many people were horribly wounded and killed. Dickens met a strange man named Drood helping the dying and went on an odyssey to find this person. Dickens dragged Collins through the worst underground slums of Victorian London. From this initial voyage, Collins also began looking for the supernatural being who haunted Dickens. The story concerns plots against both writers, events and murders which may or may not have taken place, stories about early forms of hypnotism and the unusual living arrangements and relationships that both men had with women. A thriller with plot changes, the author uses many of the real events connected with both writers to construct his complicated plot. A fascinating and satisfying read! ( although it is 771 pages long)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. What can I say about my reread of a wonderful book that is like " comfort food"? I had stopped reading another book that was getting very silly and decided that the best way to get over bad plots was to reread a great novel - and I did! A great way to finish the book reading year.

Granta 114 " Aliens" I used to love reading this book/magazine before I discovered LT. The excerpts from forthcoming books by authors from around the world and thoughtful reports on politics introduced me to new voices in literature. I have not been too happy with the more recent issues. This one is last year's winter issue. I enjoyed most of the stories but still don't use it as my primary source of new discoveries anymore.