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The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton
5.0
After 20 years of obscurity, The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carelton, was re-issued recently after author Jane Smiley cited it as one of 100 great novels in her book, Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Novel.
Why this book ceased to hold the interest of readers is a mystery. I loved this book. It was reminiscent of Cold Sassy Tree or To Kill a Mockingbird, with its rural setting and cast of familial characters. The tale of the Soames family spans 60 years beginning at the turn of the 20th century. They suffer thru trials, the Depression, death, lies and secrets. They also celebrate life, forgiveness and their love for one another.
Matthew Soames, an educator in small town Missouri, his wife Callie, daughters Jessica, Leonie, Mathy and Mary Jo, live a bucolic life divided between their home “in-town” and their summer farm. Each section of the book is narrated by a different member of the family. They all have their secrets to hide. Carleton describes Matthew’s struggle with two of the seven deadly sins with Shakespearian emotion.
My one critique was Callie’s narration was almost an afterthought and given far too few pages of exploration. Her secrets seemed forced and manipulated and not in harmony with the woman described throughout the book. (Is the roll of mother always marginalized?)
This book was a joy to read. Have you ever felt like you have closed the cover on the best book you’ve ever read? That's how I felt when I finished. “The Moonflower Vine" is not just a rediscovered classic -- but truly a classic.
Why this book ceased to hold the interest of readers is a mystery. I loved this book. It was reminiscent of Cold Sassy Tree or To Kill a Mockingbird, with its rural setting and cast of familial characters. The tale of the Soames family spans 60 years beginning at the turn of the 20th century. They suffer thru trials, the Depression, death, lies and secrets. They also celebrate life, forgiveness and their love for one another.
Matthew Soames, an educator in small town Missouri, his wife Callie, daughters Jessica, Leonie, Mathy and Mary Jo, live a bucolic life divided between their home “in-town” and their summer farm. Each section of the book is narrated by a different member of the family. They all have their secrets to hide. Carleton describes Matthew’s struggle with two of the seven deadly sins with Shakespearian emotion.
My one critique was Callie’s narration was almost an afterthought and given far too few pages of exploration. Her secrets seemed forced and manipulated and not in harmony with the woman described throughout the book. (Is the roll of mother always marginalized?)
This book was a joy to read. Have you ever felt like you have closed the cover on the best book you’ve ever read? That's how I felt when I finished. “The Moonflower Vine" is not just a rediscovered classic -- but truly a classic.
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
2.0
Ella Minnow Pea (get it LMNOP?) is an homage to all things alphabetic and lexiconic. Nollop, a small fictional island town, (home to Nevin Nollop, the author of the pangram, The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog), becomes a police state when the town “High Council” starts outlawing the use of letters as they fall off the town square statue. What follows is a clever and ingenious use of language between the residents as they try to circumvent the newly adopted ordinances.
Books of this nature generally go over my head. And, I must say, I’m sure there was tons of symbolism in this novel that did just that (why did I have visions of Nazi Germany floating thru my head?). Towards the end of the novel when they were speaking phonetically, I had a tough time following the story -- it took my brain too long to decipher what they were saying. But it was cute, and occasionally, I did find I was chuckling to myself. And if you are an etymologist – this is totally a book for you.
Books of this nature generally go over my head. And, I must say, I’m sure there was tons of symbolism in this novel that did just that (why did I have visions of Nazi Germany floating thru my head?). Towards the end of the novel when they were speaking phonetically, I had a tough time following the story -- it took my brain too long to decipher what they were saying. But it was cute, and occasionally, I did find I was chuckling to myself. And if you are an etymologist – this is totally a book for you.
Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
2.0
What if? We’ve all had “what if” moments – what if we had taken the other job? Dated the other person? Moved to that different city? Gone to a different college? I’d like to think most of us are happy with the decisions we’ve made and the road we have traveled because of them. However, there are those who look back with regret.
Rebecca Davitch is asking “what if?” and has the unique position of finding out. After being a widow for over 25 years, Rebecca asks herself, “who am I” and “how did I get here?” After successfully operating the family reception business that she inherited after the death of her husband Joe, she wonders if there is anything else in life. This internal question leads her to reacquaint herself with an old boyfriend, Will, who has become the local community college’s Dean of Physics. Rebecca soon learns that Will is not whom she remembers and that “you can’t go home again.”
During this internal struggle, Rebecca is also dealing with a menagerie of family – stepdaughters, daughter, grandchildren, sons-in-law, brother-in-law and great uncle-in-law (all with names that drove me bonkers). They inhabit her space and occupy most of her time. Rebecca’s family is disrespectful and profoundly ungrateful for all that she does. Why do family members treat those they love with the most contempt? They would never treat strangers the way they treat Rebecca.
Ultimately, I found this book annoying. The character’s names are distracting. Until the very last page I had to remind myself, “who is NoNo, Patch, Jeep, Biddy, Poppy, Min Foo – and to whom do they belong and, more importantly, why do I care?”
Back When We Were Grownups was about a restless matriarch in a dysfunctional family and ultimately, a dysfunctional book.
Rebecca Davitch is asking “what if?” and has the unique position of finding out. After being a widow for over 25 years, Rebecca asks herself, “who am I” and “how did I get here?” After successfully operating the family reception business that she inherited after the death of her husband Joe, she wonders if there is anything else in life. This internal question leads her to reacquaint herself with an old boyfriend, Will, who has become the local community college’s Dean of Physics. Rebecca soon learns that Will is not whom she remembers and that “you can’t go home again.”
During this internal struggle, Rebecca is also dealing with a menagerie of family – stepdaughters, daughter, grandchildren, sons-in-law, brother-in-law and great uncle-in-law (all with names that drove me bonkers). They inhabit her space and occupy most of her time. Rebecca’s family is disrespectful and profoundly ungrateful for all that she does. Why do family members treat those they love with the most contempt? They would never treat strangers the way they treat Rebecca.
Ultimately, I found this book annoying. The character’s names are distracting. Until the very last page I had to remind myself, “who is NoNo, Patch, Jeep, Biddy, Poppy, Min Foo – and to whom do they belong and, more importantly, why do I care?”
Back When We Were Grownups was about a restless matriarch in a dysfunctional family and ultimately, a dysfunctional book.
Not Becoming My Mother: And Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way by Ruth Reichl
4.0
My most vivid memory of Ruth Reichl’s Comfort Me with Apples, is of her mother’s poisoning of nearly all the guests at her son’s wedding reception. It was black comedy at it’s finest. Stories like these permeate Reichl’s books and have become known as “Mim Tales.”
Her latest book (or extended essay in hardback) is devoted to her mother’s memory. Miriam Brudno was born before her time – a woman who dreamed of becoming a doctor, but was confined to society’s restrictions on what a woman could achieve. It was decided by her parents that an education in music was more appropriate and a job operating a book store more proper, oh, and by the way, she really NEEDED to get married. Thus her life becomes a battle for who she was and the casualties a long the way include herself and her own children.
I love all of Ruth Reichl’s books. This is no exception. It is a testament to what we take for granted, what we can achieve, and that dreams should never be sacrificed.
Her latest book (or extended essay in hardback) is devoted to her mother’s memory. Miriam Brudno was born before her time – a woman who dreamed of becoming a doctor, but was confined to society’s restrictions on what a woman could achieve. It was decided by her parents that an education in music was more appropriate and a job operating a book store more proper, oh, and by the way, she really NEEDED to get married. Thus her life becomes a battle for who she was and the casualties a long the way include herself and her own children.
I love all of Ruth Reichl’s books. This is no exception. It is a testament to what we take for granted, what we can achieve, and that dreams should never be sacrificed.
The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
4.0
Flooding, mass destruction, dislocated families, thousands of lives lost, whom to blame for inadequate construction? It could be a story of Katrina 2005, instead, it’s 1889 and the Johnstown flood (Johnstown, PA), where nearly 2500 people lost their lives after an earthen dam failed up stream at the South Fork Fishing and Hunt Club.
David McCollough, the Pulitzer prize winning author, describes in extraordinary, but plain-spoken prose, the events leading up to the dam’s failure, the massive devastation and death that results, and the attempt to rescue and recover in the days and months to follow.
This event wasn’t just a flood – for it was more an amalgamation of water, waste and debris – for it carried with it homes, farms, animals, humans, massive trees, railroad cars, train tracks, factories, and barbed wire, as the water carried everything in its path on its way to the valley of Johnstown. There the mass of rubbish was dumped on the town and log-jammed against on old stone bridge that miraculously held its footing (or the devastation would have continued down stream and been more tragic).
The organization implemented within hours of the tragedy to help identify the victims, missing, and dead, was nothing short of heroic and miraculous. The recovery effort started almost immediately and was done during a time without chain saws or dump trucks or cranes (or FEMA!)– any of those modern day conveniences we deem necessary for clean up work. It was all done by hand labor, mule trains and fires (to burn dead animals and other refuse) to rid the town of massive amounts of wreckage.
Following the flood, the outpouring of monetary relief was unprecedented (without the help of Sheryl Crow or Bono-related fundraisers!). Over $3.5million dollars was donated to help survivors, victims and work crews. Including donations from Salt Lake City where, “thousands turned out for a concert given in the huge Mormon Tabernacle, the proceeds of which were sent to Johnstown.”
This was a gripping book, and makes me want to make a trip to Johnstown to see what remains of the dam, visit the Grand View cemetery where the majority of the victims are buried and to view what Johnstown has become in the 100+ years since the flood
David McCollough, the Pulitzer prize winning author, describes in extraordinary, but plain-spoken prose, the events leading up to the dam’s failure, the massive devastation and death that results, and the attempt to rescue and recover in the days and months to follow.
This event wasn’t just a flood – for it was more an amalgamation of water, waste and debris – for it carried with it homes, farms, animals, humans, massive trees, railroad cars, train tracks, factories, and barbed wire, as the water carried everything in its path on its way to the valley of Johnstown. There the mass of rubbish was dumped on the town and log-jammed against on old stone bridge that miraculously held its footing (or the devastation would have continued down stream and been more tragic).
The organization implemented within hours of the tragedy to help identify the victims, missing, and dead, was nothing short of heroic and miraculous. The recovery effort started almost immediately and was done during a time without chain saws or dump trucks or cranes (or FEMA!)– any of those modern day conveniences we deem necessary for clean up work. It was all done by hand labor, mule trains and fires (to burn dead animals and other refuse) to rid the town of massive amounts of wreckage.
Following the flood, the outpouring of monetary relief was unprecedented (without the help of Sheryl Crow or Bono-related fundraisers!). Over $3.5million dollars was donated to help survivors, victims and work crews. Including donations from Salt Lake City where, “thousands turned out for a concert given in the huge Mormon Tabernacle, the proceeds of which were sent to Johnstown.”
This was a gripping book, and makes me want to make a trip to Johnstown to see what remains of the dam, visit the Grand View cemetery where the majority of the victims are buried and to view what Johnstown has become in the 100+ years since the flood
The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
1.0
http://gerberadaisydiaries.blogspot.com/2009/07/book-review_21.html
I must first preface this “review” with the following disclaimers:
I’m not a fan of chick lit (is this book considered chick lit – Mormon lit maybe?); I generally find it trite and friends get mad at me for taking it too serious and not accepting it for “what it is!”
I’m not a reader of YA fiction; YA fiction has become significantly more mainstream lately, and many friends “cross-over” between YA fiction and adult fiction. With the exception of Harry Potter, I’m an adult fiction reader.
Because of the above, I’m not familiar at all with Shannon Hale’s YA novels. I know they are widely respected and liked. I know a lot of my friends have read The Princess Academy and her Bayern series and loved them. Because of their respect for her books, I decided to read both of Hale’s adult fiction books, Austenland, and her newest, The Actor and The Housewife. I planned on Austenland first, because I’m following an “Austen Challenge” on a book blog I follow, but, because The Actor and The Housewife is a new book, and only a 14 day check out – I had to fast track it to the front of my Hale reads.
Without holding back – The Actor and The Housewife was probably the most ridiculous book I’ve ever read. The premise: suburban, LDS, SAHM, sells screenplay to Hollywood – where by she meets top Hollywood, heart-throb, English actor (a Colin Firth/Hugh Grant/Kenneth Branagh/Ralph Fiennes kinda character) and they instantly become best friends. In the mean time, they both must maintain marriages, and she a family, while they carry on their best-friendness.
Now, Shannon Hale in her dedicatory page of Austenland, dedicates her book as such: “For Colin Firth: You’re a really great guy, but I’m married, so I think we should just be friends.” So, maybe this novel was an attempt to live out her fantasy of being best friends with Colin Firth. Or after she wrote it thought, “What a great premise for a novel – a normal, everyday Mom, being best friends with a hottie actor! Eureka!”
Somehow her quest to live out her fantasy or make this idea into a novel fails miserably. I never once believed that these two could possibly be friends. Or that men and women can maintain friendships without irreparably harming their marriages. Or that her husband, or ward, or kids, would tolerate such a relationship. Every scenario featuring both of these two characters is so far fetched it was laughable. Here is one: hottie Felix, having a lay-over in SLC goes to a screenplay workshop given by Becky. First off, what high paid actor flies commercial with lay overs??? That would be ZERO!! Here is another one: on another stay in suburban UT, Felix accompanies Becky to a ward pot luck. Seriously, ward pot lucks are painful enough to attend as members, can you imagine Brad Pitt going to one? And it was painful to read about too. I don’t think I will ever go to a ward pot luck again. There are other equally outlandish scenes, ones that I would find myself hollering at my husband to come listen to, “Honey, you got to listen to this!” He cringed most of the time and would say, “why are you reading this?”
Admittedly, the dialog between these two characters was witty and comical. If it had been a romantic comedy between two single adults, I think she could have managed a fun, likeable, entertaining book. And the last third of the book (for reasons I can’t explain, because it would spoil the ending – if you actually read it to the end) was FAR more successful than the beginning.
But all in all, The Actor and The Housewife was a stay-at-home, Mormon mommy, mess.
I must first preface this “review” with the following disclaimers:
I’m not a fan of chick lit (is this book considered chick lit – Mormon lit maybe?); I generally find it trite and friends get mad at me for taking it too serious and not accepting it for “what it is!”
I’m not a reader of YA fiction; YA fiction has become significantly more mainstream lately, and many friends “cross-over” between YA fiction and adult fiction. With the exception of Harry Potter, I’m an adult fiction reader.
Because of the above, I’m not familiar at all with Shannon Hale’s YA novels. I know they are widely respected and liked. I know a lot of my friends have read The Princess Academy and her Bayern series and loved them. Because of their respect for her books, I decided to read both of Hale’s adult fiction books, Austenland, and her newest, The Actor and The Housewife. I planned on Austenland first, because I’m following an “Austen Challenge” on a book blog I follow, but, because The Actor and The Housewife is a new book, and only a 14 day check out – I had to fast track it to the front of my Hale reads.
Without holding back – The Actor and The Housewife was probably the most ridiculous book I’ve ever read. The premise: suburban, LDS, SAHM, sells screenplay to Hollywood – where by she meets top Hollywood, heart-throb, English actor (a Colin Firth/Hugh Grant/Kenneth Branagh/Ralph Fiennes kinda character) and they instantly become best friends. In the mean time, they both must maintain marriages, and she a family, while they carry on their best-friendness.
Now, Shannon Hale in her dedicatory page of Austenland, dedicates her book as such: “For Colin Firth: You’re a really great guy, but I’m married, so I think we should just be friends.” So, maybe this novel was an attempt to live out her fantasy of being best friends with Colin Firth. Or after she wrote it thought, “What a great premise for a novel – a normal, everyday Mom, being best friends with a hottie actor! Eureka!”
Somehow her quest to live out her fantasy or make this idea into a novel fails miserably. I never once believed that these two could possibly be friends. Or that men and women can maintain friendships without irreparably harming their marriages. Or that her husband, or ward, or kids, would tolerate such a relationship. Every scenario featuring both of these two characters is so far fetched it was laughable. Here is one: hottie Felix, having a lay-over in SLC goes to a screenplay workshop given by Becky. First off, what high paid actor flies commercial with lay overs??? That would be ZERO!! Here is another one: on another stay in suburban UT, Felix accompanies Becky to a ward pot luck. Seriously, ward pot lucks are painful enough to attend as members, can you imagine Brad Pitt going to one? And it was painful to read about too. I don’t think I will ever go to a ward pot luck again. There are other equally outlandish scenes, ones that I would find myself hollering at my husband to come listen to, “Honey, you got to listen to this!” He cringed most of the time and would say, “why are you reading this?”
Admittedly, the dialog between these two characters was witty and comical. If it had been a romantic comedy between two single adults, I think she could have managed a fun, likeable, entertaining book. And the last third of the book (for reasons I can’t explain, because it would spoil the ending – if you actually read it to the end) was FAR more successful than the beginning.
But all in all, The Actor and The Housewife was a stay-at-home, Mormon mommy, mess.
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
2.0
I love historical fiction, especially WWII-genre historical fiction (The Book Thief, City of Thieves). I never grow weary of reading about how people survived the deprivation and unbearable living conditions, the starvation, the brutality, the inhumaneness of it all. Wow – I never realized what downer books I read until this sentence! However, this was NOT one of my favorites.
In Those Who Save Us, author Jenna Blum (a former Steven Spielberg/Shoah Foundation historian, who interviewed Holocaust Survivors) tells the story of Anna, a young German girl who falls in love with a Jew; and her daughter, Trudy, the love child of Anna and her Jewish love. After her beloved is discovered and sent to a concentration camp, Anna is forced to save herself and her daughter at all costs. Unfortunately, choices are non-existent, and in order to care for herself and her daughter, she is forced to become the mistress of an SS officer. It’s a shameful existence, but necessary to keep themselves alive. What follows is an alternating story of war-time Anna and Trudy and modern day Anna and Trudy, as Trudy tries to delve into her mother’s past and unlock her secrets.
This was a difficult book to read – primarily when the author describes Anna’s association with the SS officer. I don’t want to minimize the horrors and brutality inflicted on women during the War (or any war). The suffering endured by women at the hands of beastly men over the course of history is, I’m almost certain, worse than what was described in this book. However, I was overwhelmed by the graphic and sexually explicit scenes the author portrayed. It was horrifying and torturous, but, for me, it became pornographic. Blech.
The ending was also disappointing. I felt like the author wrote Anna into a literary corner that she couldn't get her out of and the ultimate resolution between mother and daughter was left to someone else to unravel. It was a very convenient way to tie-up all the loose ends. What a cop-out.
In Those Who Save Us, author Jenna Blum (a former Steven Spielberg/Shoah Foundation historian, who interviewed Holocaust Survivors) tells the story of Anna, a young German girl who falls in love with a Jew; and her daughter, Trudy, the love child of Anna and her Jewish love. After her beloved is discovered and sent to a concentration camp, Anna is forced to save herself and her daughter at all costs. Unfortunately, choices are non-existent, and in order to care for herself and her daughter, she is forced to become the mistress of an SS officer. It’s a shameful existence, but necessary to keep themselves alive. What follows is an alternating story of war-time Anna and Trudy and modern day Anna and Trudy, as Trudy tries to delve into her mother’s past and unlock her secrets.
This was a difficult book to read – primarily when the author describes Anna’s association with the SS officer. I don’t want to minimize the horrors and brutality inflicted on women during the War (or any war). The suffering endured by women at the hands of beastly men over the course of history is, I’m almost certain, worse than what was described in this book. However, I was overwhelmed by the graphic and sexually explicit scenes the author portrayed. It was horrifying and torturous, but, for me, it became pornographic. Blech.
The ending was also disappointing. I felt like the author wrote Anna into a literary corner that she couldn't get her out of and the ultimate resolution between mother and daughter was left to someone else to unravel. It was a very convenient way to tie-up all the loose ends. What a cop-out.
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
3.0
Genre books – how many are there: historical fiction, chick lit, religious lit, et al. I would like to add another category: Dan Brown-knock off lit, which would be characterized as one part myth, one part ancient history, one part ancient locale, mix in one studious expert, add a villain and a potential romance, and voila, you have a novel.
That’s how I felt about The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – it was trying too hard to be a Dan Brown novel, and falling way short.
Connie Goodwin, a PhD student at Harvard, stumbles onto an old family mystery when she moves into her grandmother’s house in Marblehead, Massachusetts. What transpires is an alternating narrative between Connie’s research into her family secrets and voices from the Salem witch trials of 1692.
I really love reading about the Salem witch trials, which is why I was intrigued by this book (and perpetuated by the hype from the NYTimes bestseller list and the Barnes and Noble “Recommends” display). But the author, who succeeded beautifully in descriptive narrative, crashed and burned on substantive plot development. Even I, who normally can’t predict any novels outcome, had this plot pegged fairly early.
One of the most interesting parts of the book was the author’s postscript. I would recommend reading this first before reading the novel – it doesn’t contain any spoilers – and would have provided me intriguing back ground information to file away for reference during the course of the book.
To sum it up: This book needed a witch’s spell to make it live up to its hype, but an entertaining, albeit, plot-weak, novel. I recommend The Heretic's Daughter for a good Salem witch trials book.
That’s how I felt about The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane – it was trying too hard to be a Dan Brown novel, and falling way short.
Connie Goodwin, a PhD student at Harvard, stumbles onto an old family mystery when she moves into her grandmother’s house in Marblehead, Massachusetts. What transpires is an alternating narrative between Connie’s research into her family secrets and voices from the Salem witch trials of 1692.
I really love reading about the Salem witch trials, which is why I was intrigued by this book (and perpetuated by the hype from the NYTimes bestseller list and the Barnes and Noble “Recommends” display). But the author, who succeeded beautifully in descriptive narrative, crashed and burned on substantive plot development. Even I, who normally can’t predict any novels outcome, had this plot pegged fairly early.
One of the most interesting parts of the book was the author’s postscript. I would recommend reading this first before reading the novel – it doesn’t contain any spoilers – and would have provided me intriguing back ground information to file away for reference during the course of the book.
To sum it up: This book needed a witch’s spell to make it live up to its hype, but an entertaining, albeit, plot-weak, novel. I recommend The Heretic's Daughter for a good Salem witch trials book.
Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
3.0
http://gerberadaisydiaries.blogspot.com/2009/08/book-review-enemy-women.html
Enemy Women is the Odyssean tale of Adair Colley during the final years of the Civil War. Adair has lost her family and her home to a gang of renegade militia men patrolling southeastern Missouri. She is later falsely accused of being a spy for the confederacy, and sent to prison. There she meets Union Maj. William Neumann, who is in charge of deposing her, and in doing so, they both become besotted. Ultimately, Adair escapes prison and spends the remainder of the book trying to get back “home.” And the reader is taken along on the arduous trek with her.
This novel tackles a part of history that I knew nothing about – the role of outlawed militias and guerilla soldiers during the Civil War in Missouri. Also, the widespread imprisonment of women, who the Union charged with aiding and abetting the Confederacy. The author’s descriptive narrative was spot on when portraying the grand scope of the war off of the front lines and the devastation inflicted on families. However, when trying to convince the reader that there was a romance between Maj. Neumann and Adair, she failed miserably. I never once believed these two were in love, let alone, in like. Or that either one would be willing to cross the country in search of each other. Adair had a stronger relationship with her horse and beloved family quilt, than she showed for her Major.
Another criticism – and I’m not sure where to point blame, the editor or author – but this book was written entirely without quotations, which was horribly distracting. I had to re-read passages over and over again to remember who was or was not speaking. Adding punctuation would have made this mediocre book, border on the side of GOOD.
I did luck out by reading this on my vacation to southern Missouri. I kept envisioning the Reeves gang appearing out of the forests of the Ozark Mountains. Ultimately, I thought this book was a fine history lesson, but a marginal, wandering, story, much like Adair.
(Oh, and don’t ask me about the ending! Ugh!)
My Clean Reads rating: Other than a few gruesome war scenes, this was free of any sex or language.
Enemy Women is the Odyssean tale of Adair Colley during the final years of the Civil War. Adair has lost her family and her home to a gang of renegade militia men patrolling southeastern Missouri. She is later falsely accused of being a spy for the confederacy, and sent to prison. There she meets Union Maj. William Neumann, who is in charge of deposing her, and in doing so, they both become besotted. Ultimately, Adair escapes prison and spends the remainder of the book trying to get back “home.” And the reader is taken along on the arduous trek with her.
This novel tackles a part of history that I knew nothing about – the role of outlawed militias and guerilla soldiers during the Civil War in Missouri. Also, the widespread imprisonment of women, who the Union charged with aiding and abetting the Confederacy. The author’s descriptive narrative was spot on when portraying the grand scope of the war off of the front lines and the devastation inflicted on families. However, when trying to convince the reader that there was a romance between Maj. Neumann and Adair, she failed miserably. I never once believed these two were in love, let alone, in like. Or that either one would be willing to cross the country in search of each other. Adair had a stronger relationship with her horse and beloved family quilt, than she showed for her Major.
Another criticism – and I’m not sure where to point blame, the editor or author – but this book was written entirely without quotations, which was horribly distracting. I had to re-read passages over and over again to remember who was or was not speaking. Adding punctuation would have made this mediocre book, border on the side of GOOD.
I did luck out by reading this on my vacation to southern Missouri. I kept envisioning the Reeves gang appearing out of the forests of the Ozark Mountains. Ultimately, I thought this book was a fine history lesson, but a marginal, wandering, story, much like Adair.
(Oh, and don’t ask me about the ending! Ugh!)
My Clean Reads rating: Other than a few gruesome war scenes, this was free of any sex or language.
Austenland by Shannon Hale
2.0
http://gerberadaisydiaries.blogspot.com/2009/08/book-review-austenland.html
Ugh…I hate having to admit I was wrong. In my mind I wanted to detest this book, probably because The Actor and The Housewife was such a disaster. But, this was much better, if only slightly so, than the author’s current work.
Jane Hayes is obsessed with all things Austen. When her Aunt dies, she sends Jane to an Austen-like them park, where they dress in Regency clothes, speak in Regency English, and fall in love with Regency wannabes.
I should have finished this book in an afternoon. In fact, I checked this out from the library a month or so ago when I committed to the Austen Challenge. Oops – I forgot it was in my stack until I got a notice it was nearly overdue. I needed to finish it before I started The Help, and thought it wouldn’t take me anytime to do so. Nearly a week later it’s finally done (kids going back to school has somehow cut into my reading time).
Shannon Hale has a gift for opposite sex dialogue and banter. It worked much better in Austenland with single adults. She made Austenland sound like a fun place to take a vacation and play dress up for three weeks. And it’s got a sappy-sweet, happily ever after, ending.
However, I’m still waiting to be won over by Shannon Hale.
(This was a TOTALLY Clean Read)
Ugh…I hate having to admit I was wrong. In my mind I wanted to detest this book, probably because The Actor and The Housewife was such a disaster. But, this was much better, if only slightly so, than the author’s current work.
Jane Hayes is obsessed with all things Austen. When her Aunt dies, she sends Jane to an Austen-like them park, where they dress in Regency clothes, speak in Regency English, and fall in love with Regency wannabes.
I should have finished this book in an afternoon. In fact, I checked this out from the library a month or so ago when I committed to the Austen Challenge. Oops – I forgot it was in my stack until I got a notice it was nearly overdue. I needed to finish it before I started The Help, and thought it wouldn’t take me anytime to do so. Nearly a week later it’s finally done (kids going back to school has somehow cut into my reading time).
Shannon Hale has a gift for opposite sex dialogue and banter. It worked much better in Austenland with single adults. She made Austenland sound like a fun place to take a vacation and play dress up for three weeks. And it’s got a sappy-sweet, happily ever after, ending.
However, I’m still waiting to be won over by Shannon Hale.
(This was a TOTALLY Clean Read)