Friday, February 25, 2005
I capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Woohoo! I Capture the Castle was on the sale table at the Indie bookstore for $4.99! An excellent book for a bargain price. Dodie Smith also wrote 101 Dalmations and Starlight Barking. I Capture the Castle is not a dog book, it is the story told through a journal of a young girl finding her way through personal relationships after high school.
Cassandra Mortmain is the child of a famous author. Her father wrote a magnificent book to much acclaim and since then has produced nothing. The family Cassandra, her father, her artist model stepmother, her older sister, younger brother, and Stephen a family friend/servant/family member live in an old and neglected castle. They live on minor income from the stepmothers occassional modeling, Stephens wages from his work on a nearby farm, and yearly gifts of food from the mansion family who owns the castle. The Lord of the manor has died and his American relatives have inherited the land including the castle. The Americans arrive and stir things up. Casssandra deals with her embarrassment at the way her family lives, her hopes and fears that a marriage between her sister and an American man might save the family from poverty, and worries that her father is going insane.
Things do not all work out cheerfully in this lovely book. I Capture the Castle was first published in 1948 but the most dating references in it are to bear furs and the prices of books, clothes, and food. The look into love, family, and friendship is true to 2005.
This book might be a hard sell but I think readers will enjoy it. A selling point is that the copy I bought had a recommendation by J.K. Rowling calling Cassandra "one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met".
Cassandra Mortmain is the child of a famous author. Her father wrote a magnificent book to much acclaim and since then has produced nothing. The family Cassandra, her father, her artist model stepmother, her older sister, younger brother, and Stephen a family friend/servant/family member live in an old and neglected castle. They live on minor income from the stepmothers occassional modeling, Stephens wages from his work on a nearby farm, and yearly gifts of food from the mansion family who owns the castle. The Lord of the manor has died and his American relatives have inherited the land including the castle. The Americans arrive and stir things up. Casssandra deals with her embarrassment at the way her family lives, her hopes and fears that a marriage between her sister and an American man might save the family from poverty, and worries that her father is going insane.
Things do not all work out cheerfully in this lovely book. I Capture the Castle was first published in 1948 but the most dating references in it are to bear furs and the prices of books, clothes, and food. The look into love, family, and friendship is true to 2005.
This book might be a hard sell but I think readers will enjoy it. A selling point is that the copy I bought had a recommendation by J.K. Rowling calling Cassandra "one of the most charismatic narrators I've ever met".
Isn't it great how I'm getting caught up on blogging my reading?
It is awesome only happening because I have a bad cold and can neither read nor knit. (cough, cough) There was an exciting moment when I thought I was going blind but it turned out to be horrible sinus congestion leaking into my eyes.
The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
The Wish List is by the author of The Artemis Fowl series. Like Eoin Colfer's other books The Wish List has a melding of supernatural and mortal worlds but this time the melding does not involve the world of faerie but the worlds of the afterlife. Like the other books, technology pops up in unexpected places.
Meg is killed by her partner in crime during a home invasion; this should send her right to hell along with Belch and his dog (now one being) but just before her death she tried to stop the crime and put her life at risk to save the life of an old man. One in several million, Meg has a life exactly balanced between good and evil deeds. Meg is given a chance to redeem herself by returning to earth and fulfilling the Wish List but Satan has decided that she must not succeed and he is sending someone to stop her. Humanity ensues.
Highly recommended.
Meg is killed by her partner in crime during a home invasion; this should send her right to hell along with Belch and his dog (now one being) but just before her death she tried to stop the crime and put her life at risk to save the life of an old man. One in several million, Meg has a life exactly balanced between good and evil deeds. Meg is given a chance to redeem herself by returning to earth and fulfilling the Wish List but Satan has decided that she must not succeed and he is sending someone to stop her. Humanity ensues.
Highly recommended.
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
The Grave Maurice by Martha Grimes
I got The Grave Maurice for a lovely $1.82 at the thrift store. In hardback! I probably would have paid $5-10 but after reading it I don't think it was worth the cover cost of $25.95.
The Grave Maurice has the lovable Melrose Plant listening in to gossip in a pub, visiting Inspector Jury in the hospital and passing on that gossip, and dabbling in horse ownership. Props are given to Dick Francis as master of horse racing mystery (yay!).
Melrose has stumbled onto a mystery involving the missing daughter of Richard's doctor, a Premarin sweatshop involving stolen mares, and the usual cast of quirky villagers.
The description of the mares' situation is meant to discombobulate as one character says that surely if the women using Premarin jnew how it was manufactured they would immediately stop. There is mention of repeated rape of a young girl by an older man, and a heartbreaking death.
The Grave Maurice has the lovable Melrose Plant listening in to gossip in a pub, visiting Inspector Jury in the hospital and passing on that gossip, and dabbling in horse ownership. Props are given to Dick Francis as master of horse racing mystery (yay!).
Melrose has stumbled onto a mystery involving the missing daughter of Richard's doctor, a Premarin sweatshop involving stolen mares, and the usual cast of quirky villagers.
The description of the mares' situation is meant to discombobulate as one character says that surely if the women using Premarin jnew how it was manufactured they would immediately stop. There is mention of repeated rape of a young girl by an older man, and a heartbreaking death.
Firesong by William Nicholson
Firesong is book three in the Wind on Fire trilogy. I read the other two in the series earlier this year: Book 2 - Slaves to the Mastery and The Wind Singer.
The Hath family is leading the remnants of the Manth people (with several additions picked up along the way) to the homeland. The promise of the homeland is vague and far away so they are often lured to stay in different places along the road. The temptations and forces are powerful but the call of a home of their own, the ancient land, is even more powerful. The special talents of the Hath family serve the group well from mind communication with each other, to flying cats, and prophecy.
The big twist was easy to figure out. That particular twist has been used an awful lot in conjunction with prophecy of one who will save. Mumpo still loves Kestrel and she does not love him back (in that way). Bowman loves the princess and she loves him even though she feels that her marred beauty has ruined her and he knows he will soon die fulfilling the prophecy. The different groups of people that they pass and the ways that those people have responded to the world are interesting; the characters in those groups aren't well developed but as the Manth people are passing by and will never see them again the strangers give their pointed messages on humanity, the free giving of love, and the way that greed can kill through stricture and then are gone...who needs personality and believability.
(sigh) Do I sound harsh? I thought Firesong was predictable and preachy.
The Hath family is leading the remnants of the Manth people (with several additions picked up along the way) to the homeland. The promise of the homeland is vague and far away so they are often lured to stay in different places along the road. The temptations and forces are powerful but the call of a home of their own, the ancient land, is even more powerful. The special talents of the Hath family serve the group well from mind communication with each other, to flying cats, and prophecy.
The big twist was easy to figure out. That particular twist has been used an awful lot in conjunction with prophecy of one who will save. Mumpo still loves Kestrel and she does not love him back (in that way). Bowman loves the princess and she loves him even though she feels that her marred beauty has ruined her and he knows he will soon die fulfilling the prophecy. The different groups of people that they pass and the ways that those people have responded to the world are interesting; the characters in those groups aren't well developed but as the Manth people are passing by and will never see them again the strangers give their pointed messages on humanity, the free giving of love, and the way that greed can kill through stricture and then are gone...who needs personality and believability.
(sigh) Do I sound harsh? I thought Firesong was predictable and preachy.
A break in my knitting
Well, I'm not so much taking a break as I have hit a few snags. The special needles I need for one project have not arrived and I don't understand the instructions for the sock I'm working on. The person who wrote the book I got the pattern from should have included a labelled diagram because I have no idea what she is talking about.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Sastun:One Woman's Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer and Their Efforts to Save the Vanishing Rainforest by Rosita Arvigo
Recommended by Ms. Henry
A sastun is a gift given by the spirits in order to facilitate communication and divination between Mayan spirits and humans.
Sastun came to me from a teacher who thought I'd be interested. I was. Rosita Arvigo is one of those people in the world who not only feel strongly about a particular issue but live their lives in harmony with it. Rosita believes in the power of herbs and plants and hands on treatment for healing illness or things wrong with the body. She acknowledges the impact of emotional problems on physical bodies but is skeptical about curses, spiritual healing, and the ideas that those things involve.
Rosita, her husband, and her daughter moved to Belize and attempted to hack a small healing farm out of the wild forest. Rosita does not skimp on portraying the work as Sisyphean. They also hope to start a natural healing practice among their neighbours. As Rosita goes about her life she hears about Don Elijio Panti a revered Mayan healer; she journeys to his village to get to know him in hopes of learning about native rainforest plants and their healing properties. Rosita learns even more than she had thought she would. She become Don Elijio's apprentice and helps to bring his life work to the notice of the whole world. Along the way Rosita learns not only plants and their healing properties but human nature. She sees Don Elijio use his sastun to find spiritual and physical problems and is initiated into the healing practice and is given her own sastun. Like Rosita, I was taken aback (and a little worried) by the spiritual manifestations and their exorcisms. It doesn't make sense to me but it doesn't need to.
This is an impelling look at the loss of the rainforests and what it means to all of us. There is also quite a bit of information about the encroachment of Western/Northern foods, religion, medecine and entertainment and the changes they bring about in traditional cultures.
It's not the life I want to live but I enjoyed reading about it and I learned a lot about medecinal uses of plants.
A sastun is a gift given by the spirits in order to facilitate communication and divination between Mayan spirits and humans.
Sastun came to me from a teacher who thought I'd be interested. I was. Rosita Arvigo is one of those people in the world who not only feel strongly about a particular issue but live their lives in harmony with it. Rosita believes in the power of herbs and plants and hands on treatment for healing illness or things wrong with the body. She acknowledges the impact of emotional problems on physical bodies but is skeptical about curses, spiritual healing, and the ideas that those things involve.
Rosita, her husband, and her daughter moved to Belize and attempted to hack a small healing farm out of the wild forest. Rosita does not skimp on portraying the work as Sisyphean. They also hope to start a natural healing practice among their neighbours. As Rosita goes about her life she hears about Don Elijio Panti a revered Mayan healer; she journeys to his village to get to know him in hopes of learning about native rainforest plants and their healing properties. Rosita learns even more than she had thought she would. She become Don Elijio's apprentice and helps to bring his life work to the notice of the whole world. Along the way Rosita learns not only plants and their healing properties but human nature. She sees Don Elijio use his sastun to find spiritual and physical problems and is initiated into the healing practice and is given her own sastun. Like Rosita, I was taken aback (and a little worried) by the spiritual manifestations and their exorcisms. It doesn't make sense to me but it doesn't need to.
This is an impelling look at the loss of the rainforests and what it means to all of us. There is also quite a bit of information about the encroachment of Western/Northern foods, religion, medecine and entertainment and the changes they bring about in traditional cultures.
It's not the life I want to live but I enjoyed reading about it and I learned a lot about medecinal uses of plants.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge
(sigh) I finished this books three days ago and I'm still thinking about it. I chose Solitaire from the bookshelf at the independent bookstore because it had glowing reviews by Nicola Griffith and Ursula Le Guin and I've enjoyed books by both women. I bought Solitaire because the blurb looked interesting. I read Solitaire solidly for a day, taking small breaks to help the story last and to give myself to process the story.
The book was in the sci-fi section and labelled as psychological thriller and I suppose it is both of those things but it seemed like more. It is written cohesively, the characters are interesting, and the things they do seem right for them.
Ren (JAckal) Segura is the Hope of her company, Ko, in more ways than one. As the story starts she finds that she has been lied to and she has been terribly wounded by her mother. She struggles to not let down her web of peers, her family, or Ko. Ren is pampered and given prime education and projects and then her world spirals out of control. She loses her web, her family, Ko, and her lover. Her sanity is severely tested as she struggles to find out who she is without all those things which had defined her life and status in the world.
There is a lot of people management theory used and referred to in the story. I'm only generally aware of the field of study and I found it fascinating and not overly didactic; all the theory is rooted in the characters of the story and there is no "bad guy" as all the people have views that ring true for themselves and which invite empathy.
The book was in the sci-fi section and labelled as psychological thriller and I suppose it is both of those things but it seemed like more. It is written cohesively, the characters are interesting, and the things they do seem right for them.
Ren (JAckal) Segura is the Hope of her company, Ko, in more ways than one. As the story starts she finds that she has been lied to and she has been terribly wounded by her mother. She struggles to not let down her web of peers, her family, or Ko. Ren is pampered and given prime education and projects and then her world spirals out of control. She loses her web, her family, Ko, and her lover. Her sanity is severely tested as she struggles to find out who she is without all those things which had defined her life and status in the world.
There is a lot of people management theory used and referred to in the story. I'm only generally aware of the field of study and I found it fascinating and not overly didactic; all the theory is rooted in the characters of the story and there is no "bad guy" as all the people have views that ring true for themselves and which invite empathy.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
I had downloaded Oryx and Crake onto my Pam Zire but I had trouble with the program not recognizing italics and this book is FULL of italics. I finally bought it in paperback and finished it on Metro over the weekend.
In Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood considers what could happen to the world with a future of bioengineering food and human bodies. The risks are not just in the biologicals themselves, the modified foods and and methods of changing our genes, and not just the warfare between manufacturing and R&D entities. The pure hearted, the idealistic, those are the REAL danger. Sure, most of them are nobodies but beware the insiders with points to make.
Through Oryx and Crake we are lead through a world that is much more extreme and polarized than ours today but is certainly possible and into an apocalypse where all the flaws of humanity are wiped out and rewritten.
A despairing and depressing look at human possibility.
In Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood considers what could happen to the world with a future of bioengineering food and human bodies. The risks are not just in the biologicals themselves, the modified foods and and methods of changing our genes, and not just the warfare between manufacturing and R&D entities. The pure hearted, the idealistic, those are the REAL danger. Sure, most of them are nobodies but beware the insiders with points to make.
Through Oryx and Crake we are lead through a world that is much more extreme and polarized than ours today but is certainly possible and into an apocalypse where all the flaws of humanity are wiped out and rewritten.
A despairing and depressing look at human possibility.
Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
I'm not sure if I should have read the two previous books in the Women of the Otherworld series that came before Dime Store Magic. It might have helped me to understand the dynamics that the author uses but on the other hand Kelley ARmstrong spells out the history behind the story in great, slow, detail throughout the first hald of the book. I don't generally read a lot of vampire/witch/werewolf literature; Anne Rice bores me to sleep but I really enjoyed Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Series. Maybe I was looking for what wasn't promised. I was expecting more action and less history. I felt that things didn't really get started until over halfway through Dime Store Magic. In the first half interesting things happen and interesting characters are introduced but in such an overly explained way that I put the book down frequently and for long periods of time. I read the last half of the book in one fell swoop.
The world of strong cabals and witches who are so scared that they shackle themselves with rules and deny their young full power was very interesting.
The world of strong cabals and witches who are so scared that they shackle themselves with rules and deny their young full power was very interesting.
