These three books have several things in common. They are out of the past and they are set primarily in foreign countries. Beyond that, only the fact that they were all well done books compare them. FIELD GRAY (Putnam, 978-0-399-15741-7) is Phillip Kerr's latest Bernie Gunther novel; BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY (Philomel, 978-0-399-25412-3) is Ruta Sepety's look at WWII; THE SANDALWOOD TREE (Atria, 978-1-4165-9059-0) by Elle Newmark is set in India.
FIELD GRAY RANGES from the Cuba of the early 1950s back through the thirties in Germany through the divided post war Germany with east and west jockeying for supremacy. Bernie is captured off
Cuba in the 50s and sent back to German via the US for the war trials. He is caught between the American and French factions as well as a few others as well. He is forced to recount his actions as a prisoner of war to all parties involved, It is pure Bernie He plays all sides against the middle and lets the reader decide what if anything is the truth. I like Bernie He has gone through life pretty well making sure Bernie survives and getting rid of enemies along the way. He was a good cop who did not like the Nazis in the beginning. He is still a pretty good cop and apparently does not like much of any body now. But is a rather unreliable narrator at times. And he is a survivor, A really noir spy and cold war look back. It helps to have read at least some of the previous Gunther novels. The plot is elaborate and tricky, but well done. And it is really a study in characters. It is puzzling to figure out which is now the real Bernie. I wonder if he really knows. Incidentally, field gray refers to the color of the German field uniform, but can be given other interpretations as well.
Sepetys in the daughter of a Lithuanian refugee in WWII. This novel, BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY is her way of letting the world know what happened to the thousands of people who vanished during the ethnic cleansing of many countries. The story begins in 1941 when 15 year old Lina and her family and forced as prisoners of the Soviets to leave their home for work camps and literally death camps in cold Siberia. The women and children were sent separately from the from the already taken husbands. This particular group has quite a few people from the intellectual community in it. The tale is one of tragedy and horror as they are transported like cattle throughout the countryside to work and provide comfort and labor for their captors. Lina survives and makes it back from Russia to a world forever changed. This is a poignant and beautifully written story of hope, despair, courage, and fear. It is also a story of human tenacity as well as mendacity. Lina learns to love as well as to look at the real person before she judges them. The book has a haunting beauty in its bleak and horrific tale of cruelty and cold blooded murder. Yet kindness appears from the least expected places. A reminder of what has happened and could easily happen again.
THE SANDALWOOD TREE is really two stories in one tale. One is set in the late 1940s when India is getting its freedom from England and when the country is splitting off the area to be called Pakistan and separate the Hindi from the Muslims. Evie and Martin and their son Billy are coming to India on a research fellowship and will live in a small village. Martin is still struggling emotionally with problems from his stint in the service during WWII and the marriage is off kilter a bit. Today we would quickly diagnose post traumatic shock, syndrome,but then it pretty much went untreated unless really bad. Evie finds some letters in the house they are renting that date back nearly 100 years. She becomes engrossed in tracking down the stories of the two women who came to India and their back stories. While her life is in turmoil with the unrest and fighting going on between factions in India she learns of the problems besetting the two women. One was a lesbian sent to India by her family to escape disgrace and the other was a strong willed woman who wanted a different like than the one offered in England.Tthey lived in this cottage for years as their histories and lives became a part of the fabric of the community. One fell in love with an Indian gentleman and had his child. And this when English treated the Indians abominably as less than people almost. Evie meets a descendant of this child while researching at a local church. The stories of the two eras are entwined and Evie is able to learn what happened in the past as well as to learn what is to be done about her personal problems of the present. the depiction 'india is vivid and the people are well delineated in character. Her women are particularly strong. And the young lad is fiercely real. This provides another way to look at the legacy of
Gandhi as well as a different look at history.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
All reading and no writing...
It seems I have spent more time reading than writing lately. Life intrudes. The weather -both good and bad - intrudes. This time of year I really can stop and smell the flowers. Green up time is happening to the yard and garden. But, back to stalking the shelves, not the plant stalks.
Three mysteries are on the top of the stack to do. Carolyn Hart's DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (Morrow, 987-0-06-191497-3); Hallie Ephron's COME AND FIND ME (Morrow, 978-0-06-185752-2); Diane Mott Davidson's CRUNCH TIME (Morrow, 978-0-06-134815-0.
DEAD BY MIDNIGHT has the intrepid bookstore owner looking in to the very suspicious death of a woman who has just started working for Annie. It is called suicide, but Annie and her husband think it is murder. The unraveling of the story also unravels the unhappiness of a wealthy family on the island and their secrets. Sometimes the wicked stepmother really is. A fun, quick read with a literary bent.
COME AND GET ME is my least favorite of the three. It involves a group of computer hackers who have gone legit and started their own computer security firm. Diana Highsmith has lived a life of seclusion and fear to be outside of her house since she saw her fiancee lost in a mountain climbing accident and she conducts all of her part of the business with an avatar and virtually. But things are not quite what they seem and when her best friend goes missing after a kind of flash mob event, Diana ventures out into the real world and in to a heap of trouble for herself. Lots of twists and turns before the rather non-ending. Still, it held my atttention. Lots of what if moments.
CRUNCH TIME is typical Davidson. This time the caterer Goldie Schulz is facing the effects of the recession on her catering business as well as trying help out a friend, Yolanda Garcia, who seems to have a black cloud hovering over her and her feisty aunt. Murder and arson are following Yolanda and her aunt and Goldie sets out to see why and who is involved. Since Yolanda and her aunt are staying temporarily with Goldie, the action is close to home. A couple of bodies later, it all gets sorted out, but not before it involves the church, the school, and some wealthy additions to the city. As many people as seem to die and have their lives uprooted around whatever event Goldie is catering, I am always surprised that people will still hire her. The Goldie books always include new twists on old plots and keeping us up to date on the lives of all the characters, And the recipes that are included look pretty tasty.
Three mysteries are on the top of the stack to do. Carolyn Hart's DEAD BY MIDNIGHT (Morrow, 987-0-06-191497-3); Hallie Ephron's COME AND FIND ME (Morrow, 978-0-06-185752-2); Diane Mott Davidson's CRUNCH TIME (Morrow, 978-0-06-134815-0.
DEAD BY MIDNIGHT has the intrepid bookstore owner looking in to the very suspicious death of a woman who has just started working for Annie. It is called suicide, but Annie and her husband think it is murder. The unraveling of the story also unravels the unhappiness of a wealthy family on the island and their secrets. Sometimes the wicked stepmother really is. A fun, quick read with a literary bent.
COME AND GET ME is my least favorite of the three. It involves a group of computer hackers who have gone legit and started their own computer security firm. Diana Highsmith has lived a life of seclusion and fear to be outside of her house since she saw her fiancee lost in a mountain climbing accident and she conducts all of her part of the business with an avatar and virtually. But things are not quite what they seem and when her best friend goes missing after a kind of flash mob event, Diana ventures out into the real world and in to a heap of trouble for herself. Lots of twists and turns before the rather non-ending. Still, it held my atttention. Lots of what if moments.
CRUNCH TIME is typical Davidson. This time the caterer Goldie Schulz is facing the effects of the recession on her catering business as well as trying help out a friend, Yolanda Garcia, who seems to have a black cloud hovering over her and her feisty aunt. Murder and arson are following Yolanda and her aunt and Goldie sets out to see why and who is involved. Since Yolanda and her aunt are staying temporarily with Goldie, the action is close to home. A couple of bodies later, it all gets sorted out, but not before it involves the church, the school, and some wealthy additions to the city. As many people as seem to die and have their lives uprooted around whatever event Goldie is catering, I am always surprised that people will still hire her. The Goldie books always include new twists on old plots and keeping us up to date on the lives of all the characters, And the recipes that are included look pretty tasty.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Picoult and the hot button issues
If you are a fan of Jodi Picoult - and I am not - you have treat coming your way in her latest book, SING YOU HOME (Atria 978-1-4391-0272-5). Picoult's novels always have characters who aer involved with problems and with the hot button issues of the day. I think of Picoult's books and Oprah Winfrey's show as being similar. This latest novel was a slow starter, but had a really fast paced and riveting ending. I will begin by saying that originally, the characters did not charm me either. But Picoult added characters to the plot that were strong and had great stories. The book has several social issues to cover and misses very few. The first issue is infertility. Zoe Baxter has been trying to get pregnant for ten years. At great monetary cost and even more psychological wear and tear on her and her husband, Max Neither one are particularly appealing people. Zoe is overly obsessive about being a mother and Max seems not the brightest bulb in the box. Max's brother and his wife are ultra religious and very successful and also childless. Zoe's mother is a new agey sort of person who is currently dabbling at being a life coach of sorts, When the story begins, Zoe is pregnant, nearly about to have her baby and attending a baby shower when she goes into labor and loses the baby. And then the real trouble begins. She wants to try again. Max says no to her and yes to a divorce. She retreats into depression and Max goes back to his alcoholic ways and buries himself in his lawn service and lives with his brother, . Then things turn really dramatic. Zoe finally goes back to work as a music therapist and her friendship with the school counselor, Vanessa Shaw, deepens. Zoe has always felt the lack of feminine friends to talk with and be around and Vanessa is a find.Vanessa is a Lesbian and wants Zoe to be aware of it if she care not to be around her.Although it is unplanned and unexpected, she and Zoe fall in love And as to be expected Max does not understand. Zoe's mother comes to terms with the situation and helps plan a wedding for them. Here is where the characters take over the book and turn it into a compelling read. Max has found religion after he is in a drunken automobile crash and lets himself become a pawn for the publicity seeking fundamentalist style preacher who wants to make an example out the same sex couple who dare to be married. It becomes a legal issue when Zoe wants to claim the fertilized eggs left from the fertility treatments and have Vanessa be the surrogate mother. Max is ready to agree until his brother and his minister talk him into letting a "sin free family" raise the unborn child. Max's brother and the minister bring in a flamboyant and less than ethical lawyer who specializes in abortion and and other procreative cases and he attempts to demonize Zoe and Vanessa. He even gets the minister to make wild and false claims about the relationship of his very troubled and probably abused stepdaughter, Lucy, who is in therapy with Zoe. The trial is a nail biter and provides an exciting, if somewhat, improbable ending, As I said all the current hot button issues are covered. Infertility. Who owns the left over fertilized eggs in case of divorce.Same sex marriage.Gay and Lesbian teachers.Church and state problems. Child abuse. :Persecution. Trying to force tenets of a specific religion on others, Some of the characters were stereotypical and complete caricatures while other were well drawn and really alive. Some readers will actually care about what happens to the character even if the book does not tell it all. Oddly enough,
the book seemed to be set in a vacuum. The back story was incomplete. Where were the indignant parents earlier in the book? What was the town like? I really needed a bit more detail and plausibility.I admit, I am not a fan of Picoult,but I found the last part of the book riveting/ And there is a bonus. A CD of original songs to set the background and mood.
Another caveat - the cover was hard to read from a distance and too shiny by far. I would like to know the reasoning for this cover choice. Just curious. Incidentally, I would like to know more about the troubled Lucy. She could be a stand alone book.
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the book seemed to be set in a vacuum. The back story was incomplete. Where were the indignant parents earlier in the book? What was the town like? I really needed a bit more detail and plausibility.I admit, I am not a fan of Picoult,but I found the last part of the book riveting/ And there is a bonus. A CD of original songs to set the background and mood.
Another caveat - the cover was hard to read from a distance and too shiny by far. I would like to know the reasoning for this cover choice. Just curious. Incidentally, I would like to know more about the troubled Lucy. She could be a stand alone book.
l
If you liked Steig Larsson...
Readers who fancied Steig Larsson's books and need another jolt of Nordic noir can find their fix in the three books covered here. THREE SECONDS (Silver Oak 978-1-4027-8592-4)by Roslund & Hellstrom; LUCIFER'S TEARS (Putnam 978-0-399-15799-4) by James Thompson; THE ICE PRINCESS (Simon and Schuster 987-1-4516-2174-7). THREE SECONDS is a dark and intense tale of a Swedish ex-con, Piet Hoffman, a police informant who is trying to get his life in order and live normally, but he is trapped into working for the government to break up a drug ring that operates internationally and plans to take over the drug trade in
Swedish prisons.Police corruption and police indifference allows Hoffman to be trapped in prison where he is a target for death by both the government and the crime syndicate. The writing is this is taut and spell binding, The whole book is permeated with evil and an attitude of fatigue. The authors have created a memorable atmosphere and people who seem full of despair and ennui. A fascinating look at the psyches of the participants.
James Thompson, author of LUCIFER'S TEARS was born and raised in Kentucky, but has lived in
Finland for the past 12 years and seems able to look into the minds and hearts of the people and particular;y into the mind of his protagonist, Inspector Kari Vaari. This is the second Vaari book and action from the first has left our hero with scars, physical and mental. Now an insomniac he is back in Helsinki and is working two seemingly unrelated cases. He is called to investigate a famed national hero who is suspected of having committed war crimes during their occupation and also is on the investigation of a torture murder case involving a wife of a Russian businessman. Vaari 's' wife is also pregnant and her brother and sister are visiting from the United States. They create other problems. The brother is an alcoholic failed academic who manages to cause trouble with the law and the sister has become involved with a joyless and punitive religion and causes dissent, All this plus Vaari can not sleep and finally seeks out his doctor brother. It does not help when it appears that the cases are going to become interconnected and some of the people at the cop shop will be tangentially involved. Some of his own family members will also be tied in.The book is reflective of a society that appears to rely heavily on popping pills and drinking copiously. The people seem driven and secretive. The book is dark, intense and yet seductive in its cold beauty. For a transplanted Kentuckian, Thompson certainly writes with perception about the gloom and winter atmosphere. I await the third Vaari adventure. I want to know how the diagnosis made by his doctor brother about Vaari's headaches plays out. How's that for for a cliff, (or should that be fjord?) hanger?
Lackberg's ICE PRINCESS is set in a small seaside town in remote Sweden. Erica Falck has returned home to take care of affairs after the death of her parents. She finds the dead body of her childhood friend,Alex,frozen in ice in a bathtub in her unheated house and her wrists are slit. The first declaration of suicide has to be changed to murder and then the investigation gets ugly. Erica joins another childhood friend, Patrick Hedstrom, now with the local police in looking into events that led up to the crime, and what she finds is not pretty. Old secrets are uncovered. New secrets are found. Lies. Coverups. Deceits. Erica's own sister adds to the problems because of her domineering and abusive husband and his desire for the money from the estate of the dead parents. Since Erica is a well now author, she is asked by Alex's family to write a commemorative piece about her and her art. She is able to use this cover to talk to many people about the case. She uncovers too much, however and she is also in danger. The past catches up with the future and not all of it has a happy ending. Some families will kill to keep secrets from coming out. Psychological suspense and intricate plotting at its best is featured in this tale.
So for all of readers who like your noir Nordic, enjoy. For those who like fine writing, excellent plotting, and complicated characters, have a good read.
Swedish prisons.Police corruption and police indifference allows Hoffman to be trapped in prison where he is a target for death by both the government and the crime syndicate. The writing is this is taut and spell binding, The whole book is permeated with evil and an attitude of fatigue. The authors have created a memorable atmosphere and people who seem full of despair and ennui. A fascinating look at the psyches of the participants.
James Thompson, author of LUCIFER'S TEARS was born and raised in Kentucky, but has lived in
Finland for the past 12 years and seems able to look into the minds and hearts of the people and particular;y into the mind of his protagonist, Inspector Kari Vaari. This is the second Vaari book and action from the first has left our hero with scars, physical and mental. Now an insomniac he is back in Helsinki and is working two seemingly unrelated cases. He is called to investigate a famed national hero who is suspected of having committed war crimes during their occupation and also is on the investigation of a torture murder case involving a wife of a Russian businessman. Vaari 's' wife is also pregnant and her brother and sister are visiting from the United States. They create other problems. The brother is an alcoholic failed academic who manages to cause trouble with the law and the sister has become involved with a joyless and punitive religion and causes dissent, All this plus Vaari can not sleep and finally seeks out his doctor brother. It does not help when it appears that the cases are going to become interconnected and some of the people at the cop shop will be tangentially involved. Some of his own family members will also be tied in.The book is reflective of a society that appears to rely heavily on popping pills and drinking copiously. The people seem driven and secretive. The book is dark, intense and yet seductive in its cold beauty. For a transplanted Kentuckian, Thompson certainly writes with perception about the gloom and winter atmosphere. I await the third Vaari adventure. I want to know how the diagnosis made by his doctor brother about Vaari's headaches plays out. How's that for for a cliff, (or should that be fjord?) hanger?
Lackberg's ICE PRINCESS is set in a small seaside town in remote Sweden. Erica Falck has returned home to take care of affairs after the death of her parents. She finds the dead body of her childhood friend,Alex,frozen in ice in a bathtub in her unheated house and her wrists are slit. The first declaration of suicide has to be changed to murder and then the investigation gets ugly. Erica joins another childhood friend, Patrick Hedstrom, now with the local police in looking into events that led up to the crime, and what she finds is not pretty. Old secrets are uncovered. New secrets are found. Lies. Coverups. Deceits. Erica's own sister adds to the problems because of her domineering and abusive husband and his desire for the money from the estate of the dead parents. Since Erica is a well now author, she is asked by Alex's family to write a commemorative piece about her and her art. She is able to use this cover to talk to many people about the case. She uncovers too much, however and she is also in danger. The past catches up with the future and not all of it has a happy ending. Some families will kill to keep secrets from coming out. Psychological suspense and intricate plotting at its best is featured in this tale.
So for all of readers who like your noir Nordic, enjoy. For those who like fine writing, excellent plotting, and complicated characters, have a good read.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
It's a mystery
Spring weather keeps me away from the computer. Being outside enjoying the lovely flowers and shrubs is more compelling than writing it seems. 4 newer book of mystery and suspense that have crossed my desk recently are THE BONE YARD (Morrow 978-0-06-180678-0) by Jefferson Bass, A LESSON IN SECRETS (Harper 978-0-06-172767) by Jacqueline Winspear, WHEN THE THRILL IS GONE (Riverhead Press978-1-59448-781-1) by Walter Mosley, and COLD WIND (Putnam 978-0-399-15735-6) by C.J .Box. A very disparate group.
The Box is another Joe Pickett book and involves many characters we have met before. This time Joe' mother-in-law is accused of murder.The case also involves Nate Romanowski, revenge that goes awry, family problems and lots of buried secrets. I enjoy the way Box matures his characters and lets them get on with their lives instead of freezing them in time. His characters are well drawn and the sense of place in his books is awesome. There are some surprising twists to this and a rather high body count, but it is vintage Box.
Leonid McGill is back in the Mosley book and as world weary as ever and the current economy has him in need of a case to solve. His family life is still complicated by the fact that he and his wife live seemingly separate lives and she has a new lover. His children are a source of joy and trepidation plus one of his good friends is dying of cancer and McGill has taken him in to his home to care for him.And his associates are still dangerous and deadly as are his clients. This caper involves two sisters, an enigmatic husband who is extremely reclusive and terribly rich and some strange deceptions. McGill enlists some of his past shady connections to get to the bottom of this case. Mosley really makes his characters come alive.
Why I have not read any Winspear before is a mystery in its own right, This charming and fast paced novel is one of the Maisie Dobbs series set in England in 1932 - the year I was born. Maisie is a thoroughly modern and independent type who is clever, intelligent and on her first assignment for the British Secret Service. Maisie goes undercover in Cambridge as a professor to check out rumors of Nazi party activity. Well, there are murders, attempted murders,suspicious characters, red herrings galore, and sprightly dialogue. Maisie uncovers a lot of intrigue and proves herself to be a resourceful person. The look at the era is well handled. I will definitely be reading more by this author. There are seven previous novels for starters.
Jefferson Bass ( the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson) has added another exciting and rather gruesome forensic foray into murders and mayhem. This time Dr.Brockton joins a colleague in Florida who is trying to prove that her sister did not commit suicide, but was in fact murdered by her husband.,
Well, a few more bodies and bones turn up and their investigation takes on another case as well.. This one is about a lot of bones that a dog has dug up that may belong to youth who died at a state corrective juvenile facility. This investigation crosses state lines as well as crossing some people who with not to be crossed and the investigation becomes dangerous as well as productive. Past actions and crimes are uncovered that pertain to their investigation. And they are able to solve the killing of the sister.
Suspense. Action .It is all here . Incidentally, this book mirrors a real life investigation of alleged murders and beatings that supposedly occurred at an actual Florida youth institution. Suspense at its best.
Incidentally, the Laura Lippman book, I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, is now available in trade paper.(Morrow 978-0-06-207075-3). This is the one where a man on death row manages to insinuate himself back in to the life of a girl he kidnapped when she was a teenage. Psychological terror and guilt and courage come alive here. If you missed it first time round, here is your opportunity to catch up.
The Box is another Joe Pickett book and involves many characters we have met before. This time Joe' mother-in-law is accused of murder.The case also involves Nate Romanowski, revenge that goes awry, family problems and lots of buried secrets. I enjoy the way Box matures his characters and lets them get on with their lives instead of freezing them in time. His characters are well drawn and the sense of place in his books is awesome. There are some surprising twists to this and a rather high body count, but it is vintage Box.
Leonid McGill is back in the Mosley book and as world weary as ever and the current economy has him in need of a case to solve. His family life is still complicated by the fact that he and his wife live seemingly separate lives and she has a new lover. His children are a source of joy and trepidation plus one of his good friends is dying of cancer and McGill has taken him in to his home to care for him.And his associates are still dangerous and deadly as are his clients. This caper involves two sisters, an enigmatic husband who is extremely reclusive and terribly rich and some strange deceptions. McGill enlists some of his past shady connections to get to the bottom of this case. Mosley really makes his characters come alive.
Why I have not read any Winspear before is a mystery in its own right, This charming and fast paced novel is one of the Maisie Dobbs series set in England in 1932 - the year I was born. Maisie is a thoroughly modern and independent type who is clever, intelligent and on her first assignment for the British Secret Service. Maisie goes undercover in Cambridge as a professor to check out rumors of Nazi party activity. Well, there are murders, attempted murders,suspicious characters, red herrings galore, and sprightly dialogue. Maisie uncovers a lot of intrigue and proves herself to be a resourceful person. The look at the era is well handled. I will definitely be reading more by this author. There are seven previous novels for starters.
Jefferson Bass ( the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson) has added another exciting and rather gruesome forensic foray into murders and mayhem. This time Dr.Brockton joins a colleague in Florida who is trying to prove that her sister did not commit suicide, but was in fact murdered by her husband.,
Well, a few more bodies and bones turn up and their investigation takes on another case as well.. This one is about a lot of bones that a dog has dug up that may belong to youth who died at a state corrective juvenile facility. This investigation crosses state lines as well as crossing some people who with not to be crossed and the investigation becomes dangerous as well as productive. Past actions and crimes are uncovered that pertain to their investigation. And they are able to solve the killing of the sister.
Suspense. Action .It is all here . Incidentally, this book mirrors a real life investigation of alleged murders and beatings that supposedly occurred at an actual Florida youth institution. Suspense at its best.
Incidentally, the Laura Lippman book, I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE, is now available in trade paper.(Morrow 978-0-06-207075-3). This is the one where a man on death row manages to insinuate himself back in to the life of a girl he kidnapped when she was a teenage. Psychological terror and guilt and courage come alive here. If you missed it first time round, here is your opportunity to catch up.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Long time in the making..
I do not feel too bad about the length of time it took me to get back you after reading this book. I waited a long time for it to be published so I could read it. Jean Auel's latest book in the Earth's Children series, THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES , (Crown, 978-0-517-58051-6) finally came out.
Many years ago, I met her when she spoke at a Public Library Association Meeting in Portland. Oregon. She was a fantastic speaker and hearing her talk about her meticulous and thorough research she did for her books was worth the price of admission. This book was the one she was talking about researching at that time. I know it was more than a decade ago, because I retired 7 years ago. Her readers are patient as well as loyal. This book, all 757 pages of it, was worth the wait. Although, at times, I would have been content to have seen it published as two book. simply because of the heft.
This book continues the story Ayla, whose life has been central to all of the stories. In this tale she and her mate Jondalar have a young baby, Jonayla. The band of people are on their way to the summer meeting. This begins this saga that will cover several years in the lives of Ayla, her family, her group and various other
Caves throughout the area. throughout the book the persona of Ayla grows into the woman that has been foreshadowed throughout the series. No matter where she lives, Ayla stands out as unique.
even when young she had an affinity for animals. She has always had a oneness with nature and she is extremely intelligent and quick witted. Although her early life was spent among those who used gestures and signs more than language, she was able to learn language easily with her next family.
she has also been able to teach others the ability to sign. She met Jondalar when he was out on a kind of rite of passage or quest and it is to her credit that she was able to leave that family with
Jondalar and cause no ill will. Ayla has risen in rank with her new clan as well. She has become well known as a healer and is serving the Earth Mother as a Zelandoni and as the assistant, if you will, to the highest ranking Zelandoni, the One Who Was First. Because of her position she has to do a fair amount of traveling among the various caves and this provides the reader with the opportunity to see, in the mind's eye, the cave writing and art that has been found and preserved as it may have looked when fresh. It also provides a vehicle to learn the dynamics that existed among the clans themselves as well as between neighboring clans. The politics if survival has important then as well. Exploring the religion of the time provides insights into origins of many beliefs. Some tenets may still exist in a different guise.
The dynamics of living was as fraught with squabbles and jealousies as well then. Promiscuity and drunkenness and child neglect occurred as did crime as well as punishment.
Ayla was the victim of jealousy and hate because she was different in her speech since she was a foreigner by previous clan affiliation, She also appeared to have strange powers because she rode horses and tamed a wolf for a pet and companion. She was also favored by the Zelandoni.
This book is about the journey to and from the caves, discovering their meanings, the maturing of Ayla from a new mother and acolyte of the Mother into to the leading Zelandoni and the mother of a precocious young daughter. It is about the way the lives of the people are affected by their surrounding as well as other forces of change. It shows how they learn new things and new ways to adapt as they meet different events and peoples.We learn as Ayla learns the ways of the Zelandoni. Ayla changes from an adventurous and sometimes impetuous warrior hunter woman into a more introspective, mature healer, mediator, teacher, and adult.
And along the way we are treated to a glorious historical read, a love story, an adventure tale, and a travelogue that includes many fantastic caves and sites
When the book ends, Ayla is well on her way to being the One Who Was First. She has gone through tests, quests, and trials and has emerged ready to tackle her new life - and that may be literally as well as figuratively. Jondalar has also matured after a bit of losing his way and is well on his way to understanding the new order of things, And Jonayla? She will be one to watch.
The way the book ends? I don't think it actually does. Ayla is on the brink of a new chapter of her life. I hope that chapter makes in onto another book b Jean Auel. (Only do not make me wait too long this time. I am not as young as Ayla.)
As alway, the book is highly readable as well as chock full of well used research. I do not know what our ancestors were really like, but Jean Auel has certainly made me more aware of the possibilities that existed for them. I would suggest, that if you have never read the previous books in the series, you read them now. and if you had already read them? You might wis hto reread them and get a whole new perspect ive on once upon a time. I know books such as these send me on quests for other books to read about these places and these times.
s
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Many years ago, I met her when she spoke at a Public Library Association Meeting in Portland. Oregon. She was a fantastic speaker and hearing her talk about her meticulous and thorough research she did for her books was worth the price of admission. This book was the one she was talking about researching at that time. I know it was more than a decade ago, because I retired 7 years ago. Her readers are patient as well as loyal. This book, all 757 pages of it, was worth the wait. Although, at times, I would have been content to have seen it published as two book. simply because of the heft.
This book continues the story Ayla, whose life has been central to all of the stories. In this tale she and her mate Jondalar have a young baby, Jonayla. The band of people are on their way to the summer meeting. This begins this saga that will cover several years in the lives of Ayla, her family, her group and various other
Caves throughout the area. throughout the book the persona of Ayla grows into the woman that has been foreshadowed throughout the series. No matter where she lives, Ayla stands out as unique.
even when young she had an affinity for animals. She has always had a oneness with nature and she is extremely intelligent and quick witted. Although her early life was spent among those who used gestures and signs more than language, she was able to learn language easily with her next family.
she has also been able to teach others the ability to sign. She met Jondalar when he was out on a kind of rite of passage or quest and it is to her credit that she was able to leave that family with
Jondalar and cause no ill will. Ayla has risen in rank with her new clan as well. She has become well known as a healer and is serving the Earth Mother as a Zelandoni and as the assistant, if you will, to the highest ranking Zelandoni, the One Who Was First. Because of her position she has to do a fair amount of traveling among the various caves and this provides the reader with the opportunity to see, in the mind's eye, the cave writing and art that has been found and preserved as it may have looked when fresh. It also provides a vehicle to learn the dynamics that existed among the clans themselves as well as between neighboring clans. The politics if survival has important then as well. Exploring the religion of the time provides insights into origins of many beliefs. Some tenets may still exist in a different guise.
The dynamics of living was as fraught with squabbles and jealousies as well then. Promiscuity and drunkenness and child neglect occurred as did crime as well as punishment.
Ayla was the victim of jealousy and hate because she was different in her speech since she was a foreigner by previous clan affiliation, She also appeared to have strange powers because she rode horses and tamed a wolf for a pet and companion. She was also favored by the Zelandoni.
This book is about the journey to and from the caves, discovering their meanings, the maturing of Ayla from a new mother and acolyte of the Mother into to the leading Zelandoni and the mother of a precocious young daughter. It is about the way the lives of the people are affected by their surrounding as well as other forces of change. It shows how they learn new things and new ways to adapt as they meet different events and peoples.We learn as Ayla learns the ways of the Zelandoni. Ayla changes from an adventurous and sometimes impetuous warrior hunter woman into a more introspective, mature healer, mediator, teacher, and adult.
And along the way we are treated to a glorious historical read, a love story, an adventure tale, and a travelogue that includes many fantastic caves and sites
When the book ends, Ayla is well on her way to being the One Who Was First. She has gone through tests, quests, and trials and has emerged ready to tackle her new life - and that may be literally as well as figuratively. Jondalar has also matured after a bit of losing his way and is well on his way to understanding the new order of things, And Jonayla? She will be one to watch.
The way the book ends? I don't think it actually does. Ayla is on the brink of a new chapter of her life. I hope that chapter makes in onto another book b Jean Auel. (Only do not make me wait too long this time. I am not as young as Ayla.)
As alway, the book is highly readable as well as chock full of well used research. I do not know what our ancestors were really like, but Jean Auel has certainly made me more aware of the possibilities that existed for them. I would suggest, that if you have never read the previous books in the series, you read them now. and if you had already read them? You might wis hto reread them and get a whole new perspect ive on once upon a time. I know books such as these send me on quests for other books to read about these places and these times.
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Wednesday, March 2, 2011
So much to read
February
Her mother has turned drunken after the death of her captain husband and Nell's sister Rose is portrayed as a wanton prostitute for gentleman who does reform and marries well. The author sets the stage, if you well, for the plot by using playbills, gossip sheets and court letters and official announcements of the times.
The book really catches the feel of the era and the ugliness of life as well as the intimacy of the fact that royalty was easier to access in those days. This is a charming look at another era that, I suspect, has hidden a few warts, but never the less presents a love story for the ages. THE RAVEN QUEEN is set in ancient Ireland and is the tale of the warrior queen Maeve who was as fierce a competitor as any man and who was a rebel in her time. She had been sent to another kingdom as a bride, but came home to fight for and rule her father kingdom no matter at what cost. This book lays the groundwork for much of what we know of Irish legend. The glossary or terms is a must read to understand the book and the characters. The book is well researched. The life and loves of Queen Maeve border on the mystical and contain the larger than life legends that are attached to ancient Ireland, Conor, Cuchulain, Cormac, the Sidhe, as well as the ancient places and festivals that we are familiar with. If you enjoy bloody historical romance with a trace of fey, you will enjoy this. A couple of books with magical overtones are Cecelia Ahern's THE BOOK OF TOMORROW ( Harper 978-0-06-1780630-1) AND MR. CHARTWELL(Dial Press 978-1-4000-6940-8) by Rebecca Hunt. Ahern's book takes a spoiled young girl whose parents are dead from her fabulous life in the city and places her with relatives in a small country village that has few amenities and her life it turned upside down, It appears the only contact with the outside world as she knew it is through traveling lending library and the young lad who who drives the bookmobile. She checks out a book that looks like a journal but it begins to tell her what will happen the next day. This leads to some odd and harrowing events that involve her relatives, a nun, some peculiar people and much danger. She eventually sorts out what the book is telling her and finds out the truth about herself and her family. This is a charming story from a best selling author who is also the daughter of a former prime minister of Ireland. She also wrote the novel that became a movie starring Hilary Swank, P.S,I Love You. This is a charming, melancholy, but magical story.
If you recall history, you may remember that Winston Churchill suffered from depression. He was also known to call his depression a black dog. Well. Mr.Chartwell is that black dog. And supposedly he is not visible to those who are not afflicted, but I am not too sure of that. Mr. Chartwell appears to rent a room from one Esther Hammerhaus on London in 1964. She is surprised that a dog wants to rent, but takes it in stride and decides to rent the room to him. She finds that the longer he is there the more he takes over her house. She is a librarian at the House of Commons and just happens to be assigned to transcribe notes from the retiring Winston Churchill. Yes, everything is coming together quite nicely. Evidently, Mr. Chartwell is going to afflict both Esther and Churchill. But there are other complications. The librarian, while being intrigued by "Black Pat" has a new interest in her life that might pull her away. And Churchill's wife is too clever by far not to be able to see and hear Chartwell herself. You need to suspend your disbelief and imagine that Mr. Chartwell is really real - and he is to many-and enjoy the many ways people can go from despair to joy and find life worth living. Connections are everything and perhaps so are coincidences.
More later on the March book fare.
Remember, no one pays me for my opinions - they probably would not want to.
Her mother has turned drunken after the death of her captain husband and Nell's sister Rose is portrayed as a wanton prostitute for gentleman who does reform and marries well. The author sets the stage, if you well, for the plot by using playbills, gossip sheets and court letters and official announcements of the times.
The book really catches the feel of the era and the ugliness of life as well as the intimacy of the fact that royalty was easier to access in those days. This is a charming look at another era that, I suspect, has hidden a few warts, but never the less presents a love story for the ages. THE RAVEN QUEEN is set in ancient Ireland and is the tale of the warrior queen Maeve who was as fierce a competitor as any man and who was a rebel in her time. She had been sent to another kingdom as a bride, but came home to fight for and rule her father kingdom no matter at what cost. This book lays the groundwork for much of what we know of Irish legend. The glossary or terms is a must read to understand the book and the characters. The book is well researched. The life and loves of Queen Maeve border on the mystical and contain the larger than life legends that are attached to ancient Ireland, Conor, Cuchulain, Cormac, the Sidhe, as well as the ancient places and festivals that we are familiar with. If you enjoy bloody historical romance with a trace of fey, you will enjoy this. A couple of books with magical overtones are Cecelia Ahern's THE BOOK OF TOMORROW ( Harper 978-0-06-1780630-1) AND MR. CHARTWELL(Dial Press 978-1-4000-6940-8) by Rebecca Hunt. Ahern's book takes a spoiled young girl whose parents are dead from her fabulous life in the city and places her with relatives in a small country village that has few amenities and her life it turned upside down, It appears the only contact with the outside world as she knew it is through traveling lending library and the young lad who who drives the bookmobile. She checks out a book that looks like a journal but it begins to tell her what will happen the next day. This leads to some odd and harrowing events that involve her relatives, a nun, some peculiar people and much danger. She eventually sorts out what the book is telling her and finds out the truth about herself and her family. This is a charming story from a best selling author who is also the daughter of a former prime minister of Ireland. She also wrote the novel that became a movie starring Hilary Swank, P.S,I Love You. This is a charming, melancholy, but magical story.
If you recall history, you may remember that Winston Churchill suffered from depression. He was also known to call his depression a black dog. Well. Mr.Chartwell is that black dog. And supposedly he is not visible to those who are not afflicted, but I am not too sure of that. Mr. Chartwell appears to rent a room from one Esther Hammerhaus on London in 1964. She is surprised that a dog wants to rent, but takes it in stride and decides to rent the room to him. She finds that the longer he is there the more he takes over her house. She is a librarian at the House of Commons and just happens to be assigned to transcribe notes from the retiring Winston Churchill. Yes, everything is coming together quite nicely. Evidently, Mr. Chartwell is going to afflict both Esther and Churchill. But there are other complications. The librarian, while being intrigued by "Black Pat" has a new interest in her life that might pull her away. And Churchill's wife is too clever by far not to be able to see and hear Chartwell herself. You need to suspend your disbelief and imagine that Mr. Chartwell is really real - and he is to many-and enjoy the many ways people can go from despair to joy and find life worth living. Connections are everything and perhaps so are coincidences.
More later on the March book fare.
Remember, no one pays me for my opinions - they probably would not want to.
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