Season of the Dragonflies by Sarah Creech

Season of the Dragonflies by Sarah Creech
Copyright 2014
William Morrow - Fiction/Magical realism
Source: Sent by publisher for TLC tour

Remember on Monday when I said I had plenty of time to finish Season of the Dragonflies because my tour wasn't scheduled till the 28th? No? Well, I did, and it turned out I was looking at the wrong week of the calendar. Fortunately, I finished the book last night. Whew! Close scrape.

Season of the Dragonflies begins with the tale of Serena Lenore, how she fell deeply in love and discovered a flower called Gardenia potentiae. From the blossom, Serena created a perfume that grants its users the power to fulfill their every dream. The Lenore family fortune has grown due to careful sale of the special potion at an extraordinary price; but, true love has escaped the grasp of the youngest Lenore daughters, Mya and Lucia. After one of the famous buyers of the special elixir threatens to expose the Lenore family's secret, Mya takes a chance that Great-Grandmother Serena's threat -- that a curse will fall on the family if the formula is altered -- is an empty one.

But, even before she mixes a new formula that she hopes will solve their problem, things begin to go wrong. The flowers are not releasing the powerful scent that normally fills the town of Quartz Hollow during harvest time. Perplexed, mother and company president Willow Lenore delays the harvest while she tries to figure out what's gone wrong.

Meanwhile, Mya and Lucia are facing off. Lucia left home many years ago but Mya has always stayed, certain of her future as the next company president. Mya and Willow have the family gift in different forms but Lucia has never shown any hint of the gift at all. Now divorced, Lucia has returned home and has, for the first time in her life, seen a vision. And, it's a bad one. 

While the Lenore women deal with the threat to their business, they're also faced with new possibilities. Mya is dating a younger man who loves her but she's unsure she can ever love and commit to anyone. Lucia finds that the spark between her and the man she once loved has not gone out. Even Willow may have a second chance at love.

What is causing the changes in the flower that are making Gardenia potentiae lose its scent? Can anything be done to save the flowers or will the Lenore family lose everything they've ever worked for and cared about? 

I loved the historical chapter and then absolutely hated the first few scenes of Season of the Dragonflies. There were two types of scenes I dislike, right off the bat. It was not a good start but I DNF'd the last book I read for TLC Tours so I decided I was just going to have to force my way through Season of the Dragonflies, no matter what. But, while it was slow going, at first, eventually the promise was revealed. By the time I was 1/3 of the way into the book, the pages were absolutely flying.

Sarah Creech's writing was compared to that of one of my favorite authors, Sarah Addison Allen, in the publicity material. That was why I decided to participate in the blog tour and I was not disappointed. Although there are plenty of scenes of a type I tend to dislike in Season of the Dragonflies, the magical realism is lovely and dreadful and enthralling. I like being surprised when I open a book, so I'm not going to share any of the details but the secret to saving the family crop is wound up in something completely unexpected and yet integral to the story. It's there from the beginning and I didn't like it, at first, but I absolutely loved the solution and the denouement.

Recommended - After the initial historical scene that set the background, Season of the Dragonflies got off to a rocky start for this reader but thank goodness I didn't go for the 50-page rule and set this book aside. The farther you read, the more beguiling the story becomes; and, even elements that I normally dislike in a story ceased to make me squirm as I realized their relevance. I absolutely loved the magical touches, the characterization, and the unexpected revelations that pulled everything together at the end. It will be fun seeing what Sarah Creech comes up with, next.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin

For Such a Time by Kate Breslin
Copyright 2014
Bethany House - Historical Fiction/WWII - Inspirational/Christian elements
Source: Bethany House via TLC Tours

Updated on 5/4/14.  Update is below the section entitled "My thoughts, so far."

This one is an "oops" post.  For Such a Time is over 400 pages long and this hasn't been a good reading week because of the changing weather (a day of running back and forth between safe room and TV as tornadoes hit all around us and 3 days of migraines -- ugh). 

So, I'll just tell you a little about the book and what I think, at this point.

Brief synopsis:

Stella was on the verge of being shot by a firing squad when a stranger saved her from certain death. Held prisoner in a small room after her rescue, she is still unable to eat. Her time in Dachau concentration camp has made her weak and unable to stomach much of anything. But, then an SS man takes her to his home next to Theresienstadt in Czechoslavakia and makes sure she gains strength so that she can work as his secretary.

Theresienstadt is where Stella's uncle Morty now resides. And, with a Red Cross inspection imminent, new prisoners are going to be imported, the sickly and thin ones taken to Auschwitz, where they'll undoubtedly be marched straight to the gas chambers.  Can Stella, whose real name is Hadassah,  convince her boss, the Kommandant, to help her save her people?

My thoughts, so far:

I'm currently on page 153.  At the beginning of the book, I liked the dialogue and the writing, in general, but thought some of the set-up sounded iffy. I was concerned it was going to be a book that ended up irritating but by about page 120 I had changed my mind. This is definitely a well thought-out book. There is, at this point, only one plot point that I have difficulty buying and I'm no longer dwelling on it because I'm enjoying the reading so much.

The author makes it clear, via the scriptures at the head of each chapter and the name Hadassah (which was the Biblical Esther's Jewish name), that the story is patterned after the story of Esther in the Bible, one of my personal favorites, and I'm eager to see where the author takes this story.  I'll let you know when I finish.

Update! ---------------------------

I finished reading For Such a Time, late last night. Toward the end, there's a great deal of action but I don't want to give away what happens so I'll just say I enjoyed the faster-paced portions toward the end, for the most part, but found that there were moments I thought, "Could that really have happened?" or was disappointed that the author recycled a bit of action by having a different character do the same exact thing another had done mere pages before. But, in general, I really enjoyed the book.  I couldn't decide what rating to give For Such a Time so I slept on it and I'm thinking it falls somewhere between good and very good but I enjoyed it enough that I'm giving it a 4/5. Although For Such a Time is Kate Breslin's first publication, I'd be willing to bet she has at least 4 or 5 other manuscripts in a drawer, somewhere. It doesn't read like a beginner's writing.

The problems I had with the book are mostly minor. But, I will say that I agreed with a reviewer at Goodreads who said the verses from Esther at the head of each chapter, the fact that Stella's real name was Hadassah and Uncle Morty was Mordecai, etc., ended up being more distracting than helpful or necessary. The story bears similarities to Esther but it isn't the same; it can't be. So, being hit on the head with the Esther parallels was a touch annoying. And, the romance didn't work for me entirely, especially passionate kisses at inappropriate moments, when I can't imagine I'd be able to even think about romance if I was in those characters' shoes.

I didn't find the book preachy -- since it's a Bethany House book and they publish Christian/Inspirational fiction, I expected the Christian references and anticipated some sort of big conversion to happen to the Jewish character. There was no conversion, which was a tremendous relief because it wouldn't have been plausible in this particular story.  

Recommended - An enjoyable WWII story that parallels the Biblical tale of Esther, I found the conclusion satisfying, the romance a little heavy-handed, the setting well drawn. In general, I enjoyed the reading but would have liked it better if it had been a little less wordy so while I recommend the book and think it's one of the better Christian WWII novels I've read in recent years, it does have its flaws. They weren't enough to stop my enjoyment but occasionally I did find myself questioning the plausibility, here or there.

End update ------------------------

Of course, because it's Friday, a cat photo is obligatory:

This photo was taken in Isabel's new favorite sleeping spot inside a clothing cabinet. In the evening I open one door and let her jump in. She'll climb into the dark side and settle down, happy to have a dark place to settle that's reasonably near me. You can tell I had to open the door that's normally closed to snap her photo by that, "You're disturbing my calm," look.  

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fallen Beauty by Erika Robuck

[. . . ] like it or not, this town was a part of me.  I could feel its dust on my feet, its rivers like blood in my veins, its street patterns etched on my skin; to leave would mean amputating a part of myself.

~ from Advance Reader Copy of Fallen Beauty (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

Two up-front warnings: 

1.  It's 2:00 in the morning. I diddled around all day when I knew I should have been finishing this book to review it because . . . 
2.  The timing was wrong.  But, I loved where Erika Robuck took the story, in the end. I just had a terrible time getting into Fallen Beauty.

Fallen Beauty follows Erika Robuck's pattern: the fictional biography of a historical character told via the placement of an entirely fictional character whose life intersects with that of the real-life character, in this case poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and fictional seamstress Laura Kelley.

The year is 1928. Laura is 19 when she falls in love. In the course of a single night of passion, she becomes pregnant. But, the man she loves is not available. Before her child arrives, tragedy strikes, leaving the family business on shaky ground.

Laura chooses to keep baby Grace and becomes a pariah in her small community. It is difficult enough to survive as a seamstress after the stock market crash. With few people willing to cross the threshold of her shop, Laura is barely surviving when Edna St. Vincent Millay (who chose to go by the name "Vincent") comes into the picture.

Vincent is married but her marriage to Eugen is open and she is bisexual. She's known for her wild parties and love life as much as her poetry in the town near her mountain home.  Vincent is drawn to Laura after hearing Eugen's description of her and wants Laura in her life. But, she also desires to help Laura after realizing the hardship Laura endures, both as an outcast and a single mother.

There's much more to the story than I can or should go into, but . . . gypsies, sister, kind sculptor, nasty village woman, one-night stand between Millay and a villager that complicates things . . . those are some of the other elements.  

What I loved about Fallen Beauty:

Exceptional characterization, to the point that "Vincent" initially made my skin crawl, believable dialogue, skillful narrative and an uplifting ending are some of the things I loved about Fallen Beauty. Laura is a fascinating character. She battles grief and guilt yet she's willing to place herself in an untenable position because she is also a loving person.  She is strong enough to remain true to herself, even while filled with self-doubt.  By the end of the book, I admired her deeply.  Edna St. Vincent Millay struck me as bizarre, at first.  But, the author managed to show her humanity at the same time she revealed her dangerous weaknesses (which eventually led to her death), the impact of her upbringing on her behavior and her mad genius.  When Robuck spoke from Vincent's point of view, I felt a little like I'd jumped on the crazy train but it was the fact that Millay's wildly creative viewpoint was believable that made it so uncomfortable.

What I disliked about Fallen Beauty:

That skin-crawling distaste for Edna St. Vincent Millay's wild life and her unique point of view really put me off to the point that I considered not finishing Fallen Beauty.  Fortunately, Tammy (whose review I'll link up to, below) convinced me that I would not regret finishing. She gave it 5 stars and it was thanks to her encouragement that I continued reading. While it took me nearly a week to read the book, I truly think that can be chalked up at least partially to poor timing because I did love the writing; it's both fluid and self-assured.

And yet I had enough trouble dissociating myself from the discomfort of reading the portions told from Millay's viewpoint that I kept dragging my feet and occasionally zoning out. Fallen Beauty is, for me, a book that I appreciate more upon reflection than I managed while I was reading it. Weird but true.

Other thoughts:

I didn't mind the secret of Laura's unknown lover being dangled throughout most of the book, even though some small part of me was thinking of the secret as a literary device. So what, another small part of me said. I rather like the not knowing because it opens up the option to gleefully theorize. 

Recommended - Fallen Beauty is at once a fictional story of love and loss, pain and redemption and a glimpse into the life of a famous poet, masterfully told. Between my distaste for Edna St. Vincent Millay's lifestyle and the wrong mood, I can't say I fell in love with Fallen Beauty; my attention strayed. And, yet, after finishing I have that, "Oh, I see what she did," sensation that Tammy described.  I get it, now; Tammy was right. I am quite impressed with Erika Robuck's storytelling skill.  

Tammy's review of Fallen Beauty at Under a Blood Red Sky

My thanks to TLC Book Tours and NAL for the review copy of Fallen Beauty.  Thanks, also, to Tammy for convincing me not to give up.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

In 1935, Cameron Richards is falling in love in New York while young Billy Reynolds snaps photos of everyday life on the other side of the world, in Japan. Neither is aware of the horrors that will unfold in the coming years.  

During WWII, Cam goes off to war as a pilot, Billy's family must leave their beloved Japan and the daughter of a woman Billy photographed before the war will stay in war-torn Asia.  As the war progresses and then ends, the lives of the people in these three families intersect in surprising ways, offering a glimpse of the way love and war refuse to take sides.

I have such mixed feelings about The Gods of Heavenly Punishment that I'm not quite sure where to begin so I'm going to fall back upon the handy self-interview. A nice, refreshing cup of ice water will serve as interviewer, since one is handy.

Cup of Water (CW):  I hope you're not extremely thirsty because this may take a few minutes.

Bookfool (BF):  I'll try to refrain from drinking you out of existence, for now.

CW: What possessed you to read The Gods of Heavenly Punishment?

BF:  I have a serious weakness for books set during WWII, both fiction and non-fiction.

CW: What did you think when you began reading the book?

BF:  I was impatient, initially. At the beginning of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment there are hints that war is on the horizon but the early scenes take place in 1935 and there's quite a bit of set-up.  Also, for a solid 2/3 of the book, I honestly had no idea what the author was trying to say or where she was taking me.

CW: What happened to change that?

BF:  Time, I suppose. The understanding of why the book was set up the way it was didn't really dawn on me till the individual threads were firmly woven together near the end of the book. Then, I set it down and had to let it roll around and around in my head. It's such a visceral book that I came away from it feeling like I could smell a smoldering Tokyo (even though the final scenes take place many years and thousands of miles away) and was still grieving for some of the characters.

CW: That sounds like pretty high praise.

BF:  From the standpoint of vividness and characterization, absolutely.

CW: What did you dislike about the book?

BF: A part of me feels like the author tried to carve too many facets into the storyline. That left me feeling a little disconnected most of the way through the book.  There were also scenes I still don't feel were entirely necessary and an occasionally a jump in time or place that skipped right over some chunk of resolution I was specifically expecting to read as a follow-up scene. Yet, the big picture worked. On the picky-picky side, there were a few minor editing errors and two little phrases that I thought sounded modern.

CW:  What did you like best about The Gods of Heavenly Punishment?

BF:   The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is a deeply emotional read and a learning experience. To both engage and inform the reader are two very important aspects to a successful novel, in my humble opinion. Also, the characterization is excellent and the fact that when I set the book down I had that "engine is off but the wheels are still rolling" sensation speaks highly of the book.

CW: What did you think of the ending?

BF:  I loved it.  I thought the separate threads of the story were pulled together in a satisfying way and I was relieved that the all-important "ray of hope" was present. Because everything revolves around war, there are tragedies on both sides. The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is deeply affecting -- very, very sad in many ways. The book needed an uplifting note to provide balance and I was relieved when it appeared.

CW: Your labels include a sex and violence warning. Any particular reason you felt obligated to add that?

BF: I don't like graphic sex or violence but sometimes I don't feel like they're disquieting or graphic enough to merit a warning. In this case, there were some words I find particularly offensive in the sex scenes and the violence is intense and disturbing. To be honest, I think the violent parts need to be upsetting in order to get across the point that war is equally painful to both the victor and the vanquished.

CW:  What did you learn from the reading of The Gods of Heavenly Punishment?

BF:  I knew about the Doolittle raid on Tokyo because I've read 30 Seconds Over Tokyo and, of course, knew about the atomic bombs that were dropped in Japan but I was not aware of the fact that 100,000 people were killed in the final raid on Tokyo. Nor did I know that the incendiary bombs that were dropped on Tokyo in 1945 contained an early version of napalm, a horrifying but very important fact. I doubt I'll ever forget the on-the-ground scenes that take place during and immediately after the 1945 firebombing.

CW:  Recommended?

BF:  Yes, but be aware that The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is not for the faint of heart. There are some very disturbing scenes.  It is not a light and fluffy book.  But, it's also not a story that lacks hope.

CW:  Anything else you can think of that's worth mentioning?

BF:  The settings are exceptionally well-drawn. I dived in knowing the novel was a WWII book and nothing else since I avoid reading cover blurbs, reviews and author bios immediately before I open a book (in case of spoilers). So I was unaware that the author had lived in Japan. But I thought it was clear early on that Jennifer Epstein had not just studied Japan but experienced it.

On another note, I though the book could have used a tiny glossary because there is such a large quantity of Japanese words (although plenty of them are clear from context or explained in dialogue).

Third and final note: There are some wonderful black-and-white period photographs interspersed throughout the book.

CW: I have to go now because--

BF:  Glug, glug. Down the hatch.  Goodbye, Cup of Water, and thanks for interviewing me.  Thanks, also, to TLC Tours and W. W. Norton for the opportunity to read The Gods of Heavenly Punishment.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Dr. Who: Ten Little Aliens by Stephen Cole

Ten Little Aliens by Stephen Cole

Copyright 2013 (reprint)

BBC Books - SciFi/Fan Fiction - Dr. Who
322 pp.

Source:  From the publisher for TLC Tours

What's it about?

A team of futuristic soldiers land on an asteroid for a training mission and everything goes wrong. They find the bodies of 10 aliens from a mystical group known as the Morpheians (a faction of their enemy, the Schirr) but one by one the bodies disappear.  And, so do the soldiers.  Meanwhile, the Doctor and his assistants, Ben and Polly, show up on the asteroid. The TARDIS is locked by a force field, trapping them, and Polly promptly disappears through an invisible portal.  What in the flying petunias is going on?  Who are the dead aliens and why are they disappearing?  Why are the soldiers being killed?  Did someone on the team of soldiers betray them?   By the time the Doctor and his sidekicks figure out where they're headed and why, it may be too late for everyone.

What I liked about Ten Little Aliens:

The best thing about Ten Little Aliens was the portrayal of the Doctor, Polly and Ben.  They were distinctive characters, well described.  Although I haven't seen more than brief clips of William Hartnell as Dr. Who, I had a clear image of all three characters.  I also liked some of the action, at least at the beginning of the book, with the soldiers.

What I disliked about Ten Little Aliens:

I'm afraid this list is a bit longer.  While I enjoyed the reading, up to a point, I thought the author tried too hard to cram too many ideas into one novel.  The name Ten Little Aliens is based on the early name of an Agatha Christie novel, so he used what he'd learned about Christie's mysteries to create his own mystery.  Then, there's a bit of a space opera aspect with the soldiers, who are much like Starship Troopers.  There's a war between two races, a whole bunch of soldier storylines to explain why they behave the way they do, the magical faction of the alien race, some scary bad angels (I had to wonder if they led to the weeping angel plot) and then . . . as if the whole mess wasn't confusing enough . . . about 2/3 into the book, it suddenly became a Choose Your Own Adventure.  How weird is that?

First of all, I hate Choose Your Own Adventures because I'm a very linear person.  It bothers me just flipping to the back of a magazine to finish an article.  So, I read the CYOA part straight through and skipped all the bits saying, "To read more of Haunt's story, turn to page [whatever]," etc.  Eventually, that bit ended and it reverted to the novel.

However, the worst thing about Ten Little Aliens was the gore.  It is by far the nastiest book I've read in a long time, when it comes to violence and gore -- way, way too graphic and absolutely disgusting.  When I think back on it, I'm really stunned that I kept reading.  If you have a weak stomach, avoid this one.

The bottom line:

I'm iffy on recommendation.  I think I'll only recommend it if you don't mind a senselessly complex plot with a stunning amount of gore.  I liked the parts with Dr. Who, Ben and Polly, simply because they were interesting characters.  But, there was so much violence and some truly ghastly scenes.  It will take me a long time to get those images out of my head.  I wish I could take an eraser to my brain.  Still, I finished the book and I thought the writing itself was sharply rendered.  It was just all over the place.  The author tried to meld too many different concepts into one book and, in the end, my general feeling was that it was . . . well, a hot mess.  I gave Ten Little Aliens a 3/5 at Goodreads and I'm concerned that I'm being a little too generous.

Husband's opinion:

My husband is a slow reader and has only made it halfway through Ten Little Aliens, but from about page 40, he's been telling me he's "pretty sure it's going to get better".  He agreed with me that he likes the Dr. Who characters and found the soldier action pretty interesting.  He is intrigued by the convoluted plot.  But, he is not the kind of person who puts up with icky, bloody violence.  I told him about the most graphically revolting part of the novel and he stared at me for a minute.  "So, I think it's probably not for people with weak stomachs," I told him.  He said, "Hmm, I may not want to finish."  He's really appalled by violence -- the kind of guy who won't even watch an action movie with you unless you beg, loud and long.  I think I'll recommend that he just move on to another of the Dr. Who novels.  

Believe it or not:

I'm still really looking forward to the rest of the Dr. Who Classic reprints on my stacks.  I've stopped here to read a few other reviews.  Some people love it, some absolutely hate it.  I fall in the middle.  But, the consensus of those who didn't give it a high rating is surprise that it was chosen as the first published in a series of reprints . . . a bad choice, that is, as an introduction to the series.  I tend to agree.  It can only get better from here.  There were definitely things I liked about the book, though.  I might have loved it, in spite of my other minor dislikes, if it hadn't been so gross.

We went to The Who Shop, while we were in London:

I highly recommend popping into The Who Shop if you're a Dr. Who fan and happen to be in the London area.  There's even a small museum in the store.  You have to get a TARDIS key from the proprietor and walk through the TARDIS doors to get in.  Ridiculously fun.  We had a great time.  While the guys were looking around, the owner taught me how to say Llandudno properly (a Welsh place name).  And, then he forgot to put one of our purchases in the bag and you'd think he'd tried to kill us, he was so apologetic.  Point being: great place, great people, loads of fun, worth a visit.  

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Clover House by Henriette Lazaridis Power

The Clover House by Henriette Lazaridis Power
Copyright 2013 
Ballantine Books (an imprint of Random House) - WWII/Contemporary fiction
412 pp., incl. Reader's Guide

Source:  Random House for TLC Tours

What's it about:

Callie Brown's uncle Nestor in Patras, Greece has passed away and left her the contents of his house.  Callie believes something in that house will explain her mother's oddities -- why her stories don't match up to those of of her sisters, why she has always been seemingly unable to love or even speak a kind word, why she was so unhappy in America, why she left Greece in the first place but returned, years later. At the same time, Callie must try to figure out her own problems. Why did a proposal from her boyfriend of three years cause her to panic?  Is it possible for Callie to give her heart to one man?

Where it takes place:

Boston, briefly, and Patras, Greece during WWII and the year 2000

What I liked about The Clover House:

As usual with a book that leaps back and forth between an historical time period and a contemporary story, interconnecting the two, I preferred the historical story.  It's set during WWII in Greece and it was yet another fresh perspective on WWII.  I liked the fact that Callie's mother's stories didn't necessarily match up with those of her sisters and the statement the author was trying to make about memory being unreliable, slanted and -- at times -- perhaps less important than the emotional weight we sometimes attach to it (from a personal standpoint).  

The door to the stairs is just there, across the foyer.  But on that earlier visit, I was looking for the site of an innocent childhood game.  Instead, I learned that even a shared experience can splinter into conflicting memories. 

~p. 348

I also really loved the stories from WWII, which are essentially the stories the author's family told her, with a few modifications for dramatic effect.

What I disliked about The Clover House:

Callie and her mother bear some similarities to my relationship with my own mother -- not in quite so horrid a fashion, but in the manner of "traumatized mother who is unable to share her early experience with her child."  Callie manages to weasel quite a bit of info from her mother and aunts, although the end result is rather like a puzzle that's still missing handful of pieces.  In my case, even as she was dying my mother was still unwilling or unable to talk about the years before my parents married and her only living sibling also won't say a word.  I don't like that, but I accepted it a long time ago and I found that I had very little patience with Callie's quest for information.  She was lucky to have such a big, happy extended family that was welcoming to her.  That would be enough for me.  

I also absolutely hated the contemporary setting -- not the place, but the setting in the midst of the annual Carnival, which sounded a bit like a very extended Mardi Gras with some extra immorality tossed in for good measure.  It's the kind of setting I do my best to avoid in real life -- raucous, drunken crowds.  Blecch.  Not my thing, so I didn't particularly like reading about it.  

Recommendation:

Recommended but not a favorite - Loved the WWII storyline, disliked the main character and I found that the mystery of what happened to Callie's mother unfolded too slowly for my liking.  I was tempted to set the book aside about halfway through, but I'm glad I finished it.  In the end, I found the story was wrapped up in a satisfying way -- a bit like real life in that not everything is complete, but the heroine redeemed herself (although I never really did like her).

There are some strange sentences at the beginning of the book and my immediate thought was, "Oh, no, I hope I don't feel like breaking out a red pen all the way through this book."  I didn't. Although there were times I thought a sentence could have been improved upon, The Clover House is really quite well-written, apart from those few bits at the beginning.  Sometimes the author can be very wise and thought-provoking.  

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Outlaw Platoon by Sean Parnell

Outlaw Platoon:  Heroes, Renegades, Infidels and The Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan by Sean Parnell with John R. Bruning tells the story of the author's time with a platoon nicknamed "Outlaw Platoon" while based at Bermel Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Afghanistan.  His purpose -- and I think he succeeded brilliantly -- was to clearly show readers what it's like to serve in the army during a time of war.

I was thoroughly impressed with Outlaw Platoon.  In fact, I found it so gripping that it took a few days to recover from the reading hangover I got after staying up till 3AM to finish the book.  Bermel FOB is located on the Afghanistan/Pakistan border, which was an incredibly dangerous place even before Pakistan (our alleged allies) made a deal not to interfere with Al Qaida.

What I liked about Outlaw Platoon:

Outlaw Platoon is beautifully paced and extremely well-written, probably at least in part because it was co-written by John R. Bruning, a man who has done a lot of military writing.  Bruning spent some time in Afghanistan and I'm sure that helped with the descriptions.  Point being, the book is exceptional for its type.  The author avoids the typical military-memoir format (which can get old if you read many memoirs of its type), skipping the description of training and diving right into the soldiers' arrival at FOB Bermel.

When I say the book is well-paced, I'm referring in particular to the fact that there are scenes from everyday life at the base to help describe the people, the life and the circumstances but, for the most part, the book focuses on times that the platoon was attacked -- or, in one case, the base itself.  Those scenes are so vividly drawn that I found my heart nearly beating out of my chest.  The actions, emotions, sights, sounds and smells are acute.  There were even times I found myself actually wrinkling my nose, imagining I could smell the rank odor of soldiers who had been out on patrol with no showers, no change of clothing, sleeping in their Humvees for 5 or 6 days at a stretch.  Ugh!

The wounded and dead were described with every bit as much detail, which may be a problem for a lot of people.  I've read quite a few war memoirs so I handled that fine.  I'm not okay if I see such graphically violent things as limbs flying on a movie theater screen, but I can read about them.  Weird.  At any rate, the violence didn't bother me because I was in the reading to get a good idea of what it's really like in Afghanistan.

It's also worth mentioning that Outlaw Platoon is among the most humbly written soldier memoirs I've ever read.  Those guys have egos; it's drilled into them that they're tough, they're warriors.  They need that confidence to get through the terror, although, as the author and others I've read explain, they're not mentally prepared for the reality.  You get to hear the good and the bad -- the author doesn't hesitate to talk about people who couldn't cope (although he gave them new names).  But, it's not a self-indulgent memoir.  It's about the platoon, the way the men worked together and the fine balance of leadership and teamwork required to keep the team functioning.  Seriously.  So impressed.

What I disliked about Outlaw Platoon:

I get so, so tired of the word "warrior" in modern war memoirs.  As I said, I know it's drilled into them and it's important because they need the confidence instilled in them, but it still gets tiresome.  "Rage" is another word that was used a great deal.  The rage bit is pretty scary, to be honest.  When you read Outlaw Platoon, you will understand how veterans can end up murdering back on home soil, after they leave the service.

Interesting addendum in the paperback:

The author received a letter from a person who also worked at FOB Bermel but did not go out on dangerous patrols.  Parnell refers to the people who seldom leave the base as "Fobbits".  The letter's author expressed his dismay at Parnell's disrespect for the other soldiers, those who don't necessarily spend time on patrol but are still important to the operation of the base and also live in a dangerous place.  Again, totally impressed that the author published the letter and wrote an apology for using a derogatory term to describe his fellow soldiers.  He didn't change the text of the book -- maybe that wasn't possible -- but he did admit it was demeaning and apologized.

Highly Recommended with Graphic Violence Warning - Outlaw Platoon is a rough read.  It's graphic, violent and disarming.  And, yet it's one of the best modern war memoirs I've read -- "modern" meaning from the last 25 years or so.   I have read Vietnam and WWII memoirs but war changes, the way people fight is not necessarily the same and the way people are prepared for war or treated upon their homecoming changes, as well, so I would not compare wars or memoirs between different wars.  I was immensely impressed with the author's humility and willingness to accept and embrace people for their unique skills and traits without judging them.  The author is a Christian (and a Harry Potter fan), but he didn't preach.

Upon closing the book, I found myself wishing that it had a small section on what individuals can do to help make the time of our men in uniform more tolerable.  If I could get in touch with the author, that's what I'd ask.  What can a single person do to make one or more soldiers get through their deployments a little easier?  I'd really like  to know.

My thanks to TLC Books for the review copy of Outlaw Platoon.  

©2013 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

Copyright 2011

Harper Perennial - Historical Fiction

294 pages

The Oracle of Stamboul is the story of young Eleonora Cohen. Born during a fierce battle in Constanta (a city on the Black Sea), in 1877, baby Eleonora's mother only has time to utter her name before tragically dying. But the two Tartar midwives who delivered her stay to help the newly widowed father, Yacob, until the baby's aunt arrives to help. As young Eleonora grows, it quickly becomes obvious that she is a savant. Aunt and stepmother Ruxandra believes Eleonora's brilliance will only cause undue attention and prevent her from finding a husband, so she teaches the girl to keep house and strictly limits her reading material.

When Yacob must travel by boat to Stamboul to sell his surplus carpets, Eleonora stows away. Then tragedy strikes. In Stamboul, the young prodigy finds a teacher and a surrogate parent, a hidden hallway and intrigue. Her world begins to open up, yet she is still sheltered. When her abilities become known, Eleonora finds herself in the unusual position of charming a sultan. But, is being a well-known genius too much for a little girl? What will happen when Eleonora is forced to choose between a comfortable but restrictive life and her heart's desire?

Wow. What a beautiful story. Anyone who reads my blog regularly probably knows I'm not the fastest reader on the block. But, only the fact that I had to sleep kept me from reading The Oracle of Stamboul in a single day. It is absolutely magical, a tale so gloriously descriptive that I wanted to climb right into Eleonora's world. I loved Eleonora, her father, her surrogate parent (I'm being a little shifty, here -- trying not to give too much away) and appreciated the fact that there was plenty of conflict and a couple mildly villainous characters without any threat to her innocence.

Eleonora is a lovely child, level-headed and thoughtful. I loved how the two extremely kind and steady adults in her life guided her in a way that allowed her to make a crucial decision, in the end. And, of course, I loved the richness of the setting.

I was a little thrown, at first, by both the location and its history. I looked up "Constanta" and "Stamboul," assuming the two cities were probably the city once known as Constantinople and Istanbul. It was pretty late at night when I looked up the two cities, but the author's notes at least confirmed the latter. I know very little about Turkey, apart from what I was told by a friend who used to live there, and certainly next to nothing about its history. But, I found The Oracle of Stamboul was pretty easy to follow as long as I didn't try too hard to place the story in proper historical context. I just didn't know enough to fully understand the politics, although the setting was vivid and doubly easy to visualize with a little help from Google Images.

Politics and setting aside, the tale is really about Eleonora, a fish out of water so fiercely intelligent that the adults around her feel obligated to shelter her. There are some mystical touches to the story. A flock of birds stays with Eleonora wherever she goes. The Tartar midwives are led to her home at the time of her birth by various signs and claim she's been chosen to change the world, to restore it to its proper axis.

Since Eleonora is a prolific reader, it's fun to read about the many books she gobbles down. I found myself a little envious of the fictional Eleonora, wishing I could read, digest and remember a fraction of what she reads during her first 8 years of life.

An absolutely breathtaking book, highly recommended. I had a tiny bit of trouble getting into The Oracle of Stamboul, at first (for about the first 15-20 pages) because of my ignorance about the setting, but it didn't take long till I was completely sucked in and found it unbearable to set the book aside. The Oracle of Stamboul will definitely go on my list of favorites for 2011.

Many thanks to TLC Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book!

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones (DNF)

My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park

by Cindy Jones

Copyright 2011

HarperCollins - General Fiction

324 pages

Did Not Finish

Tiptoeing carefully over uneven stone to a dark wooden pew, I sat, breathing the musty air deeply through my nose, exhaling through my mouth, a visitor in a quiet tomb. A narrow shelf built into the pew before me held the diminutive Book of Common Prayer, the English version, smaller than those back home. The regular size hymnal hung over the shelf's edge, too big to fit. A needlepoint cushion hung from a hook below. Near the front of the church, stone effigies, perhaps the First Baron of Weston and his wife, slept in a bed of marble, their hands clasped in prayer these many years.

--from My Jane Austen Summer, p. 52 of Advanced Review Copy (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

Description: Lily Berry is in a bind. After the death of her mother, she buried her grief by escaping into the world of Jane Austen, reading all six of Austen's novels and imagining herself in Jane's world. Her boyfriend, who didn't understand her, has moved on and found someone else. Her sister has suggested she needs therapy. Her father has found a new woman, already. And, reading during working hours has led to the loss of her job. Suddenly, a sly suggestion by a bookseller seems her only hope. She'll travel to England to re-enact Austen's Mansfield Park at the annual Literary Live festival hosted by bookseller Vera and her husband, Nigel. But, Lily's imagination goes places the world is not ready to take her.

My review:

I feel kind of bad not finishing My Jane Austen Summer, but I believe I've given it a fair shake and it's simply not for me, at least at this moment. The writing is lovely, yet there's something that doesn't sit well with me and I absolutely cannot seem to put a finger on it. Maybe it's the tone? Lily is really a lost soul and her grief hits a little too close to home, at times; of that much I'm certain.

I started reading My Jane Austen Summer just after I finished reading Home to Woefield and that alone is unfair. I haven't reviewed Home to Woefield (it's two reviews away -- hang in there) but it was by far the most fun I've had all year. I knew it it was going to be very, very difficult finding a book that resonated after leaving Woefield. After the first 50 pages of My Jane Austen Summer, I knew it wasn't the book to follow up with. In fact, I thought I'd never make it through the book at all but I still had that lingering sense that I wasn't giving it a reasonable chance. So, after 50 pages I fished around and found another book that did grab me, spent a couple of sleepless nights reading obsessively, took a day off to finish my final Bible study lessons and then returned to My Jane Austen Summer.

Did I skim the first time? Or was it not that memorable? I'm not sure, but when I reopened the book some 5 days later, I could hardly remember a thing. So, I started all the way back at page 1. This time around, I found that there were moments of humor that I loved and the book is really written with intelligence. There is still something that I don't like about it but I sense it may just be the sad vibe, the fact that Lily is stinging from her losses and there are too many nasty people out to get her.

One thing I dislike in My Jane Austen Summer is the way people don't seem to communicate effectively. They don't answer each other's questions or they don't make sense and she has to keep chasing around trying to figure out what they mean. That was also true in the book I read over the weekend, Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt, but for some reason Pictures of You worked for me in a way that My Jane Austen Summer refuses to do.

The bottom line:

I think it's just me, but I just don't know. If I'd finished this book, I might have eventually started to like it more. There are some lovely passages, bits of humor (brief but definitely fun moments) and the writing is at times erudite. But, at the same time, there were moments that I was confused -- when Lily reflected on some moment in the past and I couldn't tell where present segued to past or when a particularly nasty character bothered me so much that there wasn't enough positive happening to offset the unsettled, negative feeling that character gave me.

I stopped at page 125 the second time I attempted to read My Jane Austen Summer at the encouragement of my husband, who happened to come into the bedroom as I was preparing to dive back into it after an hours-long power outage. The fact that I'd not bothered to seek out a flashlight before the squall line hit -- casting both indoors and out into startling darkness -- forced me to read an e-book, instead. I must have made a fussy noise. "Do you want to read it?" he asked. I said, "Not really," and he replied, "Then don't."

Still, I think a lot of people will really enjoy My Jane Austen Summer and I would not say, "Avoid this book." I think it's a little bit bad timing, a little bit too close to home, a little bit of discomfort with the author's voice that kept me from loving it. Maybe if I hadn't lost a mother within the last few years it would have worked for me. Maybe not. There are hints that there may be romance at some point and the possibility that things are about to start working for Lily is beginning to peek out of the pages. I suggest flipping through the book or reading a sample, if you're interested. See if the writing pulls you in.

My thanks to TLC Tours and William Morrow for the ARC of this book and the chance to read it!

In other news: Boy, that was one heck of a storm. I know we're not the only folks who were forced to shelter in hallways, today. It's completely quiet outside, now, a marked contrast to the gusty, pouring, banging, roof-shifting noises of the afternoon. The cats were distressed. Kiddo, meanwhile, turned out the hallway light shortly before the power went out (if he was going to be stuck in a hallway, he figured he might as well nap), so I had to risk life and limb to grab my reader, Petunia, to find something to read.

I wouldn't have had much afternoon time to work on My Jane Austen Summer, anyway, since it didn't take all that long for the electricity to flicker off. I know because I left the microwave plugged in and it peeped several times (power off, power on, power off, power on) before finally descending into silence. Kiddo tested the lights to see if it was out for good. I might have uttered a little expression of frustration. By the time the power was finally restored, though, I didn't want to stop reading The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. Another point against poor Lily.

Totally useless anecdotal aside:

I'm really enjoying re-entering the real world, such as it is, after several years of deliberately being a hermit. During the last 3 minute song at Zumba on Thursday, my thighs screamed, "Enough!" and I laughed myself through the entire thing. If my legs start to protest (and they do -- I've been pretty sedentary for quite a while), I just adapt the moves so that I can continue to move and not get in the way of others. Just keep moving for the full hour; that's my goal.

But those last 3 minutes . . . ohmygosh. There was a step-hop-step, step back, step forward, step-hop-step, pivot, step-hop-step thing that I couldn't do because I could no longer hop or pivot, the poor leg muscles were so tapped out. And I could not figure out how to alter the steps and get the heck out of the way but still end up facing the right direction. I felt like a fish flopping on the shore in the midst of a delightfully orchestrated crab dance. I didn't care. I love being there, sweating, knowing I'm doing something good for myself and hanging out with people I like.

Reading-wise:

It feels like my reading has been slow, this year. But, I read 12 books in March (update forthcoming, about 4 posts hence -- have to write the reviews to link back to, first) and I'm pretty sure the page count was about 3,800, which is fantastic for me. So, maybe I'm just delusional. It's possible. I do think my determination not to finish books that I don't really like or love is working well for me. I liked absolutely everything I read in March and many of them were, in my opinion, outstanding.

New arrivals:

Just one: The Lightkeeper's Ball by Colleen Coble. What? You think I was sucked in by the Red Dress Effect? Moi? Gosh, yes. There is just something about those long, gorgeous red dresses that makes you yearn to snatch up a book and press it to your chest, isn't there? I can admit it when I've been lured by a red dress. Fingers crossed that I fall in love with the story.

Apparently, it's the third in a series but that often doesn't faze me (some series books stand alone well -- we'll see about this one). The Lightkeeper's Ball is about Olivia, a socialite whose family has lost its wealth. Now, there is pressure for her to marry well. Olivia travels to California to attempt to snatch up her deceased sister Eleanor's wealthy husband-to-be. But, it turns out Eleanor's death may have been no accident. Doesn't that sound intriguing?

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.