Classics Challenge 7: Three Men in a Boat

I was planning on reading the sequel to Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (1889) for the Back to the Classics Challenge and decided to reread this as well and count it for "Re-read a Favorite Classic" because 1) it's short, 2) it's funny, and 3) it led me to Connie Willis, whom I adore.

Based on a quick look back through my posts, I was reminded that I first read this book in 2011 when Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog was recommended to me by Teresa of Shelf Love and I wanted to read this first. Basically, it's the story of a fictional J, two friends, and a dog, who take a small boat up the Thames from London to Oxford. I found the exact same things to be true this time -- the book is ridiculously quotable, it's quite an easy read, and it is much funnier than Jerome's intended travel guide would have been. I'm glad that I will finally be reading his about his German bicycle adventures soon!

(And yes, I will be rereading Willis again this summer too. Too bad it's not a classic yet!)

With mirth,
K

Classics Challenge 5: Emma

My fifth read for the Back to the Classics Challenge is one that I have been avoiding for years -- my final Jane Austen, Emma. Partly, I didn't want to be done with all of the Austens but, mostly, I have never liked the character of Emma in the film/television versions I've seen. But, I needed "A Classic with a Single Word Title" and so decided that now was the time to finally pick this one up. It's on the longer side at 500 pages so I also chose an audiobook version from the library, narrated by Juliet Stevenson. Thanks to her stellar performance, I listened to the majority of the book over two days while painting a powder room and the time just flew by!

Now, if you know nothing at all about this story, it's simply this -- Emma Woodhouse is young and beautiful and upper class and therefore thinks she knows best about everything. It turns out, she doesn't. And, to my great surprise, I really enjoyed reading about all of her mistakes and misunderstandings.

And, okay, I will confess that I was running Clueless through my head the entire time and was just waiting until she figured out that SHE was "majorly, totally, butt-crazy in love with Josh" ... um, I mean Mr. Knightley. I have a whole new appreciation for that movie too, by the way.

So, yes ... I loved this book and am so glad I finally picked it up. Thanks, Classics Challenge!

Daydreaming about that gif,
K

Classics Challenge 4: The Red House Mystery

It's May and I've only just finished my fourth Back to the Classics Challenge read -- The Red House Mystery (1922) by A.A. Milne. I was hoping to be a bit farther along by now but I had a false start last week with a book I just couldn't get through. Anyway, this read was for the A Classic With a Color in the Title category and it's one that I've had on my TBR shelf for a few years now. I'm very glad that I finally got to it because it is a story written just for people like me--country house mystery fans.

In Milne's introduction he says "that the detective must have no more special knowledge than the average reader. The reader must be made to feel that, if he too had used the light of cool inductive reasoning and the logic of stern remorseless facts (as, Heaven bless us, we are quite capable of doing) that he too would have fixed the guilt." And, what do you know, he succeeded! In this story of newly-minted amateur detective Antony Gillingham who stumbles across a country house murder, Gillingham as Sherlock and his friend Bill Beverley as Watson lead us through every clue and thought process and we are allowed to solve the mystery alongside them. And I will proudly say that I solved the murder at just the moment that Gillingham did! Alas, Beverley was slightly behind us.

This wasn't a perfect book. It was a little choppy to start and slightly repetitive in places. But it was short and fun and obviously written by a fan of the genre. I'm disappointed that Gillingham didn't get to use his ever-improving detecting skills again but I'm equally glad that we ended up with the many adventures of our favorite honey-guzzling bear.

Playing the sleuth,
K

Classics Challenge 3: Our Mutual Friend

My third Back to the Classics Challenge read was Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. This was for the A 19th Century Classic category, any book published between 1800 and 1899. OMF was published serially between 1864 and 1865. It is a chunkster of a book at over 800 pages and it is also a crazy read!

The book has many different storylines and all of them weave together to show the contrast between the haves and have-nots and that there are good and bad people in both groups -- and that moving from one group to the other may change how good or bad you remain. I honestly couldn't get enough of this story. After a couple hundred pages, I downloaded the audiobook so that I could keep going even when the heavy book wasn't convenient to lug around. (Simon Vance's narration was fantastic! I think it might have been my first audiobook of his.) Some might find the beginning slow as all of the different groups and people are introduced but the wait was worth it. Dickens was much more progressive in this story on some of the things readers complain about in his earlier novels. I can only hope that this was because his views matured and not just that the times changed and he was writing to the audience.

Pinching my pennies,
K

Next in the Series

I just finished books from two of my favorite series as the newest and latest in each series is out soon (or recently).

The Inheritance is the 10th Charles Lenox Mystery by Charles Finch. This one stood out by having a glance back into Lenox's Harrow days and also a surprising villain.

And the 8th Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley is Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd. Though Flavia is still twelve, she's slowly starting to react in a more mature and tactical way to some of the things around her and it's a pleasure to see.

Obviously I'm not going into the plots of these since they are so far along in their respective series, but I will tell you that they both have major changes and shocking happenings. I'm actually feeling a bit betrayed by both authors at the moment and hope they redeem themselves in the next books. It's less likely to happen with Finch because The Woman in the Water is actually a prequel, a return to Charles Lenox's first case, so I won't find out what happens next in the current timeline until book 12. But Bradley's choice of the title The Grave's a Fine and Private Place, as a riff on Peter S. Beagle's classic, is worrying me too because that was an incredibly depressing read and, in a way, I don't want to wade through what will inevitably come next in Flavia's life. I guess I have to give credit to these authors for not letting their series get stale and for making me care so much. I guess. ::broken heart emoji::

Are either of these series that you follow? Are you caught up?

Extremely invested,

K

The Wicked Boy

Kate Summerscale's non-fiction is something unique. She completely reconstructs a crime but within the context of history. In The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer, the story of Robert Coombes, a young teen who stabbed his mother, is only half the tale. The book also delves into such diverse topics as living conditions in late nineteenth-century London, the workings of the justice system, the conditions at asylums, the contributions of the Aussies to WWI, and how the past connects to the present. I found almost everything in this book fascinating -- and I think I might have finally retained how the pound/shilling/pence system works! This isn't a quick read but it was satisfying to explore so many topics at once.

One of the topics explored was the blaming of sensational literature and penny dreadfuls (cheap paperback adventure and suspense stories, mostly sold to boys) for the bad behavior, crimes, and even suicides of children and teens. This led me to pick up my next Classics Challenge read, Treasure Island, which I will write about soon. I love when one book leads to another!

Filling in the gaps,
K

A Stack of Eight

As the holidays approach and I get closer to having houseguests, I keep looking at all of the things that need to be tidied up and my stack of unreviewed books taunts me from the coffee table. Five of these are review copies too (as I've been trying to pare down yet another stack in another room) so I NEED to tell you about them. I don't know if I'll get to full reviews but I want to at least give these all a mention so here goes --

Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
I actually finished this story (of a man nearing the end of his reincarnation limit) at the beginning of November but could never figure out just what to say about it. There were things I liked about it and a couple of things that I didn't but it had me thinking for weeks about reincarnation and death and many other things. My spreadsheet note says "all over the place but mostly in a good way".

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
This was more of a character development book than a plot book and I enjoyed meandering through it. There was also a feeling of sadness about the whole story. The main character was incredibly damaged and that followed her everywhere.

Supernova by C.A. Higgins
This is the second in a trilogy and it was ridiculously dark and, quite honestly, painful to read but it inspired a lot of thought about rebels and revolutions and the cost of bringing down an empire. I definitely want to finish the trilogy but I'll need a bit of a break before I dive back into the darkness.

Whistling in the Dark by Shirley Hughes
I adored this story of children in Liverpool during the Blitz. Hughes was a young woman during WWII and her experiences definitely come through and give this story depth and authenticity.

Yesternight by Cat Winters
This one was weird. It was atmospheric and bizarre and I'm not sure I liked the ending.

Good Evening, Mrs. Craven by Mollie Panter-Downes
These WWII homefront pieces that were originally published in The New Yorker were almost all from points of view that I had never read/heard before. Some of them were rather depressing, others inspiring. Again, it was educational and entertaining to read a different point of view that usual.

Ocean of Secrets, Vol. 1 by Sophie-chan
This is Sophie-chan's first manga and she says she has been working on the story for years. It is a good twist on the secret-princess story. The second volume comes out in a couple of months and I think this will be a fun one to follow.

Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
And this one was a bit hard to get into for some reason. By the end I enjoyed it but I think that there are other better books in the Death series. However, there were also a few things in it that I loved -- like the scenes with the wizards. They were especially funny this time.

Well, now I get to put all of these books away and make room for presents. Yay! If there's one you want to know more about, let me know in the comments and I'll write a real post in the new year.

Tidying up,
K

"New" Release: Murder for Christmas

Originally published in 1949, Murder for Christmas by Francis Duncan was found in the archives at Vintage Books a few years back and not much was known about the author. Eventually, they discovered that it was the pen name for one William Underhill, a lecturer in economics and history. Sourcebooks is now publishing this book just in time for intrepid readers to unwrap a little murder with their holiday festivities.

The simple set-up is a traditional holiday party at the country house of wealthy bachelor Benedict Grame. He likes to play Santa and his guests range from best friend, Jeremy Rainer, and Jeremy's ward, Denys Arden, to various hangers-on and, not last or least, new acquaintance Mordecai Tremaine, amateur detective. Grame's secretary, Nicholas Blaise, sends Tremaine a note with his invitation saying that he thinks something is wrong with Grame and Tremaine can't resist a visit to Sherbroome House for Christmas. When a murder indeed occurs on Christmas Eve, Mordecai is the only one who can piece together the clues.

I know that this sounds like a pretty standard country house murder mystery but there is one big difference that I LOVED -- everyone is suspicious of Tremaine and close-lipped! They know he's an amateur detective, known publicly for solving a murder in Sussex the summer before. And many of them have something to hide and therefore do not want Tremaine snooping around and sussing things out. This is so different from many other amateur detectives who manage to collect tons of information from every spectator and suspect. It was refreshing to have Tremaine get the cold shoulder, to be lied to, and to be deliberately avoided. The mystery was also satisfying and I hope that more of Francis Duncan's books get reprinted in the US! (It looks like Vintage has started reprinting them in the UK.)

Sprinkling extra tinsel,
K

New Release: The Gentleman

I had The Gentleman by Forrest Leo on hold at the library long before this political sh*tstorm began and so decided to read it even though I wasn't in the mood for fiction. It turned out to be just the book to bring me out of my funk and help me feel more like myself again. (The other book, which I'm still listening to, but which is helping immensely is Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist.)

I thought, when I first began reading, that the titular gentleman was our main character Lionel Savage, Victorian poet and unhappy husband, forced to marry for money after bankrupting himself buying books. However, it is soon revealed that The Gentleman is, in fact, the Devil, come to thank Savage for what he perceived to be kind words said about him by Lionel. The Devil laments that he has no friends and admits that he has been wanting one for ever so long. Savage finds that he is also longing for a friend and so accepts this new person into his life, loans him a book of Tennyson's poetry, and insincerely wishes to be rid of his wife. When his wife is no longer around the next day, Savage begins to think that his friendship and wish might have been a bit foolish.

Written in first person as a memoir that has been edited and footnoted by Savage's wife's cousin, this is a funny and surprising story. There are all sorts of commentaries on gender, race, science, progress, art, and friendship. The way they are presented, through the conceited and wayward lens of Savage's ego, is quite amusing and enlightening. I enjoyed the unconventional family relationships and the bucking of Victorian mores. It was irreverent at times (many, many times, to be honest) and that was just what I needed right now.

What books are helping you through this tough time?

Finding my own sense of purpose,

K

#RIP XI : 12, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

I was about to start reading Alan Bradley's eighth and latest Flavia de Luce Mystery but then, on a whim, I decided to reread the entire series first. I won't have enough time to read them all before the end of the month as part of the RIP Challenge so I'll just make this a personal project for the fall and winter, using them as comfort reads as the days get shorter and the rain heavier.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie was possibly better than I remembered it being. The writing is fantastic, the characters are sufficiently complex, and the peril was quite real. It didn't even matter that I could kind of remember some of the details of the various crimes. I was there mostly for Flavia, the de Luces, and Dogger and just wanted them all to be safe and well. Now that I've started the second book, I'm even happier that I decided to do these rereads!

Do you reread mystery series? Which is your favorite one to revisit?

Picking my poison,

K

#RIPXI : 11, Murder is Bad Manners

Published as Murder Most Unladylike in the UK, Murder is Bad Manners is the first in the Wells & Wong Mystery series by Robin Stevens. Stevens has one of those author bios that makes you green with envy as you read it --

Robin Stevens was born in California and grew up in Oxford, England, across the road from the house where Alice of Alice in Wonderland lived. Robin has been making up stories all her life. She spent her teenage years at boarding school, reading a lot of murder mysteries and hoping that she'd get the chance to do some detecting herself. (She didn't.) She studied crime fiction in college and then worked in children's publishing. Robin now lives in London with her pet bearded dragon, Watson.

I'm pretty sure that Stevens stole the life that I was meant to have right after that born in California part. But, the great thing is that this life has made her the perfect author to write a middle grade boarding school mystery series! She goes one step further too and sets in the interwar period where she can explore the complexities of life as a girl/woman in the 1930s. And, as if that isn't enough, she also makes one of the main characters (and the voice of the story) a girl from Hong Kong so that she can explore race and outsiderness. The icing on the cake, so to speak, is definitely her inclusion of classic mystery titles throughout the story. If a kid loves this book and ends up picking up Peril at End House or The Man in the Queue, a new little mystery fan-for-life will be made. I adored all of these various aspects of this story and I look forward to continuing in the series.

The only change I might make is from reading the US to the UK versions. The US version of this first book has a couple of Americanizations (cookies and grades instead of biscuits and forms) that actually pulled me out of the story because they seemed so out of place. It was especially strange because there was a glossary at the back of boarding school and period terms. I don't know why these words couldn't have just been added there to keep the authenticity. Many of the titles are also changed for the US versions and they just aren't as fun. I don't even want to know what they're going to do with Jolly Foul Play. Still, these are very small complaints about a great little story!

Dreaming of my imaginary home in Oxford,
K

#RIPXI : 10, Rustication

One of the books that I was specifically saving all year to read during the RIP Challenge was Rustication by Charles Palliser. His books are always dark and moody and tense and perfect for when the days get shorter and the rainy hours outnumber the dry ones. When our power went out on Thursday night as the wind and rain beat down on us, I couldn't resist popping my book-light on this book and diving into the Victorian English marshes.

The story is written as the journal of one Richard Shenstone, seventeen years old and recently expelled, or rusticated, from Cambridge. His father has recently died but Richard doesn't really even know how because his mother and sister won't tell him. They didn't even tell him about the death and he had to find out from a newspaper. But now that he has been sent down from school, he has had to move in with them, into the dilapidated manor that is now his mother's only possession. What happened with his father and why his remaining family is treating him like an imposition is only one of the mysteries in this twisty, opium-and-hormone-tinged tale.

With an incredibly unreliable narrator but also an unreliable everyone else, this is a crazy and sometimes frustrating story. But it comes together in a satisfying way and it's on par with The Unburied, Palliser's other tale set in the fictional town of Thurchester. Neither of these books provoked the visceral reaction that I had to The Quincunx so now I want to go back and read that again to confirm that it really is Palliser's best work. But, even when he's not at his peak, he is still a master of gothic atmosphere and peril.

In the mood for misery,

K

Books That I've Read Lately But Haven't Reviewed Because They Were Weird

My stack of books to review has been sitting here a while and I keep picking up books from it and then setting them back down and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized ... it's because they're weird.

I got Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia from the library because Jenny raved about it. This book about high school musicians at a statewide event at a big old hotel (The Bellweather) who get snowed in was full of ups and downs. There was a suicide mystery and that was totally not the main point of the book at all. The point was all of the strange people that it skipped between -- the aged concierge, the twins (chorus and bassoon), the Scottish conductor that is missing fingers,and the music teacher/chaperone who is severely damaged because of the harridan mother/musician/teacher. All of the people were interesting but they were also just all so ... crazy. I had lots of feelings during the book but I can't figure out what exactly to say about them. Was the book good? Yes-ish. It was weird.

Mendoza in Hollywood is the third in Kage Baker's Company series. Mendoza is sent to the hills of what will eventually be Hollywood in a time before Los Angeles even exists. She stays in a roadside inn with a few other immortal cyborgs, one of whom is obsessed with early cinema. So, this story is really just a lot of California history and some very long passages where the group sits and watches a classic silent film and the reader gets a scene by scene walkthrough of it. Very little actually happens except for a weird time glitch that is pushed off to be explained at a later time. I did however love the California history as I am actually a 5th generation Californian and my great-great-grandfather was a main figure in making Los Angeles habitable. So, it was the history of a region that is literally in my blood. But there was the lack of actual story and the really LONG film parts, so this wasn't my favorite Company novel but I still liked it quite a bit. But, well, it was weird too.

Elijah's Mermaid by Essie Fox has probably been sitting on my review pile the longest. I really liked Fox's first book The Somnambulist but this one didn't really work for me. It's got artists and prostitutes and families but they are all broken and creepy. But if you liked The Crimson Petal and the White (which I didn't) you will probably like this one. I felt the same about both, that some parts were just too gratuitous for my tastes. And, well, some things in this book were just weird.

And finally there is Penny Dora and the Wishing Box, a graphic novel for tweens. Penny finds a mysterious Christmas present left on her front porch and it turns out to be a box that grants wishes. Penny makes the mistake of showing it to her best friend and that horrid friend "borrows" it and goes all megalomaniac with it, eventually making Penny her servant. The friend was seriously awful, the art was sometimes, well, not good, and this story was not the magical tale I was expecting. It was super weird and negative.

Is there a book sitting on your review stack that you just aren't sure how to review?

Clearing the weird,
K

Making Series Progress

Because I've been in the mood for genre reads lately, I've used it as an opportunity to catch-up with some of the series I've got going.

The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch is the eighth Charles Lenox mystery. There's just one more book to go before I'm caught up on this series and I own that one so I anticipate getting to it this summer. I started reading the series in 2008 when I borrowed A Beautiful Blue Death from the library. Here are my brief spreadsheet thoughts on each book of the series --

A Beautiful Blue Death: a good start but a bit tame - would like to see another in the series

The September Society: enjoy Lenox very much - the anti-Poirot

The Fleet Street Murders: a bit oversentimental at times but strong

A Stranger in Mayfair: a high point in the series

A Burial at Sea: a slightly bumpy start with a great finish

A Death in the Small Hours: touching and unexpected

An Old Betrayal: fantastic and went in the direction I had hoped

As you can see, I have enjoyed the series more and more through time. Charles Lenox is a great protagonist that has a few qualities that make him rather unique in the literary detective world. I don't know how many more books Finch intends to write but I do hope he continues the series through at least a few more stories!

The Memory of Blood starts with the mention in the Acknowledgements that Christopher Fowler didn't think the series would make it this far, to book nine of the Peculiar Crimes Unit mysteries. And, as I look to buy book 10 (of 13), I'm finding that it doesn't even seem to have been released in paperback even though the hardcover came out in 2013. I'll need to go search for a cheap used copy because I definitely intend to reread this series at some point. Bryant and May are unique in both their age (they should have retired many years earlier) and also their unusual skill set (in this latest one, Bryant recalls his ventriloquism skills after being hypnotized by a white witch). The story in this one was a bit creepier than I like -- I have a fear of "talking" dolls and puppets and this tale incorporates the history of Punch and Judy shows. ::shiver:: But, once again, Bryant and May and the hard working people who toil with them in the PCU managed to engage me despite this fear.

And finally, I got to the end of the Graceling/Fire trilogy with Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore. This series was just WOW. I really didn't think it would be for me as bloggers like Ana were talking about it a few years ago but a lovely publicist had a set of the three books to give away and I decided to give them a shot and got to enter this beautiful and horrible world. I didn't write about Graceling because I ended up listening to it and I always forget to mention my audiobooks. But I thought that it was a great story with a strong female lead. Then I read Fire in February of this year and it had a different strong female lead and I couldn't get enough. So I was quite surprised in Bitterblue that, though the main character, Queen Bitterblue, has actual power, she's actually quite weak and this is the story of her progress in finding the strength that she envies in others. I loved that she was on a different journey than Katsa or Fire experienced. It was harder to side with Bitterblue when she was being irrational or petulant but then a learning experience would happen and she would win me over again. The world building in this series was fantastic as were the variety of relationships portrayed. I'm very happy that I eventually read this trilogy.

What series are you enjoying at the moment?

Reveling in murder and mayhem,

K

New Release: The Madwoman Upstairs

New this past week, The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell is an exploration of the Brontë family from the viewpoint of their last remaining descendant, Samantha, who has no love for the tragic siblings regardless of the fact that she is supposedly the heir to a secret trove of Brontë treasures. Even though she has just arrived at (the fictional) Old College, Oxford, to study English literature, she refuses to read the Brontës or any classic authors. Her tutor, however, wants her to expand her knowledge and analytical skills and so they begin a course of study that may eventually reveal Sam's inheritance from her famous ancestors.

First let me tell you what this is not. It is not a modern retelling of any of the Brontë stories. It is not a sequel. It does not use any of the historical characters in a fictional way, other than Samantha's suppositions about some of what could have happened between them that was not recorded. I know I actively avoid some of these kinds of books and so do some of you so I wanted to put this out there. What you do get in this novel is a presentation of the Brontës' lives, their works, and the possible ways to analyze both. You also get a lot of history, a trip to Haworth Parsonage, and a lovely experience with the decrepit tower room that Sam is supposed to live in.

Sam is probably one of the most perplexing and sometimes maddening narrators that I have ever encountered. She blurts out responses to reasonable questions that are strange, rude, and almost entirely out of place. She makes terrible decisions even for a first year college student and she is a horrible judge of character. Whether these things are a consequence of being homeschooled by her author father or are just in her nature is left to the reader to decide. However, despite Sam's attempts at making me dislike this book, I stayed up until 5am finishing it and am recommending it to all of you!

Planning some Brontë rereads,
K

#MarchMagics - Dodger

The first book I'm going to mention for March Magics, Dodger by Terry Pratchett, isn't one I read this year. I actually listened to it as I wrapped Christmas presents in December. But the reason that I think it's a great one to share with all of you is that it isn't what you might expect from Pratchett if you're only familiar with his Discworld books.

The titular Dodger is a young man who is a tosher, someone who searches the sewers under Victorian London for valuables. His most priceless find, though, ends up being a young woman that he rescues from some very seedy men. Dodger then begins a journey through social strata, running into the likes of Dickens, Disraeli, and, eventually, making it all the way to the top.

There was so much to like about this story! There were amazing historical details, amusing uses of historical personages, harrowing moments, and also extremely touching ones. It was also just incredibly fun! Dodger is an amazing character and I plan to reread this book many times to spend more time with him.

If you're looking for a book to read this month but aren't really into fantasy/sci-fi, this would be a perfect choice. Pratchett is an amazing author no matter what the genre.

Toshing for the best reads,
K

New Release: Arcadia

Out today in the US (last September in the UK) is Iain Pears' Arcadia. Each of his novels has moved into new territory and he manages to excel in every genre, every setting, and with a continually diverse set of characters. He is also a master of novels with multiple narratives and this one takes the cake as most complex so far. Pears even created an app that allows the reader to follow a single narrative if desired, rather than moving back and forth through space and time (although this doesn't seem to be mentioned in the US publicity so I'm not sure if the app is only available in the UK).

You may know Arcadia as a utopia, first inspired by the writings of the poet Virgil and the idyllic Greek province of the same name. There is no literal Arcadia in this novel but the idea of a utopia is played with, both in how to return to one from a heavily-damaged world and also which elements would be necessary to construct one from scratch. I won't go into the characters or plots in the book, mostly because it's so incredibly complex and I honestly wouldn't know where to stop. Just know that the book starts in 1960 Oxford with professor (and British spy) Henry Litten and it ends up somewhere you would never expect.

I have read all of Pears' novels (including his art mystery series) and this might be my favorite of them all. I really liked An Instance of the Fingerpost but the sci-fi/time travel aspect of this one has pushed it ahead. I loved the elements that reminded me of Connie Willis and Kage Baker's novels and I appreciated the parallels to worlds like Narnia. I also jotted down Fahrenheit 451 so there must have been some elements of that story in this one as well. But this novel was so much more than the sum of its parts and narratives. I enjoyed every moment of reading it.

Deconstructing the complex,
K

Book v. Movie: The Prestige

Somewhere around when The Prestige came out on video (Feb 2007), I enthusiastically rented it and watched it. Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale (not to mention David Bowie!) didn't hurt my enjoyment, of course, and I thought it was a smart and intense tale.

Years passed and I finally realized that The Prestige was based on a novel by Christopher Priest and that it was widely acclaimed. I found a gently used copy and it sat on my TBR shelves for a couple of years more.

Well, I finally got around to reading it a month or two ago, long after I had forgotten the movie, and what I read was an amazing and powerful story of rivalry and revenge and science gone wrong. The layers of story, from Andrew Westley in modern times, back to the dueling narratives of illusionists Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier, were rich with intrigue and secrets and horrifying truths. It was all I had expected it to be and so much more.

After I finished reading is when it all went wrong. I had the innocent thought "now I should re-watch the movie". The holidays came and I forgot about it until David Bowie passed away. Then I happened to see The Prestige was streaming from my cable company and I hit play. What followed was the most infuriating book-to-movie experience of my life. There was almost nothing in the movie that was the same as the book except for the main character's names! Hubby was less than pleased to have to sit through a movie where I sighed and shouted and raved through the whole thing. I kept yelling "that's not the way it happened!!" Because, not only was it not the same, it was far worse. It took all of the most brilliant parts of the book story and just threw them away, replacing them with totally annoying, pedestrian plots instead.

And so, David Bowie aside, I would strongly recommend that you grab the book and enjoy an amazing read -- and get your Christian Bale fix elsewhere.

Declaring the written word victor,
K

New Release: Sorcerer to the Crown

I know, I know. EVERYONE is raving about Sorcerer to the Crown and Zen Cho.  I actually didn't request it right away from the library because of that whole ridiculously-high expectations thing. But I was told that it was totally my kind of story and I caved. Then ... I loved it.

So what does this story have that makes it so great?

-- An alternate Regency London/England that has magic, naturally. I don't think I have to explain why that is the best setting possible.
-- Discussions of race. One of the main characters is Zacharias Wythe, an emancipated slave, rescued in his youth and trained in the ways of magic by the Sorcerer Royal of England. Needless to say, the majority of the other magicians are not his fans.
-- Discussions of gender. The other main character is the unfortunately-named Prunella Gentleman, who, despite the belief that women cannot handle magic, seems to have an exceptional aptitude for it. She's multi-racial as well.
-- Dragons and fairies and familiars. It's probably all because of Hedwig, but who doesn't love a good familiar?
-- Politics. English politics, fairy politics -- it's all good.

I'm sure I've missed something else awesome. After all, I rushed through the story quite quickly. I couldn't help it. I had to know what was going to happen to Zacharias and Prunella and all of the magic of England. Anyway, if any of this interests you, you should pick up the book sooner than later. I'm going to buy my own copy -- hopefully with the gorgeous UK cover shown above!

(p.s. This will be a trilogy.)

Off to my ideal world,
K

New Release: Wilkie Collins

I was very excited to be offered a copy of Peter Ackroyd's new Ackroyd's Brief Lives entry, Wilkie Collins. 'Tis the season where one cannot help but choose one of Wilkie's brilliant stories to indulge in as the wintry gloom approaches. And what better way to preface a Collins read (mine was The Law and the Lady this year) than by learning more about the man himself.

Small in size (not unlike Collins himself), this book nevertheless covers Wilkie's life, including so many scandals and illnesses. It was an easy read and I appreciated the opportunity to flesh out those things I already knew about one of my favorite authors. It was obvious while reading that he is also one of Ackroyd's favorites and it produced a feeling of veracity about the facts in the book -- both from faith that Ackroyd was diligent in his research and also trust that he viewed Collins' actions in a more sympathetic light that some other biographers.

I have really enjoyed Ackroyd's non-fiction (including London Under) and fiction (featuring an RIP read from five years ago) and look forward to picking up his Brief Lives volume about Poe (and eventually getting back to the very large London: The Biography).

Solving the mystery,
K