The Spiritualist by Megan Chance

The Spiritualist is a bit of a mash-up: nice girl/bad boy romance, mystery, spiritualism.  I read Chance's An Inconvenient Wife a couple of years ago and felt some of the same dissonance (difficult to decide whether or not you like the characters).

The rise of the cult of Spiritualism fascinates me, and I was drawn to the book for two reasons:  I like this kind of Victorian Gothic mystery, and I'd read two nonfiction books about the Fox sisters (who are actually mentioned in the novel).  (Talking to the Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism by  Margaret Weisberg and Exploring Other Worlds: Margaret Fox, Elisha Kent Kane and the Antebellum Culture of Curiosity by David Chapin.

Although some reviews have praised Chance for the historical detail, I'm not sure that I found the detail that authentic.  The apparent acceptance of middle-class  Evelyn (Evie) Atherton into New York society was not likely, and although the acceptance was less genuine than Evie believed, I still find it difficult to believe that she would have been comfortable with the creme de la creme of N.Y. bluebloods.  Especially since she attended events without her husband....

Evelyn's father was an investigator, but Evelyn doesn't seem to have learned much about the business.  Her character seems to vacillate back and forth.

OK - quick summary.  Evelyn's husband is murdered after a Seance, and she is eventually charged with his murder.  Who killed her husband and why?

It was an interesting read, but somehow a bit affected. 

The devotion of the members of the small circle who attended the frequent spiritual gatherings led by the handsome and charismatic medium Michel Jourdain does fit historic accounts.  Believers were dedicated and often contributed large sums and expensive gifts.  William James studied spiritualism and was generally supportive; Nobel-laureate physiologist Charles Richet was a convert; Arthur Conan Doyle was also a believer.

None of the characters in the novel were entirely positive, which is an interesting take.  Also, one angle or complication involving the relationship between Jourdain (the medium) and his patron is left ambivalent, leaving the reader with a prurient curiosity.

  Sooo...what do I think, overall?  Megan Chance likes to keep things a bit edgy.  Feelings about the characters are often a little uncertain.  It certainly kept me reading.

I did like The Seance by John Harwood better, though.

Fiction.  Mystery/Suspense/Supernatural.  2008.  419 pages.

Poets' Love Letters

Another offering from Poets.org -- love letters:

Keats to Fanny Brawne
Gertrude Stein to Alice B. Toklas
Lewis Carroll to Gertrude Chataway
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Nelson-Dunbar

I've got about 5 more reviews that need to be finished, about 3 books in progress, and a stack of TBR.  A surplus of books at the moment.  But the weather is so beautiful!  It is just too beautiful to be inside during the day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  (image from The Graphics Fairy)

More Love Poems

Poets.org offers these lovely Valentines.

Love Poems

From Poets.org The Kiss
by Stephen Dunn
She pressed her lips to mind. —a typo How many years I must have yearned for someone’s lips against mind. Pheromones, newly born, were floating between us. There was hardly any air. She kissed me again, reaching that place that sends messages to toes and fingertips, then all the way to something like home. Some music was playing on its own. Nothing like a woman who knows to kiss the right thing at the right time, then kisses the things she’s missed. How had I ever settled for less? I was thinking this is intelligence, this is the wisest tongue since the Oracle got into a Greek’s ear, speaking sense. It’s the Good, defining itself. I was out of my mind. She was in. We married as soon as we could.   San Antonio   by Naomi Shihab Nye Tonight I lingered over your name, the delicate assembly of vowels a voice inside my head. You were sleeping when I arrived. I stood by your bed and watched the sheets rise gently. I knew what slant of light would make you turn over. It was then I felt the highways slide out of my hands. I remembered the old men in the west side cafe, dealing dominoes like magical charms. It was then I knew, like a woman looking backward, I could not leave you, or find anyone I loved more.

The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

The Traveler is the first book in a trilogy by a rather mysterious author.  Although it did get better, even then I didn't find it particularly interesting or engaging.

from Publishers Weekly: 

Twelve Hawks's much anticipated novel is powerful, mainstream fiction built on a foundation of cutting-edge technology laced with fantasy and the chilling specter of an all-too-possible social and political reality.

 Well, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but I can see why the author might want to remain "off the grid" and unidentified.  This is one that probably should have gone into the DNF pile, but I hung in until the end.  Silly me.

Fiction.  Science Fiction/Dystopian.  2005.  456 pages.

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan

A Brush with Death is a cozy.  The cover caught my attention, and books about old letters, etc. always interest me.

 Penny Brannigan inherits a cottage from a friend and as she cleans it out discovers some old letters.  Her friend had a lesbian relationship in the 1960's, but her lover, an artist, had been killed in an unsolved hit-and-run.  Although there were some suspicious circumstances, the death was eventually written off as an accident.

Penny begins looking for more information, hoping to solve the mystery.  I enjoyed Penny's friends in the small Welsh village of Llanelen.

The novel is a typical cozy in that there is no graphic violence and setting and community are important aspects of the mystery.

Light, but fun.

Fiction.  Mystery/Cozy.  2010.  258 pages.

A Time to Keep Silence by Patrick Leigh Fermor

A Time to Keep Silence was recommended by Dorothy (Books & Bicycles).  It is a short memoir of sorts about Fermor's attempt to find seclusion for writing by visiting various monasteries.

 Fermor records his thoughts as he makes the transition, first into the Benedictine Abbey of St. Wandrille de Fontanelle in France, later into Solesmes, and finally, into the Trappist monastery of Le Grande Trappe.

He explains the difficulty of leaving the hectic, verbal world and entering into one that maintains silence even during meals.  Initially, he finds the silence sobering and disturbing.  Within a short time, however, he feels more comfortable.  He describes the abbey, the monks, the rituals, and the history of the orders.  At first, in his tiny cell, he experiences insomnia; however, then his sleep habits change, and he describes his sleep as "profound."  He finds himself sleeping much of the day.  Then another change, and he begins to sleep perhaps only five hours a night-- "light, dreamless and perfect sleep, followed by awakenings full of energy and limpid freshness."

His dedication and energy for his work increased.  Having recovered from the restlessness and depression, Fermor is able to appreciate the benefits of silence and solitude.  Time began to pass swiftly, almost without notice.  When it was time to leave, Fermor says that the transition back into the noisy, mundane world was as difficult as adjusting to the abbey in the first place.

I'm not going to mention his other withdrawals, except to say that his feelings for the Benedictine life were much more positive than those he experienced in the Trappist monastery at Le Grande Trappe.  The order was much stricter, and he was more sequestered from the monks.  However, the history of the Trappist order was very interesting, indeed.

Two of my favorite parts were not part of the book itself: the introduction by Karen Armstrong, who spent seven years in a Roman Catholic religious order, and Fermor's 1982 introduction, 30 years after his experiences.  My least favorite part was the concluding chapter on the Rock Monasteries of Cappodocia, which seemed a bit out of place.

A few years ago, I was interested in the life of Thomas Merton, the great spiritual leader who was a Trappist Monk.  Merton was interested in Buddhism and interfaith understanding.  Although the two men would have been contemporaries, Merton's experiences with the Trappist order were different because he was eventually allowed more freedom and privacy than most Trappist monks (who had to sleep in dormitories).  He met personally with the Dalai Llama and Chatral Rinpoche and felt that his experiences with this broader religious community deepened his own faith.

I have no idea, even after reading about Fermor's experiences as a lay guest in different monasteries and Merton's experiences as a Trappist monk, what it would really be like to have a lengthy retreat in a monastery.  I would certainly choose a Benedictine over a Trappist monastery, however.

Nonfiction.  Memoir/Religion/Spirituality.  First published in 1957.  96 pages.

In the Mail and ...

I've forgotten to mention that Nancy (Bookfool) sent me a copy of The Ingram Interview this last week.  Thanks, Nancy, I appreciate it!

Also in the mail, West of Here by Jonathan Evison, an ARC from Algonquin Books.    From Publishers Weekly:  "A big novel about the discovery and rediscovery of nature, starting over, and the sometimes piercing reverberations of history, this is a damn fine book."  

More sleet and snow expected today.  Here's the snowman I made last week.

Reading The Film Club and thoroughly enjoying it.  Putting off reviewing several books.  Playing in the studio with cloth and clay. 

Invisible Boy by Cornelia Read

Invisible Boy is the third book in the Madeline Dare series.  I didn't realize this, of course, when I pulled it off the shelf and don't really think it matters.  The story stands alone;  if interested, however, getting the previous books would fill in some of the background hinted at in the book.

The first couple of chapters almost lost me.  While I do enjoy witty repartee, the book opens with so much of it that you wonder if there is a story at all.  The heavy swearing and drinking was also a distraction.  Over use of wisecracks, cursing, and binge drinking becomes more than boring, it becomes annoying.

That said, the book does pick up when Madeline helps a friend and other volunteers clearing an overgrown, weed-ridden, historic cemetery.  Madeline discovers a tiny skeleton, one that has been dumped not buried.

I liked some of the wit and humor.  I liked that the focus remained in large part on the victim.  I liked Maddy Dare, her husband, sister, and friends.

 I didn't like over use of bad language.  Believe me, it isn't at all shocking; I've heard it all and said most of it myself.  When it bombards you like this book does, especially in the beginning, the only purpose it serves is distraction.

There aren't many surprises, the reader pretty much knows where things are leading.  The police procedure didn't seem real, and my goodness, I ought to know, having watched Law & Order for years!  Didn't like the subplot. The tempo was uneven.  Hated and didn't get the last chapter which was a flashback.

Sounds as if I hated the book, but I didn't.  I enjoyed it.  What do I know?  Would I seriously look for the two previous books?  No.  If someone handed me one of them, however, I'd be turning the pages. 

Fiction. Mystery/Crime. 2010.  418 pages.

Snow Day in Lousiana

Pig Island by Mo Hayder

Pig Island sounded interesting, but in the end, was just weird.  Really weird and a bit horrifying, but not for the reasons one would assume. 

None of the characters were likable.  Every situation was bizarre and/or prurient.  A lot of things simply didn't hang together.




Spoiler:  The biggest problem occurred on pages 116-17 in my copy.  This is when Joe Oakes first confronts the "monster," and it is feeding "from Blake's bloodied remains...."  I had to go back and find the exact location because from this point on the story simply doesn't make sense in any way.  Each new situation from this point seems to forget this major problem.  I couldn't forget it, so how does the main character manage to forget it?

The conclusion was ambivalent, but once again, not in a literary way.  I simply didn't know what the author was trying to say because there were so many things that didn't mesh.

Not my kind of book. 

Fiction.  Horror.  2007.  352 pages.

Book Tree

Isn't this wonderful?  I love, love, love it!  From DesignArtist.

I've been decorating for Valentine's Day.  My stack of old books received a new ribbon, I've made a new doll (Valentina), and I've been playing with other crafty things, too.  Most of the crafty stuff is on my other blog, but I'm pleased with this little vignette and wanted to share.

Grave Secrets by Charlaine Harris

Grave Secrets is the 4th in Charlaine Harris' series featuring Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver.  Struck by lightening when she was a teenager, Harper developed the ability to locate bodies.  Not only can she locate them, but she can tell what caused their deaths.

She and her stepbrother have formed a partnership and are hired by both individuals and law enforcement to locate bodies and determine cause of death.  In this installment, the two are hired by a Texas woman who wants to know more about what caused her grandfather's fatal heart attack.  Harper is escorted to the cemetery and begins giving details about some of the other people buried there.  The information she relates about one woman's death appears to bring the entire family up short.  Then she tells about what caused the grandfather's heart attack....

The other plot, which revolves around the first one in strange ways,  has to do with Harper's sister Cameron who has been missing for years.   Cameron's disappearance has haunted Harper throughout the previous novels and now, after eight years, there has been a possible sighting.  A woman who appears to match Cameron's description is caught on a mall surveillance camera.  When Harper views the video, she is disappointed because the woman is not Cameron.  Still, she wonders about who called in the tip.

I tried and did not finish one of the Sookie Stackhouse novels.  As beloved as those novels are by many people, they don't appeal to me, but I do enjoy this series featuring Harper Connelly.  Best to begin with the first one to get a feel for the characters:  

1) Grave Sight
2) Grave Surprise
3) An Ice Cold Grave
4) Grave Secrets

Fiction.  Mystery/Supernatural.  2009.  320 pages.

Mission of Honor by David Weber

Mission of Honor is the latest in the Honor Harrington Space Opera series by Weber.  I love Weber--his books are loonngg, full of realistic characters and involved plots, abounding in political negotiations and deceptions and riveting battle tactics. I love them!

However, this is a series that is best (and perhaps, only) appreciated if you begin with the first one.  The number of characters and complex relationships and plots need to be followed from the beginning.  I've written lots of reviews and posts on the Honor Harrington series and the Safehold series and so it is easy to deduce my fascination with Weber's creations.

Now that the war with Haven is over, Weber delivers more on the hints he has previously offered about an underlying conspiracy that has shaped the history of Haven and Manticore.  Honor goes to Haven on a diplomatic mission even as the Mesan Alignment advances its plans to involve Manticore in another war. 

I admit that these science fiction/space opera novels are not for everyone...they are very, very long and have hundreds of characters, but each character comes off the page.  I'm always impressed with Weber's world-building, character development, military tactics, and his ability to consider the motives and reasoning of not only the good guys, but the bad guys as well.

How long will I have to wait for the next one?

Fiction.  ScienceFiction/Space Opera/ Military.  2010.  600 pages.

Taking Notes

Notes on The Vigorous Mind:

• "What is it about growing up that tamps down and displaces curiosity with boredom, disinterest,and indifference?  Some people might place the blame for its loss on our system of schooling, which tends to reward the right answers more than the right questions, so that teachers feel under pressure to "teach to the test.'" (p. 89)  (oh, yes, this is the bane of our current system and often kills the creative and curious spirit in both teachers and students)

• "Penicillin was born out of mold.  Chemotherapy drugs were derived from mustard gas used as chemical warfare in World War I....Antidepressants were developed during research on antituberculosis agents.  Viagra was initially studied for use in high blood pressure and chest pain...." (93) (all of the above and several others mentioned were found in the search for something else)

• "Every thought we have is an event that exists physically in the neurological pathways of our brain.  The more often we repeat a certain thought, the more robust the particular pathway needed for that thought becomes.  And interestingly, the more we repeat a certain thought pattern, the more readily that neural pathway fires in the future.  Neuroscientists call this increase of ease in neural firing kindling, and we can leverage this physiological mechanism to increase our individual curiosity." (97)

Cummings also advises stepping out of the box and becoming curious about things you are not normally interested in.

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoeb by David Mitchell

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoeb is Mitchell's latest offering-- a historical novel set in Japan.  The novel opens in 1699, a time when Japan was isolated from the West with the exception of a small Dutch trading outpost.

The first scene describes a difficult birth attended by Orito Aibagawa, a young Japanese midwife.  The endangered mother is the favorite concubine of the Japanese magistrate, and the outcome of this birth will influence the shape of events to come.

The story then abandons this scene, and the next chapter introduces Jacob, a young clerk who hopes to earn enough money during his assignment to marry the young woman he left behind.  Jacob is to examine the outpost's books and determine all who are responsible for the corruption that has drastically reduced the profits of the Dutch East India Company.  As the culture of corruption is widespread, Jacob knows he is not going to be a popular figure.

Aside from fictional narrative, the novel gives an interesting look at two societies that differ drastically--the power struggles, the social and diplomatic differences, the necessity of translators, the contrast between the feudal society in Japan and the Dutch contingent, deviousness and deceit.

Rich in detail, the novel nevertheless takes a while to pick up momentum.  There is a threat of malevolence that occurs early in the book, and the first portion had me worrying about Jacob, then comes a burst of several intertwined circumstances and events begin moving at a faster pace. 

While I found one subplot a little over the top, the writing kept me involved enough to put my doubts aside.  There are a lot of characters, but I didn't have much difficulty absorbing them even with the Japanese names.  I simply sank into the novel and enjoyed the experience.

Maybe a 4/5.

Fiction.  Historical fiction.  2010.  479 pages.

A little update

 on yesterday's review of Except the Queen---

Katherine Langrish at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles mentioned in her comment that she has a guest post featuring Jane Yolen.  You might want to visit!

Katherine's blog is one of my favorites because of her fairy tale and fantasy reflections.  Her blog is as good or better than some of the books I've read about fairy tales, fantasy, and folk tales.  She ponders recurring themes, characters, plots, examines types of witches, discusses children's fantasy, considers other worlds, and interviews some of the best authors in the business.

Katherine is herself an author of YA fantasy, and I've enjoyed two of her books: Troll Fell and Troll Blood.  I read them last year for Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge.  Kirkus has selected her The Shadow Hunt as one of the 2010 Best Books for Children and ALA has nominated it for Best Fiction for Young Adults 2011 list.

If you are thinking about participating in Carl's Once Upon a Time Challenge this year, I recommend you visit Katherine's blog to discover some good titles.  I'm planning on reading The Shadow Hunt by Langrish and need to begin gathering other titles. 

Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder

Except the Queen  was a pleasure.  After my initial doubts in the first short chapters, I settled in for a beguiling story.   In the beginning...

Serana and Medeora are beautiful Fae sisters who have all of the Fae tendencies for mischief.  One day the two sisters learn a secret about the Fairy Queen and realize their own danger.  Although they intend to keep the secret (and their own safety), the secret slips out, and the Queen banishes them instantly.

Serana and Medeora are exiled into our world, but what comes as an even greater shock:  they are no longer young and beautiful.  In the human world, the sisters are old and fat, and they have lost their magic and each other.  Not only did the Queen banish them, but she separated them as well. They try to figure out the human world which mystifies them in so many ways; they mourn the loss of the Greenwood; and most of all, each sister longs for the companionship of the other.

Being dispossessed of youth, beauty, companionship, magic, and familiar surroundings creates an interesting premise, but things get even better as Medeora and Serana discover a secret threat to both this world and the world of Fairy.  Perhaps the banishment has put them in the right place at the right time.

The narrative moves from one sister to the other (and I found Medeora's sections the most involving).  Each sister forms attachments and finds kindness in unexpected places.  Some of the  curious characters include Baba Yaga, a small tribe of Changelings,  a young girl troubled by nightmares (and a tattoo with sinister power), a young man who wants to escape the powers of evil that have haunted his life, a kind grocer, a helpful Jack.

Two rather selfish and arrogant Fae sisters discover within themselves compassion and concern for others as they learn to deal with life without their youthful beauty and magic.  Finding strength and the courage of conviction, Medeora and Serana become totally engaging characters who band with others to defeat the evil that threatens two worlds.

If you like fairy tales or fantasy, I highly recommend this little novel that becomes more and more engrossing as the plot thickens and twists.

Fiction.  Fairy Tale/Fantasy.  2010.  371 pages.

Strong Justice by Jon Land

Strong Justice features fifth-generation Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong.  Caitlin is investigating the murders of young Mexican women, victims of a zealot by the name of Macerio.  When the son of her boyfriend is arrested after rescuing a kidnapped victim, Caitlin finds the case becoming dangerously personal.  There are several subplots that have interconnections.

The Texas Rangers are part of Texas fact and legend.  Originally, Stephen F. Austin employed 10 men in 1823 to "range" over a huge area and protect  new settlers to Texas.  In 1835, the Rangers were formally constituted and have earned both a reputation and a mythology for their ability to deal with Indians, bandits, smugglers, and assorted bad guys, and to restore law and order in frontier towns.

I've always had a certain fascination with the the Texas Rangers; there is definitely an aura of independence and courage in their exploits, even if their actions in earlier times often omitted standard legal procedures.  Today, the Rangers are part of the Texas Department of Public Safety and work with local sheriffs and police departments as well as the FBI and other U.S. and International crime fighting agencies.

This book, however, is more like the pulp fiction that helped build the Rangers' reputation in the 1800's than a realistic look at modern day Rangers-- which is a shame because the problems discussed are real.  Young Mexican women are sold into prostitution (AP article on the topic), corruption, drugs, and murder  have made areas along the border extremely dangerous.

Caitlin Strong is depicted as almost invincible, a kind of Wonder Woman.  There is no doubt that the author admires the Texas Rangers,  but I would have preferred a more realistic account of the very human Rangers who deal with some of the above problems.  The Mayan connection just seemed a bit silly, and Macerio's "blood border" was a too much.  Inspired, no doubt, by the real murders of women in Ciudad Jurarez since the 1990's, it bothered me that in the novel, the murderer had such an "elevated" agenda. 

It is kind of funny that I adore Lee Childs' Jack Reacher, who is no more realistic than Caitlin, but still wasn't drawn to the characters in this novel.

Fiction.  Crime.  2010. 349 pages.

Book Parties and Wish Lists

I've discovered a new book blog that takes an original approach to book blogging.  ButteryBooks combines cooking and book reviews and gives party planning tips based on the books the book club reads.  Take a look at the suggestions for a Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.  Decorations, music, menu, wine choices, discussion questions, and other resources.

Wouldn't it be a fun way to have a book club discussion?  Check out their post on Cowboys Never Cry and the Western themed party.  Or any of these!

I've plenty on my plate (or in the stacks) right now, but I've been adding to my TBR list with delighted abandon:


The Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick (via Jenny'sBooks) -- NF-- an account of the theft and recovery of Edvard Munch's The Scream   and the efforts of Charley Hill of the Scotland Yard Art Squad.

Too Loud a Solitude by Bohumil Hrabal ( via Dorothy W.) -- described as a fable, it is about a man whose job as a waste paper compactor leads him to rescue books.

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown (???) - I love Shakespeare and this novel featuring the three sisters Bianca, Cordelia, and Rosalind captures my interest from just the title, which conjures up images of Macbeth's encounter on the heath.