The English Wife
Doreen Roberts
Grade: C/C-
I picked this book up because it was a cover contest winner and part of my 9 in 09 challenge. The back blurb sounded intriguing and in line with my usual tastes. The story is about Marjorie Maitland, a staid, predictable women who finds herself at loose ends when her domineering husband dies. Still, she expects life to go on pretty much as before until she sits down for the reading of the will. This one act turns her life completely upside down. Not only is her financial situation difficult but there is a property she didn't know she even owned -- in the South of England of all places -- that is being "rented" by a woman paying zero rent. As Marjorie tries to solve the riddle of why her husband kept this property a secret from her she learns a lot about the husband she never knew and becomes the women he had never really let her become but that she was always meant to be.
My problems with this book are myriad. The whole premise made no sense to me. If a man wants to buy his mistress/former lover a house, why not put the deed in her name? Why keep hold of the property and then leave it to your wife? When Marjorie gets to England and finds out her husband had a whole other family of which she knew nothing I could understand her righteous anger. What I couldn't understand was everyone around her insisting that the people in that cottage were family to her and that the reason Donald left the cottage to her was that he wanted her to get to know his daughter (from a previous liaison) and the daughter's children. I was stunned that Marjorie ran with this idea, insisting on helping the girl and then turning herself into a grandma to the girl's children. Call me mean and evil but that just wouldn't happen with me. I think what was disturbing about it though was the idea that seemed to permeate the book that this was the only right choice. That a woman who had gone in there and said, "Look, sorry but your Dad didn't leave you the house and I am currently broke. As a gesture of charity I'll go halfsies with you -- we can either sell and split the money or you can buy me out." would have been considered selfish. And as we all know, a romance novel heroine can never, ever be selfish.
To add to my disgust it is clear that Donald, the former husband and father, was a nasty character. Not nasty in the sense of a gun toting villain but nasty in small, cruel ways with both families. I was stunned that this didn't affect Marjorie more. Gillian, the daughter, at least had a proper sense of bitterness ;-) but Marjorie was so quick to forgive, with so little internal wrestling over the issue it just felt wrong to me..
There is a romance which I think was meant to be sweet but in light of everything that was happening it didn't really make an impression on me.
Overall, a disappointing read.
Tea: Unworthy of a cuppa.
tea time
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Imaginary Men
author: Anjali Banerjee
Grade: A/B
Lina is an Indian-American woman, proud of her heritage but in love with all the conveniences, freedoms, and wonders of her San Francisco home. She works as a match maker and takes no small amount of teasing -- and not so teasing -- hints that she needs to find her own man soon. Desperate to escape her aunt's plans to have her engaged while she is on a visit to Kolkata she makes up the perfect man and claims an engagement to him. But what is she to do in the face of her family's happiness? She enters a round of whirlwind, comical dates searching for Mr. Right. But what if Mr. Right is actually the man she thought was Mr. Wrong when she first met him?
What if a rather staid Prince looking for a traditional girl is actually falling for a rather hip, liberated American woman?
I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a good mix of humor and romance. The feel is more chick lit but story is all about Lina finding Mr. Right. I loved the setting and the feel of the blending of the two cultures. It was hard to grade because while it had some of the mistakes that are common in a first book it had a lot of charm and fun too. Lina, as the main character, can be a bit annoying but she is also warm hearted and charming. Rajah is all a prince should be in terms of looks and manners but he can be a bit overbearing too. I wish we had spent more time with them as a couple but that is my one quibble.
Tea: Chai. Chai all the way.
Grade: A/B
Lina is an Indian-American woman, proud of her heritage but in love with all the conveniences, freedoms, and wonders of her San Francisco home. She works as a match maker and takes no small amount of teasing -- and not so teasing -- hints that she needs to find her own man soon. Desperate to escape her aunt's plans to have her engaged while she is on a visit to Kolkata she makes up the perfect man and claims an engagement to him. But what is she to do in the face of her family's happiness? She enters a round of whirlwind, comical dates searching for Mr. Right. But what if Mr. Right is actually the man she thought was Mr. Wrong when she first met him?
What if a rather staid Prince looking for a traditional girl is actually falling for a rather hip, liberated American woman?
I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a good mix of humor and romance. The feel is more chick lit but story is all about Lina finding Mr. Right. I loved the setting and the feel of the blending of the two cultures. It was hard to grade because while it had some of the mistakes that are common in a first book it had a lot of charm and fun too. Lina, as the main character, can be a bit annoying but she is also warm hearted and charming. Rajah is all a prince should be in terms of looks and manners but he can be a bit overbearing too. I wish we had spent more time with them as a couple but that is my one quibble.
Tea: Chai. Chai all the way.
Gone
Author: Michael Grant
Genre: YA Sci Fi
Grade: A-/B+
In an instant life in Perdido Beach, CA takes a bizarre and dangerous turn. All people over 15 years of age vanish in the blink of an eye -- while they are driving, teaching, farming -- all of them literally disappear right before the eyes of the children around them. Initially the kids hope for rescue -- since internet and phone services are also gone they reason that someone, somewhere has realized that Perdido Beach has fallen off the map quite suddenly. But their hope for help from the outside dwindles as night and day pass with no help. And then they start to realize that the animals have mutated. And worse, they start to realize that not just the animals are mutating. When your oldest citizen is only fourteen, what kind of society can you build? Who will be in charge? And will kids listen when it is just another kid talking?
I loved the lead characters in this book. Sam seemed very real to me. A likable, responsible kid, not a genius, with a quiet leadership style that was both appealing and appropriate. Astrid as his sidekick was great as well -- smart but not at all know it all. Both of them showed a proper lack of knowledge that fit with their age while at the same time showing a willingness to learn which really fit with their situation. Their interactions seemed natural too.
Little Pete, Astrid's autistic little brother, is the first autistic character I've encountered in a book who actually reads like he has autism. I like him and I love the way Astrid is with him. She reminded me of many, many older siblings I have known of children with autism.
The book was a little long but I was curious enough to see what would happen to keep going through the rough spots. The premise was intriguing and I liked the "Lord of the Flies" vibe which seemed to resonate throughout the novel. I really appreciated how the book dealt with the idea of good and evil -- it did not show the kids being perfect but nor were they evil or immune to guilt. I thought the author balanced everything well and showed a real knowledge of human nature. Not as strong as "The Hunger Games" but riveting nonetheless.
Tea: Black tea, no flavors.
Genre: YA Sci Fi
Grade: A-/B+
In an instant life in Perdido Beach, CA takes a bizarre and dangerous turn. All people over 15 years of age vanish in the blink of an eye -- while they are driving, teaching, farming -- all of them literally disappear right before the eyes of the children around them. Initially the kids hope for rescue -- since internet and phone services are also gone they reason that someone, somewhere has realized that Perdido Beach has fallen off the map quite suddenly. But their hope for help from the outside dwindles as night and day pass with no help. And then they start to realize that the animals have mutated. And worse, they start to realize that not just the animals are mutating. When your oldest citizen is only fourteen, what kind of society can you build? Who will be in charge? And will kids listen when it is just another kid talking?
I loved the lead characters in this book. Sam seemed very real to me. A likable, responsible kid, not a genius, with a quiet leadership style that was both appealing and appropriate. Astrid as his sidekick was great as well -- smart but not at all know it all. Both of them showed a proper lack of knowledge that fit with their age while at the same time showing a willingness to learn which really fit with their situation. Their interactions seemed natural too.
Little Pete, Astrid's autistic little brother, is the first autistic character I've encountered in a book who actually reads like he has autism. I like him and I love the way Astrid is with him. She reminded me of many, many older siblings I have known of children with autism.
The book was a little long but I was curious enough to see what would happen to keep going through the rough spots. The premise was intriguing and I liked the "Lord of the Flies" vibe which seemed to resonate throughout the novel. I really appreciated how the book dealt with the idea of good and evil -- it did not show the kids being perfect but nor were they evil or immune to guilt. I thought the author balanced everything well and showed a real knowledge of human nature. Not as strong as "The Hunger Games" but riveting nonetheless.
Tea: Black tea, no flavors.
Death Wore White
Genre: British Crime Novel
Author: Jim Kelly
Grade: B+
The cover is what pulled me into this one -- a lone man walking towards a car in a snow storm. I've lived in the far north and live in what most would consider a "Northern" area now so I know the scene is nowhere as innocent or peaceful as it looks. Anyone who has ever lived in serious snow conditions knows that weather that looks Christmassy can actually be quite deadly. But I digress. . .
DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine are on a somewhat routine mission of retrieving a barrel of toxic waste -- hazardous enough -- when they come across a body in the sea. With snow coming and the tide changing the scene of their crime -- not to add that the barrel of toxic gunk they were tipped about is bobbing along somewhere in the water they are standing in -- the two men work fast to secure their scene. And then they stumble across another. . . . Does their proximity mean a relationship? And why does the body count on a crime they are getting nowhere solving seem to keep rising?
What I loved about this novel is NO SERIAL KILLERS. Yes, odd though it may seem many people are killed for gain or revenge or just plain cruelty without any hint of a psycho in sight. (Well, technically all killers are a tad psycho but again, digression!) The build up is slow but escalates as the novel goes on. And I loved how it built up, piece by piece, layer by layer. Peter Shaw is a great character, a meticulous policeman who makes modern police work intriguing. I loved the fact that this character was routine and by the book, with very few maverick tendencies. And I liked his ability to wait patiently for all the pieces of a puzzle to fall into place -- he used his "gut" but wasn't ruled by it.
Shaw and Valentine have an unusual history and that is delicately explored as well. It involves a case and I loved seeing them bring the same balance from the past that they did to the present. This is one of the few books I have seen that celebrates the modern, PC policeman and shows just what science has brought to the table of crime solving in the last few years. Even though I swore to myself I WOULD NOT BE READING MORE SERIES BOOKS I am of course looking forward to book two in this series. Sigh. Someday I will run across a non series book. Honestly. It's gonna happen any day now.
Tea: English Breakfast Tea.
Author: Jim Kelly
Grade: B+
The cover is what pulled me into this one -- a lone man walking towards a car in a snow storm. I've lived in the far north and live in what most would consider a "Northern" area now so I know the scene is nowhere as innocent or peaceful as it looks. Anyone who has ever lived in serious snow conditions knows that weather that looks Christmassy can actually be quite deadly. But I digress. . .
DI Peter Shaw and DS George Valentine are on a somewhat routine mission of retrieving a barrel of toxic waste -- hazardous enough -- when they come across a body in the sea. With snow coming and the tide changing the scene of their crime -- not to add that the barrel of toxic gunk they were tipped about is bobbing along somewhere in the water they are standing in -- the two men work fast to secure their scene. And then they stumble across another. . . . Does their proximity mean a relationship? And why does the body count on a crime they are getting nowhere solving seem to keep rising?
What I loved about this novel is NO SERIAL KILLERS. Yes, odd though it may seem many people are killed for gain or revenge or just plain cruelty without any hint of a psycho in sight. (Well, technically all killers are a tad psycho but again, digression!) The build up is slow but escalates as the novel goes on. And I loved how it built up, piece by piece, layer by layer. Peter Shaw is a great character, a meticulous policeman who makes modern police work intriguing. I loved the fact that this character was routine and by the book, with very few maverick tendencies. And I liked his ability to wait patiently for all the pieces of a puzzle to fall into place -- he used his "gut" but wasn't ruled by it.
Shaw and Valentine have an unusual history and that is delicately explored as well. It involves a case and I loved seeing them bring the same balance from the past that they did to the present. This is one of the few books I have seen that celebrates the modern, PC policeman and shows just what science has brought to the table of crime solving in the last few years. Even though I swore to myself I WOULD NOT BE READING MORE SERIES BOOKS I am of course looking forward to book two in this series. Sigh. Someday I will run across a non series book. Honestly. It's gonna happen any day now.
Tea: English Breakfast Tea.
Curing the Blues with a New Pair of Shoes
Author: Dixie Carter
Genre: Contemp Romance?
Grade: C
This is one of those "sort of" books. Its sort of a mystery. Sort of a romance and sort of chick lit. That can work but in this case my end response is that as a result of that the book is only "sort of" good Wink
Judd Hogg's big plan to put Hogg's Drive In back in the black is to exploit their Elvis connection and throw a big celebration for the King's birthday. He has even borrowed a pair of Elvis's blue suede shoes from a museum in Vegas to display at $5.00 per viewing. The only problem? Elvis's shoes go missing before anyone even gets a look.
The Domesitc Equalizers, Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin, are among the first Judd calls. He knows that Billy Don, the sheriff, won't be worth a dang and wants to get some real help. Debbie Sue, anxious to solve the case herself, convinces Judd they can handle it and encourages him not to get any other police involved. They stick an old pair of gray slippers in the display case, assure everyone they really look like blue suede and head off to their day job at the Styling Station, a gas station Debbie Sue converted into a beauty parlor.
As the town fills up with people ready to celebrate Elvis's big day, Debbie Sue and Ed find themselves helping star crossed lovers, running a beauty parlor and town festival, and looking for a pair of blue suede shoes in a crowd of Elvis fans.
This book was thin on plot and heavy on Texas cliches. In fact, you were reminded you were in Texas just about every ten minutes. I felt the two heroines stumbled across the answer as opposed to actually solving anything but in fairness, they didn't really have time. They also felt "off". I think they were supposed to be late 30's early 40's but they felt older than that by about a decade or so. The book also had a thing for overweight people -- in one scene they were actually kind of mean to a couple of chubby kids.
It's not a bad read, I was able to finish it and it had some cute moments, but unless you love Texas or Elvis (or both) I would give it a miss.
Tea: Iced tea all the way. Go with the real southern experience and add a mint leaf!
Genre: Contemp Romance?
Grade: C
This is one of those "sort of" books. Its sort of a mystery. Sort of a romance and sort of chick lit. That can work but in this case my end response is that as a result of that the book is only "sort of" good Wink
Judd Hogg's big plan to put Hogg's Drive In back in the black is to exploit their Elvis connection and throw a big celebration for the King's birthday. He has even borrowed a pair of Elvis's blue suede shoes from a museum in Vegas to display at $5.00 per viewing. The only problem? Elvis's shoes go missing before anyone even gets a look.
The Domesitc Equalizers, Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin, are among the first Judd calls. He knows that Billy Don, the sheriff, won't be worth a dang and wants to get some real help. Debbie Sue, anxious to solve the case herself, convinces Judd they can handle it and encourages him not to get any other police involved. They stick an old pair of gray slippers in the display case, assure everyone they really look like blue suede and head off to their day job at the Styling Station, a gas station Debbie Sue converted into a beauty parlor.
As the town fills up with people ready to celebrate Elvis's big day, Debbie Sue and Ed find themselves helping star crossed lovers, running a beauty parlor and town festival, and looking for a pair of blue suede shoes in a crowd of Elvis fans.
This book was thin on plot and heavy on Texas cliches. In fact, you were reminded you were in Texas just about every ten minutes. I felt the two heroines stumbled across the answer as opposed to actually solving anything but in fairness, they didn't really have time. They also felt "off". I think they were supposed to be late 30's early 40's but they felt older than that by about a decade or so. The book also had a thing for overweight people -- in one scene they were actually kind of mean to a couple of chubby kids.
It's not a bad read, I was able to finish it and it had some cute moments, but unless you love Texas or Elvis (or both) I would give it a miss.
Tea: Iced tea all the way. Go with the real southern experience and add a mint leaf!
Sworn to Silence
Author: Linda Castillo
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Kate Burkholder is sheriff of a quiet rural community that includes a small population of Amish. In fact, she was once Amish before her life was marred by tragedy and she chose to leave the church. Back home after a few years of wild living (and then the requisite police training) she is able to bridge the gap between the peacefully coexisting "English" and Amish. Most of the time her hardest job is dealing with traffic fatalities or stopping someone's cows from causing said fatalities. So when one of her deputies on a routine cattle roundup comes across a body everyone's initial speculation is car accident. But pretty quickly that changes . . . .
John Tomesati has lived through a horrific tragedy of his own and is now just coasting through his life waiting for BCI (The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation) to fire him. When he is placed on a screw-up-and-you-are-gone-without-a-pension assignment to Kate's small town of Painters Mill he is surprised to find himself coming back to life.
Together the two of them have to face a horrific ghost from Kate's past. A ghost that is killing towns people at a rather alarming rate. . .
This is a good but not exceptional thriller. I liked the idea of an Amish raised police chief but aside from the fact that Kate knows the language and customs that factor is never explored. On a personal level, I was rather stunned by how John and Kate's pasts didn't even cause my eyebrows to raise. Guess I felt the whole thing was so foreshadowed that I felt like there was just no real surprise when it finally happened.
Last, but for sure not least, I was disappointed with the end. One of the secondary characters in the book has just found out something huge, the whole town should have been shaken by the reveal of the who the killer was but none of that was dealt with. I've read that Castillo plans to make a series of this (sigh, does no one just write a book anymore?) but really, I felt that the resolution of those issues deserved to be dealt with in this book.
Overall a good mystery read though.
Tea: Much as the Amish hate the English ;-) I have to recommend a pot of London Fruit & Herb Tea. Since it is fall let's go with Apple and Cinnamon Twist. But my REAL recommendations are what accompany it. I am addicted to Essenhaus extra wide noodles which can be boiled in chicken broth and taste like fat dumplings. Utterly yummy!
maggie b.
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Kate Burkholder is sheriff of a quiet rural community that includes a small population of Amish. In fact, she was once Amish before her life was marred by tragedy and she chose to leave the church. Back home after a few years of wild living (and then the requisite police training) she is able to bridge the gap between the peacefully coexisting "English" and Amish. Most of the time her hardest job is dealing with traffic fatalities or stopping someone's cows from causing said fatalities. So when one of her deputies on a routine cattle roundup comes across a body everyone's initial speculation is car accident. But pretty quickly that changes . . . .
John Tomesati has lived through a horrific tragedy of his own and is now just coasting through his life waiting for BCI (The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation) to fire him. When he is placed on a screw-up-and-you-are-gone-without-a-pension assignment to Kate's small town of Painters Mill he is surprised to find himself coming back to life.
Together the two of them have to face a horrific ghost from Kate's past. A ghost that is killing towns people at a rather alarming rate. . .
This is a good but not exceptional thriller. I liked the idea of an Amish raised police chief but aside from the fact that Kate knows the language and customs that factor is never explored. On a personal level, I was rather stunned by how John and Kate's pasts didn't even cause my eyebrows to raise. Guess I felt the whole thing was so foreshadowed that I felt like there was just no real surprise when it finally happened.
Last, but for sure not least, I was disappointed with the end. One of the secondary characters in the book has just found out something huge, the whole town should have been shaken by the reveal of the who the killer was but none of that was dealt with. I've read that Castillo plans to make a series of this (sigh, does no one just write a book anymore?) but really, I felt that the resolution of those issues deserved to be dealt with in this book.
Overall a good mystery read though.
Tea: Much as the Amish hate the English ;-) I have to recommend a pot of London Fruit & Herb Tea. Since it is fall let's go with Apple and Cinnamon Twist. But my REAL recommendations are what accompany it. I am addicted to Essenhaus extra wide noodles which can be boiled in chicken broth and taste like fat dumplings. Utterly yummy!
maggie b.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Shanghai Girls
Shanghai Girls
Author: Lisa See
Writing Style: B/3
Plot:B-/C+/2.5
Characterization: D1
Overall Grade: 6.5 out of 12 possible points, so about a C+
One thing I love about first person POV is that it allows the character to explain selfishness or ignorance in a way that keeps them sympathetic. For example, in "What I Saw and How I Lied" by Judy Blundell the main character doesn't understand something the reader does but her ignorance does not appear TSTL because you see her ascribing the best possible motives to people. It is her inherent desire to believe good of the people around her that keeps her from seeing something that the reader (or at least this reader) knows from the getgo is an incriminating act and it is that innocent desire and our knowledge of it that keep her from being TSTL. That unfortunately is not the case in this novel.
PLOT: It is 1937. Pearl and her sister May are two very fortunate young women. They are the educated, wealthy daughters of a merchant in Shanghai, a city that for their class is modern and "Western" in its thinking and culture. Additionally, they work as "beautiful girls" models, posing for paintings that are put on calendars and sold all over the city. Then tragedy strikes as they simultaneously find themselves impoverished, married to strangers and living in a city under attack from the Japanese. They escape from Shanghai and head off towards new lives always knowing that together they can face anything.
Characterization: Pearl was a college educated young women in a time when not many had that opportunity, especially in her culture. She vacillates between moments when she uses her intelligence and times when she is so TSTL it will leave you speechless. May is another conundrum, seemingly rather silly and selfish but at other times stronger and brighter than Pearl. I am sure all human beings are like this to an extent but in most novels we get an understanding of the characters behaviors that isn't given here. All we really see of May is the selfish, spoiled TSTL woman and then we hear of her doing incredible things -- saving lives, plotting her way through political minefields and running a successful company. What makes it even harder to accept is that May will one day plot her way through a minefield (politically speaking) and the next throw someone into deep trouble through a TSTL mistake. Was this just May's incredible selfishness winning out? Did she land the other person in hot water from malice? Or was it her incredible stupidity? I never got a clear feel for that. Pearl has a TSTL moment that is so huge both she and I spend the rest of the book reeling in shock from it.
Writing Style: Easy to read and at times very eloquent. The plotting and inexplicable actions of many of the characters keep it from being great though.
I can't recommend or condemn this book. I found the characters really difficult to like but I was interested in what was happening to them. The author really researched how the Chinese were treated in that time, what they were living through both here and in China and that aspect was interesting. But the story wasn't strong or feel good in any way. The other issue is that the ending is a cliff hanger, leaving several characters futures unknown. I don't know if I will be picking up the sequel or not. If you like the novels of Amy Tan this might work as a very poor substitute, I guess.
Tea: Chinese green tea of course!
maggie b.
Author: Lisa See
Writing Style: B/3
Plot:B-/C+/2.5
Characterization: D1
Overall Grade: 6.5 out of 12 possible points, so about a C+
One thing I love about first person POV is that it allows the character to explain selfishness or ignorance in a way that keeps them sympathetic. For example, in "What I Saw and How I Lied" by Judy Blundell the main character doesn't understand something the reader does but her ignorance does not appear TSTL because you see her ascribing the best possible motives to people. It is her inherent desire to believe good of the people around her that keeps her from seeing something that the reader (or at least this reader) knows from the getgo is an incriminating act and it is that innocent desire and our knowledge of it that keep her from being TSTL. That unfortunately is not the case in this novel.
PLOT: It is 1937. Pearl and her sister May are two very fortunate young women. They are the educated, wealthy daughters of a merchant in Shanghai, a city that for their class is modern and "Western" in its thinking and culture. Additionally, they work as "beautiful girls" models, posing for paintings that are put on calendars and sold all over the city. Then tragedy strikes as they simultaneously find themselves impoverished, married to strangers and living in a city under attack from the Japanese. They escape from Shanghai and head off towards new lives always knowing that together they can face anything.
Characterization: Pearl was a college educated young women in a time when not many had that opportunity, especially in her culture. She vacillates between moments when she uses her intelligence and times when she is so TSTL it will leave you speechless. May is another conundrum, seemingly rather silly and selfish but at other times stronger and brighter than Pearl. I am sure all human beings are like this to an extent but in most novels we get an understanding of the characters behaviors that isn't given here. All we really see of May is the selfish, spoiled TSTL woman and then we hear of her doing incredible things -- saving lives, plotting her way through political minefields and running a successful company. What makes it even harder to accept is that May will one day plot her way through a minefield (politically speaking) and the next throw someone into deep trouble through a TSTL mistake. Was this just May's incredible selfishness winning out? Did she land the other person in hot water from malice? Or was it her incredible stupidity? I never got a clear feel for that. Pearl has a TSTL moment that is so huge both she and I spend the rest of the book reeling in shock from it.
Writing Style: Easy to read and at times very eloquent. The plotting and inexplicable actions of many of the characters keep it from being great though.
I can't recommend or condemn this book. I found the characters really difficult to like but I was interested in what was happening to them. The author really researched how the Chinese were treated in that time, what they were living through both here and in China and that aspect was interesting. But the story wasn't strong or feel good in any way. The other issue is that the ending is a cliff hanger, leaving several characters futures unknown. I don't know if I will be picking up the sequel or not. If you like the novels of Amy Tan this might work as a very poor substitute, I guess.
Tea: Chinese green tea of course!
maggie b.
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