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What led you to pick up this book?
Deb Smith of Bell Bridge books contacted me and then sent me an ARC of the book to read and review.
Plot summary:
This is about Asia Booth Clark, who is the sister of John Wilkes Booth, who killed Abraham Lincoln. She was 30 years old and pregnant when Union soldiers and Federal detectives stormed her home in Maryland in search of Johnny. Although he was not found at her place but she had to bear the brunt and carry the legacy of shame for a long time.
The Booth family was one of the acclaimed acting families of America. Johnny's deed placed them all under suspicion. He was captured and killed but that in no way took away the shame.
In Asia Booth Clark's words:
What did you like most about the book?
I liked the relationship bettween Asia and her brother Johnny. They grew up together. Asia adores her brother but does not understand his radical views and his deeds. That is the anguish of a loving sister who is torn between her brother and her country.
What did you think of the writing style?
Title: Persepolis
Author: Marjane Satrapi
ISBN: 9780375714832
Publisher: Pantheon/2004
Pages: 341/Trade Paperback
Genre: Memoir
I had heard so much about it in the blog world so I was elated when I won a copy of The Complete Persepolis from a giveaway by Thinking About...
How does one describe a graphic novel which is autobiographical? Marjane Satrapi gives us a true account about how is life in the period when Iran is going through Islamic revolution. Her parents are liberal Marxists. But the outer world is completely different. She is expected to dress and behave in a certain manner which is appropriate for Islamic way of life. She is confused about a life which is not open even to her. It is told by her from the age of 6.
She does it with wit and humour. She makes it all come alive for us. Although written with wit, we can sense the turmoil within her mind. She comes of age but for that she has to undergo certain hardships. Her parents make sacrifices so that she can get a better life. In a life filled with war, destructions and repressions, she comes into her own. Despite hardships, she does not lose that thread of sanity and comes out of it.
Living in Iran was not easy even for Iranians. That is what she tells us here. Her parents send her to Austria for her get a better education. For a while she is serious about that but she statrs taking drugs and one day is found unconscious on the streets. After that she gets back to Iran to be with her parents again. Marjane is not afraid to speak her mind. She is very outspoken and fearless.
This a powerful memoir although told with humour. Graphics are sharp and without clutter. The black and white enhances the impact. A must read or everyone. To learn about a world we know nothing about.
Title: Cold Mountain
Author: Charles Frazier
ISBN: 0375700757
Publisher: Vintage/1998
Pages: 449/Trade Paperback
Rating: 5/5
What led you to pick up this book?
One of my blogger friends sent it to me to read for the Southern Challenge. I had not read it then. It took me a while to pick this book but once I started, I did not stop until I finished it.
Plot summary:
Inman is an injured soldier who is disillusioned with the war after fighting in Petersburgh. One day he simply walks out of the hospital he is in, to go to the woman he loves who lives in Blue Ridge Mountains. Meanwhile Ada is trying to survive in the farm left to her by her impractical father. She does not know how to cope up. And help comes in the form of Ruby who refuses to be a servant. Both Ada and Inman's story goes parallel and the highlight is when they finally meet. Inmam meets various kinds of people on his way, prostitutes, slaves, marauders, witches, hunters and many who are so very kind. Despite its starkness and brutality, the novel can be acclaimed as a great piece of work.
What did you like most about the book?
I loved the practical Ruby very much who does not let Ada wallow in self pity. She makes sure that Ada can survive in any circumstances.
What did you think of the main character?
Inmam is not a man of many words. He know what he is doing. Like any soldier, he keeps up his spirit at every point. He does not give in to despair. He knows he has to go to Ada and he does so..
How do you think he feels?
He feels strongly about Ada. He hates the war. He is compassionate too, for the weakest of the weaks. He is ever helpul.
What strengths does Ada has that help her cope?
Initially, Ada has no clue how to cope in the derelict farm after her father dies leaving her alone. But she does not leave the Blue Mountain. That way, she is a fighter although Ruby helps her to make her strong.
What effect do the people in the book have on one another?
Ada and Ruby make a great pair. They have a no nonsense air about them and are very good friends for eah other.
Any other particularly interesting characters?
Ruby's father, Stobred, who is a real bastard but still redeems himself somewhat.
Do you recommend this book?
Yes, I recommend this book for all those who like serious reading. It is not a feel good book. It is stark, brutal, hitting you on the guts kind of book. The sombre feelings lasts long after one finishes it. The writing is very good and that is one good reason to read it. It also has a timeless feel to it. A classic in the making. It somewhat made me remind of The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
Title : The Kings of Innocence
Author: Michael Burns
ISBN: 0979706815
Publisher: Tucket Publishing/2007
Pages: 218
What led you to pick up this book?
I won it in a giveaway from Sandra of Fresh Ink Books
Plot summary:
Roy McCrath has come back to his hometown for two weeks to look after his brother Bobby as his parents are off on a Vacation to Ireland. Here he rediscovers his bonding with his childhood friends. Each one of them has some issues to deal with. Roy finds that he is not alone trying to cope up with life. Jay and Mark are doing the same. Jay gets involved in local mafia becos of a gambling debt. Mark, a police officer is in a dilemma how to save the situation. Mark and Roy try to reason with Jay but with no avail.
What did you like most about the book?
The friends stick to each other and are fiercely loyal.
What did you like least?
Jay's girlfriend, Lauren, who is two-timing him.
What did you think of the writing style?
It could have been a little better. At few places, I felt it lacked conviction. Still, it is a coming of age novel and depicts the dilemma faced by many youngsters of the present times. Most of which is about job, money and relationships. One has to get a hold on those. One ought not lose touch with reality. It is a one time read, good while it lasts. Don't forget to pass it on to a youngster in a similar situation. My copy goes for my 22 year old niece.
Title: Sir Cook, The Knight?Guest Post by Michelle Moran---Author of Nefertiti and The Heretic Queen
First of all, thank you very much for having me here! When you first asked me to write a guest post, I knew immediately what I wanted to talk about. History’s surprises. I don’t mean the small surprises an author uncovers during the lengthy process of researching for an historical novel, such as the fact that the Romans liked to eat a fish sauce called garum which was made from fermented fish. Ugh. No, I mean the large surprises which alter the way we think about an ancient civilization and humanity.
The Heretic Queen is the story of Nefertari and her transformation from an orphaned and unwanted princess to one of the most powerful queens of ancient Egypt. She married Ramesses II and possibly lived through the most famous exodus in history. I assumed that when I began my research I would discover that Ramesses was tall, dark and handsome (not unlike the drool-worthy Yule Brenner in The Ten Commandments). And I imagined that he would have been victorious in every battle, given his long reign of more than thirty years and his triumphant-sounding title, Ramesses the Great. But neither of these assumptions turned out to be true.
My first surprise came when I first visited the Hall of Mummies in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Contrary to every single media portrayal of Ramesses and every movie ever made, it turns out the Pharaoh was not tall, dark and handsome as I had expected, but tall, light and red-headed (which was just as fine, by me)! When his mummy was recovered in 1881, Egyptologists were able to determine that he had once stood five feet seven inches tall, had flaming red hair, and a distinctive nose that his sons would inherit. There were those who contended that his mummy had red hair because of burial dyes or henna, but French scientists laid these theories to rest after a microscopic analysis of the roots conclusively proved he was a red-head like Set, the Egyptian god of chaos. As I peered through the heavy glass which separated myself from the a man commonly referred to as the greatest Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, my pre-conceived notions of Ramesses II fell away. I knew that the oldest mummy ever discovered in Egypt had had red hair, but to see red hair on a mummy in person was something else entirely.
My second surprise came as I was attempting to piece together what kind of man Ramesses II had been. I assumed, given his lengthy reign, that he must have been a great warrior who was level-headed in battle and revered as a soldier. Pharaohs who were inept at waging war didn’t tend to have very lengthy reigns. There were always people on the horizon – Hyksos, Hittites, Mitanni – who wanted Egypt for themselves, not to mention internal enemies who would have loved to usurp the throne. But while researching Ramesses’s foreign policy, a very different man began to emerge. One who was young, rash, and sometimes foolish. His most famous battle—the Battle of Kadesh—ended not in victory, but in a humiliating truce after he charged into combat strategically unprepared and very nearly lost the entire kingdom of Egypt. In images from his temple in Abu Simbel, he can be seen racing into this war on his chariot, his horse’s reins tied around his waist as he smites the Hittites in what he depicted as a glorious triumph. Nefertari is believed to have accompanied him into this famous battle, along with one of his other wives. First, I had to ask myself, what sort of man brings his wives to war? Clearly, one who was completely confident of his own success. Secondly, I had to wonder what this battle said about Ramesses’s character.
Rather than being a methodical planner, Ramesses was clearly the type of Pharaoh who was swayed – at least on the battlefield – by his passions. However, his signing of a truce with the Hittites seemed significant to me for two reasons. One, it showed that he could be humble and accept a stalemate (whereas other Pharaohs might have tried to attack the Hittites the next season until a definitive conqueror was declared). And two, it showed that he could think outside the box. Ramesses’s Treaty of Kadesh is the earliest copy of a treaty that has ever been found. When archaeologists discovered the tablet it was written in both Egyptian and Akkadian. It details the terms of peace, extradition policies and mutual-aid clauses between Ramesses’s kingdom of Egypt and the powerful kingdom of Hatti. Today, the original treaty, written in cuneiform and discovered in Hattusas, is displayed in the United Nations building in New York to serve as a reminder of the rewards of diplomacy. For me, it also serves as a reminder that Ramesses was not just a young, rash warrior, but a shrewd politician.
There were other surprises as well; about the personal history of my narrator Nefertari, the Exodus, and even the Babylonian legends which bear a striking resemblance to Moses’s story in the Bible. Researching history always comes with revelations, and it’s one of the greatest rewards of being an historical fiction author. There’s nothing I like better than being surprised and having my preconceptions crumble, because if I’m surprised, it’s likely that the reader will be surprised as well.
Title: The Best of Friends
Author: Joanna Trollope
ISBN: 9780552996433
Publisher: Black Swan/1995
Pages: 315/Trade Paperback
Rating: 3.5/5
Reading the book blurb reminded me of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. However, that feeling was dispelled as soon I read more than 50 pages. It is about Laurence and Gina, who are best of friends since they were teenagers. Laurance falls in love with Hillary and marries her and they have three sons, George, Adam and Gus. They both run a small Hotel. After some time Gina falls in love with Fergus and marries him and they have a daughter, Sophy.
The story starts with Sophy and Gus talking to each other. Gus although two years younger than the sixteen year old Sophy thinks himself in love with her. Sophy gets along well with all the three brothers as they have practically known each other all their lives.
Fergus leaves Gina leaving her devastated. Gina turns to Laurence. Sophy tries to deal with her feelings in her own way, being silent, sullen and angry. She goes off and on to live with her grandmother Vi. Meanwhile Laurence falls in love with Gina, or maybe he had loved her always but not realised it until now. Gina is now very happy about it and plans her future with Laurence. When Hillary and his sons come to know, they too are angry and resentful about it. They boys are sympathetic towards their mother and hate Gina. When Sophy too comes to know of it, she runs away to London to be with her father. Nonetheless, Sophy comes back home to her mother.
This novel is about marriage, relationships and all that entails it. Are Laurence and Gina right in wanting to be together at the expense of others? Can he give up on his life, Hillary and his sons? What about Sophy and Vi? Where do they come into the picture? Hillary and the boys might hate Gina but everyone is concerned about Sophy. They care for Vi too. Gina turns to Laurence as it is very normal for her to do so. He has always been there for her.
Trollope empathises with the characters. Her analysis is good too. The Best of Friends asks a few relevant questions, which can be summarisd by what Vi tells her daughter Gina when she (Gina) says she loves Laurence. She has loved him all her life.
"That's not enough,"she (Vi) said without turning to look at Gina. "It's not enough to give you the right to do as you please."
It's 1972, and we're both seventeen."
The story flows in conversations between the two. From the conversations, one can see that the girl is more matured in her thinking than the guy. She also knows what she wants. The guy is uncertain and unsure about almost everything. Even their relationship. Or maybe I missed the whole point in this very short story too...*grin*
Title: Immortals: The Crossing
Another short story from The Frankenstein Omnibus edited by Peter Haining, The Dead Man by Fritz Leiber blows off ones mind. It is not scary in the sense of the word. Yet it speaks of an evil which is possible if we let it to.
