My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this novel. Well written, this poignant account of love and longing is actually a story within a story. Peony is a young girl who is betrothed to a man she has never met when she meets and falls in love with the boy next door. Cloistered within the walls of her father's home and constrained by the values of her society she sees no way out of her situation and becomes consumed by an epic love poem. When she literally dies of heartache the plot takes a fascinating turn into supernatural realms.
Fast paced and multi-dimensional this book left me feeling more emotions than I could keep track of. I recommend it as a good love story, a good ghost story, and a fascinating insight into the history of Chinese society and women.
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Review: Peony in Love by Lisa See
Review: The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
As much as I enjoy Philippa Gregory's rich depiction of historical scenes and vibrant characters, this is not among my favorites in her collection.
I felt that the portrayal of Margaret Beaufort was inconsistent in that she had vastly differing opinions of herself as the plot progressed. I'm not sure if this was in an attempt to represent real vacillations in her character, or if it was pure invention, but the result was that the story felt a little disjointed and left me with no real protagonist to root for. Normally I can find something compelling in even the darkest of Gregory's character inventions, but this time I was lost.
The book is still a good read, and I would recommend it to others who have a love of Tudor history - although I would suggest reading the White Queen first as it is, to my mind, a better novel overall.
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Review: The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine de Medici by Jeanne Kalogridis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This dark take on the development Catherine de Medici's dark and dynamic character is both heartbreaking and revolting. In this version of events we see the deterioration of a strong and dynamic soul into a weak and fractured woman whose life has become mastered by that which she attempted to master. Catherine de Medici's dabbling in the occult, as told in this story, allowed her to reach her dreams even as she destroyed them.
Jeanne Kalogridis captured the drama and mystique of life in the upper eschelon of aristocracy in beatiful scenes undercut with cynicism and fear.
If you like historical fiction, rich and dark female characters, or have a particular interest in the Medici's I would recommend this book.
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Blue Bloods
Title: Blue Bloods
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
ISBN: 142310126X, 9781423101260
Publication: Hyperion Press, 2007
Blue Bloods is a fun, flirty, entertaining start to an enticing young adult series.
Melissa de la Cruz manages to combine history, fashion, glamour, and blood into a whole new vampire mythology.
Blue Bloods is not a deep or inspiring book, but it's allot of fun. The teenage characters are well developed and relatable, the drama is soap-opera worthy, and the romance just steamy enough for high schoolers without grossing out the adults. I really liked the way de la Cruz combined real elements of history and politics into this entirely fabricated world. Her portrayal of the vampire rich and famous kept me laughing.
The book was well written; the plot was developed, the story (though outrageous) made sense and was easy to follow, and I don't remember any glaring grammatical errors. Like so much of today's popular media, this book (the entire series) does glamorize the more shallow aspects of fame and fortune. The authors attempts at developing ethical or moral depth are apparent, but fall short. All in all, this is an enjoyable read on a lazy rainy day.Only Revolutions
Title: Only Revolutions
Author: Mark C. Danielewski
ISBN: 0375421769
Publication: Pantheon, September 12, 2006
This post-modern, genre-defying, maze of a book is by far the most fascinating work of literary art I've picked up since college. I am not through exploring Only Revolutions, but I think it's marvelous. This is not a book you can read, it's a labyrinth you have to travel. It's challenging if you try to make too much sense of it, but I think that must be purposeful. The formatting is the first thing that sets the reader off-balance from the first moment you pick up the book and try to find it's front cover! There is also some creative use of color and typeface that seem to relate to the covers and perhaps some deeper underlying current that I haven't fully understood.
In addition to the unusual structure, the story itself is a complex interweaving of lives, true history, and heady accounts of life from the perspective of youth. Each page is something like a journal entry, and the novel stitches together over 200 days in the lives of Hailey and Sam who are perpetually 16. The characters themselves are as eccentric as the times they live in. Like the two teens, Only Revolutions is a force unto itself that could never be confused for another.
The physical layout of the book is so complex, I leave it to wikipedia to describe:
Only Revolutions is printed in such a way that both covers appear to be the front of the book. The side with the green cover is the story as told by Sam, and the side with the gold cover is the story as told by Hailey. Every page contains upside-down text in the bottom margin, which is actually later pages of the opposite volume. For example, the first page of Hailey's story contains the last several lines of Sam's story, apparently upside down. When you reach that page while reading Sam's story, those lines will appear to be the only right-side-up text on the page.The first letter of each 8 page "section" is larger and bold when compared to the other letters. When the reader puts the single letters together from Hailey's side they spell out "Sam and Hailey and Sam and Hailey..." etc. When read from Sam's side, they spell out "Hailey and Sam and Hailey and Sam..." etc.
Each half-page contains exactly 90 words. When both stories are combined, the words add together for a total of 180 words per page, perhaps to symbolize the 180 degrees the reader must turn the book to read the opposite volume.
The publisher recommends the reading of eight pages from one story, then the other, and so on.
In addition, every page contains a sidebar with a date and a list of world events that happened between that date and the one which appears on the next page. Dates in Sam's story run from Nov 22, 1863 to Nov 22, 1963, while dates in Hailey's story run from Nov 22, 1963 to Jan 19, 2063. This chronological sidebar, which offers a mosaic of 19th - 21st Century historical quotations, becomes blank after Only Revolutions' own publication date. The diverging point between Sam's line and Hailey's line is set at the date of the John F. Kennedy assassination, November 22, 1963.
I was very intimidated by the format, and so held onto the curiosity for months before I really delved into the story. When I began to read, I was struck by the fact that while this book clearly labels itself "A Novel" on it's cover (both covers!) it seems more like poetry to me.
If you like to read for the sake of reading - or if you really want something to challenge and twist your mind - this is the book for you. I guarantee you've never met a book like it!
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Title: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
Author: Lisa See
ISBN: 0812968069, 9780812968064
Publication: Random House Publishing Group, 2006
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a novel that touched my heart and has stayed with me since I first read it in 2006.
This tale of friendship draws the reader into the world of 19th century Chinese women. We follow Snow Flower and Lily from early girlhood into their adult lives, experiencing the value, strength, and ultimate fragility of a deep bond between to women.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan is a heart-rending tale of love between two women. It's also an enlightening tribute to the strength of the female spirit throughout a history of opression.
