tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32377428267505534772024-02-18T21:25:39.588-07:00The Project Gutenberg ProjectDiscovering forgotten classics in the public domain.Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comBlogger238125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-5935894429003971952017-07-31T07:00:00.000-06:002017-07-31T07:00:05.893-06:00Review: THE FIRST VIOLIN by Jesse Fothergill<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfsPUFSCaseFJSQ9IJYiESXjMgk0M90Yx0KWgpbohMltDZ-LMtW1IwVXhMJNi9CHGyNtpfG43qqR2mgquK0DpmkQIVTDmNGCGLvi9qAz0hnEd8fByEWJwOfZucqMzm_VUQiicj-vIrCGw/s1600/the+first+violin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the first violin by jesse fothergill" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfsPUFSCaseFJSQ9IJYiESXjMgk0M90Yx0KWgpbohMltDZ-LMtW1IwVXhMJNi9CHGyNtpfG43qqR2mgquK0DpmkQIVTDmNGCGLvi9qAz0hnEd8fByEWJwOfZucqMzm_VUQiicj-vIrCGw/s320/the+first+violin.jpg" title="" width="211" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1877<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Romance<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: love, music, friendship, honor, fatherhood, coming of age, mysterious past<br />
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<b>Review by Rachel S</b>:<br />
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In the pre-internet era, when out-of-print books were difficult to find, my grandma would tell me about the books that she loved when she was growing up. One of her favorites was <i>First Violin</i> by Jessie Fothergill. Of course nowadays this book, which seemed so impossible to locate when I was a child, is easy to access and completely free. I finally got around to reading it, and was very glad I did, because I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I had read it when I was a child or teenager, I can easily imagine it becoming one of my favorite books.<br />
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<i>First Violin</i> was originally published in 1877, and was quite popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although it is rather G-rated by today’s standards, it was apparently somewhat controversial at the time, because it describes (but does not condemn) an affair by a married woman. The main plot line follows a handsome violinist with a mysterious past, Eugen Courvoisier. Much of the tension in the book comes from slowly discovering his backstory.<br />
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The novel is narrated from the perspectives of May Wedderburn, an English girl who travels to Germany for musical training, and of Eugen’s friend Friedhelm Helfen, a fellow musician. Although several main plot threads involve romantic relationships, Eugen’s love for his son and his friendship with Friedhelm are also central to the story. The following passage from the beginning of the novel gives a sense of the book’s general style. May is distressed here because her malevolent, much older neighbor is pursuing her romantically:<br />
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“Shuddering, dismayed, I locked the matter up within my own breast, and wished with a longing that sometimes made me quite wretched that I could quit Skernford, my home, my life, which had lost zest for me, and was become a burden to me. The knowledge that Sir Peter admired me absolutely degraded me in my own eyes. I felt as if I could not hold up my head. I had spoken to no one of what had passed within me, and I trusted it had not been noticed; but all my joy was gone. It was as if I stood helpless while a noisome reptile coiled its folds around me.” </blockquote>
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The prose tends towards melodrama, but May’s dismay and alarm here are not unreasonable given her situation. In general, although the book takes place in a world of heightened emotion, I found the characters’ reactions, descriptions, and conversations convincing.<br />
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Less believable are the improbable coincidences on which the plot hinges (several of which involve extreme weather). It’s probably better not to give spoilers, because part of the fun of the book is finding out how various suspenseful situations resolve. I’ll just say that events are configured for maximum drama in several emotionally tense scenes, and that the book includes multiple highly unlikely encounters that strain credibility.<br />
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Nevertheless, I found the book as a whole compelling, with memorable, although somewhat flat, characters. The story raises some interesting questions on the meaning of honor, with the married-woman-affair subplot, dishonorable but utterly sympathetic, providing a counterpoint to Eugen’s rigid acceptance of the constraints of duty. For the most part, though, it’s just a delightful read, one I didn’t want to put down until the very end.<br />
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Download <b><i>The First Violin</i> by Jesse Fothergill</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/29219" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-first-violin-by-jessie-fothergill/" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|<a href="http://girlebooks.com/ebook-catalog/jessie-fothergill/the-first-violin/" target="_blank">GirleBooks</a>|<a href="https://archive.org/details/firstviolin00foth" target="_blank">Internet Archive</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-17035378260137702692017-07-10T07:00:00.000-06:002017-07-10T07:00:08.567-06:00Review: ALICE IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgso9yQJWZsG-zcb5kSAhJKtpavRQesULBdCjKTbKYcXUpa7wB-_3X6C051dhyphenhyphenBnn7n3N8k6afjFLxOEiZXJ528Rl-b18l320x7MVj7Yr9wamWd4VVE98E9cxm6x-3g2T683saB7PwWmGO1/s1600/Alice+in+wonderland.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="alice in wonderland" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgso9yQJWZsG-zcb5kSAhJKtpavRQesULBdCjKTbKYcXUpa7wB-_3X6C051dhyphenhyphenBnn7n3N8k6afjFLxOEiZXJ528Rl-b18l320x7MVj7Yr9wamWd4VVE98E9cxm6x-3g2T683saB7PwWmGO1/s400/Alice+in+wonderland.png" title="" width="230" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1865<br />
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</b> <b>Genre</b>: Fantasy, children's books<br />
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</b> <b>Topics</b>: Crazy rabbits, casual endangerment, drugs, tea<br />
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</b> <b>Review by <a href="http://ssreviewblog.org/alice-in-wonderland/" target="_blank">Sharky & Smiles</a></b>:<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Angry Sharky 3" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-24" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Angry-Sharky-3.png" height="75" width="75" /><em>What is it with children’s books and casual endangerment of children?</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Shocked Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-42" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Shocked-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Nothing HAPPENS to her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Surprised Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-44" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Surprised-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Who the heck orders kids to be beheaded?!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Surprised Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-45" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Surprised-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Well...</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-30" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Don’t even <em>try</em> to justify this one.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Then I won't. Summary time! Now, imagine you’re lying on the grass. The weather’s nice, but there’s nothing to do and you’re bored out of your mind. Suddenly, you see a rabbit. Well, nothing strange about that. BUT WAIT. It’s wearing a teeny tiny waistcoat. And takes out a pocket-watch. And complains about how late it is. What do you do? Go back to being bored? Of course not! After that rabbit! Right down the rabbit hole!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-30" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Ignore the fact that a rabbit hole shouldn’t fit a human at all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />A lot of logic has to be ignored and really isn’t the point in this story. Anyway. You drop lightly down, down, down into a place where nothing makes sense, things can change from one second to another, and everyone is either really rude or completely wrapped up in their own weirdness. But first you have to drink from an unknown bottle just because it tells you to.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Happy Sharky2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Sharky2.png" height="75" width="75" />The story is definitely creative. I don’t think you can find such.... effortless bizarreness in many other books. And there’s a LOT of bizarreness. The main character, Alice, just travels from one strange set-piece to another. Stop, something weird happens, move on.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Happy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-34" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />It’s terrific!</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Angry Sharky 4" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-99" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Angry-Sharky-4.png" height="75" width="75" />It’s <em>exhausting</em>. Sometimes. The main set-pieces are great, absolutely creative imagery, but when even the transitions between them have to have something strange happening, you don’t get a chance to pause and take in anything. And some things just seem beyond pointless or just aren’t fun to read. The pointless puppy sequence, the idiot birds, the annoying mock-turtle, the awful, awful scene at the Duchess’s house which you should just skip over because it’s the <em>stupidest-</em></span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Sad Smiles 2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-38" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sad-Smiles-2.png" height="75" width="75" />I swear he likes this book.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Angry Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Angry-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />AGH.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Sassy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sassy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />This is definitely one of those books you really shouldn’t think too hard about. Which for Sharky is pretty much impossible.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-30" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />So it doesn’t help when I’ve got to stop and start skipping over the bits I don’t like. But I put up with it because there’s stuff in there I’d happily revisit.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />And there really is a LOT. A crazy tea-party, a royal court where everyone is a playing card, food and drink that makes you change your size, a disappearing cat, a court of law where nobody knows what they’re doing, a queen who keeps ordering beheadings but the king pardons everyone behind her back anyway so that’s okay. It also has a share of dumb puns which make me groan, but that’s why I love puns. And fun poems like The Lobster Quadrille and You Are Old, Father William. And genuinely funny moments like the cat appearing as just a head so nobody can figure out how to behead it. Seriously that part’s short but pretty funny.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Confused Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-28" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Confused-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Even the Duchess bit, as much as I hate it and skip over it every time, has a pretty funny start where the footman of her house just refuses to go inside because everyone’s so crazy in there. I don’t know, it’s such a mixed bag of stuff I REALLY don’t like mixed in with stuff I really love? But it's worth a go.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Honestly if I knew how to get out of it, I’d love to visit it. I guess that’s the criteria for visiting most fictional places. But to go there in place of Alice and just... be weird at people and see how they would react seems really fun to me. It’ll probably all end up the same though. Most of the people are <em>really</em> easily offended. Which makes Sharky a citizen of Wonderland.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><img alt="Angry Sharky 3" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-24" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Angry-Sharky-3.png" height="75" width="75" />Don’t make me punch you.</span><br />
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<a href="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Alice2-586x1024.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="alice's tea" border="0" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Alice2-586x1024.png" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="458" /></a></div>
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Download <b><i>Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</i> by Lewis Carroll</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11/11-h/11-h.htm" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-by-lewis-carroll/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-42524664338109261142017-06-26T07:00:00.000-06:002017-06-26T07:00:26.442-06:00Review: JEEVES AND WOOSTER by PG Wodehouse<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENbQlQE1sb1NtLBCoLPGj7GVpirMZ61F1jhrrVBlLH02CVe7shsplLcdQSHYS1hhow23VD62bxCJGQ_OdgQc3TQayzfOrgO_mB8eQQQBwCpu89MVc_Lut8ITYU_es2c33hSOWfo6W756e/s320/Jeeves.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="jeeves and wooster" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiENbQlQE1sb1NtLBCoLPGj7GVpirMZ61F1jhrrVBlLH02CVe7shsplLcdQSHYS1hhow23VD62bxCJGQ_OdgQc3TQayzfOrgO_mB8eQQQBwCpu89MVc_Lut8ITYU_es2c33hSOWfo6W756e/s320/Jeeves.png" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1934<br />
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</b> <b>Genre</b>: Mystery, comedy<br />
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</b> <b>Topics</b>: Society, love, no good deed goes unpunished<br />
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<b>Review by <a href="http://ssreviewblog.org/jeeves-and-wooster/" target="_blank">Sharky & Smiles</a></b>:<br />
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<img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Imagine you’re a pleasant, helpful, not very clever member of the upper class. Imagine your friends aren’t even that clever or that pleasant and helpful. And they keep getting into trouble and expecting you to get them out of it. Of course, they’re your pals, so you do, mostly based on plans your incredibly intelligent valet makes up. Same thing applies when you mess everything up and get into even deeper trouble.<br />
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<img alt="Default Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-30" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Sounds like a recipe for disaster, needlessly overcomplicating a simple problem.<br />
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<img alt="Shocked Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-42" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Shocked-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Simple problem you say? Now imagine if X loves Y but can’t meet Y so Z goes to make sure Y doesn’t get stolen away by Y’s charming guest while pretending to be A because A is engaged to B and B’s relatives are expecting A to visit and A can’t make it.<br />
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<img alt="Confused Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-28" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Confused-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />... what...<br />
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<img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />That’s the BASE plot of the book we read. It just gets worse from there until everything collapses on itself like an abused soufflé. Somehow into a happy ending.<br />
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<img alt="Happy Sharky2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Sharky2.png" height="75" width="75" />The pattern is broadly the same in each book in the series, but they’re all uniquely absurd in their own ways. The nice thing is you can probably just grab any Jeeves and Wooster book (and there’s a lot of them) and enjoy it as a stand-alone, without having to worry about sequence or whether you have to read five other things to know what’s going on.<br />
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<img alt="Happy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-34" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />You’ll likely never know quite what’s going on anyway, and that’s the fun of it. It’s another one of those wild rides where you just have to trust the author. And if you can’t do that, if you keep stopping to roll your eyes or object to how silly things are getting, you don’t enjoy. These are SILLY books. So silly. Complete, absurd, slapstick, screwball comedy narrated with a style I’m completely in love with.<br />
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<img alt="Happy Sharky2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Sharky2.png" height="75" width="75" />Remember what we said about <a href="http://ssreviewblog.org/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy/" target="_blank">Hitchiker’s Guide being weird with amazing narration</a>? This is very like that, but without the freedom of weirdness of being set in space among aliens. And if you think a non-magical, non-alien setting doesn’t give you much leeway to be silly and strange, boy are you wrong.<br />
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<img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />The characters are more like caricatures, the plots are basically ridiculous, and the narration keeps going off on its own tangents in the most amusing ways. Great descriptions, run on confusions and liberal use of ‘dash it all!’<br />
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<img alt="Default Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-30" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />I’m 100% behind the way things are narrated. But I tend to lose patience with the characters sometimes, they’re all such idiots. They’re supposed to be but that doesn’t always help.<br />
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<img alt="Sassy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sassy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />I caught Sharky yelling <em>oh my God just tell the truth already</em> at the book.<br />
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<img alt="Angry Sharky 2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-23" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Angry-Sharky-2.png" height="75" width="75" /><em>Oh my God just tell the truth already it’s not that hard but you’re making it harder what is happening why is nobody making any sense.</em><br />
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<img alt="Sassy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sassy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />It got worse for him when someone tried to tell the truth, it got over-exaggerated by someone else, and now nobody believes the original truth.<br />
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<em><img alt="Angry Sharky 4" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-99" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Angry-Sharky-4.png" height="75" width="75" />WHAT IS HAPPENING WHY IS NOBODY MAKING ANY SENSE.</em><br />
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<img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />But that’s why you have to hold on and just trust the author. Everything has to go horribly for the main character, Bertie, before things can get better for anyone else, and always in the most ridiculous ways. It would almost be tragic if it wasn’t so funny.<br />
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<a href="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Jeeves2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Jeeves2.png" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="261" height="1385" width="450" /></a></div>
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<img alt="Sassy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-41" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sassy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Unlike Sharky, Jeeves is actually <em>helpful</em>. And objectively the smartest person in every book.<br />
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<img alt="Happy Sharky2" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-33" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Sharky2.png" height="75" width="75" />But even the stupidest characters can be really sarcastic and witty, even if Bertie can never quote anything properly even when he’s trying to act clever.<br />
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<img alt="Surprised Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-45" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Surprised-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Someone somewhere once said something very profound about comedy and tragedy being the same. Kind of. Broadly. Probably.<br />
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<img alt="Sassy Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sassy-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Now you know what to expect when Bertie quotes anything.<br />
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<img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />I like the setting. There’s something nice about spending time in a little bubble where the biggest problem tends to be ‘my aunt is angry at me and she’s very scary’. It reminds me of those books where kids could have adventures because they didn’t really have to worry about anything else. Despite the fact that these books are set between wars and during, we’re in a sunny little patch where things are good, money- and status-wise, but love and family is confusing and people are unreasonable and sometimes there isn’t time to dress for dinner and you feel out of place.<br />
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<img alt="Sassy Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-40" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Sassy-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Just so you know, Smiles has been shaking in place, trying not to spend the entire review just spouting off quotations rather than talking about the book.<br />
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<img alt="Happy Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-34" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Happy-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />I just want to quote so many things! ... which I do with every book. Tell you what, between this review and the next one, we’ll do a mid-week upload with a quote from each of the books we’ve reviewed!<br />
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<img alt="Surprised Sharky" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-44" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Surprised-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" />Wha- we didn’t discuss that!<br />
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<img alt="Default Smiles" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-31" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Default-Smiles.png" height="75" width="75" />Oh Sharky, when do I ever discuss what we’re going to do with you?<br />
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<img alt="Quiet Sharky" class="size-full wp-image-35 alignnone" src="http://ssreviewblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Quiet-Sharky.png" height="75" width="75" /><br />
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Download <b><i>Right Ho, Jeeves</i> by PG Wodehouse</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/10554" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/right-ho-jeeves-by-p-g-wodehouse/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-82520009934128615482015-12-28T14:28:00.000-07:002015-12-28T14:28:44.333-07:00Review: MASTER FLEA by ETA Hoffmann<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguv6tM_ju70qT6119SphyphenhyphencPMUlU_Uax3jmLRerMZ3o6cmJlT7LuMllaaa-tMpzK7NGT8eQrX633wZEVw_eokwAYfjFYOIc5xQi8rhIplOsIsKlOzdleIA6rMdNICXmcAydNmqpw8WGOJsz/s1600/master+flea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguv6tM_ju70qT6119SphyphenhyphencPMUlU_Uax3jmLRerMZ3o6cmJlT7LuMllaaa-tMpzK7NGT8eQrX633wZEVw_eokwAYfjFYOIc5xQi8rhIplOsIsKlOzdleIA6rMdNICXmcAydNmqpw8WGOJsz/s320/master+flea.jpg" width="191" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1822<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: fairy tale, fantasy<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: trust, love, friendship, coming of age, forgotten for a reason<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Peregrinus Tyss is an odd duck. If he was living in the 21st century, he'd probably be diagnosed with Asperger's; but as it is, he lives in 19th-century Frankfurt and people just assume he's stupid.<br />
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Since Peregrin is an orphan and has no friends, every Christmas he picks one family and brings a bunch of presents to them dressed as Santa. But while delivering presents to a bookseller and his children, Peregrin is assaulted by a strange, beautiful woman who acts like she knows him. This lady is obviously Bad News (obvious to the reader, that is); fortunately for Peregrin, he's managed to collect Master Flea, whom the woman needs to keep herself alive. Grateful for Peregrin's protection, Master Flea helps him navigate the waters of social life among the muggles and the mythical beings that suddenly surround him.<br />
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I enjoyed <i><b>Master Flea</b></i> at first, but as the story went on it started to wear on me. First of all, the eponymous Flea doesn't even show up until the "Third Adventure," nearly halfway through the book! Before that, we are introduced to Peregrin, a femme fatale named alternatively "fair Alina," Dörtje Elverdink, and a mythical princess called Gamaheh of Famagusta; a guy named George Pepusch, who's actually the Thistle of Zeherit; Pepusch's bestie, Leuwenhock, who's actually a magician; Peregrin's lodger, who's Leuwenhock's nemesis and fellow magician; and et. al. I probably forgot a few people there, but you get the idea. This is the type of book where everyone has two or three names, like <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, only not as tolerable. And I was never able to get through <i>Lord of the Rings</i>, sooooooooo.<br />
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This is also the type of book where there's only one female character, and she's not really a character, more of a MacGuffin. Alllllllll the men in this story are after Alina/Dörtje/Gamaheh, for no reason I could see because she's a total bitch. But she is beautiful, so I suppose that's all that matters.<br />
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There are some fun scenes in <i><b>Master Flea</b></i>, like when Master Flea gives Peregrin a glass that lets him see what people are *really* thinking when they talk to him (the glass, incidentally, is a small concave disk that fits over his eye, and to take it out he leans over and blinks very wide and it pops out and back into its box–so, <b>ETA Hoffmann</b> basically invented contact lenses). Naturally, whatever they're thinking is the exact opposite of what they're saying. But this went on for way too long and there was way too much of it.<br />
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The book also bounced around a lot and there was a ton of information about other fairies and mythical creatures, most of which I not only didn't care about but was annoyed with, considering keeping the thrice-named circus of the regular characters straight was exhausting enough.<br />
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Finally, I found the conclusion to be extremely irritating.<br />
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<i><b>Master Flea</b></i> a really weird book. Like, REALLY weird. It's over-the-top and all over the place. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, and I think I'm going to avoid <b>ETA Hoffmann</b> books in the future from now on. Sorry, <b>ETA</b>.<br />
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Download <b><i>Master Flea</i> by ETA Hoffmann</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/32223" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/master-flea-by-e-t-a-hoffmann/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-60607955554007406372015-12-22T17:53:00.000-07:002015-12-22T17:53:49.191-07:00Review: THE CONJURE WOMAN by Charles Waddell Chesnutt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCYOgHFa57oMf7d0x_psev-3_gO3cenUeYfOvKwawBPQz8g158FLC7PKWta8vIS2aBm6J_rvpljhgVY8H_xrYwOD5W0WMZvuRVCxsJlloQUrvplZUdto5QS-gUjLEkIoW1NbWvaI-Gip0/s1600/the+conjure+woman+charles+w+chesnutt.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the conjure woman cover" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimCYOgHFa57oMf7d0x_psev-3_gO3cenUeYfOvKwawBPQz8g158FLC7PKWta8vIS2aBm6J_rvpljhgVY8H_xrYwOD5W0WMZvuRVCxsJlloQUrvplZUdto5QS-gUjLEkIoW1NbWvaI-Gip0/s400/the+conjure+woman+charles+w+chesnutt.gif" width="242" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1899 <br />
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<b>Genre:</b> folk tales<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: slavery, antebellum South, magic<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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John and Annie are northerners who relocate to North Carolina for Annie's health, and want to invest in some property. The first day looking around their new neighborhood they meet old Uncle Julius McAdoo, a former slave who John enlists for help. Uncle Julius knows everything there is to know about the area, the former plantations, and their owners, and loves to tell stories about what life was like before the Civil War–stories filled with strange happenings and "conjure," a hoodoo kind of magic. John dismisses these tales as ignorant and fanciful, but that doesn't stop Uncle Julius from using them as a metaphor to manipulate John and Annie for his own purposes.<br />
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This is a book I would recommend to anyone. First of all, the writing style is super-smart and clever. <b>Charles Waddell Chesnutt</b> definitely had a way with words, and there's an underlying current of humor and intelligence in the narration. Secondly, the stories themselves are simply fascinating. Some of them are comedic; many of them are tragedies. But taken on their own they stand up with the greatest of Aesop's Fables or Grimm's fairy tales. And lastly, <i><b>The Conjure Woman</b></i> is book that's not simply a collection of stories–it's about race relations in the South after the Civil War.<br />
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<b>Chesnutt</b> was a 19th-century African American journalist who became an influential early member of the NAACP. <i><b>The Conjure Woman</b></i> was his first book, and it's cleverly framed by the contemporary (in <b>Chesnutt's</b> time) lives of John and Annie. John's perspective gives the stories context–for example, after "The Gray Wolf's Ha'nt," John suspects Uncle Julius told him this story for the express purpose of keeping a piece of John's property undeveloped. Julius is obviously not afraid to take advantage of the ignorance of his boss, and tries to influence both him and Annie with his tales.<br />
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When it comes to Annie, however, one gets the feeling that her view of Uncle Julius is both more realistic and more sympathetic than John's: John sees the antebellum South in a romantic light, whereas Annie can understand the precariousness and harshness of life from Julius' tales.<br />
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But the main focus of <i><b>The Conjure Woman</b></i> is, of course, Uncle Julius' stories, which are bizarre and terrifying and definitely have the atmosphere of another world. In tone they kind of reminded me of <i>Django Unchained</i>: full of danger, mystery, vengeance, love, dark humor, violence, and the sense that this a place where anything can happen. But that doesn't mean people in the stories are powerless. They have the conjure woman!<br />
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I listened to the Librivox recording of <i><b>The Conjure Woman</b></i>, and the narrator, James K. White, did an absolutely fantastic job. I can't imagine anyone performing this book better. His accents and voices were absolutely perfect.<br />
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I'd definitely recommend <i><b>The Conjure Woman</b></i> if you're looking for a classic about the lives of slaves in the US that takes an honest look at race relations in both pre- and post-Civil War America, yet isn't a downer. I'm really happy I decided to give this one a try!<br />
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Download <b><i>The Conjure Woman</i> by Charles Waddell Chesnutt</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11666" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-conjure-woman-by-charles-waddell-chesnutt/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-92167596351630011312015-11-20T10:24:00.000-07:002015-11-21T05:15:14.575-07:00The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevski<b><b><br /></b></b>
<b>Original Publication Date</b>: <span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">1868-9 </span><br />
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<b>Genre</b>:
<b>Topics</b>: mental illness, good vs. bad, how crappy life can be for decent people, 19th century Russia<br />
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<b>Review by </b>: Anachronist<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "georgia" , "bitstream charter" , serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Returning to Russia from a sanatorium in Switzerland an epileptic young man and also a descendant of one of the oldest Russian lines of nobility, Prince Myshkin, finds himself enmeshed in a tangle of love. He is torn between two women—the notorious kept woman Nastassya whom he pities and the pure Aglaia whose soul he finds beautiful. Add to the mix Rogozhin, a man obsessed with one of them. In the end, Myshkin’s honesty, goodness, and integrity are shown to be unequal to the moral emptiness of those around him. He must fail and return to Switzerland.</span><br />
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<strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">My impressions:</strong></div>
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Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin, 26, arrives in St. Petersburg, Russia, by train. The nominal purpose for Myshkin’s trip is to make the acquaintance of his very distant relative Lizaveta Prokofyevna Yepanchina, and to make inquiries about a certain matter of business. He is alone but full of hope and the best intentions. He also likes other people, never judging them unfairly, even those who clearly have erred. Overall he has too much compassion for this cynical age. He believes every person, trusts all, feels the pain of the suffering unfortunates. A result? Most of his compatriots decide very swiftly he has no common sense. Simple? Ill? Just terminally gullible? An Idiot? Or a Saint? That question only you can decide. Still be warned: the drama spans over 660 pages and is hardly easy to follow. Or to solve.</div>
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I read this one for the first time in my teens and it all went right over my stupid, empty head. Well, I understood that Myshkin was simply too good and too honest for the world around him but I could hardly grasp why. Was it only because of his illness, a trait he shared with the author himself ? Was it also because he was practically a stranger in Russia, a country never famous of fair treatment of strangers? Why was it so important at all? Now I see I was too young to understand the complexity the of author’s mind. Dostoyevski created <em style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Idiot</em> to force us to think about our lives and our choices; the answers to all these ‘whys’ might vary from person to person.</div>
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The characters, none of them “all bad” or “all good” are very much life-like; in fact there is not one single person in this entire novel that I didn’t feel both sympathy and contempt for at various stages. What’s more the author himself felt obliged to punish practically every major lead in the end and the worst fate was allotted to Aglaia who had to marry a Pole. Why it was such a cruel punishment? Dostoevski hated Poles because he was of Polish descent himself and he loathed that fact, go figure why. Anyway if you encounter a Pole in his novels you might be absolutely sure it will be a villain and a scoundrel.</div>
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Apart from that <em style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Idiot</em> is brimming with philosophical inquiry into people’s lives, society, culture, and history. Immutable, transcendent ideas about which Russian writers always grapple. The authors of the foreword/afterword reveal and underscore dozens of themes in the book. They discuss mechanics and perspectives and symbols. They discuss Russian history and the Russian concept of suffering, and how these were adroitly parsed among the characters. And how the characters themselves represented the unique attributes–in splinter form–of the Russian whole.</div>
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<strong style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Final verdict:</strong></div>
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Let me quote here, uncharacteristically, the letter of Dostoevsky himself who outlined his own goal, concerning <em style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Idiot</em>:</div>
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<em style="background: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The main idea of the novel is to portray a positively beautiful man. There is nothing more difficult in the world and especially now. All writers, not only ours, but even all European writers, who have merely attempted to portray the positively beautiful, have always given up. Because the task is immeasurable. The beautiful is an ideal, but this ideal, whether ours or that of civilized Europe, is still far from being worked out. There is only one perfectly beautiful person -Christ – so that the appearance of this immeasurably, infinitely beautiful person is, of course, already an infinite miracle”</em></div>
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If you are intrigued by such a premise you won’t be disappointed by the novel itself.</div>
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Download The Idiot <b>by Fyodor Dostoevsky</b> at <a href="http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=2638">Project Gutenberg</a>|<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Anachronisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398058819007642332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-324907069718044772015-09-09T07:38:00.000-06:002015-09-09T07:38:02.937-06:00Northanger Abbey<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxajNEiH_ptSSv2x-GZru3erBBoT_sEpEUNE-QSmcQgGOLgJBHH4B-GBnBwpzo3AsrtQob1SGmBs0vKKlHq1OkhzMgHC2IsKV4Sf22WuYJ7j1tkS-Md6MupxhViTa6i341ui0OchV5mm4/s1600/Northanger+Abbey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxajNEiH_ptSSv2x-GZru3erBBoT_sEpEUNE-QSmcQgGOLgJBHH4B-GBnBwpzo3AsrtQob1SGmBs0vKKlHq1OkhzMgHC2IsKV4Sf22WuYJ7j1tkS-Md6MupxhViTa6i341ui0OchV5mm4/s320/Northanger+Abbey.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
<b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1817<br />
<b>Genre</b>: Novel<br />
<b>Topics</b>: Gothic Parody, Romance<br />
<b>Review by </b>: <a href="http://imlostinbooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Becca Lostinbooks</a><br />
Download <b><i>Northanger Abbey</i> by Jane Austen</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/121/121-h/121-h.htm" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/search?q=northanger%20abbey&search_form=advanced" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Characters</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/IMAGEURLHERE" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">John
is egotistical, presumptuous, vindictive, and boring as watching paint
dry. To top it off he is as oblivious to Catherine's indifference as
Catherine is to Isabella's own egocentricities.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Catherine
is young, innocent, shy, and naive and dense to a fault, but
kind-hearted. She has a huge imagination, which Austen uses to tell the
story.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Henry
is gentlemanly, humorous, and kind. Quite the charming flirt, as
well. And he understands muslin "ever so well", which is apparently
"much to his credit, I'm sure." Okaaaay.</span></span></div>
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<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Isabella, in contrast, is an overt flirt, as well as vain, disloyal, and an opportunist. </span></span></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Setting</b></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Catherine
was involved in the same Regency world full of dances and proper
socializing that is in every Austen novel. The abbey was the
interesting part, as were Catherine's imaginative scenarios. The
problem, for me, is that while the book makes fun of gothic novels, as
this is a parody of the genre, there is hardly enough time in the gothic
Abbey for Catherine to truly get creeped out and twist logic as much as she does.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Plot </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
like that Austen did something different with this novel, but I am not
sure I enjoyed it as much as I was hoping. I did not care for the
characters much and I think that took away from some of the enjoyment of
it. Catherine was sweet, but soo annoying. I did hope for the very
obvious ending, but unlike Austen's other novels, I did not enjoy so
much the journey to get there. I think it would've been much more
satisfying if I cared much about Catherine.</span></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I
did like the time Austen spent on whether people should read novels, on
the debate of a good imagination, and the importance of the heart over
wealth. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Have you read Northanger Abbey? What were your thoughts on it?</i></b></span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-68575037302157644582015-09-07T04:00:00.000-06:002015-09-07T04:00:05.839-06:00Review: Countess Vera, Or Oath of Vengeance by Mrs Alex McVeigh Miller<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Uv5Inqcf3PkKsUcv9JfPe9Tv0t9cHCX4iprdajX7nHF_YlIqcRu-k2mn1VTjvqA25Kxh3iB9tFOwBX1naHRbKsSe4sujXWxKinKsjCF8qHxlPXlHjz977ALQx3V5dL5sJy_o_oei1l0-/s1600-h/countess%252520vera%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img align="left" alt="countess vera" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEug6yNUaWAsFzNGqT5yo_OXQ2Y48Wy91a95CjooxlEWz8qlSum4epGvO1eVX6hUD-OazYHMCyi8qILjaWfnDoj1cZV0Tz616ToMEIQByPmqAuIwdpy8AA7KpzLyJ4O5XNhMNMrTXIoSm9/?imgmax=800" height="240" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; float: left; margin: 0px 5px 0px 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="countess vera" width="162" /></a>Original Publication Date</b>: 1888<br />
<br />
<b>Genre</b>: Dime Novel<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Abandonment, secret marriage, bigamy, premature burial, REVENGE!<br />
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<b>Review by </b>: Chrisbookarama<br />
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Leslie Noble finds his wife of one day dead in her room. Dead! Unwilling to live with a man who does not love her, she committed suicide. Vera Campbell had agreed to marry him to escape her Cinderella-like life of servitude to her aunt Marcia Cleveland and cousin Ivy. After her father abandoned her and her mother, they had nowhere else to go and were dependent upon their ‘kindness.’ Seventeen years of heartbreak were too much for Mrs Campbell, with her last breath she begged Leslie to marry Vera. This was the result.<br />
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Shortly after her funeral, Vera’s father (now an Earl) has returned to claim his wife and child, who he mistakenly left to fend for themselves. Too late! Both are dead. But when he unearths his child to gaze upon her face one last time, he discovers that she isn’t dead at all. He whisks her off to England to make up for lost time. <br />
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Vera keeps the secret of her marriage to herself, vowing to never remarry. She of course falls in love with a wealthy American. Angst! Then it appears that her husband has died. Yay! But just when happiness is within her reach her father dies and commands her to make an Oath of Vengeance against her cruel aunt. REVENGE! <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizuBxtWW2iK4rES9k793jfG60WnVpdkljTl7K58rWcu5eLE5NOQMPMVX93dcqdEOz_IVAXcQ-w0wSpDP0oAUNwPS4U3q9ChsldZWs3oq9USlBVGug_6XPrClm7Cj_N99RpnDJauMtwvSxK/s1600-h/chuck%252520norris%25255B3%25255D.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="chuck norris" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3J4DvEdi1CfwwqHtLbewCuIEk4w-EhvmLdFt6Pak61uOW0qaYNimWWxigIYmYE9s7dPHdyRalgYY2hJ63Wn_wkERXE4nEr9Cv8U9s_3hbyf8Xzmd4X6y7dBhaCF_scQgs9zhYxN1RfaUW/?imgmax=800" height="167" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="chuck norris" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuck Norris approves of your Oath of Vengeance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I’ve never read a dime novel before, which is a shame because this one was fun! Dime novels were cheap entertainment for the masses in the late 1800s-early 1900s. They were a lucrative business at that time. Louisa May Alcott herself wrote a few to make ends meet. The plots were sensational and usually featured a young heroine in peril. <br />
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This heroine in peril is Vera Campbell. She doesn’t have much in the personality department, but she does have ‘dark flashing eyes’ and an Oath of Vengeance. Her Aunt Marcia is the worst. She is the most evil of aunts. She could rival Cinderella’s stepmother.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikZufWYiMU9BA_ld9m80yJWqulqIgKSSUdr9F3Xu-FDjzE4F1xwtZi33mqND32HsOeKTtQ7JAyh1elNe6Y2mIL4B_JzaUj17KwA0KZqSEZ4o1i_c90JyODcnUxNCaNMq6SnaLsQHqcq_f-/s1600-h/cinderalla%252520stepmother%25255B3%25255D.gif" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="cinderalla stepmother" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY9HTJaHccP05htj_fCp0JQ7fNFeCnDAGJEt65hD-p3kkuDLiH_B2QACNhPZ9JpzGFj2tpCgwfP4d7QhatHd9k50R6GLEXhGuib7sdmGNng4q7_y7NJKiVqi5LvguM7WZ5nWogLjNrkazK/?imgmax=800" height="164" style="background-image: none; border: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="cinderalla stepmother" width="224" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's an Evil Off!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The writing is not great, and apparently neither was the editing. The transcriber has a list a mile long of spelling and grammar corrections. The plot is super soapy. It’s like Days of Our Lives but with an ending. It is bonkers with premature burials, bigamy, murder-plots, poisons, and kidnappings. I loved it. <br />
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<strong>Mrs Alex McVeigh Miller</strong> (not her real name) wrote at least 80 dime novels (<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/search/?query=mcveigh+miller&go=Go" target="_blank">12 found on Project Gutenberg</a>). A look at the synopsises reveals that some are similar in plot. Reading them could get monotonous. So, I’ll proceed with caution and space them out. Who can resist a title like <em>The Fatal Birthday</em> though?<br />
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If you can put up with third person past tense, cheesy dialogue and repetitive phrases (dark eyes everywhere), you’ll enjoy this potboiler. <br />
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Download <b> <em>Countess Vera, or The Oath of Vengeance</em> by Mrs Alex McVeigh Miller</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48824" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Chrisbookaramahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11972547663609480210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-49660773752723847592015-08-03T07:19:00.000-06:002015-08-03T07:19:00.160-06:00 A Girl of the Limberlost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUwmor-ghsPW9SfqLRDEUJGvXMg7NhfkdkdKpiiqKN-_tMDzQzOmonFV07IfSqCmal6phRtDqwo055tKX4C_Umim8OB7aOSQByB6TSHAbIZ2IQ6QnUFdOSqpTGg9okc9cuU-DVOORc6sq/s1600/cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRUwmor-ghsPW9SfqLRDEUJGvXMg7NhfkdkdKpiiqKN-_tMDzQzOmonFV07IfSqCmal6phRtDqwo055tKX4C_Umim8OB7aOSQByB6TSHAbIZ2IQ6QnUFdOSqpTGg9okc9cuU-DVOORc6sq/s400/cover.jpg" width="275" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Original Publication Date</b>:
1909 </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Genre</b>:
Novel </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Topics</b>:
Coming-of-age, romance </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Review by</b>: </span></span><a href="http://avidreader25.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Melissa at Avid Reader's Musings</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <b>A Girl of the Limberlost
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">by Gene Stratton-Porter</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">★★★★★</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How did I miss this book when I was younger? It’s like a
slighter darker version of Anne of Green Gables, and I loved every second of
it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Published in 1909, the story is about a young girl named
Elnora who lives in the country. She is going to high school for the first
time, but her lack of social skills and money makes the way difficult. Her
whole life has been spent on her farm with her cold, unloving mother. Her
father died in the Limberlost swamp the day she was born and her mother has
resented her ever since. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Elnora is such a unique character. She is stubborn and
driven to succeed. She's fiercely intelligent but incredibly compassionate. She
is patient, giving her mother the benefit of the doubt for years. She's a hard
worker, willing to make money to achieve her dreams. She has self-respect and
is willing to sacrifice in order to find true happiness. She reminded me a
little bit of Jane Austen’s Lizzy Bennet, particularly in a scene where one
woman comes to talk to her about her possible engagement.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There is so much I loved about this book. There's a
fantastic female lead who isn't just trying to win a man. The plot focuses on
relationships with her family and friends and pursuing her dreams. She stands
up for herself even when she doesn't fit in. She's a problem solver and isn't
overwhelmed when a slight obstacle gets in her path. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>**SPOILERS**</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/IMAGEURLHERE" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Kate Comstock, Elnora's mother, is a fascinating
character. She’s so oblivious to the pain she causes her daughter because she’s
trapped in a prison of grief. She has one of the most drastic changes in
attitude and overall character development that I've ever read. The way it's
done it's completely believable, but it's still a 180 and it was so satisfying
to see her relationship with Elnora change throughout the book.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I love how the romantic aspect of the story played out
too. Elnora protects her own feelings and isn’t swayed the moment Philip gave
her a second glance. She waited until she was sure he didn't want anyone else
and she was not just a consolation prize. That’s so unusual to find in a novel,
especially one written more than 100 years ago. She wanted someone who loved
her deeply, not someone who settled for her in a moment of passion.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>**SPOILERS OVER**</b></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>BOTTOM LINE: </b>I fell hard for this novel. Elnora is so
determined and intelligent, she’s definitely become one of my new favorites.
The book is chocked full of wonderful characters, including her Uncle Wesley,
the young ruffian Billy and even her selfish, detached mother becomes a
character you care about. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Originally posted at <a href="http://avidreader25.blogspot.com/2015/03/a-girl-of-limberlost.html">Avid Reader's Musings</a></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Download <b><i>Title</i> by author</b> at </span><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/125/125-h/125-h.htm"><span style="color: #d99a41;">Project Gutenberg</span></a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/a-girl-of-the-limberlost-by-gene-stratton-porter/"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #d99a41;">Librivox</span></span></a><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">| </span></span></span></div>
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</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Melissa (Avid Reader)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-14931314194434007592015-07-13T00:00:00.000-06:002015-07-13T00:00:02.790-06:00Review: THE RAIN-GIRL by Herbert George Jenkins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAI5jvnwy9LqhAea0vB-BvxPDBs_sjbKFdAvKqk-Oeoks0mMS0-rLlqHvIC0VkQsR3uEQ2c0IBLR3UxX0vbWOTMGk9A0RCbPP3mCU99kJ0SdMTcD6VoYCeeP-IX8lf2LMEcKo5q3u77Cry/s1600/rain_girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover the rain girl" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAI5jvnwy9LqhAea0vB-BvxPDBs_sjbKFdAvKqk-Oeoks0mMS0-rLlqHvIC0VkQsR3uEQ2c0IBLR3UxX0vbWOTMGk9A0RCbPP3mCU99kJ0SdMTcD6VoYCeeP-IX8lf2LMEcKo5q3u77Cry/s1600/rain_girl.jpg" title="" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1919<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Romantic comedy<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Depression, suicide, family, society <br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Recently home from the trenches of WWI, Richard Beresford finds that he simply cannot deal with stuff anymore. Not his former job at the Foreign Office, not his family, not the whole getting-up-in-the-morning and getting-dressed thing, or eating or reading or hobbies or anything at all. So he decides he's just going to wander around and be tramp. His very proper family is horrified, but he ignores them, sells all his possessions (aside from his books), and starts off across the countryside. No sooner can you say survival skills, however, than he comes across a manic pixie dream girl sitting on a gate in the rain, happy as you please. Richard is enchanted with the young woman and becomes obsessed with finding her, even though he only knows her by his nickname for her: The Rain-Girl.<br />
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You might recognize the name <b>Herbert George Jenkins</b> from another of his romantic comedies, <i>Patricia Brent, Spinster</i>, <a href="http://projectgutenbergproject.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-patricia-brent-spinster-herbert.html" target="_blank">which Liz reviewed here</a> a little over a year ago. As much as I enjoyed <i>Patricia Brent, Spinster</i>–and I did enjoy it a lot more than Liz did; I thought it was a charming and delightful Cinderella story–<i><b>The Rain-Girl</b></i> is much better. While <i>Patricia Brent, Spinster</i>, was a tad predictable and suffered from a surfeit of incredible coincidences, <i><b>The Rain-Girl</b></i> is much more grounded and goes to some surprisingly dark places while still maintaining the clever dialog and humor of a comedy.<br />
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Richard is obviously suffering from what we would call post-traumatic stress syndrome. He wants to check out of life, by which I mean he no longer cares if he lives or dies, and is in fact leaning more towards the latter. There are moments in <i><b>The Rain-Girl</b></i> where Richard is perilously close to committing suicide, and there are conversations between him and his cousin, Lord Drewitt, where they argue that they should have the right to kill themselves if they like–after all, it's *their* life. If you can't end it went you want, what can you do?<br />
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All this probably makes <i><b>The Rain-Girl</b></i> sound like a downer, but it's not. Richard doesn't really want to kill himself, he just doesn't know to cope with life anymore, at least not until he's faced with the challenge of finding the Rain-Girl. Lord Drewitt, who's in the book quite a bit, is filled with sarcastic quips and clever bon mots, and his mother–Richard's aunt–adds a nice bit of spice to things trying to keep her son and nephew in order.<br />
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Basically, <i><b>The Rain-Girl</b></i> is a really fun book even if Richard has some serious shit to deal with. The world is the same one occupied by the main characters of <i>Patricia Brent, Spinster</i>–Lady Tenegra even makes an appearance–so if you enjoy novels set amongst English high society, this one's your jam.<br />
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As for the eponymous Rain-Girl, I called her a MPDG in the summary, but she's really not. I expected her to be, but Richard's attraction goes deeper than that even in the beginning. He likes her because she's interesting and different and doesn't fit in, kind of like how he feels he doesn't fit in anywhere anymore; and he admires her ability to enjoy something that's usually considered bad, like the rain. She's also not a "girl," but a woman whose quirky exterior belies a very serious and independent character.<br />
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Basically, if you enjoy historical romances, I think you'll really like <i><b>The Rain-Girl</b></i>. I really wish more of <b>Jenkins</b>' romances were available!<br />
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Download <b><i>The Rain-Girl</i> by Herbert George Jenkins</b> at <a href="https://librivox.org/the-rain-girl-by-herbert-george-jenkins/" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|<a href="https://archive.org/details/cihm_73082" target="_blank">Internet Archive</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-19240743575161714692015-07-09T06:53:00.005-06:002015-07-09T06:56:05.430-06:00Tess of the D'Urbervilles <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1891
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Genre</b>: Novel</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Topics</b>: Morality, sexual standards in gender</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Review by</b>: </span></span><a href="http://avidreader25.blogspot.com/2015/05/tess-of-durbervilles.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Melissa at Avid Reader's Musings</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Tess of the D'Urbervilles</b> </span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">by Thomas Hardy</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">★★★★★</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Rarely have I ever had such a visceral reaction to a
book. I have read a few other Hardy novels and so at this point I expect
tragedy. But this one still blew me away. It broke my heart in so many ways,
but Hardy’s writing made the whole experience oddly beautiful, despite the
inevitable disaster that you know if coming.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The brilliance of his writing is just breathtaking. The
scenes he creates are incredibly beautiful. Alec is such a brilliant villain
because of the very fact that he is so relatable to different men. As Hardy
himself says, Tess’ own male ancestors probably did the same thing to peasant
girls. It's so horrifying and common at the same time and Alec has no real
understanding that what he's doing is wrong. He knows what he wants he decides
he's going to take it. There's no consideration for anything else.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tess’ family is poor, but they discover they are
descendants of a wealthy local family. She is sent to befriend the family and
see if they can improve her own family’s situation. She meets Alec
D'Urbervilles and soon her life is changed forever. I can’t say too
much more without spoilers, except that it’s a powerful book, but not a cheery
one.<b> </b></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>**SPOILERS**</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I’ve never hated a character as much as I hated Alec. He
is a rapist, a manipulator, and worst of all, he honestly doesn’t think he’s
done much wrong in the first half of the novel. At one point Alec says
something about how Tess shouldn’t have worn a certain dress and bonnet because
it made her too pretty. The “you were asking for it” mentality was present even
back then when dress was far more modest. It was so frustrating and
infuriating. He manipulated every situation, forcing her to be alone with him,
to rely on him for help, etc. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">His condescending nicknames made my skin crawl. When he calls
her “Tessie” or “my little pretty” it made me nauseous because she was
shrinking away from him and begging him quietly to stop touching her. She said
again and again that she did not love him and she was scared of him. She never
feels comfortable with him. From their very first interaction, as he makes her
eat strawberries from his hand, she is uncomfortable and wants to go home
immediately. There was no infatuation only a feeling in her gut that he was not
someone to be trusted.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On top of that, Angel’s absurd double standard for his
actions and her actions was infuriating. The worst part is that both men, the
“good” one and the “bad” one share the same mentality about the situation. Both
blame Tess but never themselves. The same attitude is around today, even though
women have many more options, they are often shamed when they are sexually
assaulted. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/IMAGEURLHERE" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The book is split into different phases and the second
one begins after the infamous event. Tess is so broken; she's not even scared
of Alec anymore because he's already done the worst to her that he could
possibly do. She's resigned to her fate and full of sorrow. I kept thinking
about how many other women over hundreds of years have gone through the same
thing and are just completely broken afterwards and no one understands why. The
man took something from her that she did not want to give and society treats it
as if he didn't really do anything wrong. They justify it and say things like,
maybe she gave off the wrong signals or put herself in a bad situation. It's
just horrible.<b> </b></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>**SPOILERS OVER**</b><b> </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>BOTTOM LINE:</b> This is not a cheerful book. Every time
Tess’ situation improves, heartache is just around the corner. But Hardy deals
with it in such a raw and personal way that it is relevant even a century later.
His writing transcends the subject matter and I’ve learned that I’ll read
whatever he’s written.</span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">** My Penguin Clothbound Classic edition discusses the
different versions of the novel that were released. The original release
presented a much harsher version of Hardy. Apparently he toned it down and made
him more appealing in later versions, which is interesting. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>“‘I shouldn’t mind learning why the sun do shine on the
just and the unjust alike,’ she answered with a slight quaver in her voice.
‘But that’s what books will not tell me.’” </b></span></span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>“The beauty or ugliness of a character lay not only in
its achievements, but in its aims and impulses; its true history lay, not among
things done, but among things willed.”</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Originally posted at <a href="http://avidreader25.blogspot.com/2015/05/tess-of-durbervilles.html">Avid Reader's Musings</a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Download <b><i>Title</i> by author</b> at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/110/110-h/110-h.htm">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/tess-of-the-durbervilles/">Librivox</a>|</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Melissa (Avid Reader)http://www.blogger.com/profile/02119628715475021774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-37203754152113463832015-06-24T13:27:00.000-06:002015-06-24T13:27:15.716-06:00Review: The Ladies' Paradise (Au bonheur des dames) by Emile Zola<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgv_pb91LDs2hPdkjtH2guXvCurhbnhQilNK7iPCJO154Ue5mugiOwslN2nQ9Q_p1bp69AYN2A0-yCJ_0nymCytui5TpvuwdbMJv6a969B6BamjYiFWBL2eWDR5ersttE9XBoxjBaxhV3/s1600/the+ladies+paradise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the ladies paradise" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgv_pb91LDs2hPdkjtH2guXvCurhbnhQilNK7iPCJO154Ue5mugiOwslN2nQ9Q_p1bp69AYN2A0-yCJ_0nymCytui5TpvuwdbMJv6a969B6BamjYiFWBL2eWDR5ersttE9XBoxjBaxhV3/s1600/the+ladies+paradise.jpg" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1883<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Literature/fiction, romance-ish<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Business, modernity, women, consumerism <br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Forced to leave her childhood home in Normandy, orphan Denise Baudu arrives in Paris with her two younger brothers, looking for work in the shop of her uncle. Unfortunately, her uncle is less than welcoming–ever since The Ladies' Paradise opened across the street, he's struggled to keep business going, and the last thing he needs is more mouths to feed. With no other option to make a living, Denise gets a job at The Ladies' Paradise and experiences the not-exactly-cheerful life a 19th century clerk. Meanwhile, The Ladies' Paradise continues to expand, threatening the established shopkeepers on the Rue de la Michodière.<br />
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It's well-known <b>Zola</b> based <i><b>The Ladies' Paradise</b></i> on Paris' real-life first department stores, the Bon Marché and the Louvre shops, and if you think retail has changed a lot in the last 132 years, all you have to do is read this book to realize you're completely wrong. The Ladies' Paradise could just as easily be Amazon.com, and its owner Octave Mouret a more dashing and romantic Jeff Bezos. All the modern rules of retail apply: selling at no profit or even a loss just to get people in the door; spreading related departments out so customers have to walk through the whole store to get the items they came in to shop for; accepting returns even when the item is obviously used; the customer is always right; advertizing everywhere; sales treated like events; customers buying stuff just because it's cheap; and the drive to grow bigger and crush the competition even when it's not necessary or practical to do so.<br />
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And if you've ever had a job in retail, you'll surely sympathize with Denise's work-related woes: the physical labor involved in walking around the store, helping customers and stocking items; the annoyance of spending a bunch of time helping a customer only to have them walk away without buying anything–indeed, you get the feeling they didn't intend on buying anything, they just wanted someone to wait on them–the social hierarchy of a store, the cliques, the lack of job security and the fear of being fired; the way female employees are treated.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFV9aMutV_uwiHRmUiK1mx9B67C9wFLTx2OzmJK_SeQJylK-a3-rUe1a4XB_kPZoSOue0bn64ZbWUQObH4mKEmKTZu9fjJ4kuaUVTIc4tSxNVJjenZn1kg1v6-4A6fDGXfgM955cRK7gVl/s1600/i+love+my+job.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="i love my job face" border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFV9aMutV_uwiHRmUiK1mx9B67C9wFLTx2OzmJK_SeQJylK-a3-rUe1a4XB_kPZoSOue0bn64ZbWUQObH4mKEmKTZu9fjJ4kuaUVTIc4tSxNVJjenZn1kg1v6-4A6fDGXfgM955cRK7gVl/s320/i+love+my+job.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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Zola does an excellent job of painting a picture of a modern department store. Each chapter is themed around capturing different aspects of the store or the employees' lives. For example, one of my favorite chapters was Chapter Six, wherein Denise is fired for visiting with her worthless brother while at work. But before that happens, the employees grab lunch in the cafeteria, and I swear to god it sounded exactly like high school. Horrible, mass-produced food is served in staggered lunches, and the employees spend all their time bemoaning their meal while talking about what they'd rather be eating. Not to mention the social minefield of the lunch tables.<br />
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What I'm saying here is that <b>Zola</b>, no surprise, really knew his stuff. He knew how these new department stores, symbols of modernity, worked from the lowest stocker up to the management and owner, and he knew what the lives of their employees was like. The Ladies' Paradise isn't just a setting in this novel, it's the main character and an unstoppable force, rendered with almost microscopic attention to detail.<br />
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Unfortunately, all the characters in <i><b>The Ladies Paradise</b></i> who are, you know, actual characters and not department stores, are not developed very well at all. That especially includes the main character, Denise. She has no personality, no motivation, and she's basically just a plot element to give the reader a believable entree into The Ladies' Paradise. Her two personality features are that she's kind and innocent, of the unbelievably stupid variety. If this was a Colette novel, Denise would have hooked up with one of her numerous admirers in chapter two and let him buy things for her so that she could eat and stuff. But unfortunately <i><b>The Ladies' Paradise </b></i>is not a Colette novel.<br />
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Some things that simply do not make sense about Denise:<br />
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<li>Why doesn't she hook up with Henri Deloche? She likes him, they're adorkable together, he's devoted to her, defends her honor, and wants to marry her. Yet she refuses. NO EXPLANATION GIVEN. Literally, she's just like, "Hey, I can't explain it! I feel really bad about my inability to provide even the barest minimum of a reason, though, does that help?"</li>
<li>Why does Denise continue to be so nice to her uncle WHO BASICALLY THREW HER OUT IN THE STREET after writing her inviting her to come work in his shop? I'd be like, "Va te faire enculer, I hope TLP crushes you!"</li>
<li>However, given that she *does* inexplicably still treat him like a beloved family member, and that the other traditional shopkeepers like Bourras and Robineau were kind to her and took her in when Mouret and TLP unceremoniously tossed her out on her ass after making her life miserable for months and months, how can she justify her loyalty to The Ladies' Paradise? "She was secretly for the big shops." Really? I can see accepting that the big shops are going to win in the end, but you're actually rooting for them? Makes no sense WHAT.SO.EVER. Unless you're, like, a terrible person.</li>
<li>In Chapter 8, Mouret convinces Denise to return to TLP, and the other employees' attitude toward her undergoes a complete one-eighty. Suddenly they all accept and respect her. Again, no explanation given.</li>
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Don't even get me started on the whole affair between Denise and Mouret. After she returns and everyone falls in love with her because she's sweet, innocent, etc., Mouret makes it clear he like-likes her and invites her to his rooms after work for "dinner." Denise is confused until someone explains to her using small words that Mouret wants to make her his mistress. She gets all upset that he would want to sleep with her without marrying her and stands him up. Okay, fine. Stick to your guns, girl.<br />
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But then... at the very end of the book, Denise is planning to leave TLP and return to her home in Normandy, which gives Mouret all the sad faces, and her friend Pauline is like, "How cruel you are, to make him suffer so! ...Do you detest him?" Which is when Denise admits, with a tortured aspect, that she doesn't detest Mouret–actually, she really truly loves him.<br />
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Pauline is like (I'm summarizing here), "Why didn't you sleep with him then? Oh, it's because you were trying to trap him into marrying you, obviously."<br />
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Denise: "Marry me! Oh! no! Oh! I assure you that I have never wished for anything of the kind! No, never has such an idea entered my head; and you know what a horror I have of all falsehood!"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZrx6XA582yHKMFmPHhyphenhyphenPkdTXncLyGEN37Tv4Dq9Nar5Aafz7G1avgsi5Et-A0IE2nTuPsmwHKTi-B-G19dXuSTWuM0yfyW4w5Kq2wzejdSh1H2NOeirpK5wLcKW7bC3es-sOt-Z4VIH-/s1600/really.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="really??" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpZrx6XA582yHKMFmPHhyphenhyphenPkdTXncLyGEN37Tv4Dq9Nar5Aafz7G1avgsi5Et-A0IE2nTuPsmwHKTi-B-G19dXuSTWuM0yfyW4w5Kq2wzejdSh1H2NOeirpK5wLcKW7bC3es-sOt-Z4VIH-/s1600/really.gif" title="" /></a></div>
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Really, Denise? I mean, you initially refused to sleep with him because he didn't propose, but the thought of marriage never entered your head and you're totally not holding out now just because you want him to marry you, really? Why do you keep refusing to sleep with him, then?<br />
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Say it with me: NO EXPLANATION GIVEN.<br />
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Anyway, <i><b>The Ladies' Paradise</b></i> is an okay book. I think it's worth reading, it just doesn't have an actual plot or any character development to speak of. For a "realistic novel," it was pretty hard to buy into the characters' actions. Not one of <b>Zola's</b> better books, in my opinion.<br />
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Download <b><i>The Ladies' Paradise</i> by Emile Zola</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16852" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a> [French–This is another annoyance, why isn't the English version on PG and Librivox?]|<a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks14/1400561h.html" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg Australia</a> [English]|<a href="https://archive.org/details/ladiesparadisea00zolagoog" target="_blank">Internet Archive</a> [English]<br />
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And, for your enjoyment...<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><a href="http://h-france.net/fffh/classics/2329/" target="_blank">Essay on the birth of department stores and <i>Au bonheur des dames</i> by historian Michael Miller</a>.</li>
<li>Visiting Paris? Here are <a href="http://www.communitywalk.com/the_bonheur_des_dames_map/the_bonheur_des_dames_map/map/1772936" target="_blank">the sites of <i><b>The Ladies Paradise</b></i> mapped out for you</a>!</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-85363642641056720282015-06-23T03:00:00.000-06:002015-06-23T03:00:01.335-06:00Review: The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnwrmSBDy5pOvn8EOPselEoFrR4GfPlz1tHb3f7E8CjH8_ivyxlHvnaSji4Ihlav2-NgAstPoNTP2dv94eBYYEi4psbceTmOmM0v_sjkRMs9b3b4FvN0RA_Rfcd9zhe6v5yjBDt5V557n/s1600/black+tulip+dumas.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbnwrmSBDy5pOvn8EOPselEoFrR4GfPlz1tHb3f7E8CjH8_ivyxlHvnaSji4Ihlav2-NgAstPoNTP2dv94eBYYEi4psbceTmOmM0v_sjkRMs9b3b4FvN0RA_Rfcd9zhe6v5yjBDt5V557n/s320/black+tulip+dumas.JPG" width="214" /></a></div>
<b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1850<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Historical romance<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Love, tulips, false imprisonment, political shenanigans, obsession, jealousy, bad neighbours.<br />
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<b>Review by </b>: Chrisbookarama<br />
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What do you like in a fast paced historical romance? Political intrigue? False imprisonment? Tulip breeding? Err…sure.<br />
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<b><i>The Black Tulip</i></b> has all the hallmarks of an Alexandre Dumas novel. We have a hero who has been falsely accused of treason and imprisoned for life. However, instead of plotting a complicated revenge to visit upon his unknown enemy, he grows a very expensive flower. As you do!<br />
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It all starts in the Netherlands with a harrowing scene where brothers Cornelius and Johan DeWitt are torn apart (literally) by an angry mob for consorting with the French in 1672. Of course there is a very important correspondence between the King of France and Cornelius DeWitt that could destroy the life of whoever happens to have it in their possession. That hapless innocent is Cornelius’s godson, tulip grower Dr Cornelius van Baerle.<br />
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The second Cornelius has nothing going on in his life except growing tulips and he is good at it. He is so good at it, in fact, his neighbour and tulip fancier, Isaac seethes in jealousy. Isaac spies on Cornelius 24/7 and when he sees him receive a package from his godfather, he rats on Cornelius to the authorities. <br />
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Cornelius is so wrapped up in breeding a perfect black tulip, the first of its kind and worth 100000 florins, that he has no idea he is in danger. He’s forgotten all about the package his godfather asked him to keep. Cornelius is tried, convicted as a co-conspirator, and thrown into prison. <br />
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But it’s not all bad news, Cornelius has two things to live for: the love of the beautiful Rosa, daughter of the jailer Gyrphus, and the three tulip bulbs he smuggled into the prison. Together, Cornelius and Rosa grow the tulips, and their love (aw), while outside forces threaten to separate them. <br />
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You would think a novel about tulips would be as boring as all get-out, but nope. There were moments when, even though I knew there’d be a happy ending, my heart was thudding in anxiety. I wanted to shout at Cornelius and Rosa to PAY MORE ATTENTION! Stuff is going down! The whole time Cornelius and Rosa have the key to his freedom, but he’s too preoccupied by his flowers and she doesn’t have the ability.<br />
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Character development isn’t Dumas’s strong suit. The good guys are so Good and the bad guys just evil. Gryphus is ridiculously backward; Isaac is obsessed. Rosa is an angel because she is blonde, wide eyed, and pretty, though a bit coquettish because she’s A Girl! She’s instinctively good, even though her only role model is Gryphus. <br />
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Cornelius is a Tulip Geek. He collects them, grows them, breeds them. He’s not a swashbuckler like Monte Cristo, the Musketeers, or Georges. In modern romance speak, he’s a Beta hero. I don’t think he even left his house before his arrest. It was all tulips, all the time. Rosa complains that he loves his flowers more than her. I’d have to agree with her. He never really grows in that regard. He loves Rosa, but maybe not as much as his bulbs. <br />
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There is another character behind the scenes pulling the strings on a whim: William of Orange. He has the power, if he cared, to stop the events that were put in motion. I don’t know anything about the real man, but the character he plays here is one who only steps in when he feels like it. Maybe Dumas is trying to show that our lives are at the mercy of the more powerful. Or maybe he just likes torturing his readers. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVX_ttqGbwFvqdI4Cw2CKXcgpTVlWjmx67pSigO13EKiEmMZA9iuYadIhtXfvmsQJ-rqWPsGXuHBLVV4WAgFz4aRnySxjkagsVorY9UY_WUmp0JOCxBiROVicgGKXjVw2VZJ6ga96cNl7q/s1600-h/rupaul%25255B3%25255D.gif"><img alt="rupaul" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsyzLEPUC2NYGi93LKfYObuAyHfTQGvppjCdoWt67LYjzMf7Qu4AO0zS4gjDpGaysGxhX4gYYrcTbLuueAtuJZR0U-fxe6B7G_aB5wA6sfZRDsqXKlBwfqV0-mtMAie_3cR2bvk6KWPgYt/?imgmax=800" height="120" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: block; float: none; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="rupaul" width="224" /></a><br />
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Since most of the action happens in the prison, Cornelius doesn’t have much opportunity to commit physical acts of heroism. His heroism lies in his intelligence. He must use his skill to grow the tulip in secret. He teaches Rosa what she needs to know and gives her a chance to pull herself out of poverty and ignorance. It’s Rosa who saves the day. Rosa does what needs to be done and acts bravely at the end of the novel. She’s got moxie!<br />
<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/IMAGEURLHERE" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
If you can’t tell, I LOVED <b><i>The Black Tulip</i></b>. It’s an old fashioned romance. (The phrase “heaving bosom” is actually in the book.) There is intrigue and drama. And that ending! Oh, it’s a killer! At times, it’s over the top, but fun. At a little over 200 pages, it’s a doable alternative to<i style="font-weight: bold;"> The Count of Monte Cristo, </i>if you're pressed for time.<br />
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Download <b><i>The Black Tulip</i> by Alexandre Dumas</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/965" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-black-tulip-by-alexandre-dumas/" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Chrisbookaramahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11972547663609480210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-54555387650094600552015-05-13T14:28:00.000-06:002015-05-13T14:28:49.437-06:00Review: THE NOTTING HILL MYSTERY by Charles Warren Adams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DU0z4kBBjpfb522tbv6ie6FVdSRBA04epBF7-e-Lv-EUflW8OhlQc_bQuWrpAHY5udkN96sqKzztviwgAFpNJ5YQTi-l_JXP_HIEqvcXHhceYgWL6q-AUwPe04JaL9BYLRi7VtOffxQ3/s1600/The_Notting_Hill_Mystery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="book cover" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DU0z4kBBjpfb522tbv6ie6FVdSRBA04epBF7-e-Lv-EUflW8OhlQc_bQuWrpAHY5udkN96sqKzztviwgAFpNJ5YQTi-l_JXP_HIEqvcXHhceYgWL6q-AUwPe04JaL9BYLRi7VtOffxQ3/s400/The_Notting_Hill_Mystery.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is it just me, or does the guy in the hat <br />look like he's peeing on the other guy?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>I received a reprint copy of this book from The British Library for review consideration. However, I am basing this review on the free audiobook available at Librivox.</i></span><br />
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<b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1862-63<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Detective novel, epistolary novel<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Mesmerism, twins, somnambulism, the perfect crime<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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As insurance investigator Ralph Henderson looks into the apparent suicide of Madame R___, reconstructing her final days and her relationship with her husband, he unravels a plot thick with mesmerism and three possibly-related deaths. Henderson is sure Baron R____ killed his wife for profit–but can he prove it? Or has the Baron committed the perfect crime?<br />
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<i><b>The Notting Hill Mystery</b></i> is, according to <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120308032736/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/books/review/Collins-t.html" target="_blank">experts on these things</a>, the very first detective novel. Consistent with my experiences reading other "first of their genre" novels *cough<i><a href="http://heidenkind.blogspot.com/2011/10/early-gothic-showdown-castle-of-otranto.html" target="_blank">CastleofOtranto</a></i>cough*, it's a very odd book. You can definitely see the influence of Victorian sensationalism, and there is hella lot of weird stuff going on. For example:<br />
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<li>Baron R___ is a mesmerist.</li>
<li>His wife is one of a set of twins.</li>
<li>Her other twin was KIDNAPPED by GYPSIES. One really wonders where these gypsies were hiding all the blonde-haired girls they were supposed to be kidnapping, but I digress.</li>
<li>Naturally, having been kidnapped by gypsies, the other twin becomes a circus performer.</li>
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And that's just the first section of the book! Using newspaper articles, witness statements, and expert testimony, Henderson tells us about the death of Madame R____. It's obvious from the first that Baron R____ is her killer, because husband and five life insurance policies on one woman. But howwwww he committed the murder is the real mystery, since he made sure his wife was never left alone and he never made her food or served it to her. Or did he?!<br />
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I listened to the Librivox version of this book, and <a href="https://librivox.org/reader/6248" target="_blank">Kevin Green</a> deserves more than a passing mention as the narrator because he did an absolutely fantastic job of giving each character their own voice and accent. <i><b>The Notting Hill Mystery</b></i> could have easily been an intelligible mess on audio, but thanks to Green it was easy to follow and even entertaining. I don't usually go for epistolary novels because I like to have more of a sense of plot and story, but <b>Adams</b>, along with Green, made it work well. If you read <i><b>The Notting Hill Mystery</b></i> in ebook format, <a href="http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/dumaurier/cooke.html" target="_blank">Victorian Web recommends getting the version with George du Maurier's (Daphne du Maurier's granpop) illustrations</a>, as they supposedly add a lot to the story. They are pretty cool. This one's my favorite:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkb_L56VvrleAWRkn7FNAE4s9bCO5rSHnsYtBWBOUNOcSg4w7Z0HM0euu3CztliCNan1pdJE14-Iqv9byaYMd7JAHQuffXGYZft8Gi-LIL2r_Mi9w42GGx8mA5EhVLJKowXqU8iSjgfsCU/s1600/deadlydraught.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="last illustration from THE NOTTING HILL MYSTERY by George du Maurier" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkb_L56VvrleAWRkn7FNAE4s9bCO5rSHnsYtBWBOUNOcSg4w7Z0HM0euu3CztliCNan1pdJE14-Iqv9byaYMd7JAHQuffXGYZft8Gi-LIL2r_Mi9w42GGx8mA5EhVLJKowXqU8iSjgfsCU/s320/deadlydraught.jpg" title="" width="230" /></a></div>
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That said, I'm a little tempted to just recommend you read Henderson's intro and conclusion, since he summarizes everything the reader learns in the middle of the book with a level of detail that renders the previous 235 pages pretty much irrelevant. On the other hand, I did kind of enjoy the middle part, so I suppose it's up to you.<br />
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As for whether or not I'd say this is the first detective novel, I'm not sure I'd go THAT far. It's definitely a mystery, but I'm not sure I'd call what Henderson does "detecting;" it's more like he's gathering all the available information. He never comes to any conclusion as to who the killer is (even though it's obvious) or finds evidence proving murder one way or the other. At the very end he's like, "Did Baron R___ kill his wife? *shrug* IDK." To be fair, the way the Baron set up the murder makes it almost impossible to prove, but Sherlock Holmes or C. Auguste Dupin would have put the guy away.<br />
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If you're into early mysteries or have an academic interest in English literature, I think <i><b>The Notting Hill Mystery</b></i> is definitely worth checking out. For the average reader, however, maybe not so much. It's not a bad book, but it's a little too odd and quirky for anyone who isn't curious about it because of its place in history.<br />
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Download <b><i>The Notting Hill Mystery</i> by Charles Warren Adams</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46153" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-notting-hill-mystery-by-charles-warren-adams/" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|Internet Archive: Sections <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek07londuoft#page/616/mode/2up" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek07londuoft#page/644/mode/2up" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek07londuoft#page/672/mode/2up" target="_blank">3</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek07londuoft#page/700/mode/2up" target="_blank">4</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek08londuoft#page/iv/mode/2up" target="_blank">5</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek08londuoft#page/28/mode/2up" target="_blank">6</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek08londuoft#page/56/mode/2up" target="_blank">7</a>, <a href="http://www.archive.org/stream/onceweek08londuoft#page/84/mode/2up" target="_blank">8</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-89343219750901201522015-04-13T08:00:00.000-06:002015-04-13T08:00:00.993-06:00Review: THE GOLD BAG by Carolyn Wells<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8c_lCvPaFnrrx35B7qCeLIDvij_MqPqTdMwyiwgcwGXG-uhnjzDBV-zQR7jDWr6qnJ0n82i7HKHA4xTBQPzEf4l7RKCVOIBKOTeX8In4e3sPc3t2aLmq1URGXoNPJ-GYSZwByCAgx1SM/s1600/gold_bag_1412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv8c_lCvPaFnrrx35B7qCeLIDvij_MqPqTdMwyiwgcwGXG-uhnjzDBV-zQR7jDWr6qnJ0n82i7HKHA4xTBQPzEf4l7RKCVOIBKOTeX8In4e3sPc3t2aLmq1URGXoNPJ-GYSZwByCAgx1SM/s1600/gold_bag_1412.jpg" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1911<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Mystery<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Society, trust, family<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Burroughs, a young detective, goes to West Sedgwick to investigate the murder of a millionaire. The old man was found dead in his study, and the only clue was a gold bag (and a flower petal, but the book's called <i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i>, so let's just focus on that). Was the killer the millionaire's beautiful niece, who stood to inherit his entire fortune? Or was it her sketchy fiance, or his secretary? Burroughs and a whole team of detectives just can't figure it out.<br />
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<i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i> is probably the worst detective novel I've ever read in my entire 29 years of reading mysteries. Even Inspector Gadget has more going on with his little gray cells than Burroughs.<br />
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Here's the thing: <i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i> is the second book in The Fleming Stone Mystery series. Stone is (almost exactly) like Sherlock Holmes: he can draw conclusions about people and events by observing the tiniest details. But calling <i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i> a Fleming Stone novel is like calling <i>21 Jump Street </i>a Johnny Depp movie. Yeah, maybe his scene was the best one in the film, but it was just the one scene.<br />
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In <i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i>, Fleming Stone makes a brief appearance in the first chapter, then doesn't show up again until the very last chapter, and the last part of the last chapter at that. Meanwhile, Burroughs is the main character and "detective," and THE MAN IS AN INCOMPETENT IDIOT. He couldn't detect his way out of an elevator. And it's not played for laughs, either–<b>Carolyn Wells</b> seems to actually believe he and the other detectives (there's a whole slew of them, standing around doing nothing) are conducting some sort of legitimate investigation here.<br />
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No.<br />
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My first inkling that this "investigation" wasn't going to go so well came in Chapter Four, during the coroner's inquest. Gregory Hall, the fiance of the victim's niece, was on the stand answering questions about his movements on the day of the murder. He'd actually been away on business that night–or so he claimed–but when asked where he stayed and what business, exactly, he was engaged in, Hall refused to answer with, "As it has no bearing on the matter in hand, I prefer not to answer that rather personal question."<br />
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Exquise me? This is a murder investigation, buddy, we decide what's relevant, not you. Instead of saying that, however, the coroner's like, "Oh, okay then, we'll respect your privacy. You obviously didn't do it, after all, since you were out of town!"<br />
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Ummm...<br />
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Then there's Florence Lloyd, who is clearly Suspect Number One. Her uncle told her he was going to cut her out of his will if she married Hall, AND she admitted to owning a gold bag like the one found in the office. But she gave it away, she doesn't remember to who. Florence is dismissed by Burroughs and everyone else out of hand because she's a pretty, wealthy young woman, so OBVIOUSLY she couldn't have killed anyone. In fact, Burroughs develops a tendre for her that kind of made me throw up a little in my mouth.<br />
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At first I assumed that the detectives were just lazy, or maybe in the past respecting people's privacy was more important than finding a man's killer. But really this is all about assumptions and labels and society. At one point someone suggests the victim's brother, who stands to inherit now that Florence is cut out of the will, might be the killer. To which Burroughs laughs and says–direct quote–"Don't be absurd! A man would hardly shoot his own brother."<br />
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Dude, have you heard of these two guys called Cain and Abel? That story ring any bells in your echoing headspace?<br />
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It gets even more ridic. When Burroughs finally finds the owner of the gold bag-the person who either killed the victim or was the last to see him before he was murdered-he lets her know he's coming, affording her an opportunity to write him a letter stating that she has no idea who did it and isn't involved in the affair at all. "I would go straight to you, and tell you all about it, but I am afraid of detectives and lawyers... But I am going to see Miss [Florence] Lloyd, and explain it all to her, and then she can tell you."<br />
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Inexplicably, Burroughs' reaction to this woman's letter is to smile and think to himself, "Marathon Park [where the woman lives] was evidently no place to look for our criminal." Say the fuck what? This is based on her handwriting and the fact that the tone of the letter made her sound like "a foolish little woman." As opposed to a woman who's clearly trying to avoid talking to the police?!?<br />
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At this point in the book, I really hoped Fleming Stone would show up and declare Florence to be the killer within three seconds, despite the fact that Florence was the only character in <i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i> I even remotely liked. That didn't happen. Honestly, I don't remember who the killer turned out to be, I just didn't care by that point. The only thing that kept circling in my mind was that <b>Wells</b> made <a href="http://projectgutenbergproject.blogspot.com/search/label/anna%20katharine%20green" target="_blank">Anna Katharine Green</a> look like freakin Agatha Christie-a prescient thought, as it turned out, because guess whose books convinced <b>Wells</b> to start writing mysteries?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">AKG strikes again.</td></tr>
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Aha! I knew I'd seen that <a href="http://projectgutenbergproject.blogspot.com/2013/01/review-circular-study-by-anna-katharine.html" target="_blank">millionaire-who-was-killed-in-his-study</a> plot before.<br />
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<i><b>The Gold Bag</b></i> is pretty awful. Not only is the crime solving lazy, so's the writing. <span style="font-size: large;">L A Z Y.</span> <b>Wells</b> did no research into her topic, put zero thought into her characters or story, and the only things remotely good about the book were stolen from other books. <b><i>The Gold Bag</i></b> is only original in its terribleness.<br />
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Download <b><i>The Gold Bag</i> by Carolyn Wells</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2883" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-gold-bag-by-carolyn-wells/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-10795594132408386352015-04-06T08:00:00.000-06:002015-04-06T08:00:02.393-06:00Review: SUPERMIND by Mark Phillips<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
(Pseudonym for Laurence Janifer and Randall Garrett)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCFf4yCNlhQUEBUzx23isVkQn7BK2OrVSuCP4OU06uoNneLXyF7s1Pee2EqqQBtO54yrjKeJKpRPhsYgdWptkZ1MdcIk7yBwvjU4VaETMbOcxKD2TBaXKUS3R37X9Xj5DvpcqqsmMR7oe/s1600/supermind.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnCFf4yCNlhQUEBUzx23isVkQn7BK2OrVSuCP4OU06uoNneLXyF7s1Pee2EqqQBtO54yrjKeJKpRPhsYgdWptkZ1MdcIk7yBwvjU4VaETMbOcxKD2TBaXKUS3R37X9Xj5DvpcqqsmMR7oe/s1600/supermind.jpg" height="400" width="235" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1963<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Proto-urban fantasy<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Conspiracy, government, control, extrasensory perception, "the future"<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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FBI agent Kenneth Malone lives in a world where "psionic" powers such as telepathy and teleportation exist. In fact, Malone himself is able to teleport, a skill that makes him a valuable asset in the FBI's super-secret psionics division. When the director of the FBI, Andrew J. "don't call me Chief" Burris, asks Malone to look into a series of puzzling mistakes in government processing, Malone predicts his investigation will lead nowhere. It's the government, after all, they make mistakes all the time. But as Malone learns more about these mistakes, which aren't really mistakes, things become increasingly inexplicable, and Malone begins to suspect there's a cabal organization of super-powerful psionics influencing the country for their own ends.<br />
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I enjoyed <i><b>Supermind</b></i> quite a bit. It reminded me of a novel in a modern urban fantasy series, something along the lines of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden books or Simon Green's Secret History series. Perhaps a bit predictable by today's standards, but still fun and entertaining.<br />
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There's an underlying tone of sardonic, wry humor running through the book from the very beginning, when Malone and Burris make fun of the government's inefficiency. I enjoyed Malone's voice and appreciated him as an everyman character, but what really made <i><b>Supermind</b></i> stand out were the secondary characters. You've got your obligatory lovable geek who likes technology more than people ('"Any man who would give false data to a perfectly innocent computer," Fred said savagely, "would—would—" For a second he was apparently lost for comparisons. Then he finished: "Would kill his own mother." He paused a second and added, in an even more savage voice, "And then lie about it!"'), a woman who believes she's Queen Elizabeth I, a sarcastic femme fatale who's always giving Malone a hard time, a snooty expert on psionics, and the most clueless spy in history, just to name a few.<br />
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Her Highness Queen Elizabeth I is by far my favorite character in the novel, not just because she's entertaining but because she's so useful and the way <b>Janifer</b> and <b>Garrett</b> employ her is so clever. See, Her Highness spent most of her life in an asylum–not just because she thinks she's Queen Elizabeth, but because she's telepathic and most of the world doesn't know psionics exist. Malone rescued her from the asylum in a previous book, and now he's one of her "knights." When they're interrogating people all Malone has to do is pick up a phone, think his question, and she can tell him whether the suspect is being honest or not without him saying a word or letting the suspect know what's going on. So clever.<br />
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<b><i>Supermind</i></b> doesn't really pick up steam until the middle of the book, when Malone and company travel to Russia to see if they're behind the US's lack of inefficiency and mistakes. The way Russians were portrayed in this Cold War-era novel was really interesting, I thought, and very evocative of a culture. I'm sure if it's Russia's actual culture the authors were evoking or one of their own imagination, but it read like a bizarro travelogue with just enough hijinks to keep Malone on his toes (and Malone requires plenty of hijinks). It's also after Russia that the story starts twisting into something more complex and Malone realizes he can TRUST NO ONE. Except maybe the Queen.<br />
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I'd definitely recommend <i><b>Supermind</b></i> if you're into paranormal thrillers or tongue-in-cheek urban fantasy. It's definitely not edgy, but it's entertaining and a good way to pass a few hours. I'm kind of sad I read the last book in the series (there are two previous books in the Kenneth Malone series prior to this one) before reading the others, but I might get around to reading the others at some point.<br />
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Download <b><i>Supermind</i> by Mark Phillips</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22342" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/supermind-by-laurence-m-janifer/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-11606203387077220812015-02-23T00:36:00.000-07:002015-02-23T00:36:00.226-07:00Review: An English Woman-Sergeant In the Serbian Army by Flora Sandes<p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTMxlavHQxir7qi2Vp5SfFCV1ps76kfL6Nz1HlhURcpzJ1a_FFfVGYC-p7RKY4KBrt1AWcjUh6cUzroOCH_hqalHVxBjCXkupSiRsA3WVy4yVcPkI04Z752LPNodGGj1ypS5JbvUJEDF8i/s1600-h/englishwomansergeant_serbianarmy_1407%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img title="englishwomansergeant_serbianarmy_1407" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; display: inline; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px" border="0" alt="englishwomansergeant_serbianarmy_1407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjuYJ-vP7FLKhzRvbpZUGTnaISARTyr2qm76Hu-SiQpQhd9xEycXX5wpKO8C9kbcJsKxOcDkYVSIYMf1ta6jV2_vqCr5v1KZlTBgGyKbqJLk3gvXGwImqpqIj4ya7J33en44DLGwZo6LBw/?imgmax=800" width="244" height="244"></a></p> <p><b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1916</p> <p><b>Genre</b>: Memoir </p> <p><b>T</b><b>opics</b>: Army life, World War I, Serbia, British nurses, soldiers, women soldiers, sisters doing it for themselves, smoking-drinking-shooting </p> <p><b>Review by </b>: Chrisbookarama</p> <p>Have you ever stumbling across something by accident and then instantly became obsessed with it? That is me right now with Flora Sandes. Obsessed! I was just minding my own business, scrolling through the Librivox catalogue, when I came across<strong><em> An English Woman-Sergeant In the Serbian Army</em></strong>. <em>Well</em>, I thought, <em>this sounds intriguing.</em> I started listening and couldn’t believe my ears. Is this real life? Was Flora Sandes a real person? I had to find out for sure. <a href="http://projectgutenbergproject.blogspot.ca/2014/08/review-le-petit-nord-by-anne-grenfell.html" target="_blank">Fool me once, Public Domain!</a> And it was true! This really happened!</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNxcj_PmD__k7i6y04fdWvgfFiHON9GzCLgSMy6r_J70H2uO8BgyLVcCayKssrxXKLoAiz2tcfKaWHq15vqSU49xpaXvLBeofaM2hZNxASxN19sLdI6qonCVRsaXcEqUwZkMUkDmDP4JAZ/s1600-h/flora%252520sandes%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img title="flora sandes" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="flora sandes" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOx1b3n_-7hihmYF0etD4_cmi4SUE8XOotK-UOimbToVdTYWC4cEGA_UnCzBs-yRsktriQ_t0Wlp4iUMBTkUTQdAdPaO2QR_y7PSjP-jJnbC_VeM48svO5HMsLw_KlLmgQepwWCczexlKE/?imgmax=800" width="170" height="240"></a></p> <p>Flora begins her story with herself travelling back to Serbia after a brief vacation from the action during World War I. England was an ally to Serbia. Serbians needed all the help they could get. Flora volunteered to be a nurse with St John Ambulance. She quickly became a favorite with the men. She’d smoke, drink, and share a laugh with them, as well as hold their hands as they died. </p> <p>Flora decided early on to stick with the Serbian Army even though she was British. The Serbians’ ideas about women in the combat were more enlightened than the Brits’. She travelled with the army while they retreated from the Austrian advance, taking care of the wounded and sick men. At some point Flora is asked to make a choice. </p> <blockquote> <p><em>They said the journey through Albania would be very terrible, that nothing we had gone through so far was anything approaching it, and that they would send me down to Salonica if I liked.</em></p></blockquote> <p>Flora says Yes! to Albania, though they find the locals very hostile to their presence. They get fired upon <em>a lot</em>. But here Flora finally gets to be a real soldier and holds her own against the enemy. </p> <blockquote> <p><em>I had only a revolver and no rifle of my own at that time, but one of my comrades was quite satisfied to lend me his and curl himself up and smoke.</em> </p></blockquote> <p>It isn’t all shooting dudes all day long though. The Serbians were constantly on the move. Along the road Flora saw the corpses of horses that died of starvation or exhaustion. The men themselves weren’t doing so good, as the locals put up the prices of food when the soldiers arrive in their towns. </p> <p>As for the men, they showed her great respect. She says she expected resistance, but never experienced it, even in her interactions with the British commanders. Her Serbian commander makes her a corporal, and eventually a sergeant, making her the only woman to officially serve in the Serbian Army during World War I. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVp_530GNAddINSuLB1PKMqGRnGcXkDcQxy5pbsX3iW6MN4iwgEl368pmfTukzyX6Z8eI_eUm3U7xK-FxvHv8JNun3Xg_w-nDNvpd2tayToMkCmju3Ah-yKjtaQi5_824ZooMjCXJvkY_/s1600-h/flora%252520and%252520her%252520men%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img title="flora and her men" style="border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; float: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-left: auto; display: block; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; margin-right: auto" border="0" alt="flora and her men" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQMkoRH8AMa6pkTebQEsnGIpp5aBF3RK1b0clWGiwBGfZaoZ8Cy7frqvVXL77PC1gvR4ZLHJV2zVlOwrD15S7BFYWGeIsaY4veZmzslsMXcYuwilo_neumIg372fXvFpuHX5rivOd5vwSw/?imgmax=800" width="267" height="300"></a></p> <p><strong><em>An English Woman-Sergeant In the Serbian Army</em></strong> ends unexpectedly, but this is because Flora wrote it in 1916, while the war was still ongoing, to raise funds for the Serbian Army. Flora ain’t got time for writing memoirs. The writing is what you would expect from a woman like Flora: to the point, honest, unadorned. It’s also pretty short. In 1927, she wrote her autobiography,<strong><em> An Autobiography of a Woman Soldier</em></strong>. I will be reading that, I can tell you. </p> <p>The only thing I didn’t like about this memoir was the patronizing introduction by a Serbian politician:</p> <blockquote> <p><em>But she only took to a rifle when there was no more nursing to be done, as, owing to the Army retreating, the wounded could not be picked up and had to be left behind.</em> </p></blockquote> <p>No, dude, she would have “took to a rifle” if that had been an option from the start. </p> <p>Here are some facts about Flora:</p> <ul> <li>She was 38 when World War I began, 40 when she wrote this memoir. (Yay!) <li>After the war, she married a Russian soldier 12 years younger than herself. (Get it, girl!) <li>They lived in Serbia until he died in 1941. <li>When World War II broke out, she joined the army again. She was 65. (A Boss!) <li>The Nazis imprisoned her. (Oh no they didn’t!) <li>She moved back to England and drove around in a motorized wheelchair until she died at age 80. (Only death could stop her.) </li></ul> <p>Project Gutenberg doesn’t have the text but <a href="https://archive.org/details/englishwomanserg00sanduoft" target="_blank">The University of Toronto has a text version</a>. </p> <p>Download <b><i>An English Woman-Sergeant In the Serbian Army</i> by Flora Sandes</b> at |<a href="https://librivox.org/an-english-woman-sergeant-in-the-serbian-army-by-flora-sandes/" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|</p> <div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Chrisbookaramahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11972547663609480210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-40762319668160117742015-02-09T18:38:00.000-07:002015-02-09T18:38:23.858-07:00Review: THE PASSENGER FROM CALAIS by Arthur Griffiths<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgV1LO12jFZafEJ0XDJJRAlEq2uHWUF4F2CJw8AS2o9MLoNibKsWonnpf5Vm8X2JLU9MhaovNq2bOnHMjni46SEBfjmzs2SifVTgKbo2FLcOm9oKVXt1xtJhyphenhyphen3Dh3WCovgWsqO1uxelNN_/s1600/passenger+from+calais.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="the passenger from calais" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgV1LO12jFZafEJ0XDJJRAlEq2uHWUF4F2CJw8AS2o9MLoNibKsWonnpf5Vm8X2JLU9MhaovNq2bOnHMjni46SEBfjmzs2SifVTgKbo2FLcOm9oKVXt1xtJhyphenhyphen3Dh3WCovgWsqO1uxelNN_/s1600/passenger+from+calais.jpg" title="" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1906<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Adventure<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Rule of law, honor among thieves, travel, trains, love, motherhood, women<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Lieut.-Colonel Basil Annesley, traveling to Lake Como for some R&R, hops aboard the train from Calais only to find that the train is completely empty of any other passengers, except for one small party consisting of a lady, her maid, and a baby. When he overhears the lady confessing to a theft, he decides she's bad news and that he's going to have nothing to do with her. After she tells him off for being a judgmental douche canoe, however, the Colonel abruptly realizes two things: 1. he IS being a douche canoe; and 2. he's totally in love with this woman and will do anything to help her, despite the fact that he still doesn't know who she is, what she stole, or why. Will the larcenous party be able to evade the private investigators on the lady's trail, and will the Colonel's feelings for her survive the trip?<br />
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I was so pleasantly surprised by <b style="font-style: italic;">The Passenger from Calais</b>! It's a game of cat-and-mouse stretching across Europe in an extended chase that reminded me of <i>Around the World in 80 Days</i>–only better, because it includes several awesome female characters. There are fights, run-ins with the law, a slippery villain, double- and triple-crosses, and identity switches. The story takes an unexpectedly feminist turn in the middle, and I thought the ending was pitch-perfect despite an all-too-convenient death.<br />
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Even though the Colonel seems a bit dense at the beginning of <i><b>The Passenger from Calais</b></i> (his abrupt one-eighty in regards to the mysterious lady was enough to give me whiplash), as the book goes on he proves himself to be a clever and worthy adversary to the people chasing the woman. The story isn't only told from his viewpoint, however: we also hear parts of the story from Falfani and Tiler, the detectives, as well as the lady herself. The switching of viewpoints was confusing sometimes, especially listening to the book on audio, but that's my only real criticism of <i><b>The Passenger</b></i>.<br />
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The rest of this review is going to be spoilerific, so if you want to read <i><b>The Passenger from Calais</b></i> and still be surprised by some of the twists and turns, you may want to avert your eyes.<br />
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As for the mysterious woman on the train–whose name is Lady Claire Standish–I absolutely loved her. She's intelligent, capable, steady, and 100% principled even though she *did* steal something. The something that she stole is where the book takes that unexpectedly feminist turn I mentioned.<br />
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See, Lady Claire's sister, Henriette, married the vicious Lord Blackadder (cue <a href="http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view/733319/blackadder-omfg-o.gif" target="_blank"><i>Blackadder</i> gifs</a>), and several years later was just as unfairly divorced by him, resulting in a huge scandal. Naturally Blackadder got custody of their child, and made it known that he would never allow Henriette to see the little munchkin again. So, while her sister hied off to the Continent, Claire and her maid took her nephew from the house of Blackadder and planned to reunite mother and child in Italy.<br />
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So not only is the plot generated by the actions of two women, it centers around a woman's right to have access to her children as well as chose her own husband and maintain her own autonomy (Henriette was forced to marry Blackadder by her guardians, and the divorce hinged on rumors of infidelity sparked by her daring to socialize with men other than her husband). Not only that, but Annesley immediately and genuinely recognizes the women's plight as a just cause.<br />
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Blackadder is just as horrible as you can imagine. At one point he pulls the, "Do you know who I AM?!" card with a French official, which I think we can all recognize as a stupid move. The French judge's reaction to it, however, made the scene totally worth it.<br />
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And then there's Henriette. When we first meet her it's through the eyes of Colonel Annesley, and she's definitely a Difficult Woman. Completely unlike her sister, she is not cool, calm, and logical in the face of adversity. She's histrionic, temperamental, emotional, and refuses to listen to reason. Colonel Annesley thinks she's a harridan, actually, and when he's telling the story you can understand why Blackadder might have wanted to divorce her.<br />
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Lady Henriette is also very suspicious of men in general–understandable, all things considered, but not something I encounter a lot in older novels. Henriette and Claire are painfully aware of the power imbalance between men and women, and Henriette takes care to point it out (in the most annoying way possible, of course):<br />
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"Oh, how like a man! Of course you must have your own way, and every one else must give in to you," she cried with aggravating emphasis, giving me no credit for trying to choose the wisest course.</blockquote>
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Why should she give you credit, dude? She don't know you. Lady Henriette is sick of doing what the <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/danieldalton/boss-witch#.fl1PJl1072" target="_blank">goddamn patriarchy</a> tells her to do. SICK OF IT.<br />
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What's interesting is that when Claire's telling the story, Henriette is still difficult and unreasonable, but much more sympathetic. And by the end Henriette redeems herself by taking the initiative to find the people who testified against her in the divorce trial and convince them to confess to the authorities they were bribed by Blackadder, which means everyone can to return to England.<br />
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Basically, Claire and Henriette each possess certain attributes of a classic femme fatale (that's certainly what I thought Claire would be when <i><b>The Passenger from Calais</b></i> started), but they're not the femme fatales–they're the heroines! Annesley really just provides a supporting role to their adventure.<br />
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Despite a few little too-convenient blips now and again, I really enjoyed <i><b>The Passenger from Calais</b></i>. I can imagine this book as movie directed by Wes Anderson, à la <i>The Grand Budapest Hotel</i>, and I loved that movie. I'd definitely recommend this novel!<br />
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Download <b><i>The Passenger from Calais</i> by Arthur Griffiths</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16339" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-passenger-from-calais-by-arthur-griffiths/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-67897904509020486222015-02-04T13:39:00.000-07:002015-02-04T13:39:59.901-07:00Review: HER DARK INHERITANCE by Mrs. E. Burke Collins<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvv95pkvtiCGKFGVWuPT0fXwpRJAYi0zZPHiaK0uwLxXyn6ek0LQdkFFoVXGoJa0XptZ_ZKCOKP9XMXkVI14HaR4xk41b_4cz2vrbXuEt2ET_T1GWS_G3Hlmy6ayEq2D0GZlF-trjGeix/s1600/Her-Dark-Inheritance-742x1024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="her dark inheritance" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEvv95pkvtiCGKFGVWuPT0fXwpRJAYi0zZPHiaK0uwLxXyn6ek0LQdkFFoVXGoJa0XptZ_ZKCOKP9XMXkVI14HaR4xk41b_4cz2vrbXuEt2ET_T1GWS_G3Hlmy6ayEq2D0GZlF-trjGeix/s1600/Her-Dark-Inheritance-742x1024.jpg" height="400" title="" width="289" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1892<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: dime novel<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Love, secrets, beauty, economics, sins of the father, forgotten for a reason<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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On a dark and stormy night, Beatrix Dane is abandoned at the offices of Dr. Frederick Lynne, with a note promising an allowance for the doctor and his family if he raises the baby as his own. But when the money stops coming 17 years later, Beatrix faces resentment from her evil step-mom and -sister, as well as (even worse!) a horrible wardrobe. When a dashing cousin of Mrs. Lynne, Keith Kenyon, arrives on the scene, Beatrix is sure he's her prince charming. But Mrs. and Miss Lynne have other plans, especially after Dr. Lynne dies. Will Beatrix and Keith ever be together? And what was up with Beatrix's mom and dad?<br />
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<i><b>Her Dark Inheritance</b></i> is one of those books where being beautiful=good and unattractive=horrible person. Case in point: Beatrix is a shallow little bitch, yet I'm supposed to root for her because attractiveness. Mmmr, no. Keith also falls in love with her, seemingly just because she's beautiful. Meanwhile, Beatrix's "sister," Serena, is vilified largely because of her looks. Every single time she's mentioned in this book, the author takes care to point out that she's "ugly," "not very attractive," "ungraceful," and so on. Yet character-wise there doesn't seem to be much difference between Serena and Beatrix; at least Serena appears to be marginally more intelligent.<br />
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This would be bad enough, if I cared even a little bit about the characters or felt like the story had any connection to reality at all, but I didn't. I did like the beginning of <i><b>Her Dark Inheritance</b></i>, in a this-book-is-going-to-be-really-cheesy! sort of way, and I liked that it was clearly framed as a fairy tale (at one point early in the book, Beatrix thinks, "Oh, dear! I wish my fairy prince would come!"–literally, that is a direct quote–and a paragraph later Tall Dark and Handsome rides up on his trusty steed), but the story quickly descended into over-the-toppiness with a love triangle between Serena and Beatrix, and Beatrix going to live with some distant relative, who ALSO was involved in a love triangle in his youth and his now seeking revenge through Beatrix and Keith. It reminded me of <i>Wuthering Heights</i> in a way, although I gave marginally less fucks and thought it was way more stupid than <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, a challenge (not a fan of <i>Wuthering Heights</i>, incidentally).<br />
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And then there was the writing. Oh lordy lordy. <i><b>Her Dark Inheritance</b></i> is filled with long, tortured sentences that contain a whole lot of tell and not show. Another reason why it was impossible to connect to the characters on any level.<br />
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In the end, despite all the gossipy, juicy drama going on, I was really bored. If I had been reading the book I'd have skimmed to the very end; but since I was listening to it on audiobook I just DNF'd it.<br />
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But here's an interesting thing I discovered while I was trying to figure out when the heck <i><b>Her Dark Inheritance</b></i> was published: <b>Mrs. E. Burke Collins</b> was a very successful writer of dime novels for women. This was apparently a thing. A passage in a book I found on <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=PWxYAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA160&ots=ItDPeRlwDp&dq=mrs%20e%20burke%20collins&pg=PA160#v=onepage&q=mrs%20e%20burke%20collins&f=false" target="_blank">Google Books</a> described her as, "one of the small band of women writers who earn more than $6,ooo a year." And says that, "Mrs Sharkey [Collins' legal name] is the only professional story writer in the far South and her salary is larger than that received by any other person in the state of Louisiana not even excepting its State officials."<br />
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Hard to believe. There were a bunch of other female dime novelists, too, of course. The <a href="http://chnm.gmu.edu/dimenovels/" target="_blank">American Women's Dime Novel Project</a> contains some hip, retro covers from women's dime novels published between 1870 and 1934, but only a few links to where you can read them online and no discussion or critique of the books themselves, which is a bit disappointing.<br />
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There's also <a href="http://www.readseries.com/StoryPapr/EBC-myst19a.html" target="_blank">this article</a> by Deidre A Johnson on <b>Collins</b>' short story, "Dare the Detective," and how it drew from her life experience.<br />
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Overall I get the impression <b>Collins</b> was following in the footsteps of <a href="http://projectgutenbergproject.blogspot.com/search/label/anna%20katharine%20green" target="_blank">Anna Katharine Green</a>, only she wasn't as good of a writer. But I would be interested in exploring more dime novels from this time period, as long as they're not by <b>Collins</b>. Do you guys have any recommendations?<br />
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Download <b><i>Her Dark Inheritance</i> by Mrs. E. Burke Collins</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46363" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/her-dark-inheritance-by-mrs-e-burke-collins/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-53791511786139998472015-01-25T12:58:00.000-07:002015-01-25T12:58:49.036-07:00Review: LAVENDER AND OLD LACE by Myrtle Reed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBp5w6XIh-OLEhtukHa5RPCtFTWIbjmpfIBYMRNtCPXhEuzbtVBtRDsas-pM-YUqCT2jpSAMksR1jkJCUyXkhb_yt6tUMVtJ1_9pvdXLAblHn6aO0hMPf0nXIjkWieuXP-7LWXL_6iIPU/s1600/LavendarAndOldLace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbBp5w6XIh-OLEhtukHa5RPCtFTWIbjmpfIBYMRNtCPXhEuzbtVBtRDsas-pM-YUqCT2jpSAMksR1jkJCUyXkhb_yt6tUMVtJ1_9pvdXLAblHn6aO0hMPf0nXIjkWieuXP-7LWXL_6iIPU/s1600/LavendarAndOldLace.jpg" height="400" width="247" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1902<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Romance<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Love (obvs), spinsters, small town life, battle of the sexes<br />
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<b>Proposed alternate title</b>: The Women Who Waited <br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Ruth, a big city journalist, travels to a small coastal town to visit her long-lost Aunt Jane. When she gets there, however, she finds Aunt Jane has left abruptly for a trip abroad. The only thing she sends Ruth is a mysterious letter instructing her to light a candle in the attic every night. Because no story ever began with, "And then she minded her own business," Ruth starts poking around. Does Aunt Jane leave the candle in the window for a long-lost lover? Or does it have something to do with her aunt's BFF, Miss Ainslie, who super duper loves lavender?<br />
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Someone on Goodreads described <i><b>Lavender and Old Lace</b></i> as <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> grown up, and that's a pretty good description of the feel of the book. Everything is quaint and country; there's not a lot of conflict going on; and the obvious love interest is REALLY obvious. I'm not a huge fan of <i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (I watched the mini-series on PBS like everyone else but never had any desire whatsoever to read the books, which should tell you all you need to know there), but I found myself charmed by the story in <i><b>Lavender and Old Lace</b></i> anyway. Up until the final quarter of the book, that is.<br />
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The positives first: I really liked Ruth. I liked that she was prickly and standoffish and knew what she wanted. She kind of reminded me of Lady Mary from Downton Abbey, actually, if Lady Mary had grown up as an orphan in the US rather than as a British aristocrat.<br />
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I also liked Carl Winfield, even though his internal monologue was interminably annoying and I had to roll my eyes when he showed up because it was COMPLETELY OBVIOUS this was the guy Ruth was going to end up with. No sense of narrative tension or mystery at all. She's a journalist, he's a journalist. She's the only single female under forty who can read within a 20-mile radius, he's the only single male under forty who can read within a 20-mile radius. You get the picture. The saving grace was Ruth's prickliness matched against Winfield's earnest charm–they did have chemistry and I enjoyed their scenes together, which had plenty of snappy dialog.<br />
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So I was liking <i><b>Lavender and Old Lace</b></i> in a lackadaisical sort of way, up until Aunt Jane returned from her travels. That's when things started getting hairy for my inner feminist.<br />
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See, Ruth was right and Aunt Jane did have a long-lost lover, a sailor who proposed before leaving and promised to return and marry her. She believed him so much she bought a wedding dress and had it all fitted and everything! Thirty years later, he still hadn't shown up. Then right before Ruth's visit, what should Aunt Jane hear but that her beau was living, unmarried and unconcerned, in Italy. I'm sure we can all imagine her reaction.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uSy7LmAXyzlKtHE-jpsqwlue7I_mk1-5dW99SeDMtcZx6a-kHJe4iap08NbhJ_wTeeIuQzXZFpm688_-pH3xyDwzIaSv8fLhlQOzkVagi1eum39zdpOuqaBGPmCTYPLDTcQc04FDyzpY/s1600/parks+and+rec+pissed+off.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="angry leslie" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uSy7LmAXyzlKtHE-jpsqwlue7I_mk1-5dW99SeDMtcZx6a-kHJe4iap08NbhJ_wTeeIuQzXZFpm688_-pH3xyDwzIaSv8fLhlQOzkVagi1eum39zdpOuqaBGPmCTYPLDTcQc04FDyzpY/s1600/parks+and+rec+pissed+off.gif" title="" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something like this, perhaps?</td></tr>
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Instead of falling into a pity spiral, Aunt Jane hies off to Italy and drags the bastard back for her wedding. Go Aunt Jane!! But <b>Myrtle Reed</b> apparently doesn't think a woman who Gets Things Done and goes after what she wants is a good thing. <b>Reed</b> consistently presents Aunt Jane as a foolish, jealous, self-righteous, and ridiculous harridan, and her now-hubby as the poor hen-pecked man who has to put with her.<br />
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This would be bad enough, but Aunt Jane is noticeably contrasted against Miss Ainslie, whose story is almost exactly the same: she also fell in love with some loser sailor who promised to return from the sea and marry her. ("Oh Brandy! You're a fine girl! What a good wiiiife you would be. But my life, my love, my laaaaaaaady is the sea...") Three guesses as to how that turned out.<br />
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Miss Ainslie continues to wait and wait for decades, her love for Sailor Guy never wavering Then Carl–who has the same last name as Sailor Guy and looks almost exactly like him, coincidence?–shows up and it becomes rather obvious that while she was waiting ALONE in the ass-end of nowheresville, her childbearing years wasting away, Sailor Guy married someone else and had kids. The bastard couldn't even send a note. Unlike Aunt Jane, however, Miss Ainslie's reaction to this turn of events is to give up on life. Seriously, she's like, "Whelp! Might as well die now." And <b>Reed</b> glorifies this! Miss Ainslie is continually described as saintly and beautiful and angelic, a woman to look up to and emulate.<br />
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And don't get me started on the scenes between Miss Ainslie and Carl, which all things considered are extremely weird and awkward. Miss Ainslie's always asking about him, and wondering if he'd find it "indelicate" if she wore low-cut dresses, and making him sit in her room at night and hold her hand. It's all crowned by the final scene, which is like something from Eyeroll Incorporated. <b>Reed</b> tries to convince us Miss Ainslie's feelings toward Carl are purely maternal, but I was not getting a mother-son vibe from those two. Nope.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3GHA2QJlIgciE7fjlgSXMY2KsTPo9Ok0eec2pfRUDZfAr-wI_WYTiiGj9n7SALEPgB9LxihTEMZb_baIMK9t8NhA2qnSpzBkD250BEDdk3q6FTs-COCKHDuFZJqdPmam4fO8-34h_x00/s1600/Awkward-Glee.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="awkward gif" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV3GHA2QJlIgciE7fjlgSXMY2KsTPo9Ok0eec2pfRUDZfAr-wI_WYTiiGj9n7SALEPgB9LxihTEMZb_baIMK9t8NhA2qnSpzBkD250BEDdk3q6FTs-COCKHDuFZJqdPmam4fO8-34h_x00/s1600/Awkward-Glee.gif" height="179" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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Basically, by the end of <i><b>Lavender and Old Lace</b></i> I was fairly annoyed and a bit creeped out. It's not a bad novel–if I was a young girl I might have even found it credibly romantic. But then I wouldn't really recommend a young girl read it either, so. There are a lot of better books about spinsters out there, in my experience.<br />
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PS–I think the person who wrote the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavender_and_Old_Lace" target="_blank">Wikipedia page for <i><b>Lavender and Old Lace</b></i></a> is a fangrl/boi:<br />
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It tells the story of some remarkable women, each of whom has a unique experience with love. The book follows in Reed’s long history of inciting laughter and tears in her readers through provocative prose.</blockquote>
Yeahhhhhhhhh. Decline to comment.<br />
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Download <b><i>Lavender and Old Lace</i> by Myrtle Reed</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1266" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/lavender-and-old-lace-by-myrtle-reed/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-42671722138567073542015-01-19T07:09:00.000-07:002015-01-19T07:14:57.589-07:00Memoirs of Harriette Wilson by Harriette Wilson<a href="http://draft.blogger.com/http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1177015186l/674554.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover" src="http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1177015186l/674554.jpg" height="200" width="126" /></a>
<b>Original Publication Date</b>:1825<br />
<b>Genre</b>:memoirs<br />
<b>Topics</b>:mores, prostitution, social convenances, love,<br />
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<b>I am not going to include any synopsis here because it doesn’t make sense. How to summarize memoirs? One of the most famous ladies of ill repute of the Regency London (the beginning of the 19th century) tells you about some moments in her life. You can easily guess what they are about: beaux, lovers, friends, ennemies, prospective lovers, famous lovers, money, aquaintances, their children and lovers etc., etc. Mind you no sex. If you expect lurid descriptions of different kinky boudoir activities this is not a book for you. Try Fanny Hill instead ;p</b><br />
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The memoirs initially were published by Stockdale (1825) because Harriette found herself in dire straits (read: broke and without any reliable source of a steady income in a form of a rich protector) . Harriette was writing her memoirs a chapter at a time while she was living in Paris and sending them across the Channel. They quickly attracted crowds ten rows deep outside the bookshop. The work could perhaps be described the best as being among the first “kiss ‘n’ tell” serialised memoirs, later to become celebrated in tabloid newspapers in the 20th century. She was well ahead of her times!
Still you should keep in mind one important fact: before publication, Stockdale and Wilson wrote to all her lovers and clients named in the book, including Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and the hero of the Battle of Waterloo, and Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, offering them the opportunity to be excluded from the work in exchange for a cash payment. Wellington famously responded with “Publish and be damned!”, a four-word exclamation that subsequently entered the English language as a household term but it is said many others paid.<br />
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I also couldn’t help but notice that Harriette tried her best to exonerate herself and her beloved sibling, Fanny, from any blame related to the way they lived and financed their existence, including plenty of tear-jerking scenes showing great, noble charity acts, sense of humour and overall superior tastes of the Wilson sisters. What a pity they sounded a bit false even if they were completely true; you really cannot and shouldn’t be a judge in your own case. I don’t doubt that many aristocrats treated women like Harriette abominably, especially when their little dalliances were over and they tried to cut losses in every way possible. Still praising your own magnanimous generosity while exposing this or that lord or duke’s avarice make you actually less, not more credible and noble, at least in my eyes.<br />
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All the flaws notwithstanding, this is one of books I believe every contemporary Regency romance writer treating their work seriously should read and know practically by heart. When I come to think about it I suppose the publishers should examine every prospective Regency romance author in Memoirs of Harriette Wilson. While reading it at least two-three good plot ideas crossed my mind and such details like clothes and language were simply splendidly done and small wonder, the good lady was living then and there after all.<br />
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I loved her opinion about Duke Wellington and Lord Byron. I was a bit bored by too numerous descriptions of parties, opera outings, different quirks of lord-this and lord-that and such. It was painfully clear that a good editor would have improved this book beyond belief. Some fragments were good – witty, intelligent, interesting – but some were just unnecessary or too maudlin for my liking. Still I read on and on, comparing the memoirs all the time to the reality created by Wilson’s contemporary, Jane Austen. I do wonder whether both ladies would speak with each other or shake hands at all. I wish they would.<br />
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<b>Final verdict:</b><br />
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An interesting non-fiction position and a historical source but with dubious credentials. Still the contemporaries spoke very highly of Wilson’s memoirs so why shouldn’t we? If you like Regency England and you want to glimpse a posh London society, so different from quiet, rural, close-knit communities described by Jane Austen, you’ll forgive this book many sins and tedious fragments. I believe you might also understand some of less pleasant Austen characters, like Maria Bertram or Mary Crawford, better.<br />
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<b>Review by </b>:Anachronist<br />
Download <b><i>Memoirs of Harriette Wilson</i> by Harriette Wilson</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43617">Project Gutenberg</a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Anachronisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10398058819007642332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-64531805278989070622015-01-18T08:00:00.000-07:002015-01-18T08:00:01.397-07:00Review: THE GHOST, A MODERN FANTASY by Arnold Bennett<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jI2Cqzp6jzeizryQhGDQrGTVFhGaCTNYtEHsPpRhYpQbi0FJoJDuyCRvcQUuDwVSSEyWb-Vov1RHLhhriDPJtjqDzHQAxKx7j3Qgmi1eS4wqXHh6PUYtbFvU09DH9JYqi10ama5LjbV6/s1600/the+ghost+a+modern+fantasy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover the ghost a modern fantasy" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6jI2Cqzp6jzeizryQhGDQrGTVFhGaCTNYtEHsPpRhYpQbi0FJoJDuyCRvcQUuDwVSSEyWb-Vov1RHLhhriDPJtjqDzHQAxKx7j3Qgmi1eS4wqXHh6PUYtbFvU09DH9JYqi10ama5LjbV6/s1600/the+ghost+a+modern+fantasy.jpg" height="320" title="" width="221" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1907<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: Gothic<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Love, opera, coming of age, ghosts<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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Newly minted doctor of medicine, Carl Foster, visits a long-lost cousin who just happens to be friends with the owner of an opera house. While Carl and his cousin and his cousin's wife are enjoying an opera starring two of the greatest opera singers in the world–Signor Alresca and Rosetta Rosa–the <i>primo uomo</i>, Alresca, suffers a mysterious accident on stage and Carl is called on to care for him. As Alresca recovers, it becomes apparent that his malady is tied somehow to Rosa. Will Carl be able to save Alresca–and himself, now that he's fallen in love with Rosa?<br />
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<i><b>The Ghost</b></i> is another random Librivox find. It's a bit like <i><a href="http://projectgutenbergproject.blogspot.com/2013/03/thoughts-phantom-of-opera-by-gaston.html">Phantom of the Opera</a></i> Lite: it's not as fun and delicious with the drama, but it's in the same wheelhouse. As a pure entertainment read, it was enjoyable, although the ending with the "ghost" part was seriously anticlimactic.<br />
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Our narrator, Carl, is a tough character not to like. When the story starts he's not very confident and, as we're reminded frequently, very young. The latter's an important point because it's the excuse for every stupid thing he does during the course of the novel. He's not TSTL, but after awhile one does start to notice a pattern with these things. Even so, he's smart enough and not judgmental or egotistical. Plus, he doesn't go into freak out mode when confronted with the strange and unusual–a useful skill to have in this book.<br />
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Then there's the glamorous world of the opera, which <b>Arnold Bennett</b> uses to infuse the story with a sense of mystery and danger. Opera also provides a great excuse for Carl to travel all over Europe, from Bruges to Paris to London to Italy. I think the traveling around and opera scenes were my favorite part of the book.<br />
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As for the female characters, I found them well-drawn with their own motivations. Not that <i><b>The Ghost</b></i> would pass the Bechdel Test or anything, but there is more than one female character. Huzzah! Naturally the star of the show (both literally and figuratively) is Rosa, who OF COURSE is a gorgeous, misunderstood <i>prima donna</i> with a captivating voice. I actually didn't find her that annoying, but the woman is obviously Bad News. Trouble follows her around like the worst cold in the history of mankind. First Alresca tumbles off the stage, then there's his long-running illness, train accidents, boat accidents, poisonings, etc. Danger, danger Will Robinson.<br />
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I also thought Rosa falling in love with Carl was a little too convenient–I mean, I get why Carl, an opera fanboi, would fall for a beautiful opera singer with the voice of an angel, but what's the appeal for her? She's used to hanging out with international men of mystery, which Carl is definitely not. Their relationship was the most obvious deus ex machina in the book.<br />
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Aside from that, though, I was really enjoying <i><b>The Ghost</b></i> until the last couple of chapters, when the eponymous ghost finally came to the forefront of the story instead of just lurking in the background menacingly. I wanted–and expected–something super creepy and scary. I didn't get it. The ghost, its so-called powers, and the manner in which it was got rid of were really lame and predictable. The conversation at the very end between Carl and Rosa was just odd.<br />
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That being said, for the most part I did like <i><b>The Ghost</b></i>. I'm glad I read it, even though I'll probably never reread it. Definitely a book for people who enjoy pulpy, vaguely gothic, old-timey novels with a bit of romance.<br />
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Download <b><i>The Ghost, A Modern Fantasy</i> by Arnold Bennett</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17176" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-ghost-a-modern-fantasy-by-arnold-bennett/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-62621676755265243272015-01-16T14:35:00.000-07:002015-01-16T14:37:52.378-07:00Review: The Diary of a Nobody - Weedon Grossmith and George Grossmith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif87LE5hlXrz6gvqC_mjTVXIhFyMl8xrhCzrjHCIJXpccXKPoHQSQm1jnSH6UDQP5gF8WmCqXfFbbuhiZxYpfWvHeoinybDmo5goOn9MDfCCQoitynRRrpFieoFOIBhWERXpGmZ9-RsYWX/s1600/book235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif87LE5hlXrz6gvqC_mjTVXIhFyMl8xrhCzrjHCIJXpccXKPoHQSQm1jnSH6UDQP5gF8WmCqXfFbbuhiZxYpfWvHeoinybDmo5goOn9MDfCCQoitynRRrpFieoFOIBhWERXpGmZ9-RsYWX/s1600/book235.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></div>
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<b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1888
<b>Genre</b>: Victorian, fiction, humorous
<b>Topics</b>:
Suburbia, middle-class, London
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<b>Review by</b>: Liz Inskip-Paulk (<a href="http://www.ravingreader.workpress.com/">www.ravingreader.workpress.com</a>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">"Why should I not publish my diary? I have
often seen reminiscences of people I have never even heard of, and I fail to
see—because I do not happen to be a 'Somebody'—why my diary should not be
interesting."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although this was a reread, it was a reread from A Long Time
Ago and so it ended up being more or less a New Read in the end. And this was
fine, as I loved this book. I know it was written in the late Victorian era,
but it was so funny that I burst out laughing at times which led to some
strange looks when I was on the elliptical at the gym. I couldn’t help myself
though, and TBH, it was that funny to me that I can neither confirm nor deny
that snorting out loud did occur in public.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaXjz5hwLbblxxvsrfKFAz33ETbh03mqpzYU_MEfeeQCd0wKznoMT4c159xGDWVrzXnhaS34To6_9bcx8EzYtRcWQqa4Cr9ptUYXfuzJqV4aNhBJdwAih1qFo6PJzRAFyjIn1MpN-a3Hh/s1600/Laurels-house.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaXjz5hwLbblxxvsrfKFAz33ETbh03mqpzYU_MEfeeQCd0wKznoMT4c159xGDWVrzXnhaS34To6_9bcx8EzYtRcWQqa4Cr9ptUYXfuzJqV4aNhBJdwAih1qFo6PJzRAFyjIn1MpN-a3Hh/s1600/Laurels-house.gif" height="200" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Laurels - where the Pooter family reside.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is a
fictional diary of a lower middle-class man living on the outskirts of London,
married with a grown-up son and a wife who loves him despite his flaws. (He
doesn’t acknowledge these flaws though…) Charles Pooter is the diarist, and he
lives a modest existence as a city clerk in an office where he’s been working
for the past 20 years without much professional recognition, and he begins
journaling as he secretly thinks that someone somewhere will publish his diary
for its literary worth. He’s a nice guy, basically, but has some insufferable
snobbish airs which stem only from his own personal social insecurity and not
from malice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adult son William (and then later called Lupin) is rather a
gadabout creature who drinks, gambles and makes somewhat brash decisions, but
who receives the general adoration from his parents (which becomes somewhat
tempered after Lupin movies in to his childhood home due to losing his job).
Wife Carrie is portrayed as a sweet Victorian wife, but readers can see (through
Mr. Pooter’s diary descriptions) that perhaps she is not quite as quiet and
adoring of her husband as he writes. It’s all very farcical, but done in such a
way that it’s fresh and still very very funny in parts. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mr. Pooter’s diary chronicles about 15 months of his life
and details his thinking about his life in London as a clerk and the sometimes
hilarious social misfortunes that occur to him, typical things that happen to
anyone but which, when they happen to Mr. Pooter, can completely shape his day
and how he sees it. It’s a little bit like reading Basil Fawlty’s diary (if you
remember that TV series). He does his best, but things consistently go wrong
for him. Despite this, his family still loves him all the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxgSaXlh34Fuzs68npFvlAnOfAyzUfvltHyqYCw7eMRYdFhVSmH5uZXRY1CvtLRXdwdOii9X6wz-twdbTw-ms3Qyj9wiDSW4FKtXADDLIWBuTRQFI1I5sZP-JL-UmUIjKVPfG2KbgHENQ/s1600/Weedon-and-George_right_-Grossmith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTxgSaXlh34Fuzs68npFvlAnOfAyzUfvltHyqYCw7eMRYdFhVSmH5uZXRY1CvtLRXdwdOii9X6wz-twdbTw-ms3Qyj9wiDSW4FKtXADDLIWBuTRQFI1I5sZP-JL-UmUIjKVPfG2KbgHENQ/s1600/Weedon-and-George_right_-Grossmith.jpg" height="140" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George (right) and Weedon Grossmith</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Written by
brothers and stage performers, Weedon and George Grossmith, this book was first
published as a series of excerpts in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Punch</i>,
and was popular precisely it skewered most of the typical routines of its
audience and the increasing social expectations of a booming lower-middle and
middle class. However, it wasn’t an instant hit, but its popularity grew over
time and since it was first published, this title has never been out of print.
It’s also been the influence of other fictional diaries that have since been published:
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Diary of Adrian Mole</i> series (by Sue
Townsend), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bridget Jones’ Diary</i>
series (by Helen Fielding) and in other media forms, there’s a clear influence
of Mr. Pooter’s ilk on TV shows such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fawlty
Towers</i>. Interestingly enough, Hugh Bonneville (who plays Lord Grantham in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Downton Abbey</i>) was given rave reviews
for his time as Mr. Pooter in a 2007 BBC dramatization on BBC Four. I wonder if
that’s available on-line somewhere… I’ll check in the future.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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Download <b><i>The Diary of a Nobody</i> by Weedon Grossmith and George Grossmith</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1026" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/the-diary-of-a-nobody-by-george-weedon-grossmith/" target="_blank">Librivox</a>|</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>lemonhead1http://www.blogger.com/profile/06598963645857599346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-85143086736228608832014-12-28T05:00:00.000-07:002014-12-28T05:00:01.055-07:00Review: CHIP OF THE FLYING U by BM Bower<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBLZkBdQ10ajEDofcg_XCo39CHtMAZW7stNoVQKt5igsTyt33GlkrGIvi6UH7KkiInJ-nYHdODgLMoGxBMdJUzXA_kAO4hsrq6HKjpWdDP4gk87oWLubM0vQomNijIkVp2EcxI3Z8ixZ8/s1600/chip+of+the+flying+u.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="book cover" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzBLZkBdQ10ajEDofcg_XCo39CHtMAZW7stNoVQKt5igsTyt33GlkrGIvi6UH7KkiInJ-nYHdODgLMoGxBMdJUzXA_kAO4hsrq6HKjpWdDP4gk87oWLubM0vQomNijIkVp2EcxI3Z8ixZ8/s1600/chip+of+the+flying+u.jpg" height="400" width="275" /></a> <b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1906<br />
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<b>Genre</b>: western<br />
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<b>Topics</b>: Love, belonging, nature, art<br />
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<b>Review by heidenkind</b>:<br />
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When Della Whittemore moves to her brother's Montana ranch, The Flying U, Chip and the rest of the hands aren't expecting much. Chip specifically predicts she'll either be a prissy “sweet young thing”, an annoying cowgirl, or an old maid who wants to drag him to church. But Della immediately surprises him and earns the respect of Chip and the other ranch hands with her quick wit and easy-going nature. Now all that's left is for Chip to man up and admit his feelings for her.<br />
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I tend to avoid westerns. I read one Louis L'Amour when I was a kid, and the only thing I remember about it is that it was distinctly unmemorable. There are hardly ever any women in westerns, either, and when they are in them they demonstrate an alarming tendency to be kidnapped by Indians. It's just not my thing. But when I asked for romance novel rec's in Melody's <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/redeeming-qualities" target="_blank">Public Domain Google Group</a>, <b><i>Chip of the Flying U</i></b> came highly recommended and I decided to give it the barest briefest hint of a try, just in case it didn't suck. Well, it absolutely didn't–<i><b>Chip of the Flying U</b></i> grabbed me in the first chapter. It was so much fun that I slowed down reading it when I got near the end, to drag the story out as long as possible.<br />
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First of all, <b>BM Bower</b> is a really good writer. She's very much with the show-and-not-tell. For example, by the end of the first chapter we know The Flying U ranch hands have a deep appreciation of irony. Shorty's not short and Happy Jack is morose–something's that inferred through dialog, not exposition.<br />
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And speaking of the ranch hands, the real strength of <i><b>Chip of the Flying U</b></i> are the quirky western characters, like JG Whittemore's housekeeper, the Countess, who constantly speaks in aphorisms; the pretentious Dunk; and of course the "Little Doctor" herself, Della.<br />
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But my favorite character is Chip! He's so well-drawn and layered: a combination of smart, snarky, defensive, and sensitive that's absolutely irresistible. But most of all I loved the fact that he's clearly based off the famous painter, "the cowboy genius" Charles M. Russell. Let's do a quick comparison, shall we?<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Chip has no formal art training and has always enjoyed sketching. Ditto Charlie Russell.</li>
<li>Chip's paintings are based on his life as a ranch hand in Montana. Charlie Russell's paintings were based on his life as a cowboy in Montana.</li>
<li>The first painting by Chip that captures public acclaim is titled "The Last Stand," which shows, "A poor, half-starved range cow with her calf which the round-up had overlooked in the fall, stood at bay against a steep cut [snow]bank. Before them squatted five great, gaunt wolves intent upon fresh beef for their supper." The first work by Charlie Russell that captured public attention was "<a href="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2150/2113686472_688ed70d8b.jpg" target="_blank">Waiting for a Chinook</a>," which shows an emaciated cow in the snow surrounded by hungry wolves. In both cases, the painting was of something the artist saw himself.</li>
<li>Chip's nickname before he came to The Flying U was Kid. Russell's nickname when he was a cowboy was Kid Russell.</li>
<li>Chip signs his work with a "brand," or glyph, and his name. Russell famously signed his work with a <a href="http://www.cartermuseum.org/sites/all/files/styles/artwork_full/public/images/1961-268_s_0.jpg?itok=CIczk40i" target="_blank">buffalo head brand</a> and either his initials or his name.</li>
<li>Finally, it's Della who pushes Chip to show others his work and sell his paintings because she believes in his talent. Likewise, it was <a href="http://montanawomenshistory.org/behind-every-man-nancy-cooper-russell/" target="_blank">Russell's wife, Nancy</a>, who pushed Russell to charge high prices for his work and managed his career. "[S]uccess came tapping at the [Russells’] door or, rather, Nancy dragged success in, hog-tied and branded," the Russells' nephew once said.</li>
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So that was fun! But even without those references, <i><b>Chip of the Flying U</b></i> was a really good read. It can be classified as a romance–and the relationship arc between Chip and Della is really well-done–but it's more of a coming of age story for both the main characters. Della grows into her role as a doctor and Chip discovers his true talent. In between, there are round-ups, western dances, ranch hijinks, and a horse named Silver is saved.<br />
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I definitely recommend <i><b>Chip of the Flying U</b></i> if you're in the mood for a fast, entertaining, and well-written read.<br />
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Download <b><i>Chip of the Flying U</i> by BM Bower</b> at <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/9267" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>|<a href="https://librivox.org/chip-of-the-flying-u-by-b-m-bower/" target="_blank">Librivox</a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>Heidenkindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09494625457587427781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3237742826750553477.post-75598471073187987382014-12-12T15:00:00.001-07:002014-12-12T15:00:25.357-07:00Review: The Ladies' Paradise - Emile Zola<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihd1hf3EdXKTHGXrQTZHYblOTG1HN7dcwEgp1aevj_CNcD7Jhdj-71vvaYfdVT0fe5WTLcXhivJ5CO5T5nQcduYsYnQTDfKnZ0RLIZGEoQ4PAKQQTusJ22jrLu8O1pMs4EH4ct9F0eCgqV/s1600/book323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihd1hf3EdXKTHGXrQTZHYblOTG1HN7dcwEgp1aevj_CNcD7Jhdj-71vvaYfdVT0fe5WTLcXhivJ5CO5T5nQcduYsYnQTDfKnZ0RLIZGEoQ4PAKQQTusJ22jrLu8O1pMs4EH4ct9F0eCgqV/s1600/book323.jpg" height="320" width="210" /></a><b>Original Publication Date</b>: 1883
<b>Genre</b>:
Nineteenth Century Literature
<b>Topics</b>:
Human behavior, love, shopping (!) <br />
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<b>Review by </b>:
Liz Inskip-Paulk (<a href="http://www.ravingreader.wordpress.com/">www.ravingreader.wordpress.com</a>)
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As we’ve been enjoying the PBS Masterpiece series on Sundays
featuring “The Paradise”, I picked up Zola’s book upon which this series was
based. (To be honest, when I first started reading the original version, it
became pretty confusing as there are some significant differences between the
book and the TV version [<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">naturellement</i>],
but with the names kept the same… I got it sorted out after a bit, but at
first, it was really perplexing.) In the end, I decided that the TV series
based was based only slightly on the original – there were loads of differences
from one to the other, but both are good in different ways.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qdSDVdKPhKE9IrJETGUdkqKfoeD73iys0PfrhZ1BWzu9UV1Jh6Ql-c66lQaohr-MT2xDSlujeiy2ByoKSWbLD_mkYvAy06vUq0Lss3GmR4k7lGDlHMLWC5d-FL8aSIoQTKk5C7lPXOr0/s1600/zola.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qdSDVdKPhKE9IrJETGUdkqKfoeD73iys0PfrhZ1BWzu9UV1Jh6Ql-c66lQaohr-MT2xDSlujeiy2ByoKSWbLD_mkYvAy06vUq0Lss3GmR4k7lGDlHMLWC5d-FL8aSIoQTKk5C7lPXOr0/s1600/zola.jpg" height="200" width="143" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This book is a long multi-volume series that Zola wrote
about a family (and its offshoots) as it goes through generations in France in
the mid-nineteenth century. (However, this volume works well as a good
stand-alone story as I hadn’t read any of the original set prior to this.) The
plot revolves around a large department store in Paris, and was based on the
real Bon Marche store, one of the first department stores in real life at that
time. (Previously, most stores only specialized in one thing: umbrellas, bread,
tailoring, milliner, butcher etc.) When the Industrial Revolution arrived, it
led to factories mass-producing cheaper goods which also contributed to the
downfall of these very small shops. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As the book progresses, The Ladies’ Paradise as (the
department store is named) is growing with Mouret, the young manager at its
helm. Alongside him are his employees, his suppliers, and of course his
customers, all of whom intersect and around whom the story evolves. Mouret is
deeply ambitious and wants to grow his business as to be as big and successful
as he possibly can, often putting business before other considerations
(including his love life). In fact, business to Mouret is seen through a
parallel lens as others viewed religion:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">His creation was producing a new religion; churches…were
being deserted by those of wavering faith, were being replaced by his bazaar…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mouret often espouses his goal of using his business to
reach the end result of “owning Woman” through his strategy of selling almost
every product possible that “Woman” would want. This huge selection of wares
attracts all classes of women from around Paris and afar, and via the old
theory of Supply and Demand, Mouret takes their money whilst still leaving them
wanting for more. Perhaps not the newest idea nowadays, but back then, it was
legendary and new and this was the first time that the city had seen all these
things available for sale under one roof. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Along with Mouret’s desire to be a very successful
businessman, his other desire is for women and in particular, one specific
woman – Denise Baudu. But can his money and business acumen convince her to
love him back?.... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Zola was a writer (and the self-proclaimed leader) of the
Naturalist school of thought which was all about writing very clearly and
realistically about social problems facing people who lived in the city:
poverty, slums, filth, sickness… Zola really saw his writing as a focus to
bring attention to problems that the typical reader would rather not look at –
a verbal written documentary of a kind, you might say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Despite this serious tone, the plot rattles along with the
speed of the train and with the machinations of a soap opera and, if I’m
honest, there are places which are terribly overwritten at times. Despite this,
the writing seems to work as it could be argued to reflect the gilded
extravagance of the shop and the idea of over-the-top luxury it sells as needs
to its customers. The description of the store as it grows over time are
gloriously detailed (reminded me of Dickens’ writing at times), and, when
combined with the drama of the store stuff and that of the local neighborhood inhabitants,
makes a very rich story indeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So, in case you haven’t picked this up so far, I really
enjoyed this read. As mentioned before, this volume is part of a huge long
series, but as I’m not a series kinda person for most of the time, that’s not
for me. However, I would pick up another stand-alone volume by Zola at some
point in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One note: there was a character in this volume called Madame
DesFarges which I found *slightly* confusing as the Mme. Desfarges that I kept
seeing in my head was the rebellious she from Dicken’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tale of Two Cities</i> (1859). Zola’s was written in 1883 so he must
have been aware of this character.<span style="background: yellow; mso-highlight: yellow;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1789 – French Revolution with storming of the Bastille<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1789 – Queen Marie Antoinette gets guillotine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1803 – France sold Louisiana to USA <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1804 – Napoleon comes to power <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1815 – Battle of Waterloo (marks the start of almost 50
years of peace throughout Europe as there had been loads of wars all over the
place up until this point)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1815<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Napoleon sent
to exile; King Louis XVII comes to power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1831 -<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>First clearly
defined worker uprising of Industrial Revolution<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1848 – French revolution against monarchy </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Louis Napoleon
Bonaparte starts as President of French Republic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1851 – Louis Napoleon Bonaparte becomes dictator<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1863-56 – Crimean War (France and Britain against Russa)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1870 – Franco-Prussian War (start of ongoing war with Russia
for ages). Paris captured by Prussian forces </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
Napoleon outed and goes into exile. Much general unrest due to Republicanism
vs. Monarchism parties.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1871 – Riots in Paris streets over resentment against
right-wing government </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
new President (Adolphe Tiers).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1883 – This was when The Ladies Paradise was published. Zola
was politically liberal which led him to be against the tough right-wing
government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Download The Ladies' Paradise<b> by Emile Zola</b> at <a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks14/1400561h.html" target="_blank">Project Gutenberg</a>/Unavailable at Librivox.<div class="blogger-post-footer">This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license. </div>lemonhead1http://www.blogger.com/profile/06598963645857599346noreply@blogger.com