The Secret History by Donna Tartt

About a month ago I decided to re-start posting to my blog. I knew I wanted to start with this book.  I read her book The Goldfinch sometime in the last year and was blown away (it did win the Pulitzer Prize).  Immediately after I finished it I put her other two books on my paperbackswap.com wish list.  I quickly received The Little Friend and while I thought it was very good, it wasn’t quite at The Goldfinch level. 

I’m one of those people which looks at every list of books I come across, just to make sure I’m not missing something wonderful.  Every time I saw a list of the top books of the last century, The Secret History was on it. Ok, I’m getting more and more eager to read it. I finally received it a few weeks ago. I was flummoxed that it was a “mass-market paperback” (you know…the kind you can buy in the grocery store).  I was under the impression that nothing worth reading could be found between the covers of a mass-market paperback!  (Ok, that statement is probably about a 3 on the sarcasm meter, but I will admit that I am a bit of a book snob!)  I decided to read it anyway, all those lists could not be that wrong.

Book synopsis from back cover of the book:  “Richard Papen had never been to New England before his nineteenth year. Then he arrived at Hampden College and quickly became seduced by the sweet, dark rhythms of campus life—in particular by an elite group of five students, Greek scholars, worldly, self-assured, and at first glance, highly unapproachable.

Yet as Richard was accepted and drawn into their inner circle, he learned a terrifying secret that bound them to one another…a secret about an incident in the woods in the dead of night where an ancient rite was brought to brutal life…and led to a gruesome death. And that was just the beginning…”

This is not really a “whodunit”, we know who from the beginning, but a “whydunit”. It is thoroughly gripping and lyrical.  The characters are believable and enchanting. It is interesting to me that all the main characters come from a somewhat dysfunctional family, but then again, maybe they needed that in order to believe that they did what they did.  So many questions! Someone read this book so I can discuss it with you!

Mormon Mention: At one point two of the main characters go far into town where the locals are not used to the students showing up there.  They two young men (dressed in suits and ties) are sitting at the bar drinking some kind of alcohol when the waitress mistakes them for Mormon missionaries and comments on them drinking, saying something like, “Huh, they let you guys drink now? I thought you couldn’t even drink coffee.”

Cross Currents by John Shors

Thailand's pristine Ko Phi Phi island attracts tourists from around the world. There, struggling to make ends meet, small-resort owners Lek and Sarai are happy to give an American named Patch room and board in exchange for his help. But when Patch's brother, Ryan, arrives, accompanied by his girlfriend, Brooke, Lek learns that Patch is running from the law, and his presence puts Lek's family at risk. Meanwhile, Brooke begins to doubt her love for Ryan while her feelings for Patch blossom.

In a landscape where nature's bounty seems endless, these two families are swept up in an approaching cataclysm that will require all their strength of heart and soul to survive. 

John Shors, brilliant author that he is, tells us at the beginning of this novel that it is about the 2004 “Christmas Tsunami” which devastated parts of Indonesia and this little Island off Thailand.  Two waves hit Ko Phi Phi, and met in the middle of the island pulling buildings and people out to sea, killing nearly one-third of the population of the Island. 

I read this book in almost one sitting. As you read and become invested in these people, in the back of your mind you know the tsunami is coming and you wonder who will survive.  You can’t stand the thoughts of losing any of these wonderful people, but you have to keep reading to find out what happens.  You can’t help love Lek and Sarai and their children and Patch, the American.  This is one not to be missed.

5 stars (PG-13 Brief sex scenes)

The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene

May 1940. Fleeing a glamorous Manhattan life built on lies, Claire Harris arrives in Paris with a romantic vision of starting anew. But she didn't anticipate the sight of Nazi soldiers marching under the Arc de Triomphe. Her plans smashed by the German occupation, the once- privileged socialite's only option is to take a job in a flower shop under the tutelage of a sophisticated Parisian florist.

In exchange for false identity papers, Claire agrees to aid the French Resistance. Despite the ever-present danger, she comes to love the enduring beauty of the City of Light, exploring it in the company of Thomas Grey, a mysterious Englishman working with the Resistance. Claire's bravery and intelligence make her a valuable operative, and slowly her values shift as she witnesses the courageous spirit of the Parisians.

But deception and betrayal force her to flee once again-this time to fight for the man she loves and what she knows is right-praying she has the heart and determination to survive long enough to one day see Paris again.

This is a stunning debut novel from Lynn Sheene. I can’t wait to see what she does next!  I devoured the last half of this book.  She does a great job developing characters that we love and care about.  Claire’s character changes and grows and we grow along with her and cheer for her. 

4 stars (Rated R – War violence and sex scenes)

The Saint of Lost Things by Christopher Castellani

This is the second book of a trilogy.  I did not know that until after I read the third book “All This Talk of Love”.  The first book is “A Kiss from Maddalena”.  It would have been better to read them in the correct order. I had to go back and thumb through “All This Talk of Love” after reading this book just to check a few things out.  “The Saint of Lost Things” takes place about seven years after “A Kiss from Maddalena", while “All This Talk of Love” is 50 years after “A Kiss from Maddalena". 

It has been seven years since Maddalena left her small town of St. Ceclia in Italy.  She is disturbed that she and Antonio have not been able to have a child. Antonio is obsessed with the American Dream, a home of their own, a Cadillac in the driveway and their own restaurant to make them rich.  Castellani takes us on a journey with them and their family and neighbors. He has a way of moving a story forward through flashbacks that is enjoyable and very readable.

4 stars (Rated PG – nothing too objectionable)

The Olive Farm by Carol Drinkwater

Carol Drinkwater is the British actress who played Helen in the BBC series “All Creatures Great and Small”.  This book is her story.  She fell in love with a French man, Michel, and they bought an olive farm in the south of France. 

The farm is situated in the foothills just outside of Cannes, were I spent a few months during my mission. Because of this, my review of this book may be a little prejudiced to area.  Needless to say, she has a wonderful, entertaining voice. Their tale of scraping together the money to buy this place, swimming through the paperwork of the French bureaucracy, finding honest workers to help them, dealing with the slow-paced life in Provence is delightful and enjoyable to read.  She tells their story with wit and enthusiasm.

Her descriptions of the island of Ste. Marguerite (just off the coast of Cannes) almost brought me to tears as I spent a magical day there myself. Even her images of the city of Cannes were delightful and invoked many memories. 

I believe anyone would love this book, but it was extra special to me.

5 Stars (Rated PG, she writes her cuss words as sh**, loved it!)

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Written in the mid 1800’s the book takes place in 1600’s Puritan Boston. Hester Prynne, having come to America several years prior without her husband, is being publically punished for having a child from an adulterous relationship.  She is forced to wear an “A” on her breast to mark her sin, among other punishments.  She refuses to name the man, who we quickly ascertain is the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.  Also at the scene is Hester’s long-lost husband in disguise as Roger Chillingworth. He procures a promise from Hester not to reveal his true identity and quickly begins a mission to uncover the identity of her partner and wreck revenge upon him.

Through the years, the child, Pearl, grows into an unusual, “impish sprite” and Hester begins to find her way in a shunning society as a seamstress.  Hester adorns her “A” with gold thread and much ornate embroidery. (In my book club discussion we liked to say she “bedazzled” it.)  Dimmesdale punishes himself for his sin and becomes physically ill. Roger Chillingworth, a self-educated, intelligent man, re-invents himself as a doctor and moves in with Dimmesdale in order to treat his illness.  Chillingworth quickly figures out that Dimmesdale was Hester’s illicit partner and set about to ruin mental and physical well-being.

This book of classic literature is rife with symbolism, foreshadowing, and lectures on morality.  Hester’s character confused and delighted me.  I was confused as to why she would allow both of the men in her life to remain in secret while she is so openly reviled.  However, her in-your-face independence with her “bedazzled A” and making her own way in a male-dominated society, made me stand up and cheer.

There is also quite a message of true repentance.  One can see Hester’s peace of mind from having her sin out in the open and taking her punishment with humility versus the agony that Dimmesdale endures while hiding his sin. And then there is Chillingworth and his own brand of evil; he becomes a grizzled old man, showing us that Satan does not support his minions.

All of that being said, you must ‘get into the lingo’ of Hawthorne.  There were times when I would float back up to present day and find the book so melodramatic that I would get the giggles. Hester’s soliloquy in the forest would make a great piece for high-school drama class.  All in all, a “must-read” for any literature aficionado.

4 Stars (Rated PG for adult themes)

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

A devoted city dweller, Cornelia Brown surprised no one more than herself when she was gripped by the sudden, inescapable desire to leave urban life behind and head for an idyllic suburb. Though she knows she and her beloved husband, Teo, have made the right move, she approaches her new life with trepidation and struggles to forge friendships in her new home. Cornelia's mettle is quickly tested by judgmental neighbor Piper Truitt. Perfectly manicured, impeccably dressed, and possessing impossible standards, Piper is the embodiment of everything Cornelia feared she would find in suburbia. A saving grace soon appears in the form of Lake. Over a shared love of literature and old movies, Cornelia develops an instant bond with this warm yet elusive woman who has also recently arrived in town, ostensibly to send her perceptive and brilliant son, Dev, to a school for the gifted.

Marisa de los Santos is a genius in developing characters which we love and cheer for.  The story is told in the voices of Cornelia, Piper and Dev and by the end of the book you feel that they have become your close friend and you are truly rooting for them. She portrays what is means to "belong" to another person. The book is gripping…I dare you to read 50 pages and then be able to walk away and leave it.

5 Stars (Rated PG-13 for brief sex and language)

All This Talk of Love by Christopher Castellini

I received this as an advance copy from LibraryThing.com. This is a continuation of the story Castellini told in “A Kiss From Maddalena”.  I think you could read this book without having read the prior one; however you will appreciate this book more if you have read it.

Fifty years ago, Antonio went to Italy to find a wife and brought Maddalena back with him.  They have never been back to their small town of St. Ceclia and now their daughter is planning a trip for the whole family to visit the homeland. However; Maddalena refuses to go.

Beneath the surface this is a beautiful book about family loyalty, what we ‘owe’ each other and what we do FOR each other.  Charming, tender story. 

4 stars (some sex and language)

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

Mel’s confession: I love fashion.  I love watching “Project Runway”, I do not miss an episode. I love watching the creative process turn into beautiful garments.  If I had a different body and a different wallet I would have closets of beautiful, designer clothes. So that is why I was drawn to this book.

After years of working in the vintage clothes department of Sotheby’s Phoebe decides to open her own vintage clothing store. With her knowledge and love of couture she quickly becomes a hit with the women of London. 

In acquiring merchandise for her store she meets and befriends Therese, a lovely older French woman, who sells her many lovely, vintage pieces. But it is through the story of the little blue coat that Therese will not sell that helps Phoebe come to grips with her own past.

For chick lit, this book concentrates more on the story than the romance, which I appreciated. The description of the clothing was exquisite and made me wish there were pictures. The story of the “little blue coat” was a surprising and wonderful addition to the story.  I loved it!

4 stars (some sex and language)

Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

“There!” says Alice Hayward to Reverend Stephen Drew, after her baptism and before she goes home to be killed by her husband George, who then goes on to kill himself, leaving 15 year old Katie an orphan.  Stephen is puzzled by Alice’s cryptic response to her baptism in light of the event that ensued and suffers from a crisis of faith.

Enter, Heather Laurent, a famous author with books about angels.  She is drawn to Stephen and wants to try to help him with his crisis. Having suffered a childhood that mirrors Katie Hayward, she also tries to counsel her and help her through the mayhem in her life.

But then, the state’s attorney figures out that George Hayward may not have killed himself and that Alice was hiding secrets that only her Reverend knew…

The book is narrated in turn by Stephen Drew, the State’s Attorney, Heather Laurent and Katie Hayward.  Bohjalian does an excellent job of fine-tuning the story, it is almost as if he is turning a die each time the narrator changes and we see the story from a different facet. Even though I figured out “who did it” halfway through the book, there were still surprises at the end.  Really enjoyed it!

4 Stars (Rated PG-13; for some mild sex and a couple of F-bombs)

The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker

This book is a novel about an anthology of poetry. Paul Chowder is a “sometime-published” poet.  He is currently struggling to write an introduction to a collection of poetry featuring ‘rhyme’.  This could be dry and boring and “Oh-look-at-me,-see-how-much-I-know-about-poetry” kind of book.  But somehow, Mr. Baker makes it work.  There where just a few shorts passages that were dry and preachy.  For the most part this was delightful and highly enjoyable book.  And yes, I actually learned some things I did not know about poetry…like Iambic pentameter.  We all know that the ‘pentameter” part means 5 beats to the line, but did you know that “Iambic” refers to the manner of stressing the beginning of the line?

A few of my favorite lines:

“Let’s have a look at this poem. Here it is going down. You can tell it’s a poem because it’s swimming is a little gel pack of white-space.”

“Each one-syllable word becomes a heavy, blunt chunk of butter that is melted and baked into the pound cake of the line”

And this delightful passage:

“One time, I remember, I was in a laundromat. It was a laundromat in Marseilles, France. “Marseilles.” Do you hear that? It’s a mattress of a word, with a lot of spring to it. “Marseilles.” I was in there, doing my laundry, and I look over, and there’s this guy there, this little guy. He was kind of pale, pasty looking. But moving with a methodical grace. And I said, Ed? And he looked up slowly. He nodded, cavernously. I said Ed Poe? And he said, Mm-hm. And then he peered closely at me. He said, Paul? Paul Chowder? And I said, Yes. Ed! How are you doing? Been a long time. He nodded. I said, I see you’re folding some underpants there.

He said, Yes I am. Doing my laundry, You?

I said I’m doing my laundry, too. And I mean, if you’re going to do your laundry, this place is probably as good as or better than any place I can think of. Marseilles, France. Or “Fronce,” as we say.

And I said, Can I venture to ask how the poetry’s going?

He said, It’s going pretty well. I wrote a poem, and I got paid for it, and it was in the newspaper.

And I said, That’s fantastic. What’s it called?

And he said, It’s called “The Raven.”

And I said, Holy sh**, Ed, “The Raven.” Great title. What’s it about?

And he said, It’s about a man who has a visit from a raven.

And I said, That sounds really promising. What does the raven stand for? Death and fate and horror and government wiretapping an stuff like that? And he just looked at me. He wasn’t about to explicate his poem for me. Which I understand. And I said, Well listen, take care. I grabbed my bag if laundry. I said, It’s been great seeing you. Stay happy. And he said, You too, it’s good seeing you. We waved again. Take care, bye-bye. Watch out for the bid swinging blade. And I walked out the door of the laundromat. Off down the street. And that was the time that I ran into Edgar Allan Poe.”

If you love poetry, as I do, you will love this book.


4 Stars (Rated PG-13; for some (few) vulgarities and a few F-words)

Dragon House by John Shors

Iris Rhodes is a successful book review living in Chicago when she decides to give it all up to complete her father’s dream. Her seemingly distant father had been a soldier in the Vietnam War and went back to open a center for street children in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and was not able to complete it before his death.  At the pleading of his mother, Iris invites Noah, a man she remembers from childhood and a wounded Iraq war veteran to go with her.

Iris and Noah face their own demons and try to heal their wounds amid the innocence and beauty, the corruption and chaos of Vietnam.  Inspired by the street children she meets Iris walks in the footsteps of her father, a man whom Vietnam both shattered and saved.  Meanwhile, Noah slowly rediscovers himself by opening up to the love of others.

John Shors is a master storyteller. His prose are lyrical and bright, his characters well-developed and his plots engaging and exciting.  He writes about love and emotions as well as he writes action and adventure.  This book is a wonderful tale of redemption and the resilience of the human spirit.

 
5 Stars (Rated PG-13 for some violence)

Our Hearts Were Young and Gay: An Unforgettable Comic Chronicle of Innocents Abroad in the 1920’s by Cornelia Otis Skinner and Emily Kimbrough

None of Cornelia Otis Skinner's many accomplishments as actress or author came close to matching the phenomenal popularity of Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, which appeared in 1942 and went through more than twenty printings a total of more than two million copies. A collaboration with her former Bryn Mawr classmate Emily Kimbrough, the memoir charmingly and quite comically details the pair's youthful trip abroad two decades earlier, when they were almost out of their teens and on their own for the first time. From its very beginning, the flavor of the work is deliciously evident, as Emily surprises a naked man in his hotel room before the girls have even embarked. From Montreal to London to Paris, episode follows upon episode, absurdity upon absurdity: shipwreck in the Saint Lawrence River, an astonishingly funny game of deck tennis, Emily hitting a drowning man with a deck chair, Cornelia breaking out with the measles, both girls oblivious to the ill repute of the house in Dieppe where they found lodging one night with sightseeing and romantic yearnings coming in between.

This nostalgic and innocent book is a marvelous voyage, so bright with life and comedy and an air of happy coincidence that it's very hard to put down, and nearly impossible to forget.  DELIGHTFUL!!!

5 Stars (Rated G)

The Lawgiver by Herman Wouk

I am a longtime lover of Herman Wouk’s books. Who didn’t love the sweeping saga of “The Winds of War”, “War and Remembrance” and “The Caine Mutiny” or the charm of “Marjorie Morningstar”?  So last week, when browsing at Barnes and Noble, I saw the name Herman Wouk, opened the cover to read the flap, and saw the name “Moses” I knew I had to read this book.

Mr. Wouk states that he always wanted to write a book about Moses, but it wasn’t until his 97^th year (last year) that he decided to write a book about how hard it was to write a book about Moses.  This is an epistolary novel containing email, memos, text messages and Skypes of a group of people making a movie about Moses.  The producer will not fund the movie without Mr. Wouk approving the screenplay.  So Mr. Wouk is a character in his own book (or a fictionalized version of himself).

It was an entertaining read.  I did like the way they spoke about Moses.  I certainly think they (or Mr. Wouk) had a better understanding of who Moses was than DeMille did.  I also loved the relationship between Mr. Wouk and his wife of 63 years.  I don’t think that part was fictionalized.

I am giving this book 5 stars, because of who the author is and the fact that he wrote it at 97.  Gotta applaud that!  

5 Stars (Rated PG)

One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni

Late afternoon sun sneaks through the windows of a passport and visa office in an unnamed American city. Most customers and even most office workers have come and gone, but nine people remain. A punky teenager with an unexpected gift. An upper-class Caucasian couple whose relationship is disintegrating. A young Muslim-American man struggling with the fallout of 9/11. A graduate student haunted by a question about love. An African-American ex-soldier searching for redemption. A Chinese grandmother with a secret past. And two visa office workers on the verge of an adulterous affair.

When an earthquake rips through the afternoon lull, trapping these nine characters together, their focus first jolts to their collective struggle to survive. There's little food. The office begins to flood. Then, at a moment when the psychological and emotional stress seems nearly too much for them to bear, the young graduate student suggests that each tell a personal tale, "one amazing thing" from their lives, which they have never told anyone before. And as their surprising stories of romance, marriage, family, political upheaval, and self-discovery unfold against the urgency of their life-or-death circumstances, the novel proves the transcendent power of stories and the meaningfulness of human expression itself.

When I first finished the book I was confused and a bit angry at the way the book ended, but as I considered what the message of the book was, I saw that it ended the only way it could.  Brilliant!  I loved all the stories from the different characters.  I read in the author’s notes at the end of the book that one of the books that inspired her in the writing of this book was ‘Bel Canto’. I found this very interesting because at the beginning of this book I thought to myself that this book evoked the same feeling as ‘Bel Canto’.  If you read this book the let me know, because I would love to discuss it with someone.

5 Stars (Rated PG)

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Calpurnia Virginia Tate is eleven years old in 1899 when she wonders why the yellow grasshoppers in her Texas backyard are so much bigger than the green ones. With a little help from her notoriously cantankerous grandfather, an avid naturalist, she figures out that the green grasshoppers are easier to see against the yellow grass, so they are eaten before they can get any larger. As Callie explores the natural world around her, she develops a close relationship with her grandfather, navigates the dangers of living with six brothers, and comes up against just what it means to be a girl at the turn of the century.

Calpurnia Tate is as spirited a character as the indomitable Anne of Green Gables.  You will fall in love with her and cheer her along. 

5 stars (Rated G)

Nights of Rain and Stars by Maeve Binchey

Four strangers, with nothing in common but a need to escape, meet in a Greek taverna high above the small village of Aghia Anna. From Ireland, America, Germany and England, they have each left their homes and old lives, when a shocking tragedy throws them unexpectedly together. Fiona is a young nurse, trying to make her family understand her need to follow her own path. Thomas desperately misses his young son and fears that his ex-wife will come between them. Elsa abruptly left her career as a television presenter, but someone from her past refuses to let her go. And shy, quiet David is determined to make a stand against his overbearing father. With these four is Andreas, the taverna owner, who badly misses the son who left home nine years ago and has never returned. “Nights of Rain and Stars” is the story of one summer and four people, each with a life in turmoil. With the help of Vonni, a middle-aged Irish woman who lives in the village and is now a near-native, they find solutions - though not necessarily the ones they anticipated.

Although the book is a bit predictable, I still loved it.  Reading a Maeve Binchey novel is like have a conversation with an old friend, warm and comfortable.

4 Stars (Rated PG)

The Puzzle Maker by Betsy Carter

On a gray morning in 1936, Flora Phelps stands in line at the American consulate in Stuttgart, Germany.  She carries a gift for the consul, whom she will bribe in order to help her family get out of Hitler’s Germany.  This is the story of unlikely heroes, the lively, beautiful Flora and her husband, the brooding, studious Simon, two Jewish immigrants who were each sent to America by their families to find better lives. An improbable match, they meet in New York City and fall in love. Simon—inventor of the jigsaw puzzle—eventually makes his fortune. Now wealthy, but still outsiders, Flora and Simon become obsessed with rescuing the loved ones they left behind in Europe whose fates are determined by growing anti-Semitism on both sides of the Atlantic.

Inspired by her family’s legends, Betsy Carter weaves a memorable tale. You will fall in love with Simon and Flora, they are two of the most endearing characters I’ve ‘met’ in a long time.

4 Stars (Rated PG-13, mild sex scenes)

A Kiss from Maddalena by Christopher Castellini

Some in Santa Cecilia think that a rich, beautiful girl like Maddalena Piccinelli wouldn't look at Vito Leone if he were the last boy on earth. But it is 1943, and Vito is nearly the last boy in the village-and in a few months, after he turns eighteen, the soldiers may come for him too. For now, he is determined to win her. And he is beginning to get past her self-contained reserve and melt her stubborn heart. But as forces from the world outside-including an American stranger-begin to invade their quiet refuge, Vito will face challenges far more daunting than coaxing a kiss from Maddalena.

Against a backdrop of Nazi-occupied Italy, this is an interesting story of life going on despite the horrors surrounding you. I would give it 3 stars for the story, but 4 for history value.

4 stars (Rated PG-13 for violence and mild sex)

Rise of the Elgen (Michael Vey #2) by Richard Paul Evans

This is book two in Richard Paul Evans YA Sci-Fi series. I think it might have been better than the first book.

Michael was born with special electrical powers—and he’s not the only one. His friend Taylor has them too, and so do other kids around the world. With Michael’s friend Ostin, a tecno-genius, they form the Electroclan, an alliance meant to protect them from a powerful group, the growing Order of Elgen, who are out to destroy them. The leader of the Elgen, Dr. Hatch, has kidnapped Michael’s mother, and time is running out.

After narrowly escaping an Elgen trap, Ostin’s discovery of bizarre “rat fires” in South America leads the gang to the jungles of Peru, where the Electroclan meets new, powerful foes and faces their greatest challenge yet as Michael learns the extent of the Elgen’s rise in power—and the truth of their plan to “restructure” the world.

I really enjoyed it and my only complaint is that the ending is a cliffhanger and now I have to wait for book three (I think it is supposed to be a six book series.)

4 stars (Rated PG-13 for violence)