Posts Tagged 'Books'

CBR4 4: The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran

Published January 28, 2012 reading 6 Comments
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Queens! Queens! Yeah, I’m on a historical fiction about women roll. I read Michelle Moran’s Madame Tussaud last year and liked her writing. Her dialogue is not as forced as Phillipa Gregory’s can be …

“My dear cousin, the Duke of Buckingham, sent me a letter,” she exclaimed to her sister.

Did people really call their dearest by their titles at all times? Couldn’t Cousin Buckie be sufficient? I know her books have a large number of characters but she doesn’t always have to remind us who everyone is.

But it also didn’t read like a Sharon Kay Penman history disguised as a novel …

“Pamplona was an ancient city, founded by the Roman general Pompey.” (That’s an actual quote.)

I love Penman. Fabulous author. Well-researched novels. And a wonderful sleep aid.

So, because I liked her other book, I thought I’d try out some more of her novels. She is a relatively new historical fiction writer with only four books currently. The Heretic Queen is one of three about Egyptian queens, starting with Nefertiti and going to Cleopatra’s Daughter. This is not a series and they can be read independently. The Heretic Queen is about Nefertari, wife of Ramses II of the Nineteenth dynasty, and her struggle to become Queen.

I really enjoyed the novel and the main character although I wasn’t sure I would at first. The weakest point of the book is the beginning. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to write a historical novel about ancient Egypt and maintain any historical accuracy. It must be ten times harder to write a novel about ancient Egypt with the main characters as children. Whoa. Those kids were, well, kids, and how do you write about kids in ancient Egypt? Children in most cultures and time periods have been considered miniature adults up until the 20th century’s cult of kids emerged. It was pretty risky for her to start out a book focused on three pre-teens, but Nefertari develops well and we move on with less awkward dialogue after the first few chapters.

Personally, knowing nothing about ancient Egypt, Moran seems to have done her homework. She integrates Egyptian terminology seamlessly and her descriptions are well developed. I found myself easily able to imagine the palace and the rooms in which these characters lived. I may be easy to please, but if I can feel immersed in a character and a scene, then I usually am quite happy with a book.

It was that level of immersion that I felt in Madame Tussaud. I was happy to see it again in The Heretic Queen. I have her other two Egyptian novels on my shelf (thank you paperback swap!) and look forward to seeing more novels from Moran.

CBR4 3: The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory

Published January 28, 2012 reading 2 Comments
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Chronicling my historical fiction fun reading isn’t something I ever imagined doing, but I also usually don’t read so many books in one month. Thanks Cannonball Read for the motivation!

Last week I read the The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory. It is the first in The Cousins’ War series that covers the lives of three women during the War of the Roses. I started with the second novel, The Red Queen, which overall I thought was good for Gregory but I hated the main character. The main character in The White Queen is Elizabeth Woodville who marries (or seduces if you prefer) King Edward IV of England. She is an interesting and controversial historical figure because she was a commoner who married a king of England. Because of her family’s meteoric rise to power through her marriage, they quickly gained many enemies. When Edward’s reign was contested by his brother, etc she and her family became targets. Her sons by Edward IV are the princes in the tower whose deaths were attributed to Richard III (although I guess that doesn’t really hold water anymore).

I personally found the character of Elizabeth more engaging than her rival Red Queen, which is funny considering my friend Janel had the opposite impression (Ah, the joys of reading). While the use of magic is quite heavy handed at times, I found the character less grating and her story is much more varied that Margaret Beaufort’s constant praying and cackling that “My son will be king!”

I was also really impressed with Gregory’s scenes of the armies on the move, in particular the description of the Duke of Buckingham’s failed rebellion in the face of the (“magic”) storm. Her descriptions have definitely improved even if the dialogue may seem a bit off at times.

Overall it is a good series for historical fiction. I am on the waiting list for the final book in the triology the third in what may be a long running series (Wha?! The War of the Eoses did end, Phillipa), The Lady of the Rivers, about Elizabeth’s mother. I’ve read that it is the weakest of the three. We will see soon!

CBR4 2: No Higher Honor by Condoleezza Rice

Published January 21, 2012 reading 1 Comment
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I left my Political Science PhD program on 9/12/2001. I’ll always be able to remember the day for an obvious reason, and for a host of reasons I was ready to start on a new path in life. I have to admit after so many years of living and breathing political science I was ready to bury my head in the sand for a bit (well, relatively speaking). So, Rice’s book is about the first truly political book I’ve read in a long while. She covers her beginnings in the administration as the National Security Advisor and moves through her time as Secretary of State. It is a long path in a very tragic and troubling decade, but despite a few slow moments it is quite well-written and engaging.

It would have been difficult to be alive during the Bush administration and NOT be aware of most of her narrative. Her book goes in-depth on the obvious issues–War on Terrorism, war in Iraq, war in Afghanistan–even if we learn nothing much new. I was surprised she included a discussion of the antagonism between the Defense Department/Vice-President’s camp on one side and pretty much all the people I could possibly respect in the administration on the other side (Colin Powell mainly and sometimes Rice). Of course this is Condi’s story and she gets to spin it however she pleases. I’m half inclined to read the Rumsfeld book just to see what his excuse was, especially for not having a post-invasion reconstruction plan, but I’m not sure I want to give it my time.

Beyond the most obvious events, Rice details some aspects of the administration’s foreign policy that were lost in the noise of the wars on everything. The Bush policy in Africa and Latin America while definitely having an ideological slant was for the most part positive. I can’t imagine a single one of the current crop of Republican hopefuls having the same level of engagement on HIV and other issues in the developing world (even if the Bush level of engagement was hardly adequate).

Another aspect of the book that makes it worth the read is that Condi is a political scientist and has the ability to rise above the ideology of the time to talk intelligently about the events. For example, if you agree with the Freedom Agenda or not, it is interesting to read about her understanding of it as a redefinition of realism that could incorporate elements of the democratic peace. I’ve even thought about maybe using parts of the book in my international relations class. Students could see the theories as more than just Political Science, but as a tradition that has emerged out of foreign policy and history and that is still interwoven in the actions of our leaders. Her use of theory is simplified but it is also engaging. And honestly, that is more than you can say for most textbooks.

Overall I would recommend to anyone looking for a narrative of the complex political events of the past decade.

CBR4 1: The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell

Published January 9, 2012 reading 2 Comments
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So, here goes some book reviews for Cannonball Read 4. It is too late to sign up but you can learn all about some books there.

My friend recommended this novel to me as a good winter break read. She just told me that it was Swedish and had spy thriller elements. She didn’t tell me that it is the final book in a series of crime fiction starring our favorite Swedish police officer, Kurt Wallander. Needless to say I had no idea it was the final one. I was a bit depressed when I halfway through I finally read the liner notes and realized I had started at the end. But no matter. In the book’s favor I enjoyed it even if it is the last of its kind.

When it opens up Wallander’s daughter decides to have a child with a man whose father was a high ranking officer in the Swedish navy. This naval officer, von Enke, indicates to Wallander that he has a story to tell involving high intrigue on the high seas, but soon after he goes missing and Wallander never gets the chance to find out what in the world the guy was talking about. Wallander takes up the mystery at his daughter’s request and soon after von Enke’s wife also goes missing.

Obviously I can’t compare this book to the other novels in the series. On its own, it is well worth the read. Generally I’m not a fan of crime fiction, but this book brings in the spy thriller elements that make it more than your run of the mill crime work. It also echos the finer qualities of John le Carre without his tendency toward heavy-handed politics. Actually, Wallander is about as apolitical as you can get, which makes the story even more interesting. He spends his time trying to understand the situation before him, not preaching about it (I’m thinking Constant Gardener le Carre here).

The only criticism I would throw out there is that Mankell tends to give information for which I don’t see a purpose, like the couple of times when mid-story Wallander decides to clean out his fridge. Maybe it is his attempt to create reality? I understand that, but it seemed jarring to me at times.

I don’t want to give away how Mankell closes the book on Wallander, but I have to give props to his approach. It felt absolutely believable. Read it and you will see what I mean.

Empires of the Word

Published December 31, 2011 reading Leave a Comment
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Closing out 2011, I just finished an incredible book – Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World by Nicholas Ostler. Just to give you a taste of his fine writing …

“But despite the myth of the Tower of Babel, and its vulgar interpretation as a cautionary tale, language diversity is not a liability for the human race. Most people in the world are multilingual, and everyone could be … Different languages protect and nourish the growth of different cultures, where different pathways of human knowledge can be discovered. They certainly make life richer for those who know more than one of them.” (pg. 558)

Ostler surveys the varied histories of the major languages of the world and how they developed within and between societies.  He counters the argument that language spreads through power or economic necessity only, but instead through “the creation of a larger human community.” In incredible detail he describes the historical developments within a dozen or so language communities, from Sumerian, Akkadian, Arabic, Chinese (the languages that spread by land) to Spanish, Portuguese, and English (the languages that spread by sea).

He closes with a discussion of the future for the top modern languages, especially English. While he avoids prognosticating any bright or bleak futures for our current lingua franca, he argues that the evidence is not solely in favor of English’s continued dominance.  After reading 400 or so pages detailing the histories of languages that once had been the ‘global’ powerhouses of their times, you would probably be inclined to nod your head at Oslter’s statement “For languages, as for any human institution, when you are on top, sooner or later there is only one way to go.”

I started reading this book because of my past interest in language, identity construction, and the former Yugoslavia. Benedict Anderson fans will definitely find a kindred spirit in Ostler. But it is worth reading for anyone interested in the role of language, communication and literacy in societies (i.e., librarians!). He addresses briefly the impact of modern media on English, but as he is taking a broader historical view it isn’t the real purpose of the book.

That broader historical view of language is exactly what I like about the book. He isn’t looking at languages as rigid creations that emerge intact and never evolve. This is what I hate about lists like a post that showed up on Facebook recently, 10 words you mispronounce that make people think you’re an idiot. Granted Bush’s pronunciation of the word nuclear made him sound a wee bit ‘cuntry’, but some of these words have acceptable alternate pronunciations (sherbet and often) based on their evolution in our society. While I understand the drive to promote a more perfect English, especially in written form, at the same time I can’t sympathize with anyone who ignores the dynamic and evolving nature of any language (Never mind the post’s latent point that people who speak with regional accents, primarily rural, are idiotic). But I digress.

Through this fabulous work, Ostler describes the ebbs and flows, the evolutions, and sometimes deaths of our many languages. It is a long book, but well worth the trouble.

Hey librarians! You read, right? #CBR4

Published December 23, 2011 reading 3 Comments
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Got any 2012 book recommendations? I signed up for Cannonball Read 4 for 2012. 52 books and 52 reviews in a year. Yes, this may be a form of procrastination, and yes, I have a tenure package due and a class to teach and, oh yeah, a real job, but hey, maybe this will be the year I read over 20 books. (I’m looking at you YA! Come on. Make mama proud.)

So, I need some recommendations (over 100 pages, please). Here is what I have on my list so far. You should sign up for CBR4! Lovely Janel is the queen of the CBRs. Check out those lists! Roar!

If I hit 52 books and 52 reviews, maybe I’ll … do … something. Who knows. You can give me recommendations for that too.

Pre-CBR4 and 2011 reading

Published December 21, 2011 reading 7 Comments
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I signed up for the Cannonball Read 4 for next year. The goal is to read 50 books and write reviews of them. I follow my friend Janel’s reviews and thought it might be fun to try. I’m not the fastest reader (this year I only hit 23 books), but I’m up for the challenge. And I like the idea of writing something short if only for my future reference.

These entries are for my own reference and the CBR4 requirements, but maybe you will find a book that sounds interesting. Here is my first quick and dirty review in honor of the upcoming CBR4 (starts Jan 1, 2012).

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

I’ve only finished one other Gregory novel, The Other Queen, and while it wasn’t dreadful I was less than impressed with her writing, especially the voice of Catherine Howard, Henry VIII’s fifth victim. I mean wife. But I love historical fiction in general, especially about British history, so I picked this one up for some fun reading.

The book is set during the War of the Roses and follows the life of Margaret Beaufort, the main heir to the Lancastrian line to the throne. For background on this complex period Alison Weir’s War of the Roses is really good. Gregory does a good job simplifying the history to the main elements needed though and because of that it is a engaging story. She is at her best narrating historical events. I especially liked her description of the Battle of Bosworth Field for the most part.

The downfall of the book for me is the main character. She is unlikeable, self-righteous and delusional. By the end I wanted her son to succeed (which of course he does) just so she would shut up. To Gregory’s credit she engaged me as a reader even with a protagonist I could not stand and for whom I had little sympathy.

The Red Queen is the second in a trilogy, but they can be read out of order. I just got the first, The White Queen, about Elizabeth Woodville from the library. We will see if I like her better.

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