The Red Necklace

Title: The Red Necklace

Author: Sally Gardner

Publisher: Orion Books

# of Pages: 374

Favorite Line: He had a large, needy, greedy face that gathered itself into a weak, undefined chin and had about it the promise of perpetual disappointment.

Rating: 9/10

From Booklist
*Starred Review* A Gypsy boy, Yann, and the dwarf who has raised him are caught up in drama on and off the stage, where they work with a magician and his automaton. Outside their Parisian theater, revolution is beginning to boil. Inside, the magician is murdered by the villainous Count Kallovski, who has Yann in his sights as well. So begins a finely crafted tale that crosses years and crisscrosses countries, as Yann becomes a young man with a mission: to save the lovely Sido from her heartless father, even as he struggles with the extraordinary gifts bestowed upon him by his Gypsy heritage. If the success of historical fiction depends on how well setting and story mesh, this is a very successful book, indeed. Gardner sweeps readers into a turbulent time, dissecting eighteenth-century French society and the evolution of the revolution, from a yearning for liberty to a chaotic bloodbath. The history becomes personal when seen through the eyes of an astoundingly rich, carefully drawn cast, whose lives are interwoven like pieces of string in an elaborate cat’s cradle. Scores are waiting to be settled on every page; this is a heart-stopper. Grades 9-12. --Ilene Cooper

Honestly, I don't think many other books could be so well-designed to be right up my alley. This book is what I dub "historical fantasy," and it is great! I think the French Revolution is a fascinating (and terrifying) period in history, and it lends itself to novels and fantasy really well. I have often mulled over the thought of starting a reading challenge that centers around the Revolution because it's just such a rich period of history. If I decide to go forward with one, I hope a lot of people choose to read this book. And, wonderfully, there's a sequel coming out later this year- The Silver Blade.

The Red Necklace (I really feel the title The Scarlet Necklace would have been better. Red sounds a bit blase, but that is a minor quibble.) is a really riveting young adult fantasy novel that focuses on a French boy of gypsy origins, Yann, who has magical abilities to move things and read people's minds. It also features a young aristocrat woman (beautiful, of course), Sido, who is trying to escape marriage to a vile, older man who excellently reinvents himself with each change in the political climate of France. The characters are all very richly-drawn and engaging. The story gets a bit bogged down in itself a couple of times, but generally moves at a clipping pace.

I really like the way Sally Gardner set up the story, too- showing different sides of the conflict. The French Revolution was certainly a long time coming, but she shows every side of the bloody mess objectively. Sido is an aristocrat whose servants love and defend her; her father is one who is held up as a symbol of aristocratic gluttony. Their servants are eager and excited by the revolution, but there are others that are horrifyingly taken over by the mob mentality. I also liked the bonus of Yann and his mentor being of gypsy background. It added another nuance to the story without overpowering it. I am excited to see how that backstory develops. There is also a somewhat Star Wars-esque plotline introduced near the end, but I won't get into that one- don't want to ruin the read for anyone else.

All in all, a really fun and interesting read. Highly recommended if you like fantasy or historical fiction. Young adult fantasy is definitely where it's at these days :-)

PS- And how fortuitous that I read and finished this book just in time for Bastille Day!

Rosie's Riveters: Eva & Anne Shirley

Rosie's Riveters is a weekly posting written by Booklust readers about riveting females in literature. Many readers have strong reactions to the women in the books they read- either very positive or very negative. These are the characters we find riveting, for good reasons or bad ones, and they form the population of Rosie's Riveters. Through this weekly post, we can discuss females we love to hate, or love to love. And maybe, just maybe- we can determine why we react so strongly to them.

If you are interested in participating, please comment on this post and I'll add you to the line-up!

This week's post is from Eva, whom many of you know already from her excellent blog, A Striped Armchair. Eva is one of my new(er) book buddies, though we seem to have similar taste in books. This is exemplified by Eva choosing Anne Shirley as her Rosie Riveter, a character I grew up adoring. Eva reads and reviews a very wide array of books on her blog- all of which tend to end up on my wish list!

And here is Eva's post:

Who is your Riveter?
Anne Shirley. I spent a long time trying to think of a less obvious choice, but I just kept coming back to her!

What book does she feature in?
She's in a series by L.M. Montogomery. The first book is Anne of Green Gables. We see her grow from childhood to adulthood and become a mother.

Do you love her or hate her?
I adore her!

Describe her personality- how would you describe her to a friend?
I'd say she's a perfect friend: loyal and loving, funny and smart and wonderful at imagining games and stories. But she also has a fast temper and can carry a grudge. :D

Can you compare her to a celebrity?
Not really!

What makes her riveting?
First of all, she's always having amusing adventures, which makes the books fun. And it's wonderful to grow up with her, seeing her change and adapt to new challenges. But what makes her riveting is the combination of her wonderful way of seeing the world (she uses her imagination all of the time) and her striving to be a good person.

What do you most admire/despise about her?
I admire her strength of character. Once she has decided what is right or wrong, she'll abide by it even if it pains her. And she's very honest with herself and consequently others. Her devotion to family is wonderful, and ties into her strong sense of right-and-wrong. Also, once she's older, she's wonderful with children; I admire that as well. There's so much about her to admire!

Would you recommend reading the book in which the Riveter features?
Definitely! I've reread them all more than once and delight in them. :D

Any parting remarks?
This is a wonderful series and thanks for inciting me to take part! :)

The Texicans

Title: The Texicans

Author: Nina Vida

Publisher: Soho Press

# of Pages: 396

Favorite Line: "You have to think on what we do today and whether we do it right. That's all we can do."

Rating: 7/10

I received this book for free to review.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Vida's luminous, dramatic seventh novel finds Joseph Kimmel, a Missouri school teacher, heading to mid-19th-century Texas to claim his recently deceased brother's belongings; he's left for dead when his horse is stolen. Across the plains, after her Texas Ranger husband dies fighting Comanches, Aurelia Ruiz takes refuge at a Comanche camp and adopts their ways. Henry Castro, a Frenchman with dreams of creating an Alsatian-immigrant–populated town in his own name, not only rescues Kimmel but marries him off to Katrin, an unattached white émigré whom a Comanche leader had espied and wanted for his own. The newlyweds head off to create a distinctive ranch, one that welcomes members of the Tonkaway tribe, Mexicans, escaped slaves, free African-Americans and others in distress. Affairs of the heart are never neglected in Vida's novels (Goodbye, Saigon, etc.), and Kimmel soon finds himself enraptured when he meets the beautiful Aurelia, just as a posse of xenophobic ranchers wreak havoc on the ranch. This radiant work of historical fiction—vibrantly atmospheric and emotionally dense—spans 12 years in the lives of many engaging characters, who come to life on every page.

I have never been a fan of Texas. It is a state that is really pretty full of itself and seems to think it's the greatest thing since sliced bed. It is also far too fond of the death penalty, in my opinion. But it certainly captures the imagination, especially when it comes to historical fiction. And it seems as though the author, Nina Vida, is smitten by the Lone Star State.

Vida, like most characters in her book, also knows how to go after what she wants. I don't know how many bloggers she contacted to read and review and give away her book, but it seems like in the past several weeks, The Texicans has shown up all over book blogs. Good for her :-) I'm glad it's getting attention as I think it's a deserving book.

The Texicans is not a happy book. None of the characters are content and I didn't sympathize with any of them. I felt sorry for them all but I didn't like any. It didn't particularly seem as though any of them liked each other, either. They would have conversations and just not listen to each other- one would be talking on one subject, and the other would be talking about something completely different. It was sad. What a lonely way to live. I suppose, living on the Texas frontier, one would have to get used to loneliness. And how many of us have conversations with people and don't really pay attention to what the other person is saying? Probably more of us than would like to admit it.

I guess I would say that the main character of the book is Joseph Kimmel, but the character who drives the book is Aurelia. She is, however, not in the book nearly as much as the other characters, except at the beginning. As I have often mentioned before, and will undoubtedly do again, I do not like books in which there is a femme fatale type of woman with whom every man falls promptly in love (or in lust or whatever) for no understandable reason. Aurelia is one of these women. It must be tiring being her, always upsetting people's lives. She is a mystery to me- I never fully understood what made her the person she was, or what she was thinking or how she felt about anyone. I never got any sense of her feelings for other people. I don't even know if she had feelings. But she definitely sets the tone of the book.

This novel reminded me a lot of Kate Grenville's The Secret River, one of my favorite books. Both are about settlers in a harsh area of the world, and the way that life on the frontier can shape a person. Both books are much more about character development than about plot. Vida meticulously shows us how a man can become wonderfully successful but still be unhappy. She paints a picture for us of a woman who survives a horrible experience and is never the same afterwards. And, most painfully, she shows how people who are so close to each other, living in the same house, can be almost complete strangers.

Personally, I didn't like the ending of the book. I found the conclusion between Joseph and Katrin somewhat of an anticlimax. I also wasn't a fan of the way Vida ended Aurelia's story. I think we would have been better off as readers without the epilogue-type of chapter at the end of the book.

The Devil's Company

Title: The Devil's Company

Author: David Liss

Publisher: Random House

# of Pages: 369

Rating: 8/10

I received this book for free to review.

Product Description
From the acclaimed author of The Whiskey Rebels and A Conspiracy of Paper comes a superb new historical thriller set in the splendor and squalor of eighteenth-century London. In Benjamin Weaver, David Liss has created one of fiction’s most enthralling characters. The year is 1722. Ruffian for hire, ex-boxer, and master of disguise, Weaver finds himself caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse, pitted against Jerome Cobb, a wealthy and mysterious schemer who needs Weaver’s strength and guile for his own treacherous plans. Weaver is blackmailed into stealing documents from England’s most heavily guarded estate, the headquarters of the ruthless British East India Company, but the theft of corporate secrets is only the first move in a daring conspiracy within the eighteenth century’s most powerful corporation. To save his friends and family from Cobb’s reach, Weaver must infiltrate the Company, navigate its warring factions, and uncover a secret plot of corporate rivals, foreign spies, and government operatives. With millions of pounds and the security of the nation at stake, Weaver will find himself in a labyrinth of hidden agendas, daring enemies, and unexpected allies.

So, here I am back in Georgian England! How comforting to be home once again :-) I thoroughly enjoyed David Liss's previous books featuring Benjamin Weaver, a Jewish ex-boxer making his way as a detective in London. (And yes, I mention the religion for a reason. Judaism is part of all Liss's novels historical novels, and while it is never at the forefront of the plot, it is definitely a key component of the background.) I admit I don't remember the first two very well at all- I read them some years ago- but I do remember liking them. So I was really excited to get this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and I wasn't disappointed at all.

David Liss, the author, is studying to get his PhD in history, and this comes through in his books. They are all very well-researched. He knows early 18th century England well, from London's neighborhoods to the political maneuverings of the East India Company. He is also very realistic in his portrayal of characters. He does notgive his characters modern sensibilities. I really appreciate that in a historical novel because frankly, that's the point of reading them. I don't need to read about 18th century London if everyone populating the book's pages has the same thought process that I do.

Some say that Liss gets a bit bogged down in the background research and presents too much of it in his stories to be interesting. I admit that at times, there is a lot of political talk, but personally, I'm a fan. However, this is my favorite period in history, so I could be a bit biased.

One thing that did seem to ring false, though, was the East India Company corporate slant. I understand that the East India Company was the first multi-national corporation, really, complete with stockholders. I also understand that the directors of the firm, and people further down the ladder, were very ruthless in their methods to get as much profit as possible. However, I do think that Liss put a slightly too modern slant on the way everyone reacted to the company in the book. It was pretty clear to me that Liss was writing to an audience that is currently going through a global recession in which corporate greed featured prominently. It's all well to assume people now should know about corporate responsibility and the effects capitalism can have in many sectors. But I don't quite buy into the way everyone in 1722 seemed just to know what would happen to the East India Company, Britain, and the world, when it was the first-ever corporation.

That concern didn't hamper my enjoyment of the novel, though. It is fast-paced, populated with interesting characters, and fun to read. Another historical mystery winner.

Rosie's Riveters: Marg & Eleanor of Aquitaine

Rosie's Riveters is a weekly posting written by Booklust readers about riveting females in literature. Many readers have strong reactions to the women in the books they read- either very positive or very negative. These are the characters we find riveting, for good reasons or bad ones, and they form the population of Rosie's Riveters. Through this weekly post, we can discuss females we love to hate, or love to love. And maybe, just maybe- we can determine why we react so strongly to them.

This week's post (the first guest post!) is from a long-time book friend, Marg, who writes over at Reading Adventures. Marg and I "met" on the Historical Fiction forum- I think that is the forum that got me into blogging, way back when, so she is one of the forces behind this blog! Marg hails from Australia, and she reads a lot of historical fiction, mysteries and romance novels, some with a more fantastical element as well. Clearly we'd be friends, based on our book tastes! I highly recommend her blog.

And now, without further ado- here is Marg's excellent post:

Who is your Riveter?

One of my great loves, genre wise, is Historical Fiction, and so for this week's Rosie's Riveters, I have looked to the past, and chosen the formidable Eleanor of Aquitaine.

What book does she feature in?

My early introductions to Eleanor were in Sharon Penman's excellent novels. There is a particular focus on her relationship with Henry II in the trilogy that starts with When Christ and His Saints Slept, and then continues with Time and Chance and then Devil's Brood. In addition she is one of the supporting characters in the Justin de Quincey mystery series.

Sharon Penman is not the only author to feature Eleanor to some degree. Even when she is just a supporting character any mention of her will capture my attention. Other books that she has appeared in that I have read include the historical mystery The Serpent's Tale by Ariana Franklin and also in Elizabeth Chadwick's excellent William Marshal novels, particularly The Greatest Knight.

Other authors to have written about her include Jean Plaidy, Judith Tarr, and Margaret Ball, and there is plenty of non-fiction written about her as well.

Do you love her or hate her?

Love her!

Describe her personality- how would you describe her to a friend?

I think that my impression of Eleanor of Aquitaine is of a woman who was beautiful, but also powerful and driven. Other adjectives I might use are passionate, political, single minded and formidable.

Can you compare her to a celebrity?

The only name that came to mind was Susan Sarandon, which seems strange given that she isn't royal or anything like that. I guess the comparison comes from the fact that Susan Sarandon has chosen to go against what might have been considered the societal norms of the day by living with a much younger man, not really giving a damn what anyone thinks, and being passionately involved in the causes that she chooses to get involved in.


What makes her riveting?

Eleanor of Aquitaine is riveting to me because she was a powerful woman in her own right, who married two powerful men, was queen of two countries, and was mother to two kings. She was apparently a great beauty of her time and lived an adventurous and tumultuous life.

She was queen of France until she divorced Louis VII. Not long after she married Henry II with whom it would appear she had a very passionate union, both when they were happy, and when they were passionately against each other. With Louis she had two daughters, and with Henry she had five sons and three daughters. Two of those sons would go on to become King of England, Richard the Lionheart and King John and Eleanor acted as regent for a time for Richard while he was on crusade. Eleanor herself had gone to Jerusalem with her then husband Louis VII during the second crusade.

For a long time Eleanor was imprisoned by Henry for aiding their son in a rebellion against Henry and was released only for limited periods of time.

What do you most admire/despise about her?

From this distance it is probably hard to know what Eleanor was truly like, but she is certainly a woman who left her mark on history when so many women were defined by their marriage and many were just footnotes in the notes. She managed to hold onto her lands, managed to get out of an unhappy marriage during a time when divorce was very difficult, and managed to leave a lasting impression through the ages.

If there is one thing that I would say that isn't a point in her favour it is that it appears that Eleanor wasn't the most maternal of women, although when you look through the family history, it appears that being a Plantagenet was to be quite a volatile character. I remember reading a quote once, but I can't remember who said it, something along the lines of "if you want to read about dysfunctional families, look no further than the Plantagenets".

Would you recommend reading the book in which the Riveter features?

I would absolutely recommend reading any of the books that I mentioned above, not only because Eleanor features in them, but also because they are excellent books in their own right.

Any parting remarks?

My image of Eleanor of Aquitaine has I think been irrevocably influenced by the experience of watching a movie from 1968 called Lion in Winter. Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for her performance as Eleanor and other cast members included Peter O'Toole and a couple of young actors called Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.

I thought I would close this post by sharing a Youtube video of Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine. The film is set in Chinon at Christmas in 1183. Eleanor has been released from prison for the holidays, and the whole family is involved in scheming and plotting, and maneuvering to be the next person to wear the crown.

Thanks so much Aarti for coming up with a great idea and letting me play along. I hope that you find Eleanor of Aquitaine a worth recipient of the Rosie's Riveters treatment!

Between the Assassinations

Title: Between the Assassinations

Author: Aravind Adiga

Publisher: Free Press

# of Pages: 338

Favorite Line: She lay in the storage room, seeking comfort in the fumes of the DDT and the sight of the Baby Krishna's silver buttocks.

Rating: 10/10

I received this book for free to review.

From Booklist
Adiga provides both a chronological and geographical framework for this collection of stories, a prequel to his Man Booker–winning The White Tiger (2008). The stories take place during the years between the assassinations of Indira Gandhi in 1984 and Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. Each story is introduced by an excerpt from a guide for a weeklong tour of the fictional city of Kittur, located on India’s southwestern coast. The blandness of the travel guide is a counterpoint to the vibrant, messy city life, where Hindu, Muslim, and Christian, high and low caste, rich and poor, all jostle together. As in The White Tiger, corruption and injustice are important themes, and while a few characters find ways to strike back, most are caught in the daily grind of trying to survive. Although sometimes heavy handed, the stories are sharply tactile, and the city of Kittur is richly imagined. Once again, Adiga offers a panoramic view of India, this time by giving voices and names to the multitude. --Mary Ellen Quinn

I have had so much luck with short stories lately that I couldn't resist requesting this book from Amazon Vine- and success once again! This is obviously a genre I really need to delve into more deeply. Short stories are great reads for the morning and evening commutes, and during a lunch-for-one. There isn't quite as great an urge to read just one more chapter as there is with novels, so you can place your bookmark with a content feeling of completion before opening the book once more.

I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of stories. I admit to being slightly biased, though. First, it takes place not only in India, but in South India. Not only in South India, but in Karnataka, the state my parents are from. There is a character in the book named Sulocha, which is the name of one my dad's sisters. There is another one (or several different ones- I can't quite tell if they're all the same person in different stories) named Thimma- this is the nickname my mom has for my brother. The cities of Bangalore and Mysore are mentioned, as are yummy foods like tomato saaru, idli and dosa.

I really enjoy reading Indian books because it's such a vivid setting for me- while historical fiction and fantasy will always be my genres of choice, there is a huge disconnect between those characters' lives and mine. Stories set in India, especially in the south, are like a jolt of caffeine- I wonder sometimes what my life would have been like, if my parents hadn't moved to the US in the 1970s. Reading stories like these definitely gives me a sense of what might have been.

Indian authors have a tendency to be depressing. Adiga is no exception. His stories are painfully bleak and morose. His characters face life with the fatalistic belief that nothing will ever change for them. They are stuck where they are, with no way out. Some are angry, some are resigned, and some (very few) are hopeful in tone. But the main character, throughout all the stories, is India, in all her guts and glory. While I enjoyed some stories in this collection more than others, they all moved me in some way. The characters are vivid, true and wonderfully three-dimensional for the forty or so pages they are given.

And the language is so lush- Kittur, India really comes to life- the sights and sounds, the tastes and smells. Some of the sentences just struck a chord. In addition to the one above, I also noted, "The centerpiece of his body was a massive potbelly, a hard knot of flesh pregnant with a dozen cardiac arrests." And, "...the furrow in his brow was like a bookmark left there by the dead woman." So much fun to read a whole book full of sentences like these. It is hard to pick a favorite story, but one that is close to my heart is the one about a bootleg bookseller named Xerox. Read it, and you'll know why :-)

Rosie's Riveters: Aarti & Guinevere

I have spent quite a bit of time mulling over what I should do for the first Rosie's Riveters post. Should I be consistent and post about a female I really dislike? Or should I switch it up a bit and wax lyrical about one I adore? I really couldn't decide, and so I decided to go for one that just creates a very strong reaction in me when I think about her or get into conversations about her, consistently.

Who is your Riveter?
Queen Guinevere

What book does she feature in?
There are many versions of the tales of King Arthur, and I have not actually read the original one by Geoffrey of Monmouth or the most famed version by Sir Thomas Malory. However, the ones I remember most are The Mists of Avalon and Mary Stewart's excellent Merlin Trilogy. I am not sure of the entire history of Guinevere, from the start of Arthurian literature to now, but suffice it to say that when she makes a more-than-negligible appearance, she screws things up.

Do you love her or hate her?
Hate. Of course :-)

Describe her personality- how would you describe her to a friend?
"She's one of those really obnoxious girls that's beautiful and knows she's beautiful, and then goes around and messes up everyone's life because of it."

Can you compare her to a celebrity?
Hmm. I came up with this question and am having trouble answering it. I think it more likely that celebrities are compared to her. Princess Diana kind of leaps to mind, but besides the obvious comparisons here, I don't really know why.

What makes her riveting?
Honestly, I can't say. In most Arthurian retellings I've read (and so probably in the original? Just guessing here), Guinevere is pretty dull and static, as a character. She is also overly religious. How she managed to marry a pagan king and then get his best friend to fall in love with her, I will never know.

She is more famous for all the things she could not do. Most importantly, she couldn't have a child, and this set the course of British history on a very different track. She couldn't reconcile Christianity with the religion present in England before it came. She fell in love with the wrong man. She generally created a ruckus and then acted all pious and high and mighty as though she couldn't have been involved.

And even as I say she has no personality and does nothing but live off her looks, not her brain, I still am openly calling her a "riveting" female. Why? She is, in my opinion, the least interesting of all the characters in Arthurian legend, and yet she makes me so angry. Maybe that's why I think she's riveting- because it is not often that someone seemingly so bland and innocuous can be such a catalyst.

I am not completely sexist- I also think Lancelot is an idiot :-) But that is not for this post.

What do you most admire/despise about her?
The whole Guinevere-Lancelot thing is ridiculous. King Arthur is a genius who manages to unite a country and set up this entire roundtable of equality and is known for being fair and compassionate and fabulous to everyone. Lancelot is a man who can fight, and who looks good doing it. Of course Guinevere of the long-flowing hair and very little sense would prefer the Ken doll. And then mess all sorts of things up by going for him (yes, I know it takes two to tango and Lancelot is the one who went after his best friend's wife, but we are focusing on the females here). And then get caught. Honestly- the girl lived in a castle, surrounded by people. She and her lover decided not to show up at a feast headed by her husband and all his devoted knights. How could she ever think she would not be caught? Yet another example of her extreme lack of sense.

As if that were not enough, she then gets all holier-than-thou, saying that she's sinned (no kidding, genius) and thus must check into a nunnery (because that is the solution to everything). This would have been fine if she had been Hamlet's mother ("Get thee to a nunnery!!!"). But alas, she was not. I understand that in prior centuries, the nunnery was one of the only escape routes that women had from lives they did not want. I think that is perfectly acceptable when one is not the mess-creator. Guinevere, though, created her mess. She should have taken pains to fix it. Instead, the self-centered (and probably still beautiful) adulteress decides to flee the scene and make her peace with God. Apparently, her own inner peace was more important than the peace of the Realm. Can't say I'm surprised.

Would you recommend reading the book in which the Riveter features?
Ah, sadly, therein lies Guinevere's twisted genius. If not for her completely unnecessary drama, we would not have the fascinating and wonderful Arthurian legends we have today. Yes, I think anyone who has not read any Arthurian books should do so- there are so many of them out there and there are so many wide interpretations of what really happened that they are a delight to read. My favorites are Mary Stewart's trilogy above, but I have several more on my shelves that I haven't gotten into yet. Soon :-)

Any parting remarks?
Just for the record, I think a lot of women in Arthurian legend are portrayed in a strong and positive light. They all do their part to shape history and I like all of them much more than Guinevere.

Fire and Hemlock

Title: Fire and Hemlock

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

Publisher: Harper Trophy

# of Pages: 420

Favorite Line: Bright, sharp streaks of sound, Polly thought. If you were able to hear lime juice, it would sound like violins.

Rating: 7/10

Product Description
In the mind of a lonely, imaginative girl, who can tell where fiction ends and reality begins? An epic fantasy, spanning nine years...The fire and hemlock photograph above Polly's bed sparks memories in her that don't seem to exist any more. Halloween; nine years ago; she gatecrashed a funeral party at the big house and met Thomas Lynn for the first time. Despite the fact that he's an adult, they struck up an immediate friendship, and began making up stories together -- stories in which Tom is a great hero, and Polly is his assistant. The trouble is, these scary adventures have a nasty habit of coming true...But what has happened in the years between? Why has Tom been erased from Polly's mind, and from the rest of the world as well? Gradually Polly uncovers the awful truth and, at Halloween nine years on, realizes that Tom's soul is forfeit to demonic powers unless she can save him.

I have only read one other book by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle, and I loved it. Ironically, at the end of that review (written in October 2006!), I say that I will snatch up the sequel, Castle in the Air. Almost three years later, and that snatching has not occurred. I don't know why, but I seem not to read sequels right after one another, unless in a huge passionate burst a la Dorothy Dunnett or George R. R. Martin.

Anyway, since I adored the one book I'd ever read by Wynne Jones, I've always been compelled to pick up any others when I feel they are to be had at a bargain, with the result of me getting quite a few books on my shelves purchased with no idea of the plot, only on the strength of the author. Fire and Hemlock is one of those.

The book is based on the Scottish myths of Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin. I am not very familiar with these stories (what is with the Brits and fairies?!), and I think that definitely worked against me here. Generally, they deal with men being sacrified to fairy queens, and the one or two that were able to make a break and get away.

I will freely admit that I have absolutely no idea what happened at the end of the book. I read it, and could feel myself sinking quickly, and then all of a sudden the book was done (please don't ask me to summarize how it ended) and my hopes of everything making sense in the last sentence were dashed. I think it will require a re-read for me to make sense of the conclusion. Or, to be honest, the entire last quarter of the book. Happily, however, most other readers seem to be in the dark as to the end, too, so I suppose I am in good company.

In any case, the story is certainly interesting and hits on several different levels and themes, even if I may have missed The Big Picture. The characters are all very vivid and realistic, the plot moves quickly, and there are numerous allusions to quite a few books that will now go on my wish list. It is also very real for a fantasy book, including many painful scenes of Polly's broken home. The entire romance aspect of the plot disturbs me a bit as well. I feel certain there must be a reason Wynne Jones wrote it as she did and I have a feeling it has to do with The Big Picture which I so woefully lost track of at the end of the book. However, be that as it may... at this point in my reaction to the novel, the whole 10-year-old girl, middle-aged man thing just doesn't sit well.

I do think the plot gets very wrapped up in itself and becomes a bit overly complicated for young adults. Or maybe it's fine for young adults and just totally over my head, I don't know. I think Wynne Jones tried very hard to keep her story as true to the original as she could, but all that served to do was to make a fairly simple story into a mind-bender. That said, I really love the author's way with words. She uses simple words in really wonderful ways (see quote above) and it's a delight to read them. I would say, though, to read Howl's Moving Castle if you want a fun, more heart-warming read, and keep this one on the shelf until you want to dig yourself really deep into mythology and gender wars!

Also, if anyone can recommend a version of Tam Lin for me to pick up and read, I would greatly appreciate it!

I am taking an exam on Saturday, but I hope to post the first of Rosie's Riveters soon! Thank you to everyone who commented and who contacted me privately with interest in participating- I think it's going to be a lot of fun :-)

Rosie's Riveters (?)

I have been mulling over the idea of a weekly themed post for some time now. I admit, it's mostly because everyone else seems to have one or do one, and while I don't think I blog regularly enough to take part in something like Teaser Tuesdays or Mailbox Mondays or all the others, I thought it would be fun to have a weekly or bi-weekly guest blogging event. I feel like it may be bi-weekly because I am not sure how many people actually read this blog, so if it were weekly, it might not last long at all ;-)

My idea is to have each guest blogger answer a set of questions about Females in Literature. As most people reading this blog know, I find a great many female characters to be completely ridiculous and unsympathetic. Therefore, when I find one that I really like, I feel thrilled and want to share my new friend with all the world. I am sure (well, at least I hope)there are others out there who feel the same. So, on a somewhat regular basis (depending on how many people want to participate), I propose to have people post on here about women in books that they either really adore or really hate- both are totally acceptable. All that need happen is that the woman is riveting, for some reason, like our WWII friend Rosie above. I can make up a form of questions to answer, or it can be a more free-form post, if people wish it. But basically, it would just entail talking about a certain character and why you love or hate her. It can be as impassioned or tongue-in-cheek as you'd like :-)

Please comment on this post if you'd like to participate, or e-mail me at the address on the upper right-hand side of this blog. You don't have to have a blog to participate, as I think I will probably copy and paste your responses from an e-mail here, anyway. All you have to do is feel strongly, one way or another, about a Female in Literature :-)

Hope some of you decide to join in! I think it would be fun and interesting to see how people react to different characters.

Footsteps in the Dark

Title: Footsteps in the Dark

Author: Georgette Heyer

Publisher: Buccaneer Books

# of Pages: 310

Rating: 9/10

Favorite Line: "A remark more calculated to provoke a peaceful man to homicide I've never yet heard."

Product Description
The Priory may be ramshackled in appearance, but Peter, Margaret and Celia, who have inherited it from their uncle, love it for its rambling charm. But there's more to this house than is at first apparent: for years hardly a single person has set foot in the place, and even their uncle chose to live in a different house, far away from this particular property.

Local wisdom says that the house is haunted. And when things start going bump in the night, it certainly seems as if something ghostly is walking the Priory's halls. Then a murder is committed. Does the key to solving the crime lie in the realm of the supernatural? Or is the explanation much more down to earth?

Well, after Behold, Here's Poison, I got on a Heyer mystery reading kick. Here are all these books, sitting on my shelves and gathering dust when all three of the ones I've picked up have been good reading! I'll have to get through all the rest soon. I have actually been waiting (quite patiently, I feel) for David Liss's The Devil's Company to arrive in the mail. I've read both previous books in the Benjamin Weaver series and I'm really looking forward to reading this next one. However, it is still not here! This has given me the opportunity, though, to go more thoroughly over the books already on my shelves, which is fortunate.

It's funny sometimes, how books packed with so much excitement and memorable characters can just sit placidly on your shelf, waiting to be read. Footsteps in the Dark is a thriller mystery of the first order, complete with secret passageways, priest holes, skeletons and a cowled monk. Of all Heyer's historicals, it reminds me most of The Reluctant Widow (one of my absolute favorites!) with its full cast of characters, most of whom are related to each other. The book is full of hilarious one-liners and wonderful character interplay, Heyer's trademark. I find in books like this that I get so wrapped up in the chemistry between characters that the plot becomes secondary. It's unfortunate that character interaction is so hard to review, really, since it is such an integral part of books. For example, in The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy, I don't think there was any chemistry between Darcy and Lord Byron, and it made the book hard going. Conversely, in Footsteps in the Dark, the characters (Charles in particular, playing against Peter) all deal splendidly together, and the book is a great romp because of it.

I am thoroughly enjoying rediscovering Heyer, this time from the perspective of reading her mysteries set in Britain between the wars. She is light-hearted and fun, but the plots are all interesting and well planned. I prefer this one to Behold, Here's Poison, mainly because the characters are far more likeable and the plot develops in a more compelling way. Highly recommended!