Silence

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas. New Year's is right around the corner!!! I am looking forward to saying goodbye to 2010.


My friend and former pastor always sends lovely Christmas cards and the sentiment he included with this year's card really moved me. I would like to share his words with you:

"Please let us use this occasion to put in a good word for silence--an appropriate word to hear again at Christmas. We have felt this year that our society has been noisier, with, we think, shameless incivility on both sides of the aisle, with growing evidence of explosive anger and increasing decibels of loudness. Isn't this then the perfect time to remember "Let all mortal flesh keep silence?" Shouldn't we softly sing "Silent Night, Holy Night" and "...how silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!"? Can't we all find at least a few moments to "be still, and know that God is God"? Can't we find times in the next days for calmness, serenity, silence, remembering the challenge of the Prophet Isaiah, "...in quietness and in trust shall be your strength"? We're working on these questions, and we hope that you will join us, too.


In addition to "Silent Night " -- we're singing "Joy to the World"! May the gifts of silence and joy be yours now and in the coming year."



I want to take this moment to wish all of you a very Happy New Year!!! I'm working on my review for SUNSET PARK and UNBROKEN and I will also have a review for THE RED GARDEN by Alice Hoffman.  I'll be back to blogging next Monday!

THE FAT MAN: A TALE OF NORTH POLE NOIR by Ken Harmon

THE FAT MAN is a spoof of traditional Christmas stories and songs along with a dash of noir featuring one of Santa's elves, Gumdrop Coal.  Gumdrop Coal, head of the infamous Coal patrol, gets canned right before Christmas.  Rumor has it that he not only took his job too far but that he was also physically threatening naughty children and their parents. As Gumdrop seeks to clear his name, he uncovers a plot to get rid of Santa Claus that may extend all the way to the Misfit Mafia on the Island of Misfit Toys. Will Gumdrop find the perpetrators before Santa gets it?

Fans of classic holiday tales will find much to enjoy in this book.  Harmon spares no one from Rudolph to George Bailey to the characters from A CHRISTMAS CAROL.  While the noir-nods can be a bit heavy-handed at times, I still liked the tone of the book. There really wasn't much to the story but that wasn't really the point. I enjoyed seeing how Harmon wove together all the different Christmas stories and songs. There were even some excellent references to the Christ child and the true meaning of Christmas. And I can tell you I will never hear the 12 Days of Christmas the same way.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended for fans of the Christmas genre.  Others might find the book a little irritating. Lots of funny lines and references here, though.  Good for a holiday laugh!

Update

Reviews coming soon:

SUNSET PARK by Paul Auster
THE FAT MAN: A TALE OF NORTH POLE NOIR by Ken Harmon

Currently reading:

I STILL DREAM ABOUT YOU by Fannie Flagg
UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand

I have so many galleys to tell you about!  I'm glad my bedside table is full again. Right now, I am thinking about what books will make my Best of 2010 list.  So many good ones this year. What is on your list?

AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY by Steve Martin

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

I have been a fan of Steve Martin for a long time. He is truly a Renaissance man with his successful forays in acting, music and writing.  I really enjoyed SHOPGIRL and I was intrigued to hear about his latest literary offering.  Especially since it deals with the art world and I minored in art history in college.

AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY is told from the point of view of young art journalist Daniel Franks who feels compelled to write and unburden himself about his charismatic friend Lacey Yeager. The story is really Lacey's and the narrator doesn't appear very often in the story. Lacey is the quintessential New York Girl. The story begins in the late 1990's when Lacey is 28 and working in the bowels of Sotheby's. She soaks up as much knowledge about art as she can while angling to get ahead.  Her ambition drives her to use any means at her disposal to achieve her goals.  She climbs her way to the top through sheer talent and manipulation and manages to become an art dealer in her own right.  However, she does so in very turbulent times for the New York art world that include 9/11 and the financial loan crisis.

I really enjoyed this book because I love art and art history and I find the New York art world fascinating. If you have little to no interest on this subject, you may find the plot a little boring and hard to understand. Although my review copy did not have many pictures, it appears the final copy will include reproductions of many of the works mentioned in the story. This is a nice touch and helps the reader to better understand why the art affects the characters.  Although Lacey's tactics are often questionable, she somehow finds a way to be likeable.  I think this is one of the points the narrator tries to make. In spite of Lacey's shortcomings, she has a charisma and charm that keep the people in her life coming back for more.

My one complaint with the book would be that the ending seemed rushed and abrupt.  Everything wrapped up too quickly and I felt that the story was left hanging a bit. I did, however, think that the book gave an excellent snapshot of a specific place and time in the closed off rarified art world of New York City.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended.  Lovers of art and art history will find much to like here.  Martin delves into the ugly side of art collecting while recognizing why art is so compelling and drives so many to extremes. Lacey is a fascinating character who both repels and charms and I only wish we could have had a little more to the story so we aren't left hanging.

Please Stand By...

Piles of galleys have been arriving on my doorstep and I am woefully behind in my reading.  I am currently finishing up SUNSET PARK by Paul Auster and AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY by Steve Martin. I hope to have new reviews for you in a few days.

I have no real excuse except for this. 

I'm thinking I may need to set all my galleys aside and do some classic holiday reading instead.
Sorry for the delay!!!

Galley Roundup

The rain is pouring down outside and I am looking at the latest pile of galleys that have arrived on my doorstep and dreaming of the upcoming Thanksgiving break....

THE ANATOMY OF GHOSTS by Andrew Taylor
THE WEIRD SISTERS by Eleanor Brown
INVENTING GEORGE WASHINGTON by Edward Lengel
THE BOOK OF TOMORROW by Cecelia Ahern
CINDERELLA ATE MY DAUGHTER by Peggy Orenstein

Wonder how many books I can read over the holidays....

VIXEN (The Flappers Series) by Jillian Larkin

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

I am very picky about my young adult fiction. I'm always looking for books in this genre that are original and don't speak down to their readers. I was intrigued by this new Flapper series because I loved the idea of looking at the lives of young adults in the 1920's.  It is such a fascinating era of change and liberation, especially for women. 

In the first book of the series, VIXEN, we are introduced to several young flapper wannabes.  Gloria Carmody is a coddled 17-yr-old socialite who is engaged to be married to prominent young bachelor Sebastian Grey.  Gloria is unsure about her life and marriage and starts dabbling in the world of speakeasies.  Her friend, Lorraine Dyer, is envious of Gloria and always seeking to get attention and climb out of Gloria's shadow.  Gloria's cousin, Clara Knowles, arrives to help keep Gloria in check and make sure she marries Sebastian but Gloria has a secret wild flapper past of her own.  These three women get caught up in Chicago's underground world of speakeasies and flappers with mixed results.

I love the use of 1920's slang and detail in the book. Larkin is very good at setting the tone.  She reveals how even 80 years ago, young adults were dealing with the same sorts of issues that we struggle with today.  These women wrestle with sex, alcohol and rock 'n' roll. (only in the form of jazz at this time)  One of my problems with the novel, however, is that the only likeable character is Clara.  Clara is seeking to overcome her past and start over.  She is flawed but genuine. Gloria is just annoying and thoughtless.  Lorraine is a rotten friend and her constant need for attention is tiresome. The men in the book don't fare any better. Sebastian is a jerk.  Gloria's friend Marcus is a spoiled brat. Even Gloria's secret lover comes off as too cliched. The book felt very much to me like a teenaged version of DANGEROUS LIAISONS set in the Roaring 20's.  But it fails to reach any real depth.

*PARENTAL ADVISORY*--The young people in the book are in their late teens and early twenties. They drink heavily, they are disrepectful to their parents, they have illicit sex and smoke like chimneys.  It is naive to think that young people don't struggle with these issues today and I don't think a book should be written off because they depict these things. However, none of the characters seem to really learn anything except for Clara. They just continue on with their irresponsible behaviors.

BOTTOM LINE: Recommended with reservations.  I think this series is original but the whole thing fell flat for me.  The characters are wooden and boring and not likeable. However, I would be interested in reading more and seeing how the series develops.

Galley Round-up

The nightstand is filling up again and it is going to be hard to decide what to read next.  Here are some of my November-February galleys:

MUST YOU GO? by Antonia Fraser
UNBROKEN by Laura Hillenbrand
AN OBJECT OF BEAUTY by Steve Martin
SUNSET PARK by Paul Auster
THE RADLEYS by Matt Haig
THE RED GARDEN by Alice Hoffman
THE FATES WILL FIND THEIR WAY by Hannah Pittard
HOW THE GOVERNMENT GOT IN YOUR BACKYARD by Jeff Gilman and Eric Heberlig
THE ORACLE OF STAMBOUL by Michael David Lukas

So, which one of the first four should I read next?

DISTANT HOURS by Kate Morton

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

I loved Kate Morton's book THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN so I was very excited when I got a galley of her newest book, THE DISTANT HOURS.  When a letter from 1941 finally arrives at its destination fifty years later, it has powerful repercussions for Edie Burchill, a young publisher in London.  Edie's mother opens the much-belated letter and is powerfully affected by it. She reveals to Edie that she had been evacuated to a castle called Milderhurst in the countryside during the war. Edie is very surprised to learn of this previously hidden episode in her mother's life.  She is even more surprised to learn that Milderhurst was the residence of the author of Raymond Blythe, the author of one her favorite books, THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE MUD MAN.  This book is a national treasure and no one has ever cracked the mystery of the true inspiration behind the story. When Edie is brought to Milderhurst by chance, she can't resist learning more about the place her mother had been exiled to and, in so doing, becomes drawn into the lives of the three elderly Blythe sisters that reside there still and the mysteries surrounding them.

This is a very difficult book to describe. There is so much going on!  It is a bit of a chunkster at 670 pages but the story flew by as I could not put it down. The story moves back and forth between the present of 1992 to the war years. We see the events unfolding through multiple perspectives as we try to learn the truth about the hidden secrets of the Blythe sisters and the origins of the famous MUD MAN story. There is also the side story of Edie trying to understand her mother, Meredith, by delving into her past.  The book reveals a great deal about the often complicated relationships between parents and children and also between siblings. The book offers a literary mystery and reminded me a great deal of AS Byatt's POSSESSION and Diane Setterfield's THE THIRTEENTH TALE. All of the characters are interesting and the secrets and mysteries keep you guessing until the end.

I could not put this book down.  I loved it even more than THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN.  It has many of the elements of my favorite books--mystery, books, family drama and secrets, madness, passion, castles, romance and even some wartime drama.  Although I think the ending was successful, it felt a little abrupt to me.  I wish Morton hadn't hurried things up so much. However, it was a thoroughly entertaining read overall.

BOTTOM LINE:  HIGHLY recommended.  One of my favorites this year.  Fans of AS Byatt and Diane Setterfield and even Charlotte Bronte will find much to enjoy here. This makes a great winter read.

Notes in the Margin

Winter ARCs are starting to pour in and I'm getting really excited!  I will post a list here of my latest acquisitions later.

Right now, I am 3/4 of the way through THE DISTANT HOURS by Kate Morton and I am LOVING it!  I am also working on DEWEY'S NINE LIVES and a young adult title called VIXEN by Jillian Larkin. So, I should have new reviews soon.

Tonight, I am heading to a special event featuring Alice Walker. So excited to see her in person!  Maybe I can get her to sign my copy of THE COLOR PURPLE. Fingers crossed!!!!