Finished October 29
Crown Shyness by Curtis Gillespie
A unique take on the politics of Canada in novel form, the book takes a political magazine journalist as its central character. Paul Munk is liberal-minded and socially conscious. He is writing an article for the magazine he works for on a man trying for leadership of a right-leaning party. Daniel Code is a former pastor and an advocate of the religious right, with views that Paul finds himself constantly surprised by.
Paul's older brother, Rick, has just got out of jail after serving a second time. While in jail, Rick was corresponding with Tammy over a long period of time and the two plan to live together now that he is out.
Paul wants to be there for Rick should he need any help, but Rick doesn't always want the help Paul tries to offer. As the two brothers adjust to each other and the rest of their family, we see rifts in both the family and the wider political community.
This is an interesting tale with a lot of angles to it, taking us from Calgary to the backwoods of Montana.
I also found some of the Calgary scenes interesting on the personal level, as Paul's family lives in the northwest of the city in the area of Nose Hill Park, an area that I lived in as a child.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Story of a Soldier
Finished October 28
The Long Walk Home by Liane Fulder
This book is the story of Paul Franklin, a Canadian soldier injured in Afghanistan who lost both his legs. The story covers Paul's time in Afghanistan just before the incident that injured him and the experiences of Paul, his wife Audra, and their son Simon following Paul's injuries.
Paul and his family made themselves very accessible to the media throughout and continue to be open about their experiences. Fulder has brought the story together here, to see how one soldier and his family were affected by the war.
The story definitely has interested, but I felt that the author moved around in time too much and that made the story lose its flow and therefore its intensity. There were also errors with dating at least one of the photos included and I felt that a significant error to the reader.
The Long Walk Home by Liane Fulder
This book is the story of Paul Franklin, a Canadian soldier injured in Afghanistan who lost both his legs. The story covers Paul's time in Afghanistan just before the incident that injured him and the experiences of Paul, his wife Audra, and their son Simon following Paul's injuries.
Paul and his family made themselves very accessible to the media throughout and continue to be open about their experiences. Fulder has brought the story together here, to see how one soldier and his family were affected by the war.
The story definitely has interested, but I felt that the author moved around in time too much and that made the story lose its flow and therefore its intensity. There were also errors with dating at least one of the photos included and I felt that a significant error to the reader.
Monday, 27 October 2008
Dependable Author
Finished October 26
Silks by Dick Francis and Felix Francis
As expected this book was a great read. The main character, Geoffrey Mason is a barrister who rides as an amateur jockey on his own horse, a jumper. Due to his occupation, some acquaintances call him Perry. He has recently served as the defendant's lawyer over a case where the man was accused of beating up a man who complained about his behaviour. The man was found guilty, and Mason thinks he probably was, but the man isn't happy and threatens Mason with what will happen to him after he gets out. As it turns out, that happens a lot sooner than Mason expects.
Meanwhile a jockey that Mason is acquainted with is murdered, and another jockey he knows is arrested for the crime. The jockey charged with the crime wants Mason to represent him, and Mason is reluctant at first, but when he starts getting intimidating threats he gets his back up.
There is violence, intrigue and, of course, an interesting woman.
What more could you want?
Silks by Dick Francis and Felix Francis
As expected this book was a great read. The main character, Geoffrey Mason is a barrister who rides as an amateur jockey on his own horse, a jumper. Due to his occupation, some acquaintances call him Perry. He has recently served as the defendant's lawyer over a case where the man was accused of beating up a man who complained about his behaviour. The man was found guilty, and Mason thinks he probably was, but the man isn't happy and threatens Mason with what will happen to him after he gets out. As it turns out, that happens a lot sooner than Mason expects.
Meanwhile a jockey that Mason is acquainted with is murdered, and another jockey he knows is arrested for the crime. The jockey charged with the crime wants Mason to represent him, and Mason is reluctant at first, but when he starts getting intimidating threats he gets his back up.
There is violence, intrigue and, of course, an interesting woman.
What more could you want?
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Canadian Fiction
Finished October 26
A Sharp Intake of Breath by John Miller
This novel follows the life of a Jewish man, Herbert "Toshy" Wolfman. Toshy was born with a cleft palate and a cleft life in the first decade of the twentieth century in Toronto. At the age of five, his parents have saved enough money to pay for the operation to fix his palate. He does not get his cleft lip operated on until he is an adult.
Toshy's parents own and operate a fabric business. He has two older sisters, Bessie and Lil. Lil is interested in the anarchist movement, and particularly of Emma Goldman. Bessie eventually becomes a maid in the house of industrialist Rupert McNabb and his wife. Rupert has bought the Orange Sunset diamond for his wife, and Toshy is jailed for theft of this jewel.
As Toshy tells the story of his life, his insecurities, his loneliness, he also tells his sisters' stories and enlightens his grandnephew Ari.
I found the jumping around in time a bit confusing at first, but it began to flow quickly and Toshy's story is a compelling one. Some people have taken his facial deformity to indicate stupidity, even some in his own family, and he must learn to trust his own instincts on his capabilities.
A Sharp Intake of Breath by John Miller
This novel follows the life of a Jewish man, Herbert "Toshy" Wolfman. Toshy was born with a cleft palate and a cleft life in the first decade of the twentieth century in Toronto. At the age of five, his parents have saved enough money to pay for the operation to fix his palate. He does not get his cleft lip operated on until he is an adult.
Toshy's parents own and operate a fabric business. He has two older sisters, Bessie and Lil. Lil is interested in the anarchist movement, and particularly of Emma Goldman. Bessie eventually becomes a maid in the house of industrialist Rupert McNabb and his wife. Rupert has bought the Orange Sunset diamond for his wife, and Toshy is jailed for theft of this jewel.
As Toshy tells the story of his life, his insecurities, his loneliness, he also tells his sisters' stories and enlightens his grandnephew Ari.
I found the jumping around in time a bit confusing at first, but it began to flow quickly and Toshy's story is a compelling one. Some people have taken his facial deformity to indicate stupidity, even some in his own family, and he must learn to trust his own instincts on his capabilities.
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Memory
Finished October 25
Can't Remember What I Forgot: the good news from the front lines of memory research by Sue Halpern
Some of this book was hard to get through, just the terminology can be difficult as they aren't words that I use everyday. The gist of the book was very interesting however. Halpern takes us through a variety of avenues of memory research, and shows how they interconnect.
She also shows the progress over time for the research into memory and gives hope for future breakthroughs. Throughout the book, she refers to her own worries over her memory and whether she is more at risk since her father had dementia of an unconfirmed nature before he died. I think that the personal element is what prevented this book from being too academic, something it could easily have become.
Can't Remember What I Forgot: the good news from the front lines of memory research by Sue Halpern
Some of this book was hard to get through, just the terminology can be difficult as they aren't words that I use everyday. The gist of the book was very interesting however. Halpern takes us through a variety of avenues of memory research, and shows how they interconnect.
She also shows the progress over time for the research into memory and gives hope for future breakthroughs. Throughout the book, she refers to her own worries over her memory and whether she is more at risk since her father had dementia of an unconfirmed nature before he died. I think that the personal element is what prevented this book from being too academic, something it could easily have become.
Historical Fiction
Finished October 25
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
I had bought this book a few weeks ago, and took it with me to get the author to sign it for me yesterday. She read from the book at lunch, and it intrigued me and I started it on my public transit trip home. I read it when I had trouble sleeping in the night and finished it off this morning at breakfast.
The story is mostly set on November 14, 1940, in Coventry, England. This is the day that German bombers destroyed the city, including its cathedral. The main character, Harriet Marsh is firewatching on the roof of the cathedral when the evening begins. As the bombing begins, she connects with another firewatcher, young Jeremy Fisher. Harriet leads him back through the city to search for his mother Maeve.
We also see the story from Maeve's point of view, where she begins the evening in the pub and spends some time searching for Jeremy.
There is a bit at the beginning taking us back to World War I, when Harriet was newly married, and a bit at the end taking us forward to 1962, after Coventry Cathedral was rebuilt. The rest of the book occurs on November 14, and takes us through the night as the three characters make their way through the burning city and react to the destruction, heartbreak and devastation that they encounter. The interactions between the characters, particular between Jeremy and Harriet are what make the book, as they both bring their feelings and needs into the situation in which they find themselves.
Coventry by Helen Humphreys
I had bought this book a few weeks ago, and took it with me to get the author to sign it for me yesterday. She read from the book at lunch, and it intrigued me and I started it on my public transit trip home. I read it when I had trouble sleeping in the night and finished it off this morning at breakfast.
The story is mostly set on November 14, 1940, in Coventry, England. This is the day that German bombers destroyed the city, including its cathedral. The main character, Harriet Marsh is firewatching on the roof of the cathedral when the evening begins. As the bombing begins, she connects with another firewatcher, young Jeremy Fisher. Harriet leads him back through the city to search for his mother Maeve.
We also see the story from Maeve's point of view, where she begins the evening in the pub and spends some time searching for Jeremy.
There is a bit at the beginning taking us back to World War I, when Harriet was newly married, and a bit at the end taking us forward to 1962, after Coventry Cathedral was rebuilt. The rest of the book occurs on November 14, and takes us through the night as the three characters make their way through the burning city and react to the destruction, heartbreak and devastation that they encounter. The interactions between the characters, particular between Jeremy and Harriet are what make the book, as they both bring their feelings and needs into the situation in which they find themselves.
Vignettes in History
Finished October 24
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
I got this book for Christmas last year and have been reading bits of it slowly since the spring. I finished it off as I was enroute to a readers' advisory seminar where Humphreys was the lunch speaker. It is a fascinating idea done extremely well. She researched all the times the Thames in London froze over between 1142 and 1895 and wrote vignettes for each of those instances. They are short, each 5 pages or less, and interspersed with illustrations. Each one is a engrossing look at a moment in time and the points of view are extremely varied. All of the stories are based on real events and give a strong sense of time and place.
I was also fascinated by the interesting information given in passing in the stories, things like the interesting taxes conceived of over time. In one story there is mention of the Hearth Tax, a tax based on the number of hearths in a building. It made me think of the more recent British tax on televisions, a modern day sort of hearth. There is another story that mentioned window taxes, the result of which is windows that were bricked up.
What all of the stories have, of course, is the frozen river and the nature of the ice for that particular time. The ice is varied, smooth and hard, thin and dangerous, bumpy or consisting of large pieces frozen together. The characters are influenced by this weather phenomenom and some make life changes because of it.
This is one of the most interesting and fascinating books that I've ever read, and I know I will go back to it often.
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys
I got this book for Christmas last year and have been reading bits of it slowly since the spring. I finished it off as I was enroute to a readers' advisory seminar where Humphreys was the lunch speaker. It is a fascinating idea done extremely well. She researched all the times the Thames in London froze over between 1142 and 1895 and wrote vignettes for each of those instances. They are short, each 5 pages or less, and interspersed with illustrations. Each one is a engrossing look at a moment in time and the points of view are extremely varied. All of the stories are based on real events and give a strong sense of time and place.
I was also fascinated by the interesting information given in passing in the stories, things like the interesting taxes conceived of over time. In one story there is mention of the Hearth Tax, a tax based on the number of hearths in a building. It made me think of the more recent British tax on televisions, a modern day sort of hearth. There is another story that mentioned window taxes, the result of which is windows that were bricked up.
What all of the stories have, of course, is the frozen river and the nature of the ice for that particular time. The ice is varied, smooth and hard, thin and dangerous, bumpy or consisting of large pieces frozen together. The characters are influenced by this weather phenomenom and some make life changes because of it.
This is one of the most interesting and fascinating books that I've ever read, and I know I will go back to it often.
Thriller
Finished October 23
Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner
This thriller features FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy, soon to become a mother. She is told a story by a prostitute, Delilah Rose, about a missing woman. She connects with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Sal Martignetti who has been collecting information on missing prostitutes for the last few months. As the two begin to compare notes, they find leads on the missing women.
Part of the book is also told from the point of view of a man who was kidnapped as a young boy and sexually abused by his captor. He has developed an intense interest in spiders, and this becomes part of the clues the two agents work with. There are many things going on in this book, and as the story progresses, the tension increases and I found myself gripped by the plot. Kimberly is also an interesting character, a self-admitted type A personality, driven by her work, and unsure of her readiness to raise a child. As she struggles with her issues, we see her as a human being as well as an investigator.
Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner
This thriller features FBI Special Agent Kimberly Quincy, soon to become a mother. She is told a story by a prostitute, Delilah Rose, about a missing woman. She connects with Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Sal Martignetti who has been collecting information on missing prostitutes for the last few months. As the two begin to compare notes, they find leads on the missing women.
Part of the book is also told from the point of view of a man who was kidnapped as a young boy and sexually abused by his captor. He has developed an intense interest in spiders, and this becomes part of the clues the two agents work with. There are many things going on in this book, and as the story progresses, the tension increases and I found myself gripped by the plot. Kimberly is also an interesting character, a self-admitted type A personality, driven by her work, and unsure of her readiness to raise a child. As she struggles with her issues, we see her as a human being as well as an investigator.
Monday, 20 October 2008
Mystery
Finished October 19
Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
It is 1934 and 4 years ago Philippa Penhow went missing. A letter from her seemed to indicate that she had gone to America, but the situation is suspicious.
Now Lydia Langstone has just left her abusive husband and runs to her father in Bleeding Heart Square, a man she has never met before. Also living in the same house in the square are Mrs. Renton, a seamstress; Mr Fimberry; and Mr Serridge, the landlord of the house. Another man, Rory Wentwood soon arrives to take the room in the attic. As the stories of the characters begin to intertwine we also get entries from Miss Penhow's diary. The diary entries give us a sense of what has happened between Miss Penhow and Mr Serridge. The rest of the story leads us deeper into the other doings of Serridge as well as his hanger-ons.
I didn't like this one as much as the other books I've read by the author. I found it slow to develop and only the last hundred pages or so were truly interesting.
Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor
It is 1934 and 4 years ago Philippa Penhow went missing. A letter from her seemed to indicate that she had gone to America, but the situation is suspicious.
Now Lydia Langstone has just left her abusive husband and runs to her father in Bleeding Heart Square, a man she has never met before. Also living in the same house in the square are Mrs. Renton, a seamstress; Mr Fimberry; and Mr Serridge, the landlord of the house. Another man, Rory Wentwood soon arrives to take the room in the attic. As the stories of the characters begin to intertwine we also get entries from Miss Penhow's diary. The diary entries give us a sense of what has happened between Miss Penhow and Mr Serridge. The rest of the story leads us deeper into the other doings of Serridge as well as his hanger-ons.
I didn't like this one as much as the other books I've read by the author. I found it slow to develop and only the last hundred pages or so were truly interesting.
Canadian Fiction
Finished October 18
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden
This is a wonderful novel revolving around native characters from a community in northern Ontario. The chapters are told from the points of view of Annie, a young native woman, and her uncle Will Bird, who is lying in the hospital in a coma. The chapters alternate between the two viewpoints. Annie has been on an adventure out in the wider world, and has brought back Gordon, a native boy from the city with her. She is teaching Gordon ways of living off the land. She visits her uncle in the hospital every day and begins talking to him on the advice of the nurses, telling him what she has been through over the last little while.
Will's story is told in his own head, but also deals with his secrets over the last little while, the things that led to him being where he is right now. He also talks about past events in the family, some secrets, some not.
The reader learns a lot about the Bird family and their lives up to now. We also see the community and how the people in it relate, the issues and lifestyles. In Annie's side of the story we also see city life and the world of modelling as she experiences it.
A fascinating and very human story, this is also a story of hope. I loved it.
Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden
This is a wonderful novel revolving around native characters from a community in northern Ontario. The chapters are told from the points of view of Annie, a young native woman, and her uncle Will Bird, who is lying in the hospital in a coma. The chapters alternate between the two viewpoints. Annie has been on an adventure out in the wider world, and has brought back Gordon, a native boy from the city with her. She is teaching Gordon ways of living off the land. She visits her uncle in the hospital every day and begins talking to him on the advice of the nurses, telling him what she has been through over the last little while.
Will's story is told in his own head, but also deals with his secrets over the last little while, the things that led to him being where he is right now. He also talks about past events in the family, some secrets, some not.
The reader learns a lot about the Bird family and their lives up to now. We also see the community and how the people in it relate, the issues and lifestyles. In Annie's side of the story we also see city life and the world of modelling as she experiences it.
A fascinating and very human story, this is also a story of hope. I loved it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)