The Story of V

Finished July 23

The Story of V: Opening Pandora's Box by Catherine Blackledge

This is an in-depth look into female sexual organs, sexuality, reproduction, and sexual pleasure. The author has a PhD in science, and worked in science and medical journalism. As one would guess from the title of this book, the central subject of the book is the vagina, but it goes beyond that.

She describes how female genitals have been studied over history and talks about how knowledge has ebbed and flowed. Some things were discovered, denied, and then discovered anew. Sometimes these complex organs were simplified or misrepresented. 

She also references female sexuality across numerous species, including insects, birds, and mammals, and talks about how, in many cases, it is the female that controls the sexual encounter and whether fertilization occurs. 

She also talks about how our sexuality goes beyond our genitals involving other areas of our body, and how scent is a big influence on our sexual pleasure. One thing I found interesting in the connection between the nose and sexual arousal was that, for many people, nasal stuffiness or congestion can occur in conjunction with sexual stimulation or orgasm. 

She talks about the structure of the different parts of our genitals, and when we learned about different aspects of them, linking research to knowledge and where we still have things to learn. 

This is an important book, particularly for women, to better understand their own bodies and responses. I read it slowly over many months, taking time to absorb the different learnings throughout. 

The Woman on the Train

Finished July 23

The Woman on the Train by Rupert Colley

This short historical novel covers three time periods. The earliest is in World War II where the main character, a young man doing an errand for the resistance is saved from interrogation by a woman in the same train car. She speaks in German to the authorities both on the train and in the station, and the man is left alone. 

Two decades later, the man is now a famous French conductor, and the woman comes to him and says that she may ask something from him in return for her actions back during the war. When the time comes and she asks for his help, we see his struggles as he decides whether to tell of his experience with her back then, or not, and the effect it might have on his career if he does.

The last time period is another two decades later, when a journalist doing a story about famous people who have fallen out of the public gaze, asks for an interview. This interview is the frame for the story, as he tells the reporter about what happened earlier and why he is where he is now. 

I found this an interesting tale from an ethical point of view. What the woman was asking him was to tell the truth about his experience during the war, but because of other things the woman had done, she was not looked on favourably, and this stigma would have possible effects on how people viewed him, although again, he would be merely telling the truth about his own experience. It brings to light the way that public perception, emotions around trauma, and how the past influences the present all have ripples beyond the immediate situation. 

I Will Ruin You

Finished July 22

I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay

This novel has lots of twist and turn that will keep you guessing. High school English teacher Richard Boyle looks out his classroom window one day and sees a man with what looks like explosives strapped to him approaching the school. He leaves the classroom abruptly, telling his students briefly to alert authorities and protect themselves and runs to try to intercept the man. He is able to avert a major tragedy, but recognizes that there is still a tragedy, and a motivation that the former student had to act the way he did. 

Unbeknownst to him, his appearance on the news triggers another situation, as he is approached by a man who tries to blackmail him based on supposed acts he did years before. 

As one would expect, this has a big impact on Richard, both in terms of thinking of ways to avert the situation or deal with it, and in terms of what this new accusation might say in terms of the actions of the first man in terms of validation. 

Richard's wife Bonnie, a principal at an elementary school is also dealing with a tragedy, the loss of the mother of one of her students. Bonnie's sister Marta, a police officer was involved with the case of the mother's death, and her investigations lead her towards a drug ring. 

As the two cases begin to connect, all involved will find themselves trying to protect those they care about as well as finding the truth. 

This is a novel that took a while to get me hooked, but that did engage me, both with the intriguing plot, and with the characters. 

Keep Me Posted

Finished July 21

Keep Me Posted by Lisa Beazley

This novel is about a woman in New York City, Cassie, who begins a physical correspondence with her older sister Sid, who lives in Singapore. It begins as a thoughtful way for the two to keep in touch, as they live very different lives. Sid was inspired by old letters she found when visiting her grandparents and issued a challenge to her sister to reconnect through physical letters.

Sid had a child when she was quite young, River, and he is now an adult, taking a gap year before he goes on to further education. She has remarried a man who leads a busy life as an international businessman, and they have a young child Lulu. 

Cassie is married to Leo, and has twin toddlers, Quinn and Joey. They live in a small apartment in New York City. Cassie is vaguely dissatisfied with her life. She finds the apartment confining, and even though she and her sons go out often, the hassles of getting around are tiresome. 

The letter writing experiment goes well, and Cassie decides to keep copies of them online in a private blog, just for her to look back on. When a technical glitch makes the blog public, Cassie isn't aware until she realizes that they've gone viral and become the center of a social media discussion. Some of what they've written is very personal, and Cassie has to try to stem the leak, and find ways to tell the two people most important to her, Leo and Sid. 

I enjoyed the sisters relationship, and how they managed to keep the connection despite the distance between them. I also found it interesting to see how they dealt with the leak and made it part of the conversation in a wider, more inclusive way. 

Every Other Weekend

Finished July 20

Every Other Weekend by Zulema Renee Summerfield

This debut novel is set in 1988 and told from the point of view of an imaginative young girl, Nenny, who is eight and has lots of worries and ideas. Nenny's parents are divorced, and her mother has remarried a man who is also divorced. She has an older brother, Bubbles, and a younger brother, Tiny. Her mom's new husband, Rick, has two children, Charles, who is in the same grade as Nenny, and Kat, who is sixteen. 

The story is structured around the two houses that Nenny lives in. The first is the one with her mom and Rick, The second is the one with her dad. There some chapters different fears that Nenny has, and how those fears appear to her. 

As Nenny observes the life in her family and at school, she shows how things change, and how people react to changes. Some changes are minor and others are very large and difficult. I appreciated her views on these and how the changes also influenced her inner fears. 

This was a quick read, but also one that felt reflective. 

I enjoyed this novel,  

Summer Romance

Finished July 16

Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan

This romance novel is delightful and heartwarming with touches of humour. The central character is Ali Morris, a woman who is struggling. Two years ago, Ali's mom Nancy died. She'd raised Ali mostly on her own, and after having children and moving back to her home town, Ali had relied on her a lot. One year ago, Ali's husband Pete told her he wanted a divorce and left. Ali has a professional organizing business that she runs part-time wherever she can fit it in, but her own home is a mess. 

Pete and Ali have a civilized separation. He takes their daughters, Iris (5th grade) and Greer (6th grade), for their sports practices and games, and for ice cream after, accompanied by their son, Cliffy (kindergarten). When he calls to say that after a year's separation, it's time to make things final with a divorce, things somehow become a little better for Ali. 

Ali's kids called her mom Fancy, a take-off on her given name, not because she wore designer clothes or had upscale tastes, but because she did things on a whim, things that were easy and fun, a passing fancy. 

Ali's best friend Frannie also lives in town, and runs her parents deli along with her husband Marco. Frannie's parents live in a big house downtown, run an inn that is also downtown, and are very quirky. They dress up in costumes for any reason at all, and are very involved in the community. 

After school lets out the kids are at day camp on weekdays, and Ali starts to work on her to-do list and move on with her life. She takes off her wedding ring, puts on something other than sweatpants, and takes their dog Ferris to the dog park. There, Ferris approaches a man and pees on him, and soon after Ali finds herself flirting with him. The man, Ethan, begins to make regular appearances in her life, and Ali slowly finds that she has a lot to think about. 

As she reevaluates her dying marriage in the course of the divorce, she finds that she's not been holding her husband accountable for a long time, and she has only herself to blame for that. She begins to make small changes in her life, and decides that a summer romance is just the thing, and Ethan is just the right guy. 

I really liked pretty much all the characters in the book, except Pete, and I found the book had a lightness to it despite some very serious plot points. I couldn't put it down, and found myself reading the whole book in one day. An excellent, and satisfying read. 

Sometimes the Wolf

Finished July 16

Sometimes the Wolf by Urban Waite

This dark novel is set in the northwest U.S., and centers around deputy sheriff Bobby Drake. Twelve years previous to the events in the novel, Bobby's father Patrick had been sheriff. Bobby had been away at university. Bobby's mother had been ill, and Patrick had taken to some illegal acts for money. He was caught and convicted, and is now coming out of jail. 

Bobby has agreed, reluctantly, to take his father in for a short time until he gets on his feet. Bobby's wife Sheri is agreeable to it as well. They will give him the room they had prepared for another purpose, which has a single bed in it. 

Bobby has been working with the local wildlife office with a situation involving a local wolf. The wolf has had some interactions with local farmers and has been blamed for some without solid proof, and the wildlife officer Ellie is planning to capture and tag the wolf so that they can track it and be aware of its whereabouts. 

Patrick seems a little wary once out, thinking that other cars are following them, or that people are watching them, and Bobby has put it down as part of the experience of getting out of prison, and not being used to the freedom and open space that now exists for him. 

Bobby also holds a lot of resentment towards his father. He quit university, came home, sold some of the land to save the house, and now lives in that house with his own wife, and works for his father's old deputy, who is now sheriff. 

Soon after his release, men from his past do appear in Patrick's life, and Bobby and Sheri are at risk. The federal agent who has been on Patrick's case from the beginning has also reappeared, and his presence raises other questions. 

This is a dark story, of fathers and sons, of guilt and the weight of it on those close to us, and of revenge. It is a fast-paced story with lots of action and suspense. 

Sorry, Bro

Finished July 13

Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni

In San Francisco, Nareh Bedrossian is focused on her career as a journalist, working six days a week and hoping her boss gives her a chance at a story beyond the human interest stories she's been given up to now. She lives with her mother and grandmother and her Armenian heritage is very much a part of her life, despite her father's efforts to Americanize their family. Her long-term boyfriend Trevor is also a hard worker, and when he springs a proposal on her in a busy bar surrounded by drunken tech sector workers, she is struck dumb. He is off to business meetings overseas for a few weeks, so she has some time to really analyze how she feels and what she should do now.

She tells her mother about her uncertainty, and her mother, finally emerging from the deep grief she has over Nareh's father's death, pushes her into looking for love within her own culture. Explore Armenia, a big cultural event that happens every three years, is beginning, and Nareh's mom has her sign up for numerous events to meet eligible men. Her mom also does research through her many connections and comes up with a list of possibilities for her. 

Nareh does find herself captivated by someone she meets at her very first event, but that person is Erebuni, a woman. Nareh has identified as bisexual for years, but since she's been with Trevor for years, her attraction to Erebuni is unexpected and a little scary. She is scared that her feelings won't be reciprocated, that her family won't accept her relationship, and that she isn't herself ready to be out of the closet. 

All of these things combine to force Nareh into making a choice. 

I found the Armenian aspect of this book to be overwhelming, with many terms not explained. I think it would be helpful if the author had a list of these terms with definitions at the back of the book. Still, her Armenian identity becomes such a big part of her life, personally and professionally, that it just felt somewhat unrealistic. I've read other romance books that exist in cultural groups, and haven't encountered this much culture overkill. 

An okay read, but I had to force my way through parts of it. 

The Book of Dreams

Finished July 12

The Book of Dreams by Nina George

This novel was a definite page-turner for me. It in hard to pin down exactly what type of novel it is in terms of genre. It definitely has elements of magic realism in it, but also some coming of age elements, a touch of mystery, and romance. It is a novel that had me feeling a lot of different emotions as well. 

The story follows four people and we are allowed into the thoughts of three of them. The book begins with Henri Skinner, a journalist who grew famous as a war reporter and then moved into more biographical work, telling the stories of people from all corners of the world. 

In one particularly dangerous situation in Sudan, he used his body to protect the female photographer who was in the same vehicle as he was. In the aftermath, she took a photo the reverberates over time, and the two came together to create a child, Sam. 

Sam is now almost fourteen, but his mother has discouraged contact with Henri, but Sam invites him to a Father-Son day at his school. Henri is on his way there, when he stops on a bridge to look at the river and witnesses, with three other people, a young girl falling off a boat. Henri jumps in to save her, and brings her to shore, but is then in an accident, and ends up unconscious in the hospital. 

Sam begins to visit him there, hoping he will survive and they will get to know each other. Along with Sam, in visiting Henri is Eddie Tomlin, a former lover of Henri that he has named as the person to determine medical issues if he isn't able to. She is forced to revisit their relationship and the deep love she has for Henri. 

Sam also discovers a twelve-year-old girl, Madelyn Zeidler, a dancer who is a patient in the same neurological care area as Henri, and once he knows how she came to be there, he tries his best to help her find her way back to life. 

Sam is a synesthete, and his abilities allow him to connect to people's emotions and presence in unique ways, making him a considerate and thoughtful observer and participant in people's lives. 

We get to see Eddie's memories of her time with Henri, and we also get to see Henri's memories of his life, from his work, to his childhood traumas, to his longing for a connection with his son. While in a coma, Henri experiences different versions of his life, struggling to choose which one is real, and showing us feelings that he never expressed to those he cared for. 

We also see how Sam is managing his life to make room for his father and Madelyn, and how he feels an outsider in his own family. 

Along the way are doctors and nurses, each with their individual characteristics, round out the story in interesting ways. 

I really loved this book, and I found it released some of the feelings I had been carrying with me recently. 

In the afterward, the author talks about how this book is the third book in her writing that has been shaped by her experiences of death and dying, mourning and surviving. I found this quite interesting. 

The Paris Lawyer

Finished July 11

The Paris Lawyer by Sylvie Granotier, translated by Anne Trager

This novel revolves around Catherine Monsigny, a young lawyer in Paris. When she was a young child, Catherine was the only witness to her mother's murder, which happened in a park near where they lived in the Creuse, a department in central France. She didn't see what happened but heard it and remembers a few things. The murderer was never caught. 

She and her father moved away, as he found it hard to live in the area without her mother. They have a reasonably good relationship with each other, but aren't close. He has told her little about her mother, despite her questions. 

As the book opens, Catherine is heading to court to defend a man, Cedric Devers, accused of assault and battery. She is also trying to convince her boss, Renaud, to let her take defend a case of murder, allegedly by a woman whose husband has died. The woman Myriam Villetreix, is an immigrant from Gabon, brought to France by a family as a domestic, who escaped and showed up at a Paris refugee center. A farmer, Gaston Villetreix had posted an advertisement looking for a wife, and the two ended up getting married. After six years, he died. Some time after, Gaston's cousins accuse her of murder by poisoning, and she is now in jail awaiting her trial. 

As Catherine works on the murder case, memories of her childhood begin to resurface. She feels that there is something she knows that might solve the case of her mother's death as well. 

She also sees Cedric again, and a casual relationship develops between them. 

This is a very slow-paced mystery novel, with time spent wandering in the countryside, talking to people in the area, and doing research. As Catherine works her way closer to answers and to getting the accused to trust her, she finds herself unnerved by certain events. Only in court is she confident and calm, determined to do her best for her client. 

I found it interesting to see this brusque matter-of-fact character soften a bit as the reader gets to know her. She is ambitious, but also nervous. She wants love, but isn't sure what love really is. It took me a while to get into the story, but I did find it more captivating the further I got into it. 

A Painted Doom

Finished July 11

A Painted Doom by Kate Ellis

I was so enjoying the last Kate Ellis that I read I decided to immediately read the next one in the series. As is usual for this, there is an historical plotline that is gradually revealed through the archeological work that occurs in the novel and through letters or other writings that are given at the beginning of chapters. Here the historical is about the Merrivale family, a well-off family of the late 1400s that had links to the Earls of Devon, and who were loyal supporters of the House of Lancaster in the Wars of the Roses of that time. Recently, a skull was discovered when digging was done in an area of land not built on for some time, where a new town hall is planned for. Neil thinks that they may be excavating the foundations for a manor house of the Merrivale family. 

Meanwhile, in the present, farmer Terry Hoxworthy is preparing an old barn on his land for possible sale. He has roped his teenage son Lewis into helping him, and Lewis makes a discovery in the old barn's loft that comes into play later in the plot. He also sees a large wooden panel with a disturbing scene painted on it that he recoils from. The following day, when the local planning agent comes by, he brings Neil with him to check for any historical significance relating to the old barn. Neil also discovers the panel, which he soon identifies as a 'painted doom', a panel often displayed prominently in churches to depict the horrors that awaited those who weren't destined for heaven. 

Terry also finds something else on the property, a man's body, apparently a victim of murder. As the modern story unfolds, we get stories of the more recent past, the death of a minor celebrity, and, excitingly, a new coroner, a competent and confident young woman, Laura Kruger. We also see a different side of Gerry Heffernan, Wesley's superior, on both personal and professional levels. 

I enjoyed seeing the development of the different repeating characters in the series, and seeing them in lives beyond the professional. 

I liked learning about 'painted dooms' and their history. Bringing in the personal correspondence of the Merrivale family brought aspects of the story a more personal slant, and as always there is a modern day parallel to the story of what happened in the Merrivale family. 

Altogether, a satisfying read.

The Bone Garden

Finished July 8

The Bone Garden by Kate Ellis

This is book five in the Wesley Peterson series. This book is set around an excavation of a Renaissance era garden at an estate called Earlsacre Hall. The property was recently bought by a trust and they are restoring the main building as an arts centre and having the gardens brought back to what they were once. Local archeologists are working first to see what they find, and under a stone plinth that held a sundial they discover a body. While the local pathologist agrees that the body is likely hundreds of years old, it does look like it was a murder victim that was buried alive. When more bodies appear, the work gets delayed a bit, and things look for complicated for the historical situation. 

In the present day, a body is found in a nearby holiday park and the only clue that Wesley and his time can find is a newspaper cutting about the restoration at Earlsacre. Wesley has also had a call from a local lawyer requesting advice on a personal matter that he hasn't disclosed. They agree to meet at a cricket match they are both playing in, but the lawyer disappears and is later found murdered. 

Neil appears here as well, coming in to assist with the archeology work at the site. 

Rachel, another police officer, also takes a role here both professionally and personally as she is part of the murder investigations, and finds a new attractive man that seems to be interested in her. 

I really enjoy this series, seeing how the different central characters react, and how they are changed by the experiences they have. I also like how the police characters lives are rounded out by there personal lives, whether is is Wesley's wife Pam preparing to return to teaching, or Wesley's superior talking about his choir rehearsals. 

The archeological story is also interesting, especially as it might have a personal connection to Wesley's family. The bodies date back to the struggle between the York and Lancaster lines of the royal family, which is a time period I find interesting. 

Scandalized

Finished July 7

Scandalized by Ivy Owens

This romance novel was a page-turner. The main character Georgia (Gigi) Ross, an investigative journalist for the L.A. Times, has been travelling for hours after working on a big story in London. Her last flight, from Seattle to Los Angeles is cancelled, and there is a big line of people waiting for a hotel room. While waiting at the airport, she sees a man that she is sure she knows from somewhere, and it finally comes to her when she is in line for a room at the hotel. He is Alec Kim, the older brother of her best friend from early childhood to grade eight, when the friend's family moved away. When he recognizes her after she introduces herself, and offers to help, she finds herself fighting her fears to accept. 

Her fears are partially due to the story she's been working on, a private nightclub in London, where it appears that people have been taken advantage of in some pretty awful ways. She's worked hard on investigating the story, but it has also meant that she's seen some pretty dark stuff, especially to women at the hands of men. But Alec seems to be a nice guy, and she had a crush on him back in the day, so she accepts his offer. 

When it appears that the attraction is still there for her and the feelings seem to be reciprocated, she finds herself having a night to remember with him. It is only the following day that she realizes that there was another reason that he looked familiar to her. 

As the connection continues, she finds that there is a tie-in to the story that she's working on, but Gigi has to be careful of journalistic ethics around this important story, and what it might mean to involve him, even if he agrees. 

I liked the chemistry that came across between Gigi and Alec, and the connection from the past that made everything both deeper, and uncertain. Uncertain because she isn't aware of his life since then, even though his life has been one that the public has scrutinized in detail. I also liked the friendship Gigi has with her roommate Eden, which showed another element of her life. 

A great read. 

The Paradise Problem

Finished July 5

The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

This romance novel is a lot of fun to read, as one would expect from this author duo. Anna Green married Liam "West" Weston so that both of them could access subsidized family housing at UCLA. Both had needed an affordable place to live to finish their degrees, and Anna's friend Jake had suggested his brother as a solution. Anna had started in pre-med, but ended up in fine arts, and Liam was working on his graduate degree in economics. Anna signed some papers when they moved out and went on with her life, working low level jobs and painting as much as she can. She has a manager for her art, but hasn't hit it big. Liam is now a professor at Stanford, specializing in corporate culture. He is also one of the four children of the CEO of Weston Foods, one of the country's biggest grocery chains. His father has always expected Liam to take the reins as the next CEO, but Liam wants none of it. Both of his brothers, Alex and Jake, as well as his little sister Charlie work there in executive positions, but Liam has managed to make his own way after his father cut him off when he was in university. 

Now Charlie is getting married, and Liam is expected to make his appearance at the destination wedding at a resort in Indonesia. He is also expected to bring his wife. 

Anna hadn't realized that they were still married, and she also had no idea that Jake and Liam were part of this wealthy family. When Liam shows up on her doorstep to ask her to play at being in a committed marriage with him, she has to admit his timing is good. She's been trying to pay all her dad's hospital bills, but has recently lost one of her jobs, and is taking a day to distract herself. With Liam's offer to give her money in exchange for her appearance, she knows it will help her situation immensely.

Liam's lies to his family also included Anna being in med school as he didn't realize she'd changed her career track, so there is another lie that she has to play along with. 

The setting is beautiful, a luxury private resort, with ocean cabins, exquisite food, and lots of fun activities. The family not so much. The tension between Liam and his father is huge, and hanging over Liam is a clause from his grandfather's will that means Liam won't get his inheritance until he's been married five years, which is coming up in a few months. Liam's mother, Janet is passive aggressive. His older brother Alex is just plain aggressive, and Alex's wife Blaire seems to drink an awful lot. Jake is, of course, the only one that knows the real story of their marriage, but he's only too happy to assist. I really enjoyed the parts that included Alex and Blaire's children, particularly their oldest, Reagan. She's at the age that things get hard, puberty, and Anna is only too happy to give some life advice and support. 

There are a lot of things going on under the surface here, but Anna and Liam find themselves getting along in ways that they hadn't expected, not to mention feeling some chemistry between them. There is fun banter, real attraction, and some great romance going on. I didn't put it down until I finished it. A definite winner. 

The Funeral Boat

Finished July 4

The Funeral Boat by Kate Ellis. 

This is the fourth book in this series, set in Devon, and featuring police officer Wesley Peterson. 

A smallholding farmer finds a skeleton when he does some digging for a project, and some of the items around the remains indicate it might be a Viking burial. Neil Watson is called in for a closer look, and begins to do some research at a local museum as part of that. 

Meanwhile, a Danish woman visiting the area disappears, with her car left empty and unlocked on a quieter road in the country. While the police are looking into her disappearance, they are also dealing with a series of confrontational farm robberies happening in the area. When the Danish tourist's brother arrives to help, things seem to be escalating. 

Again, I like how old papers help connect the theme between the past and the present, in a number of ways. I also likes seeing Wesley's wife Pam in a new light as she uses her knowledge of Old English to translate the papers they find, and bring the old story to life. 

The way the story unfolds brings in the real life of the people involved. From the medieval fair that Pam participates in as a volunteer, to the connections between local farmers, we see how people are connected beyond their jobs. 

Expiration Dates

Finished July 1

Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle

This is a romance book with a few twists. The central character is Daphne Bell, the assistant to a well-known producer, who lives in L.A. not far from where she grew up. 

Daphne has long believed in a higher power that guided her life. All her life, from elementary school to the present, she has known how long each romantic relationship she experiences will be. Either just before, or soon after meeting someone, she finds a slip of paper that gives the first name of the man, and a time period. Sometimes it is only a few days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months. This makes her feel in control in a way. She can enter the relationship knowing when it will end. She has only disclosed this information to one person, and that was by accident. His name is Hugh, and while he once appeared on one of those slips of paper, now he is one of her best friends. She regularly goes to the market with him, meets him for meals, and talks about the latest man in her life. 

As the book opens, she is about to go on a blind date that another friend has set her up on, and this time the paper only has his name. What does that mean? She is shaken by this. Will Jake be her life partner, the one she stays with forever? 

As her relationship with Jake advances, we are taken back through the other men she's spent time with, and we see how she met each one, and how the relationships developed and ended. We also learn that she has another secret, one that may devastate Jake, and she has to decide whether and how to convey this information. 

I really enjoyed the segments that took us back in Daphne's life, showing us her at different stages in life and how she acted in different relationships. This book explores how we act and react in our relationships, and how true to ourselves we are, as well as how we are changed by each experience. Like another book I read recently, The Husbands,  the magic realism aspect of this novel gives it more depth and raises interesting questions to reflect on. 

Two Cures for Love

Finished June 30

Two Cures for Love: Selected Poems 1979-2006 by Wendy Cope

This collection includes poems from three previous collections as well as poems not published before. She is best known for the humour that resides in many of her poems, and the range of humour is wide, from limerick to subtle innuendo. But her poems also display other emotions from sadness and anger to happiness and love. Her poems often have a touch of the unexpected and are approachable to the average reader. They also often touch on the experiences of women. The seventy poems in this collection show her range and include many reader favourites, such as The Orange.

I enjoyed reading these over the course of a couple of weeks, taking a few at a time and considering them. 

The Whalebone Theatre

Finished June 30

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

This story start in World War I and continues past World War II. The central character is Cristabel Seagrave, a child as the book begins. Cristabel's mother died giving birth to her, and her father pushed her away in his grief. He is now remarried and hoping his new young wife can give him the son and heir he wants. Cristabel is a child that is curious and imaginative. She exists on the edges of her world, a daughter of the Chilcombe estate, but one often ignored. She is befriended by one of the younger members of staff, Maudie, who answers her questions if she can. She also waits eagerly for the letters from her uncle who is an officer in the army and tells tales of faraway places and interesting events. 

She eventually does get the long-awaited brother, Digby, after first a sister Flossie, and longs for the formal education that Digby gets, as opposed to the French governess that she and Flossie are educated by. In 1928, before Digby gets sent away to school, a whale washes up on the beach bordering the estate. Cristabel is one of the first on the scene and she claims the beast for the family. Around the same time, an interesting group of artistic people are visiting the area, and Cristabel manages, through her unorthodox manner to befriend the artist at the center of the group, and convince him to help her stage a play. This event leads to regular events and new connections, and gradually the three children grow up. 

As World War II begins, Digby is determined to sign-up, but not as an officer as his father wishes, and he sneaks away to enlist. Cristabel is also keen to help the war effort in some way and ventures off to London to offer her services. Flossie stays at the estate, but soon finds herself contributing in her own way. As the three begin their adult lives, the point of view takes turns between them, giving us insight into each experience. 

The main actions of the book take place in 1928 and during World War II, but pre-1928 also gives us a lot of background to the characters and the situation of Cristabel. 

I enjoyed the personalities of these three characters, and how each had their own strengths that carried them through the troubles they encountered. The story took a while to grab me, but once it did I was hooked. This book has mystery, romance, and suspense, and the Chilcombe estate is brought to life through the descriptions and events around it. 

July Reviews for the 18th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge

 Starting off a new challenge for reading Canadian books and authors, here is the place to post the links to your book reviews. Add a comment too!

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The Summer without Men

Finished June 28

The Summer without Men by Siri Hustvedt.

This short novel is very engaging. Mia Fredrickson, the narrator and central character, had a breakdown after her husband of thirty years left her for another woman, a French woman that Mia refers to as 'The Pause'. She was hospitalized for a short time, diagnosed with a Brief Psychotic Disorder, and once she was well, decided to return for a few months to the small Minnesota town of her childhood. She rents a small house near the senior complex where her mother lives in a small apartment. She also gets a job teaching a group of teen girls poetry. 

Her mother has a group of friends that spend a lot of time together, and Mia thinks of them as the Five Swans. She regards them as women who "shared a mental toughness and autonomy that gave them a veneer of enviable freedom". We get to know these women. George is one hundred and two and has a great sense of humour. Regina is eighty-eight had married a diplomat and lived in several countries and had several relationships after her husband's death. Peg, at eighty-four spent her life in a smaller town nearby, and has six children and numerous grandchildren that she keeps detailed track of. Abigail, at ninety-four has osteoporosis and hearing issues, worked as a teacher, but is a textile artist with hidden depths that she gradually reveals to Mia. 

We also get to know the teenagers. Mia has taught graduate students for years, but she adjusts quickly to this younger group of students. Peyton, thin and tall, is still getting used to her longer limbs. Jessica is small but has a woman's body, and talks in a babyish voice. Ashley is self conscious, but confident of her developing body. Emma is shy. Nikki and Joan function in tandem and giggle a lot. Alice has moved recently from Chicago, and is interested in books and art. Mia teaches them three times a week for six weeks, giving them interesting exercises and prompts for their writing. 

Mia also starts getting anonymous emails that are nasty and critical. When she begins to engage with this unknown person, the conversation becomes very interesting. 

She also has emails with her husband Boris and her daughter Daisy. During the summer both Daisy and Mia's sister Bea visit her. 

She also engages with the family living next door to her house, Lola and Pete, and their children Flora, and Simon. Flora makes quite an impression with her stuffed animal menagerie and her Harpo wig. Lola makes and sells jewelry and is a calm and capable mother. Pete travels a lot for work and Mia seldom interacts with him. She hears the arguments between the couple and helps sometimes with the children when Lola gets overwhelmed. She describes Flora so well, I can see her in my head. 

Scattered throughout the novel are poems, some by other poets, some by the teen characters, but many of Mia's own, and this is part of the skill with language that Hustvedt has. She also has insights that touched me. One example is this:

Sitting across from her in the small apartment, I had the thought that my mother was a place for me as well as a person. ...But it was my mother herself whom I had come home to.

Her other insights about her mother were also interesting to reflect on. Mia cooks for her mother and visits, listening to her talk about earlier times in her life, and walks back to her rented house reflecting on her own life. She has weekly telephone sessions with her psychiatrist Dr. S. and spends time writing poetry. 

This is a novel that drew me in, that made me read slowly with attention, and that made me care about the characters. A gem. 

The Guest

Finished June 27

The Guest by B.A. Paris

A twisty mysterious suspenseful tale of the type I've come to expect from B.A. Paris. The couple at the center of this novel, Iris and Gabriel have been married a long time. Their daughter Beth is taking a gap year volunteering in Turkey for an organization that works with abandoned and abused dogs. 

Recently Gabriel was the first one on the scene when a teenager, Charlie died after going over the edge of a nearby quarry. Charlie was still alive and said some things to Gabriel before he died. Gabriel had coached Charlie a few years back, and was deeply affected by this tragic experience. He is now on leave from his medical practice for an indeterminate time. Iris has a home-based business where she works with homeowners to decorate and furnish their spaces. The experience that Gabriel had has made for a distance in their marriage. 

As the novel begins, they arrive home a day early from their holidays and find an old friend Laure in their home. Laure is distraught, and says that Pierre, her husband has told her he had a child with someone and has just discovered her. He hasn't told Laure who the woman is, but Laure has suspicions. Iris had long wanted children, but Pierre did not, so she feels very betrayed at this point and is trying to figure out what she wants to do. As Iris tries to escape Laure's presence, she finds new friends in the village, a couple near her age that recently moved into a large property that had been abandoned for years. Hugh and Esme are in a second marriage for both of them, with Hugh widowed with a grown child and Esme divorced. Esme is now pregnant and eager to make new friends as well as bring the old house back to life. Along with them is Joseph a gardener that Esme's parents knew, who has recently lost his job. Joseph is helping with the grounds of the house. 

As the friendship begins, the presence of both Laure and Joseph bring tension to the atmosphere. Most of the characters have secrets that they haven't shared that will soon come to be uncovered, unless circumstances allow them to stay secret. 

There is lots of suspense here, with tension between many of the characters, and the ending is unexpected and unnerving. A real page-turner. 

Inland

Finished June 26

Inland by Téa Obreht

This historical novel follows two characters in the late 19th century in the United States. Lurie has some memories of when he and his father were on a ship, running from something in his father's past. He knows from things his father said, that he was from Turkey, but he doesn't know what drove him to leave. He knows his father's name was Hadziosman Djuriƈ, although the landlady in the house they lived in made it Hodge Lurie when the hearse took him away. Lurie lived with her a while, doing chores, until she hit harder times and sold him to the Coachman, the man who collected the dead. Later, he was sent west with other boys, and worked for a man that ran a mercantile. As Lurie's life unfolds, one thing becomes clear: he can hear the dead that aren't at rest. From men he helped the Coachman collect, to a friend that dies from illness, he begins to understand what he is hearing. In the Midwest, where he now lives, he hears many voices, of the indigenous people, settlers good and bad, and many others. He becomes a man who makes his way by chance and wit, and spends a long time with a camel section of a military group. 

The other main character is Nora Lark, a wife and mother who lives with her family on a small plot in the Arizona Territory. 1893 is a drought year that followed other drought years, and Nora's husband Emmett left to go for water days ago. Her two older sons, Rob and Dolan, have now gone out after him, leaving Nora with her elderly mother-in-law who doesn't speak and has limited mobility, her youngest son Toby, who was injured in the eye, and a serving girl Josie. Josie, like Lurie, senses connections to the dead, and Nora finds this both fascinating and annoying and doesn't know whether to believe her or not. Of late, Josie and Toby have been claiming they see a monster near the property. 

As we gradually see the two stories connecting, we see the reality of life for people at the time, struggling to survive amid threats both human and nature. Emmett Lark owns a printing press and ran a local newspaper in town, but he hasn't been that willing to go against the political force that is in the process of both making their town less prosperous and denying a recent widow her property. Nora is a fighter that is impulsive and this has made her more willing to fight, and less able to see the consequences until they are upon her. 

The writing is beautiful and often speaks to larger truths. At one point Lurie says to a companion "The longer I live, Burke, the more I have come to understand that extraordinary people are eroded by their worries while the useless are carried ever forward by their delusions." There is a haunting quality to the novel, and I often had trouble putting it down. 

A definite literary gem.