Alchemised

Finished March 23

Alchemised by Sen Lin Yu

This long novel is fantasy set in a country in another world. It has a lot of elements of horror and some romance, but not done in a typical way. The main character is Helena Marina, and she came to Paladia as a teenager on a scholarship to a special alchemy school. Her father accompanied her, and although he is a skilled surgeon in his own country, he wasn't allowed to practice in Paladia. Helena trained as a healer, and the civil war in the country started around the time she finished school, but she decided to stay and help the government that was in place when she came. They have a philosophy and folklore of the leading family, the Holdfasts, being granted their leadership and abilities by the gods. But she has grown to learn that not all of these stories are based in fact. 

The rebellion came from the guild families, some of whom came to the school, but who were always made to feel lesser. They were led by someone who came from elsewhere, a shadowy figure who has the ability to grand everlasting life, including quick self-healing. Only those who have taken up this promise know the true cost.

The story begins after the war, where Helena is now a prisoner-of-war, about whom the authorities are very curious. She has had something done to her mind to reorganize her memories and they wonder what she is hiding. She doesn't know herself what was done to her, and she has no memories of much of the war. She is given to the High Reeve, who is expected to break the barriers created in her mind and find out any hidden information. His house is in the countryside, a gated estate, and the only ones there besides him and his wife, who resents Helena, are dead servants who have been reanimated by the Reeve. She is also watched all the time. The High Reeve is an accomplished alchemist and necromancer with an affinity for several metals. His home has iron embedded in it that he can use when needed. 

Part of this story is what really happened in the war, and we learn all the events and relationships, the loss that Helena can't remember. She has many secrets, and so does the High Reeve, and some of those secrets are shared.

This is a horrific war, where the rebels reanimate the people they kill and use them as soldiers. They are cruel and don't really care about anyone but themselves. During the war, they did experiments on those they captured, and created monstrous animals that lived in pain and because of their pain lashed out at all those they encountered. 

There is also a plan to use the women alchemists and necromancers from the defeated side as breeders with the winning men to create more skilled necromancers. 

This is a disturbing read, and I think it could have used some more editing to shorten it a bit, but it is also a book that draws you in, needing to know what happens to these characters. 

All the Beauty in the World

Finished February 2

All the Beauty in the World: A Museum Guard's Adventures in Life, Loss and Art by Patrick Bringley, illustrated by Maya McMahon

This memoir is both fascinating and informative. The author left a job at the New Yorker magazine after the death of his older brother Tom, and applied to be a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He worked their for ten years, during which time he worked through his grief, made friends, learned about art, watched people, and learned to be present in his life. 

He includes a plan of the museum's public spaces, and structures his book around them as he works in different sections of the building, and even in one of the satellite buildings the museum has. 

He talks about the art, and lists the art he refers to at the back of the book. He doesn't include pictures of the art, but there are drawings that relate to his words, done by illustrator, Maya McMahon. These drawings give a sense of the art that intrigues. 

Patrick's words are sometimes emotional, and centered on his work at the museum. There are a few references to his family beyond Tom, but it is the art that we see him engaging with, and his fellow guards as they hand off from one position to another, share work, and share experiences. They are from many cultural backgrounds, and this comes into his story as well. 

This was a book I received through a subscription from English bookstore Mr. B's Emporium, and I loved it. 

Unscripted

Finished May 28

Unscripted by Davis Bunn

This fast-moving novel is set around the California movie industry. There are two main characters that we get to see the thoughts of. One of them is Danny Byrd, a line producer who has a good reputation for getting things done on schedule. The other is Los Angeles lawyer Megan Pierce who has been working with a entertainment law firm, working long hours and putting up with a lot of abuse as she's developed a lot of experience. 

As the book opens, Danny is in jail. John Rexford, aka Johnny Rocket, Danny's partner in business and friend since childhood has seeming left town with the investment money for their latest production. Due to Danny's trust, he also had access to Danny's personal accounts and cleaned them out as well. Without access to funds, Danny has relied on a court-appointed lawyer to this point and his outlook isn't hopeful. But as he gets called to meet with someone unexpectedly, he finds he has a new lawyer, paid for by someone who has chosen to remain anonymous, and she is working with another law firm that seems to have a different atmosphere from the L.A. based ones. 

As Danny finds his feet and jumps at a new chance to make a film to get a fresh start, he finds both old friends in the industry who are still willing to support him, and new ones in Solvang, the small town he finds himself based out of. 

This is a story of fresh starts for not only the two main characters, but also others, like the Emma Sturgis who is still mourning the loss of her father. 

This novel had me caring about the characters and wanting to know what happened with all of them. I also enjoyed the setting of Solvang and the community that came together there. A great read. 

Summer at Little Lava

Finished August 10

Summer at Little Lava: A Season at the Edge of the World by Charles Fergus

This memoir is of a summer spent in a remote, off-the-grid house on a farm on the west coast of Iceland. The author is still reeling from the sudden and violent death of his mother and hopes that this time will help the healing. No roads lead to the house, and to get to it you must cross a wetland that is flooded twice a day by the tide. It is surrounded by lava fields and has views of mountains, volcanoes, and the rugged coastline. 

Fergus goes in late May and, working with an Icelandic friend does repairs to the abandoned house, making it weatherproof and fitting it with the basics. He and the friend had gone in December to do a reconnaissance and see what would be needed. There is no heat other than the fires that they make, no electricity, and no running water. They use one of the cold pools in a cleft in the lava field as a fridge, and get some supplies locally from neighbours. 

Once his wife and son join him and they buy a used car, they spend the summer exploring the country nearby, including on a collapsible kayak that he brings to have time in the nearby ocean, are visited by relatives undergoing their own healing journey, and enjoy watching the animals and birds and noting the local plants and geology. 

The author's wife Nancy had done graduate work on the Icelandic sagas, they had visited the country a few times together and Nancy had gone again to study the language. It was she who had discovered this farm and they had already planned the visit before the loss of the author's mother. Nancy has also found references to the farm dating back to 1354 and there are the remains of other structures on the property. 

This is a personal memoir of his own emotional journey, but also beautiful descriptions of the land and its occupants. This is a book to savour. 

Rosewater and Soda Bread

Finished December 26
Rosewater and Soda Bread by Marsha Mehran

This novel takes place in small town Ireland but the main characters are immigrants from Iran, three sisters that live together and run a cafe. 

The oldest sister Marjan Aminpour is the heart of the business and the driving force. She has guilt from her absence from the family during a crisis, one that led to deep sadness for her middle sister Bahar. She has never told her sisters where she was during those days she was missing, that she'd been active in the actions against the Shah's government in Iran, partly due to her love for a young man, and that the printing operation they were running had been raided and she'd been in prison and been tortured. It is this experience that compelled her to focus on her sisters, and when Bahar returned from her ordeal, it was her that organized their flight from Iran to England, and now to Ireland. 

Her friendship in London with another Irish transplant, a woman her own age whose mother came to Ireland from Italy is what brought them to this town a year ago. Her subsequent friendship with the mother, Estelle, brings her into another situation with a girl running from a bad situation. We don't learn her whole story until near the end of the novel, but it is a compelling one. 

We also see the role of the old guard, the ones that resent change and newcomers and the loss of their power in the community. Here, this is personified by the widow Dervla who lives across the street from the Aminpours and she spends most of her day at her front window watching and judging. She has a group of other women who bring her gossip from further afield that she then tries to act on. 

The youngest sister, Layla is a confident schoolgirl, in love with a local boy and wanting to control her own life and fate through her informed decisions. Marjan must learn how to trust Layla to make those decisions, and also how to help accept Bahar's decisions to move forward with her life in an unexpected direction. 

There are other things going on in the town, from the local priest who becomes a pirate DJ on the side, the local doctor, an immigrant from Pakistan who must walk a careful line to stay out of trouble, and the prodigal landowner who has returned to remake the family manor as a destination inn and restaurant. 

And among it all are the seasonal celebrations like Bonfire Night and All Hallows Eve, and of course the food, both Iranian and Irish. Lucky for the reader, several recipes are included here.