Author: whatmeread

Review 2632: #ReadingAusten25! Northanger Abbey

~ whatmeread ~ 18 Comments

Northanger Abbey is, of course, partially Jane Austen’s spoof of Gothic novels, and her heroine, Catherine Morland, is definitely a fan of them. But before that story line kicks in, Catherine gets to visit Bath in the company of family friends, Mr. and Mrs. Allen.

Catherine is not a well-informed girl and tends to be naïve and to take people as they present themselves. The first few days at Bath go slowly, because the Allens don’t know anyone. Catherine, however, has a dance with Henry Tilney and is inclined to like him. Then Mrs. Allen meets an old school friend, Mrs. Thorpe, and Catherine immediately becomes bosom pals with Isabella Thorpe.

It seems that Catherine’s brother James is friends with Isabella’s brother John, and Isabella has set her sights on James. Despite the vaunted friendship, Isabella and John (who is obnoxious enough that even Catherine notices it) do a great deal to disrupt Catherine’s growing acquaintance with Henry Tilney and his sister Eleanor in favor of foursomes with them.

Finally, Catherine is invited to stay with Eleanor and delighted to learn the Tilneys own an old abbey. Unfortunately, Catherine lets her taste for Gothic literature carry her away.

Catherine is one of Austen’s most serious heroines, trying to navigate society and do what is right but fallen in with people whose intentions aren’t as honorable. But she is adorable, and her naïve reactions are amusing. Henry is genuinely witty and just the man to teach her to examine her assumptions a little more thoroughly. All in all, this is one of the lightest and most fun of Austen’s works.

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Review 2631: Instead of the Thorn

~ whatmeread ~ 7 Comments

I’m on my second of three recently discovered (by me, anyway) Georgette Heyer books, and I’m beginning to think there’s a reason they’re not well known. Although the print-on-demand book I purchased has astonishingly few errors, it also contains absolutely no publication information, not even the name of the POD company. But I see that Instead of the Thorn was published in 1924. It is one of Heyer’s few contemporary novels that aren’t mysteries.

Elizabeth Arden is brought up by her Aunt Anne, a Victorian spinster who disapproves of everything modern and has taught Elizabeth to bury her own feelings and always be agreeable. Her father doesn’t pay attention to her, and when his old friend Mr. Hengist warns him that Anne may not be the best person to raise his daughter, he thinks that’s ridiculous.

When Elizabeth reaches her older teens, she is old-fashioned but beautiful (and probably doesn’t dress like the girl on the cover above). Her father begins to take an interest, and soon she is attending parties and dances.

She meets Stephen Ramsey, a famous author who is about 10 years older, and he falls in love with her. She likes him and finally agrees to marry him, hoping for a long engagement. But it is not to be, and three months later, knowing absolutely nothing about what to expect, she marries him.

Elizabeth is young for her age, and she has been raised to be a prig. She is shocked by what marriage entails, and so she begins finding fault with Stephen’s habits and so on. Eventually, they split.

Interestingly, but perhaps not surprisingly, their problems are all Elizabeth’s fault (except for how their marriage got its start, which is blamed on Aunt Anne). Aside from being messy, unpunctual, and intellectual, Stephen is perfect. Elizabeth has a long, perhaps unlikely way to go.

There are some hints of a sense of humor here, but not many. One scene between Elizabeth’s father and his sister is quite funny, and Stephen’s mother is a fun but lovable character. I guess I should give this book points for showing the harm that can occur by not telling girls the facts of life—but that problem was probably much more prevalent at that time.

Stephen’s family and friends are so much more interesting than her own that you’d think Elizabeth would go over to them immediately, but she is too much of a prig. She becomes quite unlikable for a while.

It’s clear that Heyer was still finding her feet as a novelist as well as her genre. This is not it. I will give Heyer some credit, because she does seem to be trying to capture the clash between the Victorian and Edwardian generations in both this book and Helen.

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WWW Wednesday!

~ whatmeread ~ 12 Comments

It’s the first Wednesday of the month, so it’s time for WWW Wednesday, an idea I borrowed from David Chazan, The Chocolate Lady, who borrowed it from someone else. For this feature, I report

  • What I am reading now
  • What I just finished reading
  • What I intend to read next

This is something you can participate in, too, if you want, by leaving comments about what you’ve been reading or plan to read.

What I am reading now

I got on to Henryk Sienkiewicz quite a few years ago now, when I read his gripping novel With Fire and Sword, the first of a trilogy. When I was reading it, I learned from a friend who is first-generation British/American of Polish descent that his were the books Polish children grew up with, but these aren’t just books for children. He is a late 19th century/early 20th century writer of historical fiction, a Nobel Prize for Literature winner. His best-known book is Quo Vadis, my least favorite of his so far. Sometime back, I noticed that someone was selling a used copy of The Teutonic Knights by him, and it finally made it to the top of my pile. I have since read that he considered it his best book, and I’d say it’s a real page-turner. It’s also very long. All of his books that I’ve read so far are quite long except Quo Vadis. But somehow the time goes quickly. Almost finished!

What I just finished reading

I just finished a book sent to me by NYRB, The Sweet Dove Died by Barbara Pym. It’s about an attractive woman of a certain age, a “fragile” woman, who becomes friends with a much younger man and his uncle. Although friendship with the uncle is more suitable, she prefers the young man and slowly begins drawing him in so that he is dependent on her. At 207 pages, this one squeaks in for Novellas in November.

What I will read next

I usually have written quite a few reviews ahead of time, and I see that I should be reading things I will be reviewing in November, which means two things: Novellas in November and Nonfiction November. Since Nonfiction November tends to be more about the nonfiction people have read during the year, I have a pile of novellas on my bed table that it’s about time to start reading. And Seascraper by Benjamin Wood serves both the purpose of being a novella and of being a book that I’ve read about lately (and also a Booker Prize longlister). So, I’ll start reading my pile with it.

What about you? What have you been reading?

Review 2630: So Far Gone

~ whatmeread ~ 5 Comments

Rhys Kinnick has been leading a relatively isolated life for seven years. Back then, he lost his job as a journalist, was dumped by his girlfriend, and at a Thanksgiving dinner at his daughter’s house, got into such a big dispute with his ultra-religious, conspiracy theorist son-in-law that Bethany said she never wanted to see him again. At that point, he decided the world had no more use for him, so he moved to his grandfather’s off-the-grid shack in Eastern Washington.

But now, he finds three people on his front porch. Anna Gaines, Bethany’s neighbor from Spokane, has brought him his grandchildren—14-year-old Leah and 7-year-old Asher. Apparently, Bethany left home for somewhere unspecified, leaving instructions with Anna that if her husband, Shane, left to try to find her, she should bring the kids to her father.

Given their rocky relationship, Rhys is surprised. He has only seen his daughter and her kids once since their falling out, during Covid, when Bethany came to visit for a few minutes.

Asher is worried about missing a chess tournament, so Rhys drives the kids into Spokane, where they find out they got the date wrong. But two big thugs appear, saying that Shane has asked them to pick up the kids and bring them back. Rhys has already learned that there is a plan in Shane’s religious group to betroth 14-year-old Leah to the pastor’s son, so he is reluctant to agree. When he tries to come along or get them to agree to call Shane, one of the men hits him in the head with a black jack.

Rhys is now determined to get the kids back, because Bethany entrusted them to him. His ex-girlfriend Lucy hooks him up with ex-cop turned P. I., Chuck Littlefield, who traces them to the Rampart, a religious compound in Northern Idaho. Rhys and Chuck set off to bring them back.

This description makes the novel sound like a thriller, but although it certainly is full of action, it’s really about Rhys trying to pull his life together and recognize his responsibilities to his family. It is also about the dangers of extremist thinking, which really strikes a chord within me these days.

I see that Walter has written quite a few more books than I have read. I need to catch up, because I always enjoy his books, and the three I’ve read have all been completely different from each other.

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Review 2629: Plum Bun

~ whatmeread ~ 11 Comments

I hadn’t heard of Jessie Redmon Fauset before, but according to the Preface of my Quite Literally Books copy, she was one of the most prolific writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Her novels were later critiqued for centering on the Black middle class, labeled as “bad fairytales,” a problem that doesn’t seem to have been resolved since then, if I can go by Percival Everett’s Erasure.

Angela and Virginia Murray are two sisters living in Philadelphia at the beginning of this novel. Their working-class parents have worked hard to purchase their house and provide them a comfortable life. Jinny appreciates this and loves her life, but Angela doesn’t want a life like they have. Unlike, Jinny, she looks White, and the only situations in which she has been made uncomfortable have been when White people discovered she was a Negro, to use the novel’s own terminology.

As young adults, the sisters lose both parents and inherit the house. Angela decides to sell her half to Jinny and study art in New York City, where no one knows her and she can pass as White. She wants to meet someone with money, so she can lead a carefree life. Girls just want to have fun.

In her art class, she meets Anthony from Brazil. She is drawn to him, but he is very poor, and when he asks her if she could live a poor life to be with someone, she says no. Then she meets Roger, a wealthy young man from a good family. He pursues her, and she comes to believe she can get him to propose. Unfortunately, she is being naïve and doesn’t seem to understand that he has no intention of marrying her, as she does not have the right social and economic background. She also ignores signs of racial bigotry.

But this book isn’t just about Angela’s relationships with men. It’s about the compromises and deceits involved in Angela’s decisions. It’s about her development from a selfish young girl to a woman who has learned empathy. It’s about what should underlie one’s life decisions. And it’s about the insidiousness of racism. It’s another time, so be prepared for some nasty attitudes that were okay at the time to express.

I didn’t like Angela for quite some time—she’s too cold and calculating, too selfish. But through strife, she learns to understand the feelings of others. I enjoyed this book very much.

I want to thank the new imprint, Quite Literally Books, for sending me the beautiful package that contained this book, in exchange for a free and fair review.

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Review 2628: #RIPXX: Fallen

~ whatmeread ~ 6 Comments

When Will Trent’s partner Faith Mitchell goes to her mother’s house to pick up her baby, Emma, she can see something is wrong. Loud music is playing inside and there is blood on the door handle. When she goes to the shed to get her mother’s gun, the gun is gone and the baby is locked inside.

Entering the house, she finds a dead man in the laundry room. She is forced to shoot a man in the bedroom and another one threatening the neighbor’s kids in the next yard. Her mother is gone.

Faith can’t be on the case, but Will and his boss Amanda Wagner have different ideas about what’s going on. Amanda is sure the incident has to do with gang activity, as Evelyn Mitchell used to be in charge of the narcotics squad. But Will can’t help thinking it may have to do with the case he investigated against her squad for skimming drug money. Evelyn was not prosecuted like the others but retired. Will has always thought she was guilty, and a large amount of money has never been found.

On the personal side, his relationship with Sara Linton is heating up just as his wife Angie has reappeared after months of absence.

This novel is the fifth in the Will Trent series and is full of action. I like Will, but I am thinking of stopping, and I have several reasons for that. One is his relationship with Sara Linton. She was apparently a main character from a previous series, and Slaughter has brought her into this one slowly, starting with the third book. My problem with her is that Slaughter hasn’t really bothered much with developing her character, having presumably developed it in the previous series, and I haven’t read the previous series. Plus, we haven’t seen much of Angie at all in the series, but in this book she is so horrible that you can’t imagine anyone staying with her. I think Slaughter is just using her as a device. Also, a little romance in this kind of novel is okay, but there’s an awful lot of emphasis on it in this book.

Finally, this took longer to occur to me than it should have, but this is Atlanta, Georgia, yet all of the principal characters in this novel are White, except for the bad guys. I had some difficulty in my brief bit of research finding data for 2011, the publication date of the book, but Atlanta is about 50% Black in population. The GBI doesn’t publicize its statistics, but the current demographics of the APD exactly meet the percentage of Black people in the community. Back in 2011, the APD was about 30% Black, and in 2010 there were about a third more Black people than White people in the city (statistics may be different for the greater Atlanta area). Yet, there’s not a single Black or Hispanic main character in this book. The TV series has taken care of this by making Will Hispanic and both his boss and partner Black. In fact, the only main White characters are a much nicer Angie and Angie’s partner Ormewood (no Sara).

So, is Slaughter a bigot or writing for what she thinks her audience wants? (2011 isn’t that long ago.) I was also irked by how Faith has spent two books not eating when she is having trouble with her diabetes. Come on! In any case, with Sara moving in and this belated realization, I’m moving out. Let me add, though, that Slaughter writes a truly suspenseful, exciting book.

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Review 2627: #RIPXX: The Strange Case of Harriet Hall

~ whatmeread ~ 4 Comments

Since the beginning of September, I have looked for info about Readers Imbibing Peril, which I have participated in for years, since I couldn’t remember whether it started in September and went through October or started in October and went through November. Since I couldn’t find anything, I assumed it started in October. Well, it’s too bad that it actually started in September, because I missed marking three other mysteries for the challenge. It is usually advertised through Instagram, which I don’t use much.

So, despite this being my fourth book to qualify, it’s going to count as my first.

Well, there certainly are surprises in this book!

Amy Steer is a young woman looking for work, a necessity made worse by the empty state of her pockets and her landlady’s demands to raise her rent. She is looking through the want ads when she spots an ad looking for relatives of her father. She never knew her father, but she answers the ad and makes an appointment.

She meets a disturbing but seemingly kind woman who says she is Harriet Hall, Amy’s aunt. She says she is staying in a house in the country owned by friends and invites Amy to stay. She even gives Amy £100 to spend on nicer clothing.

On Monday, the day she is expected, nicely dressed Amy is on the train to her aunt’s. She meets a pleasant young man named Tony Dene who is getting off at the same station. They are getting along just fine until Amy tells him about Aunt Hall. Then he abruptly leaves the car. No one picks Amy up, so she is forced to walk five miles to Harriet Hall’s cottage, finding no one home. But the door is unlocked, so she stays.

The Denes lived with their uncle until he died the year before. Then Mary Dene, Tony’s mother, inherited everything and bought a property in the country. But soon Harriet Hall appeared. Mary has told her three children that Harriet is an old friend fallen on hard times. She lets Harriet live in the cottage rent-free, but Harriet comes over every day to sponge or take something. Tony and his sister Mollie hate her, but Lavvy, who is engaged to marry Sir Miles Lennor, only cares about her wedding.

Amy stays in the cottage Monday night, but Harriet never appears. Tony, who feels bad about abandoning her, drops by with his sister’s dog, and the dog’s barking at an old well in the back of the house causes Tony to remove the top. Inside the well is a body.

Tony calls the police, but once the body is identified as Harriet Hall and the police understand the relationship between her and the Denes, Tony is a suspect. He has no alibi because instead of driving home from the train station, he drove around aimlessly for hours.

Scotland Yard Inspector Collier is called in fairly quickly. Although more evidence comes out against Tony, Collier is reluctant to charge him. Then there is a shocking discovery followed by another death.

If Amy is supposed to be our heroine, we see remarkably little of her, spending more time with the Denes. However, she does get to be in peril.

There’s a little bit of a cheat here, as a person of interest doesn’t appear until page 150. But overall, we’re having so much fun we don’t care. Dalton’s books are well written and move along at a brisk pace. Some aspects of this one were obvious, but for 1936 the book seems fairly avant-garde.

I received this book from the publishers in exchange for a free and fair review.

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Review 2626: Life Among the Qallunaat

~ whatmeread ~ 11 Comments

Life Among the Qallunaat is a memoir by Mini Aodla Freeman, an Inuit woman who became a translator and eventually a playwright, poet, and author, and respected elder of her people. This memoir begins when, at nineteen, she went to work as a translator in Ottawa, but then it returns to the events of her childhood and ends with her departure to Ottawa.

Mini was born on Cape Hope Island on James Bay, in what is now Nunavut. Aside from the nomadic nature of her family’s Inuit life, when she became older, she had many experiences away from her family. She was sent to school after her mother died at such a young age that she was the smallest child and was picked on by the others at the instigation of her cousin. Unlike the other children, she was not picked up by her family at the end of the year, so one of the teachers took her home. Then her father came to get her during the next term, and her family kept her home for the next year. Despite obstacles, she managed to finish eighth grade and did some schoolwork beyond that.

At 15 or 16, she helped out at the infirmary of her school and was encouraged to study nursing, so she did that for a while and later was hospitalized for tuberculosis. Yet after recovering, she stayed at the hospital doing nursing duties. During the stay in the hospital, she was called on to translate, because she spoke her dialect of Inuit as well as Cree, French, and eventually English. She lived with a family as a nanny for about a year but left after that same cousin made trouble for her. Instead, she took a job as a laundress at a school for a while, but she found it mentally unstimulating, so she switched jobs with a school house mistress who found it impossible to control her charges, a situation Mini had no trouble with.

This book is fascinating not only because of the details of Mini’s life but also for her explanations of Inuit customs and the differences between her people’s ways of thinking and behaving and our own. It is simply written, touching at times, and definitely an adventure to read. I believe I put this book on my list after last year’s Nonfiction November.

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Review 2625: Funny Girl

~ whatmeread ~ 7 Comments

I have enjoyed some of Nick Hornby’s books very much, particularly some of his early ones, and others not so much. I have been watching the series Funny Woman, though, and when I learned it was based on this book, I thought I’d read it.

It’s the Swinging 60s, and Barbara Parker wants to make people laugh. Her relatives encourage her to enter the Miss Blackpool competition in hopes it will keep her in Blackpool instead of leaving for London. She wins, but when she realizes she’s supposed to participate in activities for a year, she decides not to accept. Soon, she is in London.

The novel follows her as she looks for work and a roommate, and finally an agent. The agent is more interested in sending her for modeling gigs, but she wants to act, so she gets him to send her for auditions. After some failures, she is lucky enough to come upon the writing team of Tony Holmes and Bill Gardiner, their producer Dennis Maxwell Bishop, and actor Clive Richardson. They are working on a different project that they’re not happy with, but they are so charmed by Barbara (now calling herself Sophie Straw) that they decide to write a show for her. Sophie’s offbeat humor makes her a sensation and the show Barbara (and Jim) a success. (Ironically, her character has her true name.)

I didn’t think this book was particularly funny, but it’s still a fun read that is full of detail about early British TV comedies (much of which I wasn’t familiar with), the craziness of London in the 60s, and the progress of our ambitious but likable heroine. Toward the end, it takes a turn toward conventional romance, but the ending lends perspective to everything. Although Sophie is engaging, a lot of this novel hangs on the existing synergy between the members of that original team and what happens when it inevitably cools off. And, of course, the difficulties of a young woman trying to make it in show business.

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