About the Book:

It is 2008 and Carrie McClelland can’t hit the right note for her next novel, but an unplanned detour in Scotland, and a stop at the castle that inspired Count Dracula, sets her on a different path; a path that took her back in time exactly 300 years, to that same castle, and to a rebellion doomed to failure. Alternating between the contemporary setting and the past, The Winter Sea takes us at every turn into little known worlds; historical footnotes writ large, a history of Scotland and the Jacobite rebellion of 1708 and the possibility of genetic memory. Historical fiction at its best and Susanna Kearsley at hers, The Winter Sea evokes the writing of Thomas Raddall, Daphne Du Maurier, and Mary Stewart.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

Generally speaking, I am not a sad ending type of person.  I have always felt that life has enough sad endings, without our help in the matter.  So, as I started to get into this book — after several false starts — and I started to see the direction this was going, I really had to talk myself into finishing the book.  And I am so glad I did!  Mainly because all of my opinions about this book were formed in the last quarter of the book.  And that is not to say the first three quarters were bad.  This was actually an enjoyable read — and Kearsley is a very talented author. 

Simply put, I am amazed at Kearsley’s ability to get a reader to hate and love the same book with equal amounts of passion for both responses.  And it is a testament to her writing abilities that she can keep a reader through all of those varied responses, and have them coming out the other side glad they read the book.  Strictly speaking, Kearsley actually develops two different story lines throughout this book.  Since the main character, Carrie McClelland is an author, struggling to write her own “historical fiction” account of one of her ancestors — she comes away finding that sometimes history and fiction have a lot more in common than we might think.  And it is these two very different, and yet disturbingly similar stories that hold the plot together.  Written in alternating chapters, I found that it was the shifting back and forth that was the only part of this book that really frustrated me.  But not in a bad way.  I simply found that just as I was getting excited to find out how one would develop — the story would shift back to the other story — leaving me continuously hanging until the very end.  (Which is not really a bad thing as far as reading a good book goes.)

A couple of the characters, such as Graham could have been developed a little bit better.  He seemed to loose a little bit of depth in the shadow of the other strongly built characters who dominate this story.  And Colonel Moran suffered from much the same dilemma.  But over all the other characters of the book were well established and fun to get lost in their lives.  Combine that with the fun setting and historical background of Scotland and you have the makings of an ideal story for any lover of history, romance, political struggles, and the fickle tides of chance. 

I particularly loved the character of Carrie Mclelland, and her straight forward approach to life.  I was really able to identify with her no nonsense approach.  She knows what she wants out of life, and she isn’t afraid to go after it.  She doesn’t believe in playing games, and prefers to meet the challenges of life with a very real commitment to overcoming the challenges in front of her.  For some reason I was just really able to identify with her. 

I also really loved the Scottish setting.  This could have been simply the gift of Kersley in presenting the mystical and sometimes haunting  elements that make up this proud and strong people.  Or it could be my own family history lore coming to the front.  But either way I loved how this setting rings with both truth and the sense that the reader has actually stepped into this political quagmire that made up the times of the story. 

The love story part of this book is not really overwhelming, and in fact plays well into the story as a whole.  And while the events of the time take center stage — the romance backdrop is essential to the continuity and movement of the story.  This may be because the male counterparts to the heroins were not as fully developed as I usually like — so the romance portion of the story couldn’t develop as fully as it does in some other books I have read.   But overall, I actually found that a story that plays down the romance, and isn’t being written simply for the sex scenes, but rather as a furtherance of the story as a whole is more my preference.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites. 

Susanna Kearsley Website

Interview with the Author

Dear Author Book Review

Blogging For a Good Book Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Originally posted 2011-12-20 08:05:41. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

Haunting and harrowing, as beautiful as it is disturbing, The English Patient tells the story of the entanglement of four damaged lives in an Italian monastery as World War II ends. The exhausted nurse, Hana; the maimed thief, Caravaggio; the wary sapper, Kip: each is haunted by the riddle of the English patient, the nameless, burn victim who lies in an upstairs room and whose memories of passion, betrayal, and rescue illuminate this book like flashes of heat lightning. In lyrical prose informed by a poetic consciousness, Michael Ondaatje weaves these characters together, pulls them tight, then unravels the threads with unsettling acumen.

A book that binds readers of great literature, The English Patient garnered the Booker Prize for author Ondaatje. The poet and novelist has also written In the Skin of a Lion, Coming Through Slaughter and The Collected Works of Billy the Kid; two collections of poems, The Cinnamon Peeler and There’s a Trick with a Knife I’m Learning to Do; and a memoir, Running in the Family.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book that just didn’t quite do it for me.  I know that there was a lot of hype surrounding the st0ry — particularly when the movie came out.  And, in all honesty, I never saw the movie.  But the book just didn’t seem to work for me some how.  I generally don’t mind unreliable characters, if they are done well — and I have always loved historical fiction.  But this was just a bad combination of several things that just drove me nuts from beginning to end. 

The characters were the first thing that stood out as something that just didn’t quite mesh.  As I’ve already stated — I generally don’t mind unreliable characters.  In fact, I find that when they are done right they can add a certain mystery, depth and dimension to a story that you wouldn’t have otherwise.  After all — as a reader you are never really sure about what they are saying, remembering, or know.  But when you end up with an entire novel with ALL unreliable characters — and a limited character line up to begin with — the element of mystery turns into a down right quagmire of uncertainty — and even confusion.  In the end — Kip was the only character that gave the story any cohesion and for the story to end the way it did, especially in relation to him just frustrated me.

Another thing that really kept me wondering was the disconnected feeling of the story, itself.  There was no real flow throughout the story.  It kept shifting in time, place, and storyline, to the point where I was really uncertain of what was going on at times.  And while in the end they all came back together, more or less — it made for a particularly hard read.  For this reason, this is not a story that I would recommend that you could sit down and do a fast read through over a weekend. 

I did love the setting in this one.  The isolation of this nearly destroyed church in the way back hills of Italy really came to life, and it gave the feel of being in the wake of a war — as they country-side is left in devastated ruin.  But even this, due to the way the story was developed, has a certain disconnect from the raging events that are going on outside the peripheral of the story line.  The constant references to events that happened during the war remind the reader that this is a novel set during World War II — but you still come away not really sure that there was really a war raging in the midst of this almost idyllic setting.  It is this quality of the book that gives it a feeling of almost isolated removal from reality as a whole.  And in the end, I just found that this book left me wanting more, and less — in more ways than one.

For more information about this book and its author — be sure to visit the following websites:

Reading Group Guide

Michael Ondaatje Biography

Author Interview

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Originally posted 2011-10-03 06:44:33. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

The Visible World is an evocative, powerfully romantic novel about a son’s attempt to understand his mother’s past, a search that leads him to a tragic love affair and the heroic story of the assassination of a high-ranking Nazi by the Czech resistance.
The narrator of The Visible World, the American-born son of Czech immigrants living in New York, grows up in an atmosphere haunted by fragments of a past he cannot understand. At the heart of that past is his mother, Ivana, a spontaneous, passionate woman drifting ever closer to despair. As an adult, the narrator travels to Prague, hoping to learn about a love affair between his then young mother and a member of the resistance named Tomas, an affair whose untimely end, he senses, lay behind Ivana’s unhappiness. Ultimately unable to complete his knowledge of the past, he imagines the two lovers as participants in one of the more dramatic (and true) moments of the war, and through the deeply romantic story he tells, creates not only the ending of their story but the beginning of his own.

The Visible World is a literary page-turner and an immensely moving novel about the vagaries of love and our need to make sense of life through the telling of stories.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is one of those books that I’m not quite sure what to make of.  The ending was very interesting, the beginning was bizarre, and the middle didn’t quite bridge the disparity between the two.  Coming away from it I felt that it gave a pretty impressive demonstration of the difficulties that the generation following World War II had, in coming of age amidst secrets, and broken parents.  However, I am not sure the story developed far enough to adequately explain how this state of being came to be. 

On one level it is a love story — and a pretty typical one at that.  Man and woman fall in love, but the woman meets another man and finds they are destined to become star crossed lovers.  It seems to be pretty straight forward.  Very little in the way of twists — even with it set in the middle of World War II torn Czechoslovakia.  I just felt like the predictability of this book was very high.

I also struggled with the character development.  Ironically, it is Tomas — her lover that ends up being the most fully developed through all of this.  And as the story winds down, his death doesn’t play out the way you are expecting from the introduction.  Also, he is the one that seems to attach himself to the reader.  While Ivana, and her eventual husband hang almost as ghosts, haunting the perimeter of this story, Thomas becomes a powerful entity in the book, who faces extreme moral dilemmas. 

I also struggled with the flow of this story.  I found that at times it would start a chapter in a place, and while reading I suddenly realized I wasn’t sure how I came to be at this particular place in the novel.  It just had a confusing, and even disorienting rhythm to the general construction of the story. 

But on another level,  it is the combination of these two traits, which separate appear to be pretty significant weaknesses of the story, but in tandem make a very strong foundation for the overall development.  The haunting nature of the narrator’s parents adds to the mystery of the book in a much stronger way than the outright telling of the story.  The shade like quality of the characters gives the book depth and dimension in a way that a full, in-depth story telling approach wouldn’t. 

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

The New York Times Book Review

Reader’s Guide

Liberreview Book Review

Bianca’s Book Blog Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Originally posted 2012-04-12 06:51:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

Stalin’s Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals.

But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov.

A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated.

Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a murderer-is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every belief he’s ever held shattered. The only way to save his life and the lives of his family is to uncover this criminal. But in a society that is officially paradise, it’s a crime against the State to suggest that a murderer-much less a serial killer-is in their midst. Exiled from his home, with only his wife, Raisa, remaining at his side, Leo must confront the vast resources and reach of the MBG to find and stop a criminal that the State won’t admit even exists.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

What happens when the world is turned upside down through the actions of one man?  Even in America the prospect of serial killers is a terrifying concept.  But what happens when a serial killer plies his prolific trade in a world believed to be devoid of all criminal activity?  (At least in the criminal sense of the word.)  This is the playground of Smith’s first novel, where he explores the frightening possibility of what happens when a serial killer flourishes in the Communist Russian world where the only real crime is treason against the state.

This book provides a great read as far as the mystery story goes.  All of the elements of the traditional mystery are there — the rampaging killer, the bizarre methodology of killing, the oppressed detective, and the less than supportive investigative team structure.   Leo gives us a great look into what it means to be a detective in a world where the only real criminal elements are those that pose a threat against the state — and there is no such thing as crime outside of this narrow definition.  The characterization is a little Americanized, but the background and the difficulties faced by this creative thinking detective are certainly the elements of political oppression as found in the communist regime.

But what I found interesting was the addressing of the issue of the extent that the state would go to in order to maintain the illusion that crime does not exist in any form outside of the Westernized world.  And since the Russian Communist State isn’t corrupted through these demoralizing Western concepts — there is no possible way that crime can exist.  In a world where crime “doesn’t exist” it is almost impossible for the investigators to understand the significant ramifications of a true serial killer.  And all the things that here in the “West,” which we have come to learn about the strange nature and actions of the serial killer psychology are presented through the eyes of the disbelieving, skeptical, and politically oppressed Russian society.

This is a story that takes the reader back to a time before the term “serial killer” became a household world — no matter which side of the East/West dividing line you live on.  And the story reminds us that the world we live in has changed, significantly.  And some of those changes are dangerous in the extreme.  We now live in a world where the psychology of this unique type of killer demonstrates the world’s loss of innocence and reminds us that there is no going back to the simpler, and less troublesome times of our past. All we can do is combat the specters that haunt some people’s minds — and are manifest through the bizarre, and even troubling form of murder and mayhem.  And in order to suppress this kind of madness — we have to learn to recognize and understand it first.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Tom Rob Smith Website

Interview With The Author

Child 44 Website

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-02-28 08:01:14. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

To most people, Folly Beach, South Carolina, is simply the last barrier island before the Atlantic. To some, it’s a sanctuary, which is why Janie Hamilton’s mother encourages her to buy the local book store, Folly’s Finds, hoping it will distract Janie from the loss of her husband in Afghanistan.

Janie is at first resistant, but intrigued after finding love letters and an image of a beautiful bottle tree in a box of used books from Folly’s Finds, and decides to take the plunge. The store’s seller insists on one condition: Janie must allow Lulu, the late owner’s elderly sister, to continue selling her bottle trees from its back yard. Historically, bottle trees were brought by African slaves to the American South, and Janie had grown up with one in her backyard, and it has always been a symbol of refuge to her.

Janie generally ignores Lulu as she sifts through the love letters, wanting to learn more. But the more she discovers of the letters’ authors, the closer she feels to Lulu. As details of a possible murder and a mysterious disappearance during World War II are revealed, the two women discover that circumstances beyond their control, sixty years apart, have brought them together, here on Folly Beach. And it is here that their war-ravaged hearts can find hope for a second chance…

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is another fantastic read.  It is a book that rocketed to my favorites list in the first couple of chapters, and remained their long after I had finished reading.  White has proven herself an adept author when it comes to handling multiple story lines, and a broad variety of characters — and being able to pull them all together in an amazingly fascinating whole.  This story spans two wars, and a wide expanse of mysteries that have arisen out of those wars.  Combined with that is an unusual cast of characters with very unusual interests, a small town, a small town bookstore, and even a reference to an unexplained historical mystery of a sunken World War II, German U-Boat, and the an intriguing look at the potential espionage activities during that infamous war.

The characters and setting of this book come together to create a story with a distinct personality, and resonance.  This is not a book that is simply read as a passing, light read.  The setting, a small, Southern town, isolated on an island is a distinct character presence all its own.  And White does a great job of creating not only the unique feel of a small, Southern town, but also the mystical, almost other world feel that exists in these towns with history.  This story incorporates the feel of the Southern setting with the eccentricities of the small town people to build a readable story that covers three generations, and fifty years worth of canvas.  This setting gives a great depth, and even a distinct dimension to this story that draws the reader in and holds their attention.

Another interesting twist that was incorporated into this story was a little known history of a German U-boat sunk less than thirty miles of the American East Coast.  When I first came across this history I was reading Shadow Divers — the diver’s account of their finding and identifying of this missing submarine.  This crazy story is one that has proved to be one of the last mysteries of the World War II era — as it is not commonly known that there was an enemy submarine that ever got close to the American continent, following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  White has done a wonderful story in pulling this little known historical mystery into her own work, and building a story that proves to be both fascinating for the questions it raises, as well as giving readers a wonderful book to get engrossed in.

White has demonstrated a great gift for not only writing a great story about the Southern states — but she also manages to build multiple mystery story lines within an all encompassing, cohesive whole.  Her characters are unique, with fun quirks and idiosyncrasies that give the reader a great amount depth to get engrossed in.  The mysteries are all great stories in and of themselves — however, they all make an overall story that is well thought out, and crafted with the reader’s enjoyment in mind.

For more information on this book, and about this author be sure to visit the following websites:

Karen White Website

Linus’ s Blanket Book Review

Book Addiction Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Abe Books

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-05-17 06:00:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

Lady Gruadh, called Rue, is the last female descendant of Scotland’s most royal line. Married to a powerful northern lord, she is widowed while still carrying his child and forced to marry her husband’s murderer: a rising war-lord named Macbeth. Encountering danger from Vikings, Saxons, and treacherous Scottish lords, Rue begins to respect the man she once despised–and then realizes that Macbeth’s complex ambitions extend beyond the borders of the vast northern region. Among the powerful warlords and their steel-games, only Macbeth can unite Scotland–and his wife’s royal blood is the key to his ultimate success.

Determined to protect her small son and a proud legacy of warrior kings and strong women, Rue invokes the ancient wisdom and secret practices of her female ancestors as she strives to hold her own in a warrior society. Finally, side by side as the last Celtic king and queen of Scotland, she and Macbeth must face the gathering storm brought on by their combined destiny.

From towering crags to misted moors and formidable fortresses, Lady Macbeth transports readers to the heart of eleventh-century Scotland, painting a bold, vivid portrait of a woman much maligned by history.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book that looked interesting, due to its proclamation that it was based more on the historical account of this Scottish king, and his wife — and less on the Shakespeare account of this enigmatic duo.  And in some ways the book was everything I hoped it would be, and in other ways — it wasn’t.  Told from the perspective of Lady Gruadh MacBeth, the story helps to change our perceptions of some of the known story, and cloud other parts of it even further.

Family lore suggests that I have relations that came through some of the cast of this story.  (Though not the line of MacBeth, himself.)  So this is a story that has always fascinated me for various reasons.  And this book certainly offers an interesting insight into the early days of the difficulties of the Scottish clans, and the struggles they faced on a regular basis of trying to combine a vast array of cultures, into the proud — if somewhat volatile — people they developed into.  I think what rings through the most in this book is the constant struggle for identity among the Scottish people.  The cultural clash of the Vikings, Irish, Pictish, Celtish, and English — not to mention the religious additions of the Celtic and Irish mythology and the Catholic church collide into a constantly struggling whole.  Combine with that the struggle for national identity, as well as the desire for ruling authority, and this story is the groundwork for some very explosive situations.  Not only does this come together to form a great book — but it is also insightful in the growing pains that ensue when myriad cultures come together in a small location, and all seek for recognition and identity.

Through the voice of lady Gruadh we are given a vast insight into the Celtish mythologies of the time, but also an understanding of the superstitions that always seemed to overwhelm Shakespeare’s account of the once great King, and his people.  Held over from a much earlier time, these traditions were very influential in the people generally, and we are able to see that this was not just a fancy of The Bard, but a historical fact that influenced much of this culture as a whole.

But we are also give a great insight into Lady Macbeth, and who she was, and why.  This story did go a long way to clarifying the somewhat tainted image that Shakespeare left us with, of this great lady.  The woman who came across as power hungry, and would stop at nothing to get the throne through murder, deceit, and lies — we come come learn was actually one of the last living members of the once great royal line.  But due to the unusual customs of descent, the throne was withheld from her when King Malcolm usurped the throne on his son’s behalf, rather than following the dictates of tradition.  This of course changes the motives of Lady Macbeth and her noble husband a great deal.  No longer are they the usurpers of power, willing to commit any heinous act to gain their desires — but rather the honest, and honorable rulers, who’s legacy has been tainted through enemies, and time.

My only complaint about the book is that we still gain little insight into Macbeth, himself.  We come to see him as a quite, yet powerful leader of men, driven and committed to the well being of his people.  But beyond that, there is little in the development of his character over-all.  This would be hero has the basic construction of a merging of Shakespeare’s frail king and Braveheart.  But, the overall development of that character never comes to full fruition.  I felt like he was a carbon copy of these other influential men, and he never took on the role he was intended to throughout the story.  Maybe that is because the story is told through the voice of his wife, and so we only see him from the outside looking in.  But somehow I felt like he was only a ghost of a character.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Susan Fraser King’s Website

Author’s Goodreads Site

Reading Group Guides

Historical Novel’s Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-05-09 06:50:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

In his black-walled fortress at Inuyama, the murderous warlord, Iida Sadamu, surveys his famous nightingale floor. Constructed with exquisite skill, it sings at the tread of each human foot. No assassin can cross it unheard.

Brought up in a remote mountain village among the Hidden, a reclusive and spiritual people, Takeo has learned only the ways of peace. Why, then, does he possess the deadly skills that make him so valuable to the sinister Tribe? These supernatural powers will lead him to his violent destiny within the walls of Inuyama – and to an impossible longing for a girl who can never be his. His journey is one of revenge and treachery, honor and loyalty, beauty and magic, and the passion of first love.

About the Book:  ★★★★★★

This book proved to be a real unexpected read, that is well worth the time.  Looking for something that was a break for all the textbooks I am currently having to read, as well as the reading requirements for my English Literature classes — I was looking for something that was more story, and less analysis and study.  So I picked this one up because it appeared to be as far away from the academic world as possible.  However, I wasn’t quite prepare to find another favorite book.

The Japanese culture is one that is rich, and full of fascinating nuances that provide an excellent backdrop for stories.  Their historical background gives us an interesting insight into the importance of honor, and respect that are such strong elements of this nation’s people.   Stories set in the Japanese culture provide insight into how these characteristics developed, as well as help us understand how the Samurai, and the various factions in the social structure developed, and manifested much of their influences over time.

This book also has excellent character development.  Takeo provides an interesting look into the divided nature of people — as he struggles to merge his divergent lives into one whole.  Torn between loyalties, and caught in a political power struggle, with abilities that are inherent to his biological nature, and a mental dedication to the commitments he has made, Takeo is a great look at the complexity of the human psyche.

Takeo also gives us a great look into the difficulties that people have growing up.  This is not an unusual struggle.  And when he finds himself torn between the peace loving, christian background, and the tribally torn political upheaval of the country around him — we find that coming of age is never an easy prospect.  Through Takeo we come to learn the importance of loyalty to family, dedication to friends and loved ones, and the power of first time love — all of which are important lessons that everyone has to learn in the course of life.

The book is written in alternating narration voices between Takeo, and that of Kaede — who is destined to become the love of Takeo’s life.  But they are faced with a tremendous number of barriers keeping them apart. The pending war between the Otori and other tribes, the “Tribe’s” impending claiming of Takeo as one of their own, his “Hidden” background, and the hunting down of the Hidden peoples — all of these combine for an in-depth plot, and develop into a fantastic story.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Lian Hearn Website

On Writing Tales of the Otori

Book Club Study Guide

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Abe Books

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-04-05 06:00:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski’s ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.

Jacob was there because his luck had run out – orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive ‘ship of fools’. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn’t have an act – in fact, she couldn’t even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

My sister-in-law called me today, and asked if I thought she would like this particular book.  As an animal lover, I was quick to tell her that I was certain of it.  This book is beautifully written, and it captivates the reader from the very beginning.  This is a book that I put off reading for months, even though everyone I knew kept telling me I simply had to read it.  I finally broke down, and took it on the family vacation — after all the twelve hour drive to California is the perfect time to get in reading.  (And no — I wasn’t driving at the time.)

This story, set during The Great Depression, is beautiful in both its descriptions and the over all feel of the time period.  This was a time of great frustration, with an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, and an even greater desire to escape from the horrors of the everyday world.  It was these feelings that add so dramatically to the setting of this book.  And yet the third rate circus of this story provides another interesting look into human nature, and the need for human acceptance and belonging.   Jacob finds himself among a group of circus freaks, and those that are both bizarre, and even more isolated from the world than he is.  Through the effective presentation of this book, we as readers come to know what it truly feels like to not fit in, except among the disavowed.  This setting adds a great deal of emotional structure to the book, and makes it easy for the reader to get wrapped up in an excellent story.

The real strength of this book, however, is in the development of the relationships, and the comparisons of the different types of love that exist in the world.  There are several different relationships explored in this book.  That of Jacob and Marlena; Jacob and Rosie; and even the familial type relationships of the various members of the circus.  All of these relationships represent a different type of interaction, each of them significant.  The book helps us to realize that the bonds that we each have to others are more than important — they are imperative.  These relationships are not exclusive to just people.  Animals can share these bonds with us, and they give us much in emotional support.  Added to that is the similarity between the love we share for our fellow men, and the love we have for the animals that enliven our world, and we come to appreciate that we each have a need for love and emotional bonding that are necessary for our mental health.   Gruen presents this theme very powerfully, and each of the characters adds a great deal to the presentation of these interactions.

But the best part of this book is the interaction between the Rosie and Jacob.  The beauty that exists when we learn to include animals in our lives, while at the same time striving to understand them on their terms adds a great deal of dimension to each of us.  They have the capacity to bring us love, joy, and companionship — no matter how unusual they may appear.  And they have the ability to make emotional connections with people beyond our capacity to understand.  Gruen has done an excellent job of presenting this aspect of interactions between people and animals — especially elephants.  But on a deeper level the character of Rosie reminds us that animals are not accidental creations on this earth, but rather active participants of life that have the ability to add depth and dimension.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Sara Gruen Website

Interview With Author

Planet Books Book Review

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

Abe Books

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-05-04 06:00:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

“An elegantly crafted, utterly enchanting debut novel set in a mystical, exotic world, in which a gifted young girl charms a sultan and changes the course of an empire’s history”

“Late in the summer of 1877, a flock of purple-and-white hoopoes suddenly appears over the town of Constanta on the Black Sea, and Eleonora Cohen is ushered into the world by a mysterious pair of Tartar midwives who arrive just minutes before her birth. “They had read the signs, they said: a sea of horses, a conference of birds, the North Star in alignment with the moon. It was a prophecy that their last king had given on his deathwatch.” But joy is mixed with tragedy, for Eleonora’s mother dies soon after the birth.

Raised by her doting father, Yakob, a carpet merchant, and her stern, resentful stepmother, Ruxandra, Eleonora spends her early years daydreaming and doing housework—until the moment she teaches herself to read, and her father recognizes that she is an extraordinarily gifted child, a prodigy.

When Yakob sets off by boat for Stamboul on business, eight-year-old Eleonora, unable to bear the separation, stows away in one of his trunks. On the shores of the Bosporus, in the house of her father’s business partner, Moncef Bey, a new life awaits. Books, backgammon, beautiful dresses and shoes, markets swarming with color and life—the imperial capital overflows with elegance, and mystery. For in the narrow streets of Stamboul—a city at the crossroads of the world—intrigue and gossip are currency, and people are not always what they seem. Eleonora’s tutor, an American minister and educator, may be a spy. The kindly though elusive Moncef Bey has a past history of secret societies and political maneuvering. And what is to be made of the eccentric, charming Sultan Abdulhamid II himself, beleaguered by friend and foe alike as his unwieldy, multiethnic empire crumbles?

The Oracle of Stamboul is a marvelously evocative, magical historical novel that will transport readers to another time and place—romantic, exotic, yet remarkably similar to our own.”

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

This is a book that I am amazed with, frustrated by, and passionately undecided about.  So if you are wondering what I thought — I probably can’t sum that up in one simple answer.  Some books that I have read have left an impression because they were written specifically for that purpose.  They are written with shock value and force — and that is exactly what they achieve.  There are some books that leave little to no impression — and they are hard to remember two minutes after you put them down.  Then there are books like this one.  They are impossible to classify because their story is haunting, subtle, and the footprints it leaves in the mind and soul are faint but unmistakable.  But the reader doesn’t realize this until well after they have put the book down, and then find themselves reflecting back on the story, and its message days, weeks and even months after you have read it.  It is a book that even after the story is gone — the memory of the feelings, and your response will be long remembered.  I would almost put this book in the same category as The Road, in one respect — (and I do that very hesitantly because I HATED The Road) which is it is memorable no matter what your response to it is.  But this one I LOVED — and my response was as positive for this one, as it was negative for the other.

This is a book that it isn’t in the plot, or the characters that the power of the read comes from.  Rather, I found that it is in the mysterious nature of the message itself, and the feeling it leaves behind.  It is a book that I think a reader will get a different message every time they read it.  There are elements about the influence of one individual on history, politics, and a troubled world in general.  But there is also an element of the importance of self in the eternal scheme of things.  This book also covers themes from grief, loss, cultural differences in integrated societies, corruption, espionage, and the list goes on.

But my overall insight I gained from this book was in the nature of learning the overwhelming lesson of coming to terms with living with one’s self, before they can ever hope to influence the world around them.  This is the first, and foremost lesson of Eleonora — this 8 year old prodigy child that has intelligence, wisdom, and understanding vastly beyond her years.  And yet — even as a young girl, the lessons of life are still hard to learn for this amazing young woman.  It was this characterization alone that made this book dear and emotionally influential to me.  It reminded me of my own family’s child prodigy — her passion for reading, learning, growing, and living life — even in the face of her frail and troubled little body.  My niece and I share this love of books, and we have both learned to see life through the prism of books.  In some ways this leaves us both a little introspective due to our preference for reading.  I understood the challenges that Eleonora faced, and how she was able to see the world through the magnifying lens of the lessons of her reading.  And if for no other reason than this tenuous connection to this amazing character, I will always love this book.

One thing that did frustrate me about this book was I felt like there were a couple of elements that weren’t as well developed as I would have liked.  I am still wondering what the prophecy was about Eleonora — as it was only passively ever addressed in the book, but I felt like I was missing something significant.  And the other thing that I am still reflecting on to try and reconcile somehow was the relationship between Eleonora and the Bey.  This unusual relationship while strong and influential as to the story, is also somewhat awkward and not quite solidified.  The mysterious nature of the Bey is so all encompassing that I came away not quite sure if he was a presence of good, bad or indifference once the book had ended; I almost felt like he moved through the story like a ghost — haunting the pages, but leaving little evidence of his passing.  However, these are minor issues in the whole scope of the book, and the historical fiction setting which simply made this one an amazing read.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Michael David Lukas Website

NPR Book Review

Interview With the Author

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2011-06-27 06:00:43. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

About the Book:

Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor GeneralTomás deTorquemada grows, so does the brutality of the Spanish church and the suspicion and paranoia it inspires. When a dear friend’s demise brings the violence close to home, Santángel is enraged and takes retribution into his own hands. But he is from a family of conversos, and his Jewish heritage makes him an easy target. As Santángel witnesses the horrific persecution of his loved ones, he begins slowly to reconnect with the Jewish faith his family left behind. Feeding his curiosity about his past is his growing love for Judith Migdal, a clever and beautiful Jewish woman navigating the mounting tensions in Granada. While he struggles to decide what his reputation is worth and what he can sacrifice, one man offers him a chance he thought he’d lost…the chance to hope for a better world. Christopher Columbus has plans to discover a route to paradise, and only Luis de Santángel can help him.

Within the dramatic story lies a subtle, insightful examination of the crisis of faith at the heart of the Spanish Inquisition. Irresolvable conflict rages within the conversos in By Fire, By Water, torn between the religion they left behind and the conversion meant to ensure their safety. In this story of love, God, faith, and torture, fifteenth-century Spain comes to dazzling, engrossing life.

Book Review:  ★★★★★★

WOW!  This is a book that I have had on my radar for a few months now — but I haven’t been able to catch up with it in the library yet.  So when the author contacted me, and offered a review copy — I jumped at the chance.  I am so glad I did!  I have once again found a new book to add to my favorites list, and I loved the journey!  Set in the 1400′s, in the midst of the countries that would eventually make up Spain, this historical fiction covers some very pivotal times in history.  With appearances from historical characters such as King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Christopher Columbus, The Spanish, as well as the lesser known but much more dramatic “New” Inquisition, as well as the main character — Luis de Santángel.  This book presents not only some amazing history as a backdrop for this historical fiction account, but it also tells the story of a man who’s life was not only powerfully influential, but also heartbreaking in the extreme.

One thing that I really liked about this book was the presentation of the difficulties of  life under the time and influence of The Inquisition.  And this applied for all people, not just those of Jewish descent.  However, the Jewish people certainly suffered more than most — as this story demonstrates.  But the powerful presentation of the difficulties of living in a time and place where your every word, action, relationship, and interaction with others could be twisted and misconstrued into a nightmare was haunting.  Mr. Kaplan does an amazing job of creating for the reader the feelings of fear, oppression, and constant vigilance that had to go into life at this period of time.  So powerful was this sense of feeling that I simply couldn’t put the book down.

And Mr. Kaplan’s presentation of the life of Luis de Santángel is nothing short of excellence.  This was a man that I knew very little about, prior to my exposure to this book.  But his story is not only powerfully moving, but it is haunting as well.  The life that Santángel lived, and the things that he had to suffer throughout his life are the foundations of nightmares.  And yet Mr. Kaplan has brought Santángel to life in these pages.  As  a reader I found myself hoping that this poor man would get a break somewhere!  But he is a great example of how misunderstanding, and bigotry can, when carried too far, destroy lives — even while creating great men and women in the path of heartbreak.

What I didn’t like about the book?  Well — I hesitate to put that down, because as far as the book itself goes there was nothing I didn’t like.  But as far as the history goes — this book angered me to no end.  I was horrified at the abuse of power, and the damage that this abuse, when allowed to continue unchecked can cause in the lives of men and women.  Combine that with the heartbreaking results of simple cultural intolerance, worse yet in the name of God and religion, and I was horrified at the lives that were destroyed for nothing.  But even this is a demonstration of how good this book is, and the success that Mr. Kaplan has achieved in writing this one.  To be able to get a reader to move beyond passive reading, and into emotional responses is a demonstration of how influential books can be, when presented through a truly talented author.

For more information about this book, and its author be sure to visit the following websites:

Mitchell James Kaplan Website

Book Report Comments of Readers

Author Interview

When you buy a product (not just books – any product), via one of my links, The Book Worm’s Library earns income from the sale and as always, it’s much appreciated as all affiliate income is used to support the blog by contributing to giveaways, postage, travel, and attending book industry related events. We appreciate all those that help to support our blog, and have provided links below for the direct links to this book.

AbeBooks.com

Barnes and Noble

Originally posted 2010-12-20 07:00:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter