Book Time with Bess – The Bess Crawford Read-Along Discussion of An Impartial Witness!
I know this post is a wee bit late, but life is a little crazy right now! Hosted by Book Club Girl, we have been discussing each of the Bess Crawford books by Charles Todd once a month - you can find more information here. I’ve tried not to give anything away for those of you who haven’t read the book! Even though I am not giving a full review – I give the book a 4 out of 5 because it was such a fun and atmospheric read!
1) As in A Duty to the Dead, long-seated familial animosities and jealousies play a role in the crimes committed. What did you think of the Garrison and Melton families? How do they compare to Bess’ family, or to the families of soldiers and nurses created by war?
I honestly think that the Garrisons and Meltons need to get over it. There’s a war on, and there are so many more important things to worry about than these grudges. Bess’ family is so amazing in comparison – supporting her in her cases even though it means they get less time with her when she is on leave. These other families have let their hate simmer and in this book, it all comes to a boil that leaves no one off for the better.
2) Simon Brandon plays a far greater role in this novel than he did in A Duty to the Dead. What do you make of that and do you think his intentions stem from his duty to Bess’ father, or from his affections for Bess herself?
I LOVE SIMON! I think his duties really stem from both loves – love of her father and love of her. He seems to play the overprotective brother at one moment and then becomes the jilted potential lover in the next. He always keeps me guessing as to what his next action will be.
3) Simon strives to curtail the risks that Bess takes throughout the novel. This advice of his struck me particularly: “We have to move on. Put the living first. There are already enough monuments to the dead.” Do you think Bess’s drive to right the wrongs she sees puts her at odds with this advice, to her detriment?
I think that solving the mystery of how this woman died isn’t just in honor of the victim – there are other victims at hand; the people who loved her in life and now have to exist without her. I don’t know that her actions are at odds with his advice since she wants justice for the woman’s families and friends just as much as she wants it for the woman. There also is a murderer out there to worry about. If a murderer can kill once, what is to stop him/her from doing it again?
4) Do you think there is any such thing as an “impartial witness?” Bess admits to adding her own perspective and interpretation to what she sees at the railway station. Later, Mrs. Hennessey is referred to by Bess as an “impartial witness,” presumably because she’s completely in the dark about what’s been happening. But what do you think of the phrase, and what do you think the authors mean us to to think of it?
The idea of an “impartial witness” sort of boggles my mind. No person sees such a scene without putting her own experiences into her thought about it. It is sort of the idea that you cannot see something without having changed or influenced the site – even if it is only in your own mind. I don’t like to say what an author meant for me to think about something, since no matter what the author truly intended, I will bring a different unique perspective from my own experiences. I like to give my interpretation and then see what others might think of it.
5) What did you think of the ending of the novel? Were you expecting a confrontation, or confession, that you didn’t see? And if so, why do you think it was written that way?
I honestly loved the ending. It was so true to what might happen in real life rather than trying to tie up all of the loose ends. I was expecting a confrontation, but I am glad that it didn’t happen as I imagined it would because what the authors wrote was so much better!
6) Did you learn any new phrases while reading An Impartial Witness? For me it was “Well, it’s shank’s mare, then,” which Sister Benning says to Bess when they have to walk behind the ambulance of wounded soldiers on their way to safer ground. Turns out that “shanks mare” is an Irish phrase referring to having to hoof it on your own two legs.
Nothing jumps out to mind. I totally missed “shank’s mare” – I am definitely going to have to read more closely for the next book!
REVIEW: Winged Obsession by Jessica Speart
Winged Obsession: The Pursuit of the World’s Most Notorious Butterfly Smuggler by Jessica Speart
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: March 27, 2012 (paperback)
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 3 out of 5
What do you get when you combine a federal agent, butterflies, and a sex-crazed elderly man with two passports? Why, Winged Obsession, of course! Ed Newcomer is a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He wants to catch poachers and work with the bigger animals in forests, so what does he get as an assignment? A butterfly importation case. Yoshi Kojima is the world’s largest butterfly smuggler. He travels all over the world catching rare and endangered species of butterflies to sell to special buyers and on eBay. Newcomer adopts the secret identity of Tel Nelson and befriends Kojima to ingratiate himself in the trade so that he can catch Kojima in the act. Over the course of a few years, Newcomer plays the dangerous game of bait and trap – will he catch Kojima?
Although this book is a work of popular nonfiction, it truly reads as a novelization of a screenplay. Speart writes from the perspective of both of these major players after interviewing them and listening to hours upon hours of recorded Skype conversations. Some of the practices she describes are truly sickening – the truth really is stranger than any fiction. Some of the more advanced smugglers breed the butterflies and capture them in glass before they even have a change to flap their wings once. Did you know that insects don’t show up on x-rays? Smugglers sometimes put them in their clothes or carry-on luggage to move them from country to country. This is a fun and short tale on a topic you probably haven’t heard much about – each page is packed with facts I would never have come across otherwise.
REVIEW: The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
Publisher: Harper Collins
Release Date: May 1, 2012
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5
Where do I begin? This book is about nothing and about everything all at the same time. Set in an Edwardian manor house, the book begins as a story of a formerly wealthy family down on its luck. Emerald is about to turn 20 and the family and friends gather for a celebration. Just as dinner is about to be served, there is a train crash and the house must accommodate some unexpected guests… But there is so much more to the story than this plot. Nothing is truly as it seems.
The second I put this book down I wanted to pick it back up and read it again. It is one of those novels about the human experience and just how messed up we humans really are. Emerald is expected to marry, but her mother, Charlotte, wants her to marry for money, even though she herself has married twice for love. Emerald’s brother, Clovis, is rather sarcastic and surly in nature, so she no longer knows where she stands with him. Their younger sister, Imogen, is still quite young, but is rather eccentric and a recluse.
The story occurs within 24 hours, but with all of the intricately described encounters between the characters, it seems as if a much longer time has passed. The more I think about this book, the more I realized just how brilliant it is. There are twists and turns that will leave you with your jaw hanging open in surprise, confusion, and amazement all at once. I don’t want to say any more on the plot because even the smallest detail could give major moments away, but you will not be able to put this book down. I have not read any of Jones’ other books, but I am going to go out and buy them as soon as I can. This book is one that will make you think, and I know that it will stick with me for some time.
REVIEW: The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice
The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice
Publisher: Knopf
Release Date: February 14, 2012
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 out of 5
THE CLASSIC ANNE RICE IS BACK! In her newest novel, Rice explores the world of werewolves in her classic style of mixing the modern with the lore of old. Reuben is a reporter on assignment in Northern California – he is supposed to be doing an expose on an old mansion that Marchent Nideck is trying to sell. While he is staying overnight in the house, two men break in during the night. As Reuben fights these men to protect Marchent, a huge beast attacks the men. The beast attacks Rueben, but flees the scene suddenly… after calling 911. Reuben slowly discovers that he has “the Wolf Gift”. He can shape shift from man to werewolf in a matter of minutes. As he discovers his new powers, he must also solve the mystery of who gave him this power and how he is to use them in the modern world of constant surveillance.
Honestly, this is my favorite book of Rice’s in a LONG time. I started reading her Vampire Chronicles in high school, but stopped after they started to get stale. I tried reading her first Christian themed novel, but never got very far. Readers of the classic Anne Rice novels will absolutely LOVE this book. Her beautiful descriptions make you feel as if you are eating a sumptuous feast of words. The novel features her use of folklore, but tells the tale from a modern perspective. Reuben knows there are scientific reasons behind the changes he is experiencing. I made myself put this novel down on several occasions as I never wanted it to end. I found myself completely engrossed in the action scenes as well as Reuben’s philosophical musings on what it really means to be human, and what it means to be wolf man.
This book definitely does not fall into the urban fantasy category, though some have labeled it as such. There are very gritty scenes of flesh being ripped apart, but there are also many tender and loving scenes. There is some sex involved, but it is much tamer than many of Rice’s novels. Let it be known, though, that only Anne Rice could write about the werewolf transformation as orgasmic! I found this detail very interesting since every depiction I have seen previously has described transforming into a werewolf as extremely painful. It just goes to show that Rice is still so original and brilliant after all of these years.
REVIEW: Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: October 1, 2008
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: 5 out of 5
When I first read Graceling, the book had just come out and it already had a huge wait list at the library. To this day, this book is always on a wait list and we are always reordering it at the bookstore. For good reason, this book for young adults has reached across all markets and is a huge hit for fans of fantasy, romance, and dystopia. Katsa is a killer. Growing up in her uncle’s kingdom, Katsa has the Grace of killing and her uncle forces her to use it for his own purposes. Sick of doing her uncle’s bidding, Katsa creates a council of people across the kingdom who want to do good and help others in need who are persecuted by their kings. On one mission for the council, Katsa runs into someone mysterious who turns out to be her greatest ally. Prince Po has the Grace of fighting skills, and he is the first man who can fight Katsa blow for blow. Both Po and Katsa must set out on a mission to save his cousin and their kingdoms.
Fantasy readers, look no further for a great read. After rereading The Hunger Games, I was in a reading slump. Nothing was really satisfying my need for adventure with a bit of romance. Then I remembered that Kristin Cashore’s third book, Bitterblue, is coming out May 1st – so I set off to reread Graceling and its companion Fire. Katsa is such a powerful character. After encouragement from Po she is able to embrace her Grace rather than despise it. She realizes that she can use it for good rather than for her uncle’s evil purposes. These Gracelings are almost like superheroes, but instead of everything being black and white as in comic books, each Graceling is a conflicted human just like the rest of us. Yes, this book is sold as a young adult novel, but I would recommend it to all ages 16 and up. I have convinced many of my friends to read it and they all have loved it so far. A perfect book for The Hunger Games reader that is having withdrawal!
TLC Book Tour REVIEW: In My Father’s Country by Saima Wahab
In My Father’s Country: An Afghan Woman Defies Her Fate by Saima Wahab
Welcome to the first stop for this TLC Book Tour! For the rest of the tour dates for this book, click here.
Publisher: Crown
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5
Saima Wahab is an amazing woman from Afghanistan. This book is her memoir about growing up in Afghanistan, moving to America, and returning to her home country as a translator for the United States Army. But more than just her major life events, this book is about a woman trying to live between two worlds while remaining true to herself. From a very young age, Wahab’s life was complicated and full of pain. When she was only a small child, her father was taken from their home in the middle of the day by KGB agents. It was the late 1970s/ early 1980s and the Soviet Union was invading Afghanistan and kidnapping all of those people who spoke out against the occupation. Wahab’s father hosted a radio show and talked about how horrible the occupation would be for the Afghan people.
From then on, Wahab’s mother was raising six children by herself with only the help of her parents. Forced to leave their homes, Wahab’s grandfather decided that the children would travel to America to receive an education. And so, after making it through so many hardships, Wahab was sent to live with uncles who only wanted to educate her so she could marry an Afghan man and bring him to the States for a better life.
Saima Wahab writes such simple prose, but she uses her words so carefully in order to create the most wonderful book. I found myself experiencing each of her emotions as she writes about them. While I grew up in a middle class American household and will never truly be able to understand her experiences, I feel that I know so much more about the culture and conflict in Afghanistan. Her story will stay with me for the rest of my life. One of the stories that impacted me the most was when she was working as a translator in a hospital. A mother brought her child in with severe burns from a kerosene heater that exploded. A charity organization had donated the heaters, but they never taught the people how to use it. The heater exploded, killing the woman’s two sons, and the mother begged the doctors to let the child die because she could never marry with the burns on her face. Her father and brothers were dead so there would be no one to care for her. The mother left her child and never returned. One day the child was no longer in the hospital. Wahab asked where she was – the doctor told her that the child’s “uncle” picked her up. Wahab could only hope that this man really was her uncle and was going to take care of her.
Here in the States we know so little about the tragedies occurring overseas – especially in the Middle East. Unless you look specifically for these stories, it is so hard to find them in the national media other than “5 civilians died today in Afghanistan” or some other generic headline. Wahab brings these issues to light in her powerful memoir – I highly recommend this book to everyone. It is beautifully written and inspirational, but also eye-opening.
Review for the Armchair Audies Fantasy Category – Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures
As you may know from a previous post, I am participating in the Armchair Audies, and I will be listening to books from the Fantasy category. Here is my first review:
Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Narrator: Bronson Pinchot
Release Date: November 12, 2010
Source: Personal Copy
Rating: book – 4 out of 5 / performance 2 out of 5
Part epic adventure, part comedy, Rumo takes his place at the forefront of modern fantasy. From his birth, Rumo knows e is meant to be someone important in the land of Zambonia. As a Wolperting, he is somewhere between the likeness of a deer and a dog, but with the intelligence of a higher creature. Traveling across the land with his talking sword Dandelion, Rumo proves his worth and that he is destined for great things. I love that even in translation from the German, the humor crosses all cultural barriers. Moers takes you into his fantasy world and will not let you go home until the very last tale is told. Folktales really come alive on page even though they are fictional. His wit is much like that of Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams – pay attention, or you may miss some of the funniest lines.
This is a VERY long book, and even longer as an audio, but it is definitely worth the read. As an audiobook, I was not very impressed. I did listen to all 24 hours because I wanted to be able to give the fairest review, but I will definitely be reading the rest of Moers’ books in the print editions.I am probably the ONLY person in the world who does not appreciate Bronson Pinchot’s voice, but it reminds me too much of those horrible science videos from the 1980s that we were always forced to watch in middle school. Each character seems bland and unemotional, with some of the more dramatic scenes lost in the monotonous tone of Pinchot’s voice. Listening to a voice for so long is such a personal preference – I know that many do not like my favorite narrators. While I think many will see this audiobook as a strong contender in the Audies, it will not be my pick.
REVIEW: The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
Publisher: NAL Trade
Release Date: March 6, 2012
Source: Publisher
Rating: 4 out of 5
Sarah Piper works as a temp in post-World War I England. She lives a simple and sometimes dull life, and she is down to her last penny when her temp agency calls with a new assignment. Alastair Gellis is a ghost hunter who needs a woman to help him on his latest project. Injured during the war, he has dedicated his life to finding out the mysteries behind death and why ghosts would want to stay in this world. His assistant, Matthew, is a gruff veteran of the war and also his best friend. Together they must face the haunted barn where a mute housemaid hanged herself. But what seems like a normal haunting investigation turns into something more horrifying than any of them can imagine.
St. James creates an eerie atmosphere reminiscent of all the classic ghost stories from the early 1900s. Each sentence and paragraph is created with such precision as to support a rhythm of feeling – the reader feels safe for a time but all of a sudden the fear level increases to its full potential and then there is a humorous or romantic release until the next moment of fright catches up to you. This is the first ghost story that has frightened me in a long time, and it also contains a wonderful romance to provide moments of relief from the horror. The book provides a quick, but emotional read that will satisfy readers of all genres. One thing that good fiction always attempts is the creation of sensation within the mind and soul of the reader. While I was reading this book I was feeling everything that Sarah was experiencing – every emotion was crystal clear. I felt her fear and her pain; her transition from wariness to confidence. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Although it did not get much press, it is definitely one of my favorite reads for this year so far. I can still feel the hair raised on the back of my neck when I think about this story.
My Obsession with The Hunger Games
Most of you have heard about the literary phenomenon that is The Hunger Games. For those of you who have not, Suzanne Collins wrote an amazing series set in a dystopian version of the future of the United States. Katniss Everdeen lives in a world where hunger is the norm, and the people of the nation Panem have no other option than ceding to the demands of The Capitol. Once upon a time the 13 Districts of Panem rebelled against the Capitol. District 13 was destroyed, but the remaining 12 districts were basically put into slavery. Each year, so that they remember their lesson, the districts must pick one boy and one girl to fight to the death in The Hunger Games. Each tribute must fight to survive because there can only be one winner. Katniss becomes the female tribute for District 12, and the first book follows her journey in fighting during The Hunger Games.
I just spent this last weekend rereading the three books of the series, and I am even more in love with them than I was before. Katniss is the best type of heroine – she is strong, she follows her instincts, she tries to protect her family, she is extremely intelligent, and she does not follow the traditional formula of the female teenage protagonist. There is no simpering or pining over boys. She does what she needs to do no matter what the cost. Yes, there is some romance involved, but there is so much more to the story. Katniss still has her flaws, but I think she is a brilliant example for teen girls looking for a fictional heroine to inspire them.
Many critics have said that kids killing each other is too violent and scarring for children to read until they are older. I think that every parent has to use his/her own judgment, but these books are no more violent that what children see on the news or play in video games. I would even go as far to say that the books are more tame than most of the video games I have seen 10-year-olds playing. So much of the content of the book is showing how wrong the games are and how Katniss is trying to fight for what is right.
These books are also perfect for adults who want a short, but highly gripping and intense read. Even though the book is targeted to the young adult reader, I found that Collins creates a better and more well-written story than many authors who write solely for adults.
If you have read the books, but are hesitant to see the movie, let me say that it was truly well done. It is so much closer to the books than I thought would have been possible for Hollywood to achieve. While the two male leads were not cast as I would have liked, the woman who plays Katniss plays the role perfectly.
REVIEW and GIVEAWAY: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess)
Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson (The Bloggess)
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books (Penguin)
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Source: Publisher
Rating: 5 out of 5
YOU MUST GO OUT AND BUY THIS BOOK! NOW! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!?! OK, you can wait and read the review first, BUT THEN YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND BUY IT!
So, now that I have that off of my chest – Jenny Lawson is better known by her internet alter-ego “The Bloggess”, and she writes not only for her blog, but for The Houston Chronicle, CafeMom, and had a brief stint reviewing clown porn (comically, of course). While this book is categorized as a humorous biography, I’d say it is more of a collection of hilarious stories that all just happened to occur to Jenny Lawson. Jenny grew up in rural Texas with a taxidermist father, spent her teenage years as a goth, and it only gets better from there. There isn’t really a beginning, middle, or end, but she does not really need one as the book is so funny you will pee your pants. No, seriously. It is that funny.
I’ve followed Jenny’s blog for about a year now, and I have made it a daily ritual to take a moment at the end of the day and relax with her latest post. Much of the book is taken from her blog posts, but there are so many new and brilliant stories that you will not want to miss out on reading the book.
I love Jenny’s sense of humor, but what I admire most about her is that she is so open with her struggles with anxiety, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, and fear of people in general. She acknowledges fully who she is and she won’t take any crap for it. As someone who has suffered from depression, it is so amazing for me to see such a strong and amazing woman doing exactly what she wants with her life and being happy with it.
Oh, and the cover of the book is a picture of her taxidermy mouse, Hamlet von Schnitzel. Epic.
And because I love you all so much, I bought a hardcover copy to giveaway! Please fill out the information below. Giveaway ends April 24th at 11pm EST. U.S. only please.
Facebook
GoodReads
Twitter