All About Her? Two biographies of modern women

Recently I read two interesting biographies, Perfectly Imperfect by Lee Woodward, and Dead End Gene Pool by Wendy Burden. Both reflected very different women, but both were fascinating and resonated in different ways with me.

Lee Woodward is the wife of Bob Woodward, and writes incredibly well. Its a mix of humor and seriousness, about raising kids, finding out her daughter is deaf (guess which part was hard for me, personally, to read?), and about the agony of how her life was changed when her husband was injured. She writes about some things that are almost tradition, that you wouldn't even think about until later, like a jewelry box, and how it can show not only who you were at different stages in your life, but how you can pass that on to your children, and how it can create a link, even when its not there. She writes about some of the myths and truths of modern women, and it was just very good, and very uplifting. A portrait of a warm, close-knit family.

Burden's memoir reflects a very different childhood and life, that had some strange echoes of my own, in some ways. While I enjoyed it, I felt she took some cheap shots and was very superficial about the memoir. There were fart jokes in there (which I felt were unnecessary), and I found it very depressing. There is having a sense of humor, and then there is bitterness, and this oozes a caustic bitterness, anger, and loss.

Another Burning, and Second Chances..

The Heretic's Wife, by Brenda Rickman Vantrease, is a fabulous historical novel. She switches between various viewpoints to tell the story, but it is primarily the story of Kate Gough. It is seamless, and very well written, but unfortunately there is, as in so many historical novels, flames. (I have to confess, I'm not through the book, but I can tell foreshadowing when I read it, plus I skipped around when the foreshadowing started smacking me in the face). I loved her previous novel, the Illuminator, which is why I picked this one up... It has a little bit of sex in it, but not graphic, for those to whom it matters (tasteful sex! What a concept!), but the character building is fabulous...

The Season of Second Chances, by Diane Meier. This was an amazing book. For once, it was one where romance did not solve everything, and the heroine was not married off happily by the end of the book. We need more books like this, with a middle-aged heroine discovering herself and putting down roots. I very much saw myself in this, in many ways (I'm a little bit younger, so am still dealing with the biological clock tick-tocking), and it was so refreshing to read something where the heroine discovers herself, make mistakes, and is NOT redeemed by an 11th hour romance. Where she screws up, as so many of us do. (Sorry, this one just resonated particularly poignantly with me because of some personal issues). And yet it ends with the possibility, the hint, of a second chance. The book is just a fabulous summer read.

I wanted to like you.... Part 2 (or 3, or whichever)

Spellwright, by Blake Charlton. It has elements which I usually love in fantasy books, puns, wordplay, magic, but the magic just didn't coalesce for me. It felt labored, trying to read this, as if there had been too much thought put into the book, and perhaps not enough editing. Its a wonderful idea, the premise of the book, that magic is made up of spoken words, and there is one wizard who can't spell...

I think the main problem for me was that the world did not seem fleshed-out enough. Even though it has a lovely map as a frontspiece for the book, one that is not loosely based on Earth's geography, the world could stand with a little more framing, it felt too abrupt.

Its interesting that it seems to have gotten high praise from a number of well-respected fantasy authors, but for me, it was too difficult to plug past the initial hindrance of the first couple of chapters. I did not feel gripped or absorbed by the book. And I wanted to like this story.

Love is in the air...

and so is Wedding Season, by Katie Fforde. This is just a light summer romance. Nothing deep, but very charming, and somewhat predictable. You do know when the appropriate partners are introduced that they will all end up together by the end of the book, but at the same time, Fforde does this in a light-hearted way, with charm, allowing some growth in her characters from the beginning of the book to the end.

A book not to read if you've been in a car crash

The Best of Times: A Novel, by Penny Vincenzi. This was a truly well-written book. It is about an accident and how it affects the people involved. It spans the events leading up to, as well as after, the crash. Vincenzi does a wonderful job tying the threads of different lives together, and creating a vibrant tapestry of a whole. Even following different storylines, of different characters, she does a fantastic job, and does not rely on graphic descriptions of sex or injuries to make her point. She builds tension very well (hence the title of this post), in a very simple manner. You do know who is where at what point without it being spelled out simplistically for you. In other words, its a complex book that appears simple, without hitting you over the head with its complexity. A great summer read.

The Adamantine Palace

Who doesn't like dragons? I love dragons in literature. (Also mermaids, selkies, elves, fairies) I love magic in literature, particularly when it is done WELL. And I love dragons when they are done well... Stephen Deas has done a fabulous job with The Adamantine Palace in creating a new world where dragons exist. Its a completely different world than Pern, which is what most people think of when they think of dragon stories... Its darker, where humans have enslaved the dragons. Its a story of politics, of slavery, of power. And of dragons. Burning fire. (note, there are a couple places in the book that can cause some queasiness, where its a little graphic in describing injuries, although I've read significantly gorier stuff).

But this, on the whole, is a superbly well-crafted novel which hangs together very well, making you anxious to see what eventually happens.....

Two sides to every story.....

The Wars of the Roses seems to be the new mine for historical fiction, since people have been writing about Henry VIII and his various wives for long enough that it is difficult to come up with new material... so they've gone a little further back...

Philippa Gregory has written a powerful novel from the point of view of Elizabeth Woodville, The White Queen. She does a great job of making an unliked queen human and likeable. It was very pleasurable reading, even if it felt like it was somewhat surface-level treatment, and some of the inclusion of the historical information seemed a little odd. Because Woodville wasn't a direct observer of some of the important events, Gregory adds them in, but you never really figure out how Woodville found out. It just jars a little. It did not quite feel like a seamless story. It felt as if Gregory was looking for a new subject, and picked this woman, who essentially founded the Tudor dynasty. The other thing I would have liked was a family tree at the back of the book with the various marriages/children/etc. The family tree at the front is set when the book starts. Those nit-picks aside, it was a pretty decent book. Gregory portrays another strong English queen who is trying to navigate through political minefields... and gives an alternate view of what might have happened to the Princes in the Tower, one that feels realistic. I do prefer Gregory's earlier books, when she wrote from the viewpoint of someone who was more on the fringes of the court, and not a direct 'mover and shaker'.

The second novel, Figures in Silk, by Vanora Bennett, is one I cannot praise more highly. Set in approximately the same time period (and read second, so did not come on it as freshly as I did with Gregory) it is really well-written. Its the story of a young woman in the English silk industry. It is such a true-to-life book, each note really played well, my only issue with the book was that it felt like it finished much too abruptly. Bennett pulls in the historical facts subtly and intelligently, and you feel as if the revelations that happen were true-to-life. The character would have learned things that way, there was no ominous foreshadowing, which Gregory is slightly prone to. Its natural, and the reactions of the characters are very natural. You get a good impression of what life was actually like for a Freewoman of London. (Granted, yes, with an overlay of modernity, but that is always going to be the case for historical fiction). It just is a wonderful novel.

Fitting in: Four books.

ok, so, here we go, four books that deal with some facet of maturity, belonging, and growing up. One is completely fictional, one is historical fiction, and the other two are very different, but set in the modern world.

Lets start with Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld. This is a Teen book, but would give you a lot to talk about with your teen (or any teen). The premise of the book is that, at 16, you get an operation that makes you a 'pretty'. The book is a little simplistic, in many ways, but gives some commentary on what we value. And its about a journey a teen makes, both literally and metaphorically, and how she grows up. Its also about societal demands. I think the one thing that would have made this book really ideal for teens is a series of discussion questions or interview with the author in the back. I know sometimes I find the discussion questions get me thinking a little more about the themes of the book, and there are some themes that kids wouldn't immediately think about. The role of parents and protection in this book (you see two sets of parents, as well as the societal 'authority figures'), you see friendship and promises. You see responsibility and accountability.

The historical fiction, the Wet Nurse's Tale, is a somewhat sanitized historical fiction piece, but it is fascinating to read. Reading it made me wonder why we don't have wet nurses in society so much anymore. It too was a love story, a story about growing up, finding a place in society. I enjoyed it, but just found it a little too simplistic for my taste... I didn't feel that there was a broad enough amount of research, somehow, and the character was a little too complacent about some things that should have provoked a different response. I suppose I did not find it passionate enough. That being said, for historical fiction, its not a bad read. I have read significantly worse, and in the end, it turned out to be just a light, fun read.

Turning to the modern world, and a finishing school upbringing, we have The Finishing Touches, by Hester Browne. This, again was a lighter read, but very very enjoyable. It was also full of lessons that I wish my 'finishing school' education had covered. How to evaluate a man, how to walk in heels, how to balance a checkbook... It really felt as if the author had attended my boarding school. There were many, many things in there that rang very true.

Lastly, a magical modern novel, 'Blue Boy' by Rakesh Satyal. This resonated with me in a different way than the previous book, because its about fitting in, and being part of different groups. And growing up, and finding your own way, and navigating between different cultures... in the hero's case, navigating between his Indian heritage and the Indian circles, and the American society by which he is surrounded, and his attempts to reconcile the two...

A theory of all things

I got an ARC of this book, which I also reviewed on LibraryThing (where I received the ARC). This is due out in March, and is a fabulous book. It is told, in turn, by all five of the Bennett children (now adults), as well as a few other people who figure in the story, eventually. It is a story of a family that had fragmented following two traumatic events, and is now gradually healing. Its the story of reconnecting, refinding, rediscovering and reforging family.

There are few authors who can tell a story from multiple points of view, but Leon manages it, with skill. She shows us the personalities of the various family members, and how their lives have been framed and formed by these two events, and how they all interact with other members, and start healing and coming to terms with their family.

The Dragon Reborn...

I know that after Robert Jordan passed away in 2007, I was saddened. I had been reading the Wheel Of Time series for years, since my mid-twenties. I was also starting to feel that perhaps Jordan was a little burned out.... as I don't recall reading Knife of Dreams. I am feeling inspired again after reading The Gathering Storm. (I actually read both Knife of Dreams and Gathering Storm, one after the other) Sanderson does a wonderful job of filling Jordan's shoes and presenting the story. There is a very good flow, and in some ways Sanderson sets up the events more clearly, so there is a better feel of what is happening with each character. The writing style is slightly different, nothing I can point to directly, and say 'This, this, and this is different', but he does a wonderful job. There was only one false note that just felt wrong to me, which I won't describe in detail because it is a spoiler. But it just felt unfinished and abrupt, somehow.

I do wish I had a cheat sheet to figure out which of the Forsaken are dead, which are alive, and who is where, but that is something I've wished for a long time. That's my one problem with this series, is that the same characters crop up ten books later, when you've forgotten who they were and what they did. I think that is one thing that Sanderson actually handles better than Jordan did. Because he reminds you 'ok this person was from this time, and did this', whereas Jordan would just plunk them in and it wasn't until you were rereading that you'd say 'Oh! He did that too!'.

I'll be interested to see what Sanderson does with the next two books, to finish off the series. But so far, apart from that one false note, he has done wonderfully. And it cannot be an easy thing, to take up the reins on such a popular series.

Culture Clashes...

So, the books I'm reviewing today have almost nothing in common, except that they describe different cultures, two are novels and one is non-fiction...

The first, Neil MacFarquhar's The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes you a Happy Birthday, is an amazing book. This should be required reading for any American diplomat or newsperson working in or with the Middle East. He lays out, clearly, why the US has such a huge problem in this region of the world. He even lays out some ways we could improve our image. He also, in part because he grew up in Libya, and speaks Arabic fluently, 'gets' a lot of the cultures, the humor, the mindset. So often, the Middle East is portrayed as this dangerous place, full of terrorists, where women are muffled under scarves and draperies... and he really shows some of the true facets of the Middle East. The mentality, the humor, the coping mechanisms.... and he ends, literally, on a note of hope.

The second, a novel, by Sarah Dunant, called Sacred Hearts, is a fabulous book. I felt hesitant when starting it, just because I could not imagine how powerful it would be, how ultimately uplifting. Set in 1570 in the convent of Santa Catarina, in Ferrarra, Italy, it is an incredibly moving book, in part about the power of faith, but also the power of friendship, love, and hope... I would never have dreamed that a book about nuns could be so finely crafted, and so evocative of the lives and times depicted...

The third, The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, is just a sweet book. A love story, in some ways, but also very telling and clarifying of the culture... It just offers a wonderful glimpse into a way of life that doesn't really exist for white-Anglo-Saxon women. You get to see how different arranged marriages are, and just the different ways people are coupled... and how people can grow into a perfect match as well as falling in love. It gives a picture of life for the middle (and upper middle) classes in India. As well as how modern life is impacting. Just a thoroughtly charming book, full of love and hope.

So really, all three of these books have a common theme, as well as that of different cultures, its hope.... they are all uplifting books in the end...