December 2009 - Page 2 of 2

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

by Susanna Clarke

This book was an amazing read. And it felt immensely satisfying to finish it, because recently all the extra-long books I\’ve picked up have dragged on me and been abandoned. Not this one! Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell kept me intrigued and reading day after day, almost reluctant to finish the last chapters because I didn\’t want it to end!

It\’s set in an alternative version of 19th century England- a period in which the art of magic has languished for decades and become quite a disreputable occupation. Mr. Norrell, a quiet, scholarly, reclusive gentleman, determines that he alone can restore English magic to its former glory. He tries influencing government and high society with his opinions on magical issues, while at the same time squelching other magicians\’ aspirations and monopolizing the resources of magical books. Then along comes Jonathan Strange, a daring adventuresome man quite unlike Norrell, who seems to have a natural talent for magic and makes himself Norrell\’s pupil, later becoming more of a colleague and finally his worst rival. When one of them raises a woman from the dead, a malevolent fairy fixes his attention on them, and it quickly becomes apparent how little these esteemed men actually know about magic; they are only scratching the surface of things far more dangerous and mysterious than they can imagine. I loved how the fairy world was depicted, as existing side-by-side with England, accessible through mirrors and pools, shifting just under the surface of things, like a second skin. The plot is complex, introducing scores of characters and numerous little stories (many in the form of footnotes) that add flavor and flair to the main narrative. I found all these just as interesting as the main events, and lapped up all the rich details. This book feels as much a historical fiction novel (of a time period and style I don\’t usually read about, so maybe it\’s opening another door for me there) as it does an epic fantasy. I read about it on so many other blogs before coming across my own copy at a thrift store (fifty cents!) that I don\’t really know who to give credit for first sparking my interest in reading it. It\’s one of those listed below; if anyone else has read it and wants to pitch in their voice, I\’ll be glad to add your link- just let me know.

Rating: 4/5 …….. 782 pages, 2004

More opinions at:
A Reader\’s Journal
Shelf Love
Across the Page
Educating Petunia
The Literary Word
This Delicious Solitude
Jenny\’s Books

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Current Reads, Fantasy / Sci Fi

The Midwife\’s Tale

an Oral History from Handywoman to Professional Midwife
by Nicky Leap and Billie Hunter

When I borrowed this book from the library to read (several years ago) I thought it was going to be a narrative about a midwife\’s experiences, something like Babycatcher by Peggy Vincent, or a nonfiction version of Bohjalian\’s Midwives. It\’s not. The Midwife\’s Tale is a look at the practice of midwifery in England before the National Health Service was established in the early 1940\’s. It is drawn mostly from oral histories and interviews with women who were midwives, or women who recall being tended by midwives during that time. It\’s not only a book about how midwives practiced and how women experienced childbirth in an earlier era, but how women (and society in general) viewed related issues like contraception, abortion, intercourse, motherhood and work outside the home. Also how midwifery contrasted to early doctors\’ more scientific methods and hospitalization of women, and how midwives were edged out of their profession by men. Overall a very interesting read, if a bit dry in parts.

Rating: 3/5 215 pages, 1993

anyone written a blog review about this book? let me know and I\’ll post a link here

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Parenting / Pregnancy, Past Reads

bookmarks giveaway!

This week\’s giveaway is a pair of stylized bookmarks featuring a small African wild cat, the serval. The image came out of my sketchbook. The bookmarks are painted in watercolor, signed on the back, edged with pink ribbon and laminated.

There will be two winners, each to get a bookmark! To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment here. Be sure there\’s an easy way for me to find your email, to notify you if you win. Names will be drawn at random next tuesday, Dec 14th.

Tags: giveaways

The Wonderful Adventures of Nils

by Selma Lagerlof

Somehow this title got onto a book list of mine years back, and I finally had to request an interlibrary loan in order to read it. I’m glad I did. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils, by a Swedish author, is a fun adventure about a naughty boy named Nils who delights in teasing and tormenting animals on the farm. One day he goes too far, and in punishment is shrunk to the size of an elf (tomte). The animals are eager for revenge now that Nils is small, but he escapes by jumping onto the farm goose as it takes off after a flock of wild geese. The wild geese aren’t too happy to have a domestic goose in their midst, nor is the goose happy at first to have Nils aboard. As the goose must prove itself to its wild cousins, so too must Nils demonstrate that he can have a change of heart. On his journey with the geese, traversing many parts of Sweeden, Nils learns about the natural world and the lives of the animals. He comes to see that he has badly mistreated them, and hopes that by proving he can be kind to animals, his misdeeds will be forgiven and he can be restored to his natural size. There’s more to this book than just Nils’ adventures, though. There are vivid descriptions of all different parts of the country, and local folktales included as stories Nils hears from people and animals he encounters along the way. There’s even an environmental theme, as the use of the land and its resources are addressed as well. The is the only book I’ve ever read (as far as I know) that includes lore from Sweeden, and it’s a lovely introduction to the country’s natural beauty and lively folktales. There’s also a sequel called The Further Adventures of Nils, but I’ve never come across it yet.

Rating: 3/5

219 pages, 1906

More opinions at: A Fort Made of Books
anyone else?

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Animals Fiction, Juvenile Fic, Past Reads

Paddle to the Amazon

by Don Starkell

When I was growing up, my family did lots of camping and we went on many canoe trips down river stretches, some quiet and peaceful with glimpses of wildlife, others challenging and exciting with rushing whitewater. There were a number of books on canoeing (both instructional and inspiring) that sat on the family bookshelves, and this is one that got read enough times it began to fall apart. It\’s just that fantastic.

Paddle to the Amazon is about a father and son team that traveled from Winnipeg, Canada down the Mississippi river and through ocean waters to the mouth of the Amazon river in Brazil, by the power of their own arms in a canoe. On the long journey -over 12,000 miles- they suffered from sunburn, salt sores, illness and sometimes even faced starvation. They traversed numerous foreign countries- sometimes welcomed and assisted by friendly strangers, other times facing thievery or arrest by hostile natives (often exacerbated by the language barrier). Then there\’s the dangers of weather, not to mention wild animals. In particular I still recall vivid scenes with crocodiles, huge snakes and fearsome insects, even though it\’s been years since I read the book! It\’s amazing what hardships the Starkells went through to complete their journey, especially in the face of setbacks when they forgot (or lost) crucial supplies and gear. It\’s one of those stories that makes you catch your breath, amazed at the frequent scrapes with danger, astonished at what some people will put themselves through, and cheering when they finally reach their goal. A great adventure story.

Rating: 4/5 320 pages, 1987

More opinions at:
Hooser\’s Blook
Helen Foster James
anyone else?

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Bios / Memoirs, Past Reads, Travel/Adventure

Buck, Wild

by Glenn Balch

This is one of those books I read over and over again from the elementary school library when I was a kid. I even remember to this day which shelf it was kept on. It\’s the story of a wild mustang, beginning at his birth and following various adventures as he scrapes out a life with his wild band in the scub county of Idaho around the Snake River. The little horse looses his mother early, but gets partly adopted by another mare with a young foal, and grows up strong and free. He has to learn his place among the wild horses- which mares are friendly, how much he can pester the stallion, how far he can wander, etc. The dynamics change as he grows older until as a yearling he is ousted by the stallion and must make his way alone with a few other young bachelors. He dodges coyotes and cowhands, lives alongside antelope and wild burros. Eventually a rancher notices the wild horse, now a young stallion, and determines to catch him in order to use for stud to improve his own stockhorses. Shut up in a corral, for the first time in his life the wild horse knows what it is to be free of danger and well-fed. But our equine hero will never submit to man\’s hand, he has a strong will and burning desire to be free… Buck, Wild is a wonderful story for any young horse lover. The author has written a number of books about horses, but this is the only one I\’ve read so far. I mean to remedy that someday.

Rating: 4/5 …….. 136 pages, 1976

Tags: 4/5- Great Book, Animals Fiction, Juvenile Fic, Past Reads, Western

Raven Seek Thy Brother

by Gavin Maxwell

This is the third book in Maxwell’s series that began with Ring of Bright Water. Like the second, The Rocks Remain, it focuses more on the author’s personal trials than on the otters. Maxwell explains in an opening chapter that when he wrote The Rocks Remain he could not share all details of what was happening at Camusfearna, but now in Raven Seek Thy Brother all is divulged, to make clear why his idyll was spoiled and eventually abandoned. He states early in the book that after a failed relationship his ex cursed the rowan tree on his land and following that misfortunes one after another came upon Camusfearna. The reader learns about various accidents, management problems and financial straits, as well as the author’s debilitating health problems. There is a curious chapter about local tales of supernatural events, including a poltergeist that appears to haunt Maxwell’s own house for a time. Another chapter describes his travels to Iceland in order to learn about eider duck colonies, in the interest of establishing his own to gather the down for profit. I enjoyed reading about when he took his two deerhounds (older and inexperienced compared to the other dogs) coursing for hares on the moors with a local club. The book ends, sadly, with the disintegration of Camusfearna and his efforts to ensure a safe future for the otters. My assumption at the end of The Rocks Remain that he had let go free otters which were not native was mistaken; here it was made clear to me that only the Scottish otters were released into the wild (and some years later one returned to him after it had been injured, in a remarkable reunion); the foreign species he tried to place in zoos when he could no longer keep them. The chapters about the otters are the highlight of this book, but as the best one comes at the very end it felt kind of belated. The narrative is sometimes a muddle (I could not make sense of the section describing how he was incriminated by the Italian law after publishing God Protect Me From My Friends) but I still really enjoy the quality and style of Maxwell’s writing.

Rating: 3/5

233 pages, 1968

Tags: 3/5- Good Read, Bios / Memoirs, Current Reads

winner

The winner of my latest book giveaway is sharon54220! Sharon, send me your address and I\’ll mail your book and accompanying bookmark out soon. Visit again next week for a new giveaway!

Month: December 2009

RATINGS / SUBJECTS: