chaotic compendiums

Book Review - The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

2012-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: Acclaimed, award-winning author Margot Livesey delivers her breakout novel: a captivating tale, set in Scotland in the early 1960s, that is both an homage and a modern variation on the enduring classic, Jane Eyre

Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she is both servant and student, young Gemma seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands.

But Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin . . . a journey of passion and betrayal, secrets and lies, redemption and discovery that will lead her to a life she's never dreamed.

First Line: We did not go for a walk on the first day of the year.

Random Quote: At last, when I could no longer stand it, I went to the kitchen on the pretext of making Nell a bedtime treat of hot chocolate. Vicky was at the table, sorting eggs. No that the ferry strike had ended we were again sending them to the mainland twice a week. As I set a saucepan of milk on the stove, I said that Nell had been asking about her uncle's whereabouts.

Review: In retrospect I probably shouldn't have re-read Jane Eyre so close to my reading of The Flight of Gemma Hardy. I think I would've enjoyed the latter much more if it had been further in proximity from the former.

Ms. Livesey can write, and I'm definitely curious about trying some of her other books, but most of this book doesn't work as well for me. Rather than being a book based on and containing elements of Jane Eyre (like Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier), this book is based on and follows Jane Eyre too closely. It focuses the eye away from the new story and to a game of How Many Things from Jane Eyre Can You Recognize." It's very distracting and definitely detracts from what seems like a good story in the moments I could pay attention to it.

The Orkney Islands, Scotland (image source)

The characters are, of course, based on the original yet they seem more muted somehow - drained of the passion and dramatic turmoil and melodrama that make Jane Eyre fun. All of this changes in the last third of the book when Gemma Hardy finally takes flight into her very own conclusion.

Read this, just not in close proximity with the original.

FTC Disclosure: Advance copy received from the publisher for the author's virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours

Publishing Information: HarperCollins - January 24, 2012

Format: Kindle

Rating: ☆☆☆

Reading Challenges: European Reading Challenge, Mammoth Book Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge

I am pleased to have been a part of Ms. Livesey's virtual book tour through TLC Book Tours. Be sure to check out the other stops on the way!

About Margot Livesey

Margot Livesey is the acclaimed author of the novels The House on Fortune Street, Banishing Verona, Eva Moves the Furniture, The Missing World, Criminals, and Homework. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Vogue, and The Atlantic, and she is the recipient of grants from both the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation. The House on Fortune Street won the 2009 L. L. Winship/PEN New England Award. Livesey was born in Scotland and grew up on the edge of the Highlands. She lives in the Boston area and is a distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Emerson College.
Website | Facebook | Twitter

Margo’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 30th: Just Joanna *
Wednesday, February 1st: Book Reviews by Molly *
Thursday, February 2nd: A Library of My Own
Tuesday, February 14th: Much Madness is Divine Sense
Wednesday, February 15th: Into the Hall of Books
Thursday, February 16th: Chaotic Compendiums *
Monday, February 20th: Luxury Reading
Tuesday, February 21st: Coffee and A Book Chick
Tuesday, February 21st: The Whimsical Cottage
Wednesday, February 22nd: A Chick Who Reads
Thursday, February 23rd: Book Nook Club
Tuesday, February 28th: It’s a Crazy, Beautiful Life
Wednesday, February 29th: ooldes of books
Thursday, March 1st: Book Clutter
Monday, March 5th: Book Journey
Tuesday, March 6th: Drey’s Library
Wednesday, March 7th: Book-a-rama
Thursday, March 8th: Unabridged Chick *
* also reading Jane Eyre

Book Review - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

2012-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

First Line: There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.

Random Quote: Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom pronounced necessary for their sex.

Review: If you're looking for a scholarly literary article on Jane Eyre, you've come to the wrong place. I've already written that paper - twice, in fact (once in high school and once in college). The re-read this time was purely for pleasure and because tomorrow I'll be reviewing The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey (based on Jane Eyre) and I thought it'd be interesting to read them back-to-back.

About the time I was in middle school (and reading way above my grade level), my mother (a library director) would bring home pamphlets published by the American Library Association listing books for the college-bound. There were lots of different kinds of books on these, many of them classics, and I read choices from them throughout just about every summer. It was great because I read these without the overlay of academia and formed my own opinions about them, but those were 13-year-old opinions. That's not to say 13-year-old opinions are bad, but the way one reads things and the things that stick out or become understandable change with age. This reading had a price, though. By the time I got to high school I had to re-read and write papers on many of them, and then I rinsed and repeated in college. It made certain aspects of both super boring - I always wanted college at least to introduce me to new types of classics. I will say that college gave me Homer, Ovid, and Chaucer and I am grateful to it for that.

Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge
Two of the Bronte sisters, Maria and Elizabeth died here of TB
Basis for Lowood School (image source)

In any event, I decided last year that I would re-read Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, and Madame Bovary again since it's been years. I didn't get to it last year, but hope to finish out the cycle this year. I loved all them as an adolescent for the romanticism buried in their hearts and want to find out what I love (or don't love) about them now.

Jane Eyre is surprisingly modern in its language, themes, and story. For many people I suspect it's all about Jane and Mr. Rochester (one of the original templates for the brooding emotionally unavailable hero in romance novels - more on that in a sec). For me it's all about Jane. The romance is a side-plot (and kind of a predictable boring one at that), but Jane and her interior and exterior journey is what makes this book a pleasure for me.

Haddon Hall (said to be the basis for Thornfield Hall)
(image source)

I felt such a connection with Jane - the smart, different, unloved little girl trying to grow up into better circumstances. Much of her story resonates with me, the party scenes perhaps most of all as she sits in her chair in the corner trying to hide behind a curtain. I like her defiance and her willingness to pay the price for it (because sometimes the defiance is worth every penny of the price). Her intellect and curiousity appeal as does her attempt to balance her religious ideals against the real and beautiful world. This is an ongoing struggle for society as we attempt to figure out where we are in relationship to nature and natural things when much is mediated through religion, politics, societal conventions, and technology.

I liked Mr. Rochester for similar reasons. Both he and Jane seem to me to be outsiders in their own ways and to reject the conventional behavior of the time, although both are strongly bound to them. Of course they fell in love! That's what kindred spirits do if they're lucky enough to meet. As I said earlier, Mr. Rochester is a whole host of unattractive behaviors, but they're complicated and tied up into a character with a tragic past, a mad wife in the attic, and a level of despair that I also understand. In later romance novels it is much less about the complexities of the unattractive behaviors, but rather the practice of them and the acceptance of them.

If you've never read this, or haven't in a long time, I recommend you do. It's a wonderful read, light in its own way, but filled with depth and many things that will make you think. I enjoyed the read very much.

FTC Disclosure: I downloaded for free onto my Kindle because I wanted to - so there

Format: Kindle

Reading Challenges: Back to the Classics, Eclectic Reading Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge

Teaser Tuesdays

2012-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) random teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour; stringent are they; inviolate they must be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth? They have a worth - so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane - quite insane: with my veins running fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs.

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Happy Valentine's Day!

2012-02-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

(image source)

Book Review and Giveaway - The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn

2012-02-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: The phone rings. It's your daughter. She's been dead for four months.

So begins East Texas police dispatcher Ian Hunt's fight to get his daughter back. The call is cut off by the man who snatched her from her bedroom seven years ago, and a basic description of the kidnapper is all Ian has to go on. What follows is a bullet-strewn cross-country chase from Texas to California along Interstate 10- a wild ride in a 1965 Mustang that passes through the outlaw territory of No Country for Old Men and is shot through with moments of macabre violence that call to mind the novels of Thomas Harris.

First Line: Ian Hunt is less than an hour from the end of his shift when he gets the call from his dead daughter.

Random Quote: And Ian hasn't been real police in over a decade, not since he took a bullet in the knee and Debbie talked him into moving them to Bulls Mouth, her hometown, where things would be quieter and calmer than in Los Angeles, where Maggie would be safe and they could live a peaceful life, where he would not have to worry about getting shot a second time.

There will almost certainly be nothing for Ian to do when he gets there.

But that doesn't seem to matter.

Review: I wanted to read The Dispatcher because the story sounded like it would be good and because I panned the author's first book, Good Neighbors (yes, I know it won an award). Most of my issues with Good Neighbors had to do with some authorial and metafictional choices, but were mostly rooted in the fact that he was writing about the Kitty Genovese murder and I think Harlan Ellison wrote the definitive fictional work on that in his short story, The Whimper of Whipped Dogs. What I did know was that Mr. Jahn could write and I watched out for what he might write next.

Second books are hard - lots of people flub them badly. Mr. Jahn, however, wrote a great second book. He kept the cast of characters tight, the various stories and subplots woven together tightly, chose a great landscape with miles and miles of deserted highway, and he paced things just right. In fact, he paced them as if you and he were riding together in the main character's 1965 Mustang down those highways after the people who kidnapped your girl.

1965 Convertible Mustang (image source)

Mr. Jahn has a way with words and has proven that he can write a great story. I had a really hard time putting this book down - I devoured it in a day (a work day, even). I wasn't very sociable with my co-workers on break and at lunch because I was too enraptured to stop reading this book. It was a sort of a teenaged joyride of a book, complete with those bad moments that happen when you realize the car is stolen, you're probably too drunk to be in it, and you're definitely driving way too fast, but somehow you just can't stop. Excellent book - highly recommended for those who like a great thriller.

FTC Disclosure: Copy received from publisher for the author's virtual book tour

Publishing Information: Penguin - December 27, 2011

Format: Paperback

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR Challenge, Mystery and Suspense Challenge

I am very happy to be a part of Mr. Jahn's book tour through TLC Book Tours and I'm even happier to be able to give away one copy of this book to one lucky winner. Fill out the form at the bottom of the post for your chance to win. Winner will be announced on Sunday, 2/19.

About Ryan David Jahn

Ryan David Jahn - photo credit: Noel Bass

Ryan David Jahn won the Crime Writers Association debut novel prize for Good Neighbors (Penguin, 2011). He left school at sixteen to work in a record store and subsequently joined the army. Since 2004 he has worked in television and film. He grew up in Arizona, Texas, and California and recently moved from Los Angeles to Louisville, Kentucky, where he plans to set his next novel.
For more info about Ryan and his work, please visit his website, www.ryandavidjahn.com.

Ryan David Jahn’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, February 13th: Chaotic Compendiums
Tuesday, February 14th: Ted Lehmann’s Bluegrass, Books, and Brainstorms
Thursday, February 16th: A Bookworm’s World
Monday, February 20th: Life in Review
Wednesday, February 22nd: Reading on a Rainy Day
Wednesday, February 29th: Dan’s Journal
Thursday, March 1st: Wordsmithonia
Monday, March 5th: Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White
Tuesday, March 6th: Man of La Book
Wednesday, March 7th: Unabridged Chick
Thursday, March 8th: Crime Fiction Lover
Monday, March 12th: Book Addict Katie
Tuesday, March 13th: The House of Crime and Mystery
Wednesday, March 14th: A Library of My Own
Thursday, March 15th: Mockingbird Hill Cottage
Monday, March 19th: Raging Bibliomania
Wednesday, March 21st: Fiction Addict

<p>&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Loading...&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

Let's Talk about Whoopie Pie

2012-02-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

As assortment of whoopie pies (image source)

At the moment I'm reading The Burning Soul by John Connolly, set in Maine. I've never been to Maine, but I've seen pictures and it's certainly beautiful. My cousins lived there awhile and nearly froze to death in winter so that takes away from some charm for me, but it still looks like a gorgeous place to at least visit (not when it's snowing).

In poking about the Internet to find official foods of the state of Maine I found that while the state doesn't have a designated "State Food," it does have a designated "State Treat." As a lover of just about anything labeled as a treat I was also amused to see that the designee was Whoopie Pie - a treat which Maine claims to have originated. As I typed this the state of Pennsylvania (who also claim to have invented it) turned to give me a dirty look. Sorry, Pennsylvania.

Whoopie Pie reminds me a lot of a famous Southern treat - the MoonPie. Actually, it's not really the MoonPie alone, it's an RC Cola and a Moonpie, but I digress. The two food items aren't really that much alike, but they do share a sweet, creamy filling so I get to conflate them in my head. A MoonPie is two round graham crackers with marshmallow creme in the middle dipped in chocolate (they dip them in other flavors, but those aren't really proper MoonPies). When combined with an RC Cola, a MoonPie is suitable sugary stuff for anyone. I used to eat them all the time when in I was high school.

A Whoopie Pie is a bit more sophisticated. It's two mounds of chocolate cake with a sweet creamy filling (as noted above). It's also called a gob, a black-and-white, a bob, or a BFO (in polite quarters that's a Big Fat Oreo, for those in the gamer world who played Doom - you know what the F really stands for).

Here's a recipe for Whoopie Pies from Gourmet Magazine before the evil Conde Nast people killed it in favor of Bon Apetit. I'm still not over that. Why would it occur to you to drop anything that Ruth Reichl is associated with?

Whoopie Pies
Gourmet | January 2003

We prefer Droste brand Dutch-process cocoa for this recipe because it gives the cakes a richer chocolate flavor. Though whoopie pies can be served on the same day they're made, we think the cakes are much better a day after baking.
Yield: Makes 8 individual desserts
Active Time: 30 min
Total Time: 1 hr

Ingredients
For cakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg

For filling
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
2 cups marshmallow cream such as Marshmallow Fluff
1 teaspoon vanilla
preparation
Make cakes:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon 1/4-cup mounds of batter about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are puffed and cakes spring back when touched, 11 to 13 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

Make filling:

Beat together butter, confectioners sugar, marshmallow, and vanilla in a bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Assemble pies:

Spread a rounded tablespoon filling on flat sides of half of cakes and top with remaining cakes.

Cooks' notes:
• Cakes can be made 3 days ahead and kept, layered between sheets of wax paper, in an airtight container at room temperature.

• Filling can be made 4 hours ahead and kept, covered, at room temperature.

So Maine has lots of cool stuff to eat, including lobster and wild blueberries and they are so cool that they have a designated State Treat - that makes me like them a whole lot even if I haven't gotten to visit yet.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Book Review - The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

2012-02-11T12:31:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: An aristocratic young nun must find a legendary crown in order to save her father—and preserve the Catholic faith from Cromwell’s ruthless terror. The year is 1537. . .

Joanna Stafford, a Dominican nun, learns that her favorite cousin has been condemned by Henry VIII to be burned at the stake. Defying the sacred rule of enclosure, Joanna leaves the priory to stand at her cousin’s side. Arrested for interfering with the king’s justice, Joanna, along with her father, is sent to the Tower of London.

The ruthless Stephen Gardiner, Bishop of Winchester, takes terrifying steps to force Joanna to agree to spy for him: to save her father’s life she must find an ancient relic—a crown so powerful, it may hold the ability to end the Reformation. Accompanied by two monks, Joanna returns home to Dartford Priory and searches in secret for this long-lost piece of history worn by the Saxon King Athelstan in 937 during the historic battle that first united Britain.

But Dartford Priory has become a dangerous place, and when more than one dead body is uncovered, Joanna departs with a sensitive young monk, Brother Edmund, to search elsewhere for the legendary crown. From royal castles with tapestry-filled rooms to Stonehenge to Malmesbury Abbey, the final resting place of King Athelstan, Joanna and Brother Edmund must hurry to find the crown if they want to keep Joanna’s father alive. At Malmesbury, secrets of the crown are revealed that bring to light the fates of the Black Prince, Richard the Lionhearted, and Katherine of Aragon’s first husband, Arthur. The crown’s intensity and strength are beyond the earthly realm and it must not fall into the wrong hands.

With Cromwell’s troops threatening to shutter her priory, bright and bold Joanna must now decide who she can trust with the secret of the crown so that she may save herself, her family, and her sacred way of life.

First Line: When a burning is announced, the taverns off Smithfield order extra barrels of ale, but when the person to be executed is a woman and one of noble birth, the ale comes by the cartload.

Random Quote: I studied the wall to my right. A large bookshelf was empty of books. I thought I remembered seeing books there, but now it was empty. My eyes strayed upward, and above the shelf, carved into the wall, I saw those dread symbols of our priory: the lilies and the crown. They truly were everywhere. Here the crown stood in front, not sheltered by the flowers of the Dominican Order.

Review: The Crown really gets off to a slow start (this was probably exacerbated by my having read it directly after Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman - she tends to spoil other historical fiction for me in too close proximity). Just as I was beginning to think that maybe I'm just bored with the Tudors (I've always liked the Plantagenants much more), I got hooked. Wow, did I get hooked - from that moment I had a really hard time putting this down.

Bilyeau writes well and the historical part of it all is interesting, but the best part is the mystery and the exploration of Joanna Stafford buried right underneath. Also interesting is seeing a somewhat different (but familiar) side of the great Protestant/Catholic divide - this time from the Catholic side.

Dartfor Priory, Kent, England
Dissolved by the Crown in 1538
(image source)

Henry VIII isn't much loved by anyone in this book, but really did anybody truly love him? He was big, he was cranky, he liked to take off heads - not a lot to like there. Cromwell is a villain here and blamed for much which makes sense given his role in the disbanding of the monasteries and in his strong promotion of Protestantism, the publishing of the Bible in English, and on and on - the whole commoner risen above his natural rank plays a part, as well. I admire Cromwell and find the whole religious conflict interesting, but if I was a Catholic at the time I doubt I'd care for him.

Best of all, this book deals with the Catholic religious orders in England at the time, with the disgraced noble families of Stafford and Howard, and very much with the lives of common people living in religious community.

On the flip side, the mystery is a little too Dan Brown for me and the book could really use an editor for both cuts and pacing, but Joanna Stafford is a great character - hope to see more of her.

FTC Disclosure: Advance review copy through NetGalley

Publishing Information: Touchstone - January 10, 2012

Format: E-book

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆

Reading Challenges: The European Reading Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, Mystery and Suspense Challenge 2012

Book Review - Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: They were called "The Devil's Brood," though never to their faces. They were the four surviving sons of Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine. With two such extraordinary parents, much was expected of them.

But the eldest-charming yet mercurial-would turn on his father and, like his brother Geoffrey, meet an early death. When Henry died, Richard would take the throne and, almost immediately, set off for the Holy Land. This was the Third Crusade, and it would be characterized by internecine warfare among the Christians and extraordinary campaigns against the Saracens. And, back in England, by the conniving of Richard's youngest brother, John, to steal his crown.

First Line: Alicia had been fearful long before she faced death in the Straits of Messina.

Random Quote: It is always better to let men think you're one of God's great fools than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

19th-century portrait of Richard
by Merry-Joseph Blondel

Review: I've been reading Sharon Kaye Penman from the beginning with her very first book, The Sunne in Splendour. My copy of this book has been re-read so many times it's close to needing replacing. She is one of my favorite authors, although she does spoil you for historical fiction. Once you're hooked on Penman, most other historical fiction falls far short of the mark she sets. She's smart, she writes well, she does an enormous amount of study of primary sources before she writes, and the stories she tells are so fascinating you'll go back to them again and again.

Lionheart is the penultimate in Ms. Penman's books on Henry II, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and their Devil's Brood. I have a fondness for Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and no one's written better about them. Given the name it's not hard to figure out that this one is about Richard the Lionheart - considered to be one of England's great kings and one of the greatest war commanders ever.

I've always been less fond of Richard than of the youngest of the brood, John. Richard is always presented as so big and bold - brash, daring, bigger than life, self-righteous, reckless. He's an amazing character, but something about John has also appealed to me (yes, I know, he's generally thought of as a villain). I think I like John because he was a survivor and because he was a pragmatist. He was always more concerned with the administration of his kingdom and of justice. He inherited a rudimentary justice system and spent a great deal of time expanding and formalizing it. He was also selfish, arrogant, sort of spineless, and left his father (who loved him greatly) to die alone.

Richard the Lionhearted's Tomb at Fontevraud Abbey
(image source)

In any event, Richard is very heroic and Ms. Penman has not forgotten that. This is a novel of the Third Crusade, with all its betrayals and internecine warfare between the various European factions attempting to work together to take Jerusalem. As we all know, this region has never been kind to invaders - has always been a hotbed of religious warfare. Seeing this through 12th century eyes is an interesting experience, particularly since the broad brush strokes of it all seem so very modern in their own way. It is as if the Crusades have never really ended and no one has learned anything from them.

Richard proves himself an almost invincible battle commander, charismatic, and pragmatic - opening discussions between himself and Saladin trying for a long-term peace over the ignominy of capturing Jerusalem only to see it lost again when he and the rest of the Crusaders returned home.

This is a wonderful and entertaining read, illuminating a time in history most of us know little about. As always Ms. Penman's writing and storytelling skills carry the day and will carry you through to end - leaving you craving more.

Publishing Information: G.P. Putman's Sons - October 4, 2011

Format: Kindle

FTC Disclosure: I bought it for my own sweet self

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Reading Challenges: Eclectic Reading Challenge, Mammoth Book Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge,

Teaser Tuesdays

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) random teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion.

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

In My Mailbox Monday

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

The £5 1926 KG V High Value Gibraltar Stamp and King Gerge IV
(image source)

In February, Mailbox Monday is hosted by DCMetroreader at Metroreader. In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. These are the places where we ~~brag about~~ share the books that arrived in our mailboxes each week. As always, I try to find a mailbox that is somehow associated with what I'm reading right now. I just finished The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen by Thomas Caplan. The last bit of adventure takes place in Gibraltar. Rather than finding and posting yet another British mailbox I found a cool picture of King George V with one of his really cool Gibraltar stamps.

Here's the mailbox for this week:

Printed Matter (from publishers):

Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung. On the night Janie waits for her sister, Hannah, to be born, her grandmother tells her a story: Since the Japanese occupation of Korea, their family has lost a daughter in every generation, so Janie is charged with keeping Hannah safe. As time passes, Janie hears more stories, while facts remain unspoken. Her father tells tales about numbers, and in his stories everything works out. In her mother's stories, deer explode in fields, frogs bury their loved ones in the ocean, and girls jump from cliffs and fall like flowers into the sea. Within all these stories are warnings. Years later, when Hannah inexplicably cuts all ties and disappears, Janie embarks on a mission to find her sister and finally uncover the truth beneath her family's silence. To do so, she must confront their history, the reason for her parents' sudden move to America twenty years earlier, and ultimately her conflicted feelings toward her sister and her own role in the betrayal behind their estrangement.

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress. The year is 2035. After ecological disasters nearly destroyed the Earth, 26 survivorsa future which might never unfold. Weaving three consecutive time lines to unravel both the mystery of the Earth's destruction and the key to its salvation, this taut adventure offers a topical message with a satisfying twist.

Kindle Book (bought by me, for me):

French Provincial Cooking by Elizabeth David. Elizabeth David's books belong in the libraries of everyone who loves to read and prepare food and this one is generally regarded as her best; her passion and knowledge comes through on every page. She was one of the foremost writers on food in the latter half of the 20th century and this book has her most celebrated writing. "French Provincial Cooking" should be approached and read as a series of short stories, as well written and evocative as the best literature.

Kindle Books (from publishers):

The Blood Sugar Solution: The UltraHealthy Program for Losing Weight, Preventing Disease, and Feeling Great by Mark Hyman. In The Blood Sugar Solution, Dr. Mark Hyman reveals that the secret solution to losing weight and preventing not just diabetes but also heart disease, stroke, dementia, and cancer is balanced insulin levels. Dr. Hyman describes the seven keys to achieving wellness-nutrition, hormones, inflammation, digestion, detoxification, energy metabolism, and a calm mind-and explains his revolutionary six-week healthy-living program. With advice on diet, green living, supplements and medication, exercise, and personalizing the plan for optimal results, the book also teaches readers how to maintain lifelong health. Groundbreaking and timely, THE BLOOD SUGAR SOLUTION is the fastest way to lose weight, prevent disease, and feel better than ever.

Drift: The Unmooring of American Political Power by Rachel Maddow. Speaking to listeners in the fiercely honest, witty, intelligent voice for which she is known, Maddow shows how deeply militarized our culture has become--how the role of the national security sector has shape-shifted and grown over the past century until it is financially unsustainable and confused in mission.

Let's Talk about Stuffed Dates

2012-02-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

Medjool Dates (image source)

It's time to talk about food again. Actually, it's always time to talk about food, but I formalize it on Sundays here at chaotic compendiums. I'm reading The Spy Who Jumped Off the Screen by Thomas Caplan. It's an espionage action hero-type thriller - currently our hero is in Spain so I thought I'd talk about stuffed dates, a traditional Spanish tapas that can be done in a variety of ways - all of them good.

Tapas are essentially little appetizers or small bites. They're sort of like antipasto and can be arranged into a wonderful meal. They're fun because you get little tastes of all kinds of things. They also tend to encourage drinking and conversation (two admirable activities) because they're small and no one is so focused on a big meal that it takes all of their attention. I like them like I like dim sum - I love the variety and not having to eat all of one or two big things.

Vintage Cream of Wheat ad

Stuffed dates are one traditional tapas and, although I don't really like dates, I love them in this form. I grew up in the South and we eat grits and the occasional oatmeal. My father thought I should learn to love Cream of Wheat and used to make it for me in various fancy ways, including putting chopped dried dates in it. I always hated Cream of Wheat (blechy) and I suspect it turned me off to dates, but the day I first tried this little bite I knew that I had misjudged dates and am so very happy when I see it amongst the appetizers.

Dates are the fruit of a particular kind of palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera) that is cultivated because it has dates. Like how that works? Dates have many different cultivars and the fruit is often dried for shipment. They are a staple of most Mediterranean cuisine. Dates are good for your heart, contain lots of antioxidants, need no added sugar, are extremely low in moisture, and are a great source of fiber. As the Spanish prepare them they are also nummy.

Here's the basic recipe (from WholeFoods.com):

Bacon Manchego Dates
Makes 12 hors d'oeuvres

Sweet, salty and impressive on the plate, these Spanish-inspired stuffed dates are a cinch to prepare. They're most delicious when very hot, so try to get them to your guests as soon after they come out of the oven as possible.

Ingredients

12 dried dates, preferably Medjool
2 ounces Manchego cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 slices (thin or medium thickness) bacon, cut in half crosswise

Method

Preheat broiler. Make a slit in the side of each date and remove the pit. Place a piece of cheese in the cavity of each date and wrap each date with a piece of bacon.

Arrange dates on a small foil-lined baking sheet and broil until bacon is browned on top, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn dates and broil for another 4 minutes, until bacon is crisp and cooked through. Serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving (1 hors d'oeuvre): 110 calories (35 from fat), 3.5g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 10mg cholesterol, 270mg sodium, 18g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 16g sugar), 5g protein

There are a zillion variations on this including quite yummy replacements for the Manchego cheese such as Parmesan. In the American South people often mix cream cheese with slivered almonds and stuff the dates with that. The bacon, however, remains constant because bacon makes everything taste great, right?

These are really easy to make and will get eaten up in minutes, so you probably want to make more than one batch if you're making them for a party. They're also fun to make for sitting in front of an old movie and snacking on as many as you can.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Book Review - Switched by Amanda Hocking

2012-02-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. It isn't until eleven years later that Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. With the help of Finn Holmes, Wendy finds herself in a world she never knew existed - a world both beautiful and frightening, and Wendy's not sure she wants to be a part of it.

First Line: A couple things made that day stand out more than any other: it was my sixth birthday, and my mother was wielding a knife.

Random Quote: Everything that had transpired between us had just been because he was trying to get me into the compound. He had been keeping me safe, getting me to like him, and when he noticed my crush developing, he had tried to put me in my place. It stung painfully, so I just swallowed hard and stared out the window.

Review: I read Switched because it was sent to me and because the author has a good backstory with this: nerdy goth from Minnesota writes and self-publishes a YA Paranormal e-book that sells out like hotcakes on Amazon.com. The popularity of this book sparks a bidding war between publishers ending with a $2 million four book contract for the author from St. Martin's. Yes, we're all super happy for her (and extra extra envious - not attractive, but there it is). Given the popularity I thought I'd give it a whirl figuring that it might be better than the usual affair because there was such a bidding war over it (completely forgetting the relationship betweeen art and commerce).

It wasn't.

This is yet another template-written series providing the usual - a romance with an unattainable and emotionally abusive older man, a main character is so clueless that I'm not sure how she manages to falling into every pothole she sees (for you Dungeon and Dragons people her wisdom score is about a 3), and a somewhat reimagined lore and mythology of whatever paranormal beings are chosen. In this case the chosen are trolls.

Look at them, troll mother said. Look at my sons!

You won't find more beautiful trolls on this side of the moon.

(1915) by John Bauer

Let's start with the required emotionally abusive and unavailable man for our heroine to fall in love with - this one is named Finn and he is a Troll Tracker (rescuing changelings to bring them back into their own communities). His first moment of cruelty to Wendy happens exactly 25 pages into the version of the book I have, meaning that at 8.5% of the way into the book, the main male character is already a brooding ass.

Wendy's cluelessness knows no bounds. She leaves her happy family at random to go join a bunch of people she doesn't know where, of course, she is a Princess (cuz deep in our hearts we're all princesses, right? Yeah, I thought so). She bumbles about asking no questions, discovering nothing new, not even bothering to notice that her brother in the new community (who isn't a troll) is her freakin' CHANGELING. "HELLO?" *rap rap rap on forehead* "Anybody in there?"

Cute Trolls! (image source)

Ms. Hocking maintains a fairly good grasp of the lore of trolls, but it's all a little cute. The trolls in Switched bear a much closer existence to the trolls you pick up at the drugstore on impulse to put on your keyring. You know the ones - with the cute little squwnchy faces and the parti-colored hair? She does demonstrate a chance of being closer to lore with the character of the Queen, who is running an elaborate confidence scam and is, generally, unpleasant, mercenary, and deceitful. One might say that she is large and in charge.

I can understand why so many would like this book. It's easy on the brain with a simple story that holds up until you actually pay attention. You're not supposed to pay attention, but I just can't help myself. I won't be reading the rest in the trilogy because, honestly, I just don't care.

Publishing Information: St. Martin's Griffin - January 3, 2012

Format: Printed matter

FTC Discosure: Advance copy from publisher for review

Rating: ☆

Reading Challenges: Electic Reading Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge

Monthly Reading Roundup - January 2012

2012-02-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's February. When did that happen? Wasn't it New Year's Eve 2010 three days ago?

I read a lot in January, not all of which I managed to review in January. This is partly because I've been reading a couple of chunksters in pieces while reading and those slow you down (but so worth it, more on that this month). I also redesigned the blog and added some features I wanted and I'm pretty happy with the result.

Standout reads for January were A Walk Across the Sun and The Hunter, although everything I read was entertaining. It was cool to get a graphic novel to review and I have two more in galleys from the same source that I'm pleased to throw into my reading mix.

Book Reviews:

I wrote food posts as part of the Weekend Cooking meme (which continues to entertain me). I decided to connect what I'm reading to my food posts and that's been fun, too. Pretty much everything connected with reading and food are fun, eh?

Food Posts:

On we go into February and Valentine's Day. For me Valentine's Day has two modes:

You get to celebrate with your partner (and that doesn't have to be at an overpriced overbooked restaurant or even on the day);
You have no partner so you hang out in your favorite dive bar with your other partnerless friends, drink too much whiskey, and rewrite the positive sayings on the little candy hearts (you do need a set of fine-point pens for this).

Both ways are fun.

Happy reading!

Teaser Tuesdays

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) random teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I desired more...than was within my reach. Who blames me? Many call me discontented. I couldn't help it: the restlessness is in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes.

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

In My Mailbox Monday

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

A Penny Black - the first postage stamp (image source)

In January, Mailbox Monday is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books. In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. These are the places where we ~~brag about~~ share the books that arrived in our mailboxes each week. As always, I try to find a mailbox that is somehow associated with what I'm reading right now. I'm currently reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and thought a picture of a Penny Black stamp would be appropriate.

Printed Matter (bought for me by me):

I am getting ready to start a new job as Service Unit Manager for the Department of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente's Oakland Hospital. As part of this I have to get my Basic Life Support Certification so I had to order a book for it:

BLS for Health Care Providers Professional Student Manual by the American Heart Association. I'm not going to review this, but this is the latest student manual for the BLS class and comes with a nifty reference card. BLS Certification is good for two years.

Printed Matter (sent from publishers):

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain. At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer. Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so.

Avalon Chronicles, Volume 1: Once in a Blue Moon by Nunzio DeFlippis and Christine Weir (writers) and Emma Viecell (artist). When Aeslin Finn was a little girl, her parents read to her from a magical book called THE AVALON CHRONICLES. But that was a long time ago. Now a teenager, Aeslin is about to discover just how magical she and that book really are. Transported to the world of Avalon, she discovers a kingdom in need of a Dragon Knight - and the last dragon, Blue Moon, is waiting for her!

Being Lara by Lola Jaye. From the time she was five years old, Lara Reid knew she was an alien. Her dark complexion and kinky-hair-so unlike her fair-skinned mother and father's-were proof that she was different. At eight she learned the word "adopted." But the tale of a far-off orphanage in Nigeria was little more another bedtime story. Now Lara is 30 and a strange woman in a blue and black head tie is staring at her as she blows out the candles on her birthday cake. And though the woman is a stranger, Lara senses that she has known her for her entire life. She is her long-lost birth mother, Yomi, arrived from Africa.

The Coldest City by Antony Johnston (writer) and Sam Hart (artist). November 1989. Communism is collapsing, and soon the Berlin Wall will come down with it. But before that happens there is one last bit of cloak & dagger to attend to. Two weeks ago, an undercover MI6 officer was killed in Berlin. He was carrying information from a source in the East — a list that allegedly contains the name of every espionage agent working in Berlin, on all sides. No list was found on his body. Now Lorraine Broughton, an experienced spy with no pre-existing ties to Berlin, has been sent into this powderkeg of social unrest, counter-espionage, defections gone bad and secret assassinations to bring back the list and save the lives of the British agents whose identities reside on it.

Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream. She's got the wit and sharp tongue of Dorothy Parker, the talent of Picasso, and an ex-husband who still wants her. But all that isn't enough to keep Clementine alive, and in thirty days she's going to turn out the lights of her life for good. With the month she has left, renowned artist Clementine Pritchard will attempt to tie up loose ends-from coming to terms with the family tragedy that left her without a mother and sister to travelling south of the border to secure tranquilizers to finding the father that abandoned her. Settling accounts also means coming face to face with the reasons why she can't go on-and the truth hidden at its core. What she doesn't count on, though, is that in losing Clementine, she may actually find her.

For the Kindle (from publishers):

The Unseen by Heather Graham. 1800s. San Antonio, Texas: In room 207 at the Longhorn Saloon, in the long shadow of the Alamo itself, a woman renowned for her beauty was brutally murdered. Her killer was never found. One year ago: In that same historic room, another woman vanished without a trace. Her blood was everywhere…but her body was never recovered. Now: In the last month, San Antonio has become a dumping ground for battered bodies. All young women, all long missing, almost all forgotten. Until now. Texas Ranger Logan Raintree cannot sit by and let his city’s most vulnerable citizens be slain. So when he is approached to lead a brand-new group of elite paranormal investigators working the case, he has no choice but to accept the challenge. And with it, his powerful ability to commune with the dead. Among Logan’s new team is Kelsey O’Brien, a U.S. marshal known for her razor-sharp intuition and a toughness that belies her delicate exterior. Kelsey has been waiting all her life to work with someone who can understand her ability to “see” the past unfolding in the present. Now she has her chance. Together, Kelsey and Logan follow their instincts to the Alamo and to the newly reopened Longhorn, which once tempted heroes with drink, cards and women. If the spirits of those long-dead Texans are really appearing to the victims before their deaths, only Kelsey and Logan have the skills to find out why. And if something more earthly is menacing the city’s oldest, darkest corners, only they can stop it – before more innocent women join the company of San Antonio’s restless ghosts….

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone Saint James. Sarah Piper's lonely, threadbare existence changes when her temporary agency sends her to assist a ghost hunter. Alistair Gellis--rich, handsome, scarred by World War I, and obsessed with ghosts--has been summoned to investigate the spirit of nineteen-year-old maid Maddy Clare, who is haunting the barn where she committed suicide. Since Maddy hated men in life, it is Sarah's task to confront her in death. Soon Sarah is caught up in a deperate struggle. For Maddy's ghost is real, she's angry, and she has powers that defy all reason. Can Sarah and Alistair's assistant, the rough, unsettling Matthew Ryder, discover who Maddy was, whereshe came from, and what is driving her desire for vengeance--before she destroys them all?

Trout: A True Story of Murder, Teens, and the Death Penalty by Jeff Kunnerth. On a cool Pensacola night in January 1991, just a few minutes before midnight, three teenagers pulled up to the Trout Auto Parts store. Patrick Bonifay, his body coursing with adrenaline, entered the store clad in a ski mask carrying a loaded gun, intent on carrying out a poorly laid plan. Little did he know that it was his life--as well as the lives of his companions--that was about to be forever changed.

In Leah's Wake by Terri Giuliano Long. The Tylers have a perfect life—beautiful home, established careers, two sweet and talented daughters. Their eldest daughter, Leah, an exceptional soccer player, is on track for a prestigious scholarship. Their youngest, Justine—more responsible than seems possible for her 12 years—just wants her sister’s approval. With Leah nearing the end of high school and Justine a seemingly “together” kid, the parents are set to enjoy a peaceful life…until everything goes wrong. Can this family survive in Leah’s wake?

Don't forget to check out the other mailboxes and happy reading to you all!

Let's Talk about Afternoon Tea

2012-01-29T14:30:00.000-08:00

Traditional English Afternoon Tea (image source)

Who doesn't love the notion of afternoon tea? All the pastries and finger sandwiches and whatnot delicately placed on the best china with lace napkins and a gorgeous tea set? This is the stuff that little girls (at least if they were me) play at. I read a fair amount of British children's books growing up, so the concept of afternoon tea was a familiar one. I had a sweet little tea set and, although I did not like dolls, my stuffed animals and I utilized this (along with our collective imaginations) frequently. Since I'm reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, written during the Victorian era, I thought I'd share this wonderful, yummy thing to make for a special tea.

My Seattle grandmother often made afternoon tea when I visited her growing up. We would sit in her gorgeous living room looking out at Capitol Hill and the rain (all too frequent), have our fancy tea, and read our books. These afternoons are among the fondest of my memories of her.

This recipe comes from Eras of Elegance - visit it for all kinds of historical menus:

Plain scones with lemon curd and clotted cream
(image source)

Scones with Lemon Curd and Clotted Cream

Scones are traditionally served with afternoon tea and accompanied by lemon curd and clotted cream. You can add a variety of treats into the batter, such as raisins, fresh apple bits, orange peel, cranberries, and chocolate chips. Lemon Curd is a traditional spread for scones, and is usually served with Devonshire (or clotted) cream. Our lemon curd is rich and smooth, and can be kept refrigerated for up to two weeks. Unfortunately, Americans cannot make clotted cream or Devonshire cream, as we do not have the same breed of cows as in England. Instead of buying an expensive import, ERAS offers a simple recipe for clotted cream, which is perfect for spreading on scones.

    2 cups flour
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1 cup and 2 tablespoons sugar
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    6 tablespoons butter
    1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk)
    1 lightly beaten egg
    2 large eggs
    1/2 cup lemon juice
    1/4 cup butter
    1 cup heavy cream
    2 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar
    1/2 cup sour cream

    To make scones:
    1. Mix baking powder, 2 tablespoons sugar and salt and cut in 6 tablespoons of butter until the mix is crumbly.
    2. Pour in the buttermilk until the dough is sticky. Be careful not to overmix. The dough should cling together.
    3. Turn out onto a floured surface and shape drop or use a biscuit cutter to form biscuit sized scones. The secret of tender scones is a minimum of handling.
    4. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush with egg for a shiny brown scone.
    5. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-20 minutes, until light brown.

    To make lemon curd:
    1. Wisk 1 cup sugar and 2 large eggs in a bowl until blended.
    2. Sift in 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice.
    3. Pour into a saucepan and cook over low-medium heat stirring constantly for 20 minutes. Do not let the mixture come to a boil (lest it curdle or burn), but allow it to gradually thicken.
    4. When the mixture thickly coats the back of a metal spoon, remove pan from heat and stire in 1/4 cup butter until melted.
    5. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours. The lemon curd will thicken as it cools.

    To make clotted cream:
    1. Mix 1 cup heavy cream and 2 tablespoons Confectioner's sugar using an electric mixer. Whip until stiff peaks form.
    2. Gently fold in sour cream and mix until thick.
    3. Place in refrigerator and chill until time to serve. If made ahead of time, it will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 hours.

Weekend Cooking    is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book    (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes,   random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up   anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your   blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

Book Review - The Hunter by John Lescroart

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: Raised by loving adoptive parents, San Francisco private investigator Wyatt Hunt never had an interest in finding his birth family-until he gets a chilling text message from an unknown number: "How did ur mother die?"

The answer is murder, and urged on by curiosity and the mysterious texter, Hunt takes on a case he never knew existed, one that has lain unsolved for decades. His family's dark past unfurls in dead ends. Child Protective Services, who suspected but could never prove that Hunt was being neglected, is uninformed; his birth father, twice tried but never convicted of the murder, is in hiding; Evie, his mother's drug-addicted religious fanatic of a friend, is untraceable. And who is the texter, and how are they connected to Hunt?

Yet in the present, time is running out. The texter, who insists the killer is out there, refuses to be identified. The cat-and-mouse game leads Hunt across the country and eventually to places far more exotic-and far more dangerous. As the chase escalates, so does the threat, for the killer has a secret that can only be trusted to the grave. Thriller master John Lescroart weaves a shocking, suspenseful tale about the skeletons inside family closets . . . and the mortal danger outside the front door.

First Line: They were having the special, wings and tuna wontons, in a window booth at Lou the Greek's, two guys in their early forties, talking over the lunchtime noise.

Random Quote: Juhle and Sarah, on folding chairs in front of Glitsky's death, exchanged a look and Juhle, nodding, got up and walked a few steps over to the door, which he closed. When he got back to his seat, he cleared his throat and then he came forward and spoke up in a new whisper, "Abe, what if this has got something to do with cops?"

Review: A lot of people weren't pleased when John Lescroart started writing a series about Wyatt Hunt, a San Francisco private investigator. After all, his Dismas Hardy/Abe Glitzsky books are so imminently satisfying who else could we want to know about?

I like Wyatt Hunt. I like the interconnections between the characters in both series. I like the acknowledgement that Dismas and Abe are aging, their lives are changing and settling down, and it might be time to tell some new stories. Since this is one of my all-time favorite series, I was happy to see that rather than letting the series wander off into insignificance and no fun, Lescroart expanded his world a bit, reached out into other characters with other stories. This keeps all of the characters and their stories fresh and prevents Lescroart of going the way of so many series writers who run out of ideas and turn their characters into caricatures (once again, Patricia Cornwell, I'm looking at you).

The People's Temple - San Francisco (image source)

The Hunter is the third book in the Wyatt Hunt series and Mr. Lescroart is hitting his stride with these characters. He's always been one of the most talented of the writers of crime fiction combined with courtroom drama and has always been one of my personal favorite writers so I tend to like everything he writes, but can also acknowledge ups and downs. The Hunter is one of the best books he's written lately. Great characters, complicated and interesting plot that weaves together the protagonist's attempt to understand what happened to his mother and some 35-40 years of other interconnected murders. Once he throws Jonestown into the mix he's off to the races with you right along with him.

San Francisco (image source)

I recently read A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres. Ms. Scheeres got access to all of the newly released documents on Jonestown and wrote a book that fundamentally changed my thinking about not just Jonestown, but about other similar gatherings of people of different kinds of faith. She elevated her subjects from the dregs of gullible ignorance to real breathing people with fundamental values and beliefs and hopes to make a better world. It was pretty breathtaking. It also gave me a look into how much The People's Temple was woven into the world of San Francisco and its politics during the brief part of the seventies before the trips to Guyana became permanent and the end became a forgone conclusion. Lescroart's inclusion of this bit of San Francisco history interlaced with the more expected crime fiction makes this book. As always Lescroart's San Francisco is real, palpable, and set within its rich historic context.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly to fans of crime fiction. Read this. You won't be disappointed.

Publishing Information: Dutton Adult - January 3, 2012

Format: Kindle book

FTC Disclosure: E-galley received from publisher for review

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Reading Challenges: Eclectic Reading Challenge 2012, Mount TBR Challenge, Mystery and Suspense Challenge

Book Review - Petrograd by Philip Gelatti, Art by Tyler Crook

2012-01-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: Introducing the untold tale of the international conspiracy behind the murder of Gregorii Rasputin! Set during the height of the first World War, the tale follows a reluctant British spy stationed in the heart of the Russian empire as he is handed the most difficult assignment of his career: orchestrate the death of the mad monk, the Tsarina's most trusted adviser and the surrogate ruler of the nation. The mission will take our hero from the slums of the working class into the opulent houses of the super rich... he'll have to negotiate dangerous ties with the secret police, navigate the halls of power, and come to terms with own revolutionary leanings, all while simply trying to survive!

Review: Petrograd is, as its synopsis so aptly puts it, a graphic novel about the plot to kill Rasputin. Set in WWI Russia, the tale is told through the eyes of an English spy, Cleary, who is caught between duty to country and his own shifting convictions.

Rasputin is a fascinating character, partly because Americans like to pretend they could never understand him - he must just be a Russian thing. Except, he's not. Rasputin plays his victims like any other grifter - giving them the false hope they need to move along and that he needs them to have so he can profit - in power and in riches (and both are important). He has a fascinating legend woven around him because he was seemingly impossible to kill - many attempts were made on his life and yet he always survived like some mysterious fakir floating above a bed of nails for centuries.

As I mentioned, Americans like to think that his appeal is inscrutable and locked into the uniqueness of the Russian psyche, the times, the context. I find this interesting because there are so very many examples of American Rasputins - their control and power may be different, but they've been able to hypnotize the nation over and over again. Don't believe me? Take a moment and ponder Huey P. Long, Pat Robertson, or any of the other grifters we've seen capture the nation throughout our history. Ultimately, it's not about the Russian psyche, but rather the human psyche, and this is beautifully illustrated in this book.

Panels from Petrograd

Petrograd examines the before, during, and after of Rasputin's murder and its ultimate impact on Russia's place in the world. The Romanov world of St. Petersburg begins to morph into Petrograd as Russians rise up to overthrow their monarchy and establish a new, if differently organized, one. The book successfully contrasts romanticism and reality - from the romanticism of a holy man in an ages long monarchy surrounded by beautiful things to the romanticism of a people's revolution to overthrow that monarchy and create a new world where everyone could have beautiful things. Reality, of course, is lots of death and this is even before Lenin comes back to impose his own views upon his new nation. There is the romanticism of freedom and the reality of governing. The romanticism of planning to kill an ultimate evil and the actual ugliness associated with it.

Well-written, grounded in historical research and primary documents. Petrograd takes a well-known story and re-tells it as if it were a spy thriller, but not a James Bond spy thriller - more a John le Carre spy thriller where everything is all cynicism and shades of gray. The art is gorgeous, rendered in sepia tones, although to be honest this bored me after awhile. I would've liked to see more color and more play between sepia-toned memory, gray reality, and the Faberge egg colors of Russian romanticism. All told a graphic novel worth reading - that the edition itself is also gorgeous is a bonus feature for a book I would've read had it been covered in cardboard and written in crayon.

Publishing Information: Oni Press - August 2011

FTC Disclosure: Copy received from the publisher for review

Rating: ☆☆☆☆

Reading Challenge: European Reading Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge, War Through the Generations Reading Challenge

Teaser Tuesdays

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) random teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Then I was off-balance, and the guy grabbed me around the waist. I screamed and kicked at him as hard as I could. Apparently he got tired of that, so he dropped me on the ground.

- Switched by Amanda Hocking

In My Mailbox Monday

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Troll? Mailbox in New Zealand (image source)

Dust to Dust by Benjamin Busch. Tim O’Brien meets Annie Dillard in this remarkable memoir by debut author Benjamin Busch. Much more than a war memoir, Dust to Dust brilliantly explores the passage through a lifetime—a moving meditation on life and death, the adventures of childhood and revelations of adulthood. Seemingly ordinary things take on a breathtaking radiance when examined by this decorated Marine officer—veteran of two combat tours in Iraq—actor on the hit HBO series The Wire, and son of acclaimed novelist Frederick Busch.

The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn. The phone rings. It's your daughter. She's been dead for four months. So begins East Texas police dispatcher Ian Hunt's fight to get his daughter back. The call is cut off by the man who snatched her from her bedroom seven years ago, and a basic description of the kidnapper is all Ian has to go on. What follows is a bullet-strewn cross-country chase from Texas to California along Interstate 10- a wild ride in a 1965 Mustang that passes through the outlaw territory of No Country for Old Men and is shot through with moments of macabre violence that call to mind the novels of Thomas Harris

The Lost Goddess by Tom Knox. In the silent caves beneath France, young archaeologist Julia Kerrigan unearths an ancient skull-with a hole bored through the forehead. After she reveals her discovery, her mentor is brutally murdered. Deep in the jungles of Southeast Asia, photographer Jake Thurby is offered a mysterious assignment by a beautiful Cambodian lawyer who is investigating finds at the two-thousand-year-old Plain of Jars-finds that shadowy forces want kept secret. From the temples of Angkor Wat and the wild streets of Bangkok to the prehistoric caves in Western Europe, what links Jake's and Julia's discoveries is a strange, demonic woman whose unquenchable thirst for vengeance-and the horrors she seeks to avenge- are truly shocking.

For the Kindle (advanced copies):

The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermott. Set against the backdrop of the 1987 stock market collapse, The Starboard Sea is an examination of the abuses of class privilege, the mutability of sexual desire, the thrill and risk of competitive sailing and the adult cost of teenage recklessness. It is a powerful and compelling novel about a young man navigating the depths of his emotional life, finding his moral center, trying to forgive himself, and accepting the gift of love

The Child Who by Simon Lelic. A chance phone call throws the biggest muder case in southern England into the hands of provincial attorney Leo Curtice. Twelve-year- old Daniel Blake stands accused of murdering an eleven-year-old girl. But who is truly responsible when one child kills another? As Curtice sets out to defend the indefensible, he soon finds himself pitted against an enraged community calling for blood. When the buildup of pressure takes a sinister turn, he fears for his wife and young daughter's safety. Must he choose between his family and the life of a damaged child? With piercing psychological insight, Lelic examines a community's response to a hideous crime.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey. Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she is both servant and student, young Gemma seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands. But Gemma's biggest trial is about to begin . . . a journey of passion and betrayal, secrets and lies, redemption and discovery that will lead her to a life she's never dreamed.

A Detailed Man by David Swinson. Half of DC Police Detective Ezra Simeon’s face is immobilized from a persistent case of Bell’s Palsy—he must drink through a straw and eat carefully to avoid chewing through his own cheek. He has been detailed from robbery to the cold case department while he heals. “How odd to dream with one eye open, like having one foot in reality,” Sim muses in the dark, bluesy vein that is typical of his Chandler-esque narration. “That’s what makes dreaming dangerous and why I moved my gun farther from the bed.” Detective Simeon’s half-frozen world begins to heat up when a friend from his Academy days drops dead of a heart attack, and Sim is tapped to replace him, detailed now to homicide, where he inherits the high-profile case of a murdered escort he alone thinks may be the victim of a serial killer.

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson. When Jeanette left home at sixteen because she was in love with a woman, Mrs. Winterson asked her: Why be happy when you could be normal? This is Jeanette's story--acute, fierce, celebratory--of a life's work to find happiness: a search for belonging, love, identity, a home. About a young girl locked out of her home, sitting on the doorstep all night, and a mother waiting for Armageddon with two sets of false teeth and a revolver in the duster drawer; about growing up in a northern industrial town; about the Universe as a Cosmic Dustbin. She thought she had written over the painful past until it returned to haunt her and sent her on a journey into madness and out again, in search of her biological mother. It is also about other people's stories, showing how fiction and poetry can form a string of guiding lights, a life raft that supports us when we are sinking.

For Kindle (bought by me for me):

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. Perhaps the most popular of all Sherlock Holmes stories, The Hound of the Baskervilles combines the traditional detective tale with elements of horror. When Sir Charles Baskerville is found dead on the wild Devon moorland with the footprints of a giant hound nearby, the blame is placed on a family curse-and it is up to Holmes and Watson to solve the mystery of the legend. Rationalism is pitted against the supernatural and good against evil, as Sherlock Holmes tries to defeat a foe almost his equal.

The Vanishing Man by R. Austin Freeman. At the turn of the 20th century, Richard Austin Freeman (1862-1943) emerged as an author to be reckoned with in the world of detective fiction, introducing the highly memorable scientific detective Dr. Thorndyke, an early forensic sleuth. Armed with his little green case full of scientific detection aids, Thorndyke unravelled murders and mysteries using logic and material evidence

Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers. Dorothy L. Sayers, long considered one of the top mystery authors of our day, has excelled herself in this delightfully macabre tale which centers around the disappearance of a wealthy financier and the discovery of a nude corpse, wearing a golden pince-nez, in a bathtub. Sayer's most renowned amateur detective, the engaging and amusing Lord Peter Wimsey, sets out to unravel this puzzling case under the jealous eye of Scotland Yard. Needless to say he succeeds in solving things to everyone's ultimate satisfaction, but only after a series of bloodcurdling and hair-raising episodes that will hold you spellbound with anticipation.

Let's Talk about Curry Goat

2012-01-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

Fremont Bridge Troll - Seattle, WA

At the moment I'm reading Switched by Amanda Hocking. Yes, these are reimagined trolls, but more about that when I review the book. In the meantime, my thinking about trolls goes like this: Trolls = Billy Goats Gruff = Curry Goat. Curry Goat is one of my very favorite Jamaican foods. It's thought to have originated in India and then spread throughout the Caribbean and then to America and Great Britain during the Caribbean diaspora. Goat is a red meat that is relatively low-fat and it's really really tasty.

It's easy for me to eat goat because when I was twelve and thirteen, I volunteered at the Memphis Zoo in Overton Park. One of the things we kid volunteers got to do was work the petting zoo. At the time it had bunnies and whatnot, but also some unusual animals like chinchillas and a baby camel. They also had a herd of goats. Guess what? Goats are mean. They're pushy, they head butt you, and /cranky on seems to be their permanent demeanour. I feel no deep-seated guilt at eating the cranky things plus they taste really good.

Here's a good recipe from FoodNetwork to get you started on your own Billy Goats Gruff adventure:

Curry Goat Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

   2 pounds goat meat (or lamb) without bones
    1 lime, juiced
    1 tablespoon salt
    1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    1 Scotch bonnet pepper (any color), seeded and minced
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
    1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (dry pimento berries)
    3 tablespoons curry powder
    2 whole scallions, sliced
    1 onion, sliced
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1/4 cup vegetable oil
    3 tomatoes, diced
    1/2 cup coconut milk (optional)
    7 cups water

Directions

Rinse goat meat well, rub lime juice over it (from 1/2 whole lime), place meat in a bowl, then add salt, black pepper, Scotch bonnet, thyme, allspice, curry powder, scallions, onion and garlic. Leave to marinate for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator, longer would be ideal.

Heat the oil in a skillet until it is very hot, and saute the meat until golden brown. Then add the marinade, tomatoes and coconut milk, if using, and simmer for approximately 3 more minutes. Add water, reduce heat and allow to simmer for 2 to 3 hours stirring occasionally until meat is tender.

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page. For more information, see the welcome post.

We Have Winners for Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot

2012-01-22T09:41:00.000-08:00

Winners (image source)

I have once again consulted the randomness in the universe to come up with winners for my latest book giveaway. I am very happy to announce that the people listed below won a copy of Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot. I really enjoyed this book on many levels and hope you all do, too.

Susan Schlesinger
Peter Fontaine
Jaque Richards
Denise Sachs
Christine Viscomi

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway. I wish I could give away a copy to everyone who entered, but then it wouldn't be a contest, right?

Wishing you a happy Sunday here in January 2012! Stay tuned for my next giveaway and, as always, happy reading!

Abandonment Issues

2012-01-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

Abandoned Russian Cannon

This is a semi-regular feature where I enter the confessional to tell you about the books I didn't finish. You knew that, right? You don't have to finish everything you start to read? You can decide a book just isn't for you and then not read it and nothing bad happens. Seriously. This was a big revelation for me, although I probably should've guessed the first time that I threw a Jane Austen novel against the wall and an army of Jane Austen fans didn't appear outside my dorm room with torches waiting to take me out of there for suitable, but polite, hanging. I didn't throw any of these against the wall, but here's what just hasn't worked for me lately:

Glock: The Rise of America's Gun by Paul M. Barrett. I often like this sort of thing, but for some reason this book didn't work for me. There was something vaguely dry and academic about the writing that didn't appeal - the musty scent of mothballs mixed with Great Great Aunt Twyla's lavendar sachets (poor thing, she never did find a husband).

Wayward Saints by Susie Roche. I have this thing where I want to read and like novels written by musicians about what it's like to have been really cool and then aged into oblivion or playing the bar at the Holiday Inn out by the highway. Somehow, this never works out for me.

The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great by Eva Stachniak. Of Catherine the Great? Not so much. I really wanted to read about Catherine the Great, but that's only tangential to this novel. The "real" storyline with the spy just didn't work for me. So much intrigue seen at so much distance. The glory, the fashions, the jewelry, the hiding in the linen closet ... Just not for me.

That's it for now. Remember, this is just one persnickety reader's opinion. Your mileage may vary.

Guest Post - Ryan Boudinot on His Favorite Books from Childhood

2012-01-19T13:42:00.000-08:00

Ryan Boudinot

I loved science fiction as an adolescent but I tended to avoid canonical SF authors. I’ve never read anything by Isaac Asimov and only a couple books by Heinlein and Bradbury. A college roommate tried to turn me on to Philip K. Dick but it was only after I read Valis a couple years ago that I started enjoying his oeuvre. For as long as I can remember I’ve had this knee-jerk reaction against canonized books of any genre, owing to my equation of the status of “classic” with that which is officially sanctioned by authorities who seek to neuter books of transgressive material. I recognize this now for the straight-up snobbery that it is, but as a kid the time I steered clear of anything my teachers approved of.

Instead I lurked at the fringes of the sf genre, and no writer epitomizes this fringe to me more than Philip Jose Farmer. I fell hard for Farmer’s Riverworld series. It’s about a planet on which everyone who ever lived on earth is simultaneously resurrected on the banks of a river that stretches between the planet’s two poles. Over the course of the five novels, we meet such real-life historical characters as Samuel Clemmons, Hermann Göring, Tom Mix, Cyrano de Bergerac, and Jesus (though there are lots of guys walking around claiming to be Jesus, naturally). Nineteenth century British explorer Richard Burton plays a significant role in the series, as does a stand-in for Farmer himself, a science fiction writer named Peter Jarius Frigate. It’s up to these characters to figure out how the hell they all ended up on this strange planet and who is really calling the shots. At one point Clemmons builds a river boat. There are thrilling fights with rapiers, though if you die on Riverworld you’re just resurrected again somewhere else on the planet. Everyone carries around canisters called grails which, three times a day, they insert into mushroom-shaped kiosks in order to receive rations of food, marijuana, and other helpful supplies. Among the humans are aliens with multiple testicles who--

Cremaster Cycle

Okay, I’m going to pause it here. Describing the Riverworld series is a lot like describing Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle. It just sounds so far-fetched in summary. An elevator pitch of the Riverworld novels might reasonably lead one to believe such a thing could never be artfully pulled off. No one would buy it (in both senses of the term). And yet Farmer somehow manages to craft a convincing world full of rollicking adventure and metaphysical questions. I remember reading a library copy of the third book, The Dark Design, in sixth grade and being completely out of my depth yet so engrossed and committed to seeing the book through. I finished the series while on vacation with my parents in Iowa City, where I recall enthusiastically summarizing the plot to my dad’s college roommate’s son, who just looked at me like I had lost my mind. Reading Riverworld I felt like I belonged to a secret society, a fellowship of blown minds.

I still think about the Riverworld series often. It sank down deep into my writing mulch and occasionally yields something useful for my own work. In my novel Blueprints of the Afterlife there’s something called a mystical refrigerator that offers forth an endless supply of food on a mesa in Arizona. I can trace this device back to the magical food-providing technology Farmer devised so that his characters wouldn’t starve or stay sober for too long. His novels were wonderful examples of how a writer can take the preposterous and make it seem real, and if I’m lucky enough to wake up on the banks of the river next to Philip Jose Farmer in the next life, I’ll be sure to thank him for writing them.

Book Review - Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Synopsis: It is the Afterlife. The end of the world is a distant, distorted memory called “the Age of Fucked Up Shit.” A sentient glacier has wiped out most of North America. Medical care is supplied by open-source nanotechnology, and human nervous systems can be hacked.

Abby Fogg is a film archivist with a niggling feeling that her life is not really her own. She may be right. Al Skinner is a former mercenary for the Boeing Army, who’s been dragging his war baggage behind him for nearly a century. Woo-jin Kan is a virtuoso dishwasher with the Hotel and Restaurant Management Olympics medals to prove it. Over them all hovers a mysterious man named Dirk Bickle, who sends all these characters to a full-scale replica of Manhattan under construction in Puget Sound. An ambitious novel that writes large the hopes and anxieties of our time—climate change, social strife, the depersonalization of the digital age—Blueprints of the Afterlife will establish Ryan Boudinot as an exceptional novelist of great daring.

First Line: The world was full of precious garbage.

Random Quote: Skinner took the cards out of his pocket and set them on the table. The other three regarded the cards with visible sadness as Skinner separated them into piles of innocuous memories and memories of war, the innocuous ones outnumbering the wartime ones three to one. Then, with the bottom of the pepper shaker, he smashed the war memories into pieces.

Review: Slipstream is a genre name coined by Bruce Sterling to describe a " ... kind of writing which simply makes you feel very strange; the way that living in the twentieth century makes you feel, if you are a person of a certain sensibility." This is work that fits somewhere in the interstices between literary fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. It is more like magical realism than any other genre, but it is its own thing. Slipstream contains elements of genre (like science fiction), but it isn't really about genre. It is more the celebration of the fantastical in the ordinary, the joy of playing the with the toys of any genre and putting them together in your very own way. Many writers are playing in this form, although they may seem unrelated. I would include China Mieville, but also Thomas Pynchon, Margaret Atwood, Isabelle Allende, and Gabrielle Garcia Marquez. There's Kathy Acker, certainly Jonathan Carroll, Don DeLillo. Also, there's Ryan Boudinot.

Slipstream Fiction (image source)

Blueprints of the Afterlife begins in the Age of Fucked Up Shit. It is post-apocalyptic and satirical, addressing many pieces of our current fucked up lives - overconsumption, lack of identity, and mysticism. What do we do after the apocalypse with all the junk left over? What do we privilege? Do we create or re-create? How do we begin to re-define ourselves and our humanity (or do we)?

Slipstream fiction makes you feel strange
(image source)

This is a complex and dense book, unfolding in small bites like a tasting menu. I thought of tasting menus developed in the world of molecular gastronomy (its very own interstice with interesting philosophical considerations), but also of the tasting menus of chef working at the top of their game incorporating classic techniques, fresh ingredients, and their own unique visions. Boudinot has written a long, 12-course tasting menu and like such a menu it can be confusing, overwhelming, scary, mysterious, and just plain delicious.

If you're feeling adventurous and don't mind ambiguity and middle spaces this is the book for you. Mr. Boudinot has a glorious uninhibited imagination and a deft hand for pacing and for drawing you into a story that will make you think about who we are, where we might be going, and the fantastical possibilities of what-if.

Format: Printed matter

Publishing Information: Black Cat/Grove Press - January 3, 2012

FTC Disclosure: Advance copy from the publisher for review

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Reading Challenges: Eclectic Reading Challenge, Mount TBR Challenge

chaotic compendiums

Book Review - The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

About Margot Livesey

Margo’s Tour Stops

Book Review - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Teaser Tuesdays

Happy Valentine's Day!

Book Review and Giveaway - The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn

About Ryan David Jahn

Ryan David Jahn’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Let's Talk about Whoopie Pie

Related articles

Book Review - The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau

Book Review - Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman

Teaser Tuesdays

In My Mailbox Monday

Let's Talk about Stuffed Dates

Book Review - Switched by Amanda Hocking

Monthly Reading Roundup - January 2012

Teaser Tuesdays

In My Mailbox Monday

Let's Talk about Afternoon Tea

Book Review - The Hunter by John Lescroart

Related articles

Book Review - Petrograd by Philip Gelatti, Art by Tyler Crook

Teaser Tuesdays

In My Mailbox Monday

Let's Talk about Curry Goat

Curry Goat Yield: 6 servings

We Have Winners for Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot

Related articles

Abandonment Issues

Guest Post - Ryan Boudinot on His Favorite Books from Childhood

Book Review - Blueprints of the Afterlife by Ryan Boudinot