A Place of Forgetting

This novel could be classified as Young Adult in that the protagonist is just nineteen, I certainly remember the 1960’s as a teenager, but it’s meaty enough to  also be classified as literary women’s fiction.

Nothing seems to be going right for Elizabeth as disappointments pile up one on top of the other; her dog dies, the young man she’s loved all her life boards his flight to Vietnam where he becomes one of many MIA’s,  and then she’s presented a note that she should help take care of the flighty young woman who claims to be his fiancé. All of it is too much and she flees in her rusty old car, “Buggy” for a better life in Chicago. But, nothing goes as anticipated. For one thing, the so-called fiancé decides she’ll go along for the ride. Detours abound, until they reach a new and life-changing destination that will make all the difference to Elizabeth.

As a reader and a writer, I thought I knew how it was going to go, only to be surprised at the originality of the plot. I don’t want to do a run down on the events—the turns along the way for any reader are too sweet to spoil, but let me say that this is one of the best fiction books I’ve read all year. It was delightful in its intensity, the development of the characters,  and mostly in how Elizabeth finally comes into her own as a young woman.

I can see this novel as a really good subject for a college class. And, best of all, I believe that it’s going to become a much loved favorite for many young women.

Reviewed by guest reviewer RP Dahlke, January 2012.

Sex and the Kitty

Nancy’s first memoir—she’ll certainly need more as she gets older and, as she says, she’s leaving the door open for possible sequels—sets the record straight on her birth and early life in a small town as she awaits her destiny. Anyone with Nancy’s charm, beauty and wit is bound to find fame and adventure and Nancy’s journey to the high life begins with her jaunts to the local pubs where she develops a human fan base.

She also puts together Team Nancy, a group of local cats whom she instructs on how to be proper fans. Team Nancy includes her cranky stepcat, Pip, as well as Brambles, a Siamese with germophobia, OCD and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Bella, who’s afraid of being abandoned again, and the adventurous devil-may-care Murphy. Not included in Nancy’s posse for various reasons are Bish, Bash and Bosh, a trio of erudite pet rats, Bruce, a Jack Russell suffering from small dog syndrome and Dennis, the neighborhood alpha cat.

Nancy lands a part in the community theatre production of Animal Farm. Things don’t go too well—suffice it to say chickens are involved. Next thing you know, Nancy has a blog and a Facebook account and then it happens—she gets an agent who promises her stardom but she’ll have to move to London. With a few regrets, Nancy leaves her family and friends behind and heads off to the big city and all it has to offer such a special feline, including the possible attention of that most handsome of kitties, Baron Romeo III. Will this superstar of Kit-E-Licious cat food bring love and happiness to our Nancy?

I confess I’m a solid, hardcore cat lover but, I ask you, how could anyone resist such a feline as Nancy? This little kitty is certainly narcissistic—what cat isn’t?—but she’ll still charm the socks off anyone who’ll give her a chance and she has written a must-read bestseller. Go on, you know you want to.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, December 2011.

If This Is Paradise, I Want My Money Back

Charlotte lies in a hospital bed, trapped by a coma, listening to the conversations around her. Most are directed at her in attempts to bring her back to consciousness and she appreciates the efforts, really she does, but a little peace and quiet would be nice, too. Between her best friend Fiona’s chatter about the latest guy she met on the internet and her mum’s blathering on about just about anything, not to mention the boring music they make her listen to, Charlotte just might stay down where it’s really rather nice.

None of them know the truth about what happened right before the car accident when her significant other, James, unceremoniously dumped her after five years and asked her how soon she could move out. Charlotte was clueless, had no idea he…hmm, she can’t quite remember but it’ll come to her…and, well, she’d ignored the fact that all her family and friends had disliked him from the beginning. Looking back, she guessed she should have paid attention.

And then James comes to see her and pours on the charm, trying his best to appear terribly concerned. Unfortunately for him, no one in the room is buying his act.  Then, listening to his BS, she remembers, the Other Woman. To top it all off, he takes a call from his new honey and starts with the sexy talk, right there beside Charlotte’s bed. That’s all it takes for her to see the bright light.

Charlotte finds herself apparently dead and about to be “assessed” by Regina Angelorum (who first has to take a call with Gabriel, THE Gabriel) to see whether she’s a candidate for the AWE programme—that’s Angelic Work Experience. Next thing she knows, she’s in a classroom, learning all she needs to know to be a guardian angel.

Then she gets her earthly assignment and she can hardly believe she’s right back on earth…in James’s house. Horrified at first at the idea that James is her charge, she soon learns that there is a way she can mess with him. Charlotte is delighted with her new-found abilities until the day she learns that being an angel is not all fun and games. Fortunately, there might be a way she can redeem herself.

This is a delightful mix of laughter and sorrow, anger and forgiveness and, above all, redemption. Ms. Carroll has crafted an intriguing story and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, November 2011.

The Woodcutter

Wilford Hadda began life as the son of a Cumbrian woodcutter on the Ulphingstone estate.  Sir Leon Ulphingstone gave him the nickname of Wolf.  At one stage in his life, Wolf Hadda held the title Sir Wilford Hadda.

Reginald Hill takes the reader through the various stages of the life of Wolf Hadda and Wolf has led a very interesting life.  As a boy, he charmed Sir Leon’s daughter and left Cumbria to earn his fortune.  Wolf became a very wealthy man and returned to marry Imogene Ulphingstone.  The couple had a daughter that Wolf doted on but one morning a knock on the door brought a screeching halt to Wolf’s charmed life.

The police entered his home with a search warrant and arrested Wolf.  To say that Wolf was surprised by the visit would be putting it mildly.  He did not take well to being pushed around by the Officer in charge and so Wolf decided to make his exit from the police station.  Wolf wound up in a traffic accident that left him badly injured and in a coma.  As he started to come out of the coma in the hospital, the only bright spot in the day was Davy McLucky, the man in charge of guarding his hotel room.

Wolf recovers from his injuries to find he has lost all of his money, his wife has left him and she is planning to marry his lawyer.  Wolf is sentenced to a long term in prison and marked as a pedophile.  When Alva Ozigbo the prison psychiatrist begins treating Wolf, he is reluctant to talk about his crimes.  Wolf eventually opened up to her and she was convinced that he was rehabilitated and should be released from prison.

Once released Wolf went back to his childhood home and began to put his life back together.  Although the locals were against Wolf even being in the neighborhood the local minister felt he should at least visit Wolf.  After a few visits, the two men became friends.   Alva also began to visit Wolf.  The visitors were seeing a different man than the one that had been committed to prison for such horrible crimes.  Did he actually commit the crimes he was accused of or was he set up in a complicated scheme to take the fall for others?

This stand-alone is an exciting and interesting book that keeps the reader guessing.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, August 2011.

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The Dog Sox
Russell Hill
Caravel Books, April 2011
ISBN No. 978-1929355747
Trade Paperback

Ray Adams has a different approach when he buys a gift for his girl friend Ava Belle. Ava loves dogs and baseball so Ray buys her a baseball team.  The team is named The Knight’s Landing Dog Sox.  The team’s manager is a 70-year old Jewish man who has a number of colorful phrases that he repeats from time to time.  He is quite an interesting character and is determined to turn the team into the best team possible.

The team consists of players from different occupations and includes one very special pitcher, Billy Collins.  Billy has a drunken and abusive father who disrupts Billy’s life and threatens his success.  Ray and the team’s manager are determined to figure out a way to rid Billy of this problem.

The team has a unique refreshment stand and quite an interesting fire works display.  There are laugh at loud incidents in The Dog Sox.

The Knight’s Landing Dog Sox is top priority for Ray and Ava and the interaction of the team members makes for good reading.  The book is short but a great read and one that you won’t soon forget.

Russell Hill is the author of The Lord God Bird and if you have not read it you’ve missed a great book.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, April, 2011.

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Negative Image
Vicki Delany
Poisoned Pen Press, 2010
ISBN No. 978-1590587904
Trade Paperback

Rudolph Steiner is a famed photographer whose career is sliding downhill.  When Steiner visits Trafalgar in British Columbia along with his wife Josie and his assistant Diane Barton, life suddenly becomes unsettled for Constable Molly Smith.

Steiner’s body is discovered in the bathroom of his hotel room.  Investigation proves that Eliza Winters was a visitor to Steiner’s room just before the murder.  Eliza is the wife of John Winters, Molly’s boss and mentor.  Eliza is a model and formerly worked with Steiner.  Eliza becomes a suspect in the murder and her husband is banned from the investigation.

There have been a series of breaking and entering in Trafalgar and no suspects have been discovered.  Since Winters can’t be involved in the murder investigation, he decides to devote his time to solving the breaking and entering crimes.  Winters enlists Molly to do a door-to-door investigation of the neighborhoods where the crimes occurred.

Molly has been seeing Adam Tocek of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and is having some issues with Adam’s attempts to protect her reputation.  Molly is not only concerned about her relationship with Adam but Charlie Bassing has begun stalking Molly.  Molly helped send Charlie to jail when Charlie attacked Molly’s best friend.  Molly is keeping a record of the incidents that involve Charlie Bassing but hasn’t confided her fears either to Adam or her fellow workers.

To add to Molly’s problems, her dad falls and breaks his hip.  Molly has the added worry of her father’s health but she’s also quite concerned with the way her mother, who usually takes everything in stride, is handling her dad’s hospitalization.

Negative Image is the fourth book in the Constable Molly Smith series.  It is not necessary to read the previous books in order to enjoy Negative Image, get a real feel for life in Trafalgar, and meet the great characters that Delany has created.

Reviewed by Patricia E. Reid, March 2011.

The Little Women Letters

In this cleverly written novel, the author weaves letters from a fictional Louisa May Alcott character, Jo March, between the pages of a contemporary story that involves her great-great granddaughters, Emma, Sophie and Lulu. The entire family is blissfully happy, being born from a union of their American mother Fee, and their British father David.

Now, I know this book has received rave reviews from quarters all around the globe, and I’m happy to agree with them to a point, but I have bones to pick with the story; because when nothing happens, it starts to rub like sandpaper on the skin. Yes, the dialogue is twerriby, twerriby British and witty, but this is not Louisa May Alcott’s 19^th century America, it’s 2010, England, London to be exact.

My hopes were raised, when Sophie, the youngest, might be pounced upon by a theatrical producer. Didn’t happen.  And then, she might die from food poisoning!  Sophie’s virtue stays intact and she doesn’t die. Damn and double damn.  Unlike Lousia May Alcott, the author simply can’t imagine that her readers might enjoy a good snot-sob at the loss of one of the characters.

There is a momentary consideration that the father, David may be unfaithful, unseen by his wife, who is everyone elses emotional counselor, but can’t see when her husband may be wandering off to enjoy a little hanky-panky on the side. Of course, no lusty roll in the hay on the side for David and Fee doesn’t clout him on the ear. Oh, well. It was only wishful thinking on my part anyway.

Then there’s Lulu, the middle sister, who has an expensive, and heretofore, unused bio-chemistry degree. But, does she toil at a dull, but well-paying job? No, not cuckoo Lulu. She flits from one dead-end job to the next, all the while cooking up incredible gourmet meals for her family, friends and wealthy flat-mate, Charlie, whose family just happens to own a complete set of swanky hotels.

Now, gentle reader, I ask you, what kind of family, flat-mate, sisters, friends, all ignore the fact that the girl is a born chef, and yet, not one of them mentions that she should go to cooking school? That is, until Charlie’s brother shows up. A hunky guy who cooks. Imagine that? They meet, they cook, and being the thoroughly modern girl that she is, promptly falls in love with the guy (and promptly makes  plans to go to chef school).

Okay, granted, I’m a mystery writer, a speed freak, an action junky—call me what you will, but if I want to read Victorian novels, I’ll stick with Louisa May Alcott, whose writing still gives us pathos, yearning, separation, death and hope, humor, and more hope during a terrible time of our American history, the American Civil War.

Agree? Disagree? Do your worst… I gotta go plot a murder scene.

Reviewed by R.P. Dahlke, guest reviewer, September 2011.

A Dog’s Purpose

A puppy plays in the woods with his mom and his siblings but this is not an entirely idyllic scene. The puppy and his family are feral and the mother dog has taught her puppies to be afraid of humans but the worst happens—all but one are captured and taken to a shelter. This is a private shelter, though, not the pound, so there is hope for their future. And so begins the tale of a dog who lives through one existence after another, remembering his past each time.

There’s no such thing as an animal-centric novel that doesn’t make you cry as far as I know and this one is no exception. It’s a natural cry, though, meaning that the moments of sadness revolve around the dog’s deaths and that is tempered by the humor and joy that occur during each of the dog’s lives. Along this journey, the dog learns much in each life—discovering love, saving a boy’s life, working in search and rescue, having a great adventure—but always feels that something is missing, his true purpose in being a dog.

Told from the point of view of the dog, the reader/listener is treated to the full gamut of emotions from fear to joy to pure happiness and the narrator, George K. Wilson, does a nice job of making the dog’s “voice” seem natural. This is no cutesy tale with an animal who talks to humans but we hear his thoughts, including his very entertaining interpretations of what humans mean by certain words and gestures. This is a story that will engage any reader who appreciates dogs—just be prepared for those occasional two-tissue moments.

Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, October 2011.

Imperfect Birds

Anne Lamott can be counted on to deliver an honest, engaging read.  Imperfect Birds starts as a clumsy and inauthentic tale, but stumbles along, until it reaches a believable, loping and smooth gait.  I continued to read past my initial judgment and ennui, only because my other experiences of Lamott’s writing have been so positive.

In the end, Lamott came through with the tender story of a rag-tag family of three, battling a disease that knows no physical boundaries, no eras, no exceptions.  Once this disease strikes, it is in the lead, unless a miracle happens to intervene.

The brilliance of this book was in the points of view, which faithfully spotlighted and juxtaposed the angst and denial of Elizabeth, the mother, struggling with her own chronic, mental health issues and her fragile sobriety, and the casual denial in which her seventeen-year-old daughter, Rosie, lived.

Lamott faithfully transcribed the language of seduction and false love that drugs and alcohol use to lure the innocent, as only someone who has walked the walk can do.  This book will serve well as a primer for parents of troubled teens.

I am a native Californian.  Parts of me cringed as rituals with sticks and candles, sweat huts, protests, demonstrations and other activities were described.  Even the description of the mall and the Parkade were so “California”.

Imperfect Birds will continue to propagate the notion that California is the land of fruits and nuts.  Still, place became a likable character in this book, as real as the human characters Lamott crafted from her own experiences of struggle and recovery.

Reviewed by Marta Chausée, September 2011.

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Congratulations to Liz, winner of

Where Angels Fear by Sunny Frazier!

Years of Red Dust

The author of the Inspector Chen series, which usually portrayed incisive pictures of Chinese culture and politics, turns his attention to another form of literature:  these short stories which mirror the changes in the country from 1949 and the beginning of the Communist takeover from the defeated Nationalists to the present day.

Each chapter begins with a brief recap of that year’s events as a prelude to a tale of one or more persons living in Red Dust Lane. Each is set in a single year, and the stories reflect the evolution of the country through the various upheavals during the reign of Mao through the development of the quasi-market economy now in existence.

Written with the customary poignancy and sensitivity that Qui Xiaolong has exhibited in previous novels, filled with quotations from classic Chinese literature and history, Confucius sayings and ancient proverbs, the tales are not only engaging but are redolent of the sights and sounds of Shanghai.  They bring home to the reader how the past changing attitudes and politics affected people more cogently than a dry history text recounting the Red Guards or sending “educated” teenagers to the countryside to live as peasants.

The book is well worth reading and is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

Portobello

This is not an easy book to read.  Nor is it a mystery.  It is a somewhat disjointed story of some disparate characters joined only by the Portobello, a winding street in London filled with stalls and shops where one can find almost anything at any price.

The novel alternates telling about each of the characters, sort of in turn, and how, in the end, their lives kind of intertwine.  There is Eugene Wren, a fastidious personality who becomes addicted to a sugar-free sucking candy, a habit that could cost him his fianceé, Dr. Ella Costend.  Then there is a minor thief, Lance, who is arrested for an arson and murder, but not for his burglaries.  Lance’s girlfriend and grandfather play important roles in his life, along with here live-in mate, Fize and his friend, Ian.  Ella’s private patient Joel, who has a near-death experience during a heart operation, provides the author the opportunity to delve into deep psychological issues.

There is little plot to speak of, only descriptions of the Portobello neighborhood and the actions of the individuals, either by themselves or in relation to each other.  Except for Joel, who has almost no relationship with anyone except his doctor and no role in the erstwhile story.  It is easy to wonder while reading the book what it is all about; at least, until in the final pages, when it all seems to come together.  On that basis, as well as for the beautiful writing, Portobello is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

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Operation Napoleon
Arnaldur Indridason
Translated by Victoria Cribb
Harvill Secker, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-846-55285-4
Trade Paperback (UK)

Long before there were Erlender and Sigurdur Oll, Arnaldur Indridason wrote this imaginative novel.  In fact, it was copyrighted a decade ago, and only now has been published in Great Britain and Canada.  (U.S. publication is scheduled for the fall of 2011, and the next Reykjavic Murder Mystery, Outrage, is to be published in the UK in 2011.)  It is a pity we have had to wait this long for an English translation of this work, but all the more reason to be grateful that that has now been done.

Just before the end of World War II a German bomber crashes on a large Icelandic glacier with American and German officers aboard.  One of the senior German officers attempts to reach a nearby farm, while the others remain on the plane only to be buried by a blizzard and ice; then he disappears as well.

Over 50 years later, after a few failed attempts to find the plane by U.S. intelligence, they are finally successful, and a secret mission is undertaken to remove the plane and its contents..  Coincidentally, two young Icelanders on the glacier in a training mission spot the Americans and are captured, one killed and the other seriously injured.  Before the capture, one of the men had contacted his sister, Kristin.  She undertakes to discover the truth of her brother’s fate, placing herself in danger in the process.

The tense plot follows Kristin as she challenges the Americans in an effort to find out what happened to her brother, leading her on an arduous journey to learn the facts of Operation Napoleon. The descriptions of the various elements of the story are overwhelming: the freezing weather, the subterfuge of the Americans, the divergent views of Icelanders vis-à-vis relations with United States authorities, and other conflicts.  Written with a sharpness to which we have become accustomed from this author, the novel is highly recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

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Our Kind of Traitor
John le Carre
Viking, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-670-02224-3
Hardcover

This novel could easily have been entitled The Money Launderer Who
Tried to Come in Out of the Cold.  It is the story of Dima, a Russian gangster, the Mickey Cohen of the Russian Mafia, who launders all the billions amassed in illegal activities.  He makes contact with a visiting English couple on holiday in Antigua and leads them to contact British intelligence in an effort to defect with his extended family, exposing his erstwhile cohorts, as well as British politicians and notables.

The plot evolves around plans to extract Dima et al by a few intelligence operatives who not only have to free the Russians, but fight their own organization’s superiors.  The characterizations of each of the principals is outstanding, with the foibles, strengths and weaknesses of each displayed to the utmost.  That’s more than can be said for the various subjects under study: money laundering, banking, the Mumbai stock market and other supposed contemporary themes intended to replace the author’s past dependence on the Cold War and its brand of spies.

Despite his reputation for research and detail, le Carre treats these essential topics in summary form, rather than in the depth one would expect from the list of experts he consulted.  For instance, Dima gets a telephone call telling him to “sell Mumbai,” only a while later to be informed to buy it back.  For this, one has to consult a pro?  And not even mention inside information.  As for Dima’s specialty, money laundering, there is virtually no hard description, just sort of a lackadaisical recounting of common knowledge. Despite this criticism, the author has written an entertaining tale, and it is recommended.

Reviewed by Ted Feit, December 2010.

13, rue Thérèse

These gloves haunt you.

But let us not be bothered with that now. Let us not slip onto our own body these accoutrements of the dead. Such a gesture would be a bit strange, a bit unsettling. Such a gesture is unnecessary when the object is before us and we can look at it at our leisure.

The gloves are flexible, strong, starkly black. They look like something to be worn to the funeral of a beloved someone; as you might have observed, they look like a widow’s gloves. The truth is that they are merely church gloves, worn every Sunday to holy offices. The color is so because white gloves are better suited to a virgin (or at the very least, a young and unmarried woman who could still plausibly undergo such a pantomime of purity). Black is the color of the true woman, one burdened with keeping a house and bearing children—a wife.

Louise has yearned keenly for the fulfillment of motherhood. She has been trying so hard. As of the day where our story hovers (Tuesday, November 6, 1928), she has not succeeded in this strenuous endeavor, though Lord knows she has been the most efficient puller of husbandly seed she had been allowed to be.

13, rue Thérèse is a delightful and clever origami box of a story. I’m probably not the first to make that analogy, nor do I think I will be the last, but it is an apt comparison: it is the kind of story that folds fiction and history, reality and imagination back and forth upon themselves until the reader scarcely knows which end is up.

One January, a visiting American professor of literature discovers a box of mementos hidden in a drawer in his Paris office. The box and its contents, he learns, belonged to Louise Brunet, who lived for many years at 13, rue Thérèse. Because he is a conscientious scholar, Trevor Stratton carefully catalogues each item, describing them in detail with accompanying scans in letters to an unnamed colleague. These images are included as part of the text, as are both the original French and Trevor’s translations of letters and postcards Louise saved. Several of the letters and photographs are from Louise’s intended, Camille, who is serving on the front line.

As Trevor’s description of the box’s contents progresses, however, he is drawn more deeply into solving the mystery of Louise Brunet. His catalogue gives way to imagined scenes from Louise’s life, but as a fever overtakes him the line between his imagination and the “history” he concocts for Louise grows increasingly blurry. Then the line disappears altogether:

“Louise?”

At the sound of her name, her eyes pop open. There is someone in the room, someone with a male voice—an unfamiliar male voice. She struggles to cover her pale bare legs with a sheet and looks across the room to see me, sitting on the wooden chair her husband usually puts his discarded clothes on when he undresses at night. Her eyes grow wider as a violent flush overtakes her face.

“You!” she says. “You don’t exist!”

I answer as softly as possible, “I beg to differ.”

“How did you get here?”

“Same way I always do.” As I say this, I raise the small object I am holding in my hand, the same one she currently has on her nightstand…..

In his fevered state, Trevor has become so obsessed with Louise’s story – her story as he has pieced it together, fashioned like a quilt, from the box of mementos that are all she left behind – that he has somehow become part of it. Trevor’s story and Louise’s story, initially parallel, have intersected.

There is another point of intersection to this remarkable book, however: the box of mementos, and Louise Brunet, and  the apartment at 13, rue Thérèse, are all real. Elena Mauli Shapiro lived at that address in Paris as a girl, and her mother saved the box of mementos when Louise died, leaving no family to claim her belongings. The images interspersed throughout the text of 13, rue Thérèse are of the actual objects in Shapiro’s possession; for an added layer of intertextual – or is it intratextual? – interaction, many of them are accompanied by a code for smartphone scanning or a link to view the images in greater detail.

This book, Shapiro’s first, is a result of a longtime fascination – obsession, perhaps – she has nurtured for Louise Brunet. In that regard 13, rue Thérèse is a story not only about the box’s contents and the woman who kept them, but also a story about the power even the most ordinary objects can generate in a fertile imagination. It is also a story on the one hand about the challenges of “writing” a narrative from a seemingly unrelated assortment of objects (a challenge I can appreciate when I’m wearing my historian’s hat) and on the other about the porous boundary separating fact from fiction, fantasy and reality. I am only just beginning to appreciate all the different layers of reality and imagination and how Shapiro has choreographed their intersections in this book. I eagerly look forward to reading what she comes up with next.

Reviewed by Laura Taylor, March 2011, on Beyond the Blurb; reprinted here with permission.