THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE OF BIG STONE GAP by Wendy Welch ✰✰✰✰

This book, frankly, was a surprise for me.  I picked it up and agreed to review it mostly because I am a sucker for books about books and bookish people.  What I didn’t expect was that it would actually be so well written, solidly edited, funny, heart-warming, and informative.

Wendy Welch and her Scottish husband, Jack Beck, bought a charming, huge Victorian home in the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, with the sole intent of transforming it into a used bookstore.  Unfortunately, they had a couple of things working against them.  Big Stone Gap is not exactly an area that welcomes strangers into its midst and its economically depressed state does not make it a prime zone in which to open a business.  However, the Beck-Welch team was undaunted and Wendy, in her breezy, humorous style carries her readers through their many experiences as they built their inventory of books and friendships.

Perhaps what sets this book above others of its kind is the added insight that Wendy gives into some of the lesser know aspects of owning a bookstore.  I love the stories she tells about the more emotional aspects, such as those people who bring in book collections of those loved ones who have passed away, and what it is like to be the store owner who must on the one hand transact the business of divesting the bereaved of the books, but on the other hand be sensitive to the fact that this is a part of a loved one that the person is letting go of.  There are many, many such personal stories in this book, each of them singular and touching and showing a different aspect of their lives not only as owners of the bookstore, but as members of their unique community.  I mistakenly assumed that life in a small town bookstore would become routine and expected the book might get a bit soporific at times, but Wendy showed me that their life is full of rich relationships and lessons learned, and I enjoyed the chance to experience Big Stone Gap and their book store right along side them. 

Wendy and her husband also use their bookstore to host many other types of activities that enriched their community, and her sharing these events adds a good deal of interest to the book.  In addition, Jack and Wendy went on a tour of other indie bookstores, the narrative of which makes for some good reading.  Finally, she shares lots of reviews of her favorite books to recommend, as you might expect from someone who spends her days surrounded by and selling books.

This is a solid read about a couple with a dream, how their marriage weathers the making of their business, life in a small town, friendship, selling books, and a few life lessons learned along the way.  Wendy’s lovely writing will touch your heart and your funny bone in turns, making this a read for many moods.  I definitely recommend this one.

THE SECOND EMPRESS by Michelle Moran ✰✰✰

After finishing Michelle Moran’s fantastic novel of the French Revolution, Madame Tussaud, I did something I very rarely do: I immediately put another of her books on hold at the library.  Usually I like to space out an author’s novels, as I get bored with reading similar works close together; but that particular book was such a treat that I could not resist one more of her offerings before I dove back into another busy school year.  To say that I am disappointed in Ms. Moran’s latest release, the story of Marie Louise, the second wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, would be a serious understatement.  It barely made three stars for me.

All of the elements that made Madame Tussaud so powerful are seen only in bare glimpses in this novel-in fact, when they shimmered around the edges of the prose I only felt more frustrated by Moran’s inability to adequately develop them here.  For instance, character development.  To use Napoleon as an example-courtiers were endlessly talking about his personality and actions, as opposed to writing more actual scenes in which he appeared and showing him for what he was.  This book, like her previous novel, uses multiple narrators.  Personally, I would have given Napoleon a voice, in order to flesh out his relationship with Marie Louise more fully and show us their interactions from his perspective.  One narrator, Paul, Pauline Bonaparte’s chamberlain, seemed a very unnecessary voice to me, and I could have done without his viewpoint.  By the time I finished Tussaud I cared about those people, because Moran had woven me into their psyches, but with this book, the writing just felt like tabloid gossip which never drew me into caring about the characters as human beings.

Her handling of the setting left me feeling similarly flat.  Once again she had some wonderful environments to create for her reader, among them the courts of Austria and France and the Isle of Elba.  I never, aside from the fact that the hallways were colder in Schonbrunn Palace, got a distinct differentiation of the setting in one place or the other.  A small amount of detail was given about clothing, but food, music, art, the palaces themselves, the cities, etc., where skated over but never fully developed-all elements which lend richness to the experience that is historical fiction.  The ending was very rushed, and so the reader never gets to know Elba, St. Helena, or Marie Louise’s final home in Parma at all.

This book motivated me to spend about three hours on university sites doing research, and I think what bothers me the most is Michelle Moran’s statement that she drew her research from primary sources, when it is so abundantly clear that the book is full of inaccuracies.  Even my cursory search tells me that.  Yes, it is a novel, but don’t claim it is anything more if you have not researched it to the bottom of the filing cabinet.  I do not mind historical inaccuracies in a novel, but I do mind if there is what appears to be a full disclosure note at the end, and they are not disclosed.  Historical Fiction is after all fiction, and that is fine; if you have written a very loose interpretation, just admit that to your readers.  Tell them that you took your characters from history, but most of the events are of your own invention.  There is nothing wrong with that in a novel, as long as you are up front about it.  I found three very credible university papers on the topic, and they all concurred on the following points, diverging from Ms. Moran’s telling of the story, yet not divulged by her in her author’s note:

***SPOILER ALERT***

Central to this novel is a love story between Marie Louise and Count von Neipperg.  In fact, they never met until after Marie Louise separated from Napoleon.  Interestingly, he was sent by her father to lure her away from France and get her to come home to Austria.  Her father wanted von Neipperg to romance his daughter!  He loathed the French and would do whatever it took to get his daughter away from her husband, for whom she still had some feelings of love and loyalty.  Von Neipperg and Marie Louise did have a wonderful love story, very much as portrayed at the conclusion of the novel, but not before the Bonapartes were married, as Ms. Moran would have her reader’s believe, and Marie Louise certainly wasn’t pining for him during her marriage.

***END OF SPOILER***

The second inaccuracy is the friendship that Ms. Moran wrote between Marie Louise and Hortense (the daughter of Napoleon’s first wife Josephine).  Why she chose to write in that relationship is beyond me, as it made so little sense, but if she really felt that she wanted it in there it is another thing I feel she should have disclosed in the author’s note, as in reality the two women rarely interacted.  Also, if Michelle Moran wanted someone for the confidante role, history provides a real life woman for her;  my research showed that Marie Louise and the Duchess of Montebello developed what would become a close lifelong friendship during those difficult years of her marriage to Napoleon.  Why not develop that character?

Her final inaccuracy is in her portrayal of Napoleon with regards to his treatment of Marie Louise.  My research shows quite clearly that he was not the complete villain that she paints him to be, and it is an accepted historical fact that he loved Marie Louise and doted on her, and she in turn fell in love with him and had to be convinced by her family to leave him after his final defeat in Russia-something the book does not show at all.

In the final analysis, this book lacks all of the depth that made Madame Tussaud so powerful.  The reader doesn’t get to be transported to the Imperial court, to wear the gowns and feast and experience the drama of life with Napoleon.  And in the end you probably won’t care if you end up on Elba, in Parma, or just about anywhere else, because you never wanted to spend time with any of the characters anyway.  If you have not read one of Michelle Moran’s works, please don’t start with this one.

  

BACK WHEN WE WERE GROWNUPS by Anne Tyler ✰✰✰

Anne Tyler is one of those authors that I have never read and rather shied away from due to the “bestseller”, book-mill feel that she gives me.  This book didn’t do a whole lot to dispel that impression.  What finally got me to pick up one of Anne Tyler’s novels is the rather lame fact that this particular title was written in 2001, which happens to be the year of my Pick-a-Year challenge, and this was available on audio when I needed a new audio book (very poor reasoning, I now realize).  About the best I can say for the experience is challenge met.

There is very little by way of plot; rather the novel focuses on Rebecca, who married a man some years her senior, who died only six years into her marriage, leaving her to raise four daughters and try to keep the family business, an event and catering service run in their aging Baltimore Victorian home, from going under.  The novel is a series of flashbacks and present, filled with Rebecca’s clamorous, often whiny, family.  There is scarcely a likable character among them, aside from Rebecca.

Despite liking Rebecca, I find her character very static.  I also find it difficult to believe that anyone can have such an inept family and so jealous of one another.  Finally, there is a perfectly good man right in front of Rebecca all along, and she never sees him all through the book-the plotting just makes no sense at all to me.

I did enjoy the sections dealing with Rebecca’s event and catering business, as one one my dreams is to run a lodge, so those did a lot to rescue the book for me.  On an unrelated note, the audio is a little confusing at times, because the voices of the women are not always clearly distinguishable from one another.  This is one I could have passed over without any regrets, and I do not think I’ll rush to read another Anne Tyler, as I found the book rather campy and a bit melodramatic.

THE FIRST THREE ARTEMIS FOWL BOOKS BY Eoin Colfer ✰✰✰ to ✰✰✰✰

One of the extra things I do as a homeschooling mother is teach a literature circle for high schoolers.  Last year my group read through an ambitious round of books that included Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (rough for a group composed largely of young men-we only have one girl!) and Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo, which every group member read unabridged in all 1200 pages of its glory, and was declared the unanimous favorite of the group at the end of the school year.  This coming year we have Steinbeck and Twain on tap, among others, so when the boys joked about reading all eight books of Artemis Fowl over their summer break, I couldn’t be too hard on them, and even agreed to join in the fun reads.  I listened to the audios and made it through the first three in the series.

In book one, Artemis Fowl, we meet the title character, a rich young Irishman who’s father has disappeared.  The thirteen-year-old Artie is not your average young man.  He is highly intelligent, resourceful, rather crafty and underhanded in his business dealings, which he has been handling since his father’s disappearance, in possession of a fortune, and lucky to have Butler-bodyguard extraordinaire.  Butler, we are told comes from a long line of family members by that name, all trained in the art of personal defense; he has a mind for military strategy, is combat proficient, and absolutely loyal to Artie.  Artie has made an important discovery.  He has discovered the existence of the fairy people and learned how to connect with them, and he believes that they might be the key to helping him rescue his father, who has been missing for a couple of years.  This first book covers the introduction of all the major characters of both worlds, human and fairy.

The second book, The Arctic Incident, covers the actual recovery of Artemis’ father and another operation in fairy territory that Artemis and Butler help with in exchange for the fairies help in rescuing Mr. Fowl.  Of the three books I read this one was the weakest for me.  It moved a bit slower than the other two and just didn’t seem quite as clever in the plotting.

Book three, The Eternity Code, shows that Artie has been up to his old business practices again, but this time utilizing computer technology he has stolen from the fairies.  When the technology is stolen and the human race is put at risk, he has no choice but to admit what he has done and call in the fairies for help.

I highly recommend the audio versions of these books.  Performed by Nathaniel Parker, they are absolutely excellent entertainment for all ages and would make great bedtime stories or road trip entertainment for a family.

It wouldn’t surprise me if I continued on with the audios of this series.  They are a fun break, especially after a depressing work of nonfiction, or when I am not feeling well.  There is great humor in them, and sometimes we can all use a little lightheartedness.  My three star ratings reflect the fact that they are not fine literature and not really aimed at an adult audience.  For youth, these books would no doubt be five star entertainment.

THE PIANO TEACHER by Janice Y.K. Lee ✰✰✰ and 1/2

This book is yet another example of how random grabs off the shelf at the library, or in this case, the available list on Overdrive’s audio system, seldom seem to pan out for me.  Those who follow me on Amazon’s Shelfari know that I have a massive virtual shelf, thoughtfully constructed based on books that have been recommended by readers that know my tastes and also books that I myself have researched and added to my wish list of books to read.  I really should stick to my shelf.

At first glance, the premise seems to have a lot of promise.  A young English woman, Claire, travels with her husband to Hong Kong in the mid-1950s; the narrative is split between her story and one set roughly ten years earlier, when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong during World War II.  Author Janice Lee does a good job evoking the feel of Hong Kong during the occupation, with its hodge-podge of nationalities, resulting in a confusion of alliances for survival, and since most of the characters in the later time frame are the same, she is able to show how their experiences during the war affected how they came to view one another after-something I feel she did quite well.

The novel falls flat for me in two areas.  First, the plot is very transparent; the supposed mystery is what had become of a set of crown jewels of China that was rumored to be in Hong Kong, and which the Japanese wanted.  I read very few mysteries and am not very good at sussing out clues, but it doesn’t take a genius; because of this, much of the plot seems very inane.  In addition, the plot does not flow smoothly; not only does it jump from past to present, but it also backtracks within those timeframes, retelling the story from another character’s viewpoint, which I find redundant.

The characters are also a weak point for me, being in turns unlikeable, inconsistent, flat.  Just when I feel a character is developing, they take a turn into someone else or revert back into someone you think they have forsaken-it is jarring.

In short, the only thing that saves this novel from being a three star read is the setting, which Ms. Lee does a good job painting for the reader, and the audio, which is well narrated by Orlagh Cassidy for Blackstone Audio.  I will call it a take-it or leave-it read. 

THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver ✰✰✰✰✰ and a ♥

When Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna was released in 2009, it was hailed as her masterpiece.  I reviewed it, even raved about it-great characters, sense of place and history-Kingsolver’s ability to pull her reader into her story was unparalleled.  But now that I have gone back and read her 1998 release, The Poisonwood Bible, I have come to realize that there was so much more inside Kingsolver than I saw in The Lacuna, because this is the story of her heart, the novel that her life experience prepared her to write.

This is a story of a family that goes to Africa to bring their faith to the heart of darkness-what they learn, about Africa, God, each other, and themselves.  It is an intimate portrait of what happens to a country in the birth throes of independence, with its wars and factions, all the ugliness and pain that comes before autonomy.  It is a searing indictment of the world’s superpowers and the role they play in aggravating unrest, whether their motive is diamonds or stopping the spread of the communist menace.  

The Congo of the late 1950s was a raw place, inhospitable to its indigenous inhabitants and downright hostile to those who trespassed.  Into this environment comes proud, inflexible evangelical Baptist missionary Nathan Price, dragging his wife and four young daughters along.  Characters are pivotal to the novel, and multiple narrators are used, a technique I usuallydo not like, but which Kingsolver carries off masterfully.  Each of the four daughters narrates, and their voices are so distinct that I never needed to refer back to chapter headings to see who was talking.   Their narration is intimate and driven; it did all those things great writing is supposed to do-I cried at deaths (really, really sobbed), was speechless, angry, anxious, exasperated. 

Because of the way that Kingsolver chooses to narrate the novel, it opens up for the reader various perspectives.  One daughter is very closed minded, rather typical of the time, reflecting the colonial and American mindset still prevalent in a nation striving to break free not only from foreign, but also from local, oppression and dictators.  Another daughter embraces all that Africa has to teach and wants the experience and wants to give back what she has to share to the people around her as well.  Her twin sister is willing to watch from the side, for once in her life not looked upon as a freak, but with quiet acceptance by the community, and goes about trying to stay out of the line of fire within her family.  Through the eyes and ears of the youngest daughter we play the games of children and gain simple insights.

My connection with the characters was especially personal, as I closely identified with the youngest daughter, who is five when the family moves to the Congo; I was four when my own family moved to the Orient.  In addition, I share many personality traits and similar experiences with the daughter Leah, so I felt very connected with her character throughout the story.   However, I do not think that this was the only reason that I rated the novel so highly.  I believe that every novelist has one book in them that their whole life history prepares them for, and I think that for Barbara Kingsolver, this was that book.  When I read The Lacuna I was impressed by her talents as a writer; it was a great story, and she had all the technical things down pat.  This book was very different.  It pulsated with life-with the verdant jungle foliage of Africa and its wildlife and the diversity of her people, not to mention the vast variety of foreigners attracted to her mystery.  Postcolonial stories are never easy tellings, with all their various factions and coups, the so sadly inevitable assassinations of brave political leaders, and the slippery slope balancing of greed and economic prosperity.  Kingsolver managed her tale splendidly through the unlikely narration of four young girls, perhaps because that is how she herself viewed it, growing up as the daughter of medical workers in Africa.  This was the book that I believe her childhood planted in her soul, and it came out as an incredible tour de force.  An absolute five star favorite-this one comes with my highest recommendation.

MADAME TUSSAUD by Michelle Moran ✰✰✰✰✰

In a world gone crazy, sometimes the key to surviving another day lies in being the hands that form the propaganda better than any other.  For Marie Grosholtz, who would become known to posterity as Madame Tussaud, that meant wax images of whoever held the reigns of power in France during the turbulent years leading up to the French Revolution and throughout the horror of the Reign of Terror.

Marie Grosholtz and her family ran an exhibition of wax models on display in various arrays.  Throughout the Revolution, Marie and her uncle, Curtius, would keep up with the prevailing political climate by changing their tableaux to reflect the latest happenings, not only with new wax figures and backgrounds, but also with posters explaining the newest news from political meetings.  Marie and Curtius were also tasked with other grisly demands by members of the ruling elite, which they dared not refuse.  Luckily for their family, their exhibition had enough renown and they knew people in high enough places in the new government to leverage their fame for their lives and freedom.

Michelle Moran, in her author’s note right at the outset of her novel, makes it very clear that every event included therein occurred and every character really existed.  As you read through various scenes of heartbreak and horror, that note runs through your mind over and over again, and what is novelized becomes very, very real in your imagination as it gains purchase of your emotions.

This novel also taught me a thing or two that I did not know about the Revolution, particularly with regards to the way in which religion was regarded by those who came to power after the abolition of the monarchy, and the appalling treatment of the clergy.  Moran thoroughly covers many things, such as the importance of the cafe societies during the Revolution, the general tenor of life on the street for everyday Parisiennes, the Prussian and Austrian armies building to help, and unrest in the outlaying areas (so many books only talk about Paris when they talk about the Revolution).  I felt the history in the book was thorough and well woven into the story through the tale itself.

Best of all were the characters.  As might be guessed, the cast was massive, but Ms. Moran does a very good job of developing all her main characters and most of her minor ones.  The only character I felt was tossed in a little too late for decent development was Francois Tussaud.  In general, I felt that the ending of the book was a bit too rushed for my taste, but the author’s intent was to focus on the five years immediately surrounding the Revolution, and Francois didn’t come into Marie’s life until the end of the Revolution.  Ms. Moran then gives the reader a quick summation of what happened during the remainder of the main characters’ lives, saving us the need to Google it all ourselves.

This is absolutely five star historical fiction, and I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the French Revolution.  Even if it is a subject that you have read a good deal about before, I wouldn’t be surprised if you learn something new from Michelle Moran’s prodigious research.