The politest argument ever

Daphne
Justine Picardie

It's no secret that I love Daphne du Maurier; when I saw Daphne, historical fiction centered on her obsession with Branwell Bronte (ooh! and I love the Brontes, too!), I knew this book was destined for me.

The plot revolves around several key characters: du Maurier herself, eager to prove herself a "real" author by completing a biography of Branwell, the forgotten Bronte, that puts him in a new light; J.A. Symington, a former member of a Bronte expert who may not have honestly gained some of his most prized possessions; and, finally, our young (unnamed) narrator who finds herself in the middle of a real-life du Maurier novel just as she struggles to complete her own du Maurier studies.

At right: Daphne at work

While the plot was interesting, several things failed for me. The narrator's journey is simply not interesting, and I hated being taken from the world of du Maurier and Symington in order to return to this fool's problems. She's, what, 23 and married to some recently-divorced scholar 20 years her senior. Not surprisingly, he can't get over his first wife, and he doesn't respect her scholarly interest in du Maurier, and he's so condescending and blah blah blah.

Also, the dialogue. When moving between du Maurier and Symington, no problem. But when writing current dialogue...whoa. Not good. For example, during a scene in which our lovely young narrator argues with her husband's ex-wife, she says, "Rachel, don't be arch with me, and please stop manipulating me." Arch? Really? And, "please stop manipulating me"? This narrator needs a good case of "Bitch, step OFF." Or, maybe even something non-verbal?



'Nuff said.

In a nutshell: Daphne and Symington provide an intriguing tale; unfortunately, the narrator doesn't fare as well. Still, reading Daphne taught me more about one of my favorite writers.

Bibliolatry Scale: 3 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I received Daphne as part of as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

(what felt like) The Neverending Story

Last Last Chance
Fiona Maazel

This one is an odd duck, since I both liked and disliked Last Last Chance.

The premise seemed intriguing: A lethal strain of virus -- superplague -- vanishes from a lab. The epidemic, not to mention a healthy dose of panic and paranoia, runs rampant. Even worse, Lucy's (now dead) father is to blame, although Lucy's got bigger fish to fry. She's battling addiction and her own inner demons; her family doesn't fare much better. Her mom's a crackhead. Her "true love" married her best friend. And so on.

Unfortunately, the intriguing premise did not translate into an enjoyable novel, and I nearly abandoned it after the first fifty pages. I just couldn't connect to the story -- there was too much going on, too many characters I couldn't care about. Nevertheless, I persevered, and ultimately found Last Last Chance to be just okay.

The good: Maazel's prose, reminiscent of Amy Hempel, is glorious. Her writing appears effortless and natural, and I was frequently struck by a neat turn of phrase. If it weren't for her prose, I probably wouldn't have finished the novel.

The bad: The length. And, to a certain extent, the story. Last Last Chance is ambitious, and Maazel's tackling a lot in it. Unfortunately, the story feels too crowded -- not to mention too long. The novel could have lost a good quarter without being the worse for wear. I also couldn't find any sympathy for any of these characters (except for the grandma, but c'mon, who doesn't love a grandma?), and I almost wanted someone to get superplague just to take the story up a notch. THAT woulda been entertaining!

In a nutshell: I wasn't a fan of Last Last Chance, but Maazel's prose makes her one to watch.

Bibliolatry Scale: 3 out of 6 stars

FTCBS: I received Last Last Chance as part of LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program.

An open letter to Melanie Benjamin

Alice I Have Been
Melanie Benjamin

Dear Ms. Benjamin,

I know Alice I Have Been won't be published until January, so I hope you don't mind my impertinence by discussing your book so far before its publication date. Unfortunately, I just can't wait. It's that good.

True, I am predisposed to liking things that in any way involve Charles Dodgson, but I think my affinity for the man and his (hopefully) misunderstood fascination with children would lend me a keener critical eye. In fact, yes, I think that is so. My praise, therefore, is all the more difficult to secure. Sure, let's go with that.

It must be noted that I finished your novel a few weeks ago, and my praise remains undimmed. My reactions remain unchanged. I deemed Alice perfect immediately upon finishing it, and I still deem it so today.

The truth is, Alice I Have Been was one of the most enchanting, most moving books I've ever read. Alice Liddell comes alive in your novel, and watching the young girl transform into an elderly woman was both utterly riveting and totally realistic. Although I'm sure much of your work was a creative reimagining of events, the story never felt false. More importantly, Alice never felt false. It seemed as though she herself had written a memoir of her life, so totally did you capture her voice and her life. Perhaps that is the greatest compliment I can give.

However, I must make clear that Alice I Have Been is an excellent story on its own, regardless of the characters' connections to a famous author or another literary work. In fact, your novel does stand on its own, for at its core it is simply a moving story of a life blighted by the scrutiny of others.

My biggest complaint is that I received this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program; while it is debatable that I would have heard of your novel otherwise, I can't help but feel chagrined when I see the ARC. Yours is a novel for which a quality copy is a must. That's okay -- your Alice, like her previous incarnations, won't be easily forgotten.

I wish you nothing but the biggest success with Alice I Have Been. It is more than a story of a young woman famous for her relationship with an older man. You have brought Alice to life and, in the process, allowed readers to find themselves in her.

In a nutshell: Simply enchanting, entirely captivating: this book should be preordered immediately.

Bibliolatry Scale: 6 out of 6 stars

You give, and you are given

Evidence
Mary Oliver

I have to thank both Beacon Press and LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Program for sending me Evidence, Mary Oliver's latest collection of poetry. I love Oliver's work and this newest collection does not disappoint.

I'm pleased to say that, while not every poem hit home, I enjoyed the majority of poems in the collection, and a few had such an impact on me that I was utterly unable to continue reading -- all I could do was to reread the lines which had affected me so. This happened a number of times, which is always a hallmark of a superior poet.

Oliver's poetry is simple and unpretentious; that's not to say, however, that it's facile or simple-minded. I love how she glories in the world around her, and finds beauty in every aspect of nature.

This ability is most clearly seen in "Prince Buzzard," one of my favorite poems in the collection. Here, Oliver is able to make beautiful that which is generally considered to be ugly: a buzzard feeding on carrion. Although this image is not a pleasant one, the poem that results from it is.

"Almost a Conversation" is another of my favorites; in this poem Oliver describes a conversation with an otter. I had quoted a portion of the poem in a previous draft of this review; upon rereading it, however, the power of those lines is not as strong as when attached to the entire poem, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

At any rate, if you enjoy poetry characterized by simple phrasing, profound thoughts, and a glorification of the natural world, Evidence is for you.

In a nutshell: Oliver uses simple language to create profound poetry.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5 out of 6 stars

Not-so-darling Jim

Darling Jim
Christian Moerk

This reading resolution is like a noose around my mother[EXPLETIVE] neck. I feel suffocated, cramped, unable to continue.

Thankfully, the cure to my suffering arrived in the mail last week, in the form of an ARC from LibraryThing. This novel, Darling Jim, is due to be published in April.

The story begins in the small Irish town of Malahide. When a simple-minded postman uncovers the dead-for-days body of Moira Hegarty, a larger mystery is unearthed, and Moira's violent murder soon takes a backseat to the other victims found upstairs: two emaciated young women whose wounds and shackles indicate that Moira had held them captive for quite some time.

Malahide, a town small enough to make keeping secrets nearly impossible, is shocked that they were unaware of Moira's "guests." Even more shocking: the victims were Moira's nieces. Police conclude that the two young women died during a futile escape attempt. While such a conclusion answers the how, it does little to address the why. Most townsfolk cannot believe it possible to commit such an atrocity, but they chalk it up to Moira's increasing religious fanaticism and general oddball behavior.

The horrific event is well on its way to becoming a bad memory when Niall, a lowly postal clerk who dreams of becoming a cartoonist graphic artist, finds an undelivered package from Fiona Walsh, one of the murdered girls. Torn between his duty to turn such a package over to the police and his curiosity to open it for himself, Niall does what any good Irish lad would do -- he opens it. Inside, he finds Fiona's diary, an account of the damned.

Beginning to read, Niall is soon drawn into a greater mystery still, involving Jim, a charismatic storyteller who charms and invades the lives of Fiona and her entire family. As Niall reads on, we too are drawn into the mystery, and the result is a captivating, thrilling read that warns audiences against falling for the glitz of fantasy.

Darling Jim's ending was satisfactory, if a bit too clean, but I enjoyed it. I just have one question: How in the hell does one pronounce Aoife?

In a nutshell: Fast-paced and captivating, Darling Jim weaves a seductive tale that keeps readers enthralled until the very last page.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars

I like to think I'll find you again

Cake
Doreen Fitzgerald

When you reference one of my favorite foods in your title, I'm immediately impressed. So I began Cake, a collection of selected poems by Doreen Fitzgerald, with a favorable outlook.

Cake's poems are short, mostly all a single page. The shortest is the title piece, which reads They say you can't / have it / and eat it too, / but then, / while you're chewing, / it's all yours.

Despite the playful tone of "Cake" most of the other pieces are more serious in nature, especially when Fitzgerald writes of her past. Those with a nostalgic feel are among the most powerful, as well as those which discussed nature. (The title of this post, by the way, comes from one of my favorites entitled "From the Far Side.")

My only criticism is that quite a few poems had an unfinished feel to them, which prevented me from connecting with them on a deeper level. Even though Cake would benefit from another round of editing, the ideas presented in it are solid.

In a nutshell: A bit uneven but there are several gems to be found.

Bibliolatry Scale: 3.5 out of 6 stars

Now THIS one I woulda paid for

Olive Kitteridge
Elizabeth Strout

This is another book that I received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program, and at first I was worried it would prove to be another Larryisms. This belief was aided by the cover, which just gave off a whiff of boring (I’m glad to see they changed the design for the final edition). But still poor Olive sat for weeks on end as I delayed and delayed reading it.

I finally picked it up and scanned the first few pages. I was hooked immediately. It’s rare when a book grips me from the opening pages; usually at least at least 20 pages are needed before I start to really care about what I’m reading. Olive was so good that I was able to read it in just a few hours; I simply could not put it down.

Olive Kitteridge is a novel told in stories; some center around Olive herself, while others only peripherally involve her. I enjoyed watching my own perception of Olive change during the course of my reading; the first story, “Pharmacy,” which concerns her husband Henry’s relationship with his co-worker, presents Olive as mean-spirited and shrewish. My opinion of Olive as a cold-hearted bitch who treats her poor husband like shit would change as Strout further develops the character. After a few more stories, Olive became a real person, and I was ultimately saddened to finish the book.

The stories are presented in chronological order, and we watch Olive progress from middle-aged wife to elderly widow. Subsequent stories involve her son’s marriage to a selfish you-know-what, the loss of a neighbor’s husband, her own husband’s stroke. Through it all, Olive maintains her uncompromising attitude, even as she is surprised by the turns life takes.

I only wish that they had changed the design of the cover a bit more: Strout's name is uncomfortably large, the title uncomfortably small. I kept getting the two confused, wondering who this Olive Kitteridge person was. It also smacks of pride to have the author's name so large, although this is probably less Strout's doing than the publisher's. Minor gripes aside, I'd love to read more of her. (Again, the cover was changed upon publication.)

In a nutshell: A wonderful surprise, these stories do not waste a single word. Would-be writers would do well to study Strout's prose.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars

Thank God this was free

Larryisms: Book One
Larry John

For the record, Larry John seems like a nice guy. He seems like the type who could swig back a few beers, tell a few stories, and eat so much off the grill that you feel like an anorexic supermodel standing next to him. And to that I say: Bravo, Larry John.

However, a good drinking buddy does not a good author make, so I’m just gonna call this one like I see it right from the get-go: at best, this is a bathroom book, plain and simple. At worst, well, it’s a waste of money, but I got it for free, so no worries on my end.

I received Larryisms (Book One, mind you) as part of LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program. It’s a short book, filled with the wit and wisdom of one Larry John, a self-proclaimed “pragmatic thinker.” On his website, Larry defines the pragmatic thinker as “a person who observes oneself, other people and the issues of the world around them, as ‘practically’ as possible.” Larry intends Larryisms: Book One as an introduction to this philosophy. Larry further explains that “applying the philosophy of pragmatic thinking to your business life as well as your personal life will enable you to more fully understand your day to day existence and enjoy what life has to offer.”

Wow! I’m all about enjoying life and understanding my everyday existence. Let’s dive in.

Hm. Larry wonders, “Do we really have to get along?” Deep.

Now he offers, “People are so overrated.” So true.

Later, he ponders, “Solitude is hard to find even when you’re alone.” Preach it, brother!

Now consider this question for the ages: “Even when it is totally dark you still have to close your eyes to sleep. Why is that?” Yes, why is that? It’s an impenetrable mystery, I know. Perhaps one day anatomists will be able to solve the mystery of the eyelid.

Multiply these deep thoughts by about 100 and now you have Larryisms. I’m glad Larry is very pro-thinking – thinking seems to be a dying art these days – but I’m not sure what I would have thought had I paid 15 bucks for this book.

In a nutshell: Great for when you're feeling a little backed up ... but Book One?!? May the Fates save us from Book Two.

Bibliolatry Scale: 1 out of 6 stars