The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

There is no shortage of historical fiction that examines the relationship between slaveowners and their slaves in the 18th century.  The Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom, takes that theme and gives it a twist.  The novel is told by two narrators-Lavinia, an Irish indentured servant brought to the plantation as a small child, and Belle, the mulatto daughter of the owner, the Cap'n, who lives and works in the kitchen house.  Lavinia is raised with the slave children, but because she is white the Cap'n always had other plans for her.  Having lived in Ireland prior to coming to the plantation, Lavinia does not understand the complexities of the racial boundaries in 18th century America, and in her naivete she often unintentionally creates problems for her "family"-the black slaves that she lived with for most of her childhood.

When Lavinia becomes a teen, she is sent to live with the family of the captain's wife.  There, she is brought into the household as a young woman being groomed for a respectable marriage and the life of a white woman in plantation society.  Despite the kindness shown to her during this time, she longs to return home to her "family", never realizing how different their lives have become.  Through family tragedies, brutal abuse, and failed marriages, the characters of The Kitchen House demonstrate the corrosive nature of oppression and slavery on the men and women affected by it.

I read this novel with a sick sense of inevitability.  Having read many such stories in the past, I had more than enough background knowledge to know that things were not likely to turn out happily for the residents of Tall Oaks plantation.  But the unusual main characters and the seeming reasonableness of some of the white characters gave me a small hope that perhaps this time history would be different.  The fact is that in the end there was tragedy, but there was also hope and at least some peace for Lavinia, Belle, and the other slaves.  Grissom's treatment of the captain's wife, Miss Martha, and Lavinia herself, highlighted the similarities between the oppression of women and blacks in the antebellum south.  Miss Martha may have lived in the big house and been waited on by house slaves, but she had little more freedom than they when it came to making decisions about her life.  I think that Grissom did a good job in showing how the rigid social norms of the slave/slave-owner society negatively affected everyone in some way.  Sympathetic whites were forced to support and promote treatment of slaves that went against what reason and compassion would say was right; the oppressed minorities scrambled daily to forestall the anger and violence simmering just below the surface of the plantation; and other whites-especially white men tasked with "working" the slaves-became brutal and mean as a result of the culture of oppression that led to their unchecked power over others.

The book, while chock full of meaning, was also a page-turner. I had to keep reading to see if my sense of unease really did lead to the inevitable tragedy I imagined was coming..  I described it to some friends as soap opera in a historical context.  The misunderstandings and missed opportunities led to romantic entanglements right out of a Gothic romance.  But unlike historical romance books, which are basically love stories lightly dipped in history, the historical context of the relationships in this book are an integral part of the story.

Blackberry Winter, by Sarah Jio

Sarah Jio's new book, Blackberry Winter (release date Sept. 25, 2012), follows The Violets of March and The Bungalow.  Jio has quickly made a name for herself writing high quality women's fiction-fiction that focuses on relationships familial and romantic, and the common experiences that bond women into strong friendships.  Blackberry Winter is a satisfying  blend of mystery and love story.

In Blackberry Winter, a title taken from a cold weather phenomenon that happens in mid to late spring, we have two main characters separated by several decades.  First, we have Vera Ray, a poor single mother during the first years of the Depression.  One night, she tucks her three-year old son Daniel into bed and leaves to go to work at a nearby hotel.  When she returns, Daniel is missing.  The only clue she can find is his teddy bear lying in the snow that fell in a freakish late spring storm, erasing the tracks of the kidnapper.  Despite the obvious fact that three-year olds don't run away, the police refuse to help her.  Fast forward to the present, and you find Claire Aldridge, a reporter at a daily in Seattle.  When an unexpected late spring snow storm blankets the area, Claire is tasked with writing a feature on the event.  She discovers the story of Vera and Daniel, and becomes determines to find out what happened to the boy.  Little did she know how closely she and Vera Ray would be connected.

This book has the benefit of being more than one thing.  On one level, it is a mystery, and a pretty decent one. It kept me guessing, which is fairly hard to do given the number of mysteries and thrillers I read.  Even when I thought I had something figured out it ended up being slightly different than I thought.  On another level, it is the story of one woman and her journey from grief to healing, from betrayal and guilt to acceptance.  While Vera's experiences are the driver for most of the action in the story, the emotional impact comes not just from her grief and anxiety at the loss of Daniel, but from Claire's painful journey through her own tragedy.  The way her relationship with her husband changes from the beginning to the end of the story mirrors what I know happens to many couples who experience the loss of a child, even a miscarriage.

My only (tiny) criticism was the character of Charles, Vera's love and father of Daniel.  He was fairly one-dimensional to me, and frankly a little too good to be true.  Maybe it's just the cynic in me, but I had trouble believing his transformation from son of wealth and privilege to crusader for the poor, and I didn't find it very likely that he would honestly believe that he could introduce his poor servant girlfriend to his family and expect them to embrace her.  But, as I said, that is a teeny, tiny criticism.  Overall, I think that this is another solid performance for Ms. Jio!

The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman

ISBN-13: 9780425244135
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Publication date: September 2011
Pages: 352
Source: Publisher

The Lost Wife opens with the ending, where readers get to read about the reunion of a pair of long lost couple being separated from WWII as they meet by chance when attending the wedding of their grandchildren. The subsequent chapters then bring readers to pre-war Prague and introduce us to these star-crossed lovers and how they fall in love and the difficult situations they encountered while they tried to escape the horrors of the war.

Josef Kohn and Lenka Maizel meet each other through his sister. Lenka and Veruska are classmates in an Arts Academy and Josef is a medical student then. They fell in love shortly but their hopes for the future was shattered when the Nazis invaded Prague. With the pressure of the war and not to mention that they couldn't bear to leave each other, they decided to get married. Josef's family even have plans to leave Prague and through Josef's cousin's assistance, they managed to get tickets to America but the sad truth is, the cousin could only sponsor Lenka but not her family considering she is Josef's wife and it is natural that they are to leave together.

However, Lenka refuses to leave her family despite Josef's begging. Josef has no choice but to leave with his family without her, but he promised her that he would try every means to get them to leave Prague. With this promise and hope in mind, they separated but fate got into their way and each believed the other was dead under some unfortunate circumstances.

Despite the sad belief, Josef and Lenka couldn't stop thinking of each other as they grit their teeth and try to move on with their life. Lenka faces fear and death every day, as she and her family are being transported to the concentration and labour camps and are forced to work for the Germans, be it hard labour work, painting postcards or even drawing plans for the Germans. However, Lenka's nightmare doesn't end there for they are later transferred from Terezín to Auschwitz where they are faced with more brutality treatments. Lenka is lucky to survive but her family and many of her friends aren't that fortunate as they are either gassed or shot to death.

At its core, The Lost Wife is a heart-wrenching love story that tells not only the unforgettable relationship between Josef and Lenka but also the love within family and friends as well. Through Alyson Richman's skillful writing, I felt every emotions evoke in me (I still do) as I read about Josef's and Lenka's love story as well as the misery and pain the characters have to face and endure during the Holocaust. This story has the ability to smile and cry at the same time; and what I liked most about this story is aside from the love story between Josef and Lenka, it is the courage and the resilient spirit of Lenka which what makes The Lost Wife such a memorable reading experience for me. On the other end, I was also moved by Josef's patience and determination of seeking Lenka throughout the years without fail (and his letters to Lenka, in which most of them are returned mails, made my heart melt).

Finally, and most important of all, this story reminds me again the history of the Holocaust and the horrors behind all. Needless to say, The Lost Wife will stay in my mind for a while.

Fighthing Fate in 18th Century Scotland

Fate and inevitability play a large role in Diana Gabaldon's book Dragonfly in Amber.  The second in a series about Claire Randall Fraser, a mid-20th century woman transported back to 18th century Scotland, Dragonfly in Amber picks up the story of Claire and her Sottish husband Jamie.  Claire knows that Jamie and thousands of other Highland Scots are to be slaughtered in the Battle of Culloden, fought on behalf of Bonnie Prince Charlie in a failed attempt to restore the Stuarts to the throne of England and Scotland.  She and Jamie race to try and stop the coming war, first in Paris where Prince Charles is waiting to return to Scotland, and again in Edinburgh.  But nothing, not even the foreknowledge of what will happen, can turn the tide of history in the Scots' favor.

Like her first novel, Outlander, this book is rich in historical detail, and intricate in plot.  In a previous post, I complained of how long it took me to read it, because that level of detail requires the reader to really slow down and take it all in.  It is full of political machinations, betrayals, unkept promises, and the hubris of the nobility.  Add to the complex plot the many details about life in 18th century France and Scotland, and the descriptions of the medical care that Claire gives in her role as a healer, and you have a fully formed world that draws you in.  The romance between Claire and Jamie is besides the point to me, other than as a catalyst for some of Claire's decisions regarding staying in Scotland or trying to stop duels...Claire herself is the reason that I kept reading.  And I am so grateful to Ms. Gabaldon that she set this series in a time period I know very little about.  While I love my Tudor and Elizabethan period pieces, I am happy to have knowledge of another era of UK history.

You Can't Judge a Book By Its Title

I admit it-I am a romance novel snob.  Not in a only-the-best-romance-writer-for-me kind of way, but in a I-can't believe-anyone-reads-this-drivel way.  While I am not trying to imply anything about the relative maturity of readers of romance novels (after all, some of my best friends are romance readers), I haven't really enjoyed a romance novel since I was about 19.  I'm not anti-romance in general-I like a good literary love story.  But genre romance novels leave me pretty cold.

So it was with some trepidation that I agreed to read The Tapestry of Love by Rosy Thornton.  I mean, that title!  Isn't there something inherently cheesy about any phrase that ends with "of love".  Think Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News.  Major cheesefest!  And the publisher's blurb wasn't much help...
,

A warm and uplifting story of how a woman falls in love with a place and its people: a landscape, a community and a fragile way of life. A rural idyll: that's what Catherine is seeking when she sells her house in England and moves to a tiny hamlet in the Cevennes mountains. With her divorce in the past and her children grown, she is free to make a new start, and her dream is to set up in business as a seamstress. But this is a harsh and lonely place when you're no longer just here on holiday. There is French bureaucracy to contend with, not to mention the mountain weather, and the reserve of her neighbours, including the intriguing Patrick Castagnol.

Sounds like a formula romance novel, right?  But I read it, and here are the two reasons why-

• it was free
• it was British

Yep, I'm a cheap date sometimes. 

Lucky for me, you can't always judge a book by its title.  The publisher did this one an injustice in the blurb making it seems as though the romance was the central story.  What Thornton wrote is a novel about a woman transitioning from one stage of her adulthood to another.  It is not a love story in the strictest sense of the word, but a story about the many loves that surround us-love of self, love for family, love for community, and, yes, love of a partner.

I found the book charming.  The descriptions of the Cevennes region of France evoked a slowed down, quiet pace of life that I found myself envying.  But not everything was perfect in Catherine's new world-the French government and their bureaucracy being the most obvious example.  Her plan upon moving to France was to start a small custom needlepoint/soft furniture business (hence the tapestry of the title).  She runs up against the French prohibition of any non-farming business opening within Cevennes National Parc.  Questioning her place in France, she is drawn back to England in the wake of her mother's death, ultimately forcing her to choose where she feels she belongs.  And yes, she was eventually forced to confront the feelings she had developed for the Patrick Castagnol mentioned in the publisher's blurb.  But the romance is only one aspect of the larger story of a woman choosing her own path.  And frankly, in the time that she has lived alone, first in England after her children went away to school and then in France, she has grown accustomed to her independence and peace.  The resolution is one that I think is more realistic and less simplistic than a lot of love stories turn out to be.  Which is just fine by me.

Cevennes Mountains, France

What Catherine's rural idyll make have looked like

Forget You by Jennifer Echols (A Joint Review with Violet)

ISBN-13: 9781439178232
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: July 2010
292 pgs
Source: Personal Library



Synopsis:

WHY CAN’T YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU FORGET . . . AND WHAT YOU REMEMBER?

There’s a lot Zoey would like to forget. Like how her father has knocked up his twenty-four- year old girlfriend. Like Zoey’s fear that the whole town will find out about her mom’s nervous breakdown. Like darkly handsome bad boy Doug taunting her at school. Feeling like her life is about to become a complete mess, Zoey fights back the only way she knows how, using her famous attention to detail to make sure she’s the perfect daughter, the perfect student, and the perfect girlfriend to ultra-popular football player Brandon. But then Zoey is in a car crash, and the next day there’s one thing she can’t remember at all—the entire night before. Did she go parking with Brandon, like she planned? And if so, why does it seem like Brandon is avoiding her? And why is Doug—of all people— suddenly acting as if something significant happened between the two of them? Zoey dimly remembers Doug pulling her from the wreck, but he keeps referring to what happened that night as if it was more, and it terrifies Zoey to admit how much is a blank to her. Controlled, meticulous Zoey is quickly losing her grip on the all-important details of her life—a life that seems strangely empty of Brandon, and strangely full of Doug.

~*~*~*~*~*

I did a joint reading with Violet of Violet Crush for this book. This is the first time I'm doing a joint reading/review with Violet and I truly enjoyed every moment of it! I definitely look forward to doing more of these with her in the near future! Without further ado, here are my questions for Violet:

1. Do you think some of the plots sound logical to you, especially on the accident and how Zoey felt thereafter? (I won’t elaborate further so as to prevent any spoilers for the readers.)

As far as the medical conditions go I do find the plot logical. I had an accident in college once and I couldn't and still cannot remember the accident and about 24 hours after that, except snippets. I had a terrible headache for days and had no idea what I was doing or thinking for 2-3 days after that. So yes, I do think it was logical.

2. How do you feel towards Zoey? I asked this because she seems like a clear-headed, independent girl to me but at times she also gave me the impression that she is confused, stubborn and insecure.

Surprisingly I was indifferent towards Zoey. I didn't like her nor did I hate her. As you said there were times when she was clear-headed and sure of herself and times when she was lets say stupid. But she just had an accident, she had some major family problems and she was a teenager. I think that should about explain most of it.

3. Do you feel any connection with the characters? And how do you feel about the relationship between Zoey, Brandon and Doug?

As I said I didn't really feel any connection to Zoey. I felt bad because she didn't have even a single friend she could trust. I liked her mother though, I wish we had gotten a little more insight into her. But then again Forget You was not about the mother. Brandon was a caricature of a school football player - popular, handsome and stupid. But he was entertaining. Zoey's relationship with Brandon? Haha, well that's something worth discussing. Didn't you just want to shake Zoey and put some sense into her?

(I totally agree with Violet here. And yes, I did want to shake Zoey at times, hehe.)

4. Following your question: Which one did you like more? Forget You or Going Too Far?

I loved Going Too Far more without a doubt. I felt the romance and the chemistry between the main characters was portrayed much better in it than in Forget You. The plot was also much better and both Meg and Cody were such lovable characters. I think what worked for Going Too Far was the simplicity of the plot. Forget You had too many things going on at one time. I felt as if the "confusion" that could have been cleared in 5 mins took unnecessary time, effort and ultimately pages. Although the writing was as awesome as ever.

5. And finally I couldn’t help asking this: Who is sexier in your opinion? Doug Fox from Forget You, or his brother, Officer Cody Fox from Going Too Far?

Cody Fox all the way. That doesn't mean Doug was not sexy. He was. But for most of Forget You Doug was in the background and we really don't get to know him for more than half of the book. Besides Cody Fox was a cop, that kind of increases the sexiness quotient, don't you think?

~*~*~*~*~*

Now go visit Violet's blog to read my answers to her questions. For my review of Going Too Far, click here. To read Violet's review of the same book, please click here.

我的爱如此麻辣 - 张小娴

ISBN-13: 9789868635425
Publisher: Motif Press Co., Ltd
Published: August 2010
285 pgs
Source: Personal Library

当爱重返身边, 才发现,
你, 一直都在。

好久, 好久没好好地坐下来享受读着张小娴的书了。每一回读她的书籍, 都会被她细腻的文笔深深感动着。 那种感觉, 久久都会停留在我的脑海里, 挥之不去。她的文笔, 象施了魔法般把我带进她的故事世界里, 让我觉得故事里的人、事、物仿佛都在我的身边。我想，这就是张小娴的魅力吧。她的故事总能触动着我的心。

在〈我的爱如此麻辣〉中，她以一贯细腻、流畅的文笔，再一次把读者带进她的爱情世界里。故事中的女主角叫夏如星；她的生活本来过得无忧无虑，但自从父亲得了血管瘤离开人世后，她的人生开始起了变化，从此也改变了她对所有人世间的看法。因为父亲是开麻辣火鍋店的，本来对烹饪一窍不通的她，为了保留父亲所留下的麻辣火鍋店，决定下定决心要把麻辣火鍋店的生意做好，而另一个原因就是麻辣火鍋曾给父亲留下美好的儿时回忆。为了这些，她不想辜负他。

为了找寻麻辣火鍋的秘方，夏如星竟无意中发现爸爸藏了大半輩子的秘密。原来除了她，夏如星发现父亲在另外兩個相隔萬里另有两个女兒！这个突如其来的发现简直是晴天霹雳，令夏如星不知所措。但夏如日和夏如月毕竟是她的姐姐，夏如星没有理由不把父亲的死讯告诉她们。就因这事故把夏家三姐妹相聚在一起；她们的共同点就是经营父亲的麻辣火鍋店，使它起死回生 （父亲在世时，生意本来一落千丈，负债累累）。

除了夏家三姐妹的故事，〈我的爱如此麻辣〉其实是记载了夏如星和青梅竹马李浩山信件交换的种种心情。夏如星透过这些信件，与浩山分享着她生活上的所有点滴，包括她和姐姐们如何相遇和在一起的心得。虽然隔著萬水千山（浩山在马拉威当义工，夏如星则在香港），但浩山的信总为她带来温柔的慰藉，更让她领悟到人生其实可以很简单，只看个人如何对待各自的生活与目标。浩山曾对夏如星说，人与人的相识相遇，都是因缘聚合，而缘分是永不流逝的餐宴。他的这番话不止深深地烙印在夏如星的心里，更深深地感动了我。没错，如果我与你没有因缘，我们如何在这茫茫人海中相遇又相知呢？

It's been a while since I have read a Chinese novel; and even if I do read them I don't do a review on them because my main focus is on English novels. However I have to make an exception here simply because I loved this book so much! (Correction: I love all Amy Cheung's books because her writing is beautiful and poetic; and her stories always touches my heart.) For this English review, I will take a different approach from the Chinese in including the spoilers.

Through letter writing style, My So-Called Spicy Love (roughly translated) tells a story of a gal named Xia Ru Xing and her life after the death of her father. Her mother had died many years ago due to breast cancer and though her life with her father was simple and filled with hardship, but at least she is happy. After her father's passing, she is left with nothing but her father's spicy hotpot eatery. Not wanting to disappoint him and knowing that her father had a deep passion for his business, she decides to take over the business but first she has to find out the secret recipe for her father's famous spicy hotpot.

It is also during this time that she found out that her father actually had married two other women from overseas and had two daughters with them. Ru Xing decides to tell her two elder sisters about their father's death, after all the man whom they loved would no longer return. The two sisters met up at Ru Xing's place in Hong Kong since they lived in different countries (Taiwan and Szechuan in China), and they decide to work together for the eatery business.

Ru Xing has a childhood friend named Li Hao Shan. He is working as a volunteer at an orphanage in Malawi, Africa for about two years. Ru Xing and Hao Shan will write letters to each other to share about their life. Ru Xing always find comfort in his letters because he never fails to make her smile, even though the distance has brought them apart. Hao Shan also shares with her about his experience looking after the AIDS orphans, and Ru Xing finds herself she has a lot of things to learn from him, after all his experience in Malawi has helped him see things in a new light. Through him, Ru Xing also learns about fate and other things that made her think. However, the joy is a short-lived one as Ru Xing soon finds herself diagnosed with breast cancer. Will her last letter reach Hao Shan? And does Hao Shan has the chance to see her for the last time? Amy Cheung has left an open ending with these questions for the readers to find out for themselves.

If you ask me how I think of the ending, I'd say it would most likely be a sad ending. I got this verdict after reading most of Amy Cheung's previous work and having recognising her signatures to their endings. However, I hope this is not the case in this book because it'd be too sad to see this lovely couple being torn apart by distance and illness.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Welcome to another Monday morning!  Since last Monday was Labor Day, I chose not to labor on my blog, so this is a review of my reading for the last couple of weeks.

Books I finished:

The Passion of Alice, by Stephanie Grant

Shoot to Thrill, by PJ Tracy

Whisper to the Blood, by Dana Stabenow

The Midwife's Tale, by Gretchen Moran Laskas

(Review coming soon!)

Next on my literary horizon:

The Chalk Circle Man, by Fred Vargas

When strange, blue chalk circles start appearing overnight on the pavements of Paris, the press take up the story with amusement and psychiatrists trot out their theories. Adamsberg is alone in thinking this is not a game and far from amusing. He insists on being kept informed of new circles and the increasingly bizarre objects which they contain: empty beer cans, four trombones, a pigeon’s foot, four cigarette lighters, a badge proclaiming “I Love Elvis,” a hat, a doll’s head. Adamsberg senses the cruelty that lies behind these seemingly random occurrences. Soon a circle with decidedly less banal contents is discovered: the body of a woman with her throat savagely cut. Adamsberg knows that other murders will follow.  (from Goodreads)

One Day, by David Nichols

Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY. From the author of the massive bestseller STARTER FOR TEN.  (from Goodreads)

Bad Monkeys, by Matt Ruff

Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder.

She says she's a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil. She says she's working with the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons—aka "Bad Monkeys."
Her confession lands her in the jail's psychiatric wing and earns her countless hours of poking, probing, and questioning by a professional. But is Jane crazy or lying?
Or is she playing a whole different game altogether? (from Goodreads)

Have a wonderful reading week, everyone!

My Rainy Days (天使の恋)

Director: Yuri Kantake
Starring: Nozomi Sasaki, Shosuke Tanihara
Year Made: 2009
Language: Japanese (with Chinese/English subtitles)
Rating: NC-16 (Some Mature Content)




I was looking for some Taiwanese drama serial last week and I found this DVD by chance. Intrigued by the premise, I decided to buy it.

17-year-old Rio (starring Nozomi Sasaki) seems to have everything under her fingertips. She is beautiful and is popular in school and it is not a surprise most girls are envious of her. The truth is, she has a traumatic past and in order to forget the unhappiness and everything, she buried herself into making money and leading a luxurious life through her sugar daddy.

However, her life changes after her encounter with Kouki (Shosuke Tanihara), a lone history professor when she found out that their photos have been swapped by mistake since they shared the same family name. They agreed to meet to exchange their photos, and Rio is quickly attracted by his cool and calm demeanour.

Upon learning he is a history professor, Rio decides to ditch her glitzy life and vows to study hard under his supervision. On the other end, while Kuoki is slowly attracted by Rio's charm and her cheerful personality, the fact that he has brain tumour keeps him from getting closer to her. In fact, he is already counting down the days even before he had met her. So will their love beat the cruel state of reality, I suppose this is up to you to find out.

I have to confess there are several things crop up my mind after watching this show. First, I was quite concerned of the underlying message of teenage prostitution and suicide (the latter was told in a way that Rio's lesbian friend had jumped to her death after learning that Rio has chosen Kuoki over her) and it was to my dismay that these issues are not further explored. I understand that the main focus of this story is the romance part but here I am thinking that the young adult audience might take it the wrong way and think teenage prostitution and suicide are encouraged, and this is never meant to be.

Despite my above issue, still it is a good thing that Rio has changed to be more sensitive towards others and that she wanted to redeem herself after meeting Kuoki. In a nutshell, My Rainy Days is a sweet, poignant story that tells about love conquers everything despite anything. I also enjoyed the interactive between Rio and Kuoki as I could just feel their chemistry onscreen. Due to this, I will have to look out for Handsome Suit, as I understand both of them starred in this movie too.

This Week's Top Ten

Jillian over at Random Ramblings has chosen Books That Made You Cry as the topic of this week's Top Ten.  Anyone who knows me that I cry if the wind blows the wrong way, so this list should be pretty easy for me to create.  I'm going to try and stay with books that are legitimate tear jerkers, because I occasionally cry at things that no one else finds touching (like when Darth Vadar died in Return of the Jedi-yep, I'm that bad, though I was only 13 or something when it came out)

1.  The Time Traveller's Wife-Audrey Niffenegger
I think that this is one of the most touching love stories I have ever read.  Even though I knew in my heart what was going to happen, I just kept hoping I was wrong.  I actually cried harder at the end, when Clare was old.  It just seemed so much sadder to me.

2.  The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
There are so many tragic things that happened in this book.  I can't even imagine the shame that the main character must have felt, or the pain and confusion that Hassan felt first because of the brutal attack, and then because of the betrayal by his friend.

3.  Bridge to Terebithia-Katherine Patterson
This book was one of my favorite as a kid.  I've read it aloud to several of my classes, and I still cry every time I read the part where Leslie dies.  I think that reading this book was the first time I realized that children could die.

4.  The Notebook-Nicholas Sparks
This was the first Nicholas Sparks book that I read, and I expected all of them to be this touching.  Sadly, I haven't liked any of his other books.  They seem a little too sappy to me.  I was surprised, because this love story is so poignant, given the setting and structure of the novel.

5.  My Sister's Keeper-Jodi Picoult

This was the first book I read by Jodi Picoult, and it was the first book my teachers' book club read when we got started a few years ago.  I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.  This book made me angry and sad and frustrated, but mostly sad.

6.The Yearling-Marjorie Kinnan Rowlings
 Believe it or not, I read this book for the first time in college for a children's literature class.  I had heard of Ol' Yeller, of course, and had I known that this was a similar story I might have been prepared for what happened.  I was so angry at the boy's father-I say let that deer eat whatever he wants!

7.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-JK Rowling
Fred Weasly, that's all I'm sayin'

8.  Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe-Fannie Flagg
While the movie really downplays the love affair between Ruth and Idgie, the book makes it clear that Idgie is not just losing her best friend, but her lover-the love of her life.  Couple that with the sub-plot of Big George and Smokey Lonesome, and the mood is set for tearjerkiness.

9. The Joy Luck Club-Amy Tan
The matter of fact way that the tragedy of what happened in China to this family added to the horror that I felt.  Human beings should never be put in the position to have to make the kinds of decisions that this family had to make.

10.  The Secret Life of Bees-Sue Monk Kidd
Oh, Miss May...carrying the weight of the world, writing them and placing them in the chinks of the wall.  Just that image tears me up, never mind what happens later.

No, I didn't fall off the planet...

...it just took me forever to read the first book in Diana Gabaldon's epic Scottish time-travel series, Outlander.  While this is at least partly due to the fact that I have homework again for the first time since 2004, it may also have something to do with the breadth of the novel.  Outlander is nearly 700 pages of rather genre-defying goodness.

Outlander is part fantasy novel, part sci fi, part historical fiction, and all romance.  The story revolves around Claire Randall, an strong and independent spirit living with her husband in post-war England.  While on a second honeymoon in Scotland, she touches a singing boulder in a ring of standing stones and finds herself 200 years in the past.  There she is swept up into clan politics, a dangerous encounter with an English captain, and a love affair that leaves her breathless.

I love it when friends recommend books to me-especially when I enjoy them.  A very dear friend told me about this book, and I am happy to report to her that the story is everything she said it would be.  First of all, the real main character of this book is the Scottish countryside.  Amazingly, Gabaldon had never been to Scotland when she wrote the first book in the series.  Her research skills must rock, because I would never have guessed that she was not a frequent visitor.  She also does an excellent job describing the frustration and ambivalence that characterizes Claire's arrival and subsequent decision to fall in love with Jamie, a charming outlaw who also happens to be a laird with his own lands.

It is hard to describe this book without making it sound like a glorified Gothic romance novel.  But as mentioned above, this book seriously defies definition.  So instead of trying to do it's multi-faceted, 600+ page story justice here, I'm going to tell you to just read it, already!  There's history enough for lovers of historical fiction, there's the whole time-travel thing for the fantasy/sci fi geeks out there, and there is a good old fashioned love story with a new-fangled twist for the romantics out there.  But be prepared-Outlander is but the first in a series of epic novels about Claire and Jamie-none less than 600 pages that I can see.  You're gonna want them all.

Curious Wine, Katherine V Forrest

I imagine that getting a lesbian love story published in 1983 must have been quite a chore.  After all, you couldn't really even talk about being a lesbian in 1983.  Writing a book about a lesbian affair, especially one with as much graphic sexuality as Curious Wine, seems pretty courageous.  So let's take a moment to honor that courage...ok, moment over...let's begin...

Curious Wine is the story of Diana and Lane, two women discovering they love women over a long weekend at a cabin in Lake Tahoe.  Drawn together by fate and irresistible desire, and unbeknownst to anyone else, they create a small lesbian oasis in the room they share.  Surrounding these two are a group of women, mostly in their 40s, in varying states of relationship with men.

The fact that this book was published in 1983 shows in the way that the characters relate to each other.  I had to think of the book the same way I think about an exhibit in a museum.  Dated, an object from another time to examine and study.  For a third wave feminist such as myself, it was hard to feel a kinship with any of the women, defined as they are by their relationships (or lack of relationships) with men.  There was Liz, the bitter divorcee; Madge, the "progressive" woman in an open marriage, though only her husband ever dabbled;  Chris, the spinster; and Viviane, who decided to forgo staying at the cabin with the rest of the women so she could stay in town with her boyfriend.  The main characters were equally stereotypical.  Diana had just come out of a bad break-up, a relationship which followed a bad marriage.  In trying to deny her lesbian feelings, she picks up a man in a bar who ends up assaulting her, thereby driving her into the arms of a woman.  Lane had briefly had a wonderful relationship with a man, only to be devastated when he died in Viet Nam.  She then spent the next several years being rather promiscuous, which I think the author wanted us to perceive as forward thinking and strong on her part, but which came off as desperate.  At one point in the book the women play some encounter games, the kind popular in the 1970s, and all of the negative female stereotypes of competition, jealousy, and apologizing for having ideas and opinions comes out clearly.  Maybe the author herself was struggling with how to be a woman in the age of the ERA-if so, her struggle is evident in her portrayal of these women.

As a lesbian myself, I hoped to feel some kinship with the two woman-loving women in the book.  I did feel a connection with Lane's character, a take-charge lawyer who refuses to be drawn into the other women's drama during the encounter games.  Lane was the character most like me.  As a teen and young adult she had intense feelings towards other girls, but didn't recognize them for what they were, or suppressed them out of guilt and fear about being a lesbian.  I didn't recognize my own first crushes for what they were, either, though I was saddled with WAY less guilt and shame coming out in 2000.  Sadly, that is where any identification I felt with the characters ended.  Do I think that trying to run away from your same-sex feelings and hiding from the world is historically accurate?  Of course.  I just don't think that this novel does a great job of making the reader feel like they are part of the story, and therefore experiencing the past in a way that speaks to the now.  Anyone who has read Stone Butch Blues or Ruby Fruit Jungle has had that experience.  This novel just didn't rise to that level.

I looked up this author before writing this post, and she has written many books and won numerous awards from gay literary organizations.  I suppose there is something to be said for reading Curious Wine as a primary source for the development of feminism and gay identified literature.  In that sense, it is very much like a museum exhibit-you'll learn something about the past, but in such a way that you can't really touch it.

The Love Letter by Cathleen Schine

ISBN-13: 9780312426989
Publisher: Picador
Published: May 2007
257 pgs

Dear Goat,

How does one fall in love? Do you trip? Do you stumble, lose your balance and drop to the sidewalk, graze your knee, graze your heart? Do you crash to the stony ground? Is there a precipice, from which you float, over the edge, forever?

I know I'm in love when I see you, I know when I long to see you. Not a muscle has moved. Leaves hang unruffled by any breeze. The air is still. I have fallen in love without taking a step. When did this happen? I haven't even blinked.

I'm on fire. Is that too banal for you? It's not, you know. You'll see. It's what happens. It's what matters. I'm on fire.
...

As ever,
Ram

Helen MacFarquhar, a 42 year-old divorcée and a bookseller, stumbled upon the above anonymous love letter when she was sorting through her pile of mails one day (there are more to the letter in which I did not post). Because the letter is written with such longing and passion, she was intrigued by the mystery surrounding it and even wondered if a secret admirer had sent her this letter. She could think of no one initially because she knew almost everyone in town; moreover she liked flirting around and coaxing her patrons into buying books from her.

It became part of her obsession to an extent that whenever someone speaks to her in everyday terms, she would start to imagine and wondered what if that person is the one who had penned that letter. Until a day, twenty-year-old Johnny Howell, a college student and her part-time assistant picked up this letter when she had asked him to fetch a bottle of wine and thought it was from her and had meant for him to read it.

As if being struck by cupid, he gradually fell in love with her from then onwards. On the other hand, Helen thought he was the one and through a series of misunderstandings, they consummate and began their secret affair. However, their relationship became a chore as they had to stay in low profile but we all know that one could not always hide the truth forever. Helen was aware of this too, thus she had decided to come clean with her mother, Lillian when she and Helen's grandmother decided to spend some time in Helen's house. Plus, Helen's eleven-year-old daughter Emily was also coming home from camp vacation.

But before Helen disclosed her secret to Lillian, to her surprise she discovered a shocking secret about her mother that in years to come, she would think about Lillian's secret (this is where the twist comes in) and how that love letter will always remind her about her affair with Johnny.

I encountered a few surprises myself while reading The Love Letter. First, it was a good surprise when I came upon this book at a booksale. I became intrigued with the blurb so I bought it, not knowing that Helen's secret lover is in fact a twenty-year-old boy (the blurb stated "Helen is swept up in a fiercely tender affair with a thoroughly unsuitable suitor"). I should have guessed it but I was so caught up with the thrill of finding more bargain books, haha.

The Love Letter is a forbidden love story mixed in with a twist. Helen is one captivating character: she is independent, opinionated, bossy and flirtatious and at the same time, she is vulnerable too. I have to confess her character bothered me a little. Aside from this and the age difference being the main issue (no matter how passionately in love she and Johnny are, somehow I still cannot picture them being lovers but more like mother and son), the other thing is Helen frequent usage of the 'F' word irked me at times (perhaps it is her style of venting her frustrations?), but I thought this diminish the overall effect of the book.

I can't think of anything to say about Johnny though. Perhaps he is indeed in love with Helen, after all. I wonder if he would still think of her after he and Helen moved on their own life. Would he look back at the relationship the way Helen did? Why Helen look back of her past is natural and made you think about the whole stuff if you get to the end of the story, in which I can't tell you as it is yet another surprise that had totally thrown me off-guard. I do not know if I should pity Helen or just laugh over the whole episode, but I have to say the suspense definitely keep me engrossed if not the forbidden affair.

When Twilight Burns

ISBN-13: 9780451224750
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: August 2008
354pp

First sentence: Victoria opened her eyes.

Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy returns to London after her taut encounter and an attack with vampire Beauregard. Though she has her two vis bullae to thank for from being turned to an undead, she still feels the uncertainty as there is vampire blood flowing in her veins after all.

To complicate things, now she is unable to detect the vampires with her heightened senses and to make things worse, some vampires appear to be stalking the streets of London during the daylight and Victoria is held as a suspect behind all these mysterious attacks.

Besides fighting against the darkness in herself, she is also torn between Sebastian Vioget, the great grandson of Beauregard but is now taking his role as a Venator, and Maximilian Pesaro, an ex-Venator who had lost his power in order to break the control of vampire queen, Lilith.

I would say this instalment is focused more on Victoria fighting with her inner self, dealing with her emotional issues and her mixed feelings towards Sebastian and Max than the action scenes as compared to the other instalments. However, readers would be thrilled to read more of Lilith in this instalment as she is back into her actions and Victoria will come face to face with her again.

Colleen Gleason has once again succeeded in captivating her readers in When Twilight Burns with fine woven plots and compelling characters that will definitely leave them hunger for more. Be sure to look out for the next instalment As Shadows Fade to be released in March 2009.

Other Blogs' reviews:

Musings of a Bookish Kitty (Guest Appearance: Colleen Gleason)

Stainless Steel Droppings

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic

The Way I See It

(Let me know if I have missed your review.)

The Bleeding Dusk

ISBN-13: 9780451223265
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: February 2008
353pp
Series: Gardella Vampire Chronicles Series #3

First sentence: The lair of the Queen of the Vampires was tucked away in the snowy mountain range of Muntii Fagaras.

**Consists of some minor spoilers**

In this third instalment of Colleen Gleason's The Gardella Vampires Chronicles, the heroine, Victoria Gardella Grantworth de Lacy inherited the title and responsibility of Illa Gardella, in which she will lead the team of Venators to fight off the undead.

Aside from trying her best to wipe out the vampires breed, she also learns that the demon Akvan is plotting to break through the Door of the Alchemists to attain something valuable as he believes this will further strengthen his power. Although she knows she can rely on Maximilian, her other Venator partner for this task, she is also aware that he is still under Lilith, the Vampire Queen's control as he had been bitten by her some time ago. Though Lilith has yet to do or summon anything from him, all the Venators knew that in a way, Max still belongs to her. However, there is a way he could break free of her control but that also means he will lose all his power as a Venator.

Meanwhile, Victoria is still skeptical about Sebastian Vioget, since she is not sure if she could trust him entirely; after all he is the great grandson of Beauregard who happens to be a vampire. And now, it is up to Victoria, Maximilian and Sebastian to stop Akvan. But whether or not if they are able to do so is what everyone wonders, given the circumstances of their complicated feelings towards one another.

Having read and enjoyed the previous two instalments, I was very eager to pick up this book because I just could not wait to find out what would happen next. There are a lot of conflicts in this instalment; and though it seems there are not as many action scenes as compared to the previous book, here I find it leans more towards the emotional part. The relations between Victoria, Maximilian and Sebastian are getting more complicated. Also, it is in this book that I get to see a whole new light of Maximilian and Sebastian.

Well, what can I say? This is one irresistible historical paranormal series that got me hooked since the first instalment, and it is getting more intense as I read further. It the the plots, and most of all, the characters that make this series an exciting read. And it goes without saying that I will be reading When Twilight Burns next!

Other reviews:

Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Stainless Steel Droppings

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic

(Let me know if I have missed your review!)

Rises the Night

ISBN-13: 9780451221469
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: June 2007
343pp
Series: Gardella Vampire Chronicles Series #2

This second instalment picks up right after the end of the previous instalment. Victoria Gardella is still recovering from the shock of the tragedy that happened so quickly that had left her numbed, but she knows she could not afford to waste more time in dwelling too much of the past for she must continue to fight against the evil as what every Venator should do.

Here, she meets up with Sebastian Vioget once again by chance. Though she is still not sure if she could trust him entirely, she could feel there is a slight mutual attraction lingering between them. But of course she would not allow such minor issue to take over her mind, since she has learned that a major tragedy is going to descend upon earth if she and other Venators could not stop it in time. With an indestructible object known as Akvan's Obelisk, it is a large spearlike stone made from obsidian and as legend states, once it is activated, it gives a vampire or a demon capabilities to call on and control the souls of the dead. And if that happens, the evil will not be defeated for no one would be able to fight an army of that strength and number.

Victoria travels to Italy in the hope of gaining this powerful artifact before Nedas, the son of the Vampire Queen activates it. During her stay there, she has acquired a few information on the formation of The Tutela, an ancient secret society whereby members protect and provide services to the vampires; one such service is bringing the mortals to the undead for their pleasure and nourishment in exchange for immortality.

Besides watching out for the artifact, the vampires and members of The Tutela, Victoria also shows her vulnerable side when faced with several emotional issues such as questions of trust, betrayal and the meaning and act of sacrifice.

Once again, Colleen Gleason has weaved an intrigue, intense and fast-paced story in Rises the Night. Do not expect any cliché in this story as it is filled with suspense, not to mention a few twists and turns along the way. Besides having more action scenes in this second instalment, it is also darker and very emotional intense. I have to admit I am hooked to this series because they are getting better and better; another reason is each instalment always ends with a cliff-hanger so I cannot wait to find out what would happen next.

Other reviews:

Bold.Blue.Adventure

Hello, My Name is Alice

Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Stainless Steel Droppings

Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic

The Rest Falls Away

ISBN-13: 9780451220073
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: January 2007
360pp
Series: The Gardella Vampire Chronicles




I love reading about vampires. There is just something mystique and attractive about them which I could not really explain. Besides being a fan of urban fantasy genre, another reason I picked up this series is due to the historical setting. I just love reading anything Regency.

Through generations, selected members of the Gardella family are chosen to continue the family legacy of vampire slaying. This time, the latest member to take up this role is Victoria Gardella. Besides having to behave like a demure young lady like every lady suppose to be, she has to keep her other self a secret from everyone else except Aunt Eustacia, a former Venator; and she acts as Victoria's guide when vampire slaying is concerned. Maximilian Pesaro is another vampire executioner but Victoria's personality seems to clashes with his as both have a streak of stubborness in them. Despite this, they made a good team and both vowed to locate the Book of Antwartha before Lilith, the Queen of vampires get ahold of it and create havoc to earth.

Although Victoria's heart is into vampire slaying, but deep inside she yearns for a marriage with Phillip de Lacy, Marquess of Rockley. Thus, when Phillip finally asks her to marry him, she is thrilled but she wonders how on earth she is supposed to keep this secret from him, now that they are to live together under the same roof.

I enjoyed reading this book so much that I am going to jump into the next instalment right after this. Victoria Gardella is one extraordinary heroine; I liked her attitude and also I find it entertaining regarding her exchanges with Max, Phillip and even Sebastian Vioget, a rather mysterious man who seems to have his own agenda. I was also amused by Victoria's mother and her two lady friends' witty behaviours as they fuss over Victoria's happiness like overly protective mother hens. There are a lot of action scenes but fans of romance genre will not be disappointed with this book as there is a fair share of romance element in it too. Needless to say, Colleen Gleason is one of my favourite authors now and I will definitely look out for her future releases.

Other reviews:
Book-a-Rama
Bookgirl's Nightstand
Bold.Blue.Adventure

Hello, My Name is Alice

Hey Lady! Whatcha Readin'?
Musings of a Bookish Kitty
Reading Adventures
Stainless Steel Droppings (Carl's interview with Colleen Gleason)
Stephanie's Confessions of a Book-a-holic