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 One summer shortly after the end of the war, Dr. Faraday is called to Hundreds, the Ayres family mansion, to tend the family’s maid. Hundreds has faded drastically from when he knew it as a boy. Land is being sold off to pay debts, the house is falling apart, and the family have become largely recluses. Dr. Faraday somehow finds himself entwined with this peculiar family despite their differences in status, and shortly realizes that something more is going on than what he had imagined.
I love Sarah Waters, and went into this book with a great deal of expectations. It proved to be very different from her previous books but no less fascinating. Even without the jacket cover telling me so, I could tell this was a post-war Britain. It feels very much like a society in flux, and there’s always the mention of the forthcoming National Health Service to give a hint. Dr. Faraday is a product of this changing culture, having fairly low origins in Warwickshire but having attended some of the best colleges to attain his profession. Yet he still hides his Warwickshire accent because it’s low class. (Yes, this still happens, my own husband consciously changed his accent because it was “low class” and he was attending schools where he was looked down on for it. In some respects Britain hasn’t changed at all.) The Ayres family is completely unable to keep up their house and their land, and they even sell some of it to the county council for housing nearly on their doorstep. This is a period of change, and that change resonates throughout the book.
Beyond that, this book is absolutely creepy. I know we’re meant to wonder if the family is actually insane or if it’s a ghost story, but it totally felt like a ghost story to me. It creeped me out like one, and as I was reading it and it got dark I almost had to stop because I was sure something was going to start tapping in the wall. I was convinced that Dr. Faraday was just being rational because he had to be as a doctor, not because the family were actually insane, but it’s certainly notable that most of the ghost incidents are told through the Ayres family, and the narrator doesn’t witness them himself. Waters completely pulls off the atmosphere of suspense and even though I was getting steadily more freaked out by the book, I didn’t want to put it down. I read it in just one day.
The Little Stranger has definitely not marred my love for Sarah Waters’ work and now I am more determined than ever to get to the last two books of hers that I have to read. Highly recommended.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 Jung Chang’s grandmother, Yu-fang, was a member of the last generation of Chinese women to have her feet bound. Her feet were bound so late, in fact, that her younger sister didn’t have to endure the painful process at all. Moreover, she was beautiful, and her father decided that for her to be a concubine to a rich man was better than for her to be a wife to a poor man, and as a result she hardly knew her first “husband” even though she gave him a daughter. That daughter, born Bao Qin but later named De-hong by Yu-fang’s second husband Dr. Xia, was Jung’s mother, and one of the first to become a communist. Jung herself lived through both the idealization of Chairman Mao and was intelligent enough to eventually realize that Communist China was not the paradise that she had been promised her entire life, and used her study of English to finally leave the country.
This book was absolutely fascinating. I was completely spellbound by it. Chinese society changed so much over this period of years. Just considering the difference between the early life of Jung’s grandmother and her own youth was immeasurably vast. I had never learned about any of this before, and I found the history fascinating. I really want to learn more now and I am definitely planning on seeking out some history on 20th century China.
This is a memoir, though, and it was the story of these women that really cemented my love for the entire book. I was incredibly impressed by how intelligent and strong they all were. From Yu-fang’s ingenuity in kidnapping her daughter away from her first husband’s vindictive wife to Jung’s mother’s struggles with a husband that put communism before his family, these women took the abuse and rolled with it, keeping their integrity and honor and love for one another intact through almost insurmountable hardships. Moreover, Jung’s parents must have been complicit in some of the horrid things that the communist regime supported – we know her father executed people, she says so – yet they too realize what they’ve done is wrong. The second half of the book is mainly Jung’s own memoir, and I found it fascinating that despite all the hardships communism had dealt her family that she still was completely in the thrall of Chairman Mao. She didn’t know about them, of course, but it seems inconceivable to me that anyone could believe his lies. It’s hard to realize that these were the only words she ever heard, and thus she had no choice. It’s amazing that she eventually realized that she wanted to get out of China, let alone that she accomplished it.
This book is long, but I found the entire thing completely enthralling. The writing is plain and there is a lot of history info-dumping, but it’s such a compelling story that I managed to read half of it (350 pages) in a single day. I can’t recommend Wild Swans enough. I highly recommend this, and it would be a great choice for the Women Unbound challenge, which is what I read it for. I also have to thank Eva, because without her recommendation I might never have discovered it!
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 This is book eight in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I am reading these books in part for the challenge hosted over at Beth Fish Reads.
After the explosive disaster that was the vampire summit, Sookie needs some time to recover. But she’s still worried about her missing boyfriend, Quinn, and fretting over the many changes in the vampire world. Now that Sophie-Anne is seriously injured and has lost her closest bodyguard, the vampire state of Louisiana is virtually up for grabs. The were world isn’t easy, either, with someone pitting the two factions against one another. Sookie’s going to be dealing with a lot of changes and very soon.
This installment of the Sookie series possibly has the least amount of cohesive plot ever. A lot of things are happening, but there isn’t necessarily one overarching point to it all. A lot of this book is Sookie going about her life and coping with what’s happened. I didn’t mind as much, but it was definitely a slower read than previous Sookie books because I wasn’t necessarily racing to find out what happened next. The end, however, has made me really want to pick up the current last book in the series, the ninth one, to see what happens there.
My favorite part of this one was definitely the relationship between Sookie and Eric. Like most people who read these books, I have a huge soft spot for Eric. Ever since he and Sookie were together in the fourth book, I have decided that I want him and Sookie to give it a shot, even if it wouldn’t work. I liked that he had something of a presence here and that he’s remembering what happened between them. I also thought their blood bond was interesting, and I am wondering if Sookie’s new-found ability to feel his emotions will have repercussions for the rest of the series.
Even though From Dead to Worse was somewhat lacking in the solid plot department, it still had a lot of action and was a fun read. So far, I can still recommend the series all the way.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 This is book seven in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I’m reading these in part for the challenge hosted over at Beth Fish Reads.
Sookie’s telepathic skills are about to come in handy for the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne. The vampires are having a summit and Sophie-Anne wants to know what the humans are thinking. Sookie mostly wants time to get over her traitorous ex, Bill, and get used to her new relationship with were-tiger Quinn, but she accepts Sophie-Anne’s offer. She’ll be generously paid and she’s curious. Vampire politics are complicated, though, and soon Sookie finds herself in a far bigger mess than she’d ever expected.
I’m still very much enjoying this series. Quite a bit happens in All Together Dead, keeping my attention very effectively. At the beginning, there is quite a bit of happening in Sookie’s normal life – her brother gets married to were-panther Crystal, for example, and Sookie has a new roommate in Amelia Broadway, witch. Her former friend Arlene bonds with the Fellowship of the Sun and Sookie finally gets a little closer to Quinn and develops some hope for their relationship. Her world is certainly never boring, but the vampire summit is clearly the high point of this book. As it should be, because this is really what develops the events in the entire supernatural world.
I really liked Sookie’s developing relationships. In the last book I thought I was fond of Quinn, but I’m not sure here. He’s been hiding things from Sookie and I’m not sure I like that. I am really enjoying the way her relationship is going with Eric though. It’s always interesting to see where each book goes. As always, Sookie herself is definitely the attraction for this series. She’s a sweet, honest, and genuinely interesting character and it’s nice to have a main character that feels so familiar over the course of the series.
As I’ve said in possibly every review so far, I’m recommending this series and looking forward to reading more.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 This is a collection of short stories and poems that Neil Gaiman has either written for publication elsewhere or had lying around for other reasons and collected in this volume. The stories are extremely varied, many are dark and involve magic (as one might expect), and there are even a few fairy tale retellings. A few of the stories pay homage to other writers and the explanations for these are given in the introduction, which is extremely helpful as one goes on.
I found this collection to be a bit of a mixed bag. I really enjoyed a lot of the stories, but I’m not a huge fan of poetry, and these didn’t strike me as particularly good. This may just be my own personal defect, but I enjoyed the prose short stories much more. I found myself at a disadvantage occasionally because I hadn’t heard of the author Gaiman was imitating or honoring, but for the most part these were interesting selections.
I haven’t read Gaiman in a while and I was surprised by how sexual some of his stories were, too. One was particularly explicit, describing virtually everything that goes on in a bedroom scene, and I hadn’t really expected that at all. Another one is about a man obsessed with finding a girl photographed naked in a magazine, always aged nineteen no matter when the pictures appear. I didn’t remember if this was typical of his work or if he’d just made exceptions here. A lot of the stories were creepy and had dark or ambiguous endings. As I was going along, I thought this would be perfect for the RIP challenge, even though it’s a long time until the next one.
I don’t really have any deep thoughts about this collection, but I think it speaks volumes that while I normally take forever to read short story collections (I’ve had a different one going for a couple of weeks), I finished this one in a couple of days. The stories are often very short, two to three pages, and Gaiman writes well. The stories go oddly well together, often picking up on themes, like magicians’ magic (hence smoke and mirrors) and using various bits of mythology to make his reader think.
Overall, Smoke and Mirrors is recommended, especially if you enjoy short stories and creepier fantasy.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 Valentine Roncalli loves her work with her grandmother, making handmade bridal shoes. The Angelini shoe company has been in business since Valentine’s great-grandfather came over from Italy, but now it’s in trouble. Valentine’s family is putting pressure on her Gram to retire, and Valentine realizes at her sister’s wedding that without the shoe company, her life is at a stalemate. She has ambitions to design shoes, not just use her great-grandfather’s patterns, but without a company, she would have nowhere to go, and she is alone. Valentine meets handsome restaurant owner Roman Falconi in an embarrassing, accidental way, but soon their romance takes off. The only trouble is, how is she to maintain a relationship with a busy man while trying to save her family’s shoe company at the same time?
I will admit that I initially found this book a challenge to get into. The lush descriptions of the wedding, of Valentine’s work, and her laments about her state in life were all well-written, but to be honest isn’t really what I look for when I read. And her descriptions of her huge Italian family reminded me all too much of mine, who started nagging me about boyfriends when I was in my teens, and didn’t stop until I actually had a man to show them, despite my relative youth. Then Valentine met Roman, things perked up, and I got involved in the story and became a champion of her cause.
What I appreciated most about this book was that Valentine is a very independent woman. She starts off worrying about her situation and unsure of how to fix it, but as the book goes on, she grows and learns from her experiences. She figures out what she has to do and relies on her strengths, not those of anyone else, to accomplish everything she needs to do. Her worldview is totally changed, and she emerges an even more interesting person than before. She is definitely a woman to emulate. While I didn’t always like where the story went, I loved Valentine’s approach to her life as well as her determination and her passion.
The romance is a fairly decent portion of the book and, I felt, was appropriate to Valentine’s situation. She has to make choices in regard to Roman and her working life and I felt that it was very appropriate to what a woman so absorbed in her job would struggle with. I wouldn’t really describe this book as a love story, but the romance is a fairly nice and real complement to Valentine’s struggle with the shoe company.
While I liked this book, it still didn’t really feel like my type of book. I enjoyed it, but the constant focus on shoes and designers wore on me by the end. Yes, I am aware that this is the premise, but I was far more interested in the characters. I almost wanted pictures so I could at least envision what the heck she was doing in her workshop. The many descriptions were nicely written, but bogged the book down for me. I didn’t ever really feel compelled to go back to it after I’d put it down. I think, perhaps, that this genre is just not for me, and while I can see the appeal for others in the reality, sweetness, and laughter contained in Very Valentine, it didn’t tick all the boxes for me.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from the library.
 Sookie’s cousin Hadley has died and Sookie needs to go to New Orleans and sort out her apartment. First, however, Sookie begins to date were-tiger Quinn and learns that someone doesn’t want her investigating Hadley’s apartment. Her life is threatened more than once, and once again Sookie has to wonder who is out to get her this time.
I feel like my every review for a book in this series is the same. Again, I really enjoyed Definitely Dead. I haven’t noticed any real dip in quality, although I’m assuming it will happen eventually. Sookie’s suitors are diminishing in number. She gets rid of two of them permanently and she makes a discovery about a third in this book that really had me hurting for her. After six books, it’s so easy to care about Sookie, and it makes her struggles harder but more engaging reading.
I did enjoy the character of Quinn, though, and I was glad Sookie chose someone to actually date. The way he treats her in this book is so sweet and a nice contrast to the men’s previous treatment of her.
I didn’t like that there was a short story between this book and the last one. It wasn’t really necessary to read it, but I did feel lost as Sookie mentioned various things that had happened and I’d missed. I thought at first that I was on the wrong book before I realized it was a novella that I can’t get over here unless I buy the collection of them in hardcover. I understand why they do that sort of thing, but I prefer to be able to go from book to book without getting confused.
I’m eagerly awaiting the acquisition of book seven from my library now. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Sookie next. I am really enjoying this series and I anticipate this challenge will be one I am actually capable of completing.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from the library.
 Francis Evelyn “Daisy” Maynard was left an extremely wealthy heiress when, as a toddler, her father died without having any sons, and her grandfather took a liking to her and gave her his fortune. As a result, Daisy was bound to be in demand in society, and her beauty and vivacious personality merely sealed the deal. Despite an offer from Queen Victoria’s youngest son, Daisy married Lord Greville, heir to the Earl of Warwick, and began a high profile life, sensational not only for the many and passionate affairs she had with some of the most prominent men of the day, but also for her political and social involvement.
I knew I wanted to learn more about Daisy when I visited Warwick Castle and saw the exhibit given over to her. The rooms are as they would have been when she gave a house party in the 1890’s. There are wax statues, eerily realistic, of Daisy, her husband, and many guests, among them the Prince of Wales at the time, later Edward VII. The little blurbs gave out some information, but not enough for me, and this book very satisfactorily filled the gap. With very effective use of original letters, newpapers, and other primary sources, Anand writes knowledgeably and compassionately about Daisy Warwick without judging her for her many infidelities.
The book is split into roughly two sections, as Daisy’s life probably was. The first half is mainly devoted to her childhood, marriage, affairs, and children, with some detail of her many humanitarian activities shared throughout. Daisy’s letters to her lovers as excerpted here are fascinating and there is enough period detail given for us to realize that while she seems promiscuous to us, she wasn’t remarked on as that spectacular in her class. It seems that everyone was having affair after affair, and she must have thought that this was normal, although I was a little sad that what seemed like a budding love story with her husband quickly fizzled on their marriage. This part is very interesting for its picture of the aristocracy during Daisy’s younger life and for her relationships with the men, one of whom in particular it seems she genuinely loved.
With the first World War, everything changed, and Daisy changed with the times. She became a socialist and an activist for both the socialist party in Britain and the Labour party, which was emerging as a force at the time. She had a curious juxtaposition between her life as an aristocrat and her campaigns for worker’s rights, her work to build schools and encourage education, and so on. She even campaigned to be an MP. This is a fascinating picture of a Britain that was changing hugely. Not only were heirs to great families dying off, leading to more land for more people, but ideology itself was changing. Daisy got married in a church in a huge ceremony, whereas her youngest daughter was married in a registry office, which had become perfectly appropriate for a countess’s daughter over the years.
I found this book to be a fascinating picture of both a woman who, while firmly living in her own social class, strove to do more for the world and of a changing Britain at the turn of the century and beyond. Very highly recommended. And Daisy would be a fantastic choice for the Women Unbound challenge, which I’m counting it for.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 This collection of short stories introduces Bertie Wooster, a young somewhat foolish gentleman dependant on his aunt for money, and his gentleman’s gentleman, Jeeves. Jeeves is incredibly clever and throughout these stories manages to solve every predicament that Bertie finds himself in, often with some benefit to himself. These stories range from how Jeeves was hired by Bertie to a story written in Jeeves’s own voice.
I have often heard the name P.G. Wodehouse come up in terms of comic writing. Jeeves and Wooster are a comfort read for many. These stories are indeed light and funny. There is a lot of British slang, but it’s nothing that makes the story hard to understand if you’re familiar with British culture in what seems to be the early 20th century.
The stories get predictable after a while. One of Bertie’s friends, or Bertie himself, gets into trouble, and Jeeves is called upon to work his magic and save the day. Often Bertie is defying Jeeves in some way, by growing a moustache or wearing a strange tie or ordering shirts Jeeves doesn’t think are appropriate. In the end, Jeeves always gets his way, and often extra money, too, adding to the comic value. Their predictability doesn’t lessen them, but it certainly makes me realize why these are comfort reads. They’re funny, but there is no suspense or real surprise involved.
I’d be remiss in this review if I didn’t mention the TV show Jeeves and Wooster. Having now read this little book, and eager to read more, I made an effort to also watch the show. If you’re familiar with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, Wooster and Jeeves respectably, it’s amazing how well they fit the characters. When I started reading this book, I’d never actually seen the show, but I could still envision each of them in their respective role in the book. When I watched the show I realized I had been picturing them in the precise way that they played the parts. The stories are still recognizable on screen, if often combined to make an hour-long episode
I can recommend both this book, Carry on, Jeeves, (as well as the other books) and the TV show if you like light, slightly over-the-top British humor. I definitely enjoyed them both.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
 With a careful touch of humor and her own personal subjectivity, author Isabel Allende takes her readers on a tour of the Chile of her childhood, the Chile that she knew for the earliest years of her life. This memoir reads as a meandering journey throughout the history of Allende’s family and her own girlhood, when she became a feminist before she even knew what a feminist was. Overall, the book reads like an enchanting conversation about a foreign country and a family that never ceases to be interesting and informative.
Isabel Allende has been one of my favorite authors since I read Daughter of Fortune in high school, an instant favorite with me. I have since read a number of her works, most recently The Sum of Our Days, her latest memoir. I was really looking forward to this book and I wasn’t at all disappointed. An account of her earlier life mixed with a history of Chile from her perspective, it’s both interesting from a historical and a human interest point of view. I knew very little about Chile, and I was fascinated by her accounts of the people she knew and the character of the nation. She does say that everything she writes is completely subjective, but this is a memoir, so it’s perfectly acceptable. She also has some interesting reflections on memoirs; everyone remembers everything differently, and she writes that she cannot help but inject her own nostalgia and feelings into her recollections of the past.
Allende as a girl is charming and fascinating. I loved that she said she was a feminist before she knew what one was. Her desire to be independent, and not subservient to a man, outlasted the period when she was indeed like that. Her account of her own adolescence is hilarious. She gives her own family a magic touch, writing about ghosts and spirits, and while part of me rejects that because it doesn’t match my own beliefs about the world, the other part of me was enchanted by her stories. The House of the Spirits is one of her books that I haven’t yet read and this immediately made me want to read it, as it’s based on her family.
Her history of Chile includes a small measure of politics and some observations about the fate of nations, particularly during her period as an exile. She contrasts her own Chilean attitudes with those of the people in the places she’s lived throughout exile, as well as those of modern Chileans. While her censure of the American government for uprooting her cousin Salvador Allende is clear, it’s also clear that she still manages to love her adopted country. This is an interesting juxtaposition of attitudes and makes something that could have been offensive into an interesting section of the text that makes her readers think.
I really enjoyed My Invented Country. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys memoirs.
This is my first read for the Women Unbound challenge.
I am an Amazon Associate. I borrowed this book from my local library.
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