In my mailbox

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Sunday, October 17, 2010

“In my mailbox” is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren in which people share the books that they have acquired that week.

Once again, this is a fortnightly edition for me, thanks to a very busy weekend last week.  I have a feeling this is not going to be good news for the TBR pile, particularly as the cold weather has evidently triggered my winter hibernation mode, making me keep falling asleep on the train to and from work and hence nearly eliminating my reading time.  To add to that, my two current reads are both quite chunky and so my paltry reading efforts aren’t translating into removing books from the pile at the moment.

Hopefully in the coming week I’ll be able to make better progress.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

From BookMooch:

Gifts:

Books for review:

Books bought brand new (yes, I actually purchased a new book from a real shop):

So, in summary:

Books off the TBR pile this fortnight – 2 (oh, the shame)

Books on the TBR pile this fortnight – 11

Change – +9

TBR pile stands at – 523 books

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Review: ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ by Brian Selznick

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Sunday, October 17, 2010

Title: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Author: Brian Selznick

Published: Scholastic, 2007, pp. 533

Genre: Young adult historical fiction

Blurb: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity.  But when his world suddenly interlocks — like the gears of the clocks he keeps — with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life and his most precious secrets are put in jeopardy.  A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender and spellbinding mystery.

When, where and why: I was given this book recently as a preset (thank you, Dave and Annie).  I decided to read it now because both of my main reads are quite long and involved and I wanted the satisfaction of finishing something.  This book seemed just the thing for a quiet read before bed.

What I thought: This book is unique among my reading this year in that the story is told through words and pictures.  By that, I don’t mean that the book has illustrations which accompany the text, but that it has pages and pages of beautiful drawings which tell the story without the need for words at all.  I know next to nothing about art, but these are undoubtedly excellent illustrations.  They not only further the story in an interesting and engaging way, but they are also full of emotion.  How Brian Selznick manages to convey so much with just a pencil is completely beyond me.

The story itself is basic, yet charming and endearing.  The writing style is pared down and simple, but I found that this highlights the intricate pictures by the contrast between the two, and while the text is necessary to convey dialogue and other aspects which cannot be portrayed in drawings, it is the illustrations which are undoubtedly the star of this lovely book.  I highly recommend this to anyone looking to spend an hour with a quick, enjoyable read that is guaranteed to make you smile.

Where this book goes: This book is staying with me, definitely.  It’s one that would be easy to pick up again when I want something relaxing to read.

Tea talk: This book was so short that I didn’t have time for tea while I read it.  I put the kettle on to boil, started reading, and by the time I remembered the tea I had finished the book.  I have learned my lesson and in future will sort out my brew before settling down with a book which looks as though it might absorb all my attention.

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Review: ‘Mary Anne’ by Daphne du Maurier

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Thursday, October 7, 2010

Title: Mary Anne

Author: Daphne du Maurier

Published: Pan, 1979, pp. 381

Genre: Historical fiction

Blurb: In the glittering, corrupt world of Regency London, Mary Anne Clarke had beauty, brains and wit — but no money.  Spurred on by the demands of a drunken husband, a wastrel brother and four children, she chose an exacting profession, aimed for the top — and soon became the mistress of the Duke of York.  For her family she raised a fortune by selling military commissions.  The scandal rocked the country from palace to Parliament.  The Duke was disgraced, the Royal Family shamed…

When, where and why: I bought this from a charity shop book back when I was still at school.  I had recently read Jamaica Inn and was completely in love with Daphne du Maurier, hence I picked it up.  Evidently something else took my fancy soon afterwards though, as it’s been sat unread on my shelf since then and so counts as book 22/50 for my Books Off the Shelf Challenge.  I was prompted to read it now for a reading challenge in which I’m taking part to fulfil the category ‘A historical fiction book with a woman’s name in the title’.

What I thought: Mary Anne is a fictionalisation of the life of Mary Anne Clarke, Daphne du Maurier’s great-great-grandmother.  I was interested to see how du Maurier would deal with this, as all of her previous works that I’ve read have been pure fiction.  Authors who write fictionalised history tend to focus either on background characters to give themselves more room for creativity, or on big, famous figures who feature prominently in the era-shaping events of the time.  Mary Anne falls in between these two categories; she plays an important and scandalous role in the history of the Duke of York but she is no longer a notorious or even well-known person.  Consequently, I approached this book looking forward to finding out about someone new.  I mean, I love the Tudors as much as the next person, but it makes a refreshing change to read about a royal mistress who isn’t Anne Boleyn.

Mary Anne herself is a wonderful, complex character.  She is quick-witted, charming, warm and endlessly engaging to read about, yet she is also selfish, cunning and ruthless.  I definitely enjoyed the way that du Maurier portrays her as a flawed character, rather than showing a bias towards her relation as she might have done.  She manages to make Mary Anne neither a witty woman who is finally worn down by a patriarchal society nor a naive victim who is merely a pawn in someone else’s game, but a wonderful blend of the two.  Mary Anne is both pawn and player, both used and using and she comes across as all the more real because of it.

Although Mary Anne is fully-developed, the rest of the chracters were not as well-rounded; most of them were little more than a name and there were also far too many of them.  I appreciate that these characters are all real people and so their presence in the story reflects their real interactions with Mary Anne and is necessary in order to represent her history with any sort of accuracy, but the sheer number of names without any distinct characteristics quickly became confusing.  The effect is that the book feels as though it is populated by ghosts and is consequently rather empty; Mary Anne my be fascinating, but one great character does not make a novel.

My other criticism of this book is that the main scandal of Mary Anne’s life and thus the focal point of the novel is the series of court cases in which she testified to bring down the great men of her day.  This is reported in an unfortunately dry fashion, with lots of reported speech, inserted letters and long periods of very clipped dialogue.  It may be an accurate reflection of early 19th century court proceedings but it isn’t very interesting to read and slows down the pace of the novel.  I did think that parts of the novel where du Maurier isn’t constrained by a desire to represent history are particularly good, though, especially the beginning and ending of the novel.  My end verdict is that the book is mostly interesting, but not as compelling as the novels that I’ve come to expect from this writer.  I know that The Glass Blowers is also based on Daphne du Maurier’s family history, so I’ll be interested to read that one and see how it deals with the same problems of historical necessity.

Where this book goes: This book joins the rest of my Daphne du Maurier collection back on the shelf.

Tea talk: The nasty cold weather has seen me finishing up the last of the tasty Russian Caravan.  I’ll have to see about taking myself off to a tea shop to get some more warming smoked tea, as the winter is only going to get colder.

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In my mailbox

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Monday, October 4, 2010

“In my mailbox” is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren in which people share the books that they have acquired that week.

Father, forgive me, for I have sinned.  It has been two weeks since my last confession.

Oh dear.  Oh dear, oh dear.  Well, it seems I do nothing by halves.  Not only have I succeeded in going over my 500 book limit for the TBR pile, but I have done so in spectacular fashion. 500 books is now a mere speck in the distance.  Oops.  For me it seems, book limits are like deadlines for Douglas Adams: I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly past.  I think I may have to declare next week ‘short book reading week’ in order to try to reduce this mountain, at least superficially.  Please bear in mind that this is a fortnight’s worth of books, not just one week, and try not to judge me too much.

From local charity shops:

From BookMooch:

Gifts:

Bought in a big box from Ebay (After realising that almost all of my favourite books this past quarter have been published by Virago, I’ve become a little obsessed with this publisher, so how could I pass up a box of eleven [well, ten I don't have] Virago Modern Classics for £8?  I’ve not heard of any of these before, but they all look to be good reads):

So, in summary:

Books off the TBR pile this fortnight – 7

Books on the TBR pile this fortnight – 26 (gulp)

Change – +19

TBR pile stands at – 514 books

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Review: ‘Crash’ by J. G. Ballard

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Thursday, September 30, 2010

Title: Crash

Author: J. G. Ballard

Published: Vintage, 2004, pp. 224

Genre: General fiction

Blurb: In this hallucinatory novel, the car provides the hellish tableau in which Vaughan, a ‘TV scientist’, experiments with erotic attrocities among crash victims, each more sinister than the last.  Ultimately, he craves a union of blood, semen and engine coolant in a head-on collision with Elizabeth Taylor.

When, where and why: When I was at university there would often be a stand in the English department building selling copies of the Guardian along with various free gifts, and this book happened to be one of them.  As such, it definitely counts towards my Books Off the Shelf 2010 challenge, and is book 21/50.  It might sound odd, but I read this book now because I was fairly sure I wasn’t going to like it but I can’t get rid of books without having read them, so I wanted to get it out of the way so that I could pass it on to someone else.

What I thought: It’s quite difficult to review this book because, while I thought it was absolutely horrible to read, I get the feeling that that was exactly what I was supposed to react.  If my response to hadn’t been one of visceral revulsion then Ballard wouldn’t have been making his point about fiction, reality and desire.  Nonetheless, I found this a thoroughly unpleasant book and not an enjoyable read at all.  This was what I was expecting, but then I started reading A Clockwork Orange with the same preconceptions but was brought round by the impressive writing and message.  Crash had none of these redeeming features, in my opinion.

Leaving aside the twisted, horrible subject matter, I wasn’t convinced by the writing in this novel.  I appreciate that there are only so many ways to describe and refer to bits of car, horrific injuries and parts of the body, but it didn’t take long for this book to feel very repetetive and static.  A lot of the vocabulary comes up numerous times within the same paragraph even, and the word ‘stylised’ was particularly overused.  Consequently, it feels as though this novel never goes anywhere, but just replays the same scenes over and over again.

There is a similar lack of progression in the characters.  Ballard is so set on being shocking and perverse that the characters behave in such a  fashion from the outset of the novel.  The narrator associates car crashes with sex and takes an erotic pleasure in imagining the wounds of the victims even at the very beginning of the book when he first crashes his car.  His wife also responds in a sexual manner to road accidents once she is introduced to the idea, and even before this neither are very pleasant characters.  This being the case, there is no sense of character development or, more accurately, devolution as they descend into increased depravity.  None of the characters were in any way likeable or relateable, which I think weakened the premise that this isn’t simply a pornographic novel but one with a higher message: if I can’t identify with anyone in it, how am I supposed to see that this is relevant to my life?  Nonetheless, it must take guts to cast a fictional version of oneself as the narrator/main character in a novel as twisted as this, so kudos to Ballard for that.

Where this book goes: This book is in an envelope winging its way to Australia to make another reader happy.  J. G. Ballard is a popular writer, and this book was requested within half an hour of posting it on BookMooch.  I’m glad to be rid of it and glad it’s found a good home.

Tea talk: I’m being very boring with my tea choices at the moment, and I’m back to the Milk Oolong which I love so much.  I recommend it to any tea lovers.

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Review: ‘Oops!’ by Darrell Bain

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Title: Oops!  Darrell Bain’s Latest Collection of Short Stories

Author: Darrell Bain

Published: LL-Publications, 2010, pp. 207

Genre: Short stories

Blurb: Oops! is the third collection of stories by Darrell Bain.  When Cupid and a Gremlin bump heads, the sparks fly in a rare fantasy story by the author.  Other stories in the collection include A Simple Idea, and almost ludicrously simple method of eliminating corruption and idiocy from the political process, one that has been around for centuries but gone unrecognized.  Cure for an Ailing Alien finds a nurse who must come up with a cure for an alien, one whose bodily processes are completely unknown.  You’ll be amazed at her cure!  Retribution is the story of unexpected consequences when alien meets human.  Robyn’s Rock is partially based on a happening in the author’s life during a walk with his granddaughter.

There are many more stories in this collection, all written in the individual style that has kept Bain’s readers coming back for more for the past twenty years.  This is a book to add to your collection, stories by a notable, multi-award winning author.

When, where and why: I was sent a copy of this book to review as part of the Goodreads First Reads programme.  I requested it because I enjoy short story collections and the description made this one sound different and intriguing.  I started it at once, as I think it’s only polite to do so when sent a free book.

What I thought:Perhaps I shouldn’t, but I always have very high expectations of short story collections.  The short story is, in my opinion, one of the hardest forms to write because of the restrictions they impose on the author.  In a novel, there can be passages which aren’t as good, and I might forgive a poorly developed story if the characters are fascinating and come alive, or vice versa.  The novel is long enough that I’ll usually find something about it to enjoy even if one or two areas are a bit lacking.  In a short story, however, lapses like this stick out like a sore thumb.  There is no room to hide and no margin for error.  Consequently, I’m in two minds about Oops! because, on the one hand, the stories all had really interesting ideas but, on the other hand, I thought that the writing, though enthusiastic, was a bit weak and so the concepts were let down.

Let me start out with what I liked about this book.  Firstly, I thought that the plot ideas were fresh and interesting, and you can see from the blurb how wide-ranging they were.  Darrell Bain obviously has a very active imagination and I would guess that there are still many other stories lurking in his mind.  I particularly enjoyed Robyn’s Rock, a tale about a girl who has picked up a rock which enables her to predict future disasters, and Samantha’s Talent, a story about a girl who can speak to animals (although chapters have no place in a short story).  I also really liked the little introductions and concluding notes from the author which accompany each story, explaining how he came to write it.  It gives an insight into the author’s way of thinking which is unusual and refreshing.

There were some bits of writing which were well executed, especially Bain’s characterisation of disobedient tractors in Coyote Scare, which:

…I swear were sentient and spent the nights conniving with each other about what kind of trouble they would get me into and how much blood they could make me shed the next day, I had an awful experience on one.  It had nothing to do with any of the tractor’s moving parts, those that spent their time lying in wait for me to come close enough to get bitten or chewed or gouged or gnawed on.  Tractors are savage and evil and should be sold with guards whose duty it is to threaten them with both barrels of a twelve gauge shotgun the minute they get out of line. (p. 40)

Unfortunately, I found this amusing style to be the exception rather than the rule.  I could tell from the writing that Bain obviously really enjoys what he does, but his skills are somewhat lacking.  Dialogue in particular was weak, stilted and unbelievable.  Also, I don’t think I’ve read a story since I was five years old which ends ‘And they lived happily ever after’ in a non-ironic way.  At least two of these do, from what I remember.  I’m all for happy endings, but there are much more elegant ways to express this or indeed demonstrate it so that I can work it out myself without having to be so direct and unimaginative.

The other problem is the editing.  While grammar errors are pleasingly few and far between, there are a few continuity problems which a decent editor should have picked up on.  Perhaps the most glaring was in The Furniture Formula, where cave woman Uga, when her husband dismisses her interior design ideas, says:

All right, but I’ve decided I’m going to sleep on the saber tooth tiger skin for a while.  You can sleep on the bear skin by yourself. (p. 120)

And yet, after caveman Ug agrees for the furniture to be moved:

Uga then moved back to the saber tooth tiger skin and slept with Ug. (p. 120)

How can Uga move back to the saber tooth tiger skin if she’s been sleeping there all along?  The close proximity of these sentences to one another on the same page highlights the issue rather unfortunately.  Nonetheless, with some more careful editing and tightening up of the writing this could be an enjoyable story collection, although probably not one for me.

Where this book goes: I keep all ARC copies that I am sent (well, a grand total of two so far) because I’m very grateful to have received them.

Tea talk: I’ve recently been given an individual coffee filter and some posh ground decaff as I’ve recently lost my long-cultivated resistance to caffeine (sob).  It’s wonderful as, while cheap ordinary coffee is tolerable, cheap decaff is utterly vile, so I’ve been enjoying being able to drink coffee again.

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Review: ‘The Thirteenth Tale’ by Diane Setterfield

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Title: The Thirteenth Tale

Author: Diane Setterfield

Published: Orion, 2007, pp. 470

Genre: Historical gothic mystery

Blurb: Angelfield House stands abandoned and forgotten.  It was once the imposing home of the March family – fascinating, manipulative Isabelle, Charlie, her brutal and dangerous brother, and the wild, untamed twins, Emmeline and Adeline.  But Angelfield House conceals a chilling secret whose impact still resonates…

Now Margaret Lea is investigating Angelfield’s past — and the mystery of the March family starts to unravel.  What has the house been hiding?  What is its connection with the enigmatic author Vida Winter?  And what is it in Margaret’s own troubled past that causes her to fall so powerfully under Angelfield’s spell?

Where, when and why: I bought this book up from a charity shop after it was chosen as a group read on Goodreads.  By the time a copy turned up in my locale British Heart Foundation shop the group read had finished, but it looked like such an interesting book that I wanted to read it anyway.  Perhaps it’s the cold weather, perhaps it’s the R.I.P. Challenge making me more aware of it, but I’ve been on a bit of a gothic fiction kick recently and this book fitted the bill rather nicely.

What I thought: This is the sort of novel that I finished and was instantly disappointed that it was the author’s debut, because I already want to read more and Diane Setterfield rather inconsiderately hasn’t written anything else yet (with the exception of some intimidating French literary criticism, which probably isn’t for me).  This book is atmospheric, intriguing and a very enjoyable read.

The Thirteenth Tale is a story within a story: dying author Vida Winter relates the story of her childhood to bookshop owner and amateur biographer Margaret Lea.  This narrative frame facilitates the build-up of mystery and suspense as the reader receives Miss Winter’s tale in fits and starts as she relates the tale to Margaret in installments for as long as her strength to withstand the pain of her illness will allow.  Miss Winter’s narrative is also fiercely chronological, resisting all temptation to look ahead to later on in her life and reveal more than she should.  Consequently, the reader finds out details as Margaret does and it just as tantalised by the snippets of information and speculation which she manages to garner elsewhere.  I also enjoyed the fact that the story refuses to be contained, but spills over into the frame narrative, Margaret’s own life and emotions connecting with those she is recording.

Miss Winter’s story is delightfully gothic, encompassing such topics as death, insanity, mental illness, incest, domestic violence and self-harm.  Emmeline and Adeline are eerie and chilling in their childish lack of remorse or morality, something which is established well by Diane Setterfield showing the twins through the eyes of various characters who try to influence them: the governess, the doctor, the housekeeper, the gardener and more.  The reader is kept firmly outside their insular, interior world and so they always appear strange and uncanny, and Diane Setterfield’s very precise use of pronouns and perspective help to accentuate this.  That their twisted family history is full of possible excuses to explain their behaviour sets them apart even more rather than offering an opportunity to sympathise with them.  Angelfield itself provides the perfect, typical decaying stately home setting, beloved of gothic novels and the setting for the frame narrative is equally atmospheric, the damp and chill of the Yorkshire Moors permeating the story.

My only slight problem with this book is Margaret, the first person narrator relating the story to the reader.  I don’t feel that her character is developed sufficiently; although the reader is supplied with numerous details with which to flesh her out, the central issue of her own missing twin and her accompanying bouts of mental instability are haphazard rather than developing consistently to a climax.  The climax comes, but out of the blue without any significant build-up.  I would have liked Margaret’s issues to feel more real for their own sake rather than as a way of tying her to Miss Winter and her story.  Nevertheless, this was a very good read and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

Where this book goes: This book is staying on my shelves along with my ever-growing collection of gothic fiction.  It may even come out again next year when the weather starts to turn cold and the days get shorter.

Tea talk: This book called for more warming smoked tea.  I’ve nearly exhausted my Russian Caravan supplies, so I might treat myself to some Lapsang Souchong this week for comparison.

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Review: ‘Mina Laury’ by Charlotte Bronte

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Friday, September 24, 2010

Title: Mina Laury

Author: Charlotte Bronte

Published: Penguin, 1995, pp. 55

Genre: Classic juvenilia

Blurb: Set in the imaginary kingdom of Angria, Charlotte Bronte’s early story of the Duke of Zamorna and his loyal mistress, Mina Laury, demonstrates the birth of her lifelong obsession with the degrees and forms of human passion.

When, where and why: I had never heard of this story, or indeed of any Charlotte Bronte juvenilia, before I happend to stumble across this book while browsing BookMooch.  I decided to read it now in a vain attempt to reduce my TBR pile as it edges dangerously close to 500.

What I thought: It is very clear from reading this book that Charlotte Bronte’s skills and sensibilities developed a lot in between the time that this was written and the time when Jane Eyre emerged.  Although her style remains similar, in her novels the language is less florid, the characters more individual, the heroines more mature and the plot much tighter.  It was interesting to read Mina Laury from this perspective, but I personally don’t think that it has much to recommend it in and of itself.

Confusingly, both the eponymous Mina Laury (mistress of the Duke of Zamorna) and Mary (wife of the Duke of Zamorna) speak with indistinguishable voices.  Both are young, attractive, and entirely without backbone, something Charlotte Bronte thankfully amends by the time she creates the wonderful Jane Eyre.  They are also both hopelessly in love with the Duke, in spite of the fact that he has the incredibly unheroic, unromantic name of Adrian (I think Sue Townsend has coloured this name for me somewhat).  The Duke seems to respond passionately to both women in the same way at different times, so I was thoroughly confused as to with whom he was supposedly in love.

Not only are the characters rather lacking, the story is convoluted and confused.  When an author ends their work saying:

I have done my best to please you, and though I know that through feebleness, dullness, and iteration my work terminates in failure rather than triumph, yet you are bound to forgive it, for I have done my best– (p. 55)

…it is apparent that this isn’t exactly their best work.  However, in this case I don’t think it was helped by the edition which abridges the story considerably, including large summaries in parentheses before switching to a completely unconnected scene.  It made the story feel very disjointed and I can’t help wondering if some of the character problems weren’t smoothed over a bit in the gaps.

Where this book goes: This one is heading back to BookMooch to find a new home.  I will however look into getting hold of a full volume of Charlotte Bronte’s juvenilia to replace it so that I can read this properly and give it a fighting chance.

Tea talk: I read this on the train coming home from work.  Train tea is vile.

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Review: ‘The Novice’ by Trudi Canavan

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Thursday, September 23, 2010

Title: The Novice (Black Magician Trilogy II)

Author: Trudi Canavan

Published: Orbit, 2007, pp. 581

Genre: Fantasy

Blurb: Imardin is a city of dark intrigues and deadly politics, where those who wield magic wield power.  Into this established order has blundered a young street-girl with extraordinary magical gifts.  Adopted by the Magicians’ Guild, her life is changed forever — but for better or for worse?

Sonea knew that she’d face a tough time training within the Magicians’ Guild but she little realised the level of animosity she would face from her fellow novices.  The sons and daughters of the most powerful families in the realm, her classmates seem determined to see her fail — at whatever cost.  But in accepting the protection of the guild’s high lord, Sonea may have embraced a far bleaker fate.  For High Lord Akkarin harbours a secret that is far darker than his magician’s robes.

When, where and why: I’m always interested in reading new fantasy series and so I managed to snag all three of these books at once from a lovely person on BookMooch.  I read the first book, The Magicians’ Guild, at the beginning of August and I wanted to continue the series while the events were still fresh in my mind.

What I thought: Although I really enjoyed the first book in this trilogy, I thought that The Novice was even better, probably by dint of being the middle book and therefore not requiring much exposition.  This book allows all the setting up of character, place and themes which took place in the first book to be utilised, and consequently there is much more in the way of plot and subplot.  Old characters are developed, new faces are introduced and the story progresses at a swift and exciting pace.  Obviously, it is impossible to discuss book two of a trilogy without revealing something of what happened in the first installment, so please be warned.

Whereas The Magician’s Guild has only one narrative focus, finding Sonea as she tries to escape the Guild and then her decision whether to accept or reject her magic, The Novicedivides its time into two: in one story, Sonea struggles to find her place among her fellow novices and in the other, Dannyl journeys through the allied lands gathering information about ancient magic on a mission for Lorlen.  Although the two stories are geographically distant, events in each impact upon the other and so they do not feel disparate as can sometimes happen.  Instead, I enjoyed the dual narrative and the chance to see some of the rest of the world outside the Guild, particularly in light of how insular the events of the first book were.

Perhaps the most interesting development allowed by having two plots is the increasing focus on Dannyl and what the reader learns about him as the old malicious rumours started by Fergun concerning his sexuality surface once more.  Perhaps it’s a sign of how little recent fantasy I’ve read but, with the exception of Jacqueline Carey’s books where everyone sleeps with everyone else, I think that this is the first time I’ve encountered gay characters in fantasy novels.  It’s certainly the first time that homosexuality as an issue has been discussed, and I was really impressed with how Trudi Canavan handles it.  Rather than being preachy and heavy-handed with her views, she uses varying views of homosexuality to deepen the reader’s understanding of the different cultures and characters that are presented.  It adds an extra dimension to the book which I wasn’t expecting.

The story of Sonea and her trials among her hostile classmates is also enjoyable.  Every time I read a story which involves magic schools I hope that it won’t be a thinly disguised Harry Potter and this one manages to avoid falling into that trap.  Instead of being the main focus, the lessons act as a framework for Sonea’s torment at the hands of Regin and his gang and so the focus is on character development and the advancement of tensions there rather than on how magic is taught.  Some people have complained that Sonea is too passive as a heroine, but I think that her inaction is appropriate given her situation, her background and her nature.  To have her react in a more aggressive manner would be unrealistic, in my opinion.

As book two of three, The Novice serves its purpose well.  It advances the story from the first book and whets the reader’s appetite for the denouement.  I’m particularly looking forward to seeing what Akkarin is up to when it is hopefully revealed in The High Lord.  I still maintain that this trilogy does nothing particularly startling or original, but sometimes it is enough to simply execute the typical and expected very well.  That, for me, is what The Black Magician Trilogy does.

Tea Talk: More milk oolong for me today.  It’s one of those wonderfully economical teas which can be brewed multiple times, so I’m still using yesterday’s tea leaves to brew more delicious tea.

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Review: ‘The Age of Innocence’ by Edith Wharton

By oldenglishrose - Last updated: Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Title: The Age of Innocence

Author: Edith Wharton

Published: Virago, 1994, pp. 303

Genre: Modern classic
Blurb:In the conformist, closed world of upper-class New York, Newland Archer anticipates his marriage to May Welland, a young girl “who knew nothing and expected everything”.  Into this ordered arrangement bursts May’s cousin Ellen, the mysterious and exotic Countess Olenska, on the run from an appallingly unhappy marriage.  She alternately captivates and outrages the New York milieu and, as Newland’s sympathy for her deepens into love, he not only gains insight into the brutality of society’s treatment of women, but discovers the real anguish of loving outside its rules.

When, where and why: I picked this up about a month ago from my favourite second hand book stall in Winchester because I’ve never read any Wharton before and that seemed like rather an oversight.  I was prompted to read it now to fulfill the ‘Read a book from the 1920′s Pulitzer Prize list’ category of my current reading challenge.

What I thought: By the time I had finished the first page of this book I was wondering to myself why on earth I’d never read any Edith Wharton before, and my incredulity only increased the more I read.  Everything about this book was fantastic: the story, the characters, the wit, the writing.  I don’t usually get quite this effusive about books, but it was love at first sight for me, and I think that The Age of Innocence may be my favourite book so far this year.

The tone of Wharton’s writing reminded me a lot of Jane Austen, although the style is very different; it has the same mix of humour and wry wit accompanying social commentary which somehow manages to be both affectionate and biting.  Through this delightful narrative style she reveals the old New York of the 1870′s in all its artificial, innocent, cruel glory, a beautiful, fragile world which is rigidly structured.

The heavy carpets, the watchful servants, the perpetually reminding tick of disciplined clocks, the perpetually renewed stack of cards and invitations on the hall table, the whole chain of tyrannical trifles binding one hour to the next, and each member of the household to all the others, made any less systematised and affluent existence seem unreal and precarious. p. 190

Wharton’s writing makes that world seem real and immediate.  The opening chapter in particular is full of asides in brackets explaining everything from what one should wear to which parts of the opera it is acceptable to talk through which feel as though the author is talking behind her hand to you and have the effect of plunging the reader right into the world of New York society.  Wharton has a way of using unusual, unexpected words to perfectly capture very specific individual details: an elderly matriarch discussing the entrance of new blood into her social circle is ‘carnivorous’ and a hat brim concealing May’s face from Archer is ‘conniving’.  I love these details she includes and that she makes it a full sensory experience, as when describing the morning of May and Archer’s wedding:

All the old ladies in both families had got out their faded sables and yellowing ermines, and the smell of camphor from the front pews almost smothered the faint spring scent of the lilies banking the altar. p. 159

However lively and detailed this world may be, it is undoubtedly artificial and characters mostly interact by just skimming along the surface of things, never troubling the depths beneath.  As Ellen Olenska observes,

the real loneliness is living among all these kind people who only ask one to pretend. p. 81

Ellen is a worthy catalyst for the novel.  Unlike Archer, Edith Wharton never shows a scene from her perspective and so she remains mysterious and intriguing.  Whereas the author often relates what Archer says immediately followed by what he wishes he could say, the reader is given no such insight into Ellen’s thoughts and her mind remains closed.  Consequently, I was just as captivated by her as Archer is.  Archer and Ellen have the sort of relationship that I wanted Anna and Vronsky to have in Anna Karenina.  Both relationships are forbidden and yet inevitable, but while Anna and Vronsky are selfish and jealous, Ellen and Archer are dignified, loyal, noble and all the more romantic for it.  Wharton creates lingering, heart-wrenching romance out of a few conversations and a mere three kisses and the reader cannot help but experience every nuance of it.  One of my favourite moments in the book is when Archer meets Ellen from the station and says:

“Do you know — I hardly remembered you?”

“Hardly remembered me?”

“I mean: how shall I explain?  I — it’s always so.  Each time you happen to me all over again.” p. 243

Their relationship is one of the most believable and engaging that I’ve encountered in classic literature, from its initial stages of friendship right through to the end.  I thought that the conclusion of their affair was poignant and perfect and, just like everything else about this book, I loved it.

Where this book goes: With such a glowing review, it won’t be surprising that I’m keeping this book.  It returns to the shelf and will bo doubt be joined by many other Wharton books; I think I may have found a new favourite author.

Tea talk: I’ve been indulging in one of my favourite teas: milk oolong from Char in Winchester.  Some form of magic in the leaves caused by rapidly changing temperatures makes this tea taste milky, sweet and slightly peachy.  It’s delicious.

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