Ahh, October, the beginning of the holiday season, and part of my fall, my favorite time of year! I adore the cooler temps and here in Washington state, the rain that sends book lovers into their cozy pajamas and under fuzzy throw blankets with a good book and a hot cuppa tea...bliss! I've been powering through books like a beaver powers through tree limbs lately, so lets get this review show on the road.
I'm a huge fan of this book, which was a revelation of sensuality to me when I read it back in 1989, when I was living in Florida and it was being whispered about being banned. Knowing that banned books are always a good read, I grabbed a copy from a friend and devoured it. It will make a magnificent musical, I'm sure.
On Stage: Like Water for Chocolate
A musical version Laura Esquivel's 1989 novel Like Water for Chocolate http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45881510 is in development as a stage production, Deadline reported. Directed by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer, the project will feature original music by the band La Santa Cecilia, writing lyrics along with Pulitzer Prize winner Quiara Alegra Hudes. The book is by Lisa Loomer (The Waiting Room, Girl, Interrupted). Tom Hulce and Ira Pittleman are producing. The novel was adapted as a film in 1993.
"In times of waiting many wonderful things happen," Esquivel said. "Dreams take shape and become voices, harmonies, dance. The musical Like Water for Chocolate waited until a group of extraordinary dreamers came together... the ideal group to give voice to the culture that runs through our veins and waited years to be seen and heard. My thanks to all of you for dreaming the dream of a dream." A timeline for the stage musical has not been released.
I love Fannie Flagg's books, and Fried Green Tomatoes (and the movie version with Kathy Bates) were prime examples of her fantastic character-driven, funny and quirky novels. I can hardly wait to read this one when it debuts at the end of the month.
Book Review
The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop
Fannie Flagg's enduring Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe; was published in 1987 (and made into a movie in 1992). The heartwarming novel explored the friendship between Evelyn Couch, a disillusioned, middle-aged housewife, and Ninny Threadgoode, an elderly woman living out her days in a nursing home. Ninny had astonishing tales to tell about a bustling railroad cafe in a small Alabama town east of Birmingham in the 1930s. The story focused on themes of family and friendship--and sacrifices made therein--as well as aging, changing landscapes and racism.
Flagg's long-awaited sequel focuses on Buddy Threadgoode, Jr., son of the late Ruth Jamison, who once ran the Whistle Stop Cafe with Imogene "Idgie" Threadgoode, an adventurous, rebellious tomboy. Through a patchwork quilt of scenes, Bud's history unfolds from the 1930s: how he managed life with a missing arm, an injury incurred in a train accident when he was six years old, and became a veterinarian; how Aunt Idgie became Bud's best friend and cheerleader, even after she sold the cafe; and moved to Florida; how Bud fell in love with and married his childhood sweetheart, and they raised a daughter, Ruthie, a woman with her own story to tell.
As in Fried Green Tomatoes, Flagg infuses short chapter vignettes with cozy snippets of gossip about Whistle Stop townsfolk--memorable characters from the first book--who left town and set down roots elsewhere. They include Dot Weems, postmistress and infamous letter writer; Opal Butts from the local beauty shop; Sheriff Grady; and Sipsey and Big George, former cooks at the cafe; However, it's Bud's story that serves as the main thread that binds Flagg's fun, spirited tapestry narrative.
Bud--now in his 80s, retired and widowed--looks back lovingly and longingly at his Whistle Stop days. He resides in a senior home in Atlanta near daughter Ruthie, a wife and mother trapped in a power and class struggle with a domineering, elitist mother-in-law. Devoted father and daughter weather storms that ultimately entwine the wistful, bygone nostalgia of the past with challenging realities of life in the present. Then colorful Evelyn Couch unexpectedly re-emerges, and the now successful, innovative business tycoon living in Birmingham, Ala., cleverly transforms both of their lives.
The story blossoms in vintage Flagg style--folksy and feel-good. An abundance of Southern charm will delight both readers eager to journey back to beloved Whistle Stop and also those wanting to visit for the very first time. --Kathleen Gerard, blogger at Reading Between the Lines http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45881524
Brilliant quote of the day, brought to you by Vroman's in Pasadena, CA, which is, like so many independent bookstores, struggling to survive.
Create the Post-Covid-19 World We Want to Live In'
"The Covid-19 crisis has been heartbreaking on so many levels. People have lost loved ones, jobs and businesses. People have lost hope. On a good day I contemplate all the things I'm grateful for, but like all of us there is so much that I miss from my pre-Covid-19 life, particularly browsing the bustling aisles of my favorite bookstores. The Vroman's announcement http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz45912708 was a jolting reminder that on the other side of the crisis we will have lost many of the things we take for granted.
"With this realization comes an opportunity for action: Now is the time to create the post-Covid-19 world we want to live in. In the same way that our votes in the upcoming election will shape our country's future, where we spend our money in these final days of 2020 will determine the communities we find ourselves in come 2021.
"Shopping local now will ensure that the places you love, like the corner bookstore where you met your partner, taught your child to read or discovered the book that changed your life, will still be there in the new year."--Allison Hill, CEO of the American Booksellers Association and former CEO of Vroman's Bookstore
All This Time by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott is yet another YA romance about teens in terrible situations, by the authors of the popular Five Feet Apart. This novel, however, puts teens in an even more dire health situation (Five Feet Apart was about teens with Cystic Fibrosis) when the male protagonist, Kyle the jerk jock gets into a car accident and seemingly kills his long-standing girlfriend Kim the jerk cheerleader, leaving their friend Sam to mourn his friend and the girl he's secretly in love with. SPOILER, though this scenario turns out to be a dream that Kyle is having while he's in a coma, recovering from said accident. While in the coma, Kyle comes up against some hard truths about himself, and falls in love with Marley, (who is mourning the loss of her twin to a car accident, so she a Kyle meet in the cemetery and share their grief and guilt...what are the chances?) and realizes that he needs to be a better person moving forward in his life. Here's the blurb: Kyle and Kimberly have been the perfect couple all through high school,
but when Kimberly breaks up with him on the night of their graduation
party, Kyle’s entire world upends—literally. Their car crashes and when
he awakes, he has a brain injury. Kimberly is dead. And no one in his
life could possibly understand.
Until Marley. Marley is
suffering from her own loss, a loss she thinks was her fault. And when
their paths cross, Kyle sees in her all the unspoken things he’s
feeling.
As Kyle and Marley work to heal each other’s wounds,
their feelings for each other grow stronger. But Kyle can’t shake the
sense that he’s headed for another crashing moment that will blow up his
life as soon as he’s started to put it back together.
And he’s right.
The duo who wrote this have an easy, breezy prose style that makes the book sail along the easy to figure out plot (anyone who watched an episode of Dallas would recognize the "it's all been a dream" plot fake out a mile away) but they strained my credulity with three main characters all having to deal with three major car accidents within a few months. That just doesn't happen that conveniently. The ending was way too cute and tied everything up perfectly, except for the major plot hole of WHY would Marley choose to read a story to a random jock in the hospital, spilling all her dreams and desires for a relationship to a guy she has never met, doesn't know and who might never wake up from his coma? How could she fall in love with this random guy when she never actually had a real conversation with him the whole time he was comatose? She read to him, yes, but that's not the same thing as an actual exchange of information or a conversation. He even admits he was a selfish jerk before the accident...why would she trust him, when she also never spoke to his mom, or his best friend and his girlfriend? She wasn't in the coma world with him, since she was awake the whole time, so she couldn't have known what was going on inside his dream state. It makes no actual sense. And suddenly, when he awakens, he's this unselfish guy who must find Marley because he loves her, though he only knows the Marley of his dream state, not the real Marley, who is traumatized by the loss of her twin. So he stalks her relentlessly, which is creepy, not cool at all. I found that to be more than a bit of BS, so I'd give this book a B-, which is generous, and only recommend it to those who don't mind seriously inconsistencies in the plot.
The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel is a novel that was high on my list of historical fiction books that I wanted to read ASAP. I believe I've read two of Harmel's other novels, and, because I believe they also had strong female protagonists, I recall enjoying them. This particular novel's protagonist is a bibliophile and a librarian, so I was prepared to fall in love with her and watch her become the strong heroine she was meant to be. Unfortunately, she doesn't really show a lot of spine until later in the novel, preferring to be under the thumb of her nasty disapproving mother, who doesn't want her dating anyone who isn't Jewish and who is constantly critical of her because she blames her daughter for the Nazi's imprisonment of her father in Auschwitz. Here's the blurb: Eva Traube Abrams, a semi-retired librarian in Florida, is shelving
books one morning when her eyes lock on a photograph in a magazine lying
open nearby. She freezes; it’s an image of a book she hasn’t seen in
sixty-five years—a book she recognizes as The Book of Lost Names.
The
accompanying article discusses the looting of libraries by the Nazis
across Europe during World War II—an experience Eva remembers well—and
the search to reunite people with the texts taken from them so long ago.
The book in the photograph, an eighteenth-century religious text
thought to have been taken from France in the waning days of the war, is
one of the most fascinating cases. Now housed in Berlin’s Zentral- und
Landesbibliothek library, it appears to contain some sort of code, but
researchers don’t know where it came from—or what the code means. Only
Eva holds the answer—but will she have the strength to revisit old
memories and help reunite those lost during the war?
As a
graduate student in 1942, Eva was forced to flee Paris after the arrest
of her father, a Polish Jew. Finding refuge in a small mountain town in
the Free Zone, she begins forging identity documents for Jewish children
fleeing to neutral Switzerland. But erasing people comes with a price,
and along with a mysterious, handsome forger named Rémy, Eva decides she
must find a way to preserve the real names of the children who are too
young to remember who they really are. The records they keep in The Book of Lost Names will become even more vital when the resistance cell they work for is betrayed and Rémy disappears.
An engaging and evocative novel reminiscent of The Lost Girls of Paris and The Alice Network, The Book of Lost Names is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of bravery and love in the face of evil.
I agree that this book is engaging, but I just wanted Eva to show more spine and stand up to her b*tchy mother earlier than she does...we have to wait until her mother is shot by the Nazi's before Eva is free of her dire influence. I was also not a fan of her only finding Remy, her true love, when they're both in their 80s and too old for anything but a short relationship with what is left of their time on earth. Still, Harmel's prose is evocative and moves along the well written plot at a decisive pace. I'd give the novel an A, and recommend it to anyone curious about those in the French resistance who forged documents to get Jewish children and adults out of harm's way and into neutral territory.
The Left Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix is the first book in a new fantasy/mystery/adventure series by the author of the Sabriel YA series, that I read about 20-plus years ago. This is a highly anticipated book, and I was fortunately not disappointed, as the magic and the action never let up, and Nix's fantastic prose set readers on a magic carpet ride into a wild and wonderful plot. Here's the blurb:
A girl’s quest to find her father leads her to an extended family of magical fighting booksellers who police the mythical Old World of England when it intrudes on the modern world. From the bestselling master of teen (YA) fantasy, Garth Nix.
In a slightly alternate London in 1983, Susan Arkshaw is looking for her father, a man she has never met. Crime boss Frank Thringley might be able to help her, but Susan doesn’t get time to ask Frank any questions before he is turned to dust by the prick of a silver hatpin in the hands of the outrageously attractive Merlin.
Merlin is a young left-handed bookseller (one of the fighting ones), who with the right-handed booksellers (the intellectual ones), are an extended family of magical beings who police the mythic and legendary Old World when it intrudes on the modern world, in addition to running several bookshops.
Susan’s search for her father begins with her mother’s possibly misremembered or misspelt surnames, a reading room ticket, and a silver cigarette case engraved with something that might be a coat of arms.
Merlin has a quest of his own, to find the Old World entity who used ordinary criminals to kill his mother. As he and his sister, the right-handed bookseller Vivien, tread in the path of a botched or covered-up police investigation from years past, they find this quest strangely overlaps with Susan’s. Who or what was her father? Susan, Merlin, and Vivien must find out, as the Old World erupts dangerously into the New.
Though I grew a bit impatient with Susan, who was kind of a wet blanket in not accepting her situation in the midst of magic and mayhem for about half the book, I really loved the other characters, like Merlin and Vivian, who were tireless in their quest to help Susan find her magical parent and save the world of mortal and immortal beings, all at once. The romance that blooms between Susan and Merlin was also fun, and I liked the fight ot the finish at the end of the book, where evildoers get their comeuppance. I'd give this rousing and thrilling book an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes YA novels that appeal to fantasy readers of all ages.
Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin is yet another YA fantasy novel that is the debut of a new series. The prose in this novel was plush and flowed along the engaging plot with aplomb. Here's the blurb:
Bound as one, to love, honor, or burn. Book one of a stunning fantasy trilogy, this tale of witchcraft and forbidden love is perfect for fans of Kendare Blake and Sara Holland.
Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.
As a huntsman of the Church, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. But when Lou pulls a wicked stunt, the two are forced into an impossible situation—marriage.
Lou, unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, must make a choice. And love makes fools of us all.
Set in a world of powerful women, dark magic, and off-the-charts romance, book one of this stunning fantasy trilogy will leave readers burning for more.
French witch and virile witch hunter are married...what could possibly go wrong?! Actually, this juicy romance and magic fantasy novel had me turning pages into the wee hours...I couldn't put it down until I finished the final page. Once Lou discovers that (SPOILER) the head of the Church is actually her father, the plot becomes almost impenetrable with complications, but readers are so far invested at that point, that it doesn't matter, we just grab a metaphorical machete and hack our way through to the end. I'd give this sizzling book an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes historical French witches and romance.
Hell's Spells by Devon Monk is Ordinary Magic book #6, which I was delighted to read, though it was only available as an ebook that I had to read on my Kindle Fire. I have read 98 percent of everything that Monk has written, and I've loved them all. She has a artist's flare for deliciously witty and wonderful prose that flies along on her inventive and wild plots so swiftly that you're not even aware that you've read the entire book until you look up and realize that 6 hours have passed and you've not moved from the same spot. The Ordinary Magic series is a favorite of mine, out of all the series that Monk has written (though I love her Allie B series and her Steampunk series and her House Immortal series) probably because I love the romantic sub plot in these books, and Ordinary Oregon feels so real that I want to visit the place every time I drive to my annual Powell's pilgrimage. Anyway, here's the blurb: In a town like Ordinary, anything can happen. Unfortunately for Delaney Reed, it usually does...
Sheriff
Delaney Reed’s little beach town where gods vacation and monsters
reside is finally back to normal. No possessed souls, no vortexes to
hell, and absolutely no one’s turned into a frog lately. Then the queen
of demons appears in her backseat begging to hide out in Ordinary, and
Delaney knows her peace and quiet is over and out.
Dealing with a
demon fugitive isn’t the only thing on Delaney’s plate. She’s also
trying to figure out why her boyfriend, Ryder Bailey, has been sneaking
out of town every night and why her sisters are keeping secrets. But
when the gods in town begin to act funny, Delaney knows something
strange is going on.
It might have something to do with two
powerful magical items that suddenly go missing. Or it might have
something to do with those little gaps of time Delaney’s been losing,
and the memories she can’t quite recall.
I love Delaney's Dragon Pig, who eats metal (and everything else) and has her back when it comes to demon containment. I'm also a big fan of Myra, her librarian sister who is in love with a demon, and I'm warming to her flighty sister Jean, who finally seems to be coming into her own. I seriously hope that in the next book, Ryder is able to get out of his contract with Mithras, who is only using him, and that he and Delaney can move on and get married and have a life together. Oh, and I must not forget how much I adore the God Death, called Than while he's on vacation in Ordinary, who wears lots of fluffy pink clothing, cocktail shirts and woolly slippers that look like giant spiders...not to mention the pink nail polish that he shares with Delaney on a sleepover...what is not to love about that?! In my mind's eye, I have Than cast as Neil Gaiman, so serious and yet full of whimsy, though I realize Gaiman's version of Death is a teenage Goth girl. Monk describes Than as bald and corpse-like and skeletal, with a great deal of gravitas, so I'm almost certain she wasn't thinking of wild haired authors like Gaiman when she wrote him. Still, I would love to know what he would do with the character, and what he'd think of Monk's take on all the vacationing Gods in Oregon. At any rate, the demon queen diva and the other characters get up to all kinds of shenanigans, and I laughed and cried and loved every minute of it. I'd give this book an A, and recommend it to anyone who has read any of the other 5 books in the Ordinary, Oregon urban fantasy series, which are not to be missed!
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