Hello fellow bibliophiles, I'm in a bit of a rush today, so I will get right down to it.
I was not as impressed with this novel as most people were, mainly because I didn't find the story that credible (what kind of people abandon a 4 year old child in a shack with an abusive alcoholic father who also abandons her to starvation not long afterward?) and I didn't like the ending. Also, it would appear that Owen's husband got away with murder when living in another country. Still, I plan on watching the movie when it comes out, to see if there is a way that movie makers can turn the lackluster novel into a screen gem.
Movies: Where the Crawdads Sing
Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) will star as Kya in the film adaptation of Delia Owens's novel, Where the Crawdads Sing http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz46090385, Deadline reported. Set up at Sony, the film is directed by Olivia Newman from a screenplay by Lucy Alibar. Reese Witherspoon and Lauren Neustadter are producing for Hello Sunshine with Elizabeth Gabler, Erin Siminoff and Aislinn Dunster overseeing the project for 3000 Pictures.
This book sounds like one I'd really enjoy, so it's now on my wish list on Amazon.
Book Review: The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
Long-simmering resentments and buried secrets permeate The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany, a romantic, beautifully rendered, sweepingly complex family saga.
Emilia Antonelli, 29, of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn, is a second-generation Italian American. She lives a simple, manageable life, resigned to remaining single forever, working in the family delicatessen and bakery and making "the best cannoli in New York," while also secretly pursuing a "little writing hobby." Emilia lives under the shadow of a family curse that goes back 200 years: all second-born daughters are cursed to live a life without love. When Emilia was two years old and her sister, Daria--now married, with children--was four, their mother died. The girls were raised by their mild-mannered father, who also works in the deli/bakery, and the domineering Nonna Rosa--their mother's mother; the surly, infinitely controlling backbone of the family. Nonna Rosa favors Daria, the first-born granddaughter. She belittles and lords her power over most members of the family, especially Emilia.
Emilia's life takes a drastic turn when she receives a letter from Paolina Fontana, her long-lost great-aunt, who lives in Philadelphia. "Aunt Poppy" is flamboyant, artsy and colorful. She is the younger sister of Nonna Rosa, shunned by the family decades earlier; the siblings had a dramatic falling out upon emigrating to the U.S. Everyone in the family has been forbidden to see Poppy for years. But Poppy writes to Emilia and Luciana, another second-born cousin, offering to treat them both to an all-expenses-paid trip to Italy to celebrate Poppy's 80th birthday. At the cathedral in the town of Ravello, Poppy intends to reunite with her one true love, with the intention of also breaking the family curse. Emilia, intrigued by the prospect, bucks
Nonna Rosa's staunch disapproval and sets off on the opportunity of a lifetime.
What ensues is an exciting excursion through Italy--its culture and fineries; romance and history--for the three women. Aunt Poppy proves warm, charming and wise. Why was Poppy ostracized from the family for all those years? Why did she resurface now? And is it possible for each of the three second-born women finally to find happy romantic endings?
Lori Nelson Spielman's (Sweet Forgiveness) epic oozes her great affection and knowledge of all things Italian. First-rate storytelling and nuanced, clearly defined characters will captivate readers right up to the surprising finale. --Kathleen Gerard blogger at Reading Between the Lines http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz46090399
When We Were Vikings by Andrew David MacDonald is another book that has gotten a lot of good ink and great reviews, mainly for it's disabled young female protagonist. It's been called "heartwarming and unforgettable" and full of "distinctive" prose. There is unfortunately nothing heartwarming or unforgettable about this awful novel, which has barely decent prose, full of swearing and embarrassing sex scenes that I really could have done without reading about in detail. I've always felt skeeved out by male authors who write about young women/girls, because they usually ascribe emotions and actions to those girls that are complete and utter nonsense at best, and at worst, male wish fulfillment, which is disgusting as it smacks of pedophilia. This author is no different, making his simple-minded protagonist Zelda (who suffers from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, since she had a really shitty mother who drank and took drugs while pregnant) become preoccupied with having sex with her mentally challenged boyfriend Marxy, who is described as almost grotesque in behavior and attitude. Then there's Zelda's brother Gert, who, since their mothers death of cancer, has taken on the burden of caring for his sister, though he's a shitty person, and alcoholic and a drug dealer who consistently puts his vulnerable sister in mortal danger from the thugs/gang members and drug lords he hangs out with. There are a couple of plot holes that are never solved, and I felt the ending was unrealistic and pathetic. Here's the blurb: A heart-swelling debut for fans of The Silver Linings Playbook and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Sometimes life isn’t as simple as heroes and villains.
For Zelda, a twenty-one-year-old Viking enthusiast who lives with her
older brother, Gert, life is best lived with some basic rules:
1. A smile means “thank you for doing something small that I liked.”
2. Fist bumps and dabs = respect.
3. Strange people are not appreciated in her home.
4. Tomatoes must go in the middle of the sandwich and not get the bread wet.
5. Sometimes the most important things don’t fit on lists.
But when Zelda finds out that Gert has resorted to some
questionable—and dangerous—methods to make enough money to keep them
afloat, Zelda decides to launch her own quest. Her mission: to be
legendary. It isn’t long before Zelda finds herself in a battle that
tests the reach of her heroism, her love for her brother, and the depth
of her Viking strength.
When We Were Vikings is an
uplifting debut about an unlikely heroine whose journey will leave you
wanting to embark on a quest of your own, because after all...
We are all legends of our own making.
The problem is that Gert's methods for getting himself and his sister away from their creepy pedophile Uncle (who is also abusive toward Gert) who tried to sexually abuse Zelda, is not "questionable," it is stupid and dangerous, because Gert becomes beholden to a drug lord and his minions, all of whom are scumbags who seem to think it's okay to want to rape a young woman with the mental capacity of a child. For Zelda to "forgive" and feel empathy for the drug lord as he's dying is utterly ridiculous, as the man just tried to rape her and kill her...so somehow she feels sorry for the SOB? Really? I also find it hard to believe that she'd allow her alcoholic, ignorant and worthless brother back into her life, because apparently he can't care for himself and becomes a drunken bum without a woman to take care of him. Again, really? Pathetic. Just for the record, Mr MacDonald, young women do NOT think like this, or have these overly tender emotions for murderous rapist drug lords. I obviously didn't like this book, so I'd give it a D, and recommend that you pass it by altogether. It will make you sick to your stomach, especially if you're a rape or abuse survivor.
The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk is the third book by this Canadian author that I've read.I loved this one much more than the others, however, and felt that the rich and inviting prose glided along the beautifully built plot like a steam train on greased tracks. I couldn't put it down, and read it all in one sitting, forgetting that the outside world exists. I love novels that are so engrossing that you plunge into them and don't come up for air for hours. Here's the blurb: From the beloved World Fantasy Award-winning author of Witchmark
comes a sweeping, romantic new fantasy set in a world reminiscent of
Regency England, where women’s magic is taken from them when they marry.
A sorceress must balance her desire to become the first great female
magician against her duty to her family.
Beatrice Clayborn
is a sorceress who practices magic in secret, terrified of the day she
will be locked into a marital collar that will cut off her powers to
protect her unborn children. She dreams of becoming a full-fledged Magus
and pursuing magic as her calling as men do, but her family has staked
everything to equip her for Bargaining Season, when young men and women
of means descend upon the city to negotiate the best marriages. The
Clayborns are in severe debt, and only she can save them, by securing an
advantageous match before their creditors come calling.
In a
stroke of luck, Beatrice finds a grimoire that contains the key to
becoming a Magus, but before she can purchase it, a rival sorceress
swindles the book right out of her hands. Beatrice summons a spirit to
help her get it back, but her new ally exacts a price: Beatrice’s first
kiss . . . with her adversary’s brother, the handsome, compassionate,
and fabulously wealthy Ianthe Lavan.
The more Beatrice is
entangled with the Lavan siblings, the harder her decision becomes: If
she casts the spell to become a Magus, she will devastate her family and
lose the only man to ever see her for who she is; but if she
marries—even for love—she will sacrifice her magic, her identity, and
her dreams. But how can she choose just one, knowing she will forever
regret the path not taken?
The dilemma of wanting to have an independent life with a paying career and yet still wanting to have someone to love and partner with (and perhaps to have children with) is one that women have struggled with for centuries. Due to sexism and misogyny woven into the fabric of society, for many years women were seen as possessions and had no choice in who to marry and whether or not to have children, as they were forced into marriages that would be advantageous to their families. Having a career and using their talents was out of the question for most women, but here we have rebellious Beatrice, who wants desperately to use her magical powers to become a mage, but her father's bad investments have forced him to treat his daughter as a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder to rejuvenate the family fortune. That he wants to put her in a slave collar makes him all the more reprehensible, and I found it hard to believe that Bea forgives him for his sexist cruelty. Fortunately, Bea is smart and has allies in Ysbel and Ianthe Lavan, and things come out perfectly in the end, though it's a nail biter for the characters to get around or through all the obstacles to their happiness. I'd give this thrilling tale an A, and recommend it to anyone who likes steampunk fantasy/romances.
Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman is the 16th novel of hers that I've read and enjoyed. Hoffman is an expert in magic realism and fantasy, creating worlds that seem so real you almost believe you could drive a couple of hours and be there for tea time with the characters. Her prose is the gold standard of wordsmithing, and her plots are swift and confident, complex enough to be engrossing but not so twisted as to lose the reader in the weeds. Here's the blurb: In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its
source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens,
accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing
Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.
Where
does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the
1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby.
Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Unnamed Arts.”
Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she
knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always
love someone who will love you back.
When Maria is abandoned by
the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem,
Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family.
And it’s here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she
will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing
that matters.
Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman’s masterful storytelling.
Maria Owen's story is poignant, as is Faith's, and I could identify with Faiths sorrow at being abducted by a religious fanatic as a child and not being able to get back to her mother for 5 years. I also could understand more clearly the Owen's women's curse, passed down from mother to daughter, which, to keep these magical women safe, sought to keep bad and controlling men from their door. As hard as it is to be a woman in society centuries ago, it would have been 10 times harder to be a "wise" woman who had magical/herbal talents in that era. Yet women have persisted in learning herbalism and pagan or wiccan rituals to this day, which is astonishing, considering how hard men have worked over the centuries to stamp out women's knowledge and independence. While the history woven throughout is fascinating, it doesn't overpower the excellent story arc, which kept me turning pages into the wee hours. I'd give this magnificent story an A, and recommend it to anyone who wants a more personal POV to the witchcraft trials of the past. On a side note, not enough is said to praise Hoffman's YA titles, which are glorious and delightful reads. Consider me an ardent fan, and know that you can't really go wrong with any of Hoffman's titles, past or present.
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