Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Madame Bovary PLUS Three Short Tales by Gustave Flaubert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Madame Bovary has been on my list of books to read for decades, but for various reasons I always made other choices. Then my wife decided to learn French and as part of that process read the novel in its original language. I decided to finally pick up this book because it would be fun to discuss when we were both done. I read an English translation by Eleanor Marx Aveling who was one of the daughters of Karl Marx and, following in her father's footsteps, a socialist. I didn't know Marx's background at the time I read the book, but find it interesting, since the results of Emma's decision to pursue a life of self indulgence seem to exemplify the horrors that can happen to people who seek self gratification. In other words, if you believe “greed is good” you probably won't like this book.

I read somewhere that Madame Bovary along with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina are the two greatest “adultry” novels ever written. I'm not sure how anyone can make a statement like that, since so many novels have been written about adultry. But there is definitely a connection between these two works. Anna, however, is somewhat sympathetic, being drawn to a single lover she can't resist. On the other hand, Emma's true love seems to be herself. Here's a section from the book when Emma is sitting at an agricultural fair with Rodolphe, the man she's currently attracted to, and reflecting on all the men in her life – except, of course, her husband.

Then a faintness came over her; she recalled the Viscount who had waltzed with her at Vaubyessard, and his beard exhaled like this air an odour of vanilla and citron, and mechanically she half-closed her eyes the better to breathe it in. But in making this movement, as she leant back in her chair, she saw in the distance, right on the line of the horizon, the old diligence, the "Hirondelle," that was slowly descending the hill of Leux, dragging after it a long trail of dust. It was in this yellow carriage that Leon had so often come back to her, and by this route down there that he had gone for ever. She fancied she saw him opposite at his windows; then all grew confused; clouds gathered; it seemed to her that she was again turning in the waltz under the light of the lustres on the arm of the Viscount, and that Leon was not far away, that he was coming; and yet all the time she was conscious of the scent of Rodolphe's head by her side. This sweetness of sensation pierced through her old desires, and these, like grains of sand under a gust of wind, eddied to and fro in the subtle breath of the perfume which suffused her soul. She opened wide her nostrils several times to drink in the freshness of the ivy round the capitals. She took off her gloves, she wiped her hands, then fanned her face with her handkerchief, while athwart the throbbing of her temples she heard the murmur of the crowd and the voice of the councillor intoning his phrases. He said—"Continue, persevere; listen neither to the suggestions of routine, nor to the over-hasty councils of a rash empiricism.

I loved the process of following Emma Bovary as she made selfish decisions, rationalized her behavior, and paid the consequences. There are many reasons to read Madame Bovary, including its influence on later novelists, but it is the careful, detailed exploration of Emma's character that make this novel a masterpiece.

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The House at Midnight by Lucy Whitehouse

The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many of the reviews posted for The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse mention other books that are like this novel in certain ways. The Secret History by Donna Tartt and Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier were both mentioned. (I haven’t read the first one, but loved the second.) I think finding similarities is a great way to discover new books, but hanging on to those comparisons can lead to false expectations.

The House at Midnight is about a group of friends. The house provides a place where these friends can live a lavish lifestyle apart from other people. It’s nice atmosphere, but the book’s about the people not the house. Their friendship started when some of them were in college and has continued as they’ve begun their careers. The book is written from Joanna’s point of view. She’s a writer for a tabloid and dreams of becoming a serious journalist. Lucas has inherited the house along with a great deal of money from his Uncle Patrick, the owner of a successful art gallery. He’s also inherited a number of psychological issues from a family with some serious problems. In some ways this novel is as much about memories of people who aren’t in the book as it is about the characters we get to know.

Although some of the characters, including Joanna, have real careers, they all seem happy to live and party on money they haven’t earned. Martha is the least self indulgent of the group and Lucas is the most, but all the characters have their flaws, at least all of the ones we get to know. I wouldn’t want to know most of these people, but it was interesting getting to know them in the novel.

I listened to the audio version which was read by Kate Reading (interesting name for someone who is the voice of many audio books). Her voice is sophisticated yet vulnerable and absolutely perfect for this book.

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The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb is my kind of book. It's a ghost story and the ghosts are important, but the focus is more on the lead character, Julia Bishop, as she deals with rough circumstances in her life. Her husband has committed suicide after losing the life fortunes of investors in a Bernie Madoff style Ponzi scheme. He has left Julia alone and friendless since everyone she knows believes she was aware of her husband's scam. She doesn't have any options to get out of the mess she's in when Adrian Sinclair shows up at her home and offers to take her away. He claims he can hide her where the press and the people her husband cheated can't find her. And on top of that, her job will be to serve as a companion for his mother, Amaris Sinclair, a renowned author of horror novels whom Julia, also a writer, has always admired. There's no way she can pass up this opportunity.

The setting is an old, haunted manor on a large estate in Minnesota. For Julia it's like stepping back in time and into a Gothic novel. There's also romance in the form of Andrew, a handsome man whose ancestor built the estate. Drew keeps horses and likes to take Julia on rides through the woods. He also watches out for her when she needs him.

There are a couple of scary moments, but in general this isn't the kind of ghost story that will frighten the reader. Instead, this book is filled with plot twists and turns that at first seem to conflict, but work out in interesting ways. It's fun to try to figure out what's going on and to determine whom Julia should trust.

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Stealing Andrew Jackson's Head by Charles D Rodenbough

Stealing Andrew Jackson's Head by Charles D Rodenbough
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I haven't read many books like Stealing Andrew Jackson's Head. The one that comes to mind is The Indians of New Jersey: Dickon Among the Lenapes by Mark Raymond Harrington. Both of these books are carefully researched novels telling readers something about history through a story. In both cases there are interesting plots, but the real charm comes from the facts. Stealing Andrew Jackson's Head is the story of Samuel W. Dewey, a merchant marine captain with multiple other interests, including geology. The novel begins when Dewey is an old man. A young boy named Jake follows him to a small room he calls an office, but which is really a place where he stores memorabilia from his many adventures. Among the items he has kept are a cannonball from the Battle of Lake Erie, tools from a commercial brig he sailed, and a model of a huge diamond found in North Carolina's Sauratown Mountains.

The novel is framed as an old man, Samuel, telling his memories to a young boy, Jake. A relationship develops between these two. Jake is in awe of what Samuel has accomplished in his life, while Samuel is thrilled with the opportunity to tell his tales. Here's a sample of one of Samuel's first stories:

“Well, I know you know where Boston is, and when I was three my family moved there. Then when I was in my seventh year, the United States had its second war with England. I remember my father got very excited in those days every time an American sailing ship was boarded from a British ship and our sailors were impressed into the British navy. It was the tactic of a bully and it was against international laws of sailing rights. Or course Massachusetts, like Philadelphia, depended on the commerce of the sea so we were in direct competition with Britain for control of any part of the sea. Since my father was already a sea captain and he had his own ship, he and his ship were placed under command of the United States Navy...”

Each story Samuel tells has its own charm. The stories of sailing are very different from the stories of mining in North Carolina, but they are all fascinating. The title story is wonderful. It's about the politics of the times and about the audacity of a young man. When I googled Samuel W. Dewey I found a number of references to that incident. The other stories are more obscure, but this book is a great place to find out about them.

Stealing Andrew Jackson's Head is appropriate for all ages. I think it would be an interesting fit for a history classroom with a creative teacher.


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This Charming Man by Marian Keyes

This Charming Man by Marian Keyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was telling my daughter-in-law recently how I give all the books I review either three, four, or five stars, because I don't finish the ones I would rate as one or two. This Charming Man nearly fell in that latter category. A great deal of time was spent developing the stories of Lola, Grace, and Marnie. Grace wasn't in bad shape, but the other two women were hard to take. Lola and Marnie were both struggling in their work because they were in such bad psychological states they couldn't do basic tasks. There were also other reasons why I wasn't enjoying the book. Paddy de Courcy, who was the title character, wasn't in it very much and all the other male characters seemed horrible. I thought Marian Keyes must hate men.

Then the book took a few turns and I found it well worth reading. One of the men whom I had seen as abusive turned out not to be violent but instead was supportive to his wife until he was forced to make a hard choice. I sympathized with him rather than hating him. Other male characters began to appear who were decent people. Circumstances allowed Lola to change her life long enough to get to a better place emotionally. Meanwhile Marnie's situation was explained further, so although her life continued to spiral down, I could appreciate why.

This novel has one of the best descriptions of alcoholism I've ever read. It shows the disease in detail from the point of view of the alcoholic and also from the points of view of the people who love her. It also covers the victims of domestic abuse in a way that helped me understand why some of the women stay in their situations. After reading the way Keyes covered these two issues, I was able to understand the weaknesses of the victims and appreciate their strengths.

Lola's chapters were written in a strange, journal voice I found annoying. Most of the pronouns were dropped, along with words such as the and a. After I got used to it, I could ignore the style. But I still believe it was a bad choice, one that detracted from the novel.

This Charming Man isn't an easy read, but in the end it's well worth reading.

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A Storm of Swords by George R R Martin

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

George R. R. Martin has created a world of adventure, love, sex, and violence, then filled that world with so many interesting, unique, and complex characters it's hard to keep track. Nobody is safe in these books. They're filled with unexpected surprises that come when we're least expecting them. Up to this point, A Storm of Swords is the most surprising and most addicting novel in the series.

Two complaints I have with the first three volumes of A Song of Fire and Ice are as follows: The first is that nothing seems to resolve. The characters seem to be in a downward spiral that keeps getting worse. Many readers like this style, but I would rather see something resolve at the end of each volume, something to allow me to breathe. The second issue is the amount of time the characters spend traveling from one place to another. With A Storm of Swords, the first issue is still there. So is the second, but about halfway through the story takes off and there are few words wasted on marching.

Prior to this novel my favorite character was Arya. I still looked forward to her chapters, but in this book her story seemed to take a back seat to characters such as Tyrion and Jamie Lannister and even, surprisingly, to her sister, Sansa. Although Sansa doesn't seem to take control of her destiny as much as her sister does, her fate kept me turning pages.

I haven't seen the third season of the HBO series, which should follow A Storm of Swords, but I'll be ordering the DVD set soon. It will be fun to see this plot brought to life on television. As for the next book, I plan to read it but only after a break. Like I said before, I need time to breathe.

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Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm a fan of the television show Bones. I'm also a fan of period novels, so Ariana Franklin's novel, Mistress of the Art of Death seems as if it was written for me. This is the story of a doctor from Sicily who specializes in analyzing corpses, just like Dr. Temperance Brennan on the TV show. Also like the show this doctor is a woman. Apparently, Sicily is progressive, for the twelfth century.

Dr. Adelia Aguilar comes to England at the request of the King of Sicily. It seems his friend, Henry II, the king of England has a problem. Someone has been killing children in the Cambridge region. The people of that area are blaming the Jews and Henry has been forced to put them in protective custody in one of his castles. Dr. Aguilar along with Simon, a Jew and Mansur, a Moor, eunuch, are tasked with finding the true killer so the Jews can go back to living their lives – or, more accurately, so Henry can go back to taxing the Jews.

The story takes place during a time in England when the church and the monarchy were in a power struggle. Here is an excerpt that reflects that struggle:

The king's voice rose in a wail that filled the gallery like a despairing trumpet. “Sweet God, forgive this unhappy and remorseful king. Thou knowest how Thomas a Becket did oppose me in all things so that in my rage I called for his death. Peccavi, peccavi, for certain knights did mistake my anger and ride to kill him, thinking to please me, for which abomination You in Your righteousness have turned Your face from me. I am a worm, mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa. I crawl beneath Your anger while Archbishop Thomas is received into Your Glory and sitteth on the right hand of Your Gracious Son, Jesus Christ.”

Faces turned. Quills were poised in mid-account, abaci stilled.

Henry stopped beating his breast. He said conversationally, “And if I am not mistaken, the Lord will find him as big a pain in the arse as I did.”...

Franklin's characters are well developed and get involved in relationships that are messy and for that reason fascinating. I was hooked.

Mistress of the Art of Death, published in 2007, is the first book in a series and I plan to read more.

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