Historical Fiction

Review: Bellman and Black by Diane Setterfield

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Well – where do I start with this one? I loved Diane Setterfield’s THIRTEENTH TALE, so I was very excited to get BELLMAN AND BLACK from Net Galley. This is the story of William Bellman, who as a boy kills a rook with a stone — and rooks and this act seem to follow him throughout his life (England – about a hundred or more years ago). Bellman grows up to run a mill and has a business in mourning and funerals. He has so much loss in his life, it turns him inward. “Black” is his mysterious business partner.

So here’s the thing — I eagerly read the first half of this book, and then it felt like it stalled to me. I had to force myself again and again to return to it to finish the second half (I read it on Kindle, but I see it has just over 300 pages – certainly not a tome). I found it slow and fairly uneventful, but all the time I had the feeling that I wasn’t thinking about this book in the right way. It felt like an allegory – or a fable – or something that I just wasn’t getting. The writing reminded me a bit of Nathaniel Hawthorne or some other stark, 19th century writer. I wanted so much to like this book, this character, this story, but instead it felt a bit like a penance to read it. I kept hoping to have an epiphany that never occurred.

I’d be so curious (and grateful) to hear from others who have read it! Setterfield is an excellent writer, so if this is your only exposure to her, you might want to read THE THIRTEENTH TALE also.

Thanks, Net Galley for my copy.

Quick Review: I SHALL BE NEAR TO YOU by Erin Lindsay McCabe

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Oh how I loved this book! While it doesn’t publish until 1/2014, I just can not stay quiet about this Civil War love story and spunky heroine.

Rosetta and Jeremiah are newly married when  Jeremiah leaves to join up with the Union forces. Rosetta is a tomboy  and while she loves being married, she detests “women’s work” (of that era) and prefers to run the farm. A series of events lead her to rashly decide to join up disguised as a boy so that she can find her husband and be with him.

I absolutely loved this story and give McCabe credit for creating such a powerful heroine with a unique voice. Her depiction of the Civil War experience is clearly based on much research and I could not forget this book after I was done. I cried in parts. I rooted for Rosetta. I could not put it down.

I got mine as an ARC from Net Galley.

Review: The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

/ drbethnolan / 1 Comment

I love Fannie Flagg’s books! I think I’ve read them all, but “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” and “Standing in the Rainbow” are two of my favorites. Her latest book came out this month and the wait was so long at the library for it, I had to buy it for myself!

(Note: The following may contain SPOILERS!)

In “The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion”, we start with middle-aged Southerner Sookie Poole, who is looking forward to relaxing after two weddings in the family. Sookie is a sweet lady, but has no backbone and even less self-esteem. She has pretty much been bullied by her domineering mother her whole life. Then her life changes when she discovers she is adopted. Her years of Southern heritage, her sorority, her “Simmons foot” are eclipsed by the fact that she appears to be ‘Ginger’ – the illegitimate daughter of a Polish Catholic woman and “father unknown”. Sookie first falls apart, but then embarks on a journey to find out more about her birth mother.
At the same time, we have the story of Sookie’s birth mother and her family. The Jurdabralinski family is from Wisconsin and work hard at running their gas station. When WWII breaks out, the girls of the family run the station; then three of them become female military pilots – WASPS. The stories go back and forth between 1940 and 2005, between Fritzi, the spunky eldest sister, and Sookie.

I really enjoyed reading this book! Fannie Flagg’s writing always makes me laugh out loud, then suddenly I’m crying. It’s funny, poignant, silly, and touching all at once. I particularly liked the chapters on Fritzi and her sisters. I found the information on the WASPS (something I knew little about) very interesting! Sookie’s chapters made me laugh as some of it was pretty silly. I did like the resolution and end of this book.

So glad to see a new one by Ms. Flagg!

You can see it on Amazon where I got mine.

Review: The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon

/ drbethnolan / 2 Comments

Coming out in January, THE WIFE, THE MAID, AND THE MISTRESS is the fictionalized story of the events surrounding the real life disappearance of NY Supreme Court Judge Joseph Crater in 1930 (see here for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Force_Crater).  Judge Crater’s disappearance was never solved and he was declared dead after several years. Lawhon gives us her take on the event, through the points of view of Crater’s wife, Stella, his maid, Maria, and his showgirl mistress, Ritzi. In this novel, these women know what happened to Crater — and they aren’t telling!

I found this novel so intriguing that I couldn’t put it down. It does jump around in time, which can be confusing at times. We have Stella current day, the events as they happened in the 30’s, events prior to the disappearance, etc. all interwoven.

If I had one major complaint, it was that I did not really like the ending. Without giving too much away, I will say that I felt a lot was told at the end to explain events and wrap the story up quickly and neatly. However, I did enjoy this book and it made me interested enough to look up more about Judge Crater, his disappearance, and Tammany Hall.

Thank you, Net Galley and Doubleday, for my review copy!

Quick YA Review: CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

Since I had recently read ROSE UNDER FIRE, I went back and read CODE NAME VERITY, which comes first (though it can be a stand alone book). This is an extraordinary depiction of a friendship during WWII, told from the writings of a British female POW, held by Germans for spying, and then from the perspective of her friend, the female pilot who flew them there. Their story is heart-breaking and haunting, and stayed with me long after I finished reading.

An intense read, I’d recommend it to older YA readers and definitely to adults who enjoy historical fiction of the WWII era.

I can’t say more without giving it all away. I’ve debated for weeks how to even write this review, and settled on this very short blurb!

See this book on Amazon where I got mine.

Review: ORPHAN TRAIN by Christina Baker Kline

/ drbethnolan / 1 Comment

During a recent one day sale on Amazon, I bought ORPHAN TRAIN for only a few dollars for my Kindle. I have read other books about the real orphan trains: trains full of NYC street urchins that brought them to the Midwest for “adoption” and a new life in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

In ORPHAN TRAIN, the story flips between current day foster kid, Molly, who is doing community service at an elderly woman’s house, and the Irish immigrant girl Niamh, whose family perishes in a fire in the late 1920’s. Molly is part Native American and while not an orphan (her mother is alive), she is in the foster care system and has moved about many times. She is almost eighteen and hopes to stay out of trouble until then. Unfortunately, she chooses to steal a copy of “Jane Eyre” from the library and has to do community service to make up for her theft. The elderly woman she works for (they are cleaning her attic) is named Vivian. She is a wealthy widow and she tells Molly the stories behind the items in her attic. Vivian is really Niamh, though – a young Irish girl who leaves NYC after her family supposedly all dies in a tenement fire. Niamh’s tenacity to survive and her integrity to be the best she can be given her circumstances is mirrored in modern day Molly. Over time the two stories connect and we see how each character has become who she is at the end.

I loved reading this story. I always find historical fiction interesting, and Niamh’s story held my attention. My only dislike in the book was the character of Molly’s foster mother, whom I found to be almost a caricature.  Also the ending wrapped up quickly and neatly – I would have loved to follow Niamh’s earlier life a bit longer.

In all, I’d recommend it if you like to read about this period in history.

Never heard of the orphan trains? Check out the PBS documentary (or see the references on their page) at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/orphan/

Review: SILENT NOON by Trilby Kent

/ drbethnolan / 5 Comments

If you read my blog, you know I enjoy reading books by a former student (now grown up!), Trilby Kent. Trilby published SILENT NOON this summer in Great Britain and Canada. I was able to get it on Kindle here in the States.

In SILENT NOON, it is the early 1950’s, and Barney Holland is sent on scholarship to a boys’ boarding school in England. Post-war England is still recovering and the boys are a scrappy lot. Barney doesn’t fit well with the others, and finds a companion in the older (but troubled) pupil Ivor. Then one of the teacher’s daughters starts attending school as the only girl (she was sent home from her boarding school) and she and Barney form an unlikely friendship. Unfortunately, all the plots converge into a somewhat traumatic and unsettling ending.

There’s a lot going on in this book: peer relationships, budding sexuality, a ghost story, and more. Trilby has a wonderful way of making post-war Britain come alive. The details of daily life are quite vivid and one can feel both the coldness of the dormitory and the coldness of the relationships. One note: if you are looking for a neatly tied up ending with full resolution to all plot lines, this isn’t the read for you! I really enjoyed it, and it kept me thinking about it afterwards.

You can see it on Amazon for Kindle, where I got mine.

Review: CALL ME ZELDA by Erika Robuck

/ drbethnolan / 2 Comments

A while back I went to a book talk and signing by Erika Robuck held at my favorite indie: The Concord Bookshop. I loved her talk about how she came to write CALL ME ZELDA, about Zelda Fitzgerald’s time spent in a mental institution while she was treated for schizophrenia and the relationship she forms with her nurse. I bought but saved CALL ME ZELDA until our trip in August so that I could take it with me (sort of like bringing along a special friend!). I enjoyed this beautiful but heart-breaking novel and didn’t want it to end.

In CALL ME ZELDA, psychiatric nurse Anna Howard is still recovering herself from the losses of WWI (her husband is MIA and her young daughter has died of pneumonia). She works at a mental hospital and has Zelda Fitzgerald (wife of F. Scott) in her charge. She and Zelda form a bond and become friends. Anna’s emotional attachment to the troubled Zelda leads her to leave her job and work privately for the Fitzgerald family, where she is privy to the highs and lows, the sweetness and the abuse, of Scott and Zelda’s relationship. Zelda, who is schizophrenic and also seems depressed, is unpredictable yet vulnerable. She shows great brilliance, yet feels smothered and held back by Scott. Scott, meanwhile, is an alcoholic who brilliance is at times eclipsed by his selfish manipulations. Anna’s own back story exists as another story line in this book: her struggle with coming to peace with her losses and her striving to begin to live life again.

All in all, I loved this book. It read easily and I felt the character of Anna was well-developed and believable. I didn’t know too much about the Fitzgeralds before reading this novel, and I realize it is fiction, but I found their portrayal quite fascinating. This is one of several books on Zelda Fitzgerald published this year and I put in with my “woman behind the man books” – e.g. “The Paris Wife”, “The Aviator’s Wife”, “Loving Frank”, etc. This was a great read and will undoubtedly be one of my top books for 2013 – made all the more special because my copy is signed by Erika!

YA Review: ROSE UNDER FIRE by Elizabeth Wein

/ drbethnolan / 3 Comments

I found ROSE UNDER FIRE on Net Galley and thought it sounded intriguing. While presented as a YA read, this book was quite intense emotionally and I thought could be enjoyed by adults as well. In ROSE UNDER FIRE, WWII courier pilot Rose Justice finds herself downed by Nazi aircraft into German territory. Terrified, she realizes that they don’t intent to harm her, per say, but keep her in a work camp. That camp turns out to be Ravensbrück, the notorious women’s concentration camp. Rose spends several months there, through the winter, before she is liberated in a harrowing escape.

I could not put this book down. While it was suspenseful and “exciting” (notice quotes), it was haunting and disturbing, and really painted such a vivid picture of Ravensbrück that I had nightmares (full disclosure: I’m a pretty sensitive person). The book starts with Rose’s daily diary of events. She’s a courier, an American actually, working for the British. Her life has been pretty innocent up until the war. She is only nineteen. She flies to Paris on a job and has a wonderful day there, including “buzzing” the Eiffel Tower. She is scheduled to fly back to England the next day, but then we realize that Rose is classified as “missing”. Family and friends try to be hopeful but presume she is most probably killed. The book then is Rose’s writings of her memoir of the time spent in camp as she stays at the Ritz in Paris to recuperate. The end of the book is in Rose’s present time, as the war ends in Europe.

Before reading this book, I had little knowledge of Ravensbrück. I knew it was a concentration camp and I thought it was for women. The portrayal of the camp in this book is really remarkable. I could see it so vividly. As with a lot of WWII literature, the resiliency of the prisoners to stay alive was incredible and awe-inspiring. I know it’s fiction, but people experienced what these women did, and it is both fascinating and horrible. A large portion of the book centers on the Polish girls in the camp who were used for experiments by the Nazi’s. Called “the rabbits”, they were experimented on so that the Germans could figure out how best to treat war wounds and infections. Wish I could say Ms. Wein made this up, but she didn’t. Wein is the author of CODE NAME VERITY, which I have not read, but which I purchased so that I could.

Highly recommended if you are a reader of this genre, but be prepared. YA doesn’t mean this book is just for the kids. In fact, I would hope that if young people were reading this book (which would be an excellent hs classroom choice) that adults are talking to them about it and discussing it with them.

Thanks, Net Galley and Miramax Publishing, for my copy!

ROSE UNDER FIRE publishes 9/10/13.

Quick YA Review: RIPPED by Shelly Dickson Carr

/ drbethnolan / Leave a comment

I downloaded the YA novel RIPPED from Net Galley before our recent trip to Hawaii.  In this fast-paced and riveting story, teenager Katie Lennox discovers she can travel through time from present day London to the time of Jack the Ripper using the “London Stone”. Katie takes on the task of thwarting Jack the Ripper before he can do his evil deeds. She also holds in her heart the secret desire to see her deceased parents again. What Katie discovers is that changing history is no easy feat, and small events can have big consequences. The theme of “be careful what you wish for” is oft-repeated in this story.

I really enjoyed reading this novel!  I see that it has won several awards, which is not surprising as it is well-written and well researched. I love historical fiction and mixing it up with time travel just makes me love it more! It is a bit lengthy (over 500 pages in print), but eager readers should have no problem plowing through it.

I look forward to more novels from Ms. Carr, and I see she lives locally, so perhaps our paths will cross.

Thanks, Net Galley and New Book Partners Publishing, for my copy!