(no subject)
I challenged myself to read 50 books this year, and then found this community. Great minds think alike, apparently. Currently I'm on my 13th book, here are the first five:
1. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel, 4/10
Summary: When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan. Although this story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, its cast of characters could easily slide into any modern tale. The members of the Neanderthal clan, ruled by traditions and taboos, find themselves challenged by this outsider, who represents the physically modern Cro-Magnons. And as Ayla begins to grow and mature, her natural tendencies emerge, putting her in the middle of a brutal and dangerous power struggle.
Review: If I'd known this was a romance novel, I probably wouldn't have read it. While I enjoyed the descriptions of tribe life, such as the food they ate and the plants and animals that lived in the area at that time, etc, etc, the plot seemed too much like a soap opera for me. I'd recommend it to people who are interested in archaeology and life in the Stone Age, but five books of it is an overload.
2. The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory, 7/10
Summary: As youngest daughter to the Spanish monarchs and crusaders King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Catalina, princess of Wales and of Spain, was promised to the English Prince Arthur when she was three. She leaves Spain at 15 to fulfill her destiny as queen of England, where she finds true love with Arthur (after some initial sourness) as they plot the future of their kingdom together. Arthur dies young, however, leaving Catalina a widow and ineligible for the throne. Before his death, he extracts a promise from his wife to marry his younger brother Henry in order to become queen anyway, have children and rule as they had planned, a situation that can only be if Catalina denies that Arthur was ever her lover. Gregory's latest (after Earthly Joys) compellingly dramatizes how Catalina uses her faith, her cunning and her utter belief in destiny to reclaim her rightful title.
Review: This is my first foray into Philippa Gregory's books on the Tudors, and I'm glad I finally picked it up and started reading. The book is both entertaining and informative - I had no idea, for example, that Katherine's parents were crusaders, and I loved the descriptions of the Alhambra palace in Spain. Gregory does a good job of keeping the suspense throughout the book, although her readers know what eventually happens. I finished reading in great admiration of how Katherine, despite being practically on her own and against the odds, eventually achieved her goal - and then the last part of the book made me pity her for the impossible situation she found herself in that eventually lost her the throne.
3. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, 7/10
Summary: Returning to the scene of The Other Boleyn Girl, historical powerhouse Gregory again brings the women of Henry VIII's court vividly to life. Among the cast, who alternately narrate: Henry's fourth wife, Bavarian-born Anne of Cleves; his fifth wife, English teenager Katherine Howard; and Lady Rochford (Jane Boleyn), the jealous spouse whose testimony helped send her husband... and sister-in-law Anne Boleyn to their execution. Attended by Lady Rochford, 24-year-old Anne of Cleves endures a disastrous first encounter with the twice-her-age king-an occasion where Henry takes notice of Katherine Howard. Gregory beautifully explains Anne of Cleves's decision to stay in England after her divorce, and offers contemporary descriptions of Lady Rochford's madness. While Gregory renders Lady Rochford with great emotion, and Anne of Cleves with sympathy, her most captivating portrayal is Katherine, the clever yet naïve 16th-century adolescent counting her gowns and trinkets. Male characters are not nearly as endearing. Gregory's accounts of events are accurate enough to be persuasive, her characterizations modern enough to be convincing. Rich in intrigue and irony, this is a tale where readers will already know who was divorced, beheaded or survived, but will savor Gregory's sharp staging of how and why.
Review: I began reading this straight after The Constant Princess, although in retrospect it probably would have helped to read the books in chronological order. In any case, I enjoyed this as much as the last Gregory book. Anne of Cleves is my favourite of Henry VIII's wives, since she not only escaped her marriage to the king with life and dignity intact, she also benefitted from the divorce. I sympathised with Anne and Jane Boleyn, but the air-headed Katherine Howard frequently frustrated me. The reality of her situation - that she was being used by her powerful relatives for political gain, and that she had no power over her own life at all - made me sympathise with her.
4. Abarat by Clive Barker, 8/10
Summary: Candy Quackenbush is growing up in Chickentown, Minnesota, yearning for more--which she finds, quite unexpectedly, when a man with eight heads appears from nowhere in the middle of the prairie, being chased by something really monstrous. And so begins Candy's epic adventure to the islands of the Abarat. Peopled by all manner of creatures, cultures, and customs, the islands should prove a fertile setting for the series that Barker is calling The Books of Abarat. Candy is an intelligent and likable heroine, and the many supporting characters are deftly drawn, both in words and in the full-color interior art that Barker has produced to give the story an extra dimension.
Review: The plot of Abarat, while given a few interesting details - this must be the first book I've ever heard of with a heterochromic herione - is a rerun of the child-goes-to-fantasy-land-and-discovers-they're-really-important story, albeit told well. What I loved about the book was the descriptions of the islands and the people who inhabit them, as well as the glimpses of what's happening meanwhile in the 'real world' of Chickentown. I've read the sequel to Abarat (called Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War) and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
5. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, 6/10
Summary: A young woman caught in the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, must find her true destiny amid treason, poisonous rivalries, loss of faith, and unrequited love.
It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires.
Review: I liked this less than the other Gregory books I've read, but I still found it entertaining. Hannah's terror at being found out is conveyed well, as is her infatuation with the intrigues of the court. Gregory conveys well the world of religious turmoil, censorship, terror and espionage. I thought Hannah's gift of 'sight' a bit frivolous and used only to move the plot forward, but I enjoyed her story nonetheless. I also enjoyed the tragic story of 'Bloody' Queen Mary's downfall, for while her attempts to bring back Catholicism to England ended with mass slaughter, she died a broken woman, abandoned by her husband and her court. The end of the book, at least, promises a better life for both Hannah and England.
1. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel, 4/10
Summary: When her parents are killed by an earthquake, 5-year-old Ayla wanders through the forest completely alone. Cold, hungry, and badly injured by a cave lion, the little girl is as good as gone until she is discovered by a group who call themselves the Clan of the Cave Bear. This clan, left homeless by the same disaster, have little interest in the helpless girl who comes from the tribe they refer to as the "Others." Only their medicine woman sees in Ayla a fellow human, worthy of care. She painstakingly nurses her back to health--a decision that will forever alter the physical and emotional structure of the clan. Although this story takes place roughly 35,000 years ago, its cast of characters could easily slide into any modern tale. The members of the Neanderthal clan, ruled by traditions and taboos, find themselves challenged by this outsider, who represents the physically modern Cro-Magnons. And as Ayla begins to grow and mature, her natural tendencies emerge, putting her in the middle of a brutal and dangerous power struggle.
Review: If I'd known this was a romance novel, I probably wouldn't have read it. While I enjoyed the descriptions of tribe life, such as the food they ate and the plants and animals that lived in the area at that time, etc, etc, the plot seemed too much like a soap opera for me. I'd recommend it to people who are interested in archaeology and life in the Stone Age, but five books of it is an overload.
2. The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory, 7/10
Summary: As youngest daughter to the Spanish monarchs and crusaders King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, Catalina, princess of Wales and of Spain, was promised to the English Prince Arthur when she was three. She leaves Spain at 15 to fulfill her destiny as queen of England, where she finds true love with Arthur (after some initial sourness) as they plot the future of their kingdom together. Arthur dies young, however, leaving Catalina a widow and ineligible for the throne. Before his death, he extracts a promise from his wife to marry his younger brother Henry in order to become queen anyway, have children and rule as they had planned, a situation that can only be if Catalina denies that Arthur was ever her lover. Gregory's latest (after Earthly Joys) compellingly dramatizes how Catalina uses her faith, her cunning and her utter belief in destiny to reclaim her rightful title.
Review: This is my first foray into Philippa Gregory's books on the Tudors, and I'm glad I finally picked it up and started reading. The book is both entertaining and informative - I had no idea, for example, that Katherine's parents were crusaders, and I loved the descriptions of the Alhambra palace in Spain. Gregory does a good job of keeping the suspense throughout the book, although her readers know what eventually happens. I finished reading in great admiration of how Katherine, despite being practically on her own and against the odds, eventually achieved her goal - and then the last part of the book made me pity her for the impossible situation she found herself in that eventually lost her the throne.
3. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory, 7/10
Summary: Returning to the scene of The Other Boleyn Girl, historical powerhouse Gregory again brings the women of Henry VIII's court vividly to life. Among the cast, who alternately narrate: Henry's fourth wife, Bavarian-born Anne of Cleves; his fifth wife, English teenager Katherine Howard; and Lady Rochford (Jane Boleyn), the jealous spouse whose testimony helped send her husband... and sister-in-law Anne Boleyn to their execution. Attended by Lady Rochford, 24-year-old Anne of Cleves endures a disastrous first encounter with the twice-her-age king-an occasion where Henry takes notice of Katherine Howard. Gregory beautifully explains Anne of Cleves's decision to stay in England after her divorce, and offers contemporary descriptions of Lady Rochford's madness. While Gregory renders Lady Rochford with great emotion, and Anne of Cleves with sympathy, her most captivating portrayal is Katherine, the clever yet naïve 16th-century adolescent counting her gowns and trinkets. Male characters are not nearly as endearing. Gregory's accounts of events are accurate enough to be persuasive, her characterizations modern enough to be convincing. Rich in intrigue and irony, this is a tale where readers will already know who was divorced, beheaded or survived, but will savor Gregory's sharp staging of how and why.
Review: I began reading this straight after The Constant Princess, although in retrospect it probably would have helped to read the books in chronological order. In any case, I enjoyed this as much as the last Gregory book. Anne of Cleves is my favourite of Henry VIII's wives, since she not only escaped her marriage to the king with life and dignity intact, she also benefitted from the divorce. I sympathised with Anne and Jane Boleyn, but the air-headed Katherine Howard frequently frustrated me. The reality of her situation - that she was being used by her powerful relatives for political gain, and that she had no power over her own life at all - made me sympathise with her.
4. Abarat by Clive Barker, 8/10
Summary: Candy Quackenbush is growing up in Chickentown, Minnesota, yearning for more--which she finds, quite unexpectedly, when a man with eight heads appears from nowhere in the middle of the prairie, being chased by something really monstrous. And so begins Candy's epic adventure to the islands of the Abarat. Peopled by all manner of creatures, cultures, and customs, the islands should prove a fertile setting for the series that Barker is calling The Books of Abarat. Candy is an intelligent and likable heroine, and the many supporting characters are deftly drawn, both in words and in the full-color interior art that Barker has produced to give the story an extra dimension.
Review: The plot of Abarat, while given a few interesting details - this must be the first book I've ever heard of with a heterochromic herione - is a rerun of the child-goes-to-fantasy-land-and-discovers-they're-really-important story, albeit told well. What I loved about the book was the descriptions of the islands and the people who inhabit them, as well as the glimpses of what's happening meanwhile in the 'real world' of Chickentown. I've read the sequel to Abarat (called Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War) and I'm looking forward to the next in the series.
5. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, 6/10
Summary: A young woman caught in the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, must find her true destiny amid treason, poisonous rivalries, loss of faith, and unrequited love.
It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of "Sight," the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward's protector, who brings her to court as a "holy fool" for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires.
Review: I liked this less than the other Gregory books I've read, but I still found it entertaining. Hannah's terror at being found out is conveyed well, as is her infatuation with the intrigues of the court. Gregory conveys well the world of religious turmoil, censorship, terror and espionage. I thought Hannah's gift of 'sight' a bit frivolous and used only to move the plot forward, but I enjoyed her story nonetheless. I also enjoyed the tragic story of 'Bloody' Queen Mary's downfall, for while her attempts to bring back Catholicism to England ended with mass slaughter, she died a broken woman, abandoned by her husband and her court. The end of the book, at least, promises a better life for both Hannah and England.