Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun.
First of all:
http://money.aol.com/article/disney-buying-marvel-entertainment/647124
That excites me. A lot. It probably shouldn't, but I'm kind of a Marvel fangirl and you all know how I feel about Disney. Not to mention the Mickey-Mouse-as-Spiderman bigfigs which are bound to start showing up in the parks.
Also, I had the (mis)fortune of being selected to write a book review for the library's newsletter. Since I had to do it anyway, I'm posting it here.
The Welsh Girl is a historical fiction novel set in Wales during World War II and is told from the viewpoint of three different characters: Esther, a young barmaid who lives with her shepherd father in a small Welsh village; Karsten, a young German soldier who winds up in a newly established POW camp just outside the aforementioned village; and Rotheram, a British military investigator who left his home of Germany as a child and keeps secret his half-Jewish origin.
Esther dreams of leaving Wales and seeing the wider world, but her world comes crashing down when the British soldier she is seeing rapes her and leaves her pregnant. In the POW camp, Karsten is disliked by his fellow prisoners who see his surrender as a sign of defeat. Like the other villagers, Esther watches the prisoners in the new camp from outside the fence, however she does not mock or shout at them as the others do. Karsten takes an interest in her, and when he briefly escapes the camp, he stays in her barn and she tends to him.
Concurrently, Rotheram is interrogating Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, who’d been in England since the beginning of the war. Hess’s sanity is called into question, and it’s Rotheram’s duty to determine whether he is well enough to stand trial. Hess theorizes Rotheram’s German-Jewish descent, and thus Rotheram must come to grips with this, as well as having left Germany as a child.
In spite of being something of an anti-war novel, the tone is kept very soft and for the most part it takes a relaxed pace. The main characters are well-fleshed and supported by a diverse group of secondary characters. Esther’s father, still mourning the recent loss of his wife, is a fierce Welsh nationalist who does not trust the English soldiers stationed nearby; the bartender and the BBC radio personalities who offer light humor but who harbor their own secrets; Hess, an enigmatic personality himself who keeps Rotheram on his toes.
The Welsh Girl is a novel to appeal to a broad audience. The fine balance of intrigue, humor, and romance, combined with a rich historical setting, is enough to keep any reader hooked. The ending is thoroughly satisfying but avoids an overly dramatic climax which would remove from tone of the book. Overall, I’d say that anyone looking for something more than a fast paced page-turner with a linear plot will not be disappointed by this book.
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Classes started last week. I registered late for one, since I had to drop my internet course cuz my computer blew up (long story short, HP can suck my cock I exchanged it for an ASUS so all is now well) so I missed the first class of English Composition II. I read the syllabus and I think I'm actually going to enjoy it, even though I was stressing over it for a bit (I'm not keen on writing). Also I have Humanities which is gonna be a snoozefest, even thought it doesn't have to be, but the teacher seems like a real tool. Oh well, can't winnumall.
Also got a new seat for my bicycle, and a wicker basket to boot. It's super cute and I can't wait till the weather breaks so I can actually ride it during daylight hours when people can see how adorable I am on my little vintage bicycle.
Oh! I gave blood yesterday. They finally let me do it because I wasn't having my wisdom teeth out next week or hadn't drank two giant Dunkin Donuts coffees for breakfast, like the last times I went to give blood.
Disney next weekend. I'm saving my money so I'm not renewing our passes this year. *sobs*
http://money.aol.com/article/disney-buying-marvel-entertainment/647124
That excites me. A lot. It probably shouldn't, but I'm kind of a Marvel fangirl and you all know how I feel about Disney. Not to mention the Mickey-Mouse-as-Spiderman bigfigs which are bound to start showing up in the parks.
Also, I had the (mis)fortune of being selected to write a book review for the library's newsletter. Since I had to do it anyway, I'm posting it here.
The Welsh Girl is a historical fiction novel set in Wales during World War II and is told from the viewpoint of three different characters: Esther, a young barmaid who lives with her shepherd father in a small Welsh village; Karsten, a young German soldier who winds up in a newly established POW camp just outside the aforementioned village; and Rotheram, a British military investigator who left his home of Germany as a child and keeps secret his half-Jewish origin.
Esther dreams of leaving Wales and seeing the wider world, but her world comes crashing down when the British soldier she is seeing rapes her and leaves her pregnant. In the POW camp, Karsten is disliked by his fellow prisoners who see his surrender as a sign of defeat. Like the other villagers, Esther watches the prisoners in the new camp from outside the fence, however she does not mock or shout at them as the others do. Karsten takes an interest in her, and when he briefly escapes the camp, he stays in her barn and she tends to him.
Concurrently, Rotheram is interrogating Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, who’d been in England since the beginning of the war. Hess’s sanity is called into question, and it’s Rotheram’s duty to determine whether he is well enough to stand trial. Hess theorizes Rotheram’s German-Jewish descent, and thus Rotheram must come to grips with this, as well as having left Germany as a child.
In spite of being something of an anti-war novel, the tone is kept very soft and for the most part it takes a relaxed pace. The main characters are well-fleshed and supported by a diverse group of secondary characters. Esther’s father, still mourning the recent loss of his wife, is a fierce Welsh nationalist who does not trust the English soldiers stationed nearby; the bartender and the BBC radio personalities who offer light humor but who harbor their own secrets; Hess, an enigmatic personality himself who keeps Rotheram on his toes.
The Welsh Girl is a novel to appeal to a broad audience. The fine balance of intrigue, humor, and romance, combined with a rich historical setting, is enough to keep any reader hooked. The ending is thoroughly satisfying but avoids an overly dramatic climax which would remove from tone of the book. Overall, I’d say that anyone looking for something more than a fast paced page-turner with a linear plot will not be disappointed by this book.
--
Classes started last week. I registered late for one, since I had to drop my internet course cuz my computer blew up (long story short, HP can suck my cock I exchanged it for an ASUS so all is now well) so I missed the first class of English Composition II. I read the syllabus and I think I'm actually going to enjoy it, even though I was stressing over it for a bit (I'm not keen on writing). Also I have Humanities which is gonna be a snoozefest, even thought it doesn't have to be, but the teacher seems like a real tool. Oh well, can't winnumall.
Also got a new seat for my bicycle, and a wicker basket to boot. It's super cute and I can't wait till the weather breaks so I can actually ride it during daylight hours when people can see how adorable I am on my little vintage bicycle.
Oh! I gave blood yesterday. They finally let me do it because I wasn't having my wisdom teeth out next week or hadn't drank two giant Dunkin Donuts coffees for breakfast, like the last times I went to give blood.
Disney next weekend. I'm saving my money so I'm not renewing our passes this year. *sobs*