Sunday Salon: Historical Novels and a Review

A new arrival this week, thanks to River Books Press is The Stairway Guide's Daughter by John Burgess, published September 25, 2017. The book is an historical novel set in the Angkor civilization of 12th century Cambodia. 

Description: "...a young woman called Jorani earns her living guiding pilgrims up a two thousand-step stairway to the magnificent cliff-top temple, Preah Vihear. One day, she accidentally witnesses the furtive burning of sacred palm-leaf documents, and is drawn into a succession struggle at the temple. She is forced to choose between loyalty to family and to the son of the abbot, with whom she forms an unlikely bond."

Another book I was excited about is by the new Nobel Prize winner in Literature this year, Kazuo Ishiguro.

I found my 2007 Goodreads review of When We Were Orphans. I reread it recently and got a few more ideas. Here is the original review:

"A book I have wanted to look at again. Set in the 1930s, it's about a young English detective with a faulty memory who returns to wartime Shanghai in 1937 to find his parents who had disappeared there years ago when he was about nine years old. As he is an unreliable narrator, readers have to figure out the puzzle of his past and become detectives themselves to decide what is fact and what is fiction. Christopher meets a Japanese soldier in Shanghai who may or may not be his playmate from years ago, before the war. How Christopher reacts or doesn't react to him and how he ignores his surroundings in Shanghai during the Japanese invasion is part of his strange, delusional persona. This book intrigued me so much, I want to try again to get the hard facts of Christopher's journey, which may not be possible, given his inaccurate memory. Ishiguro, born in Nagasaki, Japan and now living in London, is also author of The Remains of the Day, a Booker Prize-winning novel made into the award winning film with Anthony Hopkins." I'll just add now that on reading it again the past two days, I found the narrator Christopher to be a kind of English/European version of the Ugly American, representing the tunnel vision that ignored the reality of what was going on in Shanghai before and during WWII. If anyone has read  When We Were Orphans, I would love to discuss it and get your ideas here. What have you been reading this week?

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Two Book Reviews: The Vegetarian by Han Kang and Mad by Chloe Esposito

Here are two brief reviews of books I finished this week. Both are controversial, I think, and a little
out of the ordinary.

The Vegetarian by Han Kang
Think Franz Kafka and his Metamorphosis. Yeong-Hye stops eating meat and soon imagines herself one with the plant world, needing only sunlight. But her body remains the same, a human body needing food, even if meat-free.

I am not sure if this is a psychological study of extreme delusion or a study of a woman reacting to the strictures of a patriarchal world and a society with strict laws, especially when it comes to women's status. It could be both.

The story is told from three points of view - that of Yeong-Hye, of her brother-in-law who becomes obsessed with her, and of her older sister, the supposedly responsible, sane sister in the family.

It's a bit disturbing, this story, but with lots to ponder.

Book beginning:

Before my wife turned vegetarian, I'd had always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way. To be frank, the first time I met her I wasn't even attracted to her. Middling height, bobbed hair neither long nor short; jaundiced, sickly-looking skin, somewhat prominent cheekbones; her timid, sallow cheekbones told me all I needed to know. As she came up to the table where I was waiting, I couldn't help but notice her shoes - the plainest black shoes imaginable. And that walk of hers - neither fast nor slow, striding nor mincing.  

Mad: A Novel (Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know Trilogy) by British author Chloe Esposito, June 13, 2017, Dutton
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars[ 3 of 5 stars ]4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

I am, like some of the other reviewers, ambivalent about the direction the main character headed. Alvie was a scattered young woman asked by her identical twin sister to fly to Sicily to switch places with her for a few hours.

I was surprised at the turn in the character in the story in the second half of the book. Her sister Beth acts strangely about the identity swap, and things go awry quickly. This is the first in a trilogy, so I'm wondering where the story will go from here. Alvie/Beth is probably not going to be everyone's idea of a perfect protagonist, though she certainly is an interestingly"mad" one.

Book beginning:

Alvie darling, 

Please stop ignoring me. I know you received my last two emails because I put that recipient-tracker thing on, so you can stop pretending. Despite being at risk of repeating myself, I would like to invite you, yet again, to come and stay with us at our villa in Taormina. You would LOVE it here: 16th century, original features, the smell of frangipani in the air. The sun shines every single day. There is a pool to die for....

Meme: visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

First Chapter: Pupcakes by Annie England Noblin

Pupcakes: A Christmas Novel by Annie England Noblin, October 10, 2017, courtesy of William Morrow
Genre: romance, Christmas story
This is a novel of one woman starting over, who is adopted by an aging pug named Teddy Roosevelt, and continues when Brydie uses her baking skills to open a bakery named after its mascot - Pupcakes. 

First paragraph, first chapter:

The dog came with the house. Or maybe the house came with the dog. Either way, no matter how the sentence was constructed, the house and the dog came together.
Brydie Benson looked down at the at the fat wad of fur on the floor in front of her. Its tongue hung out of its mouth, fixed in what seemed to be a permanent pant. Bits of drool dripped from the protruding tongue and pooled onto the hardwood floor between them. 
Brydie took a step back. "Are you sure it can't go live with a relative or something?" she asked. "I'm not really a dog person." (from an uncorrected proof; final copy may differ)

Would you read on based on the beginning and the book description? 

MEME: Every Tuesday Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros sharing the first paragraph or two, from a book you are reading or will be reading soon.

Sunday Salon: Time for Pumpkins and Apple Cider

Autumn is definitely here. It was much cooler today and here I am covered in a blanket cause it's still too warm to have the heater on. Not sure I'm ready for fall as yet. Today we ate an apple cinnamon donut bought at a local farm, and got Fuji apples and a buttery pumpkin, which we promptly cooked in a Thai curry. Yum!

Christmas-related books are now coming out. Here are two:

Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb, October 3, 2017, courtesy of William Morrow.

An historical romance set in 1914 during the Great War, and 1968, Two friends write letters to each other over the years but the war and its aftermath prevent their reunion. 

Mrs. Jeffries and the Three Wise Women by Emily Brightwell, October 17, 2017, courtesy of Berkley.

A man is shot under cover of fireworks at a Guy Fawkes party. With Christmas almost here, Inspector Witherspoon and everyone in his household is upset at the possibility of having to cancel their holiday plans—all to solve a case that seems impossible.

I finished reading 

Glass Houses: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13
by Louise Penny and gave it five stars, as I have all the books of hers I've read in the series. The first half of the book seems a bit slow, setting the stage for the second half of the book, which is riveting. I recommend it for mystery lovers.

I borrowed three books from the library. One is 

Mad: A Novel (Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know Trilogy) by British author Chloe Esposito, June13, 2017, Dutton.

I was intrigued by the book description: .... In this debut novel, set between London and Sicily over one blood-drenched week in the dead of summer, an identical twin reveals the crazy lies and twists she'll go through to not only steal her sister's perfect life, but to keep on living it.

My reading of the book so far: The twin in question is unfocused and scattered, in debt, and without much hope or plans for the future. The description of her through her actions, words, and behavior is alarming yet amusing and makes me want to read on!

What's on your reading plate this week?

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Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa: Book Beginning/Review

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa, translated from the Japanese, November 14, 2017, courtesy of OneWorld Publication
Genre: novel translated from the Japanese
Paperback, 224 pages

Book beginning:

A sweetly scented breeze blew along Cherry Blossom Street.

Sentaro stood over a hot griddle inside the Doraharu shop, as he did all day everyday, cooking pancakes or his dorayaki. Cherry Blossom Street was a run-down commercial strip in a depressed part of town, a street more notable for empty shops than the cherry trees planted sparsely on either side. Today, however, perhaps because the flowers were in full bloom, there were more people about than usual. 

Sentaro looked up to see an elderly lady in a white hat standing on the roadside, but immediately turned back to the bowl of batter he was mixing. He assumed she was looking at the billowing could of cherry blossom on the tree outside the shop.

Page 56:

"What kind of food do you like to eat, boss? What's the local specialty in Takasaki?"

I saw the movie based on this book on Netflix and really liked the story of a down-and-out, handicapped older woman who is given a job making dorayaki, a sweet pastry of pancakes filled with bean paste. She helps the struggling owner of the failing shop to attract buyers with her delicious recipe and cooking. But she hides a secret that will be a huge problem for her and for the shop owner, Sentaro, as time goes by.

The characters and plot are heartwarming and unexpected. A very enjoyable novel.

Memes: The Friday 56. Grab a book, turn to page 56 or 56% of your eReader. Find any sentence that grabs you. Post it, and add your URL post in Linky at Freda's Voice. Also visit Book Beginning at Rose City Reader.

First Chapter: The Genius Plague by David Walton

First Chapter, First Paragraph is a weekly meme hosted by Bibliophile By the Sea on Tuesdays. Join in by sharing the first paragraph of a book you are reading or plan to read, and linking up on the website.

The Genius Plague by David Walton, publication October 3, 2017 by Pyr

Genre: novel, fantasy, sci-fi

First paragraph:

Prologue

Paul Johns hadn't seen another human being in six days.
He emerged from the Amazon rainforest, tired and sore, but exhilarated, the sudden brightness bringing a smile to his face. The river sparkled, a vast body of water several kilometers across, even this far from its mouth.  

Ahead stood a riverboat station, little more than a few rotting benches and a sign propped against an ancient wooden dock. The sign listed the boat pickup schedule, in Portuguese, Spanish, and English, the words faded and water stained. A dozen or more tourists sat on the benches or milled around nearby, waiting for the boat. Seeing them felt like spotting a rare animal in the brush. Paul's first instinct was to approach quietly, lest he startle them away.

Book description:

In the Amazon jungle, a disease is spreading. To those who survive, it grants enhanced communication, memory, and pattern recognition. But the miracle may be the sinister survival mechanism of a fungal organism, manipulating the infected into serving it.

Paul Johns, a mycologist, is convinced the fungal host is the next stage of human evolution, while his brother Neil, an analyst at the NSA, is committed to its destruction. (publisher)

Based on the beginning and the description, would you keep reading?

It's Monday: What Books Are on Your Desk?

Here's what's new on my desk this week.

Logical Family: A Memoir by Armistead Maupin, October 3, 2017, courtesy of Harper

"A book for any of us, gay or straight, who have had to find our family. Maupin is one of America’s finest storytellers."—Neil Gaiman

A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Remarkable Story of an Italian Mother, Her Two Sons, and Their Fight Against Fascism by Caroline Moorehead

Publication: October 3, 2017, book courtesy of Harper

Genre: non-fiction, historical

Seven Days of Us by Francesca Hornak, published October 17, 2017

Courtesy of Berkley, fiction

A debut novel about what happens when a family is forced to spend a week together in quarantine over the Christmas holidays...

I finished reading Glass Houses by Louise Penny, another five star read in the remarkable Inspector Gamache mystery series.

I also finished the ebook edition of

Le temps est assassin by French thriller writer, Michel Bussi, and am now reading the Spanish ebook edition of his

Mama no dice la verdad. It's nice to brush up on my languages, with the help of online dictionaries.

What's on your desk this week?

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