Book: Wolf Hall
Author: Hilary Mandell
method: borrowed (dad)
Now, I love historical fiction. It may be one of my favorite genres, because I like when things are based in reality, but not a literal depiction of reality. I first heard of this book at a dinner party where I was one of the few people there who hadn't read it, and it was raved about. My dad even said he read it twice, which is rare for my dad (unless it's a Pynchon novel) so I had a feeling it was going to be book of the year quality stuff.
This is definitely a big book. it's a heavy presence in your bag, even in paper back. It also isn't the kind of book where you can read it while reading another novel. It requires full commitment, because the way Mandell rights, Cromwell is often only refered to as Him in the narration, so you have to be on top of who is saying what and who is in the room with Cromwell.
I can see why Cromwell would be an interesting character to write about, because he is truly fascinating. During this period in history, your beliefs were often something that kept you alive and were incredibly important. Cromwell only believes in surviving, and surviving any way possible. This was also a time when the position you were born in was the position where you stayed, but Cromwell, born a blacksmiths son rose up to be the king's Cheif advisor, and he seems to have done so by always knowing who to talk to and what people wanted to hear.
Throughout the novel, there is a beautiful duality between Cromwell and Thomas Moore. Moore is so steadfast in his beliefs throughout his whole life. Everything he does he does out of devotion to what he believes (and. Oddly enough in my opinion comes out looking the bigger scum bag.) whereas Cromwell only believes in survival. The relationship between these two characters was my favorite part of this book, because they are such polar opposites.
Anne Boleyn is much more fascinating a woman through Mandell's eyes than any other interpretation I've read before. She is cool and calculating, but never described as being overly beautiful or charming. She is a woman carved of marble, and reminds me of the grandmother or Henry, Margret Beaufort. She was another woman who had one goal and did not rest until she had achieved it. She had the same sense of drive, but the same problems, being a woman in a time where a woman had little to no power. E two women also used the only means available to them to achieve their goals
xo- ellebee
Monday, September 26, 2011
Almost as good as new York review of books personals
Book: squirrel seeks chipmunk
Author: David sedaris
Method: gift (mum)
David Sedaris is a wonderfully confusing human. He is such an interesting and bizarre character, and his stories always reflect his borderline insanity. My parents got me this book at a Sedaris book reading and signing. They said that he was so awesome, because he would actually talk to every person, and signs every book you brought if you brought books from home. My books autograph says 'dear Lindsay, your mother and I have a special relationship' which just tickles me every time I see it.
I don't know why I thought that these stories, or fables would be light hearted, seeing as they were written by David freaking Sedaris, but live and learn. I was a little taken aback by how dark they were. Sedaris sits with Dahl in the camp of authors with a very grim very of humanity. The animals in these stories are often Selfish or cold hearted or mean creatures. They aren't very forgiving, or likable, and some of the stories are down right depressing.
Just like any collection of short stories there are highs and lows, but each of these stories are interesting in their own right. There are a few that are very light hearted and interesting, and a few that are very disturbing. For example, the story about the bear whose mother died and whose laziness and felling sorry for herself ends with her ending up in the worst possible place for a bear to be. Sounds cryptic I know, but I'm always afraid of giving stuff away...
I feel that this book is exactly the kind of thing you want in your bag to read snippets of on your lunch break, or waiting for the bus. If you read it all in one go, it can be a bit of a downer, but spaced out the stories are witty clever and heartbreaking.
xo- ellebee
Author: David sedaris
Method: gift (mum)
David Sedaris is a wonderfully confusing human. He is such an interesting and bizarre character, and his stories always reflect his borderline insanity. My parents got me this book at a Sedaris book reading and signing. They said that he was so awesome, because he would actually talk to every person, and signs every book you brought if you brought books from home. My books autograph says 'dear Lindsay, your mother and I have a special relationship' which just tickles me every time I see it.
I don't know why I thought that these stories, or fables would be light hearted, seeing as they were written by David freaking Sedaris, but live and learn. I was a little taken aback by how dark they were. Sedaris sits with Dahl in the camp of authors with a very grim very of humanity. The animals in these stories are often Selfish or cold hearted or mean creatures. They aren't very forgiving, or likable, and some of the stories are down right depressing.
Just like any collection of short stories there are highs and lows, but each of these stories are interesting in their own right. There are a few that are very light hearted and interesting, and a few that are very disturbing. For example, the story about the bear whose mother died and whose laziness and felling sorry for herself ends with her ending up in the worst possible place for a bear to be. Sounds cryptic I know, but I'm always afraid of giving stuff away...
I feel that this book is exactly the kind of thing you want in your bag to read snippets of on your lunch break, or waiting for the bus. If you read it all in one go, it can be a bit of a downer, but spaced out the stories are witty clever and heartbreaking.
xo- ellebee
Love.
Book: Annabel
Author: Kathleen Winter
Method: gift (mum and dad)
My mum has this impeccable knack of picking books based on reviews and gut feelings. Both she and my father seem to have this talent. Maybe it comes from years of collecting, or maybe it's some 6th sense. This was a birthday present from the two of them, but I didn't get to read it right after my birthday because it is impossible to leave my parents house with just one book.
This book was a really beautiful story about the simplicity and the complications of love between a child and a parent, especially a child who is different. It is one of those novels that manages to deal with a very difficult and confusing subject in a way that makes the story both believable and moving.
The couple in the novel is born with a hermaphrodite baby in a very small hunting community on the east coast of Canada. The parents then make the decision to permanently alter their baby to always be a little boy on the outside. Over the years, this decision becomes more and more complicated as the boy, Wayne, reaches puberty and as he grows up and moves away from his parents. Because the book is based in such a small community, we don't just follow Wayne's progress, but one of his childhood friends and her struggle to overcome her own physical limitations.
This book really has a great view of the difficulties in being different, and how it is so difficult and so easy to just love people for the way they are.
xo- ellebee
Beloved monster
Book: Marie Antoinette
Author: Antonia Fraser
Method: borrowed(mum)
My mother and I went to see the movie this book was based on when it came out. She had read the book, but I hadn't. Long story short, we left giggling around the time that Kirsten Dunst's laughably huge head started crying on screen about the face that all her friends were having babies and she couldnt get Louie to touch her with a 10 ft pole. After this I was not expecting much from this book except to read about a frivolous and stupid woman who ate Bon bons, bought shoes and was with great finality beheaded before her subjects.
I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, especially because I am not big on biographies. I prefer bio fiction, but Fraser is a very impressive writer. I think she must choose her subjects very carefully and with a lot of research. She chooses characters who evolve over time, and this is incredibly present in this novel.
Marie Antoinette did begin her life as a frivolous woman who wore gorgeous clothes and diamonds, but as she grew older she educated herself and attempted to work towards the bettering of her ravaged country. She became queen at the worst time possible. She and her family were doomed by the path france had to take to rid itself of the monarchy. However, I believe she and not louie was the focus of this novel because she was the one who was beloved by the people and then despised as a wicked Austrian dog (among other heinous nicknames). For some reason it was always Marie that bore the full brunt of the peoples feelings.
In the beginning she is an impossible character to sympathize with. She is lazy and petulant and has no patience for anything but the surface beauty. And I believe this was the great failing of the movie, because they never got to the point in her life where she becomes remotely likable. It is Strange to me that when I couldn't stand her in the book is when she was at her most popular and when I grew to sympathize with her was when the people of france were calling for her blood.
This is one of those books where you obviously know the ending. But I found, unlike in the movie, I was so saddened by the ending, it got me all teary eyed. It was so brutal to hear about the total eradication of her whole family and her friends.
Even though at the beginning of their rein, you see that they realize the people were restless and unhappy, but they seem to dismiss it as something that will resolve itself. What happened is something that had never happened before, so you can see why the monarchy didn't believe that anything would actually happen
xo- ellebee
Author: Antonia Fraser
Method: borrowed(mum)
My mother and I went to see the movie this book was based on when it came out. She had read the book, but I hadn't. Long story short, we left giggling around the time that Kirsten Dunst's laughably huge head started crying on screen about the face that all her friends were having babies and she couldnt get Louie to touch her with a 10 ft pole. After this I was not expecting much from this book except to read about a frivolous and stupid woman who ate Bon bons, bought shoes and was with great finality beheaded before her subjects.
I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, especially because I am not big on biographies. I prefer bio fiction, but Fraser is a very impressive writer. I think she must choose her subjects very carefully and with a lot of research. She chooses characters who evolve over time, and this is incredibly present in this novel.
Marie Antoinette did begin her life as a frivolous woman who wore gorgeous clothes and diamonds, but as she grew older she educated herself and attempted to work towards the bettering of her ravaged country. She became queen at the worst time possible. She and her family were doomed by the path france had to take to rid itself of the monarchy. However, I believe she and not louie was the focus of this novel because she was the one who was beloved by the people and then despised as a wicked Austrian dog (among other heinous nicknames). For some reason it was always Marie that bore the full brunt of the peoples feelings.
In the beginning she is an impossible character to sympathize with. She is lazy and petulant and has no patience for anything but the surface beauty. And I believe this was the great failing of the movie, because they never got to the point in her life where she becomes remotely likable. It is Strange to me that when I couldn't stand her in the book is when she was at her most popular and when I grew to sympathize with her was when the people of france were calling for her blood.
This is one of those books where you obviously know the ending. But I found, unlike in the movie, I was so saddened by the ending, it got me all teary eyed. It was so brutal to hear about the total eradication of her whole family and her friends.
Even though at the beginning of their rein, you see that they realize the people were restless and unhappy, but they seem to dismiss it as something that will resolve itself. What happened is something that had never happened before, so you can see why the monarchy didn't believe that anything would actually happen
xo- ellebee
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