Fiction

The Girl with Glass Feet

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The Girl with Glass Feet

The Girl with Glass Feet

By Ali Shaw

Henry Holt & Company

ISBN: 978-0805091144

3.5 stars

Ida Maclaird went to St. Hauda’s Land looking for answers to a strange affliction — her feet are turning to glass. While exploring the island, she meets Midas Crook. He’s introverted, skittish, and mostly avoids people preferring to see the world through the lens of his camera. For Midas, it’s easier to photograph life than experience it.

Ida, outgoing and friendly to Midas’s lonely and shy state, stops by the flower shop where he works and asks him to coffee. She confesses that she is looking for a man named Henry Fuwa. Midas knows him but because of his own emotional and personal history with Henry, tells her nothing. Midas wants to help, but can’t bring himself to say the words or to actually do anything. It is Ida who pushes the relationship forward and once again invites Midas to spend time with her. When Ida invites Midas to the cottage she is staying at, he gets a look at her feet which entrance him enough to photograph them while Ida sleeps. Ida is hurt by his actions but somehow still wants him around for which Midas is grateful, although he’s unable to express it.

Midas becomes so captivated with Ida and her feet that he goes to see Henry Fuwa without telling her. Henry tells him what he doesn’t want to hear — there is no cure and the glass will eventually overtake her whole body. Midas doesn’t tell Ida about this visit or what he has learned but is determined to help her. Somehow Ida finds herself falling in love with Midas but she can’t help but wonder if it’s the affliction or Midas that is actually causing the feelings she’s having. While she is hoping for a cure, she can see the glass spreading and is all too aware of the fact that she hasn’t much time left.

Over the course of Ida looking for a cure, you’re introduced to a strange cast of island residents all disturbed and suffering some ailment of their own. It’s a sad story with death hanging over every page. It’s almost as if every one of the island residents is grieving in their own way, sadly looking for answers and emotions long passed or forgotten. They all seem to crave some light and happiness on a damp, foggy island. While the story is full of failures, romantic and otherwise, Ida and Midas do find each other and while the romance is far from romantic, it forces both Ida and Midas to focus on the present and enjoy what’s in front of them.

This a debut novel by Shaw and it’s a good show. While I thought some parts were slightly confusing and a few extra words of explanation could have helped in places, it’s a story I couldn’t put down in the end. While I don’t think each story needs a happy ending, I was slightly surprised and pleased by how this one turned out.

In addition to this blog, I also do reviews for The Book Reporter website. The above is a summary of my review, which can be read in full here. The book was provided to me by the publisher for The Book Reporter review.

Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural

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Isis: A Tale of Supernatural

Isis: A Tale of the Supernatural

By Douglas Clegg

Vanguard Press

ISBN: 978-1-59315-540-7

3.75 stars

Iris Catherine Villiers wanders the gardens and cliffs of her home at Belerion Hall with her brother Harvey. The two are close and the relationship makes up for the lack of attention from her mother, father, and two older brothers. Iris and Harvey enjoy listening to the stories told by the gardener, Old Marsh, who loves to tell the two tales of death and resurrection. In their grandfather’s library, they discover books on demons and ancient rights and begin playing around with spells they believe only to be harmless words and symbols. When an unfortunate accident takes Harvey’s life but leaves Iris alive, she does something unheard of — she brings Harvey back from the dead.

Isis reads like a morbid fairytale. Bones, death, sex — all are topics in this tale. Love and loneliness play large roles infusing the story with a sad overtone. The book is studded with black and white sketches that leave you with a grim vision of the story and the the grave deeds of Iris.

Isis is a short book, 113 pages, made even shorter by the illustrations but it’s captivating. I read the whole books while eating lunch (which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend due to some of the content). While the story is about death, it is more creepy and morbid than scary. I picked this book up because of the cover and I worried that it would not live up to the love at first sight affair that made me bring it home from the library. I am happy to report that this short read was worth it. It’s impact is much bigger than it’s actual physical size. It’s a sad, disturbing tale of death with carefully chosen words to evoke the sadness and loneliness that accompanies death in it’s numerous forms.

The Magicians & Mrs. Quent

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The Magicians & Mrs. Quent

The Magicians & Mrs. Quent

By Galen Beckett

Random House Publishing Group

ISBN: 9780553592559

3.5 stars

The Magicians & Mrs. Quent is a fantasy book with an alternative Regency/Victorian feel to it. There are ladies and lords, hand wringing, and lots of letter writing with some magic thrown in. It’s sort of Pride & Prejudice with a side of Wuthering Heights.

Ivy Lockwell lives with her mother, two sisters, and their ailing father. Their position is precarious but Ivy is determined to keep her small family together. She has a love of books and is constantly reading, especially her father’s magic books, in the hopes of finding a cure for him. She meets and falls for a Mr. Rafferdy and her hope of saving her family seems solid until fate intervenes and Rafferdy is told by his father that he will be marrying someone of his social standing and not a girl like Ivy. When Ivy’s mother suddenly dies, she takes a job as a governess to two small children to support her sisters. The job is in the country far outside the city and her family. It is here that she meets Mr. Quent and, after a short romance, the two marry. On her return to the city, she once again befriends Mr. Rafferdy who has also had a turn of fortunes in his life. Ivy’s life begins colliding with Rafferdy’s and the two find themselves in a showdown with evil that neither expected.

This book is broken up into three sections. The first part has a very Pride & Prejudice feel to it complete with letters and dreary sitting rooms. Part two takes Ivy to Heathcrest a la Wuthering Heights if you will. Part three brings Ivy back to the city to fight the evil she believes to be responsible for her father’s illness.

My problem with the three books was that they felt like three different books and not one cohesive book. Only the characters held the story together and it didn’t feel like that was enough. If felt as if it were missing something. It’s obvious that a second book is in the works as the ending, while satisfactory, leaves a few things open.

I liked Ivy a lot. She’s a strong, interesting character with secrets and a power she doesn’t know she has. Her relationship with Mr. Quent is predictable and slightly unsatisfying as you never really learn much about him. Rafferdy, however, doesn’t become likable until book three and then he still has his moments.

I know this review is starting to sound as if I didn’t like the book and that’s not true. I did like it. I actually found myself thinking about it days after I finished. The world built in this book – day and night shifts, the use of magic, dark and light powers – is interesting but unfortunately it just doesn’t feel cohesive. To me, it felt like there was a disconnect between the characters and the plot. Everything is vaguely related but I didn’t feel like it all went together, somewhat like the title of the book.

It’s Austen and Bronte with some magic thrown in and that was obviously the intent. And I think that’s what drew me in to the story since I love books that have this feel to them. It was an OK read but would have been good if there were more than a few tenuous threads holding it together.

Catching Fire

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Catching Fire

Catching Fire

By Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press

ISBN: 978-0-439-02349-8

4.25 stars

Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy. My review of The Hunger Games is here. I’ve tried to avoid spoilers but if you really don’t want to know anything, you may want to stop reading now.

Katniss and Peeta are back home after winning the Hunger Games attempting to live normal lives. Instead, they spend their days and nights coping with the aftermath of the Games and the affect their actions, in and out of the arena, have on their loved ones. Katniss and Peeta are supposed to be in love and they do their best to pretend in public but her feelings are a jumbled mess and she’s not sure what she feels for Peeta. Her friend Gale is back in the picture and she doesn’t know what to do with him or her feelings for him either.

Talk of rebellion is all around and Katniss constantly wonders if her actions in the arena were the cause. When she and Peeta embark on their Victory Tour of the districts, they end up causing more trouble, some unknowingly and some intentionally. Now Katniss needs to prove to the Capitol that her actions mean nothing before everything comes back to haunt her.

I preferred death match in the area to inciting rebellion. I’m not sure what they says about me but even though I liked The Hunger Games better, I found Catching Fire just as addicting. Some parts of Catching Fire felt like a re-hash of The Hunger Games to some degree since certain events take place all over again. Katniss is still trying to decide between Peeta and Gale. Frankly, I’m almost as frustrated as she is with the choice. She is still sullen, self-centered, and annoying as ever (I must point out though that it works for her and is not the turnoff you think it will be.) and you have to wonder why anyone would love her. Yet, they do.

Catching Fire is a really fast read and really entertaining. It’s brain candy at it’s ultimate with all the addicting qualities you want out of it. It’s just as violent as the first and ends in the same appallingly annoying way: end of book two. Now I have to wait until August to find out what happens next.

The Hunger Games

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The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

By Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press

ISBN: 978-0-439-02348-1

4.5 stars

In Panem, a dystopian North America racked by years of war, the Capitol is once again choosing tributes, a boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18, to compete in the Hunger Games. The Games are a way for the Capitol to keep the 12 surrounding districts in line and remind the residents of the Capitol’s power over them. Katniss Everdeen and her younger sister Prim are both eligible to become tributes. When Prim’s name is chosen, Katniss steps forward and volunteers to take her place. Katniss and the other tribute, Peeta, are then sent off to the Capitol to prepare for the competition.

Having spent most of her life close to death, Katniss knows how to survive but it will take every last bit of courage she can dredge up to make it out of the competition alive. Having to make choices she never thought she would have to about survival, love, and humanity in the process.

This book is like crack. Stick with me here people, I mean this in a good way. This book is so incredibly addicting that you don’t want to put it down and when you finally do, you realize that you’ve actually finished the book and there are no words left and that was the reason why you stopped reading. The final words in this book are: end of book one. What?! I wasn’t ready for it to end and I wanted more. But, no, I was left hanging.

I heard so much about this book and it’s been on my radar but I never got around to picking it up. As soon as I finished The Hunger Games, I quickly put Catching Fire, the second book in the series, on hold at the library. By quickly, I mean as soon as I finished reading I sat down at the computer and logged into the library to add it to my que. It’s been a long time since I’ve been left wondering this much about what would happen to two characters. Katniss and Peeta become so fascinating and you need to know everything, and of course, does she or doesn’t she love him is the big question. And, no, I won’t tell you. I don’t know either.

Yes, this is a violent book but knowing the book is about war and the absolute zero value the Capitol places on the residents of the districts and, especially children, you come to an understanding at the beginning of this story. It’s a hard story about survival and what people will do in those last few moments and I liked the dark edge. It gave you a reason to cheer Katniss and Peeta on. It’s exciting and hooks you right at the start. I’m sorry I waited so long to read this series. Thankfully book 3 will be out in August. Hey Lady! Whatca Readin’? posted the name and cover of the next book recently, Mockingjay. If you want to read her post, click here.  It will be released on August 24, 2010.

The Kingdom of Ohio

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The Kingdom of Ohio

The Kingdom of Ohio

By Matthew Flaming

Penguin Group

ISBN: 978-0-399-15560-4

4.75 stars

What happens when two people in love are separated? What happens to the love, the heartbreak? Can time and space shift?

Peter Force, newly arrived in New York City in 1900, finds a job working on the subway system at first breaking rock and then repairing the machines that break and move the earth. One cold evening, he meets Cherie-Anne Toledo, and feeling sorry for her, offers her help. Cherie-Anne tells him an amazing tale of time travel and inventors that he can’t believe but he also can’t tear himself away from her or her story.

Cherie-Anne is a mathematical prodigy and a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Ohio, a place Peter has never heard of. While he is drawn to both Cherie-Anne and her story, he doesn’t find it in himself to believe her until he sees a few things for himself. Although cautious, he finds himself helping her intrigued by what he has seen and heard.

A lot of famous people make appearances in this book — Thomas Edison, JP Morgan, and Nikola Tesla. Numerous footnotes dot the story adding odd notes and sidebars the narrator feels are necessary for the reader to have a complete understanding. These notes make you wonder about the narrator and his actual role in the story he is telling.

The Kingdom of Ohio is a short book and a very rich one. It’s about love, heartbreak, time travel, science and its impact on the world as well as its consequences. It’s all about what we know and what we think we know. How something as simple as the light bulb can have such an effect on our lives and make us wonder where we are going and what the affect might be.

I wasn’t expecting the story I was told in this book but what I did find was lovely. It’s a grand love story, but not overly mushy or drawn out, that crosses time lines — one solidly rooted in the present and one in the past kindled by old photographs and antiques. It will leave you with a lot of questions in the end about what really happened but in a good way. I highly recommend it.

The Thirteenth Tale

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The Thirteenth Tale

The Thirteenth Tale

By Diane Setterfield

Atria Books

ISBN: 978-0-7423-98802-5

4.75 stars

The Thirteenth Tale is about ghosts, what haunts people in their worst moments, personal regrets, and most of all, it is a story about a story.

Margaret Lea is an amateur biographer who works with her father at their antiquarian bookstore. She is called upon by England’s most beloved and well-known writer, Vida Winter, to write her biography. Vida has never told her story to anyone and no one knows anything about her personal life thanks to Vida herself who leads everyone, who dares to ask a personal question, astray. She explains to Margaret her plans to tell her the story of Vida Winter — it will be done properly, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. What comes forth is a story of Gothic proportions, strange unbelievable characters, and a story that is both disturbing and beautiful. Over the weeks she spends listening to Vida’s story, Margaret finds that she has more in common with the enigmatic writer than she ever thought possible. The connection pulls her deeply into the story, a story she almost doesn’t quite believe.

This book is a story within a story. The title of the book itself is a reference to an written tome of Vida’s that fans wish that she would write and it is Margaret that gets to hear the story but it is not what she, or anyone, would ever think of. There are parallels between the author and biographer — both Margaret and Vida are recluses in their own ways, each retreating into a world full of books and stories all while hiding for fear of reviving a ghost that has long remained dormant.

In the end, Setterfield tells you a new tale and everything you thought about these characters is once more thrown into the realm of mystery. The gaps are closed but not in the way you expect and you don’t feel cheated but something like closure for the characters. While I did really enjoy this book, there are a few awkward and disturbing moments that can be a big turnoff for some readers which I think can make this a love it or hate book. I was able to push through those parts and for me it became a fascinating story of a life no one knew was lived.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

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The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

By Muriel Barbery

Europa Editions

ISBN: 978-1-933372-60-0

5 stars

Renée Michel is the concierge at number 7 rue de Grenelle, a luxury apartment building in Paris. She is short, self-described as ugly, and can be onerous. She’s also brilliant. An autodidact, with interests in philosophy, art, and Japanese culture, she spends her days watching and ruminating about the building’s tenants. Ever careful to keep her secret hidden, she goes about playing the dumb concierge and scrutinizing others in her diary.

Paloma Josse is a precocious 12 year old girl who lives on the fifth floor of number 7 rue de Grenelle. She has come to the realization that life is not worth living and on her thirteenth birthday, she will end it all and, to punish her family for making her life such drivel, will burn the apartment. Much like Renée, she goes about her life hiding her talents from the world, finding it easier to just be plain and ordinary in terms of knowledge. She begins a diary of profound thoughts to convince herself that her plan is sound and explain why life is not worth living.

When a new tenant moves into the building, everyone’s life is changed. Ozu is Japanese and quickly finds a kindred spirit in Renée and also Paloma who both unknowingly share a deep interest in Japanese culture.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog is one of those rare books that makes you stop and look around. We move through life so fast that we sometimes don’t appreciate the people around us that we see everyday. Renée and Paloma are those two people. They’re both hiding from the world because they don’t believe that anyone can appreciate them and it’s sad to think that they’re hiding what is most important, not only to them, but to others. In a way they don’t want people to know who they truly are but when they find their lives intersecting, it becomes all the more wonderful.

The first 100+ pages of this book contain a lot of rather dry philosophy. I have never been one to read philosophy, so I will admit that some of the profound nature of there theories was lost on me and made me wonder when it would move on. When that change takes place, it happens fast, and you become fascinated by the characters in this book. Everyone with their own problems hurrying to get somewhere always passing Renée as if she were invisible and, in some cases, barking orders as if she were nothing more than a dog. Her observations are insightful and wonderfully funny.

When I finished, I felt sad that things at number 7 rue de Grenelle had changed the way they did. Renée, Paloma, and Ozu are immensely likable characters and they way they hide from everyone else is part of their mystique. You revel in getting to know them and how they react to the rest of the tenants.

While the beginning is a bit slow and sometimes dreary, I thought The Elegance of the Hedgehog was one of the best books I have read in a while. It’s witty, funny, and smart. Barbery’s writing style is wonderful and I have added Gourmet Rhapsody to my reading list which features characters from The Elegance of the Hedgehog.