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My Favorite Reads – The Mists of Avalon

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is…

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

From Amazon: Even readers who don’t normally enjoy Arthurian legends will love this version, a retelling from the point of view of the women behind the throne. Morgaine (more commonly known as Morgan Le Fay) and Gwenhwyfar (a Welsh spelling of Guinevere) struggle for power, using Arthur as a way to score points and promote their respective worldviews. The Mists of Avalon’s Camelot politics and intrigue take place at a time when Christianity is taking over the island-nation of Britain; Christianity vs. Faery, and God vs. Goddess are dominant themes.

From Wikipedia, if you want a bit more plot info: Mists of Avalon is a generations-spanning retelling of the Arthurian legend, but bringing it back to its Brythonic roots. Its protagonist is Morgaine, who witnesses the rise of Uther Pendragon to the throne of Camelot. As a child, she is taken to Avalon by High Priestess Viviane, her maternal aunt, to become a priestess of the Mother Goddess and witnesses the rising tension between the old pagan and the new Christian religions. At one point, she is given in a fertility ritual to a young man she will later learn is Arthur, her half-brother. She conceives a child, Gwydion, or “bright one,” later called Mordred, or “evil counsel” in the Saxon tongue.

After Uther dies, his son Arthur claims the throne. Morgaine and Viviane give him the magic sword Excalibur, and with the combined force of Avalon and Camelot, Arthur drives the invasion of the Saxons away. But when his wife Gwenhwyfar fails to produce a child, she is convinced that it is a punishment of God: firstly for the presence of pagan elements, and secondly, for her forbidden love for Arthur’s finest knight Lancelet (Lancelot). She increasingly becomes a religious fanatic, and relationships between Avalon and Camelot (i.e. Morgaine and herself) become hostile.

When the knights of the Round Table of Camelot leave to search for the Holy Grail, a young man seeks to usurp the throne: Mordred, bastard son of Arthur and Morgaine. In a climactic battle, Arthur’s and Mordred’s armies square off, and in the end Avalon and Arthur are magically removed from the circles of the world. It is Morgaine alone who lives to tell the tale of Camelot.

My thoughts: I read this book many years ago but I remember it so vividly. The character of Morgaine is wonderfully strong and fanatical at the same time but still likable. In many of the stories she’s a cruel shrew bent on revenge, in this book she has her moments, but she’s doesn’t go for the deep end. And I love that this Arthurian story is told from the perspective of the women. Women play a major role in Arthurian legend and sometimes are not given proper credit for the strength they bring to the story.

This book is actually a series — Book One: Mistress of Magic, Book Two: The High Queen, Book Three: The King Stag, and Book Four: The Prisoner in the Oak. The version I own contains all four and is a behemoth of a book at 876 pages. I also own a few other Bradley books in the Avalon series but this is by far my favorite.

This book was made into a TNT movie but I read the book before the TV miniseries but did watch it, and if I remember correctly, it didn’t disappoint. Of course, I’m one of those odd people that doesn’t mind movie and TV adaptions even if they are different from the book so don’t count that for much.

This is a fantasy novel, and yes, there are faeries and magic and Merlin and Lancelot but it’s also contains an interesting take on religion and the pull between keeping old customs and beliefs alive while others makes moves to take over the old with the new. It’s Paganism and Christianity and the fight between old worlds and new views. It’s also a violent story at times but I tend to think of that as normal when a story is based in this time period, about 5 A.D., so don’t let that be a turn off.

While I know that fantasy can be an acquired taste, I think this is one book that can make you a fan.

My Favorite Reads – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is…

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling.

The inside cover: Harry Potter has never been the star of the Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.

All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley — a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years.

But all of that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry — and anyone who reads about him — will find unforgettable.

For it’s there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him…if Harry can only survive the encounter.

My thoughts: Oh, Harry, how I do love your world. I’ve marveled at your wonder, laughed at your funny moments, and felt sad at your misfortune.

Harry, it’s been a while since we started at the beginning and I think the time has come to start again.

By the time I got around to reading the Harry Potter books, the fourth book was about to be released. This was way back when I was working for the publishing industry defending the books against first amendment challenges. One day, while browsing a bookstore for a few books to read on a plane trip, I decided that it was time I read them to see what all the fuss was about. As luck would have it, books one, two, and three were all half off since book four was about to be released. I bought all of them, packed them in my bag, and finished them before I knew what I even read. It was instant love and my affair with the Potter boy began in earnest.

I confessed my love to a friend who told me of her own Harry love affair and outed a third friend of her quiet endearing love as well. We made a pact, and with each successive book, dutifully stood in line for our books at midnight, returning home with our precious cargo to crack the covers and see what mischief and heartache lay ahead. We would re-group a few days later and re-live the whole story.

I’ve re-read every one of the books in the series at least, well, let’s go with several times. The most recent releases have been read more often because of the movies. I thought it would be nice to go back to the beginning and start the journey again. With this post, I’m starting my summer of Harry Potter Re-Read. I know there is a Harry Potter Challenge going on out there but I think it’s coming to an end (I’ve also seen a lot of others re-reading which made me want to get out my books too.) so I’m doing my own thing and relishing the story and wonderful world all over again.

My Favorite Reads – The Fate of the Elephant

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is…

The Fate of the Elephant by Douglas H. Chadwick.

From Amazon.com: On assignment for National Geographic magazine, Chadwick spent most of two years observing elephants in American zoos and throughout Africa, India and southeast Asia. He also followed the ivory trade, visiting carvers and shops in Tokyo, Delhi, Hong Kong and Bangkok. His marvelous account depicts elephants at work and at play, profiles the people who work with them and sadly notes that their habitat is in decline. Chadwick’s description of his African adventures covers much of the same ground as Ian and Oria Douglas Hamilton’s Battle for the Elephants; his report on the Asian elephants is especially welcome, since their story has been generally neglected. Chadwick visits an elephant reserve and a training camp in India; an expert on white elephants takes him to see the King’s herd in Bangkok; in Malaysia, he watches a rescue team capture and relocate a wild elephant. In addition to telling many fascinating stories, Chadwick reminds us that the elephant’s future is bleak: too many people, too little land and unstable goverments all threaten the animal’s survival.

My thoughts: I have always had a thing for elephants. There is something so regal, commanding, and majestic about them. Each time I go to the zoo, I stand captivated by their size and, frankly, odd shape. When I finally stop being mesmerized, and finish memorizing the elephant facts board, I become sad. There are many programs going on to save the habitats of elephants. They are a vital part of the eco-system and a species that needs to find balance with its human neighbors. I know that I may only ever see an elephant in a zoo and that is especially disheartening. I would love to one day see an elephant in person in Africa but I know that may not happen, so while the zoo does not suffice, it is a place I can admire them and be awed.

ANYWAY, back to this amazing book. The way Chadwick depicted these animals you would have easily thought them human — the way they play, love, and socialize are just amazing. This book was published in 1993 and many of the facts are out of date but I think it is still a good read. It’s important to be reminded of the world we share.

The City & The City

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The City & The City

The City & The City

By China Miéville

Del Rey

ISBN: 0345497511

4 Stars

In the far reaches of Europe, the citizens of two cities strive to unsee each other. The cities, Beszel and Ul Qoma, are crosshatched sister cities divided for and by political reasons which even it’s own citizens cannot always understand.

When a woman turns up dead in Beszel, Inspector Tyador Borlu of the Extreme Crime Squad is called in to investigate. The young woman turns out to be a foreigner studying in Ul Qoma. When he cannot take the case any further without causing an incident that might give him reason to see someone in the other city, he tries to turn the case over to Breach, the agency that deals with crimes that cross city lines. When his request is rejected, he is ordered to cross into Ul Qoma to investigate the murder himself. The investigation causes him to question many of his own beliefs and those of his own government.

A crime/mystery/police procedural is not part of my regular reading diet and this certainly falls into the not my normal reading fare category easily enough. What drew me to The City & The City was the invention of the two cities that are not supposed to see or acknowledge each other but exist in the same time and physical space. There are subtle differences — clothing, language, architecture — but if one were to look past these differences, they could in fact be the same place. The Breach, which is supposed to deal with infractions that involve the seeing of both cities, is interesting in that it only exists to clean up accidents or punish people who cross the border without going through proper channels. When someone is taken by the Breach, they are never heard from again and people are understanding of this because this is how things are in their cities. As they have been trained to do since childhood, they unsee it and move on with their lives. In some ways it’s frustrating because I started to wonder how the citizens of these two cities could live with this going on around them, pretending that the neighbor they can clearly see is not there because they actually live in the other city. At some point I realized that I had to let go of my annoyance with the unseeing thing and go with it.

The story does take place in modern time but these two cities seem to exist in a world all their own and the entire time I kept wondering how these two places are like they are. There is some explanation but I didn’t feel completely satisfied by it but I think Miéville wants you to feel this way about the cities. Confused by the political, societal, and legal boundaries that are Beszel and Ul Qoma. While the murder investigation pushes the plot along, the story is really about these two cities, the strangeness of their existence, and the politics surrounding them. While it took me a few pages to get into the story and understand what was supposed to be seen and unseen, it was worth it. I’m looking forward to reading another book of his that comes out the summer called Kraken. I think The City & The City was a good Miéville primer.

The Summer We Read Gatsby

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The Summer We Read Gatsby

The Summer We Read Gatsby

By Danielle Ganek

Viking Adult

ISBN: 978-0670021789

5 Stars

When their Aunt Lydia dies, half-sisters Pecksland Moriarty and Stella Blue Cassandra Olivia Moriarty, become the executors of her will. She has asked something rather simple of the two — spend one last summer at her ramshackle cottage in the Hamptons, aptly named Fool’s House, before selling it and, while there, find a thing of utmost value.

Pecksland, Peck for short, and Cassie, although Peck prefers to call her Stella, are exact opposites. Peck, an actress, is all drama with an outfit and shoes for every occasion. She is always concerned with a “situation” which can range from a true problem to her sister’s lack of fashion sense. Cassie is a journalist and translator living in Switzerland and cares little for fashion much to the horror of her sister. She’s a recent divorcee deeply mourning her aunt’s death and has little in common with the sister she doesn’t always believe she’s related to.

Aunt Lydia was a devotee of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and she’s instilled that same love in her nieces. The book, and all their aunt loved about it, is the source of Peck and Cassie’s greatest memories of their aunt and the cottage. Aunt Lydia also liked to think of herself as a patron of the arts and always had an artist living at Fool’s House to give it that artsy vibe. The current resident is an unusual character that neither sister can figure out but, since he was there at the request of their aunt, they’re willing to live with him and his antics until they can decide what to do with the place.

Spending their days sorting through papers and looking for a thing of utmost value bring Peck and Cassie a closeness they never thought possible. They decide to carry out their aunt’s wishes and host the official Fool’s Party to open the summer. The party, which is a success, leaves the sisters with a problem — a painting which hung over the fireplace for as long as they both remember goes missing and they begin to speculate that it might actually be the thing of great value. The two gather a strange and wonderful cast of characters to help them find the painting and in the process, find a family, find love, and find they really are sisters with a lot in common.

I remember reading The Great Gatsby and falling in love with the setting and the characters and wondering if people like these characters actually existed in the world. They do, just not in the world I live in. But that didn’t stop me from me from being fascinated anyway. I felt much the same about this book. Ganek brings together some truly wonderful characters that make you want to rush off to live at Fool’s House. Peck is full of fun and brings a new outlook to life that Cassie never let herself imagine. The sisters inhabit a strange little world and in an odd way it brings the two together.

It’s a chick-lit sort of book with some fabulous characters, the beach, and a little romance. Witty and sarcastic at times, Ganek makes it easy for you to fall for her characters. You don’t have to be on the beach to enjoy this book but I think it’s certainly an excellent summer book. Ganek will make you smile and want to break out the beach chair.

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

The Swan Thieves

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The Swan Thieves

The Swan Thieves

By Elizabeth Kostova

Little, Brown and Company

ISBN: 978-0-316-06578-8

2.75 stars

I wanted so much to love this book. I really did and I really tried. It took me ten days of trying and, in the end, I just didn’t find the chemistry that I was so hoping for. I won’t say that I was disappointed, but I was not won over either. I think the word I’m looking for is meh.

At the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, a renowned painter named Robert Oliver attacks a painting in the gallery’s collection. Arrested and confined to a mental hospital, he refuses to speak about the incident or say anything at all for that matter. His doctor, Andrew Marlow, is known as the man who can get anyone to talk. Unfortunately, his reputation fails him with Robert. A painter as well, Marlow’s determination to find out what happened and a general personal and professional curiosity drives him to figure out the mystery behind Robert’s actions and the painting he attacked. He ends up on a strange journey that leads him to all the women in Robert’s life to find answers to a mystery he didn’t even know existed.

Kostova’s first book, The Historian, is one of my favorite books but here, I didn’t find that same adoration. The book was slow, lacked drama, and the characters where underwhelming. The descriptions of the paintings and the actual acts of painting where interesting but not enough to really hold my attention. There are flashbacks to the late 19th Century and I found these sections captivating but they felt too few and far between for me to get attached to the people involved. And when the twist comes (Yes, there’s a twist and, no, I’m not giving anything away here.), it fell flat for me because I felt I already knew it. I didn’t think there was anywhere else to go with it and it wasn’t enough for me to really feel anything about it at the point.

I will say this, Kostova has a wonderful way with words and I found myself being lulled into the story even if I didn’t feel compelled by what was happening. I know that may sound contradictory, but it’s the truth. I may not have fallen for this book, but I still enjoyed her use of the language.

Many people loved this book and I bought it the day it come out and waited to read it until now. I read numerous reviews extolling it’s qualities and wanted to wait until the hype died down so that I could enjoy this book without the words and thoughts of others floating around in my head. I’m glad I did that but I’m also sad I didn’t enjoy it more. Sometimes these things happen. I’ll still be eagerly waiting for Kostova’s next book though.

My Favorite Reads – The Sex Lives of Cannibals

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Alyce from At Home With Books features one of her favorite reads each Thursday and this week my pick is…

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift on the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost.

The Sex Lives of Cannibals

From the back cover: At the age of twenty-six, Maarten Troost – who has been pushing the snooze button on the alarm clock of life by racking up useless graduate degrees and muddling through a series of temp jobs – decided to pack up his flip-flops and move to Tarawa, a remote South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati. He was restless and lacked direction, and the idea of dropping everything and moving to the ends of the earth was irresistibly romantic. He should have known better. The Sex Lives of Cannibals tells the hilarious tale of what happens when Troost discovers that Tarawa is not the island paradise he dreamed of. Falling into one amusing misadventure after another, Troost struggles through relentless, stifling heat, a variety of deadly bacteria, polluted seas, toxic fish – all in a country where the only music to be head for miles around is “La Macarena.” He and his stalwart girlfriend, Sylvia, spend the next two years battling incompetent government officials, alarmingly large critters, erratic electricity, and a paucity for food options (including the Great Beer Crisis); and contending with a bizarre cast of local characters including “Half-Dead Fred” and the self-proclaimed Poet Laureate of Tarawa (a British drunkard who’s never written a poem in his life).

I haven’t read many travelogue type books but, of all the ones I have read, this one was probably the funniest. Troost takes situations that would make most people what to run (and possibly cry) and turns them into very funny stories. I remember laughing out loud while reading this book. Now, if you’re looking for something that’s going to give you a history of the island, it’s natives, etc. this probably isn’t for you. If you’re looking for a funny book that recounts a new living experience on the part of the author, this one’s a good read. When I finished, I can’t say that I added Kiribati to my list of places I would like to visit in this world, but it did make me want to travel.

Shadow of the King

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Shadow of the King

Shadow of the King

By Helen Hollick

Sourcebooks, Inc.

ISBN:1402218907

5 stars

Veni, vidi, vici. I came, I saw, I conquered. Helen Hollick’s Pendragon’s Banner series is one of, if not the best, Arthurian re-tellings that I have read so far. She takes a well-known story and makes it fresh and exciting.

Shadow of the King is the third book in the Pendragon’s Banner series following The Kingmaking and Pendragon’s Banner. You can read my review of The Kingmaking here and Pendragon’s Banner here.

Picking up where Pendragon’s Banner left off, Arthur has brought peace to Britain but has been talked into going to Gaul to protect interests that are not his own. While there, word reaches him that Gwenhwyfar has become sick and he believes her to be dead. He falls into a deep depression and wonders why he ever let himself be talked into leaving his home. He throws himself into the battle wishing to die and all but succeeds. Morgaine, a healer once known as the Lady of the Lake and, unbeknownst to Arthur, the mother of one of his sons, offers to stay behind and bury him while the others try to outrun the approaching enemy. What Morgaine knows that the others don’t is that Arthur is still alive. She nurses him back to health and, knowing he has nothing left to return to, he stays in Gaul living unhappily without his wife or kingdom.

Gwenhwyfar, who survived her illness, now lives a life almost a mirror image to Arthur’s sad existence. When others convince her that she must re-marry to protect what is left of Arthur’s kingdom and herself, she stalls and has trouble getting over the feeling that Arthur isn’t dead. When a man tracks her down to tell her that Arthur lives, she leaves everything to find him. Unfortunately, when Gwenhwyfar finds him, he’s not the Arthur she knew and he tells her that he won’t be returning. Heartbroken, she decides she needs to live even if he will not and leaves. When circumstances convince Arthur he needs his life back, he finds Gwenhwyfar and they both begin to recover from the emotional wounds of their separation. They return home to find one more fight that needs to be fought. When his son by his ex-wife Winifred makes a move to take over his kingdom, Arthur overcomes his fear and leads his men to defeat, but not destroy, his son leaving the door open for a final battle that everyone knows will bring about an end to a world they all know.

I was truly sad to see this series end. While Arthur is tempered in book three, he’s still that brooding man I fell for in the previous two books. Gwenhwyfar becomes the strong one and a great ruler in her own right. Hollick takes the tale of Arthur and moves it to epic proportions of a different nature. Yes, some of the same faces appear in this story as in others but it has a new feel to it and one I couldn’t get enough of.

If you like historical fiction and especially Arthurian legend, Hollick’s trilogy is not to be missed.