Becoming Jane Eyre

I am about 80 pages into this novel by Sheila Kohler and I think I have pretty much had it. It's not that it's a bad book - it's just not my style. The novel seems to be a well-researched fictionalization of Charlotte Bronte's life, but there's the thing - I was never a huge fan of any of the Brontes. I don't believe I've ever read an entire novel any of them wrote, although I know I've read some of their poetry. I know, I know, that makes me a bad woman-English major, but all their stuff was just so... melodramatic, and dreamy, and... girly.

To Kohler's credit, this novel reads like a Bronte novel, and I assume that was her intention. As I read I often felt like I was seeing the action through a mist, moving from vignette to vignette as wading through a fog... it just isn't my style of writing. But those of you who loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights will probably love this novel, so I would recommend it to you. It just isn't for me.

Becoming Jane Eyre: A Novel (Penguin Original)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Mark Haddon. Christopher Boone is an autistic boy who discovers his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, killed with a garden fork. He decides to investigate the murder, despite protests from Mrs. Shears (Wellington’s owner) and his own father. Along the way the story becomes much less about the dead dog, and much more about Christopher’s journey as a person.

I don’t know any people with autism, but from what I do know, I think Haddon does a remarkable job of illustrating the workings of an autistic mind, while still making Christopher a sympathetic human being. Although new places, people, and experiences overwhelm Christopher, he copes by doing math problems. He likes animals better than people (he keeps a pet rat), because animals can’t lie to you. I actually liked Christopher better than I liked his father or his mother, who both seemed selfish and not really interested in making the sacrifices necessary to parent a special-needs child.

This is a quirky, funny, touching, sad, and entertaining novel. I have to thank my friend Shari for suggesting I read it. I’ll definitely look for more work from this really engaging author.


The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

My Name is Memory

WOW! For all you mystical realism fans out there, this is a wonderful novel! If you don't already believe in reincarnation, after reading this novel you just might.

Daniel is a very old soul, who has been reincarnated for hundreds and hundreds of years. However, unlike most souls, he remembers every single one of his lives. He also remembers the other souls he meets - both those he loves, and those he doesn't. Lucy is the current reincarnation of Daniel's great love, but she doesn't have his memory, and so she is scared by her experience and feelings with him. Thus begins an intriguing story of romance, mystery and drama that kept me turning the pages all weekend long.

I love how Brashares gets Daniel, and Lucy, from A to B, and I love her explanations of birthmarks, karma, and children's internal worlds. I am enough of a believer that it all makes sense to me. And I love the way she leaves it kind of open in the end... I sense a sequel! Definitely a great read, I highly recommend it - best novel I've read in awhile.

My Name Is Memory

A Matter of Class

This was a cute little novel. I read it in about 2 days. It's a typical period romance (not a bodice ripper) but with a bit of a twist. I have to admit, I didn't see the twist until almost the very end, and I kind of liked it. The characters are likeable if a bit trite and broadly written.

I would recommend this novel if you are looking for something entertaining but not at all heavy or challenging, and it's a really easy read.

A Matter of Class

The Red Queen

Philippa Gregory continues to amaze me with her detailed historical knowledge. This novel, which sort of parallels her novel The White Queen, tells the story of Margaret Beaufort Tudor Stafford Stanley, mother of Henry VII and matriarch of the Tudor dynasty.

Like The White Queen, there is a lot of intrigue and machinations and changes of loyalty. But unlike that novel, the subject of The Red Queen is NEVER queen. Yes, Margaret has ambitions, but they are almost entirely for her son. And she does work tirelessly to achieve them.

My only real complaint about the novel is that once the end came, it came quickly. It was almost anticlimatic. But history already told us what it was going to be, so I suppose Gregory couldn't have done much more. At least she didn't make King Richard say, "my kingdom for a horse." That would have been just too trite.

The Red Queen: A Novel (The Cousins' War)