This is a really sweet book from Rebecca Wells, the author who brought the YaYa sisters to life. She does southern really well, and she's done it again with Calla Lily and her family and friends.
Calla Lily grows up in La Luna, Louisiana, in a loving family who are a little more free spirited than most people of the time, and who are the dancing and hair-styling center of their small community. Calla is born in 1953, and Wells really captures the next 30 or so years. When tragedy strikes, Calla uses the lessons her parents taught her, moving to New Orleans and beginning her adult life there.
As with the YaYa sisters, the characters are beautifully drawn and wonderfully charming. There isn't quite the story arc that there was for the YaYa's (and maybe that's why no one made a movie of this book yet), but I enjoyed moving through Calla's life with her, and meeting all of the interesting and engaging people she makes friends with. This is a really enjoyable, easy read.
I have to thank Rita again for the recommendation... great book!
The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Chasing Fire
Okay, I know I have my issues with Nora Roberts, but I really enjoyed this latest of her suspense novels. This is a book that even non-fans would probably enjoy.
Rowan Tripp - that's a chick - is a veteran Montana smoke-jumper, the daughter of legendary jumper Iron Man Tripp and a tough broad. Gulliver (Gull) Curry is a rookie jumper who catches Rowan's attention with his looks, ability, and charm. The fire season finds them dealing with not only fires, but a couple of murders, possible sabotage, and their burgeoning romance.
The murder mystery was okay - but I had a pretty good bead on who the murderer was pretty early on. The romance is great - these are two very likeable characters who aren't really like Roberts' other protagonists, particularly Rowan. And although some of the reviews thought Roberts went too deep into the fire-jumping stuff, I actually found that most enjoyable. Roberts obviously did a lot of research - and it would have been nice if she'd acknowledged who helped her (there wasn't anything in the Nook version) - and she really seemed to capture the experience of being a member of the elite "Zulie" smoke-jumpers.
This was a really enjoyable read - best Nora Roberts in a while.
Chasing Fire
Rowan Tripp - that's a chick - is a veteran Montana smoke-jumper, the daughter of legendary jumper Iron Man Tripp and a tough broad. Gulliver (Gull) Curry is a rookie jumper who catches Rowan's attention with his looks, ability, and charm. The fire season finds them dealing with not only fires, but a couple of murders, possible sabotage, and their burgeoning romance.
The murder mystery was okay - but I had a pretty good bead on who the murderer was pretty early on. The romance is great - these are two very likeable characters who aren't really like Roberts' other protagonists, particularly Rowan. And although some of the reviews thought Roberts went too deep into the fire-jumping stuff, I actually found that most enjoyable. Roberts obviously did a lot of research - and it would have been nice if she'd acknowledged who helped her (there wasn't anything in the Nook version) - and she really seemed to capture the experience of being a member of the elite "Zulie" smoke-jumpers.
This was a really enjoyable read - best Nora Roberts in a while.
Chasing Fire
Monday, May 14, 2012
The Cat's Table
I have to again thank Rita for a great book recommendation. This novel is by Michael Ondaatje, who wrote The English Patient. I never read that book, didn't see the movie either, but I may read it now since I enjoyed this novel so much.
Michael is an 11-year-old boy in the 1950's, traveling on a ship from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Great Britain. The story is about the experiences of Michael and his companions at the "cat's table" - the least important table on the ship. While there is some plot and story development, I would call this more of a "slice of time" novel, just telling what happens during those 3 weeks on board ship, and describing Michael's encounters with other shipmates and the friends he makes.
Towards the end there is some deeper explication of some of the things that happened on the ship, but what I enjoyed about the novel was the author's eloquence in capturing the boy's experiences, and his richly drawn characters. It really felt almost autobiographical, although Ondaatje makes it clear that it is not. But either way, it's just a really lovely book.
The Cat's Table
Michael is an 11-year-old boy in the 1950's, traveling on a ship from Colombo, Sri Lanka to Great Britain. The story is about the experiences of Michael and his companions at the "cat's table" - the least important table on the ship. While there is some plot and story development, I would call this more of a "slice of time" novel, just telling what happens during those 3 weeks on board ship, and describing Michael's encounters with other shipmates and the friends he makes.
Towards the end there is some deeper explication of some of the things that happened on the ship, but what I enjoyed about the novel was the author's eloquence in capturing the boy's experiences, and his richly drawn characters. It really felt almost autobiographical, although Ondaatje makes it clear that it is not. But either way, it's just a really lovely book.
The Cat's Table
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