Mistress of the Art of Death

This book was delicious! I gobbled it up in about 4 days, and it's not a short book. This is the first book in the series by Ariana Franklin, where we meet Adelia (the title Mistress) when she comes to England to find out who is killing the children of Cambridge - and why the town's Jewish citizens have been framed for the murders.

Again, the characters are all beautifully drawn, particularly Adelia; the boy Ulf; Adelia's companion Master Simon; and Sir Rowan Picot, King Henry II's "fixer". Plus there's a whole cast of interesting townspeople who seem very Shakespearean to me - they are minor characters who are finely wrought. Plus the mystery just pulls you along - I had some ideas of who the murderer was, but I wasn't sure until he was revealed.

There is also some serious commentary on the treatment of Jews throughout time. For instance (and I have no idea how true this is), it seemed that prior to Henry II, there was only ONE Jewish cemetery in England, and that was in London. That meant that any Jew who died in England had to get to London pronto in order to be buried within the proper time frame. Burial was not permitted in a Christian cemetery. King Henry changed that (or so the author would have us believe).

Historically true or not, this was another great story from a gifted author. And I started the second book in the series on this morning on the train...

Grave Goods

I have found a new historical fiction series! This book is actually the third in a series by Ariana Franklin (who is really Diana Norman). I liked it so much that I picked up books one and two at the library yesterday.

Set in 12th century England under King Henry II, these books tell of the adventures of Dr. Ariana Aguilar. Trained in Salerno, Ariana is one of the very few female doctors of the time, and she is also one of the few trained in the "art of death" - she's the Quincy of her time. The research that went into the story is awesome, but it never feels cumbersome. And I like that the author uses relatively modern language (I imagine the language of 12th century England would have been like Greek to the modern English-language reader).

But aside from that, these are great characters with great adventures. In addition to Ariana we have her companions Mansur (an Arab eunuch, who pretends to be the doctor to avoid accusations of witchcraft), Gyltha (her servant/friend/nanny), and Allie (her daughter). In this book Ariana and Mansur are asked to identify two very old corpses at Glastonberry Abbey, to determine if they are the remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. Henry II REALLY wants them to be, but Ariana is all about finding the truth. Along the way to finding the truth she has all sorts of interesting adventures.

I highly recommend the book, but I would have started with the first one (Mistress of the Art of Death) if I had known it was a series. But I'm already about 100 pages into that, so I'll be posting again soon.

Tell Me Something True

The descriptor on the front of this novel by Leila Cobo says, "What if everything you believed about your family was a lie?" But the novel didn't really live up to that for me. The main character, Gabriella, does find out something about her mother that she didn't know, and that changes her perception of her mother (who died when she was 5 years old), and about what real love means, but it doesn't change EVERYTHING.

Aside from that, I LOVED this novel. I just couldn't put it down. The characters of Gabriella, Angel, and even the deceased Helena, are so beautifully written, and so multi-faceted, that I could really see them. And the love story between Gabriella and Angel is both the kind of romance that one can only dream of, and a real relationship fraught with misunderstandings and trepidation.

The end of the novel made me sad, but only added to the non-romance feeling of Gabriella's and Angel's relationship, and Gabriella's growth through her experiences in Cali. I will definitely be looking for Cobo's next novel.

BTW, I STARTED reading The Scarlet Letter, but the language is so old-fashioned, I put it down after a chapter or two. I may try again later...

Hester: The Missing Years of the Scarlet Letter

First, an admission: I never read The Scarlet Letter. Shameful, I know, but my excuse is that I went to an all girls Catholic school, and they probably felt that assigning that novel would be overkill. At any rate, I think I will be picking it up at the library this weekend, because I want to see what I missed.

Hester, as written by Paula Reed, is a really likable character. She has intelligence, spirit, and spunk, at a time when women were obedient and subservient to their Puritanical male betters. And Pearl is a lovely young lady, wise beyond her years, who I think learns the opposite lesson from Hester's situation than what Hester would probably like, but that just adds interest to the story.

Is is the best novel ever? No, but it's not bad. I found the story a bit contrived - it's not a stretch to believe that Hester and Pearl go to England thanks to Pearl's inheritance from Hester's elderly husband, but it is a stretch to believe that Hester gets so involved in the politics of the day. But I do love the intrigues of historical fiction, and 17th century England is a favorite, so I allowed myself to be swept up in the story.

However, for as strong as Reed's writing and story were, I was disappointed by the ending. I felt like she just sort of wrapped everything up with a nice little ribbon in order to get Hester back to New England to jibe with The Scarlet Letter, and it felt a little forced. But aside from that quibble, it was a thoroughly enjoyable novel that I would definitely recommend. And I really am going to read The Scarlet Letter.

The Piano Teacher

I'm not sure I particularly liked this first novel by Janice Y.K. Lee. I initially found it a bit hard to get into - the narrative switches back and forth between 1952/53 and 1941/42, but with most of the same characters. Once I got into the rhythm of the story I found it gripping, but I wouldn't call it enjoyable.

The Piano Teacher of the title is Claire, newly arrived with her civil-servant husband in Hong Kong in 1952. The 1940's part of the story involves British ex-pat Will and his Eurasian girlfriend Trudy, just before and during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during WWII. In 1952, Claire becomes the piano teacher for Locket Chen, daughter of Victor and Melody Chen, who are Will's employers, and Trudy's distant cousins. That is how Claire comes to meet Will, and to become involved in all that has gone on with him, Trudy, the Chens, and others who have been in Hong Kong since before the war.

It's a complicated story, full of intriguing twists and turns. But it's also full of questions: In a time of war, what is courage? What is honor? Is it cowardice to do what you can to keep yourself and others alive, or is it heroism? Is patriotism a valid excuse for treacherous actions? There is rich fodder for discussion here, but I'm still not sure I would call it an enjoyable read.

Day After Night

I really enjoyed this novel by Anita Diamant, which tells the story of four Jewish refugees in an internment camp in Israel just after WWII. These four women, Shayndel, Leonie, Tedi, and Zorah, all survived the Holocaust in different ways, but all are dealing with similar feelings of loss and guilt.

The characters are very real, and very likeable, and I enjoy how they relate with one another and, through their relationship, help each other deal with their feelings in order to start the healing process. Although these are four very different women, they all have their share of courage, and vulnerability, and humor - none of them is one-dimensional. The fact that they are multifaceted makes them real, and makes it that much easier for the reader to become involved in their story.

Aside from being the story of how four women help each other through a difficult time, Day After Night is also the story of the rescue of 200 detainees from the Atlit prison camp. I have to admit my ignorance, I had no idea the Brits detained Jews who immigrated to the newly-created Jewish state as “illegal,” unless they had papers or could prove they had family there. The Brits even tried to prevent non-European Jews from entering Israel: when a group of Iraqi Jews enters the state across the northern border, they are imprisoned separately from the others, with the assumption they will be sent back to Iraq.

This is a beautifully told story, well-written, and hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

The Widow's Season

I really enjoyed this first novel by Laura Brodie. It's the story of Sarah, a 39-year-old woman whose husband, David, is lost in a storm and presumed dead. It seems that David is haunting Sarah... or is he actually alive?

Brodie really takes the reader inside Sarah's head, and I think does a very good job describing the feelings that a widow goes through, coping with the loss of her husband - particularly when no body has been found. The fact that I went back and forth a few times about whether David was actually dead or alive is an indication of how well-written this novel is. She had me going right up until the very end.

This was a quick read, because I wanted to get to the end, and the truth. It was also a good story about interesting characters, and the movement of the action through the seasons of the Shenandoah Valley drew me along as well. I would definitely recommend this novel.