Constant Reader discussion

Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin – 4****
Someone is murdering children in 12th-century Cambridge England. King Henry II sends for a medical expert from Salerno; he doesn’t expect to get a woman – a mistress of the art of death. This is not only a great mystery, and but a fine work of historical fiction. I was invested in the story and in Adelia’s work from the beginning. The murders are pretty ghastly, and there are a few scenes of real terror and graphic violence. But the strong central character is what really held my interest and I’ll definitely read more of the series. Rosalyn Landor does a fine job performing the audio book.
Link to my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Sheila wrote: "Donna wrote: "A Suitable Boy is on my short list....."

I loved The Suitable Boy when I read it, its length was not a insurmountable obstacle. I just today finished [author:Neel Mukher..."

Thanks for that shout out on The Lives of Others, Sheila. I really am enjoying experiencing more of Indian literature. This sounds like one I should prioritize.

Since we're on Indian literature let's not forget Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, one of the best novels I've read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I didn't feel his Family Matters was in the same class.

Book Concierge wrote: " Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin – 4****
Someone is murdering children in 12th-century Cambridge England. King Henry II sends for a m..."

Good review...I've read a couple in the series and liked them. Some more than others. :)

Kat wrote: "Since we're on Indian literature let's not forget Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, one of the best novels I've read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I didn't feel his [book:Family Matter..."

I agree, Kat. I really liked Family Matters, but I was blown away by A Fine Balance. One of the best books I've ever read.

Sherry wrote: "Kat wrote: "Since we're on Indian literature let's not forget Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, one of the best novels I've read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I didn't feel his [book:F..."

And I agree with you both. In fact reading A Fine Balance was really the impetus for my wanting to find more Indian authors and writing. That was definitely one of the best I've read.

I'm reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving it. Don't ask me what took me so long to get to it, but it is completely engaging from the start.

Mary Anne wrote: "I'm reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving it. Don't ask me what took me so long to get to it, but it is completely engaging from the start."

I read this (or part of it) while in high school and didn't care for it but I fully intend to read it again. I have a feeling I will consider it differently.

I'm very ambivalent about Dickens in general but not about Great Expectations--it's the only novel of his I've read twice!

Barbara wrote: "Ann wrote: "I am going to join Sheila in recommending The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber. The book is nothing like Faber's The Crimson Petal and the White"

And ladies I must now definitely read The Crimson Petal and the White.

Inspired by Therea's recent review of Teju Cole's Open City, yesterday evening I picked up his Every Day is for the Thief and am rampaging through it today. Very readable short novel.

The story is about an American Nigerian who returns to the Lagos of his youth. One of the two quotes at the front of the novel is the Yoruba proverb Ojo gbogbo ni t'olw, ojo kan ni t'olohun Every day is for the thief, but one day is for the owner. His descriptions of the "graft" or bribe system are very familiar to me having lived in Abuja and the first part of his story shows this form of social lubrication in action from him getting his passport renewed at the Nigerian Consulate offices in New York, to witnessing 419 scamers in action in the internet cafes of Lagos. I am interested to see if the second half of the story mirrors the second half of the proverb.

Mary Anne wrote: "I'm reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving it. Don't ask me what took me so long to get to it, but it is completely engaging from the start."

Mary Anne, CR read this fifteen years ago. I loved it, too. When you finish, you might be interested in reading our old discussion:

http://constantreader.com/discussions...

Mary Anne wrote: "I'm reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving it. Don't ask me what took me so long to get to it, but it is completely engaging from the start."

I didn't read Dickens until I was an adult, with the Classics group here, before we were on goodreads. Unfortunately, that first one was Bleak House because Harold Bloom said it was his best. I think it is also his most difficult and I decided that I wasn't crazy about his writing. However, I persevered, thank goodness, and have grown to love his style. I liked Great Expectations but my favorite, so far, is David Copperfield. It is on the other end of the spectrum from Bleak House, much more straightforward, written earlier in Dickens' career. I've also read that he said it was his most personal.

I've started Cypress Grove by James Sallis. Atmospheric and just beautiful writing. He has a way of weaving a tale.

Cateline, I've read all three of the John Turner series by James Sallis (Cypress Grove is the first.) Sallis is a great story-teller. The protagonist disappointed me a bit in terms of letting some things just happen to him, but life is like that.

I've been thinking a lot recently about what makes an art book work as opposed to viewing paintings on a tablet (like a Kindle Fire) or online (e.g., see the NGA's location view for seeing the paintings in an individual room http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Col...).

This year, I keep on going back to one book, The Barnes Foundation: Masterworks, which is just a wonderful collection of the best paintings in the Barnes, including ones by "Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Rousseau, Modigliani, Soutine, Manet, Monet, Seurat, Degas, Van Gogh, and Gauguin." It's the layout of the book with essays, reproductions of the paintings, several foldouts that just make this book so special. Definitely one of my favorite art books.

I'm reading three short works by Italo Calvino for my in-person book group this month, and I am finding them splendid. I haven't read anything by him in over a decade, and I had forgotten how playful and enjoyable his writing is.

I liked The Suitable Boy a very great deal.

I just finished Teju Cole's republished Every Day is for the Thief which I started this morning. No solutions, but the second-to-none best account of the Nigerian predicament I have read - catch my write up Very impressed.

Cateline wrote: "I've finished John Banville's Ancient Light, and as usual, Banville strikes again. :)
My review... https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I've just finished this. I read it because I loved Banville's book, The Sea, but I wasn't nearly as enamored of this one. The same beautiful writing, of course, but fond as I am of beautiful writing I do want it to move things forward at a slightly faster pace than this book does. So much time is wasted in going over and over and over the same ground that I almost chucked it in. I'm sure others more perspicacious than I could draw connections between the two interwoven stories, but I failed to.

I enjoyed your writeup, Sheila.

Just finished a little nonfiction book of essays on a wider theme begun by the title essay, Men Explain Things to Me. I love that title, and that essay nails down something that I think almost all women have experienced, so reading it was very satisfying.

Lyn wrote: "I enjoyed your writeup, Sheila. ..."

Thanks

I just finished reading Cheryl Strayed's novel Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail in preparation for my in-person book club discussion. I had seen the movie earlier. I liked both the book and the movie, which is unusual for me.

I do wonder if Cheryl Strayed wrecked her feet since they were in terrible pain for the whole 1000+ mile trek!

Kat wrote: "Since we're on Indian literature let's not forget Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, one of the best ..."

Loved this book.

Mary Anne wrote: "I'm reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving it. Don't ask me what took me so long to get to it, but it is completely engaging from the start."

And I just started the audio version of A Tale of Two Cities - a book I should have read in high school, but I feel certain I skimmed and relied on the Cliff's notes

I remember loving A TALE OF TWO CITIES when I was young.

Isabel Allende's Portrait in Sepia.

I thought this book was wonderful. Through the eyes of the first-person narrator I learned to admire and care about the people in this family who Allende first wrote about in Daughter of Fortune, characters I had not been interested in or empathized with in that book. While reading I often wondered why Allende chose to tell the story of this family in two novels, rather than telling the whole story in one - all through the eyes of the granddaughter Aurora. I am very happy to have read this sequel; I would have missed a wonderful literary success had I decided to pass by.

Just finished Some Luck by Jane Smiley.
I love family sagas and this is one of the best. Smiley situates her family on an Iowa farm and follows their respective fates with each chapter devoted to a year, starting in 1920 and ending in 1953. Her characters are vividly developed, particularly the audacious Frank who is a mystery to his more conventional siblings, the hard-working and dependable Joe, the perfect child Lillian who surprises everyone by eloping with a stranger. Farm life is authentically portrayed with the changes the years bring from diversified crops and animals to a corn/soybean culture. The book’s structure enables Smiley to touch on the social and political climate of the times: the Depression, World War II, the McCarthy era and so on. Some Luck is the first of a proposed trilogy and I eagerly await the next volume.

Re: Ancient Light.
Ruth wrote: I've just finished this. I read it because I loved Banville's book, The Sea, but I wasn't nearly as enamored of this one. The same beautiful writing, of course, but fond as I am of beautiful writing I do want it to move things forward at a slightly faster pace than this book does. So much time is wasted in going over and over and over the same ground that I almost chucked it in. I'm sure others more perspicacious than I could draw connections between the two interwoven stories, but I failed to.

It's true that Ancient Light isn't as complex as The Sea, but also, I thought the time lines in AL were more clearly defined, and I think that Banville was looser in the characters conclusions about both themselves and surrounding events than in The Sea.

Banville invites the reader to make intuitive leaps in AL that leave all sorts of possibilities open. As I recall, The Sea was more buttoned down. But it's been, oh I suppose, 7 or 8 years since I read it, so lots of details are faded.

I thought the going over of things was more layering as he add so many details with the progressive renderings.

Larry wrote: "Cateline, I've read all three of the John Turner series by James Sallis (Cypress Grove is the first.) Sallis is a great story-teller. The protagonist disappointed me a bit in terms of..."

I've read Sallis before, but not the Turner series. In fact, I didn't realize there was more than one Turner! What a treat! Thanks....in fact, I may have them. I have a half shelf of Sallis, part of which is unread.

EDIT: turns out I do have them all. :)

Ann wrote: "I remember loving A TALE OF TWO CITIES when I was young."

Yes...me too. That's one I recall reading and enjoying in high school.

Ann wrote: "I remember loving A TALE OF TWO CITIES when I was young."

I do like Dickens, but I can't do Tale. As a high school teacher, I'm always astonished when colleagues make their students read it.

Kat wrote: "Since we're on Indian literature let's not forget Rohinton Mistry's A Fine Balance, one of the best novels I've read in my lifetime. Unfortunately, I didn't feel his [book:Family Matter..."

I love Mistry. But I will confess to not being an admirer of Dickens. His caricatures fail to grip me. The only book I actually liked was Oliver Twist.

Joan, I am absolutely delighted to read your review of Some Luck by Jane Smiley. I nominated it for the Reading List discussion here. Hope you'll join in.
I've liked everything of Smiley's that I've read but my favorite was A Thousand Acres. She conveyed farm life so accurately, as much in the general feel as in the details. I've really been looking forward to this trilogy.

Joan wrote: "I love Mistry. But I will confess to not being an admirer of Dickens. His caricatures fail to grip me. The only book I actually liked was Oliver Twist. [book:F..."

I confess that Oliver Twist is my favorite, too. I didn't really discover Dickens beyond A Christmas Carol until my children were about 5 and 10 years old. I read a whole string of Dickens aloud to them at that time. He's easy for kids with just a little editing.

Barbara wrote: "Joan, I am absolutely delighted to read your review of Some Luck by Jane Smiley. I nominated it for the Reading List discussion here. Hope you'll join in.
I've liked everything of Smiley's that I'v..."

A Thousand Acres was my favorite too--but Some Luck is right up there. I too have read all of Smiley, starting with Barn Blind, which as a horse person I really liked (didn't like Horse Heaven as much). One of the greatest sendups of academia is Moo.

I really should read more of Smiley. I'm glad we have her on the spring schedule. I loved Moo and still have my copy.

Book Concierge wrote: "Mary Anne wrote: "I'm reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, and loving it. Don't ask me what took me so long to get to it, but it is completely engaging from the start."

And I just starte..."

I've read A Tale of Two Cities twice, and it was worth it!

I finally sat down with Rose Tremain's short story collection The American Lover. The first and title story of the book has a convalescing 60s wild child author confiding her own true story to Portuguese housemaid during a power outage in England of the mid 1970s over a picture of her red E-type Jaguar in which she had smashed up her legs. Her one novel is a steamy carbon copy of her own earlier youthful transgressive love affair with her older, deadbeat photographer of an “American Lover”, a act of rehabilitation by its one hit wonder writer. But she is struggling with both her emotional rehab after the affair and her physical rehab after her car crash. The story reminds me of an twisted round, inverted version of the old Cary Grant – Deborah Carr movie, An Affair to Remember and, not spoiling this one, I loved the ending. It is a beautifully written story of the lasting impact of disappointment. 12 more to go :)

I have Smiley's Some Luck on my Kindle now, but I am waiting for the CR read to start.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I also really enjoyed Smiley's academic satire Moo.

Joan wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Joan, I am absolutely delighted to read your review of Some Luck by Jane Smiley. I nominated it for the Reading List discussion here. Hope you'll join in.
I've liked everything of S..."

I read Barn Blind too, Joan. Those first few books of Smiley's seem to always set up a happy, comfortable situation which then gets blown up by the end. However, after A Thousand Acres, I felt like she left that pattern. I really admire her for doing such a variety of things. Looking at her list of books here on goodreads, I think the only ones I've missed are Private Life and Duplicate Keys. Do you or anyone else here have opinions on those? I'm thinking I should add them to my towering TBR list.

Ann, I am so glad you are planning on reading Some Luck too. I liked Moo because I really like Smiley's humor. I talked to someone a while ago who had her as a professor at Iowa State and said she was a great teacher. That always makes me respect people even more.

I read Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults by Missy Buchanan last night. It's a short book. I wish I had found this while my mom was living, I could have read it to her. It's a spiritual book that could be of help to the elderly if they are religious.

Gina wrote: "I read Living with Purpose in a Worn-Out Body: Spiritual Encouragement for Older Adults by Missy Buchanan last night. It's a short book. I wish I had found this wh..."

Thanks for mentioning this. I must say since my mom's death last summer the end stages of life are often on my mind.

I finished the audio tapes of The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Great book about the paths two brothers take that lead them in opposite directions - both having impact on their families.

I finished All Our Names. It was interesting, but I wasn't as impressed as some reviewers have been. The novel alternated between first-person sections narrated by a man in Africa and a woman in the Midwest who was having a relationship with a man from Africa. But the heart of the book was in Africa and I think the novel should have stayed there; the U.S. sections seemed fairly juiceless.

Gina wrote: "I finished the audio tapes of The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri. Great book about the paths two brothers take that lead them in opposite directions - both having impact on..."
I am still patiently waiting on this one to arrive via my Library, should be soon I hope.

Just sped through Amy Poehler's Yes Please. I'd read it because she's Tina Fey's friend, and I think Fey is one of the most fiercely intelligent funny women alive today (really liked Bossypants), and I also had a passing curiosity of how a marriage with two funny, seemingly cool people (Poehler and Will Arnett) could fail. I learned more about Amy Poehler and came away appreciating her for who she is (including her keeping the reasons for divorce completely to herself).

Also have been slowly reading Cranford on my Kindle, and enjoying it in a sleepy kind of way.

"Book Concierge wrote: "I've read A Tale of Two Cities twice, and it was worth it! ..."

BC, does that make it A Tale of Four Cities? :-)

Larry wrote: ""Book Concierge wrote: "I've read A Tale of Two Cities twice, and it was worth it! ..."

BC, does that make it A Tale of Four Cities? :-)"

Two Cities Redeux

I finished Can't We Talk about Something More Pleasant?. Goes well with Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, which I am reading section by section.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I began The Invisible Front: Love and Loss in an Era of Endless War. Mr. Dreazen is a frequent guest on NPR and WETA, so even though I am reading his book, I can hear his voice as though I were listening to an audiobook.