Nevermore: Nature of Fragile Things, Little, Thirteenth Tale, Secret Lives of Color, Study in Emerald

 

 

Reported by Garry

Our first book reviewed was The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner.  This historical novel takes place in San Francisco in 1906, and focusses on the story of Sophie Whalen, a young Irish immigrant who, desperate to get out of the slums of New York, answers a mail order bride advertisement from a widower in San Francisco.   Sophie quickly develops a deep connection with Kat, the five year old daughter of her new husband, but her husband remains an aloof enigma, until two other women show up and a devastating earthquake splits the city, and Sophie’s life, wide open.  Our reader loved this book and highly recommends it.   Susan Meissner is the author of multiple other books including As Bright as Heaven, A Fall of Marigolds, and A Window to the World, amongst others. 

 

 

Our next book was described as “Weird, but I loved it” by our reviewer.  Little by Edward Carey is about a tiny orphan, Marie, who is apprenticed to an eccentric wax sculptor after the death of her parents.   The man creates wax body parts for use in medical schools and Marie quickly shows a talent and aptitude for the macabre profession.  Invited to the palace at Versailles, Marie tutors a princess and is accepted in to the inner circles of the royal family – a family that will soon face a revolution, one that Marie herself must somehow survive.  This historical fiction is very loosely based on the true history of Marie Tussaud founder of the now world-famous wax museums. 

 

 

 

Next up was The Thirteenth Tale by Dianne Setterfield.  This gothic fiction novel tells the story of two writers:  Vita Winter is an enigmatic, reclusive writer whose most famous work is “The 13 Tales”, a book that only contains 12 tales.  After spending her entire life burying the truth of her history (to the point of telling every singer interviewer a different life story), Vita hires Margaret Lea, a young biographer, to write the story of her life.  Digging into Vida’s gothic, strange past, the two women come to terms with their, own past ghosts – real and perceived, and together write the 13^th, final tale.  Our reviewer loved this book, and thought that it was extremely well written, creepy (in a good way), and enthralling.

 

And now for something completely different: The Secret Lives of Colors by Kassia St. Clair.  This meticulously researched non-fiction book contains the histories of many of the colors that we now take for granted, and how society uses and changes the use of, colors.  For example, it was not until the 1920’s that pink became associated with girls and femininity, and blue with boys and masculinity.  For generations previous, it was the opposite – pink was ONLY for boys and blue was nearly the exclusive realm of girls.   The effects of colors on our psyche are also examined, particularly the effect of Baker-Miller Pink on levels of aggression.  Who would have thought that being in a room the color of Pepto-Bismol would have a noted, strong, effect of calming down agitated, aggressive people?!  Fascinating book – highly recommended. 

 

 

The color theme continues with Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald, illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque.  Our reader was intrigued by the description of “Lovecraft meets Sherlock Holmes."  In this graphic novel, a member of the British Royal Family has been murdered, and Sherlock is called in to investigate, but in this version of Victorian England, the Royal Family are Lovecraftian Elder Gods.  How do you murder a god, and who could do that?  Gaiman’s Hugo award winning short story is brought to life in this beautiful, creepy, enthralling graphic novel.  Our reader highly recommends this book.

 

 

Also Mentioned:

Caste:  The Origins of Our Discontent by Isabel Wilkerson

Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, the Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party by Julian Zelizer

Hiding in Plain Sight:  The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America by Sarah Kendzior

Riding on the Red Rooster by Paul Theroux

Pillars of Hercules by Paul Theroux

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin

New York by Edward Rutherford

276 Edible Wild Plants by Caleb Warnock

Come Fly The World by Julia Cooke 

The Unidentified by Colin Dickey

 

A Study in Emerald by Neil Gaiman and Rafael Albuquerque

 

Reviewed by Ambrea

Defined as a cross between the world of Sherlock Holmes and the mythos of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, A Study in Emerald follows the story of a man known only as “The Major.”  He meets London’s most brilliant detective and finds himself embroiled in solving a horrific murder – one with consequences that will ripple across the entire country and bring the full power of the throne to bear.

I’ve heard of A Study in Emerald.  I recall first hearing about it – or hearing of it, at least – a few years ago when Neil Gaiman responded to a Twitter thread about fanfiction.  The original poster, of course, didn’t like it; Gaiman, on the other hand, defended it.  “I won the Hugo Award for a piece of Sherlock Holmes/H.P. Lovecraft fanfiction, so I’m in favour,” he wrote.

 

So, I’ve known about A Study in Emerald for a few years without ever really knowing its title or its plot.  Mostly, I just knew that it existed, out there in the ether, maybe on the Internet or on a bookshelf.  It was somewhere – and then I stumbled across it on my library website and thought, “Oh, there it is.”

 

And then I promptly borrowed it.

 

A Study in Emerald was, truthfully, not what I anticipated.  It’s a mixture of mystery, horror, and weirdness that I can’t even begin to describe, but it’s beautifully illustrated and it’s very well-written and it’s absolutely fascinating.  If features characters known only as “The Detective” and “The Major” – a Sherlock and Watson substitute – who share a curiously similar dynamic to the original duo; however, they are individuals who have lived under the thumb of Cthulhu-esque rulers and so their demeanor is decidedly different.

 

A Study in Emerald features all the twists and turns one expects from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but with the flair – and curiously twisted imagination – one also expects from Neil Gaiman.  The Cthulhu mythos was an interesting element in the story.  I know only a little about Lovecraft and his writing, but, luckily for me, I didn’t have to know much to enjoy reading.

 

One of my favorite aspects from the illustrated version of A Study in Emerald were the chapter dividers.  It was a simple page between each section of the book that featured advertisements for Victorian era cures, treatments, and commodities, but given a slight twist.  For example, you have shoes from Spring Heel Jack or powders from Henry Jekyll or alternative medical treatments from V. Tepes.  I thought they were neatly done and very clever.

 

Overall, A Study in Emerald is an interesting – and, let’s be honest, weird – graphic novel.  Truthfully, I’m still processing my feelings about it, but I find that’s usually the way I feel about most books by Gaiman.  My initial feelings are always conflicted:  clear confusion – I’m not certain I like this, but I kind of do?  I mean, do I really like it? – followed by a deep, abiding appreciation for his work.

 

It usually takes me a few moments to collect my thoughts and realize how much I actually enjoyed the experience, because, truly, reading a novel by Gaiman is a completely unique experience.  His work, A Study in Emerald included, needs to be savored and chewed on, before one can really appreciate the twists and the weirdness and the sheer originality.