Austenland by Shannon Hale

 Reviewed by Ambrea

Austenland by Shannon Hale, like all good novels involving Jane Austen and her famed Pride and Prejudice, begins with a familiar (if altered) refrain:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a thirty-something woman in possession of a satisfying career and fabulous hairdo must be in want of very little, and Jane Hayes, pretty enough and clever enough, was certainly thought to have very little to distress her.  There was no husband, but those weren’t necessary anymore.  There were boyfriends, and if they came and went in a regular stream of mutual dissatisfaction—well, that was the way of things, wasn’t it?”

Jane is a young woman living in New York who can never seem to meet Mr. Right—mostly because she is secretly obsessed with Pride and Prejudice and can’t seem to find a man who stands up to Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy.  But when a wealthy relative leaves Jane a special trip to Austenland, an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed ladies, Jane hopes that total immersion into regency-era England will help her kick her Austen habit for good.

But when she meets Martin for the first time—an actor turned gardener for a paycheck—and Mr. Nobley, she realizes that her decision to go to Austenland might not turn out the way she initially anticipated.  Will she find her Mr. Darcy, or will she nix her obsession for good?

I liked that Jane—of course her name is Jane—is an average, relatable heroine.  She’s smart, rather charming and quirky, but she’s also dynamic and self-sufficient and hopelessly confused about romance.  (She’s also a ninja, but that’s neither here nor there.)  And Hale does an excellent job bringing her character to life, writing in a style that seems to harken back to Austen without making it inaccessible or boring.

Austenland is a genuinely funny novel, and Jane is an endearing heroine.  The characters are enjoyable, worth loving or hating alternately, and the story is captivating by turns.  It’s easy to become embroiled in Jane’s story, wondering whether she’s going to find the man of her dreams or discover something worth knowing about herself.

Although I enjoyed Austenland, I won’t say that it’s my favorite novel.  Hale is an excellent author and I would definitely recommend reading some of her work; however, I found that I lost interested in this novel at different times.  Sometimes, the pace smoothed out and I was captivated, but, other times, I found myself wishes I was reading something else.  Overall, I think it’s worth reading, but I could have probably lived with just seeing the movie instead.

As an aside, I will say that Austenland has one of the best dedications I’ve ever seen in a book.  I probably laughed more than I should have about it.

Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths

Reviewed by Jeanne

There are mysteries and then there are mysteries.  Finding a WW II aircraft buried in an English field is certainly noteworthy.  Finding a body in the pilot’s seat with a bullet hole in the skull ups the ante considerably and brings in the police as well as forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway.

So begins the seventh book in Elly Griffiths’ marvelous series.  As usual, there are numerous entanglements along the way, as the body turns out to have been someone related to the prominent Blackstock family.  Not only do they own the field, but they lost a son in the War. . . except that he was supposed to have been lost at sea. If it is him, how did his body get inside an airplane in a field so far away? 

There are personal complications for Ruth as well.  Not only is her former lover, DCI Harry Nelson, investigating the murder, but an attractive American filmmaker is on hand to film a documentary about American pilots in WW II Britain. He and Ruth have dated in the past but lost touch.  It sounds so tawdry doesn’t it? But somehow it isn’t.  It’s just very human, and that means complex.  Harry is a happily married man who loves his wife.  He is drawn to elements of Ruth’s personality and bound to her by their daughter and yet he would never consider leaving his wife.  Ruth doesn’t expect a future with Harry. She longs for a relationship with a man but she wouldn’t sacrifice who she is to have such a relationship. Characters are conflicted, they make mistakes, and they grow.  I always enjoy the time I spend with them.

I look forward to an Elly Griffiths book because I know I can expect a strong mystery plot as well as fascinating characters.  Ruth especially is a wonderful creation: she’s strong and independent, but quite aware that she doesn’t always fit in.  She’s a large, somewhat awkward woman who may lack fashion sense but she is more than competent in her chosen field.  She loves her daughter and her work, and like many modern women she is sometimes torn between the two.  Griffiths herself does a balancing act in advancing her characters’ lives and relationships while never losing sight of the current intriguing mystery.  The writing is understated, with a lovely dry humor.  One thing that I really enjoy is that while characters may do some soul searching and some agonizing, they don’t wallow in misery.  Life is to be examined but it’s also meant to be lived.

I also enjoy that, in addition to the present mystery,  each book has a past mystery to be solved, one that may have occurred fifty years ago or fifteen hundred.  Ruth is an archaeologist, after all.  Many of the present day mysteries in the books have their roots in the past or may serve as a reminder that human behavior has not greatly changed over the centuries.  In addition to the history aspect, there are often elements of folklore in the mix.

  The books don’t have to be read in order, though the complex relationships are better understood if you do.  A new reader was taken aback by “all the affairs,” a comment which puzzled me until I stopped and took stock.  I’ll concede she had a point, but because Griffiths has carefully plotted these relationships and let them unfold over the entire series it doesn’t feel as if it’s excessive.

The series order is:

1.       The Crossing Places
2.       The Janus Stone
3.       The House at Sea’s End
4.       A Room Full of Bones
5.       A Dying Fall
6.       The Outcast Dead
7.       The Ghost Fields

The next book in the series won’t be out until 2016; the working title is The Woman in Blue.   However, Griffiths has another book coming out this year, which is the start of a new series.  DCI Edgar Stephens served in WW II with a special ops unit known as “Magic Men.”  Their specialty was using stage tricks to confuse the enemy.  Now he has a murder case to investigate—and the crime scene makes him think of a magic trick gone horribly wrong.  The title is The Zig Zag Girl and, yes, I’m putting my name on the reserve list!

Nevermore: Unknown Americans, Goldfinch, Believer, and More!

Nevermore opened with a glowing review for Cristina Henriquez’s novel, The Book of Unknown Americans.  The story centers on the Rivera family who have left a good life in Mexico to come to the United States because of their daughter’s traumatic brain injury.  Maribel needs to go to a special school, but life in America is difficult for them.  It’s also difficult for their neighbors, who hail from a variety of Latin American countries.  Our reviewer said that it’s a wonderful book that combines romance with Hispanic culture.  It’s thought provoking and compassionate.  She also said that she’ll look at mushrooms differently now, knowing how they are raised and the toll the work extracts.

Another highly recommended book was The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt.  Our reviewer said she knows some people didn’t like the book, but she felt it gave her a new way of looking at life. Theo, the narrator, is thirteen when his mother is killed in an act of terrorism at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His father has abandoned him, so he is taken in by friends.  He has one treasured possession:  a painting of a bird done by a Dutch Master.  Our reader said this book is Harry Potter and a Russian novel rolled up into one, with a dash of Virginia Woolf thrown in for good measure.

The first non-fiction title of the day was Believer:  My Forty Years in Politics by David Axelrod.  It too had an enthusiastic review as an insider’s look at politics.  Our reader said for her the fun was in learning the backstory to events and learning about the relationships between the various players.  She also said that Axelrod’s account was devoid of malice, and that she felt he treated everyone fairly. When asked about the title, she said it referred to his belief in the democratic process.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba is the autobiographical story of how a teenager in drought-stricken Malawi was inspired to build a windmill to generate electricity.  Kamkwamba had a long time affinity for electronics and machinery.  A library book sparked his interest in building a windmill, which he constructed out of scrap metal, wire, part of a clothesline, and other salvaged material.  Our reader said that learning about the country and its culture was quite an eye-opener: it was like stepping back in time.  He was also impressed with the ingenuity of the young man, who went on to attend Dartmouth College.  

Next up was the novel I See You by Patricia MacDonald.  It’s a psychological thriller which asks the question, “How well do you know those around you?” Hannah, Adam, and Sydney Wickes are living a quiet life until an incident brings media attention to the family. It turns out that they have been hiding from a secret in their past, a secret which now may be about to catch up with them.  Our reviewer thought the book was worth reading, and was especially interested in it because there was a sociopathic character.

Finally, there was a recommendation for Flesh and Bone, the second in the “Body Farm” mystery series by Jefferson Bass.  The books are written by Jon Jefferson, a journalist, in concert with Dr. William Bass, who taught anthropology at the University of Tennessee.  Dr. Bass has been a pioneer in the field of forensic science.  Our reader was quite taken with the book, in part because of good use of the Knoxville and Chattanooga setting. There are references to real people, such as Knoxvillian Art Bohanan who is known for his work with fingerprints.  It’s a good mystery with wonderful local color. 

The Nevermore Book Club meets every Tuesday at 11:00 am at the Bristol Public Library.  We have coffee and doughnuts courtesy of The Blackbird Bakery.  Bring a book and join in the fun!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Reviewed by Ambrea

Thomas has no memory of who he is or where he was before he reached the Glade.  He knows only his name, and he knows he was meant to be a Runner in the maze that surrounds them, protects them, and, ultimately, traps them.  However, shortly after Thomas arrives, someone else is delivered to the Glade:  a girl, the first girl ever to arrive in the maze.  She has a message to deliver—and the world as they know it will change forever.

The Maze Runner is a quick, suspenseful read with an intriguing concept.  James Dashner’s novel falls into the vein of The Hunger Games, pitting young individuals against seemingly insurmountable odds; however, it also calls upon William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, creating an interesting blend of survival-horror and science-fiction and dystopian-apocalyptic genres.  Moreover, Dashner manages to give it his own twist by adding a maze, a group of intelligent and strikingly self-sufficient adolescents, and a number of sinister creatures known as Grievers.

The Maze Runner is a novel worth perusing, at least once, but I can’t say I would read it a second time or readily pursue the rest of Dashner’s series.  Although I enjoyed parts of the novel, it couldn’t my attention for very long.  I was dissatisfied by the conclusion of The Maze Runner, which left too many questions unanswered and too many mysteries lingering, and I thought the end of the novel felt eerily familiar.

Honestly, I was surprised by how much The Maze Runner resembled The Lord of the Flies.  I found it strange how Chuck, Thomas’s closest friend and confidante, mirrored Piggy from Golding’s novel.  They possess similar attributes, often developing identical attitudes and sharing similar fates, and they form relationships with the main character that run parallel to one another.  Their similarities were peculiar and, confidentially, disappointing.  After a while, The Maze Runner started to feel like a remake of The Lord of the Flies set in a post-apocalyptic future.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Reviewed by Ambrea

Dracula is a collection of stories—journals, newspaper clippings, transcriptions and personal testimonies—from Jonathan and Mina Harker, Dr. John Seward, Lucy Westenra, Arthur Holmwood, Quincy Morris, and Dr. Abraham van Helsing, in which they confront the world’s most terrifying creature:  a vampire.

As one might expect, Dracula is a riveting story and Bram Stoker is an excellent storyteller.  Besides creating one of literature’s most fascinating—and chilling—villains, Stoker takes the time and care to recreate the details of life within his characters’ journals and letters.  And, considering the sheer volume of correspondences between characters and the specific connections necessary to complete the story, Dracula is an amazingly intricate piece of work.

In particular, I enjoyed the marked differences between characters.  Each individual has their own personality, their own history, and their own reactions to a situation or experience.  Each has a singular voice, a unique way of telling their story that makes them memorable and utterly captivating.  They are honest, endearing folks and they have a frightening, fascinating story to tell.

Truthfully, Dracula has it all for the horror enthusiast:  guts, gore, mayhem, madness, death, destruction and, of course, vampires.  It’s a dark and delightful treat, and it’s definitely a story I would recommend reading at least once.

By the same token, all the details involved in Stoker’s novel makes his work a bit tricky.  Once I finally made the connections, it was easy to find those tenuous links between characters and locations and mysterious events; however, those connections can sometimes prove slightly elusive.

Moreover, chapters can occasionally take a while to build up to a climactic point.  The story picks up considerably when certain realizations come together, when the characters are in danger of not only losing their lives but their immortal souls. Before that point, the narrative may seem a little lackluster and disjointed, but the reader who perseveres will be well rewarded.