An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman

Four Stars

Quite the title.

I heart Jane Austen novels, and I’m pretty sure all girls agree. There have been many ‘sequels’ to her works, “Pride and Prejudice” in particular. Most of these are crap. Especially the one Cori read. That was dirty crap. Because of this I generally ignore the whole fake sequel genre.

Then Carla recommended the Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman series. Carla is a librarian and knows her stuff and it’s written by a lady from Idaho, so I picked it up.

This is the story of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy told from his perspective. And I have to say, Pamela Aidan did an impressive job of getting into Darcy’s head and telling his story. She does a nice job of sticking to the true story while weaving in new scenes and characters to fill in the gaps. There is a lot of added history from the time period which slow the story down in places, but she presents them as Darcy keeping up on current events which fits his character so it makes sense, even if it does drag a little.

But here’s the kicker. It’s a TRILOGY! She took one novel and rewrote it as a TRILOGY! I want to believe it was done as an artistic choice, she simply could not do justice to the original in only one book, but part of me feels like it’s a ripoff way of making you buy more books. I am still on the library waiting list for numbers two and three. We’ll see if they’re worth it.

I guess I can say that 33% of the way in to this story, I am enjoying it. Ms. Aidan does capture a certain sense of Darcy and seems to have a solid grasp of his original motives as intended by Jane. Unless something really strange happens in the next two, I would recommend this series as an entertaining read and a fun way to revisit the P&P crowd.

hush, hush

“hush, hush”by Becca Fitzpatrick

Three Stars – I liked it.

If you loved Twilight … then you’ll probably think ‘hush, hush’ is alright.

Okay, first off, I actually read this book over a month ago and then loaned it to my friend, so I don’t have it readily available to fact check, but hopefully my memory will hold up well enough.

I do not understand the title to this book at all. I think they went with it mostly because “Fallen” was already taken by another novel about fallen angels, but why they picked ‘hush, hush’ I will never be able to guess. But they do get serious props for the cover art – love it.

Nora leads a fairly normal teenage life (except for the fact that her father was recently murdered) until the day that she gets a new, mysterious lab partner in biology (sound familiar?). She is instantly attracted to Patch and not sure if his bad boy rep is holding her back or just adding to his allure. Then weird, scary events start to happen, the only problem is that Nora’s not sure if they actually are happening or if she’s just loosing her mind, and she’s pretty sure she’s being followed. Add in the fact that her mom has a job that takes her away from home for days at a time, leaving Nora home alone in their secluded old farmhouse and the stage for disaster is set.

I don’t feel like I’m ruining any surprises by mentioning that Patch is a fallen angel, and not just any angel, an Arch Angel (I’m pretty sure the cover art gave it away). The angel mythology was my favorite part of the book. Towards the end, it started to go into how fallen angels first came to be, how and why they fall, and the different ranks and jobs of angels. I really got into this idea and hoped that the author would expand on this aspect of the story, but, it was not to be. I was really left hanging and wanting more on this topic.

The rest of the story was okay. It really was a bit juvenile, and a lot of the situations seemed forced and awkward. Like the author was just trying too hard to create romance and sexual tension. And once again, I just didn’t really bond with the main character. Everything about her and her situation just seemed forced. Especially how the author kept making a big deal of the fact that she was anemic and needed to pop iron pills all the time. I’m pretty sure this was included just to make her seem more ‘vulnerabe’with a medical problem and to allow for one scene in particular to work. She wasn’t exactly annoying per say, but she wasn’t very interesting either.

I was more interested in most of the minor characters, their relationships, and the subplots going on. They were far more interesting with much better background and motivation for the most part. You know, I’ve read several books lately with the same issue, maybe it’s me …

The book still scores three stars because it was a fun read, and because it has a sequel coming out later this year, “Crescendo”, on which I am pinning my hopes that the angel mythology will become a much larger part of some overall plot.

"The Forgotten Garden" by Kate Morton

Four Stars

An unidentified child found abandoned on an Australian dock sets off a multi-generational search for her identity that spans an ocean and an entire century.

This gothic novel has it all dark family secrets, vindictive relatives, a daunting garden maze, even the mysterious and huge old family estate in the English countryside. I love mysteries and I love England so how can this be anything less than awesome? I picked up this book on the recommendation of a friend who said it just might be her new favorite book. When someone gives a book that high of a recommendation how can you say no? That is a lot to live up to and it didn’t disappoint. I wouldn’t rate it as my new favorite, but it is definitely on that list.

The book spans five generations of women, actually six if you count a few comments in passing, starting with number three, mentioning number four, then focusing on five and working backwards. I think the author went a little too far including generations number four and five, not because it becomes too confusing, but because it detracts from the most interesting part of the story that includes generations one through three.

The book draws many similarities from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s “The Secret Garden”, even including a cameo appearance by the author and going so far to imply that this family provided the inspiration for the story.

This book earned four out of five stars because of the extra generations. If it had stuck just to those first three it very well may have earned all five stars. All-in-all I highly recommend it.

There are some SPOILERS after this so there you go, fair warning.

Nell is generation number three and the little girl who was found alone on an Australian dock, but the story is told mainly from the perspective of her granddaughter, Cassandra. She has only a child’s suitcase with a few random possessions as a clue to who she is and where she came from. It’s not until much later in life that she begins the search for her identity which takes her from Australia to England and her family’s estate.

Just as she begins to unravel the long-buried family secrets, her daughter unexpectedly shows up and basically abandons Nell’s granddaughter to her care, effectively ending Nell’s search. Nell raises her granddaughter and eventually dies without ever discovering the truth. It’s only after Nell’s death that Cassandra learns of the secret and decides to find the truth. And this is where it gets too diluted.

Cassandra uses the same clues Nell had and a soggy old notebook Nell kept as a journal during her initial search. Cassandra follows the same path and eventually finds the truth, but the most powerful discoveries are the ones Nell made herself because it is so much more personal to her and she gets answers from people who were there and directly involved. Adding the extra generation of Cassandra was just too detached from the actual story and I found myself almost hurrying through her parts to get to the more interesting parts.

The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Four Stars

This book has been on my radar for awhile and I’m a little embarrassed to admit it has taken me this long to read it. But I kept finding other things I wanted to read first. Then one of my good friends and book-recommenders said that this was the best audio book she has ever listened to and I absolutely had to hear it. I checked my local library and found that I would be in the high 80's on the waiting list for the audio book and decided that I would just go ahead and read the nice hardback that was waiting for me on my bookshelf instead.

The Help rates a solid 4 Stars. I was debating going 5, then decided that the fact that I was debating it meant it was a 4. A 5 star would not require any debate. But I really enjoyed the book. It’s about Mississippi in the 1960's and the relationships between white women and the black women who work for them, told from the perspective of two black women and one much younger white woman. The narrative hops between the three women and is very impressive with how each woman’s voice and language is distinct and identifiable. The plot is a little slow to develop but your interest is held by the stories and descriptions of what life was like during that place and time. Even when the plot did begin to develop I was still more interested in the stories and relationships between all of the women than in the actual plot events.

Each of the three women grow and experience character development to different extents. My favorite parts were the relationships between all of the women. The employers and the employees and other family members. These women would essentially let their help raise their children, some would become part of the family, others would feel as though they were less than the hired help, and in the end the kids who love their nannies so much, grow up to become their employers. The relationships between the hired women and the children were what got to me the most. There were several moments where I teared up, and one truly heart-wrenching scene where one of the women has to say goodbye to the two children she has essentially raised since birth.

While it is a fascinating glimpse into a world of change during that time in history, I think the true beauty of this book is its description and insights into the relationships of women. In identical circumstances some women grow together and form unbreakable bonds while others bring out the worst in each other and become lifelong enemies.

This is an amazing read for its historical aspect as well as its revelations of women’s behavior and relationships. I recommend it to everyone, particularly women.

I’m still waiting patiently for a copy of the audio book (I’m up to the low 40's!) and look forward to listening to possibly one of the best audio adaptations ever.

"Chasing Harry Winston" by Lauren Weisberger

Two Stars - It was Okay.

Two Words: Beach. Read.

This is by the author of "The Devil Wears Prada" so I assumed it would be pretty entertaining and good for a laugh or two. I was sort of right.

This story introduces us to three best friends living in NYC, all with great jobs (well, minus the one who lives off her trust fund), and pretty good lives. Adriana is rich and gorgeous and can get any man she wants. Leigh is fast-tracking to her dream job and has the dream boyfriend. And Emmy, a serial monogamist, has a boyfriend, even if he does cheat on her - a lot. And they're all just about to turn 30.

Long story short, Emmy gets dumped so they all decide to make a pact to change their lives, well except for Leigh who doesn't agree to do anything. Adriana is going to stop sleeping with every guys she meets and get engaged by the end of the year and Leigh is going to take a new job that involves a lot of traveling and sleep with one guy from every continent which they dub "Tour de Whore".

So okay, kind of interesting set up, might lead to some funny situations and character growth. But that's where the real set plot line ends. From here it starts to wander and the pact kind of gets pushed aside. It's also a little hard to follow time-wise because it jumps huge blocks of time making it a bit tricky to keep up with what's going on. There is also quite a large amount of time devoted to a pet parrot. Actually, there is a lot of time devoted to several plot lines that don't really go anywhere, and every time an interesting plot development is suggested, it gets dumped.

At the end I walked away hating one of the girls, thinking another one was just kind of pathetic, but thinking the last one was pretty cool and I'd actually like to see what happens to her, but I'm not going to tell you which is which. So while it isn't a particularly great read it was okay. It would definitely keep you entertained in an airport or at the doctor's office if you just needed something to pass the time.

"Oryx and Crake" by Margaret Atwood

Three Stars - I liked it.

This book is an excellent example of why I usually always listen to my friend C's book recommendations (I say usually because there was that instance of "Giants of the Earth" from high school. I still don't get it.). I have been meaning to read Margaret Atwood's other book, "The Handmaid's Tale", for a long time so when C suggested this one I checked it out the same day.

It's your typical doom-and-gloom, technology-will-destroy-us-all, sci-fi type of book, definitely not my typical read, and I was very pleasantly surprised by it. It begins by introducing the main character, Snowman, apparently the only surviving human of some great disaster that has wiped out the world. He now lives in a tree, wears only a sheet, and watches over a group of people called the Children of Crake who are a type of genetically enhanced human, physically perfect but minus all of the intellectual and emotional issues that inevitably lead to social problems.

The story is told sort of in reverse through Snowman's memories and I really enjoyed the writing style. The narrative jumps between Snowman's present and his memories, which slowly tell the story of what happened to the human race and how he ended up taking care of the "children". His memories also reveal the secret of who Oryx and Crake are and how their three lives intertwined with each other and the fate of the world.

I've decided to keep my reviews shorter, so I'm not going into detail or giving spoilers, but I highly recommend this book. It moves at a steady pace that keeps the reader interested, and has a nice balance between Snowman's past and present storylines. It definitely fits the genre of "Sci-fi for people who don't like Sci-fi."

"The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger

Three Stars - I Liked It

I finished this book a few weeks ago and have been procrastinating a review because I’m pretty sure my review will be vastly different than most people’s. Although who knows? Maybe other people agree with me but haven’t said so just to go with the flow. So here goes.

I’m giving this book three stars. It kind of sat in the middle of “I liked it” and “It was OK”, so I rounded up.

Henry and Clare are in love. They have been since the first two times. First, when she was 6 and he was 36, then again when she was 20 and he was 28, for you see, Henry is a time traveler. This is their story where the past, present, and future do not always occur in that order and constantly collide, testing the strength of Clare and Henry’s love and their faith in each other.

Side Note: I think I like my little description better than the actual book jacket.

First of all, this is a book about time travel which is technically Science Fiction and I have always struggled with Sci-Fi. Most time traveling stories leave me with a lot of unanswered questions and generally confused overall. Except for J.K. Rowling’s Time-Turner in Harry Potter 3, that actually made sense. The wearer was simply rewinding time AND they could change things without affecting the entire space-time-continuum (whatever that actually is). And I digress.

Niffenegger does a pretty good job of laying out the rules and explaining how it all worked. The largest jump she asks you to take is in accepting that Henry’s traveling is triggered by something genetic inside of him which physically moves him though time. There is no outside force or item (like the Delorian or Hermione’s Time-Turner) , just him. I struggle a little with this point and I can’t say exactly why. It’s not that I disagree with it, I simply have a hard time wrapping my head around it.

But she did directly answer one of the things that had been bugging me for most of the book. Henry is usually spending more time in the past than the amount of time that passes in his present, i.e. he would be in the past for two or three days, yet only a few hours would have passed when he returned to his present. So how old is he really? Physically he has lived longer than his present would indicate. (I’m confusing myself just thinking about it and I know what I’m trying to say!) Anyway, Niffenegger dosen’t answer this question, but at one point Henry himself wonders how old he is physically, which made me think that at least she recognized that it would be a problem.

My second issue is that I just never connected with the book. In all fairness, this might be a “It’s Not You, It’s Me”situation, where my personal issues at the moment kept me from making a real emotional connection with these characters, and had I read it at another time I might have felt differently. Or maybe it is just the book, who knows. But I just never bonded with any of the characters to a point where I really, really cared about them. At times I even disliked them, mainly Henry and Clare.

I just have to say quickly that yes, I realize how blasphemous this is going to seem to a lot of you because I know A LOT of people who absolutely love this book. So I’m sorry, please don’t hate me.

SPOILERS BELOW

The romantic aspect of the story is that once Henry has met Clare in his present she becomes so important to him that he is drawn to her past and future as he travels. But, he only goes out and falls in love with her because that is what she said is supposed to happen because that’s what he told her would happen in the past. So in Clare’s past Henry is the one who knows everything and tells her that they’re in love, then, when the meet in Henry and Clare’s present, she is the one who knows everything even though he has never met her because he hasn’t traveled to her past yet. It’s all a giant circle of confusion.

I do find the idea that her love for him had such an impact that his need to be near her continually pulled him into her past. Who wouldn’t want a love that powerful? It all just comes back to me not liking the characters. Overall, Clare is okay. She’s a privileged rich kid who goes to college to become a paper artist. She makes sculptures out of paper. Now, I have actually seen some pretty amazing paper sculptures, but I can not think of a more perfect major in college and profession for a rich kid to pursue thank paper sculpting, I just found that sort of funny. There were also a few times where the author goes into quite a bit of detail on paper making and sculpting, which I felt were unnecessary and just completely unrelated to the story in general. Those parts really slowed things down and pulled me out of the story.

Here are my two main issues with Clare. One, when she first meets him in their present, she’s just instantly in love with him even though, at that time, he is a drunken, womanizing, drug-experimenting, jerk of a librarian. Up to that point she was in love with the Henry she knew from her past, the Henry of the future, who she had really only spent maybe a week’s worth of time with in her life, and who had been very careful to never reveal too much of himself to her. She was in love with an ideal Henry, not the guy standing in front of her. I think there should have been a bit more of a reality check for her once they actually met. More struggle in reconciling the two Henry’s. There’s also a scene where Henry from the past is having sex with Clare while present Henry is asleep in the same bed. A little weird for me.

And two, she sleeps with her best friend’s husband!!! I’ll admit, I didn’t completely hate her after this, but what am I supposed to do with this info except think she’s kind of a selfish … witch. Her best friend has taken her daughter out to try and help them both get over the loss of Henry (that’s right, he dies, I warned that there would be spoilers) and Clare sleeps with her husband, in their house, on their kitchen table. And this is the SECOND time she has cheated with him, the first time Clare was not yet with Henry and her friends were dating, but yeah, that’s still cheating. That’s a pretty big black smudge on your character. So she slept with her BFFs husband, and used him because she knew he was in love with her, all just to make herself feel better. Not. Cool.

Henry. Henry’s kind of a slimeball until Clare straightens him out a little bit. He’s a total womanizer who drops his on-again off-again girlfriend like a hot rock as soon as Clare shows up, completely destroying her life and even witnesses, possibly causes, her suicide. That’s really my only big issue with him. He’s kind of hard to connect to and I felt like he was sort of stand-offish to me as a reader in a way, but I think that is how he would actually be if he were a real person, because of his life experiences. He grew up kind of parent-less after his mother died and his father mentally checked-out, and he had some really rough experiences as he time traveled which have all had a part in creating who he is as a man.

I spent a lot of the book mad at Henry for not being willing to try and alter events and change the future. He was willing to “play” the stock market and lottery in order to provide a living for himself and Clare, but he would never try to alter events or change things. This especially bothered me once it became clear that he was going to die. Why wouldn’t he want to change that so he could be with Clare and they could raise their daughter together? It made no sense to me until I tried to look at it solely from Henry’s point of view. Henry has lost his feet at this point which he earlier described as the most important thing he had when he traveled, they were his only means of escape and they kept him alive. When he traveled without his feet he was trapped. He is depressed, lost, and now completely terrified of traveling and the only way for him to end the traveling is to die. So rather than try to change events, he simply decides to accept and almost welcomes his death. Even then it’s not like he’s really dead because he can travel from the past to visit.

There are so many other things I would like to hash out about this book but this has already gotten way too long as it is. So to wrap things up, I think I like the book better after writing this review, but I still only like it, I don’t love it.