A fascinating look at an island few know much about. Beginning in 1946, just after the war, this story is told mostly through letters, so well-written it is difficult to realize it is a novel. It soon encompasses the reader to such a point that the characters become friends. Mary Ann Shaffer has obviously done a great deal of research to capture the essence so completely. By a fortunate bit of serendipity a farmer in Guernsey, Dawsey Adams, has written a letter to Juliet Ashton in London asking where he might obtain writings of Charles Lamb. He has contacted Juliet because he had an old book that had her name written inside. Juliet in the meantime has become an author in her in her own right. From this point on, communications are sent back and forth between Juliet and several people in Guernsey.
Guernsey was occupied by the Germans during WWII and through the letters we learn how the Occupation affected the people of the island. The underlying thread is that the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society came into existence on the spur of the moment, when a group of friends who had gathered for an illicit dinner, were caught out after curfew. Quick-thinking Elizabeth tells them they were at a meeting of the Guernsey Literary Society discussing “Elizabeth and Her German Garden” and enjoying it so much they lost track of time. This apparently appeased the patrol officer, and the Society was henceforth born, but now truthfully to read and discuss books. You will laugh over the roast pig incident and learn that a few Occupiers were even compassionate.
Guernsey was totally cut off from the rest of the world during the Occupation, which lasted 5 years, and knew nothing of what was happening in England. They were able to see some of the attacks on France from the island. Now, in 1946, they are trying to return to normal living. The correspondence with Juliet brought them to a point where the members of the Society indicated they would love to have her visit, so visit she did. The island and the people won her over and Juliet is no longer sure she wants to return to London. This is a warm, friendly, funny and compassionate story, a war story, and a love story. I found myself feeling as though I knew these people and their island personally. In fact immediately after finishing the book I went to the computer and looked up Guernsey to see this island that captured her so. Although the final work on the book was taken over by the author’s niece due to the author’s health, whatever was done by Annie Barrows fits smoothly into the whole. I loved the book beginning to end. It is very sad to realize that there can be no more stories by Mary Ann Shaffer, as this shining light has been snuffed far too soon by her death earlier this year.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
The Shining World by Kathleen McDonnell
Originally posted Jan 25, 2009
The second book of The Notherland Journeys trilogy, Kathleen McDonnell has done it again. This time out, little Mi, one of the Nordlings, has learned how to move from one world to another, but now she is missing. Peggy, whose imagination has created Notherland, is once again called back by Molly, who was her doll when she was a little girl, but in Notherland is alive. The search for Mi takes the main characters of the series, Pay-Gee (Peggy), Jackpine, Molly and Gavi, to many different worlds or perhaps one world in different times. The reader meets such luminaries as Sir John Franklin, Arctic explorer; Grania O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of the 16th century; and William Blake, poet and artist of the 18th century.
They also visit the late 18th century, a time of exploitation of children in workhouses and other forced child labour. While the author handles this darker time with a lighter touch as far as details are concerned, I would not recommend this book to pre-teens. This book contains a lot of factual history and the research that went into the it is amazing.
That aside, the book with its journeys is another magical work. Again, there are lessons in the book subtly given. This trilogy has been a joy, and grows along with its heroine, Peggy. Inside the journeys characters experience new things, in particular self-discovery. At different times they separate into different worlds for specific reasons, but the discovery of Mi brings them all together once again to help her return to herself and heal her soul. I highly recommend this series for perhaps 12 up to and including adults who need a little light in their lives.
The second book of The Notherland Journeys trilogy, Kathleen McDonnell has done it again. This time out, little Mi, one of the Nordlings, has learned how to move from one world to another, but now she is missing. Peggy, whose imagination has created Notherland, is once again called back by Molly, who was her doll when she was a little girl, but in Notherland is alive. The search for Mi takes the main characters of the series, Pay-Gee (Peggy), Jackpine, Molly and Gavi, to many different worlds or perhaps one world in different times. The reader meets such luminaries as Sir John Franklin, Arctic explorer; Grania O’Malley, the Pirate Queen of the 16th century; and William Blake, poet and artist of the 18th century.
They also visit the late 18th century, a time of exploitation of children in workhouses and other forced child labour. While the author handles this darker time with a lighter touch as far as details are concerned, I would not recommend this book to pre-teens. This book contains a lot of factual history and the research that went into the it is amazing.
That aside, the book with its journeys is another magical work. Again, there are lessons in the book subtly given. This trilogy has been a joy, and grows along with its heroine, Peggy. Inside the journeys characters experience new things, in particular self-discovery. At different times they separate into different worlds for specific reasons, but the discovery of Mi brings them all together once again to help her return to herself and heal her soul. I highly recommend this series for perhaps 12 up to and including adults who need a little light in their lives.
The Nordlings by Kathleen McDonnell
Originally posted January 26, 2009
The first book of a trilogy, a Canadian Childrens Book Centre Choice, The Nordlings are the inhabitants of the Notherland world. Peggy, or Pay-Gee as the Nordlings refer to her, imagined this wonderful world into being when she was a young girl. Now a disillusioned and angry 15 year old, she is brought back to Notherland.
Notherland is in trouble and in danger of disappearing altogether. During Peggy’s four year absence, her imaginary world has undergone some changes and taken on a life of its own, not all of it good. She has been called back by her Notherland friends who consider her the Creator of their world and therefore the only one who can save it. The Nordlings are disappearing and only one is left. Peggy must somehow gather the courage, imagination and belief to defeat the feared and sinister Nobodaddy who dwells in the cold and dark “Hole at the Pole”.
Kathleen McDonnell has crafted a wonderful story of adventure while also imparting some important lessons for life. Colour and music, two of the strongest senses of peace and joy, are a major influence in the feel of Notherland. Her books keep me enveloped in a cozy cocoon of memories of childhood imagination. She takes me out of my adult worries and transports me very effectively. I, a grandmother, delight in reading the adventures in Notherland and am looking forward to handing these books over to my young grandchildren when they get older.
The first book of a trilogy, a Canadian Childrens Book Centre Choice, The Nordlings are the inhabitants of the Notherland world. Peggy, or Pay-Gee as the Nordlings refer to her, imagined this wonderful world into being when she was a young girl. Now a disillusioned and angry 15 year old, she is brought back to Notherland.
Notherland is in trouble and in danger of disappearing altogether. During Peggy’s four year absence, her imaginary world has undergone some changes and taken on a life of its own, not all of it good. She has been called back by her Notherland friends who consider her the Creator of their world and therefore the only one who can save it. The Nordlings are disappearing and only one is left. Peggy must somehow gather the courage, imagination and belief to defeat the feared and sinister Nobodaddy who dwells in the cold and dark “Hole at the Pole”.
Kathleen McDonnell has crafted a wonderful story of adventure while also imparting some important lessons for life. Colour and music, two of the strongest senses of peace and joy, are a major influence in the feel of Notherland. Her books keep me enveloped in a cozy cocoon of memories of childhood imagination. She takes me out of my adult worries and transports me very effectively. I, a grandmother, delight in reading the adventures in Notherland and am looking forward to handing these books over to my young grandchildren when they get older.
The Christmas Train by David Baldacci
A lighthearted read evoking a simpler time, the story centers around a disillusioned journalist and his chance to complete what his father had never been able to accomplish. Tom Langdon had known for years that there was a familial connection to Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain but he was not aware that his father had a last wish for Tom to complete a story that Twain had never finished. A story of taking a train across the country at Christmastime. Twain supposedly took many notes on the trip, but had never made a story from them.
As it turns out, Tom is planning to travel across the country to be in California by Christmas to be with his girl-friend, and will be traveling by train because he is not allowed to travel by air due to a volcanic temper tantrum in the airport after a long, tiring flight and a probing search at the security gate. Thus he decides to follow through on his father’s deathbed wish. He decides he will take his own notes and compile them into a story. Traveling by rail he hears the stories of many people who have made the trip many times before. He also meets a young couple wanting to get married on the train, an eccentric old woman who seems to know everyone very well, a film director, and a person from his own past. At one point on the trip there also appears to be a bit of a thief, and this story runs along in the background.
David Baldacci has created a little rolling world peopled with interesting and varied characters. Then everything comes to a screeching halt as they become trapped in this little world with apparently no way out. I really enjoyed this book, and particularly the subtexts and direction changes, red herrings and subterfuge with a dash or humour. This was a good Christmas story and the ending took me completely by surprise; I’m sure to be reading it again next Christmas. Surprisingly, this is the first Baldacci book I have read and I know this is not his usual fare, but of course I will be reading some of his other books in 2009! I definitely recommend it.
As it turns out, Tom is planning to travel across the country to be in California by Christmas to be with his girl-friend, and will be traveling by train because he is not allowed to travel by air due to a volcanic temper tantrum in the airport after a long, tiring flight and a probing search at the security gate. Thus he decides to follow through on his father’s deathbed wish. He decides he will take his own notes and compile them into a story. Traveling by rail he hears the stories of many people who have made the trip many times before. He also meets a young couple wanting to get married on the train, an eccentric old woman who seems to know everyone very well, a film director, and a person from his own past. At one point on the trip there also appears to be a bit of a thief, and this story runs along in the background.
David Baldacci has created a little rolling world peopled with interesting and varied characters. Then everything comes to a screeching halt as they become trapped in this little world with apparently no way out. I really enjoyed this book, and particularly the subtexts and direction changes, red herrings and subterfuge with a dash or humour. This was a good Christmas story and the ending took me completely by surprise; I’m sure to be reading it again next Christmas. Surprisingly, this is the first Baldacci book I have read and I know this is not his usual fare, but of course I will be reading some of his other books in 2009! I definitely recommend it.
To Every Thing There Is a Season by Alistair MacLeod
A beautiful little book that I could relate to so well. This is a Christmas memory of the author, Alistair MacLeod, at the age of eleven on the threshold of leaving childhood behind. The story takes place on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in 1940, on a small family farm. Snow season begins as early as October in Cape Breton. In the author's words, "My family had been there for a long, long time and so it seemed had I. And much of that time seems like the proverbial yesterday. Yet when I speak on this Christmas 1977, I am not sure how much I speak with the voice of that time or how much in the voice of what I have since become....For Christmas is a time of both past and present and often the two are imperfectly blended."
To every thing there is a season, and to every page there is a gorgeous illustration. Illustrated by Peter Rankin, the time and place are beautifully captured. This is a warm, comforting "olden days" portrait of Christmas; although it is written for 1940, it conjures Christmases of an earlier time as well. An excellent short story to read for Christmas, it is only 47 pages long including history, author note and illustrations. It would make a nice traditional family Christmas story to read every year.
To every thing there is a season, and to every page there is a gorgeous illustration. Illustrated by Peter Rankin, the time and place are beautifully captured. This is a warm, comforting "olden days" portrait of Christmas; although it is written for 1940, it conjures Christmases of an earlier time as well. An excellent short story to read for Christmas, it is only 47 pages long including history, author note and illustrations. It would make a nice traditional family Christmas story to read every year.
Monday, December 22, 2008
The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson
The Mighty Queens of Freeville: A Mother, A Daughter, and the People Who Raised Them – A Memoir by Amy Dickinson
A wonderful, honest and heartwarming memoir of author and advice columnist Amy Dickinson (the replacement for Ann Landers after her death), and her family of women. The tale flows with a very comfortable voice, albeit a story of survival not only for Amy but for her entire family who, one way or another become single mothers over generations, the “Mighty Queens of Freeville”. The family is about as close knit as anyone could imagine, whether at one of their weekly breakfasts, the barbecues after church on Sundays, or all in one house for whatever occasion.
Her sense of loss and aloneness in London when her husband leaves her, her decision to return home to the very small town of Freeville, on the edge of Appalachia in upper New York State, her fears bringing up her daughter Emily alone, and much later her attempts at returning to dating, all make for an entertaining read. Working in Chicago, she and Emily move there but find they make constant trips back “home” to visit, and Amy buys a small house in Freeville, coincidentally one that had been in the family years before, so that they would have a place of their own to stay every time they came. Eventually, a time comes when she decides to give up the rental apartment in Chicago and move back to Freeville.
Amy is a great storyteller, funny and sad at times, but always true to herself. The growth and relationship between Amy and Emily are a joy to witness. I think her motto as an advice columnist tells a great deal about her character – “I make the mistakes so you don’t have to.” I loved this book and recommend it for an enjoyable, fascinating read.
A wonderful, honest and heartwarming memoir of author and advice columnist Amy Dickinson (the replacement for Ann Landers after her death), and her family of women. The tale flows with a very comfortable voice, albeit a story of survival not only for Amy but for her entire family who, one way or another become single mothers over generations, the “Mighty Queens of Freeville”. The family is about as close knit as anyone could imagine, whether at one of their weekly breakfasts, the barbecues after church on Sundays, or all in one house for whatever occasion.
Her sense of loss and aloneness in London when her husband leaves her, her decision to return home to the very small town of Freeville, on the edge of Appalachia in upper New York State, her fears bringing up her daughter Emily alone, and much later her attempts at returning to dating, all make for an entertaining read. Working in Chicago, she and Emily move there but find they make constant trips back “home” to visit, and Amy buys a small house in Freeville, coincidentally one that had been in the family years before, so that they would have a place of their own to stay every time they came. Eventually, a time comes when she decides to give up the rental apartment in Chicago and move back to Freeville.
Amy is a great storyteller, funny and sad at times, but always true to herself. The growth and relationship between Amy and Emily are a joy to witness. I think her motto as an advice columnist tells a great deal about her character – “I make the mistakes so you don’t have to.” I loved this book and recommend it for an enjoyable, fascinating read.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Odds bodkins! I’ve fallen into A Midsummer Night's Dream! Lesley Livingston’s debut “Wondrous Strange” is exactly that, a book of wonder and enchantment; a world of faeries, fauns, sirens, changelings, and the Hounds of Hell. The author is obviously familiar with Shakespeare’s works, and certainly has done a lot of research into legends, mythology and faerie lore. This wonderful story is captivating, the characters both surprising and interesting. It is listed as Young Adult, but I as a grandmother thoroughly enjoyed it for myself, in fact I only put the book down to go to sleep. A fast and gripping read.
The story is pure fairytale, authentic and creative. A 17-year old actress, Kelley Winslow, suddenly finds herself playing a major role in A Midsummer Night's Dream, that of Titania, when the original actress breaks her ankle. Her first rehearsal does not go well, and she is ordered to go home and learn her lines. Kelley has always been drawn to Central Park and finds it a quiet place to study; little does she know that it is also a gate to the Otherworld. A changeling, one of the guards of the Gate, happens to be in the park as she is rehearsing her lines and he at first mistakes her words as from the real Titania. The meeting between the two young people triggers a string of very strange happenings.
I do not want to put any spoilers in this review, the book must be read to feel it and enjoy it. The plot is fascinatingly played out, but the adventure needs to be experienced, for adventure it is. It has history, passion, danger, a world of opposites, fantasy, and young love. I loved this book and highly recommend it. A very strong debut, I will certainly be interested in reading more of Lesley Livingston’s books. 5 stars
The story is pure fairytale, authentic and creative. A 17-year old actress, Kelley Winslow, suddenly finds herself playing a major role in A Midsummer Night's Dream, that of Titania, when the original actress breaks her ankle. Her first rehearsal does not go well, and she is ordered to go home and learn her lines. Kelley has always been drawn to Central Park and finds it a quiet place to study; little does she know that it is also a gate to the Otherworld. A changeling, one of the guards of the Gate, happens to be in the park as she is rehearsing her lines and he at first mistakes her words as from the real Titania. The meeting between the two young people triggers a string of very strange happenings.
I do not want to put any spoilers in this review, the book must be read to feel it and enjoy it. The plot is fascinatingly played out, but the adventure needs to be experienced, for adventure it is. It has history, passion, danger, a world of opposites, fantasy, and young love. I loved this book and highly recommend it. A very strong debut, I will certainly be interested in reading more of Lesley Livingston’s books. 5 stars
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