Classics Corner: Anne of Green Gables (The Anne Shirley Blythe Series Book One) by Lucy Maud Montgomery; The First and Best Book of Montgomery's Series About The Lovable Imaginative Red Haired Canadian Orphan

 

Classics Corner: Anne of Green Gables (The Anne Shirley Blythe Series Book One) by Lucy Maud Montgomery; The First and Best Book of Montgomery's Series About The Lovable Imaginative Red Haired Canadian Orphan

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Well there are plans and there are disrupted plans. My Reading goal last year was to read and review the books on the PopSugar Reading Challenge for 2020. While I finished reading them in 2020, I hadn't finished writing the reviews. I blame the flu in October and Covid in November for getting me behind schedule (that's bad) and the glut of requested reviews that I had to do first (that's good). But here finally are the final three: The first book that you touch with your eyes closed (Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery), A book with 20 or more books in the series (The Nancy Drew Mysteries 1-10 by Carolyn Keene) and a book from a previous category-A book you started but haven't finished (The Collected Stories of Franz Kafka). I could give up on them, but when it comes to reading goals, I'm not a quitter!

Well self-pity is over on with the review:

In the book KidLit by Tom Durwood, Durwood found adult themes and analyses in children's literature. One of the examples that he cited was Anne of Green Gables. He saw it as a search for one's identity and belonging and I would have to agree. This book is about Anne Shirley, a young orphan who had been neglected and unloved, though packed with identifiable flaws, and slowly becomes accepted into a family and her community of Avonlea.

I first became acquainted with Anne in the late-'80's during "Anne-mania" when Kevin Sullivan produced two lush, beautiful, and lovely miniseries on the Anne books for CBC (since I'm an American, I saw them on the Disney Channel.) that starred Megan Follows, Colleen Dewhurst, Richard Farnsworth, Jonathan Crombie, and Schuyler Grant. Follows was just lovely as Anne in the role that made her a star.

The first miniseries was based on the first book, Anne of Green Gables and was almost a word for word adaptation. The second miniseries, Anne of Avonlea, was a composite of three subsequent books, Anne of Avonlea, Anne of the Island, and Anne of Windy Poplars.

 I also enjoyed the spin-off series, Road to Avonlea starring rich girl, Sara Stanley (Sarah Polley) and her rural family, The Kings headed by her prickly schoolteacher aunt Hetty (Jackie Burroughs). Road to Avonlea was based on Montgomery's anthologies, The Story Girl, The Golden Road, Chronicles of Avonlea, and Further Chronicles of Avonlea. (The first two were not related to Avonlea in book form but were adapted into that universe on television.) 

Many Readers and viewers, myself included, were drawn to the beautiful Prince Edward Island, its charming characters, and its almost idyllic dream like portrayal of Canada's past.

When it comes to the book series, the first Anne of Green Gables is the best. Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island are also good, though in some cases spend more time developing new characters at the expense of older ones. The later three aren't as well written as though Montgomery grew tired of the series and wanted it to end or lost her knack for writing Anne in favor of her children. However one thing the entire series gets right is how it develops Anne from a young girl into a woman.

The first book does a brilliant job of introducing us to Anne and the world in which she inhabits. Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, an elderly unmarried brother and sister, are getting on in years. They need some young blood to help them run the farm at their family home of Green Gables in the town of Avonlea. So they decide to adopt a boy from the orphan asylum in Nova Scotia. 

 In the first three chapters which are titled "(Insert character name) is surprised," local town busybody, Rachel Lynde is, well, surprised. She is miffed that the Cuthberts did not ask her because nothing goes on without her say so. Don't we all know someone like that? That is Montgomery's secret: creating characters that we instantly know and recognize in our own lives, just simply living in 1900's Canada.

Rachel cites gruesome stories about orphan boys setting a house on fire, on purpose and another orphan putting strychnine in a well. "Only it was a girl this time," Rachel said.

"Well we're not getting a girl," says the sharp tongued and severe Marilla. ("as though poisoning a well was purely feminine accomplishment and not to be dreamt of by a boy," Montgomery wryly tells us.) 

Cut to the next chapter where, of course, Anne Shirley (always spelled with an e, never without), an 11-year-old orphan girl, sits at the train station waiting for Matthew Cuthbert to arrive and take her to Green Gables. (There was a mix up at the orphanage since the request was sent secondhand, via correspondence).

There are many things that draw the Reader into these books and marks it as a beloved classic. One of those is the description in setting. Nearly every road, stream, or house is described in a lovely enchanting way that turns Avonlea into an almost fairy land, a distant past that is lovely to dream about. In once chapter, Matthew drives his buggy along a road. "It was a pretty road, running along between snug farmsteads, with now and again a bit of balsamy fir wood to drive through or a hollow where wild plums hung out of their filmy bloom," Montgomery wrote, "The air was sweet with the breath of many apple orchards and the meadows sloped away in the distance to horizon mists of pearl and purple; while 'The little birds sang as if it were/The one day of summer in all the year.'"

This is a contrast to other children's classics, say Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books, that want to zero in on how hard frontier life was in the past. Montgomery wanted to draw her Readers into this world as much as she wanted Anne to be drawn in. 

Instead, it is Anne's old life that is described in muted browns and grays. Her past being raised solely to bring up other people's young children including "twins three times in succession", being abused by adults particularly one foster mother's "drunken husband", and her move to the overcrowded orphanage, are empty and devoid of color. It's a hard world. Anne's only "bosom friends" are her reflection in a glass case, that she dubs Katie Maurice, and her echo in a valley, that she names Violetta.

Green Gables, Avonlea, and Prince Edward Island are constantly described in ways that feel like home. That's the point. It's a place meant to make Anne feel welcome as soon as she arrives and in turn welcome the Readers. It's not a surprise that these books are solely responsible for the increase in tourism to Prince Edward Island. Who wouldn't want to visit these beautiful landscapes at least once?

Besides the attention to detail in setting, what makes Montgomery's books stands out is her lead character, Anne. From the moment that she first appears and greets Matthew at the train station, she makes an undeniable impression. Anne is already introduced as a talkative outspoken imaginative young girl. One of her first monologues takes about a page and a half in which she rhapsodizes about how a tree resembles a bride, then how she imagines that she wears pretty clothes (even though she wears the plain wincey asylum dress) as well as her desire for fashionable clothes, highlights of her boat trip to the island, the questions that she asked her chaperone, Mrs. Spencer on the way over, and her first impressions of the island and its red roads. 

This is not a surly argumentative rebellious kid. Instead she is a girl who has a firm hold on her imagination and optimism, as she dreams and hopes for better days.Anne is the type of character that takes delight in the simplest things, like giving objects names (She calls a nearby pond The Lake of Shining Waters), her first taste of ice cream, wearing a dress with puffed sleeves, and finding kindred spirits.

Anne's instantly lovable personality allows her to find kindered spirits everywhere even in the most unlikely of people. She instantly finds one in Matthew during the first ride home when the shy man is amused during her long conversations and realizes that he kind of "likes her chatter." She finds one in Rachel Lynde when after she explodes when Rachel mocks her looks, she makes a melodramatic heartfelt apology which amuses the busybody. 

She finds not only a kindred spirit, but a "bosom friend" in Diana Barry, a somewhat wealthy girl who is quieter but willing to go along with Anne's imaginative escapades. She also finds one in Diana's strict mother. Anne accidentally gets Diana drunk when she mistakes currant wine for raspberry cordial and Mrs. Barry orders the two best friends to be separated. She eventually apologizes and becomes another kindred spirit, when Anne's experience with children and quick thinking results in Diana's younger sister from being cured from the croup.

 It takes a very long, long time in admitting that Anne finds a kindred spirit in Gilbert Blythe, a boy who pesters her about her looks and earns her long-lived ire. They become academic rivals as the two brightest students in the one-room Avonlea schoolhouse. Later their relationship develops into a friendship and, in subsequent books, a romance and eventual happy marriage. 

While Marilla takes some time in admitting it, she becomes another kindred spirit when after she hears about Anne's past, she refuses to surrender Anne to a hardened taskmaster who would also abuse her. Through the book, Marilla goes from feeling sympathy for her charge, to liking her despite and sometimes because of her flaws, to growing fond of her, to considering Anne "dearer to her more than anyone on earth." Anne awakens maternal instincts that Marilla didn't even know that she had. 

Part of Anne discovering her own identity and belonging is intertwined in her development and maturity. The majority of the book consists of various scrapes that Anne gets involved in usually concerning follies in hers or other's behavior. One of the first involves a missing amethyst brooch that was a family heirloom of Marilla's. Marilla believing that Anne took it, orders her to stay in her room until she confesses. Taking that punishment literally, Anne creates a confession from her own imagination on which she dropped the brooch into the water below. When Marilla finds her brooch safe and snug on her shawl, they both learn something: Anne not to take things that don't belong to her and Marilla not to jump to hasty conclusions and to believe Anne.

Another lesson cures Anne of her vanity. One of the "crosses that (Anne) bears" throughout her life is her bright red hair. Anyone, like Gilbert or Rachel, makes the mistake of mentioning it will surely receive the the sharp angry end of Anne's mouth. Anne has long wanted to have raven black hair like Diana's (She can't even imagine herself with any other color hair. She can imagine anything else, except her hair is always red.) So she buys hair dye from a shifty peddler which turns her hair green. Humorously, she learns that there are worse things than red hair and eventually grows to accept her hair when it grows to a handsome darker auburn.

 However, she never loses her desire for pretty clothes so that later when Matthew, tired of Marilla dressing Anne in the plain clothes that she makes herself, buys fancier fabric and commissions Rachel to make a dress with puffed sleeves. Anne not only cherishes the dress because it's a long sought for dream come true, but recognizes it as a gift of love from Matthew towards the young woman that he always thought of as "(his) girl."

Sometimes Anne's over developed imagination gets her in trouble. One incident, her creation of a haunted wood causes her to fear walking through the woods at night, terrified of the ghosts that she created. Anne is "contented with commonplace places after this". (However, this incident creates long term repercussions with Diana whose imagination becomes underdeveloped because of her fear.) Another incident results in Anne getting lost adrift in a boat while pretending to be the Lady of Shallot. She is rescued by Gilbert (which though she doesn't realize it, leads to her forgiveness for his long ago taunting), but believed that this incident which left her cold, drenched, and embarrassed cured her of her desire for romance. However, her imagination and romance never dies as throughout the series, as she develops a talent for writing and finding beauty, adventure, and more kindred spirits in the most comnon of places and situations.

Anne is a girl who is looking for a place to belong and she finds that in Green Gables. Before she considered herself "Anne from nowhere and belonging to nobody." She accept being a part of a family and her life as "Anne of Green Gables" ("which is better than being Anne from nowhere".) At first, she is seen as an outsider, a strange girl with a bad temper who goes on weird tangents. Then her circle grows wider as she becomes a schoolgirl and church member  with many friends her own age. 

Though she thinks the pastor's sermons are too long and boring and doesn't like the first teacher Mr. Phillips, who makes eyes at one of the older students, Prissy Andrews. She later bonds with the new minister and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. Allen, as well as the schoolteacher, Miss Stacey. The Allens and Miss Stacey become guides that help Anne on her path.

As Anne matures, she hones her interest in literature, composition, and imaginative situations into academic success. She becomes an honor student and gets accepted into Queen's College winning a scholarship for Arts students. Despite great tragedy in her family, she is able to forge ahead on her path and become an important member of her community.

Later she becomes a schoolteacher, a member of the Avonlea Improvement Society, a student at Redmond University, a high school principal, a wife to Dr. Gilbert Blythe, a mother of five, and eventually a writer of short stories and novels, first of romantic love stories then more realistic ones that depict fictionalized versions of her childhood experiences.

Symbolic of Anne's growing influence as a fulfilled woman who is aware of her personal identity and involvement in her growing communities is the change in titles throughout the series. Anne of Green Gables depicts her family home and close friends and family. Anne of Avonlea causes the circle to spread throughout the town as we see her as a schoolteacher and townsperson, getting to know her pupils, their families, and other townspeople and neighbors. Then it grows even wider to Anne of the Island (as in Prince Edward Island) as Anne explores university life with her fellow classmates, gets involved in romance with Gilbert and another man, and even in one of the best chapters visits the home in which she was born and reads love letters between her deceased birth parents. Eventually, Anne leaves the island to settle in towns like Windy Poplars and Ingleside, creating an even larger connection that extends throughout Canada. 

It's clear that in the 112 years since she was first created, Anne Shirley has found kindred spirits in many of her Readers. Far from unloved or unaccepted, she is "Anne of Everywhere."

New Book Alert: The Unseen Path by Zlaikha Y. Samad and L'mere Younossi; Sequel to The Unseen Blossom Reveals The Real World Surrounding The Fantasy

 

New Book Alert: The Unseen Path by Zlaikha Y. Samad and L'mere Younossi; Sequel to The Unseen Blossom Reveals The Real World Surrounding The Fantasy

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: In 2019, I had the pleasure of reading my favorite book of that year and one of my all-time favorites since this blog began, The Unseen Blossom by Zlaikha Y. Samad and L'mere Younossi. This stunningly beautiful and allegorical love story is set in Afghanistan and stars Zuli and Lamar. In a modern day fairy tale, the duo are given a task to search for a fig blossom. They travel through various dream like landscapes and are aided by magical guides before they reach the end of their quest and find love with each other. They are also given a much larger task of sharing the lessons that they learned about love and empathy with the world. I did not exaggerate when I described The Unseen Blossom as "walking into someone else's dream." 

Well, I now have the pleasure of reviewing The Unseen Path, the sequel, and it's a thorny pleasure. Not because it's a bad book. In fact, it's just the opposite. However, if The Unseen Blossom is a fantastic dream, then The Unseen Path is what happens after the dreamer wakes up and reality sets in. The Unseen Path shows us the real Afghanistan in which Zuli and Lamar live. It is a world in which it is difficult to share such a fantastic journey among intense poverty and strict laws, a romance between lovers of different social classes, and ideas of empathy and love that are hard to share in a country that is torn apart by war.

The book begins where The Unseen Blossom ends. Zuli and Lamar have returned from their journey.There is a strong tonal shift in the book that is both jarring, but at the same time realistic in how quickly the world can change for people. The first half of the book somewhat retains the fantastic elements of the previous book, though bordering more on romantic comedy rather than fantasy. There are Zuli's regal but distant parents who are bound by tradition. There is Zuli's loyal maternal nanny, Gulnar. There are some seriocomic moments that illustrate the class differences between the pair.

 It seems that Samad and Younossi are invoking a Jane Austen-esque comedy of manners involving star crossed lovers. 

Then reality crashes in and the Reader is aware that this book is set Afghanistan in 1979.

The Soviet-Afghan War is foreshadowed in the first half of the book by rumors of war. Zuli's father, the king, fears that Russia may invade. But like a murderer in a movie that is first introduced as an extra where the audience's focus is on the lovers in the foreground, these rumors are mere whispers or dark clouds on the horizon. Only in hindsight, after a second reading, do those dark clouds become important.

Once war hits, it does so in a way that catapults Zuli, Lamar, and the Reader headlong into reality. There is so much grief and anguish, partly because it is so unexpected. The destroyed buildings which only chapters before held such friendly people are reduced to rubble. People like Zuli and Lamar make every day plans to get together, go to work, share a drink, or just hang out only to be cruelly ripped apart possibly never to see each other again. 

It would be tempting to make Zuli and Lamar soldiers, warriors, and hell bent on revenge against the people who destroyed their country (and really who could blame them?). But that path would contradict the lessons that they learned in The Unseen Blossom. They use their talents, abilities, and personalities to aid the people around them. To provide healing, education, empathy, and love through their actions. They are learning to put into practical use the lessons that they have been taught. Those lessons take them through the immense grief and suffering that surround them.

Is The Unseen Path a better book than The Unseen Blossom? Well, they are so different that it's almost like comparing two completely different entities. Even though they are written by the same authors, featuring the same deuteragonist characters, and carry similar themes. The Unseen Blossom is a one of a kind spiritual fantasy into a dream world. The Unseen Path shows one how to put the love, magic, and kindness that is shown in the dream world into the real one. It shows how one can turn that fantasy into reality and plant the blossom that grows a better world.

Weekly Reader: Murder on the Dark Web (Belfast Murder Mystery Book 4) by Brian O'Hare; Dark and Sinister Murder Mystery Plays On Notions of Innocent and Guilty

 

Weekly Reader: Murder on the Dark Web (A Belfast Murder Mystery Book 4) by Brian O'Hare; Dark and Sinister Murder Mystery Plays On Notions of Innocent and Guilty

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I will try not to reveal too much about this book, but one of the things that I like the most about it is somewhat tied to a huge spoiler so I will just say this review contains SOME MAJOR HEAVY DUTY SPOILERS!!!!

Murder on the Dark Web by Brian O'Hare is one of those types of murder mystery novels that completely subverts and flip flops the ideas of innocent and guilty and right and wrong. Not in some time have I detested a group of murder and blackmail victims more. Not in some time have I empathized, understood, and almost completely sided with the murderer more. It is only when the murderer takes things a step too far that the empathy ends.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Sheehan and his team are called in when Judge Trevor Neeson is found murdered in his study. Sheehan's team are the usual brave good-hearted characters that you would find in most police procedural novels. 

Sheehan is the wise leader and father to his men (and woman) and has a happy home life. Sergeant Denise Stewart, Sheehan's partner, is the only woman on the team. She is dating one of the other detectives and has to deal with the other team members trying to protect her so-called "delicate femininity" and dismissing her because she's a woman. Detective Declan Connors and Malachy McBride are an odd pairk (Connors is middle aged, street smart, and surly, McBride is young, educated, and enthusiastic). The two care for each other and may be partners, more than just on the force. Sheehan's team are a great well-written bunch that help provide light in the darkness by protecting those in trouble and punishing the truly guilty.

At first Neeson's murder investigation seems routine. On the night that he died, he had a gathering of wealthy guests. While investigating the guests, each one insists that they were just talking about Brexit. Well, okay rich folks talking politics nothing wrong with that. Except every time that the group says the reason behind their meeting, they use the exact same words as though they were reciting them. They seem like they are covering up their real conversation.

The book alternates between Sheehan's team's investigation, the murderer, and Neeson's colleagues. The Reader is one step ahead of Sheehan's team through the entire book, so it becomes not so much a Whodunnit, but more of a when will they find out?

What the Reader learns is that Neeson's gathering had nothing to do with Brexit. Instead he was part of a secret organization called The Fulfillment for the Enlightened Club, a group of wealthy elites who meet to fulfill their sexual pleasures. The club consists of high society members such as judges, professors, stockholders, property moguls, socialites, and millionaires. One member even flies in from South Africa to fulfill their sexual pleasure.

It is the activities of this club that are detestable. The club meets and pays for various sadistic pleasures like items on a menu, literally. (Seriously, there is a menu that lists all the sexual escapades and how much the members can pay for them.) The sexual activities include making snuff films and having sex with children as young as three or four years old. (sickened yet?) Neeson and the others are a detestable decadent bunch that take delight in other victim's pain. Neeson and another judge, Adams, have acquired a reputation for bidding and fighting over the younger pretty boys and young men. 

The Club members are the sorts that are so comfortable with their wealth and status that they believe that they can get away with anything. This is probably why they make the same lame alibi. They play Sheehan's and his team just like their young victims. They have no shame, sorrow, remorse, and consider themselves above the law. The more the Reader gets to know these awful people, the more they want to see them taken down.

Sheehan and the other detectives aren't the only ones trailing the club. On the Dark Web, a character named Nemein has been leaving messages on his blog confessing to Neeson's murder and taking credit for other murders of club members. No one knows who he is except that he seems to be a well educated individual (he writes in the style of 19th century literature) and has a knowledge of the legal and judicial process. He claims that he is serving justice. This causes Sheehan and the other detectives to wonder who Nemein is and what is his connection to the Club. Is he a member or one of their victims?

What becomes clear is that Nemein has been hurt and is disgusted with the Club's actions. He is out for revenge about something personal and won't let the club's wealth and status be a barrier in his particular brand of justice. Much like other antagonists in other crime books that I read like Damien Linnane's Scarred or Karina Kantas' Lawless Justice, Nemein becomes understandable in his illegal activities. When Nemein reveals his connection to the club, his story is genuinely heartbreaking. The Reader can't help but feel for this character who once had love and showed kindness only to meet hurt and betrayal in the worst way.

What shifts our sympathies against Nemein is in the way he dispenses justice, especially against someone who was not a club member. He doesn't mind hurting innocent bystanders to make his point or forcing someone whose only crime was doing their job to make a sadistic choice. In his pursuit of justice, Nemein turns into the very monsters that he hated and upon whom he swore vengeance.

Murder on the Dark Web is a dark but gripping murder mystery. It shows us that sometimes the line between good and evil is not so defined. In fact, it can be quite blurry.

Weekly Reader: Girl Gone Ghost by Dawn Husted; Terrifying and Spooky YA Novel About Ghosts and Murder

 

Weekly Reader: Girl Gone Ghost by Dawn Husted; Terrifying and Spooky YA Novel About Ghosts and Murder

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Girl Gone Ghost by Dawn Husted is a terrifying and spooky YA novel about a teenage girl haunted by the ghost of her deceased best friend.

Sonora Stewart is a high school cheerleader and popular girl when her best friend, Magnolia is murdered. More than likely, she was killed by the Creekside Killer, a local serial murderer who killed several young women but has yet to be identified. 

Sonora is naturally depressed. She is unable to enjoy things that she used to like hanging out with her boyfriend, Chris (especially since Magnolia dated Chris's twin brother, Cooper.). She withdraws from her well-meaning parents and is just floating along in school. She would talk to her older brother, Bram, but he has been out of touch since he moved out and left for college. The only person she can still connect with is her other friend, Rosa, a wild rebel who encourages Sonora's more obstreperous side. Sonora feels lost and adrift without her best friend until she starts seeing Magnolia's ghost and now she feels lost, adrift, and terrified.

Among the more haunting aspects to the book is Magnolia's appearance. This is not a beautiful guardian angel given the task of helping her friend to move on so she can ascend into Heaven. Instead, she is more like a hellacious apparition that frightens Sonora almost to death every time she appears. A smell of rotten fish precedes her arrival. She has one silvery eye that hangs from her socket with worms sometimes peering out from the socket. Water droops from her body to the floor below. Golden hair hangs to her side and her drenched white dress clings to her body. Magnolia's appearance is similar to that of a creature in Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gimmell's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and is about as welcoming. She haunts Sonora so she can learn the truth of what happened to her.

Because of this apparition, Sonora begins to doubt everyone around her, even herself. She is surrounded by suspicious behavior and questions everyone around her to find out what happened to Magnolia. Who is the Creekside Killer anyway? Is the killer Chris, Cooper, or Cooper's new girlfriend, Angela? Is it the strange Goth boy, Lachlan, son of the police investigator who is studying Magnolia's death, especially since Lachlan is taking an interest in Sonora? What about Rosa, did she take her rebellious acts and troublemaking  too far? Is Magnolia's father's suicidal grief just an act or is it sincere? What about Sonora's own father, especially when he shows up with jewelry that looks suspiciously like Magnolia's? Worst of all since Sonora is the only one who can see Magnolia, is Magnolia's ghost real or a hallucination? Can Sonora trust her own mind?

Girl Gone Ghost plays on one of my favorite tropes in the horror genre: the fine line between sanity and madness and whether what we are seeing is real or a manifestation of one's insanity. Husted balances these possibilities very well by providing Sonora with a backstory that suggests Magnolia's arrival could go either way. 

Sonora's grandfather, Paw Paw, has been in a psychiatric hospital for some time so mental illness could be genetic in her family. Not to mention other stuff gets revealed later which causes the Reader to think Sonora's narration is less than reliable.

There are multiple plot twists. A couple twist actually caused this Reader to go back and re-read the earlier chapters just to make sure that she didn't miss something. The final revelation is one that the Reader is completely left unprepared for and that's what makes it a good murder mystery, that the Reader is left in complete surprise at the end. Though there are variations of this ending, the Reader was left unprepared for this ending in this particular context.

Girl Gone Ghost is the type of YA book that is perfect for any lover of mysteries and ghost stories. Just be prepared to feel a chill down the spine and jump with fright at the sound of footsteps nearby while reading. Also, beware of that rotted fish smell.

Weekly Reader: Where The Sun Rises by Suzanne Strong; Suspenseful and Heartbreaking Novel of Female Fighters in Syria

 

Weekly Reader: Where The Sun Rises by Suzanne Strong; Suspenseful and Heartbreaking Novel of Female Fighters in Syria

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: War stories about soldiers still are largely slanted towards the male point of view. We read about their involvement in key conflicts and battles, their comradeship towards their fellow brothers-in-arms, their desensitization when they see the other side as an enemy to be destroyed and not fellow human beings, the sacrifices that they make, and the post trauma when they can't return to the life that had and are still living the war in their heads.

In the past few decades, authors are beginning to become aware that there is an untold side: that of the women who have been involved in war. Their stories as nurses, spies, defenders of the home front, and yes sometimes as soldiers, are finally being told. They are seen just as courageous, just as determined, just as strong, and just as self-sacrificing as their brother soldiers as they fight not only the enemy, but often a patriarchal system which challenges their right to fight in the first place.

The themes of war and feminism on the homefront and battlefield are revealed in Suzanne Strong's novel, Where The Sun Rises, a suspenseful and heartbreaking novel about two women who join an all-female fighting unit in war torn Syria.

In 2014, Karin and Roza are two friends who live in Kobane, Syria in tense anticipation as Daesh's army is closing in on the Kurds. Many men are fighting a resistance against the approaching army. The people left behind are left with the choices: either leave Syria forever, take up arms and join the fight, or stay and take their chances. Either way, these are difficult dour options, options that could end in misery, violence, and death.

Roza and Karin are ready to face these dark changing times. Roza is a teacher and married woman who lives with her loving husband, Sercan, and darling son, Yez. Karin is unmarried, but has her own views about what a woman should do. She recently ended an engagement with an abusive fiance. Karin is ready to fight against Daesh, but her traditional family forbids it. Her brothers can go of course. 

Sercan is joining the Resistance against Daesh. Roza is worried and doesn't want him to go, but understands why he has to. When Sercan and Karin's brother, Mani, are killed in action, Roza and Karin grieve, but then wipe their tears and enlist in the Yekineyen Parastina Jin (YPJ), the all-female fighting unit.

This novel is particularly effective in how Roza and Karin are portrayed. They are motivated to join by grief and revenge, but also by other reasons. Roza is protective towards Yez and signs up as an ultimate act of motherhood to keep any harm from coming towards her child. Karin enlists as though to prove her worth as a woman. She is tired of being treated as a second class citizen and wants to prove her worth to her country, family, and herself.

Karin is rational and feisty while Roza is quiet and emotional, but the two make a great team. Their friendship is developed on the battlefield as violence and bloodshed that surrounds them makes them more protective towards each other.

We also see characterization developed in the rest of the unit as well. Perhaps Strong wanted to avoid stereotypes and cliches. Perhaps since the lead characters are female, Strong wanted to emphasize collaboration over competition, but Commander Tolhedan, their leader, is a relief. While she is stern, she is not a shouting drill sergeant. She has a dry sense of humor and clear compassion towards the women in her unit. Tolhedan knows that "a woman can fight" against their enemy and society's perception of them and is ready to use any means necessary to help her women prove it.

There are some really tense moments that solidify the horrors of war and the deep friendships that the women feel towards each other. Their joy is felt when they defiantly sing traditional Kurdish folk songs over a fire. Suspense mounts as the YPJ take on a dangerous mission to rescue a soldier's sister and other women who are about to be trafficked to Daesh's army. They also face heartbreak when a raid results in the death of a friend and colleague of Karin and Roza's.

Karin and Roza's characters evolve even as their friendship is strengthened on the front. The intense grief is understood when Karin and Roza return to Kobane and Roza pays her respects to Sercan's grave no longer the shy schoolteacher, but a fierce warrior ready for action. Karin also begins a transformation as she develops close friendships with the other women and begins to trust and fall in love with a male journalist who shares her progressive views about women. The two friends help each other through the changes as Karin provides another emotional center for Yez and Roza helps steer Karin towards her own personal happiness.

Where the Sun Rises shines with rich fully characterized women who face war and death, but most importantly are pulled together by their friendship. This friendship is what helps see them through the dark days of war and look towards the better brighter days ahead.

Weekly Reader: The Ginger Gold Mysteries 1-3 by Lee Strauss; Brilliant Jazz Age Historical Mystery Series With Brilliant, Sharp Tongued and Stylish Lead

 Weekly Reader: The Ginger Gold Mysteries 1-3 by Lee Strauss; Brilliant Jazz Age Historical Mystery Series With Brilliant, Sharp Tongued and Stylish Lead

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: Last year, I was introduced to Mona Moon, cartographer turned businesswoman in 1930's Kentucky, and one addition to the illustrious sisterhood known as historical mystery female protagonists. Well, rewind about ten years and she would find a kindred spirit in fellow historical detective club inductee, Ginger Gold.

Lee Strauss' lead protagonist is a sharp and sassy war widow and fashionista in 1923. After the death of her father, the Boston based Ginger returns to her childhood home of England to inherit her father's vast estate, Hartigan House.

Ginger always is ready with a quick wit and an adventurous curious spirit. When murder is there, she doesn't mind defying authorities to conduct her own investigation and has something quick to say in her defense. In one instance in Murder on the SS Rosa, after the handsome and potential love interest, Chief Inspector Basil Reed warns her not to get involved with the official investigation, Ginger searches anyway and wants to speak to the deceased's widow. She reminds her bemused friend, medical student Haley Higgins that Basil said "not to officially investigate. (Ginger) only wants to offer condolences." Then wonders if she should bring a gift.

Ginger is a very stylish woman with an outfit for every occasion. In Murder on the SS Rosa, Ginger patiently demonstrates to Haley the difference between a day dress, a Jeanne Lanvin, "suitable for afternoon tea or semiformal dining," and a Coco Chanel evening gown that is "perfect for a night of dancing." Her clothes sense makes for some humorous moments such as when she holds up a murder interrogation because she doesn't have a thing to wear. However, she has an eye for style and what is suitable for women to wear on any occasion. Those attributes plus a desire to do something instead of being one of the idle rich allows Ginger to eventually open a women's clothing boutique called Feathers and Flair. 

However despite her style and penchant for barbs, there are darker aspects to Ginger's character that are gently revealed throughout the series. She is in mourning for her late husband, Daniel Lord Gold, who was killed during WWI. She, like many of her generation, is still reeling from the ramifications of a great war that sent young men from nearly every country to their deaths while she is simultaneously trying to uphold the "live life to the fullest" spirit of the 1920's. This grief makes her wary around men particularly Basil who seems to like her more than friendship and vice versa. One of the most emotional moments occurs in Murder at Bray Manor when Ginger finally visits Daniel's grave and reveals her mixed emotions towards moving on.

Ginger also has a past during the war as a spy. While as of Murder at Bray Manor, it is not fully explained, there are some implications that Ginger was pretty close to some dangerous and duplicitous characters. One was Captain Smithwick who wanted to bring her back into the Game. She also may have been betrayed and nearly died, so even before she begins her career as an amateur detective, Ginger is no stranger to murder or dangerous situations.

The book that I read contains the first three volumes of the series. Each mystery is in a different style, but all are brilliant, suspenseful, and filled with great historic detail for the time, customs, dialogue, and of course the wardrobe.

The first three books are:

Murder on the SS Rosa-Ginger and Haley travel to England so Ginger can inherit her father's estate and Haley can begin her medical studies to become a doctor. The two and Ginger's Boston terrier, Bossy, sail on board a luxury liner, the SS Rosa. Unfortunately, this is no pleasure cruise as the captain, Walsh, winds up dead.

In a seagoing version of a locked room murder mystery, the suspects are a small confined bunch. They include the captain's temperamental widow, a beautiful silent film actress and her dour minder, and a crew with secrets of their own. Because of the limited cast, the murderer and their connection to the captain are pretty easy to guess. However, this book serves as a great introduction to Ginger's character as she uses charm, urbane sophistication, and her quick wit as a means to ascertain information. She is also able to run circles around Basil's investigative methods by using clever observation, intuition, daring, and simple pluck to the point that Basil allows her to listen in on inquiries and act as an unofficial partner.

Murder at Hartigan House-Turns out Ginger's homecoming is just as eventful as the trip over. While getting reacquainted with her childhood home, the staff, and the English ways, the family butler, Pippins, directs Ginger to the attic where a skeleton has been discovered. Apparently, it has been there for over ten years since the house was shut up. This leads to some uncomfortable questions such as who was the body? How did they die? What was the reason behind their death? Above all, what did Ginger's father know and when did he know it? The questions increase as another body is added.

Of the three first books in the series,this one is probably the best. The dead body in the attic seems almost to come from Edgar Allan Poe, an urban legend, or a grim fairy tale. It is a very chilling situation and investigation as Ginger has to question many of her father's old friends and the house staff, some who knew her as a child. She also has to ask some uncomfortable questions about her late father with whom she was close. The mystery has some interesting twists. The reveal is genuinely a surprise and flip flops the notion of who is truly innocent or guilty in this world. Also, the moment when the killer is revealed is genuinely suspenseful as Ginger is put in a helpless situation and at the killer's mercy.

Murder at Bray Manor-We saw Ginger's family home, now we take a trip to her late husband's and meet her in-laws. While Ginger's grandmother-in-law Ambrosia and sister-in-law, Felicia had small roles in Murder at Hartigan House, this book solidifies them as important characters in Ginger's life. Felicia summons Ginger to investigate the appearance of a poltergeist in the Gold family home.

Bray Manor has fallen on hard times and Felicia opens the home as a meeting place for various clubs like knitters, stamp collectors, gardeners and such. It is after one of these gatherings that Felicia's friend, Angela Ashton is murdered. It is up to Ginger to investigate this death and reopen some wounds from her past.

If Murder on the SS Rosa is the wittiest, and Murder at Hartigan House is the most gruesome and suspenseful, then Murder at Bray Manor is the most emotional in the series. There is the aforementioned sadness that Ginger feels about visiting Daniel's grave. Her grief is realistic as is the post trauma that she feels over her war experiences. It's very possible that her sassy fashionable attitude are just covers for the broken soul underneath.

 Besides her problems, the Gold family is caught up in their own turmoil. This is a family that has been steadily losing money for years (in fact Daniel married Ginger for her family's money though their marriage blossomed into love). Ambrosia is an elderly woman so stuck in the past that she would rather be homeless than reshape her life to fit in the new world by letting visitors in her family home. Felicia might seem like a bubble headed flapper on the surface, but as the sole heir to Bray Manor has the foresight to save it. 

The passages between them balancing tradition vs. progress are heartfelt as the two women would otherwise be left alone by an uncaring world.

The emotions shared by Ginger, Ambrosia, and Felicia aren't the only ones that are truly moving. Without revealing too much, the murderer's motives are understandable and almost empathetic. In their confession, we don't see a remorseless cruel person, we see someone who was desperate, broken, and driven by their rage and grief to commit the ultimate crime.

The first three books in the Ginger Gold Mysteries gives us a brilliant sparkling character that is among the galaxy of great historical female detectives. Just like her name, Ginger is pure Gold.

Weekly Reader: Murder Uncorked (A Wine Lover's Mystery) by Michele Scott; Vintage Brand Cozy Mystery Series Set in Wine Country

 

Weekly Reader: Murder Uncorked (A Wine Lover's Mystery) by Michele Scott; Vintage Brand Cozy Mystery Series Set in Wine Country

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: I admit as much as I love cozy mysteries, I am amused by them as well. I mean aside from the fact that the term "cozy mystery" should be an oxymoron. (What's so cozy about murder? Not to mention, some of those murders are pretty graphic in execution.)

They are often set in small towns or rural areas. (either New England, the Midwest, or the South in the United States or in a quaint English, Welsh, or Scottish village in the U.K. Sometimes rural Ireland will do.)

The protagonist is rarely ever an actual police officer, but when they are, they are the rural sheriff or constable Andy Griffith-type (think Hamish Macbeth or Evans Evans). Usually the amateur detective, mostly a woman, sometimes has an occupation that is involved in law enforcement, though not a police officer or lawyer (mystery author, occasionally a legal secretary or paralegal, or just simply a mystery lover). More often the occupation has nothing to do with the legal or judicial profession (bookstore owner, postmistress, server, teacher, critic, retiree). Quite often they have a unique hobby that carries over through the series (book collecting, crossword puzzles, amateur theatre, wine aficionado, foodie) and/or a pet that is the sidekick or the real star of the show (Lillian Jackson Braun's Koko and Yum-yum or Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy).

 It stretches credibility more than a tad that this quaint profession or hobby would lead to such a huge body count or that this small town or village would have such a high murder rate. It makes you wonder why people would continue to move there or think that with approximately one to three deaths per book or episode, that would diminish the population quite dramatically. Not only that but said amateur detective would be under SWAT Team surveillance by now with how many times they happen to be in the vicinity of dead bodies, quite often friends, fellow townspeople, or acquaintances, sometimes an ex lover. 

In fact, some believe that Jessica Fletcher of Murder She Wrote fame is the most prolific serial killer of all time since in 12 seasons, she has shown Cabot Cove, Maine to be a cesspool of violence and murder and she has a nasty habit of being surrounded by murder on vacations as well. (Probably second only to Lt. Columbo's murder count.)

Well cozy mysteries are also well loved, because they are escapist fun. We know that the life of a crossword puzzle fanatic or a bookstore owner is not always stacked with dead bodies and that life in a small town is not always that exciting. (I can testify the life of a book reviewer in rural Missouri is not exactly a thrill a minute. Enjoyable and fun at times to read so many books, but not thrilling or filled with murder, police inquests, and mysteries.).We read cozy mysteries, because they are fun and we like the pleasant setting, the adventurous observant lead, the friendly supporting cast, the adorable pets, and of course the exciting mystery and puzzle that's just waiting to be solved.

Those good qualities can be found in Murder Uncorked, the first book in Michele Scott's Wine Lover Mystery series. Much like the subject of interest in oenophile Nikki Sands' life, this series is a vintage brand that is good to the last drop.

Unlike many of her cozy mystery sisters, Nikki actually has a tangible connection to law enforcement-a weak one but still a connection. She is a former actress whose most visible credit was as the star of a short lived detective series, playing Detective Sydney Martini. As a television detective, she did some research into law enforcement, but the reality of murder is nothing like what she has experienced on TV. There are some humorous moments as she investigates, she stops to consider what her former character, Sydney Martini would do and sometimes ends up doing the exact opposite.

Unfortunately, Nikki's acting was not what she considers "Emmy worthy," so she ended up working as a server at Chez Mer, a swank L.A. restaurant. She hates her job at Chez Mer, but gains a knowledge of fine wines by studying and sampling them. It is this knowledge of wines that impresses Derek Malveaux, owner of Malveaux Estates which produces some of the best wines in Napa Valley. After a difficult encounter with Derek's bitchy date which ends in Nikki's dismissal, Derek is impressed so he hires her as a sales manager and personal assistant for Malveaux.

The settings in many cozy mysteries are often spectacular and Murder Uncorked's Napa Valley is no exception. Much like the settings in contemporary romances, their descriptions are treats for the eyes and the imagination. 

Upon her first view of Wine Country California, Nikki sees a "serene elegance from days gone by….The people from his region knew how to be rich and carry it off. Old school wealth at its most gracious.

….Rows of chocolate brown soil-rich and vibrant mixed with flowing areas of intense green, looking as though they would be soft to the touch, like silk or satin. A light fog hung in the air, drifting down from the clouds, hovering above, appearing stormy and ready to explode-volatile in such a serene setting." One can just smell the earthly fresh scent and luscious grapes through their nose, feel the mist and fog on their skin, and taste the newly made wine on their tongue.

However, all is not peaceful in this serene setting as Nikki discovers when she encounters Derek's dysfunctional family. They consist of his snooty plastic in both personality and appearance stepmother, Patrice, his spoiled gay younger brother, Simon, Simon's catty lover, Marco, and Derek's narcissistic vindictive ex-wife, Meredith who,because of some odd stipulation in Derek's late father's will and for business reasons, has to remain on the premises even though she and Derek can't stand each other. It's quite a den of eccentric and potentially dangerous characters that Nikki has found herself among and when she stumbles upon the body of Derek's womanizing winemaker, Gabriel Asanti, the suspect list ends up being quite long.

The mystery itself presents some pretty suspenseful challenging moments such as Nikki finding an important clue just as she realizes that she is being watched. There is also a tense conversation that Nikki has with Derek's rival when she makes up a story to talk to him and he not only recognizes her as Malveaux's new employee but the actress who once played Detective Martini (even claims that he is a "bit of an actor-oops a liar" himself.)  Of course there is the creepy dinner party where Nikki is surrounded by suspects, many of whom clearly know that she is investigating the murder. There is also the climactic chapter where Nikki has to pull off a dramatic rescue while she is alone with the killer who reveals all.The identity of the killer as well as the twist in their identity is somewhat easy to guess, but it stil is an exciting ride to get to that conclusion.

To the food and wine connoisseur, there are plenty of details about how grapes are harvested and wine is made. There are some mouth watering recipes in between chapters that should delight those who like to eat and read. Murder Uncorked is a feast for the eyes and the mouth. It is a cozy mystery that is best to be sipped and savored like a fine bottle of wine.

Weekly Reader: The Hysteria of Bodalis by Marcos Antonio Hernandez; The Game Between Fantasy and Reality Gets Real

Weekly Reader: The Hysteria of Bodalis by Marcos Antonio Hernandez; The Game Between Fantasy and Reality Gets Real

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: There are many who when they are caught up in a fantasy, have trouble separating it from reality. They close the book, the movie's credits roll, the binge watching marathon is over, or the super boss is defeated in the final level of the game. A small piece of that person still remains in that fantasy world and the characters and setting stay with them for minutes, hours, and days. 

That has happened to me after reading many a book, especially several in a row. Many passages and situations stay with me to the point I feel that parts of my mind remain inside each book that I read.

But what happens when it's the other way around? What if the rest of the world can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality? What if they insist that aliens have destroyed the city in which you live and all you see is a typical run of the mill day? What if they reveal plot points in what you believe is only a movie, book, show, or game but they treat it like it's happening? Here's the conundrum, if you see what you think is reality and everyone else sees what you think is fantasy, how do you know for sure that what you're seeing is real?

Those are the questions faced by Corvus Okada, protagonist of Marcos Antonio Hernandez's novel, The Hysteria of Bodalis, an intense science fiction thriller with an intriguing premise of how blurry the difference between the real world and the fantasy world can be.

Corvus lives two lives. By day, he is a sales associate for Decant, a coffee franchise and goes to conventions to study technology and how it can be used for Decant. By night, he is an avid star gamer making high scores in such games as Ronin and Invader Assault. In fact in the computerized world of Invader Assault, he is a legend. He is the hero who destroyed the invading mother ship and saved the world-in the game, of course.

That is until he goes on a business trip to Phoenix. After observing a demonstration of lifelike androids that are connected to a cloud and have human characteristics, Corvus is assaulted by a strange old man who accuses Corvus of ruining Jesus Christ's return when he blew up the ship. The ship from the game, Invader Assault. 

This strange altercation results in Corvus accidentally killing the man.

That would be an isolated incident, except others recognize him as the man who saved the world from an alien invasion. Their opinions alternate between admiring Corvus as a hero and despising him for interfering with Christian prophecy. 

What makes this book is Corvus himself. Corvus Okada is hardly the heroic type in real life. As shown with the old man, he has a violent temper. He also has a smarmy sarcastic attitude which he shows in front of his colleague Brienna when she questions his interest in gaming. He isn't exactly a prince of charity and kindness, such as when he refuses to give up a bus seat for a woman who might be pregnant. Not exactly the hero of myth, legend, and video game,but he is a fun, sardonic lead in over his head.

Because of his personality, it is almost amusing at first when Corvus is mistaken for the real-life hero of Invader Assault. He is understandably confused and thinks that the first few people are too involved in the game or just crazy. However, the more people that believe Invader Assault is real, the more terrified Corvus becomes. He suspects that the people who believe the game is real are androids with corrupted simulators. 

Corvus' fear increases when friends and colleagues start to believe that he really did blow up a ship. In a pair of spine tingling chapters, Corvus' father goes from supporting his son to becoming involved in the Invader Assault world as well (even though he never played the game himself). 

The tension mounts as a resistence group blackmails Corvus into taking part in a suicide mission to blow up a second ship that has returned for revenge. Corvus' paranoia grows as he starts to question reality itself. Why can they see the burned buildings and the ships overhead but he can't? Why can't he access the game or see the news reports about him that others can? Has he gotten it wrong, is he the android and they are reality? 

It's somewhat ironic that I am reading this at the same time as The Unexpected Leader by Joel Sadhanad. Both involve employees of big chain coffee franchises and the existence of artificial intelligence and how lifelike it can be. However, they offer different links in the chain. The characters of The Unexpected Leader are wary of the human cost, but ultimately excited about the prospect of what AI can do. That is the beginning. 

Hysteria of Bodalis could be the end result. It is a world that has been so intrinsically involved in simulated games, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing that it is hard to tell what reality even is or for that matter, what or who makes reality. How can Corvus blow up a ship if he can't see it and doesn't believe that it is there? What is the cost to his humanity if he accepts that Invader Assault is real?

The Hysteria of Bodalis is the kind of science fiction that surrounds thought provoking questions around a gripping suspenseful plot and a fascinating lead character. From first page to last, it doesn't give definite answers to those questions but provides a hell of a ride for the Reader to experience them.