Longbourn by Jo Baker

Reading Level: Adult
Submitted by Gerti

There are so many fans of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” and so many authors who have taken that classic 18^th century novel and written satellite books which hover around its story and characters. The temptation would be to see Jo Baker’s book as just one of that pack. But hers is a different take on the classic romance, and even though Baker occasionally drops in lines and scenes from the original (which are like seeing an old friend in a crowd for me), Baker tells her story from the Longbourn servant’s vantage point. For those who are not familiar with the Austen original, Longbourn is the name of the house in which Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of “Pride and Prejudice”, and her memorable family live.

As far as I recall, only the servant Mrs. Hill is mentioned in the original, as Elizabeth’s mother, Mrs. Bennet, is constantly requesting her presence to do work for her. But of course there would also be a man servant in a gentleman’s house at that time, and in Baker’s book, that is Mr. Hill, a gay man who uses Mrs. Hill as his beard. Mrs. Hill doesn’t mind, because she has a few secrets of her own, including that she had a love child with Mr. Bennet (Elizabeth’s bookish father) before he got married. That union produced a son, whom Mr. Bennet has never acknowledged, but who has found work at Longbourn. There are also two kitchen maids on the Bennet payroll, and of course, one of them eventually falls in love with this son of Mrs. Hill and Mr. Bennet.

I’ll admit I am a traditionalist, so like many readers, I have notions of the characters even beyond what Jane Austen wrote (and probably meant) them to be. So to my mind, these changes and alterations are disturbing. As readers and fans of the films no doubt remember, the Bennets do not have a son (only 5 daughters), which means that when Mr. Bennet dies, the girls can’t keep living in the house – as it is what is called “entailed” to the humorously officious clergyman, Mr. Collins. That causes much grief for the Bennets, and leads to a battle between Mrs. Bennet and Elizabeth after Elizabeth refuses Mr. Collins’ marriage proposal, even though it would keep the house in the family. I don’t like that Mr. Bennet has a child out of wedlock, just as I don’t like that he didn’t marry Mrs. Hill when he got his servant pregnant, whatever the morals of the time

Baker must take great joy in these relationships which push the envelope on 18^th century mores. She has one of the kitchen maids fall for a black servant of the Bingley’s, and has the same girl sleep with Mrs. Hill’s son before marriage. She clearly shows the scoundrel Wickham’s affinity for young girls, as he trifles with another, younger kitchen maid at Longbourn. And of course there is the matter of Mr. Hill’s hidden homosexuality. Baker seems to glory in lifting the moral rock of the time, showing us the slime underneath. And while I love stories about the Regency, the intent to sully its innocence seems a bit deliberate to me. The book’s prime saving grace is that Baker looks in-depth at a Regency servant’s endless work hours and often back-breaking chores, a view rarely seen today.

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory

Reading Level: Adult
Submitted by Gerti

I have read many books by Philippa Gregory, and she is one of my favorite authors. She has written several books about the Tudor kings and queens of England, including some on Anne Boleyn and her sister Mary (“The Other Boleyn Girl”), as well as one about Elizabeth I, Anne Boleyn’s daughter. Since I love Henry VIII and his many wives and children, those are easy reading for me. “The White Princess” is a bit earlier in history, involving Henry VII, the first Tudor king of England and H8’s father, and I am far less familiar with that part of the family’s history. It makes this book harder to read for me, and a bit less interesting.

The main characters in this book are Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII’s mother and therefore, Henry VII’s wife. But this book takes place at the end of the Cousins War – the War of the Roses – during which the royal houses of York and Lancaster fought for the throne of England. Elizabeth of York was the mistress of Richard III, who was killed by his enemies, in order to crown Welshman Henry Tudor (later Henry VII). But in order to make his rule seem legitimate to the other important families in Britain, Henry Tudor has to marry Elizabeth, as she is the oldest princess of the house of York, the daughter of the king before Richard did his usurping. A York-Tudor marriage will unify the troubled country, but will the couple involved be able to stand each other?

One of Gregory’s great gifts when writing about history is her ability to take dry facts and breathe human emotion into them. Likewise in this tale, she takes Elizabeth, who should by rights hate the man who killed her lover, and makes her eventually love Henry Tudor. But she can’t leave it at that. Gregory than takes Henry Tudor, who was strong enough on Bosworth field to take the crown from a fallen King Richard, and shows him as a man plagued again and again by the ghosts of the Princes in the Tower, Elizabeth’s two brothers (and York heirs) who have disappeared from their prison. As each pretender to the throne appears, Henry trembles, and can’t decide whether his new wife is his ally or his enemy.

It is thrilling when historical fact jumps into the book, as when the King and Queen of Spain agree to send their daughter (Catherine of Aragon) to marry Arthur, the oldest son of Elizabeth and Henry Tudor. But any fan of Henry VIII (Arthur’s younger brother) knows how that will turn out! Still, as Gregory herself admits in the Author’s Note, there is enough mystery in our knowledge of the real history of this time to make some of this book conjecture. Like any good history book, it makes me want to do more research (this time, into the Pretenders) and that’s good enough reason to like it. Is it her best novel? No, but it is good enough to fill a snowy winter afternoon. I wish I’d read “Red Queen” and “White Queen” right before this one (and not years ago), so I had more historical background on the important ladies whose rivalry stands behind this book’s story.

Abbey Road by Alistair Lawrence

Reading Level: Adult Non-Fiction

I came across this book when one of my pages gave it to me and said, "This book doesn't fit on the shelf."  It really doesn't because it belongs on a coffee table, to be looked at leisurely.  It is a big beautiful awkward book to be shoved on a shelf!  So someone check it out to read!  If you love music it is very entertaining.

Abbey Road studios have been on the cutting edge of recording for eighty years, hosting some of the biggest names in music over the decades: the Beatles, of course, who immortalized it with the title of their 1969 album; Pink Floyd; Kate Bush; Duran Duran; Radiohead; Florence and the Machine. Any number of albums made here have gone gold or platinum, picking up Grammys and other awards along the way. Famed producers and sound engineers at the studios have developed groundbreaking new techniques, including automatic double tracking at the instigation of John Lennon. And it's also been a landmark in moviemaking: here were recorded John Williams's original scores for five Star Wars films, as well the scores for the Lord of the Rings trilogy--two of them awarded Oscars. This gorgeous book includes a full history and time line, facts and figures, a discography with famous album covers from the 1930s to now, and a wealth of never-before-seen photos and treasures from the studio's own archive. It's an incredible document of cultural history, for anyone who values music and how it's made.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Reading Level: Young Adult
(4 out of 5)

I finally jumped on the Divergent band wagon, or should I say train since they are highly referenced in the book, and read it.  Also here is a new cover that I really like with Shailene Woodley on it.  I think that she is a great choice to play Tris.  Anyway  I really liked that the setting is Chicago and I knew a lot of the places Ms. Roth talked about.  I like to think I have a great imagination and can create what authors describe but I didn't have to think to hard about the landscape in this book.

With that said Veronica Roth tackles a subject that many have done before her, a dystopian world.  Much like in the Hunger Games you don't know why the world is the way it is, it just is that way.  In Roth's world people are separated into five factions or virtues: Abnegation (The Selfless), Erudite (The Intelligent), Dauntless (The Brave), Amity (The Peaceful), and Candor (The Honest).  You are born into one of the factions and on your sixteenth birthday you are tested to see which faction you should spend the rest of your life in.  But you don't have to go with what the test says, you can choose differently.  For those that are Divergent the test can't determine which faction you should be in.

Beatrice Prior is Abnegation but her test results come back Divergent.  She has never felt selfless enough to stay with her faction so she chooses Dauntless.  Dauntless is a brutal faction that isn't quite what it seems.  There she meets Four and several other people that will become friends and enemies.  Some people in their society are no longer happy with the way things are ran...so of course trouble is coming!

I really enjoyed this book and the twists and turns the author took me on.  I just couldn't help think while reading, especially during the initiation training, how violent some of the scenes were.  Eric, their leader, was one cruel puppy.  I know that I would not have made it in the Dauntless society.  I really don't think I would fit very well into any of the factions but I think that is really the point.  We can have a little of all the virtues.  I am eagerly awaiting the movie which comes out on March 21 and until then I have started reading Insurgent.

Happy Reading!

The Concrete Blonde by Michael Connelly

Reading Level: Adult Fiction

Submitted by Gerti

This is the third novel I’ve now read by Michael Connelly, and his writing never fails to impress me. In this iteration, I’m reading again about LAPD homicide detective hero, Harry “Hieronymous” Bosch, who is on trial for having used excessive force 4 years before in killing “The Dollmaker,” a local serial killer. His city defense attorney is no match for powerful prosecutor Honey Chandler, representing the victim’s family, which contends that Bosch should not have shot and killed unarmed and naked Mr. Norman Church. The method of his death forces the prosecution to begin attacking the evidence found in Church’s secret apartment, and when another body that follows the Dollmaker’s MO shows up, even Church’s guilt is called into question.

Now I usually don’t read courtroom dramas, and this book spends a lot of it’s time inside the courtroom for this trial. But the fact that Connelly can make even testimony and the give and take of a daily trial sound riveting is a testament to how talented a writer he is. Fortunately, the other half of the book, and of Bosch’s life, is taken up solving the mystery of who killed the concrete blonde. To help him with that, he relies on his former partner, Jerry Edgar, and a vice cop named Ray Mora. Since he was the lead homicide detective on that case, Bosch immediately sees that the note recently left with the cops matches the style used by the Dollmaker, which shouldn’t be possible if Church was that killer. The body called the concrete blonde also matches the Dollmaker’s MO, except for one thing - a Marlboro pack left in the concrete next to her.

This change gets Bosch thinking that perhaps there were 2 killers working simultaneously, and the one still around was imitating the Dollmaker in order not to get caught. He gets some help from a renowned psychologist named John Locke who not only wrote books about serial killers, but also about the ladies of the porn industry. Locke also testifies at Bosch’s trial, which is how the reader is first introduced to his no-holds-barred manner of speaking.

The plots takes twists and turns, as does the trial. It is all so riveting that I tried to read it all (597 pages in LP edition) in one day, but it proved impossible. Several of the early suspects are discounted over time, and when the final killer is revealed, it is quite a surprise. The final murder is also a twist, as Bosch thought he was protecting one blonde target, while a second, more public figure was being executed. The trial’s verdict is also a surprise for those of us used to the happy endings often found in popular media.

I strongly recommend “The Concrete Blonde” to anyone who likes a crime or court story where even the good guys know they are not so good. This story contains plausible plot twists and odd moments of humor, but should not be read by those who find details about those working in the porn industry offensive.

9 Dragons by Michale Connelly

Reading Level: Adult Fiction

Submitted by Gerti

This is the second novel I’ve now read by Michael Connelly, and his writing once again impresses me. In this iteration, I met for the first time homicide detective Harry “Hieronymous” Bosch, who apparently is the hero of many of Connelly’s LAPD crime novels. In this story, Bosch is trying to solve the murder of a liquor store owner, a man who showed him a kindness many years before during the riots in LA in which Bosch’s partner was killed. The victim’s name here is John Li, and he and his wife ran Fortune Liquors in a tough south LA neighborhood. His son Robert runs another, more successful store in suburban Sherman Oaks.

At first, the police think the killing is merely a liquor store robbery gone wrong, but Bosch thinks there is more to it - that perhaps Li was killed when he couldn’t make his weekly payment to the Triads. But Bosch’s attempts to investigate are stymied as he experiences difficulties working with the men in the Asian Gang Unit who think he is prejudiced against them, even though Bosch knows China pretty well as he has family living in Hong Kong. But he rapidly gets an in-depth course in Chinese culture when his teenaged daughter Maddie is kidnapped, and Bosch must fly half way across the world to free her.

He gets some help from his ex and her new boyfriend Sun Yee, who used to be a Triad member after growing up in a poor area of Kowloon, which is where the title “9 Dragons” comes from. Bosch goes through many trials and tribulations with Sun Yee by his side as he comes to the terrible realization that the kidnappers plan to sell his daughter for her organs, and the clock on her rescue is winding down. Much like Liam Niessen in the movie “Taken”, Bosch leaves many bad guy bodies in his wake while trying to solve the mystery of where his daughter is being kept.

Eventually, Madeline is saved and bundled onto a plane back to the States, while Bosch puzzles out the details of the case and how her kidnapping is tied to the Li murder. Initially, he thought she was kidnapped after he put a Triad member in jail, but Bosch finally gets it right, after typical Connelly twists, turns and misdirection. Detective Bosch gets his man when he realizes that filial piety is not all it’s cracked up to be - his daughter and some of her friends (now dead) planned the fake kidnapping (until it went wrong), and the children of the store owner are behind his death.

I strongly recommend “9 Dragons” to anyone who likes a good crime story. This book is different than another story about Harry Bosch (“The Concrete Blonde”) that I’ve just read, because it has that fascinating international crime element which I don’t think many Americans know about. But bottomline, it’s a great read because Connelly has a brilliant way with words, and I’ll include one example here from page 1 – “She watched the clock like the owner of a candy store watches the fat kids.” Yes, Virginia, Michael Connelly really knows how to write.

Blood Work by Michael Connelly

Reading Level: Adult Fiction

Submitted by Gertie

This is the first novel I have ever read by Michael Connelly, and I have to say that I am impressed. I usually don’t read crime or detective stories, but this one caught my eye in the library bookroom, and I’m glad it did. Apparently, Connelly is a former LA crime reporter who not only has a good, clear style of writing, but is also quite a storyteller. One of the only critiques I have of “Blood Work” is that I had already seen one aspect of the plot in a Robin Cook book before, as his novel “Blindsight” deals with mobsters killing their way down a list of people on an organ donation list to make sure their boss survives. But Connelly doesn’t stop there – he adds a twist to that plotline that makes this story his own again.

Here the protagonist is former FBI detective Terrell “Terry” McCaleb, who recently got a heart transplant from a woman killed in a convenience store robbery. Her sister, Graciela Rivers, comes to him to help solve the crime, since the LA detectives working it seem to have hit a dead (no pun intended) end. He helps her out of a sense of obligation – her sister died so he might live. He has no idea until the end of the book how very right this assessment of the crime is. He does fall for her, and of course they end up sleeping together, which I expected, but found mildly irritating. (Can’t men and women just work together on a project without having sex?) However, Connelly doesn’t make it a big deal, and the sexual details are minor and relatively inoffensive to those with sensitive tastes.

Aided by Graciela and Buddy, his hippyish houseboat neighbor, Terry goes through the old case file of the crime, visiting locations, and re-interviewing witnesses. He finds a connection with another murder, this one at an ATM, and follows up on that one as well. When a third murder is connected to the same weapon, Terry sees the big picture at last, but the killer has a few surprises up his sleeve for him, too, including planting evidence on his houseboat that makes the FBI think Terry committed the crimes to get a new heart, and an escape to Mexico where a final showdown takes place.

Half Sherlock Holmes, half Columbo, Terry works his way through the evidence with logic and gut instinct, thrilling readers like me with his inside knowledge of cops and how crime solving actually works. Since I’m unfamiliar with the genre, the language and politics were fascinating to me, and the writing was good enough that I’ve already requested other Connelly novels to read during the Christmas vacation. I strongly recommend “Blood Work” if you like a crime story where the good guys win out, but which also contains lots of plot twists and odd moments of humor.