The Case For Falling In Love by Mari Ruti

Mari Ruti is an associate professor of critical theory at the University of Toronto where she teaches contemporary theory, psychoanalysis, gender studies and popular culture.  She brings this educational background to the study of why and how we fall in love and what works and what doesn't for women.

Ruti insists that the common advise women are given; to downplay their strengths and to consciously play games to make a make feel more powerful are instead counterproductive.  It is unlikely that a relationship based on fantasy will be long-lived or provide what the people involved need.  She goes further and says that women should consider each relationship on its own merits and understand that all may not be long-lived.  Even a failed relationship can provide benefits.

Ruti provides eleven relationship touchstones.  They are:

1.  Stop trying so hard.  You can't force or trick someone into loving you.
2.  Stop being so cautious.  The benefits of love come only when one is open to them.
3.  Stop analyzing your every move.  This goes back to the need to not play games.
4.  Stop expecting your guy to act like a caveman.  Men are not genetically programmed to act this way, although some relationship mavens insist this is so.  Men can be truly emotionally involved in giving and supportive relationships.
5.  Stop apologizing for being strong.  If a man can't handle a woman's strength and competence, the relationship is probably not going to work.
6.  Stop being afraid to have needs and vulnerabilities.  If a relationship doesn't give you what you need, you need to end it.
7.  Stop running after guys who don't want you.  You won't be able to change them.
8.  Stop looking for a guy without issues.  He doesn't exist any more than a female exists without issues.
9.  Stop manipulating the guy you love. 
10.  Stop regretting every false step you took.  It is a rare person that doesn't encounter some failed love relationships.  It is part of what makes us human and realistic about what love can provide in our lives.
11.  Stop looking at loss as a pure loss.  Even a failed relationship helps you grow.

This book is recommended for women who want to find real relationships, not ones based on artifice and games.  It helps deconstruct the myths that exist about relationships and why they work or don't.  It frees women to be themselves and expect their men to appreciate their true selves.  Mari Ruti has created a useful guide and an unorthodox way of looking at what it takes to have a successful love life and those who read this book will walk away with lots of new ideas to think through and apply in their own lives.

So Close The Hand Of Death by J.T. Ellison

Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson should be happy.  She is engaged to the love of her life, Baldwin, and they are getting ready to marry.  But the life of a homicide detective is rarely peaceful, and Taylor's is no exception.  Her life turns upside down when a serial killer decides that she is his next target and that he will stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

The killer, nicknamed The Pretender, attacks on two fronts.  He has a cadre of assistants who have fanned out across the country and are killing in homage of famous past serial killers such as Zodiac, Son of Sam and The Boston Strangler.  While the police are putting those puzzle pieces together, he acts on the main front.  He and his team start to attack those close to Taylor, her friends and co-workers, inching ever closer to the main goal, putting an end to Taylor's life.

This is the sixth book in the Taylor Jackson series.  Those who have read the others won't be disappointed in this fast-paced, gruesome tale.  Those who have not read any of the other books in the series can easily pick this one up and read it as a stand-alone, although that plan comes with a warning.  Once a reader discovers the Taylor Jackson series, they will want to go back immediately and buy the five prior books to feed their new addiction.

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

Evie and Martin have come to India in 1947, bringing their young son and their hopes for a renewed marriage.  Madly in love when they married, Martin has come home from WW II a changed man.  He is now gloomy and suspicious, and seems more remote each day.  Martin is awarded a Fulbright scholarship to go to India to study the effects of the Partition, the breaking of the country into Hindu and Muslim separate countries.  Evie is determined to go with him and try to rediscover the love she is sure they still have.

Once there, things are no better.  India is so foreign to all they have known; the people, the smells, the food, everything is different.  Far from bringing them together, they become even more separated with Martin disappearing each day to work long hours.  The political situation deteriorates when the date for Partition is moved from two years in the future to two months, escalating the tensions that accompany such a drastic change in the country and the lives of those who live there.

Evie, at loose ends, discovers a packet of letters from a former inhabitant.  The letters are between Adela Wingfield and Felicity Chadwick, two young women who wrote them in 1855-1857.  Felicity had been born in India; her parents in the British ruling class.  At seven she was sent to board with an English family to be educated and introduced to society.  Adela is the daughter of that family.  Raised as sisters, they form a bond that cannot be broken; making a pact to live in joy rather than be confined by the rules of society.  Felicity returns to India to escape a marriage she does not want, and Adela joins her there after a scandal threatens to break around her. 

Evie becomes consumed with Felicity and Adela's story, and is determined to find out more about the lives of these women.  Her attempts lead her to engage more fully with India and its people.  As the political situation worsens, Martin's actions become more remote until finally his wartime secrets are revealed.  Can these two find a way back to each other in the midst of strife and confusion?

Elle Newmark is a master of the historical fiction genre.  She writes novels with believable characters, whose hopes and dreams the average reader can relate to.  The reader is transported to another time and effortlessly learns about different times, cultures, and mores.  This book is recommended for historical fiction readers and those interested in life conflicts.

Progeny by R.T. Kaelin

Rarely, readers are honored to discover a book that is so entrancing, so fascinating, that they are carried away to another land.  Progeny is such a book, and those who read it will be changed by the experience.

Nikalys and his sister, Kenders leave their small farm to go swimming for the afternoon.  Little do they know their trip will change their lives forever.  Returning after their swim, they are horrified to observe a Sun Elf using magic to destroy their village and everyone they have known, including their parents and brother, Jak.  They flee, unsure what to do or why their village has been targeted.

Fearful, they are unwilling to trust anyone, but find themselves in the company of a giant man who somehow wins their trust.  This man, Broedi reveals much to them as they travel.  He reminds them of the story underlying their society, that of the White Lions who came together to save humanity when the God of Chaos decided to destroy the world.  The ancient stories that tell of the White Lions also foretell of new heroes that will emerge when the world needs them--the Progeny.  Nikalys and Kenders are shocked to find that Broedi is one of the White Lions and a Shapeshifter, but totally disoriented when they come to realise that they are the Progeny of the legends.

For Chaos is again making an attempt to destroy all that is known.  As they determine to fight the forces of evil, their group is joined by others.  Wonderfully, they discover that Jak has somehow escaped the carnage that destroyed the village and is able to join them.  A Halfling with magic powers becomes one of the band.  A company of soldiers that is sent by the Sun Elf to find and destroy them instead become part of the group.  They save a family out on the remote plains, and the surviving members of that family also start to travel with them.  Together, this small band must attempt to fight the overwhelming forces of evil that are determined to destroy everything they hold dear.

Robert Jordan.  George R. R. Martin.  Stephen Donaldon.  Brandon Sanderson.  These are the masters of fantasy and readers of Progeny will be able to discover a new voice that is destined to match those authors.  R.T. Kaelin has created a complex world that his original and creative storytelling manages to make realistic and believable.  The characters are fresh and engaging.  While the story of good versus evil and a band who comes together to fight overwhelming odds is a staple of the fantasy genre, Kaelin manages to make it seem new again.  He draws the reader along marveling at the story that unfolds and willing to go wherever he leads.  The book is very highly recommended for all readers, and especially for fantasy fans.  When the last page is read, readers are left satisfied, fulfilled and impatient for the next book in the series. 

Promised Valley Rebellion by Ron Fritsch

In this novel, Ron Fritsch recreates what he imagines a prehistoric society to have been like.  The characters in this society are farmers and lead an agrarian live, raising crops and dependant on the season's cycles.  Life is simple except for the hill dwellers.

The hill dwellers are envious of the valley farmers, and periodically mount forays in which they attempt to conquer the more affluent society.  The farmers, in turn, consider the hill people to be little more than animals.

While life seems bucolic, the society is strictly set up by caste.  The king and his family are absolute rulers.  He has friends among the farmers he rules, especially those who fought at his side during the wars against the hill people, but friendship only goes so far.  Although his son is friends with their children, there is a strict dividing line.  When he falls in love with a farmer's daughter, their love and marriage is forbidden.  This eventually leads to a rebellion against the strictures that confine these people.

This book is recommended for readers who loved books such as Clan Of The Cave Bear.  The same imaginative recreation of life that cannot be realistically known is seen in Promised Valley Rebellion.   Fritsch explores how societies organize themselves and how they use rules and laws to order life.  There are an interesting array of characters, and readers will be engrossed with his vision.

Finding Frances by Janice Van Dyck

Frances has led her life; raising three children and providing a partnership with her husband, Bill.  Now in her seventies, she finds herself in deteriorating health with COPD and heart issues.  Frances has always been determined to end her life on her own terms.  She nursed her father through a long painful death and does not want to either go through that or put her family through the experience of watching her die inch by inch.

The children, long scattered, come home when Frances is hospitalized.  She is determined to have no surgery or treatments.  William is the eldest son and the middle child.  He was to have been the doctor, but stopped his medical training short of that goal due to his disagreements with Western medicine.  Sugar, the oldest child, has remained physically close to her parents, and sees her mother's condition realistically.  Randy, the youngest, is an environmental lawyer who has checked out from the family emotionally years ago.  Frances' husband, Bill, is determined to do whatever it takes to keep Frances with him for as long as he can.

Frances agrees to have treatment when she finds out that her insurance will pay for treatment but not for hospice care if she does nothing and takes a while to die.  She gets through the initial treatment and she and her family must make decisions about life and death going forward from that point.  Who should be the final decider?  Should it be the individual involved?  Should spouses and children have a say?  How involved in research and questioning the medical establishment should the family be?  Van Dyck wraps her novel around these questions.

This book is recommended for readers who are facing this question, or know that they will in the future, and for anyone interested in ethical dilemmas and how best to solve them.  The characters are written to portray all the sides of the issue, and the reader is led through their decision processes, hesitations and questions.  This is a common issue and one that can heal or tear a family apart.  Van Dyck has written a courageous book that can help readers make the painful decisions necessary.

Lydia by Tim Sandlin

How to explain this book, Tim Sandlin's latest novel in his GroVont series.  There's Sam, living his life in Wyoming running a home for unwed mothers with his second wife.  His first wife Maurey lives right down the road where she runs a horse farm.  His daughter, Shannon has lived her life moving from man to man and now wants more and has returned to Wyoming to search for her life's meaning.  Roger is the organization's handyman; he was raised by Maurey and her husband after a friend showed up and left him there as a young boy of five.  Roger didn't talk for two years and still doesn't know his history.  There is Oly, the oldest man in town, about to turn one hundred.  Then there is Lydia.  Lydia is Sam's mother but you wouldn't really call her a maternal figure.  She is a force of nature, a woman who doesn't care what you think of her as long as you do what she wants and don't ignore her.  Lydia has just returned to town after a ten year stint in federal prison.  The government doesn't take kindly to women who send poisoned chew toys to the President's dog.

All these lives tangle together and lead towards a fateful journey.  Lydia believes she knows the truth about Roger's past and talks him into driving her to California to look for what happened to him so many years ago.  Since her parole involves her getting the oral history of Oly's life, she brings him along.  In California they will encounter Leroy, a felon who kidnapped Roger back when he was five to hurt his mother, and who is now on the loose and wants nothing more than to finish the job by killing him.

Sandlin writes a rollicking tale, full of coincidences that somehow work.  The tale swoops and soars, twisting back on itself periodically to drop another piece into the puzzle of how these lives are intertwined.  Sandlin's writing is rambling and in the genre of Tom Robbins or T.R. Pearson; reminiscent of an Americanized Salman Rushdie, a gushing torrent of words that is unstoppable in its force and that entertains as it sweeps the reader along.  This book is recommended for readers interested in an entertaining story that shows the importance of being true to those we love. 

Walking With Sophie by Adam Webb

It is Sophie's birthday and she plans to visit all her favorite places.  She starts at the ocean where she loves to gather seashells and watch the waves.  Her mother told her that every time a wave crashes on the shore, a mermaid is born (what a lovely thought!).

Next is the forest.  She loves the smells and sights there, and the fact that her father lets her ride on his shoulders, making her feel like a giant.  She next visits the bakery where she spends time with her grandmother, tasting all the sweet treats.  Finally, she finds her favorite place of all, her home with her family safe and sound there.

This book is sure to be a favorite.  The illustrations are stunning and the story is one that children will love to hear over and over.  At the end of the book, there is a surprise that will continue to amaze.  This book is recommended for the young and the young at heart.

Sons And Princes by James LePore

Chris Massi is in a bad patch.  He has spent his life trying to avoid his father's world.  His father was a stone cold Mafia assassin; the local Don's hitman.  Chris tried to go the other way.  He grew up, married, had children and had a promising career as a U.S. Attorney.  But, forces from the past keep haunting him. 

The marriage didn't last, and Chris has been on his own.  He is worried about his teenage son, who seems to glory in the family's Mafia connections.  Chris's ex-wife is the daughter of the current Don, and this Don is looking for an heir to take over the operation.  His brother is a junkie, who scams and cons his way through life, skirting on the edges of the Family.  Chris has just been disbarred.  An old friend turned enemy has vowed to bring Chris down.  This man, Dolan, is a federal prosecutor.  He was Chris' best friend growing up until Joe Black Massi, Chris's father, gunned down Dolan's father.  He charged Chris on trumped up charges of stock fraud and when Chris was acquitted, managed to push through ethical charges against him that got him disbarred.

As bad as things are, they are about to get worse.  Chris gets caught up in a Mafia power struggle and his life is in danger from the men he knew all his life.  In addition, Dolan has decided that he will take out Chris; either legally through a trumped-up murder charge or by physically killing him.  Can Chris make his way through this maze of intrigue, betrayal and violence?

This book is recommended for readers who like noir crime stories.  It portrays the world of the Mafia, and the street life that surrounds the family's operations.  The conflict that sons feel toward strong fathers, loving and hating them simultaneously is explored.  There is plenty of action.  Fans of Mafia stories will not be disappointed; this one delivers.

Iconic Poetry by Sara Lauritzen

In this book, Sara Laurtizen write poems about the items that make up our world.  There are poems about Starbucks coffee, about macaroni and cheese, about Godiva chocolates.  There are also poems about the technology that makes our world work; Ebay, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook.  There are poems about watches, famous buildings, and luggage.  There is even a poem about her favorite football player.

These poems are light and breezy.  Each is an interesting way to spend a few minutes and to reflect on the things that surround us and that we can take for granted.  This book is recommended for all readers.

Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon

Did you miss the whole '60's scene? The hippie, wanna-be-free feeling of beachfront California? Fear not. Readers can revisit this environment in Thomas Pynchon's book, Inherent Vice. Pynchon fans will recognize his style here; a rambling story that meanders from cultural icon to cultural icon, taking the reader along to whatever destination Pynchon has in mind, entertaining them along the way.

Inherent Vice is the story of Doc Sportello, a private investigator who spends as little time working as he can get by on. He is visited by his ex-girlfriend, Shasta, who wants Doc to find her new boyfriend who seems to have disappeared. In the process of unraveling this mystery, Doc leads the reader through the discovery of the Internet, beach/surf music, a diabolical Eastern drug cartel, various right-wing thugs working for governmental or police agencies, Las Vegas before it was turned into Disneyland West, tons of marijuana smoking, lots of sex, and plenty of dubious characters. The whole chaotic journey devolves into a satisfactory conclusion where all the puzzles are solved and the good guys prevail.

This book is recommended for all readers. Pynchon is an American treasure, one of the authors whose work will be read far into the future. His keen eye notes the details that make up a culture while his style entertains. Pynchon fans will be pleased with this book, and those who haven't yet discovered this author will be pleasantly surprised.

Heart Of Deception by M. L. Malcolm

Leo Hoffman has led an unconventional life.  Born in Hungary, he fled to Shanghai with his adored wife after WWI.  When Shanghai fell and his wife was killed, he was able to get his daughter Maddy out and on her way to America.  Leo ended up in Cairo where his ability to speak multiple languages and willingness to be considered a shady character made him the perfect spy as WWII heated up.  On Leo's side, he was willing to take on this dangerous role for the reward offered; citizenship papers in the United States and a reunion with Maddy.

But the best-laid plans often go awry in war and the shadowy world of espionage.  Leo is captured by the Germans and sent to a work camp.  Years later, when he makes it to America, Maddy is a teenager, bitter that he had disappeared from her life and unwilling to let him back in.  He goes back to the world he knows and disappears once again, his whereabouts known only to his superiors at the CIA.

Maddy grows up, but into trouble.  She is torn between two men, one a boring conventional doctor whose family refuses to accept her as his wife, the other an exciting but dominating man she alternatively craves and fears.  She flees to the safety of a marriage to the doctor, but when it falls apart, she finds herself drawn back into the circle of the dangerous man she wanted to avoid.  As things grow steadily more dangerous, can Leo come back and be there for Maddy in her time of greatest need?

M.L. Malcolm has written a novel that will appeal to many readers.  It has romance, intrigue and suspense.  She artfully weaves real people, many in the early stages of the spy game, into the novel to lend it authenticity.  This book is recommended for readers who enjoy reading about life choices, where they lead, and the gift of second chances.

Memoirs Of A Widowed Mistress by Megan van Eyck

On a trip to Hawaii, Megan van Eyck sat next to a man who she felt an instant attraction to.  Although she was married, she fantasized about meeting with him.  After her return when he called she immediately agreed to meet him, and quickly fell into an affair.  He was on his third marriage with grown children.  Van Eyck had two small children and a husband she felt was inattentive.

So started a five and a half year affair.  They met daily when he was in town, having hours of sex in her bedroom or in his.  She traveled on exotic trips with him, telling her husband her girlfriends had free air travel miles and wanted her to go with them.  Since she did not work outside the home, she was able to conceal her affair from her husband.

Megan came from an abusive background.  Her father alternately showered her with affection and then ignored her, chasing other women.  She learned from him and his women that women's only value is their looks and their ability to fulfill men's desires.  Her mother had mental issues, and after a divorce from her father, fell into an existence with little food in the house, filth everywhere and total emotional abandonment of her daughter.  Megan came out of this background with an emotional makeup that constantly led her to choose men who could not or would not love her.

Megan's affair went on for five years, ended only by the death of Carlos, her lover.  As he went through a final illness, she was banished from his life as his wife was with him.  She did not get to have a final goodbye with him, and the experience showed her how little she had settled for.  After Carlos' death, her husband found out about the affair by finding the memoir on her computer.

This book is recommended for readers interested in the mindset of those willing to have extramarital relationships.  Many will be turned off by Megan and her duplicitous ways, her willingness to betray her husband and children in an attempt to find a man who loved her.  Others will question her portrayal of her husband, who she admits was a great father and who supported the family by himself.  The reaction of her sons when they grow up and read this graphic account of their mother's sex life will upset some readers.  Others will admire her frankness and willingness to tell everything about her life.  The author remains married and with her family.

The Chimp Who Loved Me by Annie Greer

Geared towards animal lovers and readers looking for a humorous read, The Chimp Who Loved Me is Annie Greer's memoir about her veterinary practice with her husband Kent, another veterinarian. 

Based in Florida, the couple treats household pets, but also work with large farm animals and even exotic animals.  The book is broken into three sections.  The first section talks about the exotic animals such as chimps, giraffes, wolves, tigers and camels that the couple has either worked on or fostered.  Annie talks about the fact that the biggest issue with wild animals is the human belief that loving an animal changes its wild nature.  Most humans who are hurt by these animals have decided to believe that the animal has been tamed, but this is far from the truth.  The recent case where a chimp almost killed a woman is one example.

The second part of the book is about the Greer's time as owners of a petting zoo and their current time as farmers with cows, pigs, sheep, goats and poultry.  Greer's love of animals shines in this section, with stories about their pet pig and a pet turkey that are heart-warming.  It also discusses the thrill of going to very rural areas in order to purchase livestock and some of the scares they have had on such expeditions.

The last part of the book relates some of the stories of strange pet owners they have encountered over the years.  Some of these stories will make the readers hair stand on end!  This book is recommended for animal lovers.  Greer has an amusing, light-hearted tone throughout, but her passion and love for animals shines through the humour. 

Case Closed? by Susan Hughes

In Case Closed?  Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science, author Susan Hughes uses ancient and more recent historical mysteries to introduce children to the marvels of science.  The book is geared to children in middle school and up.

Each case is formatted the same way.  The mystery is introduced, the historical background is given, and then the way the researchers used science to discover answers is given.  Additional cases in the same category are explained.  Finally, whether or not a discussion on whether or not the case is solved is presented.

Cases include people such as the Pharoah Hatshepsut, the Russian princess Anastasia, Amelia Earheart, Sir John Franklin (a polar explorer) and George Mallory, a mountainclimber.  Other cases discuss a city, Ubar, that disappeared, and an entire North American Indian culture, the Anasazi, who left thriving cities around 1300 and disappeared from history.  Finally, there are cases of journeys such as a trip across the Pacific on a bamboo raft, and submarines and airplanes that disappeared mid-journey.

This book is recommended for young readers interested in science, or for parents who are looking for books to interest teen readers.  The mysteries are presented engagingly, and the science is explained in such a way that it can be easily followed.  Readers learn of medical advances, imaging from space, plant analysis, forensic anthropology, DNA analysis and many more scientific fields.  The book is an interesting gateway to careers in many areas of science. 

Separate Kingdoms by Valarie Laken

A woman waiting in the hospital as her father lies dying.  A man who is trying to help his wife regain her life after a horrible car accident that has taken her leg.  Refugees trying to fit into the culture of another country.  A man left behind in his parents' house as the neighborhood dissolves into poverty and decay.  These are the protagonists in Valerie Laken's stories found in Separate Kingdoms.  Each faces a challenge that separates them from others; each struggles to find a way to span the void and reestablish contact with those around them.

Laken was born in Illinois and has lived and worked in Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic.  Her work has appeared in journals such as Ploughshares, the Missouri Review, the Antioch Review and the Chicago Tribune.  She has also written a novel, Dream House.  She has won a Pushcart Prize, the Missouri Review Editors' Prize and two Hopwood Awards.  Laken teaches at the Universary of Wisconsin.

Readers interested in short stories will be struck by the stark beauty of Laken's stories.  Her characters face challenges, some of them bodily, some of them isolation, but regardless of their bleak situations, a tendril of hope insists on growing and searching for connection and a better tomorrow.  This book is recommended for readers of modern fiction and those searching for an answer to how others face the everyday challenges life throws at most of us sooner or later.

Elizabeth And The Prince Of Spain by Margaret Irwin

Elizabeth And The Prince Of Spain opens with the marriage of Prince Philip of Spain to Elizabeth's sister, Mary.  Mary is the daughter of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine of Aragon, and she has no sisterly love for the offspring of his next wife, Anne Boleyn.  The marriage is one of political convenience for Spain; Mary is more than a decade older than Philip.  While he is polite, he has no real interest in Mary.  Mary, on the other hand, after a lifetime of no love interest, falls devotedly and jealously in love with Philip.

This love is both the greatest danger and the safety net for Elizabeth.  Left to her own devices, Mary would put Elizabeth back in the Tower and take her life.  Instead, to please Philip, she restrains herself, and even brings Elizabeth to court.  This is a double-edged sword.  While she pleases Philip, she now watches his every move intently, afraid that he will fall under Elizabeth's spell.

Elizabeth also faces the double-edged sword.  She must please Philip enough to retain him as her protector and keep him interested in her, but at the same time, she must keep him at arm's length.  An affair with Philip would end her life as it would be the one crime Mary would never forgive.

Margaret Irwin has written a trilogy about Elizabeth and this one is the third in the series.  It easily stands alone, however, as there is little suspense in the story of the Tudors for most readers.  Irwin's forte is characterization; her characters act in ways that are believable to the reader while retaining enough mystery to intrigue them.  This book is recommended for readers of historical fiction.

A Race To Splendor by Ciji Ware

The year is 1906.  Amelia Bradshaw has just returned to her beloved San Francisco from Paris, where she is one of the first women to become an architect.  But her return is hardly a happy one.  Her beloved grandfather has died.  Even though he left her the family fortune built with one of San Francisco's most prominent hotels, disaster is waiting.

Her father gambles away the family hotel in a drunken all night gambling spree.  Although the will states that it is Amelia and not he who holds legal title, and although California has recently passed laws giving women the right to control their own property, laws must be interpreted in courts by judges.  Amelia is unlucky enough to draw a judge adamantly opposed to the new freedoms given to women and he awards the hotel to her father's poker opponent. 

Left destitute, Amelia joins the first female architectural firm, headed by one of her college friends and mentors.  But worse is waiting.  Within a month, the great earthquake of San Francisco occurs.  The city is almost destroyed.  Amelia survives and now must do her part to make her way in the world and to help rebuild the city she loves, and the hotel she has lost to a charming scoundrel.

Ciji Ware is acknowledged as one of the best historical fiction authors, and she does not disappoint in A Race to Splendor.  Meticulously researched, she transports the reader to turn of the century San Francisco and makes them feel the devastation and the pioneering spirit that rebuilt the city.  The characters are sympathetic and the romance between Amelia and her rival is believable.  The world seems to be in another cycle of devastating earthquakes the last few years, and Ware makes the reader feel the devastation in a new light, not only the few minutes of terror, but the aftermath of months of privation and the strength needed to rebuild.  This book is recommended for readers interested in historical fiction and the start of women professional lives. 

Booksie Comes Clean!

I'm very excited about this interview at Gatekeepers:

http://www.gatekeeperspost.com/uncategorized/an-interview-with-book-blogger-sandie/

It explains how I pick a book for review, what I've read lately I loved and other topics.  Thanks to the folks at Gatekeepers!

The Beauty Of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb

Maggie Hai has come to Vietnam.  Her job is to catalog the art of a grand hotel in Saigon; her mission is to discover more about her father's life.  She lost her father early but knows he had a hard life in Vietnam.

After searching for anyone who may have known him in the pre-war days, she is directed to Old Man Hung.  Hung has lived what most would consider a life of deprivation and sorrow.  Pushed from his family by a mother who did not value him, he has made his life in the city as a pho cook.  For years he had his own restaurant but now he pushes his cart to a new location each day.  He has never married but made a family from those who surround him, taking care of everyone he encounters.

Before the war, his restaurant was the gathering place for the artists and poets and authors who made up the revolution.  They called their movement The Beauty of Humanity Movement.  They wrote against the dynasty and French government that ruled them, then after the French were overthrown, they turned their criticism against the Communists who, they said, were betraying their ideals.  That led to their downfall.  The men were brutally seized and taken to reeducation camps.  There not only their bodies were crushed but their minds also.  An artist might have his hands shattered, and that had happened to Maggie's father.  A poet might have his tongue removed.  No one knew what happened to the men once they were seized.

Hung was left as the guardian of their ideals.  He kept a shrine to Dao, a poet who took the time to educate him when he found Hung had no schooling.  As Maggie and Hung talk and she meets his friends, her father's story starts to emerge also.

Camilla Gibb has written an important book illuminating how Communism impoverished the nations it overtook.  While the material poverty was great and obvious, what was more stunning was the impoverishment of free thought and art.  The reader will experience the book as languid at first, but it slowly reveals stunning moments that will never be forgotten.  The characters are finely drawn, and the ability of men like Hung to make a life out of whatever life allows them is inspiring.  This book  is recommended for all readers.