A wonderful, engaging historical fiction novel that has the science of botany as a key element. It has an Original review posted on Layers of Thought.
A wonderful, engaging historical fiction novel that has the science of botany as a key element. It has an amazing strong female character and an encompassing theory on the nature of all things.
Description: When Alma Whitaker is born in Pennsylvania, USA in the year 1800, her exceptionally wealthy British father Henry is pleased. Alma will be his only natural child, will receive an education uncommon for women, and will want for almost nothing for her entire life. Alma is not a beautiful woman, but her strengths lie in her brilliant scientific mind and her excellent constitution. She spends her childhood days categorizing plants and reading in her father’s huge library. As an adult Alma becomes one of the first women to publish within the field of botany.
This is the richly imagined life story of Alma Whitaker, her driven father whose interest and dedication to botany build him a fortune, and her stalwart and complex family. It is set relatively soon after the American Revolution, during the civil war, and while the theory of evolution was taking form.
Thoughts: There’s a lot to like about this book. From the very start it becomes apparent that Elizabeth Gilbert is an expert story teller. I was entirely swept away with writing that flows and that captured me from the first page until the last. I particularly like that the characters are well developed and complex with a lot of back story. The book also has some famous historical characters which adds to the richness of the story line - such as Charles Darwin and Captain James Cook, who where significant contributors to science and botany - giving the book an authentic historical feel. There are some interesting settings within the novel which may intrigue readers, such as Kew Gardens, a botanical garden in London established in 1756 that is now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and Tahiti, where the author goes into a good deal of depth about the culture and the setting.
As the title suggests one of the book’s major themes is a grand sweeping theory about the nature of humans and life in general, and since it is one that I agree with it made me like the book even more. My only quibble would be a strong and slightly embarrassing sexual thread that runs through the novel, which was a bit much for me. If this particular element had been a little lighter the book would have rated higher in my opinion. However, it’s a terrific novel and comes highly recommended. I would say one of my favorites this year at 4.5 stars. ...more
Geared for an adult reader, this is a fun and entertaining imagining of the life and times of Captain HookOriginal review posted at Layers of Thought.
Geared for an adult reader, this is a fun and entertaining imagining of the life and times of Captain Hook before and after his ill-fated story with Peter Pan. And it has romance.
Description: Captain James Benjamin Hook has survived the attack from the mythical crocodile that purportedly ended his life, but he is consequently trapped in Neverland - a purgatory with endless battles against the boys of Neverland which serves as entertainment for the “Pan”.
But things aren’t as simple as they seem. Hook is not really the evil bad guy that the stories about Peter Pan have led readers to believe. He has a complicated past which has helped him to be caught in Neverland. And Peter Pan is not the sweet child that we all have learned to love. In this story Lisa Jensen writes from the debonair and educated perspective of the persecuted Hook.
Shellie’s thoughts: This was such a fun read. The best part was the excellent voice of Hook. Written in first person and spoken with an affluent old fashioned British accent (Jensen does a fabulous job with this as well as with the more working class accents of the pirates too), we get to hear the other side of his in-depth story.
And it feels authentic, like one is reading historical fiction although set in a make-believe setting which is a combination of realistic and fantastical. The book also has a map of Neverland which further adds to the book’s appeal and understanding of the story line.
In addition to the fantastical setting the reader gets romance, drama, violence, fairies, mermaids, Indians and the Lost Boys, all combined with realistic and fairytale elements. I like this so I would categorize the book as historical fantasy. We find out about how Captain Hook lost his hand, his hedonistic experiences during the late 1600s and early 1700s, why he is actually a protagonist that we should be rooting for – all with romance, drama, and violence; elements that help to create an intriguing story.
This is recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction and who love pirates, since you will get what feels like a realistic version of them. It doesn’t hurt that Lisa Jensen has historical knowledge and has written previously about the subject – and you can certainly tell that she is a veteran writer. It is highly recommended at 4 stars. A fabulous re-telling of Peter Pan, it eloquently captures a blend of historical fiction and fantasy.
A complex literary crime novel, based in 19th century France and revolving around the life, death and relationships of controversial poet Charles Baudelaire.
Description: It is 1870 and the Franco-Prussian war is not going well for France – the Prussians are advancing on Paris while many of the French population are close to starving. The aristocracy behaves as if nothing is wrong and seems oblivious to the plight of the working classes; the French capital becomes a hotbed of discontent. Against this backdrop, a man is murdered in a brothel and Commissioner Lefèvre is called in to investigate. Lefèvre, who has a colorful past including a bloody stint in the French army, is himself no stranger to the Parisian brothels.
The Commissioner, who is a lover of poetry, finds on the body a handwritten verse from a poem by Charles Baudelaire which appears to have been written by the poet himself, though Baudelaire has been dead for some time now. Lefèvre and his right-hand man, Inspector Bouveroux, are soon embroiled in a series of grisly murders that all seem to point to the dead poet or to someone who must have been very close to him. As Paris is drawn ever closer to anarchy and chaos and the two policemen seek clues in the darkest corners of the capital, they find themselves in grave danger.
John’s thoughts: This is a clever story with an unusual plot and a cast of complex and well-developed characters. It keeps you guessing right up to the last page and in truth it still had me scratching my head long after I’d read the last page. A simple and easy read it is not.
In reading the book I learnt quite a bit about 19th century French history and also about French literature of that period – the former interested me a lot, the latter not so much. This is a reflection on me rather than the novel, as poetry and most of the associated literary circles leave me rather cold. Consequently I did find the first half of the novel slightly heavy going and had difficulty reading more than 20 pages at a time, but once I got beyond that things went much more smoothly and overall I did enjoy the read.
Putting the historical and literary connections to one side, this is actually a smart and extremely dark crime novel. You get to visit the underbelly of society and meet some gloriously twisted characters. This is not a simple whodunit.
If you like dark historical crime novels with a literary twist then you will love this book - I am sure that many reviewers will rave over it. It didn’t quite hit the mark for me personally but I’d still rate it 3.5 stars. And I do find that my mind keeps wandering back to the story which says a lot for it (the book that is, not my mind!) ...more
Shellie (Layers of Thought)
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genre-historical-fiction
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