Tag: 20th century

Review: Hamlet, Revenge!

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Hamlet, Revenge!Michael Innes, Hamlet, Revenge!

Something is rotten at Scamnum Court. The noble English estate is hosting a large house party in order to produce an amateur performance of Hamlet, but things go wrong almost immediately when cryptic threats — some of them taken from the text of Hamlet itself — are delivered to various houseguests. Then Lord Auldearn, a guest who also happens to be the Lord Chancellor of England, is murdered onstage during opening night. The sheer audacity of the murder makes it particularly hard to solve; although the scene of the crime was packed with actors and spectators, it appears that no one saw a thing. Also, there is no shortage of suspects or possible reasons for the crime. Was Lord Auldearn murdered for the confidential state papers in his possession, or was the motive more personal? Inspector Appleby of Scotland Yard must unravel this complex case and discover a diabolically clever murderer.

I have to confess that I spent most of this book being completely bewildered. There were so many characters to keep track of, and I wasn’t sure who would turn out to be important to the plot, so I exhausted myself trying to keep tabs on everyone! This is also a very cerebral mystery; most of the “action” is conversations between Inspector Appleby and his friend Giles Gott. However, I definitely enjoyed the book more as I got further into it, and the ultimate solution was both ingenious and unexpected. I would definitely recommend having read Hamlet, or at least being familiar with the plot, before reading this book; otherwise many of the allusions and plot twists will be very obscure. Overall, I’m not sure this is quite “my kind” of book, but I did enjoy it and would consider reading more by Innes. There’s a whole series featuring Inspector Appleby, and this book is #2, but I was able to follow everything without having read the first book.

Review: The Ashford Affair

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The Ashford AffairLauren Willig, The Ashford Affair

In this book, Willig takes a break from her Pink Carnation series and visits a different setting, the 1920s in England and Kenya. Addie Gillecote is a poor relation living with her aunt and uncle at Ashford Park. Her deceased parents were bohemian artists, so Addie finds it hard to adjust to her new life, which is bound by etiquette and propriety. Her only solace is the friendship of her cousin Bea, who is outgoing and confident where Addie is quiet and modest. The two girls grow up the best of friends, but when they become marriageable young ladies, their relationship changes forever. Bea marries a handsome young earl but soon finds herself unable to control her husband’s wandering eye. Desperately unhappy, she rushes into an affair of her own — with the man Addie loves. Addie and Bea’s story is framed by the contemporary trials of Clemmie Evans, Addie’s granddaughter, who accidentally uncovers a scandalous secret in her family’s history.

I really enjoy Willig’s Pink Carnation books; they’re a bit silly sometimes, but I love their exuberant treatment of romance and espionage during the Napoleonic Wars. This book has a much more serious tone, which is an interesting departure from Willig’s usual style. Also, where the Pink Carnation books primarily focus on romance, this book is really about the relationship between Addie and Bea. In fact, I think that Bea is the true main character in this novel. She is catty and manipulative and such an unconventional protagonist that the novel felt unique and original to me. The modern-day sections of the book were quite boring by comparison; I didn’t care about Clemmie or her job or her romantic problems at all. It’s understandable that Willig would want to stick with her tried-and-true formula, but I’d like to see her attempt a book without the contemporary framing story. Overall, though, I was very impressed with this book, and I hope Willig continues to write books outside the Pink Carnation universe!

Review: The Poisoned Chocolates Case

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The Poisoned Chocolates CaseAnthony Berkeley, The Poisoned Chocolates Case

Roger Sheringham is the president of an amateur criminology club. The club has six members, almost all of whom are famous in their respective fields of law, drama, and literature. Since Roger and the other club members are fascinated by crime, they are delighted when a unique opportunity comes their way: a Scotland Yard inspector invites them to try their hands at solving a prominent murder case that has stumped the police. The club members, confident in their abilities, decide that that they will each formulate a possible solution to the mystery and present it to the club as a whole. If all the members agree on the murderer’s identity, they will inform Scotland Yard of their conclusion. As the members take turns presenting their solutions, however, it becomes clear that the case is much more complicated than they originally thought.

This is one of the most unique and interesting mysteries I have ever read. The format is unlike most other mysteries because it doesn’t focus on practical detective work like discovering clues and interviewing suspects. Rather, almost all the evidence is presented to the club members at the beginning of the novel, and the book spends most of its time exploring the characters’ different theories of the crime. I really liked how the book pokes fun at various detective-novel conventions, particularly the idea that facts necessarily lead to one and only one conclusion. Here, all the club members have access to the same facts, but they all argue convincingly for different solutions. I didn’t guess the ultimate answer to the puzzle (although I did have the same theory as one of the club members), but the answer really isn’t the point. Instead, this book is all about the philosophy of the detective novel, and as such, I would definitely recommend it to mystery fans!

Review: Fire and Hemlock

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Fire and HemlockDiana Wynne Jones, Fire and Hemlock

College student Polly believes that she has led a completely ordinary, uneventful life. But while packing for her return to school after a vacation, she begins to contemplate a photograph that has hung on her bedroom wall for years. As she looks at the photograph, she slowly begins to remember a different version of her past — a past in which her closest friend was a talented cellist named Thomas Lynn. In this alternate timeline, Polly met Tom when she was a little girl, and they quickly struck up a friendship, writing letters to each other full of strange and magical events. But when their made-up stories started to happen in real life, Polly knew that something sinister was at stake. Now she must sift through her rediscovered memories in order to save Tom from seemingly certain doom.

This is a book that I really liked overall, but I have a couple of major nitpicks. First, I love Diana Wynne Jones’ style; I’ve read a few of her books and enjoyed them, but I really need to seek out the rest of her work! I also really like the concept of the book: basically, Polly has two sets of memories and has to figure out what that means. It was a really interesting idea to explore, and I think it was executed very well. My biggest quibble is the ending, which I don’t think works at all. Polly realizes why she has the dual memories, figures out how to save herself and Tom, and then it just kind of happens with no real explanation. What happens to the baddies? What will Polly and Tom do going forward? There are a lot of unanswered questions, and that bugs me. My other problem with the book was the romance; I just found it really icky that the hero was so much older than Polly and that he basically had his eye on her since she was a child. I can see where DWJ was trying to go with it, but it did not work for me. Still, this is a book I would definitely recommend overall, especially to fans of retold fairy tales.

Review: Death in the Stocks

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Death in the StocksGeorgette Heyer, Death in the Stocks

When a dead man wearing evening dress is found locked in the stocks on the village green, the local police are only too happy to turn the case over to Scotland Yard. The corpse is Arnold Vereker, a universally despised man who kept a tight hold on the family purse strings. When Superintendent Hannasyde questions Vereker’s young relatives, they all declare themselves extremely happy that their unpleasant half-brother is dead at last. Hannasyde doesn’t know what to make of Antonia, Kenneth, and their various love interests, but he suspects that there are secrets hidden beneath their lighthearted jokes. He sifts through the muddle of motives and alibis with help from Giles Carrington, the Vereker family’s solicitor, who has his own reasons for wanting to uncover the murderer.

I’m a longtime fan of Georgette Heyer’s romances, but I’m quickly coming to love her mysteries as well! As someone who loves a good period piece, I found this an extremely fun book to read. The mystery is perfectly fine, with some interesting little twists and red herrings; I figured out some pieces of the puzzle but didn’t ultimately guess whodunit. However, the real pleasure of this book is the characters, their witty conversations and their blossoming romantic attachments. While the Verekers and their friends take center stage, though, Superintendent Hannasyde is also an intriguing sleuth, and I look forward to reading about more of his cases in subsequent Heyer novels.

Review: Eleanor & Park

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Eleanor & ParkRainbow Rowell, Eleanor & Park

Eleanor is a chubby new girl with out-of-control red hair and weird clothes. Park is a quiet half-Korean boy who clings to his position at the edge of the cool group. In the normal course of things, they would have no reason to speak to each other. But the first day that Eleanor gets on the bus, she is immediately taunted and ostracized by the other students — and Park surprises himself by letting her sit next to him. Tentatively, Eleanor and Park begin to build a friendship, which gradually deepens into an intense love. But the odds are stacked against them: Park’s parents don’t warm to the prickly Eleanor, and Eleanor’s family life is such a disaster that Park can’t even come to her house. Plus, they’re both smart people and know that high school relationships rarely last forever. Will their relationship be able to survive these obstacles, or will love ultimately tear them apart?

After loving Rowell’s debut novel, Attachments, I naturally had to check out this book too…and happily, it is equally awesome! Both Eleanor and Park are wonderful, likable characters, and it was lovely to see each of them through the other’s eyes. I completely believed in their passionate love for each other, which is unusual for me with teen romance. I tend to scoff at happily-ever-after endings in YA, because very few high school relationships actually work out over the long term. But this book swept me away with its giddy intensity, and I found myself happily rooting for Eleanor and Park to make it. I also really enjoyed the pop culture references that are sprinkled throughout the book; it’s set in the 1980s, so there are many mentions of New Wave and cassette tapes and feathered bangs. I would definitely recommend this book to fans of romance or chick lit, even those who don’t normally read YA.

Review: Luckiest Man

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Luckiest ManJonathan Eig, Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig

This well-researched biography of Lou Gehrig follows his life and baseball career in vivid detail, from his humble beginnings playing high school ball to his stellar performance as first baseman and power hitter for the New York Yankees. Along the way, Eig discusses some of the broader social developments in America in the 1920s and ’30s, but the focus remains on baseball and how it evolved throughout the early 20th century. The book uses a wealth of primary sources, particularly the many newspaper stories that covered Gehrig’s remarkable career. Most importantly, though, this biography illuminates Gehrig’s personality — humble, modest, conscientious, hardworking, and determined to do his best in life both on and off the field.

I don’t particularly follow baseball (or any other sport, frankly), but for some reason I’ve always been interested in Lou Gehrig — probably because he was left-handed, like me, and because he died tragically young. So I decided to check out this biography, and I’m glad I did because it is fantastic. I felt like I really got a sense of Lou Gehrig as a person, and it was a pleasure to read about someone so admirable. I also loved learning more about the other legendary players of that era: Babe Ruth figures prominently in the book, and there are plentiful references to other greats like Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio. Eig discusses Gehrig’s baseball career in great detail, sometimes describing almost every play of a game. I suppose this might be boring for some, but I really appreciated all the information since I knew basically nothing coming in. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone, although it will probably be most appealing to baseball fans.

Review: Lessons in French

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Lessons in FrenchHilary Reyl, Lessons in French

In 1989, Kate is a fresh-faced college graduate who dreams of becoming an artist someday. So she’s overjoyed when she is hired as an assistant to Lydia Schell, a famous American photographer currently living in Paris. Kate is excited to make the most of this opportunity, but she soon discovers that Lydia is an extremely demanding boss. For example, Kate not only coordinates Lydia’s schedule and runs her errands, but she is also expected to help Lydia’s husband Clarence with the book he is writing about 19th-century French fashion. The longer Kate stays with the Schells, the more she realizes that their seemingly successful family is fraught with dysfunction. As Kate tries to please all parties, she is pulled in so many conflicting directions that she begins to lose her own identity in the process.

I liked the basic idea of this book — naive American girl moves to Paris and learns about herself and the world — but overall it fell far short of my expectations. My biggest problem was that every single character, including the heroine, is absolutely insufferable. Kate is a total doormat, doing every single thing the Schells tell her to do regardless of how demeaning (and how unrelated to her job description). She’s also too stupid to see some really obvious things about the Schells that are going on right under her nose. I spent the whole book wishing she’d grow a spine, and while she sort of does at the end, it’s definitely too little, too late. As for the Schells, they’re pretentious pseudo-intellectual snobs with no redeeming qualities whatsoever. I did like the 1989 setting, with the Berlin Wall coming down and the Gulf War about to begin, but it didn’t play a very big part in the novel. Basically this book made me feel angry and frustrated, and only the somewhat competent writing style kept me reading until the end.

Review: Dead Men Don’t Ski

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Dead Men Don't SkiPatricia Moyes, Dead Men Don’t Ski

Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife Emmy are looking forward to a relaxing ski holiday in the Alpine town of Santa Chiara, Italy. However, Henry has also been asked to keep his eyes peeled for information relating to an international smuggling ring that might be headquartered in the area. Though reluctant to spoil his holiday with work, Henry can’t help but notice that several of his fellow vacationers have secrets to hide. Then one of the other guests at his hotel, Fritz Hauser, is found murdered on the ski lift. As Henry helps the local police to investigate, he soon learns that Hauser was involved in the smuggling ring — and that several of the hotel guests had good reasons for wanting him dead.

I think this book could best be described as a “traveling” English country house mystery. All the key elements are there — unlikable murder victim, plenty of suspects, an unusual crime scene which demands very precise alibis from everyone — but it happens to take place in a ski villa rather than an English country house. Since I love the genre, I found a lot to enjoy in this book. I especially enjoyed the subtle deviations from the standard mystery formula: for example, two of the characters are a hearty English colonel and his domineering wife, yet there’s more to both of them that meets the eye. Also, the “foreigners” in classic mystery novels always seem to be there as mere background, but here they were truly fleshed-out characters with actual relevance to the plot. I believe this is the first book in a series featuring Tibbett, and I’d gladly read more. Definitely recommended for classic mystery fans!

Review: The Night Circus

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The Night Circus by Erin MorgensternErin Morgenstern, The Night Circus

The action of this novel centers around a beautiful, mysterious circus known as Le Cirque des Rêves. It is open only at night, and it contains unimaginable wonders — not only acrobats, contortionists, and exotic animals, but also gardens made entirely of ice and carousels with animals so lifelike that they breathe. In this magical environment, Celia and Marco meet and fall in love. However, unbeknownst to them, they are also rivals: both of them are magicians whose tutors are engaged in a deadly game. As Celia and Marco outdo themselves with feats of magical prowess, they must also find a way to end the “game” without paying an unthinkable price.

I find myself a little conflicted about this book, since I absolutely loved certain aspects of it but found other parts underwhelming. By far the strongest part of the novel is its setting: the Night Circus is described in such specific, evocative, loving detail that I absolutely believed in its magic. I’ve rarely read a book with such lush, awe-inspiring descriptions. By comparison, the plot of the star-crossed dueling magicians, while a wonderful idea in theory, is a bit flimsy in execution. I didn’t particularly connect with any of the characters. Even Celia and Marco are extremely flat, with no particular defining characteristics except for their mutual infatuation. The circus is the heart of the book, but the events and people surrounding it seem almost like afterthoughts. That said, I did enjoy reading the book overall and would definitely read more by Morgenstern. Also, I hope this book is made into a movie and that Baz Luhrmann directs it — it would be gorgeous.