Robert Harris certainly has covered a wide range of history in his novels, many of which I have read with a great deal of pleasure. (See also my posts of 12/12/16 & 3/19/18.) His latest book, The Second Sleep (#867), charts new territory in science fiction in this novel set in fifteenth century England.
Father Christopher Fairfax is sent by the Bishop of Exeter to conduct the funeral services for the long-serving priest at St. George Addicott, Father Lacy. When he finally arrives at the remote village Father Fairfax discovers a trove of forbidden books and ancient artifacts in the priest's study. Was Father Lacy engaged in heretical activities when he fell to his death from The Devil's Chair?
Trapped in the village by a landslide which blocks the only road out, Father Fairfax begins examining the forbidden items for himself. Who were these ancient people who could fly through the air in special carriages, and communicate over long distances with items bearing the mark of the forbidden fruit; an apple with a bite taken out of it, displayed right there in Father Lacy's cabinet of curiosities?
Everything Father Fairfax has ever learned is being called into question as he sees the evidence of a highly advanced ancient civilization with his own eyes. What did cause the destruction of their way of life in the old-style 2020s?
I suppose The Second Sleep could also be called speculative fiction. But however you chose to label it, it makes for an interesting and thought-provoking read. Highly recommended.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Monday, December 16, 2019
What Rose Forgot
One of my friends recommended Nevada Barr's latest: What Rose Forgot (#866). She said she resented being pulled away from it while she was reading it. After reading it myself, I see exactly what she meant.
When Rose Dennis regains consciousness as the novel opens, she's in a wooded area wearing a flimsy hospital gown. How did she get there? She is afraid, but she doesn't know of what. It soon becomes clear when orderlies from a local facility find her and literally drag her back. She's been suffering from the flu, but when she is returned to the hospital, it is back to the Memory Care Unit. Enough of the drugs has been purged from her system during her stay in the medical unit to let her realize that it's the medication causing her confusion. Rose hides the capsules being fed to her, and plans her escape from the memory unit. While she's out again, someone tries to kill her. She's not crazy, so why has her family committed her to this place? And for what purpose? With the help of her step-granddaughter and her friend, Rose aims to find out who is behind it all...
This is a very scary novel if you happen to be a woman in your sixties, because Rose's commitment, sedation and gradual demise are so very plausible. Rose is made to look as though she fits the profile of a patient with dementia, so who would question it? It's a sinister plot, and one which could so easily happen today. A crackerjack read.
When Rose Dennis regains consciousness as the novel opens, she's in a wooded area wearing a flimsy hospital gown. How did she get there? She is afraid, but she doesn't know of what. It soon becomes clear when orderlies from a local facility find her and literally drag her back. She's been suffering from the flu, but when she is returned to the hospital, it is back to the Memory Care Unit. Enough of the drugs has been purged from her system during her stay in the medical unit to let her realize that it's the medication causing her confusion. Rose hides the capsules being fed to her, and plans her escape from the memory unit. While she's out again, someone tries to kill her. She's not crazy, so why has her family committed her to this place? And for what purpose? With the help of her step-granddaughter and her friend, Rose aims to find out who is behind it all...
This is a very scary novel if you happen to be a woman in your sixties, because Rose's commitment, sedation and gradual demise are so very plausible. Rose is made to look as though she fits the profile of a patient with dementia, so who would question it? It's a sinister plot, and one which could so easily happen today. A crackerjack read.
Saturday, December 14, 2019
Daschund Through the Snow
Nothing says Christmas like Andy Carpenter, curmudgeonly lawyer, taking on a new case. This year it's Daschund Through the Snow (#865) by David Rosenfelt.
It wasn't his idea - Andy planned to spend the holidays curled up in front of the TV, watching basketball on Christmas, and endless Bowl games throughout the New Year. Blame it on his wife Laurie. She's the one who becomes Paterson, New Jersey's, Secret Santa each year. On a tree in a local pet store, a young boy has put his Christmas wish; a warm coat for his mother, a sweater for his dog, and for his Daddy to come home. Since there's a dog involved, she shows the wish to Andy who agrees with her charitable urge. But Laurie comes home after dropping off the gifts at the boy's home with a new client for Andy. Noah Traynor, the Dad, has just been arrested for a fourteen year old cold case murder. He claims he didn't do it, but the evidence against him puts him on the scene beyond question. Can Andy work a Christmas miracle? Even he isn't convinced until the bodies begin to pile up...
Entertaining as usual. What was behind this murder so many years ago, and what is worth concealing up to the present day? It's so much fun to watch Andy and his team at work.
It wasn't his idea - Andy planned to spend the holidays curled up in front of the TV, watching basketball on Christmas, and endless Bowl games throughout the New Year. Blame it on his wife Laurie. She's the one who becomes Paterson, New Jersey's, Secret Santa each year. On a tree in a local pet store, a young boy has put his Christmas wish; a warm coat for his mother, a sweater for his dog, and for his Daddy to come home. Since there's a dog involved, she shows the wish to Andy who agrees with her charitable urge. But Laurie comes home after dropping off the gifts at the boy's home with a new client for Andy. Noah Traynor, the Dad, has just been arrested for a fourteen year old cold case murder. He claims he didn't do it, but the evidence against him puts him on the scene beyond question. Can Andy work a Christmas miracle? Even he isn't convinced until the bodies begin to pile up...
Entertaining as usual. What was behind this murder so many years ago, and what is worth concealing up to the present day? It's so much fun to watch Andy and his team at work.
Monday, December 9, 2019
A Single Thread
The "surplus women" of Britain, those who were unable to marry between the two World Wars because of the lack of available men, did not have an easy life, as movingly illustrated by Tracy Chevalier in her latest novel A Single Thread (#864).
Violet Speedwell's fiancé was killed during World War I, but because of the social conventions of the time, she was expected to look after her mother at home, and was economically dependent on her married brother. When she decides to cut loose and requests a transfer to Winchester from her employer, she is charting new territory. Living hand to mouth in a women's boarding house, she stumbles upon a dedication ceremony for needlepoint cushions at the glorious Winchester Cathedral. Denied entry to the ceremony by an officious woman, Violet makes up her mind to join this exclusive group for the sake of gaining entry. She succeeds, and by doing so, meets friends and finds a new purpose in her own life.
I love this book. The details of the embroidery project were fascinating to me, since I participated in a similar project in New England. What was new to me was the intricacy of bell-ringing. I have heard the changes rung, but it is an art which is not so common in the United States - there are so few places where this kind of activity is even possible. And I was so happy for Violet in the end. She created her own happiness out of so very little.
But here comes the nit: it's about the cover art. While Ms. Chevalier gets the facts correct in her story, why couldn't the cover artist do the same? In a book about needlepoint, the cover is adorned with crewel work. Most people would shrug their shoulders and say "What's the difference?". To a needlewoman, that's like asking a sports fanatic what difference the shape of the ball makes between basketball and football. The devil is in the details.
Violet Speedwell's fiancé was killed during World War I, but because of the social conventions of the time, she was expected to look after her mother at home, and was economically dependent on her married brother. When she decides to cut loose and requests a transfer to Winchester from her employer, she is charting new territory. Living hand to mouth in a women's boarding house, she stumbles upon a dedication ceremony for needlepoint cushions at the glorious Winchester Cathedral. Denied entry to the ceremony by an officious woman, Violet makes up her mind to join this exclusive group for the sake of gaining entry. She succeeds, and by doing so, meets friends and finds a new purpose in her own life.
I love this book. The details of the embroidery project were fascinating to me, since I participated in a similar project in New England. What was new to me was the intricacy of bell-ringing. I have heard the changes rung, but it is an art which is not so common in the United States - there are so few places where this kind of activity is even possible. And I was so happy for Violet in the end. She created her own happiness out of so very little.
But here comes the nit: it's about the cover art. While Ms. Chevalier gets the facts correct in her story, why couldn't the cover artist do the same? In a book about needlepoint, the cover is adorned with crewel work. Most people would shrug their shoulders and say "What's the difference?". To a needlewoman, that's like asking a sports fanatic what difference the shape of the ball makes between basketball and football. The devil is in the details.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
A Christmas Gathering
I look forward annually to reading Anne Perry's Christmas novella. This year's offering is A Christmas Gathering (#863).
Lady Vespasia Grey and her husband Victor Narraway are invited to spend the Christmas holiday at Cavendish House, a beautiful country estate with acres of gardens. Neither is pleased to be there, but Lady Vespasia understands that this social gathering has something to do with Victor's previous post as head of Britain's Special Branch. When disastrous events from Victor's past seem destined to play themselves out again, Lady Vespasia realizes that she must step in to save everything she loves.
One of the reasons I love this Christmas series so much is that Ms. Perry always manages to wrap a good mystery story around a moral message. This time it's forgiveness and letting go of the past. I feel better for having read and digested these lessons. Her books are more than a pretty Christmas confection and therein lies the satisfaction.
Lady Vespasia Grey and her husband Victor Narraway are invited to spend the Christmas holiday at Cavendish House, a beautiful country estate with acres of gardens. Neither is pleased to be there, but Lady Vespasia understands that this social gathering has something to do with Victor's previous post as head of Britain's Special Branch. When disastrous events from Victor's past seem destined to play themselves out again, Lady Vespasia realizes that she must step in to save everything she loves.
One of the reasons I love this Christmas series so much is that Ms. Perry always manages to wrap a good mystery story around a moral message. This time it's forgiveness and letting go of the past. I feel better for having read and digested these lessons. Her books are more than a pretty Christmas confection and therein lies the satisfaction.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Beyond the Call; The True Story of One World War II Pilot's Covert Mission to Rescue POWs on the Eastern Front
It seems I was destined to read Lee Trimble and Jeremy Dronfield's non-fiction work Beyond the Call (#862). Although this book was published in 2015, it somehow got mis-shelved with the NEW non-fiction books at my library. It was quite the read.
Robert Trimble never talked much about his experiences during the War. But after a bad fall at home, his son Lee Trimble realized that if he was ever going to preserve his father's memories for the children and grandchildren, he has better start recording those recollections soon. When his father mentioned time spent in Russia, and a French Croix de Guerre was found in his dad's souvenir box, Lee learned that there was a lot more to his father's war time service than he had ever been told. Beyond the Call tells of the clandestine services Captain Robert Trimble performed in Poland after completing his required thirty-five bombing missions successfully. Rather than going home to be with his wife and baby daughter whom he had not yet met, Trimble was persuaded by his commanding officer to "re-up" for a post salvaging and ferrying damaged American airplanes to an outpost in Russia, where they could be repaired and sent on. No heavy lifting required, and it would keep him out of combat for the duration of the war, then winding to a close.
The reality turned out to be far, far different and put him squarely in harm's way in Red-occupied territory newly liberated from the Germans. His real mission was to find American and British POWs who had either been shot down or liberated from Prison Camps by the Russians who either ignored them or re-jailed them along with captured German soldiers. As bad as the Nazis had been, the Poles in the surrounding countryside feared the Russians more, with good reason as Robert Trimble found for himself. How he was able to smuggle desperate POWs out of Russia right under their noses, and with every conceivable obstacle placed in his path makes for riveting reading.
It wasn't a pretty war from any perspective, but this little-known episode at the tail end of the war is worth knowing about.
Robert Trimble never talked much about his experiences during the War. But after a bad fall at home, his son Lee Trimble realized that if he was ever going to preserve his father's memories for the children and grandchildren, he has better start recording those recollections soon. When his father mentioned time spent in Russia, and a French Croix de Guerre was found in his dad's souvenir box, Lee learned that there was a lot more to his father's war time service than he had ever been told. Beyond the Call tells of the clandestine services Captain Robert Trimble performed in Poland after completing his required thirty-five bombing missions successfully. Rather than going home to be with his wife and baby daughter whom he had not yet met, Trimble was persuaded by his commanding officer to "re-up" for a post salvaging and ferrying damaged American airplanes to an outpost in Russia, where they could be repaired and sent on. No heavy lifting required, and it would keep him out of combat for the duration of the war, then winding to a close.
The reality turned out to be far, far different and put him squarely in harm's way in Red-occupied territory newly liberated from the Germans. His real mission was to find American and British POWs who had either been shot down or liberated from Prison Camps by the Russians who either ignored them or re-jailed them along with captured German soldiers. As bad as the Nazis had been, the Poles in the surrounding countryside feared the Russians more, with good reason as Robert Trimble found for himself. How he was able to smuggle desperate POWs out of Russia right under their noses, and with every conceivable obstacle placed in his path makes for riveting reading.
It wasn't a pretty war from any perspective, but this little-known episode at the tail end of the war is worth knowing about.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Doctor Dogs
Doctor Dogs (#861) is Maria Goodavage's latest volume about working dogs, and it is a fascinating read. We meet dogs who alert diabetics to high and low blood sugars, warn epilepsy sufferers that they are about to have a seizure, sniff out cancers and other diseases, and calm and buffer owners with PTSD and other mental illnesses.
Most of the dogs here are highly trained for their work. Just as drug-sniffing dogs are used in law enforcement to find contraband items, some health canines can be trained to find specific scents, like those bacteria which cause serious hospital infections. Whether the problems are physical or mental, dogs seem to have an ability to sense it in their humans and respond to alert their owners or others who can help.
Ms. Goodavage traveled all over the world to meet the researchers, trainers and dogs themselves in health issues in a variety of settings from private homes to labs to hospitals to court rooms. And it seems that the door is just beginning to open to the roles which dogs (and yes, other animals as well) can play in keeping humans healthy.
Some dogs are already doing it without formal training, as several anecdotes in her book prove. When I recently had an imaging test at my local clinic, somehow the tech who was handling my exam and I got into a discussion about Doctor Dogs. She told me that when her mother had come to visit her a few years ago, her dog kept right by her mother's left leg, and every time her mother sat down, her dog would begin to lick her left foot. The tech made her mother promise to see her doctor after she returned home. Sure enough, her mother had circulatory problems in her left leg, with an ulcer which refused to heal. The tech's dog had never been trained to alert to any health problems, but she certainly was able to sniff out something wrong in her "grandmother". The tech was convinced of her dog's role in diagnosing her mother's problem and prompting her to seek swift medical attention.
Plus, one other thing I really liked about this book was the cover art - a smiling Golden (Don't they all look like they are smiling?) with a stethoscope draped around his neck. It's an appealing cover - The Dog is In!
Most of the dogs here are highly trained for their work. Just as drug-sniffing dogs are used in law enforcement to find contraband items, some health canines can be trained to find specific scents, like those bacteria which cause serious hospital infections. Whether the problems are physical or mental, dogs seem to have an ability to sense it in their humans and respond to alert their owners or others who can help.
Ms. Goodavage traveled all over the world to meet the researchers, trainers and dogs themselves in health issues in a variety of settings from private homes to labs to hospitals to court rooms. And it seems that the door is just beginning to open to the roles which dogs (and yes, other animals as well) can play in keeping humans healthy.
Some dogs are already doing it without formal training, as several anecdotes in her book prove. When I recently had an imaging test at my local clinic, somehow the tech who was handling my exam and I got into a discussion about Doctor Dogs. She told me that when her mother had come to visit her a few years ago, her dog kept right by her mother's left leg, and every time her mother sat down, her dog would begin to lick her left foot. The tech made her mother promise to see her doctor after she returned home. Sure enough, her mother had circulatory problems in her left leg, with an ulcer which refused to heal. The tech's dog had never been trained to alert to any health problems, but she certainly was able to sniff out something wrong in her "grandmother". The tech was convinced of her dog's role in diagnosing her mother's problem and prompting her to seek swift medical attention.
Plus, one other thing I really liked about this book was the cover art - a smiling Golden (Don't they all look like they are smiling?) with a stethoscope draped around his neck. It's an appealing cover - The Dog is In!
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