The Head That Wears The Crown

I have to admit, I was not expecting much from Mariah Stewart's recent novel The Head That Wears The Crown (#1,218), but I liked the diamond necklace and tiara on the book's cover, so why not?  I was very pleasantly surprised by just how much I enjoyed this novel.  

Annie Gilberti is just trying to make ends meet.  She's a divorced Philadelphia mother of two teens living a hectic life when she realizes that she is being stalked by a tall, dark and handsome man as she runs her Saturday errands.  He's there when she comes out of church the next day and asks to speak to her.  What could possibly go wrong?  It turns out Annie is the heir to a small Grand Duchy in Europe she's never heard of, but the people there want her to come back as their ruler.  So much history her Grandmother, the exiled Grand Duchess, never told her growing up!  With both her grandmother and mother gone, Annie is left on her own to decide what to do.  She feels she owes it to herself to check out San Gilberti.

What Annie does on her arrival makes for a diverting read as she becomes a positive force for good in her own life and that of her family, but also for the Grand Duchy of San Gilberti.  Yes, there's a romance, but that's a secondary plot line here as Annie discovers the best possible version of herself.  Yay, Annie!

The Iliad

The very first book I purchased to download onto my Christmas Kindle was Emily Wilson's translation of The Iliad (#1,217).  Since we were going to be visiting Troy amongst other ports on a cruise, what could be better or more atmospheric than reading the words of Homer as we glided across the "wine dark sea" towards the place where it all happened?  I'd never read any version of this classic work since the Classics Illustrated comic book version as a child.

Ms. Wilson's translation, as it turned out, was ideal for my purposes.  Her aim was to make the English poetry "sing" as it had in the ancient Greek dialects.  This is a work meant to be spoken, not just read, and it was hard sometimes to stop myself from disturbing everyone else around me with the rhythms of the verses.  Also, her introductory section sets up the work perfectly for the non-scholastic reader in providing context for the poem.  No wonder The New York Times named this particular translation to the top 100 books of the year when it came out several years ago!

With that said: Yikes!!!  There was so much sex and violence in The Iliad that I'm amazed that the Classics Illustrated folks even attempted to produce a kiddie version.  I think we tend to conflate The Iliad and The Odyssey, so to me it was somewhat surprising what didn't happen in The Iliad.  For instance, the Trojan Horse doesn't appear until The Odyssey.  And Achilles spends most of the poem pouting in his tent over a wrong done him by Agamemnon over a woman.  I've always thought of him as an action hero, but not so much here.  And to be honest, Trojan Hector wasn't much better.  The ancient Greeks did love their gossip!  It's wonderful to still be surprised by a classic that you think you know so well...

If you've never read The Iliad, there's no time like the present, but do yourself a favor and make sure you find Emily Wilson's translation.  You won't regret it.

The Source

I recently finished James Michener's epic novel The Source (#1,216) while traveling.  Set in Israel in 1964, this book was contemporary fiction when it was first published.  Although somewhat dated today, it is amazing how little has changed since then on the political front, and the quest for territory.  It is as relevant today as the day it was originally published.

The plot concerns an archaeological dig of a previously undisturbed tell, or mound, near the present day city of Acre.  Two exploratory shafts are sunk to bedrock, and the crew find sufficient artifacts to make the excavation site viable for at least a ten year period.  The plot switches back and forth between the tensions on the worksite and the neighboring kibbutz, and as each separate level of the site is exposed, an imagining of the lives of the descendants of Ur in succeeding time periods.  From the Stone Age to the British withdrawal from Palestine in 1947, each layer tells its own compelling story.

There is so much to explore here that my book club expanded its discussion to two meetings!

This is my first James Michener novel.  He was legendary for his research on his books, and I can tell you that I learned quite a lot as I read this fascinating book.  To really appreciate it, you'll need to devote a significant chunk of time to read it, but I think you'll find it's time well spent.

The Underground Library

Jennifer Ryan hooked me with her first WWII novel, The Chilbury Ladies' Choir (See my post of 12/27/2017.) and I've looked forward eagerly to each new stand-alone book.  Her latest is The Underground Library (#1,215).

Here Ms. Ryan interweaves the stories of three young women who find themselves in the London neighborhood of Bethnal Green at the outbreak of WWII.  Katie's family owns a large house on the Park, and her life is seemingly set as she spends the final summer working at the Bethnal Green Library before she heads off to university in the fall.  Juliet arrives to take up her new post as Deputy Director of the Bethnal Green Library, escaping her small country town and her controlling parents.  Sofie is a young German Jewish refugee sent by her abusive employer to the library to find him a book of maps.

Each chapter is told from a different point of view, tracing the impact the Bethnal Green Library has on each of them, even as it is bombed by the Nazis and subsequently moved down into the London Underground for safety, to serve the community which gathers each night to escape the bombs themselves.  It's an engrossing tale.

In the Acknowledgements, Ms. Ryan mentions Simon Parkin's fascinating non-fiction work The Island of Extraordinary Captives.  I came across this book in my own library recently, and both my husband and I read it with a great deal of interest.  I hope Jennifer Ryan's shout out will encourage people to read it who might not otherwise have ever heard of it.  (See my post of 10/31/2023.)

As always, highly recommended.

The Silence In Her Eyes

After hearing author Armando Lucas Correa speak about his latest novel, The Silence In Her Eyes (#1,214), I knew I wanted to read it.  Known for his historical novels, Silence was a pet project for him.  It's a thriller centered on a young woman who suffers from a neurological condition called akinetopsia.  Leah has motion blindness.  Although she can see, the image remains still until she blinks her eyes.  Much can change around her in the time it takes her to blink.

Leah's mother has recently died, leaving her alone in an enormous pre-war apartment.  When a young woman in the throes of a nasty divorce moves in next door, Leah can hear them fighting.  After Leah befriends Alice, everything changes for her; someone comes into her apartment, leaving a strong and distinctive scent behind.  No one believes her, though, even when she senses someone watching and following her...

In this cat-and-mouse thriller, it really is a question of who is preying on whom.

Twisty, it certainly kept me guessing until the end!

Women of Good Fortune

The cover blurb for Sophie Wan's novel Women of Good Fortune (#1,213) calls the book "Joyous, indulgent, immensely clever."  While I might agree with the "immensely clever" comment, I would never call this book either "joyous" or "indulgent".  

Three women in Shanghai have been friends for years.  None of them are happy with their lives as the book opens.  Jane is married, but hates her looks, herself and her husband, not necessarily in that order.  Rina lived and was educated in the US.  She is unmarried, but at an age in China where her strivings in the corporate world are guaranteed to take her nowhere.  She stays in Shanghai to take care of her ailing parents.  Lulu, the third member of the trio, has seemingly hit the jackpot.  She is about to marry the heir of one of the wealthiest families in Shanghai.  Why isn't she happier about the life of luxury she is about to enter?  Could it be because of all the demands her own family is placing on her?

The action of the novel revolves around the plot these three women devise to steal the millions of yuans which will be gifted to the happy couple at the lavish wedding ceremony attended by the cream of Shanghainese society.  Lulu can head off to Thailand during the ceremony unwed as she's always dreamed, Jane can have her plastic surgery, and Rina?  Rina will do what she always does best - organize and take care of everyone else's needs.

Will the story have a happy ending?  Not the way these three pictured it.

The Wedding Date

The Wedding Date (#1,212) by Jasmine Guillory is one of her earlier books, but I snatched it up when I saw it on display at my local library.  I loved one of her more recent books, By The Book.  It was one of the most enjoyable romances I've read in years.

I still enjoyed The Wedding Date, but I think there was a lot less plot, and waaayyy more sex!  I realize that's what publishers think sells books, but for me, it's the story behind how the couple got there.  There was a definite "meet cute" here, lots of food, and plenty of anguishing about a less than perfect body for the heroine to keep me reading, though, even if I did skip over the sex scenes to get to the good parts.  Oh, and did I mention that this is an interracial romance?

I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy her later works more, but I'm still glad to have discovered Jasmine Guillory.