Book 10: The Behaviour of Moths

This is a first novel from Poppy Adams, and begins with Ginny awaiting the arrival of her sister Vivi, who she has not seen for over forty years. Ginny lives a rundown mansion, an old family home desperately in need of repair. She does not go out, having her groceries delivered and fighting off the woman from social services. Ginny comes from a family of lepidopterists (people who study moths), and claims to be well known in those circles, having published great findings and research. Once Vivi arrives, we discover more about their childhoods, family, and their relationship with each other. The story roams around in time, flashing back to significant events — Vivi falling off a tower and being unable to have children; being expelled from school; their mother’s battle with alcoholism — but also focusing on the two as adults who don’t really know each other.

This wasn’t an enjoyable read for me. I didn’t want to pick it back up, it was quite a chore. And it’s not like it’s a particularly long book, or difficult. I just wasn’t that interested. I couldn’t really engage with any of the characters, possibly because I couldn’t know for sure if anything I was being told was true, and so how do you feel sympathy for someone who may be making everything up? And there was far too much information about moths for my liking. It seemed Ginny used them as an escape from the real world, when she didn’t want to deal with what was going on, so it was another way of keeping us in the dark. It was also very heavy handed. I wasn’t here for a lecture on moths, or a how-to on studying them. I admit to skipping big chunks of it, just to get back to the plot, such as it was.

Ginny is the textbook definition of an unreliable narrator. It’s implied from the beginning that she sees events in a very different way to everyone else, and so her version is not to be trusted. We can glean little bits of truth from conversations with others that she recounts, but over all we can never fully believe what we’re being told. This would be fine, and an interesting way of making us read between the lines, if it weren’t for the ending. We are told nothing. I’m not someone who always needs everything spelled out for me in books, sometimes the best stories are those with ambiguous endings, because it works for that particular tale. But it doesn’t work here. I don’t think you can imply throughout a novel that there are huge secrets within a family, and about a main character, that will change your entire view of the situation and then, well, not disclose those secrets. It’s frustrating as all hell. I don’t want to try and piece it together myself, as I am left to do. I want some sort of resolution. Otherwise it feels like I went through all that for nothing.

Book 9: The 19th Wife

Author David Ebershoff has put together one hell of an impressive book here. It’s a story of two parts, set in different times. The first is the story of Jordan, excommunicated from a secretive sect of Mormons known as the Firsts, he returns home six years later after his mother is imprisoned for murdering his father. The second focuses on Ann Eliza Young, the wife of Brigham Young, one time Prophet of the Mormon church, and her escape from the clutches of polygamy. Both women are wife number 19, and have had to face hardships because of their faith. Jordan initially believes his mother guilty, but soon comes to see things a different way, leading him to investigate what really happened and return to the town that kicked him out.

Ann Eliza tells of her parents and their conversion to Mormonism, and their love of and faith in Joseph Smith and his religion, how they feel it has saved them, and their ultimate undoing as a couple at his hands. Initially finding the idea of ‘Celestial Marriage’ abhorrent, Ann Eliza’s father comes to embrace it as his duty and way into the afterlife, first marrying the maid and then taking on three more wives in as many months, much to the devastation of his first wife. We’re also given the history of Mormonism as a growing faith, its persecution, its flight across the desert and eventual settlement in Salt Lake, and its achievements, but the main focus is polygamy and how it affects women, children, and indeed the men. It raises questions of faith and love, and whether if you believe one thing to be true within a religion, you must therefore accept all?

The two sections are woven together throughout, but remain separate until they come together in a fashion toward the end. Each tale is so riveting and so expertly told that I wasn’t sure which one I liked more. Every time one came to an end I was frustrated, desperate to find out what happened, but I was soon caught up again in the other. A lot of research went into this book, and it paid off. Ann Eliza is a historical figure, and she did indeed write a book about her experiences as Brigham Young’s wife (you can read it at Ebershoff’s website), but the tale recounted here is fictional. Much of it happened, but how it happened and her feelings about it are all from the author, but it reads very true. I was fascinated by this way of life, and by the origins of Mormonism, the beliefs and move towards polygamy, and the struggle many had with it before seeming to embrace it fully and without remorse. This was God’s will after all. Ann Eliza’s story contains much history, but it is richly told and never dry, her voice is authoritative but personable, and you do feel for her. I also liked the conflicting points of view given by her family members, and by Brigham Young at different times. There are also fun things like wikipedia entries and news items, all fictional, but adding to the style of the piece.

Jordan’s story is more of a whodunnit, as he pieces together his father’s final hours, and tries to prove that his mother is innocent. Making life more difficult is the fact that few feel able to talk to him, and the addition of a hanger on in the form of a young kid, excommunicated like himself. Within Jordan’s story there are excerpts from a master’s thesis about Ann Eliza Young, and letters, again from her relatives, fleshing out her tale. The different voices never clash, and I think Ebershoff does a great job adding personality to them all, without going over the top. I really enjoyed this book, and didn’t want to put it down. I liked the history and learning more about a way of life I hadn’t considered much before, but as well as that it’s just a big, good read, and I do so love those.

Book 8: The Lost Daughter

In 1977, sixteen year old orphan CeeCee Wilkes falls in love with older man Tim Gleason. He is educated, has money, and lavishes her with attention, something she has been sorely missing. As she gets to know him he confides in her about his sister Andie, currently on death row for murder. Tim tells CeeCee Andie killed her rapist and all appeals have failed. Tim persuades CeeCee to help him get his sister out of prison. Only one man can commute her sentence, Irving Russell. Tim’s plan is to kidnap Russell’s wife until he agrees to let her go. CeeCee agrees to watch the hostage while Tim negotiates with Russell.

Of course, things go wrong. Genevieve Russell is eight months pregnant and they are miles from anywhere. Genevieve dies and CeeCee flees with the baby, raising the girl as her own. We follow her flight and change of identity, and her relationship with her daughter. Almost thirty years later Genevieve’s remains are found and Tim is sentenced to death for her murder. Will CeeCee confess to her part in the crime and risk losing the life she has built, and most likely the love of her daughter? Can she really say nothing and let an innocent man die?

When I started reading this I thought it was going to be dreadful. They’ve tried really hard to make Diane Chamberlain the next Jodi Picoult. The jacket design screams Picoult, and quotes on the back name drop, just in case you’d missed it. I have issues with Jodi Picoult, which I may have mentioned before, mainly her terrible endings and obsession with putting in a twist, even if it makes no sense, but I think the comparison may be unfair. Sure, the writing initially didn’t seem that great, and it just seemed trite and overwrought, not true to life in any way, but it did get better. It was very difficult for me to believe that anyone would act the way CeeCee did, even if she was only sixteen, but once I’d got past the beginning and the crime that sets CeeCee on a certain path, I started to get into it a bit more. I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Cory, the baby she stole, and how her actions had an impact on her daughter. And I became absorbed in the tale, wondering what would happen. It’s very much a page-turner. I felt a lot of sympathy for CeeCee, after my initial reservations, and became invested in her life. I didn’t want her to lose everything she had worked for, and I especially didn’t want her to lose Cory. Cory as an adult is a little hard to take, but there’s a lot of love between them.

Unfortunately the ending was a little pat. Any tension that has built up just deflates as there’s a nice easy ending where no one really pays for anything or loses anything. I may have wanted a happy ending for CeeCee, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she deserved one, or at least not one quite as good as she got. She did wreck people’s lives after all. I don’t know, I think it could have been handled a bit better, but it’s very enjoyable for what it is.

Book 7: The Fabulous River Boat

Ugh…I think I am done with the Riverworld series. This one was so hard going. To recap, everyone who was ever born (other than those under five years old when they died) has been resurrected on the banks of a river on an alien world. They are young and strong and if they die here they are again brought back in a new body. Here we ditch Richard Burton and follow Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) as he tries to build a riverboat to take him to the end of the river and confront whoever it is that is behind the resurrection and find out what they want.

Oh god, it’s boring. Most of the book is just about Sam’s attempt to build this damn boat, on a planet without much in the way of materials. The Mysterious Stranger kindly sends a meteor into Sam’s territory to give him some iron, but he still has to trade with other territories for minerals and extra wood. The leaders of those lands also want to get their hands on his boat, so he’s fighting them too and there are a fair few battles. And he’s made a dubious alliance with King John who will double cross him at every opportunity. He’s also got issues of the heart since he’s finally found his wife after being alive again for over twenty years, only to discover her loved up with Cyrano de Bergerac. If only this could have been used for some sort of comedic effect, it would have helped me finish the book a lot quicker.

And there are many more famous people who pop up. Bloody Hermann Goring is back, Odysseus (I am not making this up) turns up at one point for absolutely no reason that I can see other than Philip Jose Farmer wanted to rewrite the story of the Trojan War. There’s also a cameo from Mozart who is a little lost on this planet of no musical instruments. He doesn’t do anything either.

Then there’s Joe Miller, not famous but a Titanthrop, some sort of prehistoric giant man with a face like a monkey’s backside. He thpenth motht of the thtory talking like thith. It ith thomevhat annoying and unnecethary and I thtopped reading hith bith after a vhile.

It only gets marginally more readable toward the end when there’s a final battle for the riverboat, but the rest of it is just yawntastic. I also find it hard to believe that on a world of no resources or industry they can build a riverboat and guns and planes and a whole host of other things as easily as they do. ‘Oh we found this man who is an engineer from the year 1997, he’ll build it’. Yeah yeah. And women are once again completely sidelined, appearing only as love interests or rape victims, although one does manage to become a secretary. Whoop.

Nope, I can’t take any more. I shall read the plots of the rest of the books online, if anything, but I cannot be arsed to read the other books. Plus I’m totally sci-fi-ed out, and I have two more Philip K. Dick ones to pick up from the library. At least he was entertaining.

Book 6: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

This gives my Sci-Fi cred a little knock, but I have never seen Blade Runner. And before this I hadn’t read any Philip K. Dick. I know I know, where have I been? It’s possible I have seen Blade Runner, or bits of it, when I was little, but I don’t remember much about it if so. I haven’t been avoiding it really, it just passed me by. And now there are so many damn versions I don’t even know where to start, but I will watch it, and soon. Promise.

Anyway, the book. Rick Deckard is a bounty hunter on a dying Earth. Much off it is uninhabitable due to war and toxic dust. Many have ‘emigrated’ to Mars or other colonies, and those left on Earth either couldn’t go because of their IQs (they have been designated ’special’ or ‘chickenheads’) or for whatever reason have chosen not to. Those who have left were enticed somewhat by having servant androids, but sometimes the andorids escape to Earth and are hunted and ‘retired’ by bounty hunters. Since the world is so devastated and few animals have survived, owning one is a symbol of status and wealth. Many, including Deckard in the beginning, own fake animals that can pass for the real thing, but he craves something living. Deckard takes on the task of catching a group of escaped androids, particularly dangerous and difficult to spot due to their resemblance to humans.

I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I wasn’t expecting it. I just found it very readable, his writing style easy to get along with and a quick read over all. But the story itself was enjoyable, with many bits that I found unexpected, or I wasn’t sure which direction it was going in. I liked that. It’s nice to read something and not know from the get-go pretty much how it will end. The characters are unpredictable, and I liked the idea of not knowing for sure who was an android or wasn’t, and the questions it raised about humanity in general. What makes us human? The main difference between humans and androids here is empathy. Many humans follow Mercerism, a belief system based on empathy, and empathy tests are used to tell if someone is an android. The bit where Pris was mutilating the spider was particularly unnerving for me, and I don’t even like spiders. But I felt some sympathy for these androids who wanted to escape their worlds, be seen as more than what they are, but they have no feelings for anyone else, even their own kind. It’s quite chilling.

It will be interesting to watch the film now and see how it differs from the book, and I will be reading more Philip K. Dick shortly as my library has kindly found me some others.

Book 5: Slaughterhouse 5

I’m not really sure what I was expecting when it came to this book. I had no idea what the story was about, other than possibly time travel, but whatever it was, it wasn’t what I got.

The basic gist is: Billy Pilgrim is an American soldier captured by the Germans during World War II and taken to a prison in Dresden. But he is not just in the prison, as he has become unstuck in time and so wanders about his timeline, both on Earth and on the planet Tralfamadore where he has been put on display with a human female for the entertainment of the Tralfamadorians. They have no concept of time as a linear thing, they see everything that has happened and will happen, they cannot change it, and so choose to dwell on the good things, rather than the bad. We also see a little of Billy’s life after the war, his marriage and children, his career and his death.

I haven’t really got much to say about the book to be honest. I didn’t enjoy it and I didn’t hate it. It’s pretty short but it took me a fair while to get through it, mainly because I had no inclination to pick it up and continue. I didn’t care about Billy, I wasn’t all that interested in what was happening, there’s no real urgency to the story because you mostly know what’s going to happen anyway. It’s an easy read in regards to the writing style, though somewhat annoying with the repetition of ‘So it goes’. Wiki tells me it appears one hundred and sixteen times. That’s about one hundred and fifteen times too many.

I think I’ll give up on the so-called ‘classics’ for a while, they’re all so damn heavy-handed and don’t speak to me at all.

Book 4: The Time Traveler’s Wife

“It’s hard being left behind…It’s hard to be the one who stays.”

There’s probably not a lot to say about Audrey Niffenegger’s debut that hasn’t already been said a million times all over the internet. It’s one of those books that, if I find out you haven’t read it, I think ‘Where the hell have you been?’ And even if you haven’t, you’ll know of it, you’ll have some idea of the story, because for a while it was everywhere. When I first read it I assumed everyone would feel the same way I did, that they would end the book with a lump in their throat and tears running down their face. They would love it, because what’s not to love?

Just in case anyone has been under a rock for an age, here’s the basic gist. Henry has chrono-displacement, a rare genetic disorder which means his genetic clock resets itself and he moves throughout time, usually at times when he is stressed or anxious. He has no control about when or where he ends up, but certain events have a pull for him, and so he end up there more than others. At age 28 he meets Clare for the first time. But Clare has known him since she was 6. He has been a part of her life since childhood, but he has no memory of her as it hasn’t happened for him yet. And so their love affair begins, told from both their perspectives but staying mainly in Clare’s timeline.

It is a beautiful love story, and Niffenegger has found an interesting way of keeping her lovers apart, to give them something to fight for, and against. Here it’s not really each other, their love is strong, it’s just time really isn’t on their side. I love that we get to see the story from both of them, hear both their voices in our heads. It really gives you a better understanding of their lives, and their love.

When Henry is gone, it can be for minutes or hours, or even days, and Clare is left behind to wait, not knowing if he will return in one piece. On this reading, the waiting is one thing I had problems with. I love Henry and Clare, I would give anything for a happy ending, but of course there can’t be one, not really. In a letter Henry writes, he asks her to live her life to the full, to stop waiting for him. In the next sentence, he tells her she will see him again, years later. So how can she stop waiting? And we don’t get any idea of her life after Henry. I want to think that she did move on, that she was successful and happy, that Henry had added to her life, not taken away. Because she doesn’t have any choice, even if she says she wouldn’t change it. She can’t change it. It has happened and so it will happen, in a loop, forever. Her whole life has been mapped out for her from being 6 years old, how could she even see anything else?

I guess heartbreak makes for the best love stories though, doesn’t it? I still adore it. I still think it’s an amazing book, beautifully written, to the point it seems effortless. It could easily have dissolved into a book that hurt your brain, where you spent more time trying to figure out who is what age and where, and how it all fits together, but instead you go with the flow, it’s all right there. It still stays with me after I’ve finished. And even though I don’t think I love it quite as unconditionally as I did on that first read, it’s still one I’m going to revisit again and again. It doesn’t matter if I know what’s coming, knowing the end isn’t the important part, it’s the getting there that counts.

Book 3: To Your Scattered Bodies Go

Since there’s some sort of mini-series or programme coming out based on the Riverworld novels by Philip Jose Farmer, and I had never heard of them, I thought I’d give them a go. I was amused when the book I got from the library had come out of storage somewhere and had been checked out from 1979, two years before I was born. And those are just the dates I could see. I suppose it did come out in 1971.

The first book introduces us to a world where everyone who has ever lived awakens on the banks of a seemingly neverending river. They are naked and hairless, some wondering if this is a version of heaven or hell.  Richard Francis Burton (not to be confused with the other Richard Burton who, frankly, might have been more interesting, since I had in fact heard of him) wakes up before the others, and before they arrive on the riverbank, suspended in air and able to see bodies around him. He later suspects there is something more to his afterlife, and that they are being used. Initially he forms a group with others who woke up nearby. Some are based on real-life people – one is Alice Liddell, the inspiration for Alice in Wonderland – and throughout the book Burton encounters many people we are familiar with from history. They establish how to get food and build shelter, alliances are formed and couples pair off, but some are more curious about why they are here. Burton decides to travel the river to find its end, and seek answers. Unfotunately the journey is perilous as it seems most of those who have been reborn want to do nothing more than enslave others and have power. It is established that if you die within the Riverworld you are again reborn, but not in the same place. Burton uses this knowledge to speed up his search for the river’s end.

I have to say, I didn’t like Burton all that much. I am assuming I am not meant to seeing as he’s from the 19th century and has very different ideas on things than I do, but he is fairly annoying as characters go. The rest of the characters aren’t given much to do, other than converse with him and fill in some blanks. There’s not a lot of characterisation going on and women especially are sidelined as sex objects for the most part, in need of protection. I’ll take it is a sign of the times in which this was written. It’s not all that well written really, although it has an interesting concept. There’s a lot of action but not much time to get to know anyone, so it’s hard to care. There are far too many fights scenes that go on and on, and I just wasn’t interested. Things that could have done with more description are jumped over with a ‘one year later’ leap. I think Farmer must have had an end in sight and was just giddy to get to it.

I was also a bit bored by its insistance on giving great emphasis to the maths of just how many people there must be per square mile, how long the river must be and how long it will take him to reach the end if you divide it by this and times it by that and blah blah I just don’t care about numbers. I get it, the river is big. There are a lot of people. Let me inside their heads, make me ask questions, make this whole thing have some sort of point.

It’s a harsh world, one I would in no way want to live in, eternal life or no. What would be the point, I mean, there’s no TV… Eternity as a concept kind of freaks me out in general. What would you do for all that time? Here they don’t have to do anything, or seem to want to do anything, except stay alive. Everyone is fighting to survive in a world where you can’t die. There’s war and slavery and seemingly not a whole lot of good people about. Are we really such a mess? It would be nice to be able to root for someone, have any kind of hero, flawed or no, but there’s no real depth to anyone, or to the story itself really.

Having said that, I did kind of enjoy it. It’s a really easy read and I am intrigued enough by the larger story to see where it’s going. I’ll definitely read the second volume, and Mark Twain turns up (that’s another thing, could we have some people who aren’t at all famous? I’m sure it’s fun to have the whole of history at your disposal and create new lives for these well known people, but in the grand scheme of things surely there are more unknowns? Also, enough with the Nazis.)

Book 2: Evermore

This was a desperation read, picked up as I was about to get on a train and I’d finished my other book. Yeah, I’m sure you believe me.

The story takes place in Laguna Beach, California, where people have names like Ever Bloom, Damen Auguste and Haven. All I know about Laguna Beach is from, well, watching Laguna Beach, so maybe they do all have crazy names. Also, if this book is anything to go by, they drink a shit tonne of VitaminWater. Alyson Noel should be sponsored by them for the amount of time it’s mentioned.

Ever Bloom is the sole survivor of a car accident that kills her whole family. She goes to live with her mostly absent aunt who showers her with cash rather than time, but that can’t buy Ever happiness, or cred at her new school. Yep, Ever has gone from being a superficial blonde cheerleader with stacks of friends, to a ‘freak’. Since the accident she has become psychic, able to see auras and talk to dead people. Or one dead person rather, her little sister Riley. Ever spends her life in hoodies with her ipod earphones in, trying to drown out the world. She does have two friends though, of course also freaks, and all is so-so until Damen shows up and she has a niggling feeling they’ve met before. Haven calls dibs on the new hottie and gets pissed when he obviously only has eyes for Ever. So Haven joins a new crowd of wannabe vampires, putting her life in danger…what in the hell have I been reading here?

I’m probably going to unfairly compare this to Twilight, seeing as they’re both teen books that deal with folks who live forever. Here though it’s Ever who has psychic abilities that are switched off only in the presence of Damen (think Sookie Stackhouse’s fondness for hanging around vampires). I’d say Evermore is more tightly written, (less vomit-inducing descriptions of her lover’s marble-like abs) and the author has a better grasp of English so it’s a less painful read (for the most part, although someone should explain to her the difference between envelops and envelopes), but Twilight definitely has a more interesting story, and (remarkably) characters. Ever is boring. Damen is boring. The ‘chemistry’ between them is non-existent. There’s a lot of lazy writing techniques, and I was amused by her use of name-dropping to establish Damen’s immortality. You can tell he’s been around a while since he has Shakespeare’s autograph and has been painted by Picasso. Way to keep a low profile. And the story plods along until the end where there’s so much exposition I needed Giles to show up and sing his song. (Yeah, Buffy reference.) Much of it doesn’t make much sense or is explained thoroughly, but seeing as this is the first of six I guess she’ll get back to the important questions later.

I can imagine much of its intended audience will love it and have a new ‘meant to be’ couple to adore and obsess over, but I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to get the next book.

And now I need to go throw myself under a bus for being nice about Twilight.

Book 1: American Wife

All I did is marry him. You are the ones who gave him power.

Curtis Sittenfeld’s latest novel is a fictional account of a first lady, closely mirroring the life of Laura Bush. I possibly wouldn’t have picked this up had I realised, not being the greatest fan of old George, but it is an interesting read, following Alice Lindgren from childhood through to her life in the White House.

I don’t know much about Laura Bush, it must be said. I’m assuming that though she has been taken as Sittenfeld’s model, the majority of it is fictional. Of course, as Sittenfeld herself has said, she can’t know what conversations the couple have had throughout the years. Certain things are fact though, and are used as the basis of Alice’s life; that during her teens Laura Bush was responsible for the death of a classmate; that her husband had a problem with drugs and alcohol, and then found God; that he went on to be one of the most reviled presidents there has been.

It is the death of her classmate, and here her crush, that is the focus of the beginning of the book, and seen as the defining moment of her life. It leads to a relationship with the dead boy’s brother, an unwanted pregnancy and an abortion. Later, as a librarian, Alice meets Charlie Blackwell, the feckless son of good stock, meandering around his life and in search of his destiny. There are issues from the beginning, Charlie is a Republican, Alice a Democrat. His family appears disapproving of Alice, especially the mother, and they have very different personalities. But the attraction between the two is clear, and though Alice often has misgivings about his character and behaviour, she stays silent.

It is this silence that is the crux of the novel. How responsible is she for her husband’s behaviour, and his later presidency, as a wife, and a first lady? How much influence can she be expected to have? How much should she try to have, when she was not elected, and when they have such differing views?

Alice is very sympathetic, she’s intelligent and kind and you do wonder sometimes how she ended up with Charlie. Although it is a testament to Sittenfeld’s writing and character development that it never seems unbelievable. That Alice loves her husband dearly is never in doubt. But I am not sure I like her all that much. She goes through a lot, and does so with grace, but I wished quite often while reading that she would grow a spine, that she would speak up, stand up to her husband, put forward her views, tell him off, give him some guidance, anything, instead of staying quiet. She says more than once that she doesn’t have to explain herself to the media, or to the general public, that they don’t own her and knowing the truth herself is enough. And then she goes on to explain, and explain, why she has done the things she has. I lost some respect for her at this point.

For such a large book it is a very quick and easy read, and generally enjoyable and engaging. It does feel rather light and fluffy in parts of its portrayal, before becoming a little over long and tedious in others, and although I wouldn’t say Sittenfeld is an amazing writer, she does a decent enough job to make it worthwhile. It’s not a work that will sit with you afterwards, nor will it really give you any great insight into the Bush’s marriage or his presidency, but it might make you ask questions and look elsewhere for the answers.