Quick Book Review: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Rating: 4.5/5
I got this book: from the library
I read this in: Dutch (De verborgen taal van bloemen), the original language is English
Number of pages: 384
First published: 2011
Genre: contemporary fiction

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This was a nice and quick read about a quite unpleasant girl although I did warm to a little after a while. Victoria Jones turns 18 when the book starts and is placed in a half-way house for teenagers like her, after having spent most of her life in an orphanage.

We soon find out that she hasn’t always been in an orphanage: she has been placed with numerous foster families when she was young, but always behaved badly, usually because she was treated outrageously bad herself. At the age of nine she’s placed with Elizabeth, a single lady who runs a vineyard. At Elizabeth’s, she finally feels at home and happy. But something happens and she has to leave again.

Elizabeth has taught her the Victorian language of flowers and this is the only real knowledge she has and that she’s interested in (obsessed with, even). This means that each flower has a particular meaning, for instance, red rose is love, basil is hate.

As she is an awkward, non-conformist type of girl she’s struggling to build up even the barest of existences. When she gets confronted with elements from her old, happy, life with Elizabeth, she has to choose between running away or facing her past, and her future.

As I said, Victoria isn’t a nice person. She refuses any help and makes life hard for herself with her behaviour. It is nice to see how her knowledge of flowers helps her build a new life working in a flower shop, but in the background is still the old awkward Victoria who wants to take care of everything herself until that isn’t possible any more and she breaks down.

It is frustrating how Victoria doesn’t let others love her and help her, but it’s also understandable. I was not expecting things to go well for her (neither was she) but I was hoping they would (she didn’t seem to care).

A well-written, interesting story about the issues children have to face when released out of foster care at 18.

 

Magical March Challenge: I’m In!

Adam the Roof Beam Reader is organising a Magical March challenge: To read and review works of Fantasy, Science-Fiction, or Magical Realism during the month of March.*

*Adam says: “Any Fantasy, Science Fiction, or Magical Realism books will qualify.  This means you can read Young Adult, Dystopian, Steampunk, or Alternative Histories.”

There are 4 levels of participation, ranging from reading 1-2 books to a 8+ category. I’m joining at the lowest level, as I have (quite) a few other reading commitments in March – the Magician’s Class.

I’ll be choosing to read 2 books from the books below, which are all on my shelf:

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (dystopian)
Blameless by Gail Carriger (steampunk)
The River King by Alice Hoffman (magical realism)
The Pearl Savage by Tamara Rose Blodgett (dystopian, steampunk)

Will you be reading Magic in March?

 

Book Review: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

This book is a (relatively) modern-day retelling of the Jane Eyre story, taking place in the 1950s.

As I’m not a Jane Eyre die-hard, I was firstly quite tolerant about the variations that were made to the original story, and secondly, not always aware of what the next step in the story should be so I could read it without too many pre-conceptions.

The cover suggests YA but this is definitely a book for adults too. It’s for anyone who likes or loves the story of Jane Eyre.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy: What it is about

It’s the 1950s in Scotland. Gemma Hardy grows up with her uncle’s family, after her parents (Scottish mother and Icelandic father) die when she’s still very young. But when her uncle dies her aunt sends her to boarding school at the age of ten. She’s there as a ‘working girl’, which means she has to do household chores before and after (and sometimes during) school hours.

She has very few friends at the school and generally has an awful time there. When she’s 18, she applies to become an au pair for a family on the Orkney Islands, in the far north of Scotland, and so, this is where she goes.

If you know the Jane Eyre story, you can guess the sort of events that will happen. If not, then I’ve almost given you too much information already, so I’ll let you enjoy the book for yourself.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy: What I thought

4.5 out of 5 stars I had to look up the Jane Eyre story to see how Gemma Hardy compares with it. The general storyline is very similar, but the ending is different. I didn’t remember Jane Eyre well enough to predict how the story would continue, which was actually quite nice: something would happen and I would think: ‘Oh, that’s right’; there were moments of recognition. But because I didn’t remember the original story too well, I didn’t actively look for certain things to happen. I wonder how other readers, with a better memory of Jane Eyre will feel about the story.

The story taking place in the 1950s and 1960s was interesting, but it often didn’t feel as if the story was taking place in the 20th Century. Some of the situations, especially the boarding school, were decidedly Dickensian. The novel wasn’t strongly set in the mid-20th Century. The beginning of the book, before Gemma’s flight, could generally have taken place 200 years earlier too. Only later, when there are buses and aeroplanes, the sense of being in a recent century becomes stronger.

I liked the connection with Iceland, a country that I always find fascinating to read about. And Gemma spends some time on the Orkneys islands above Scotland, which appeals too: it’s rough, cold, small-townish, and scenic.

Strangely enough (but not after I checked the Jane Eyre story) there are a few supernatural moments in this novel. I found them too few to call this a supernatural novel, but I would have liked the author to be a bit more firm on this matter: either there are supernatural events and then they are used in equal amounts throughout the book, or there aren’t. But just one or two here and there, it didn’t make sense. Maybe it does in the context of the Jane Eyre book, where there was also just a little bit of the supernatural. But there it didn’t bother me, whereas in Gemma Hardy, it seemed a little odd.

Another weaker point in the book is that the events after Gemma’s flight where much shorter in time than the rest of the book, which felt a bit rushed. She went several places in quick succession (in terms of pages in the book) and the pace was so much faster than the earlier parts of the book, that it didn’t seem the same book almost.

But, notwithstanding these comments, I had a great time reading this book. I liked Gemma’s dire situation, and how she fought for a better life, and I also liked discovering parallels to Jane Eyre. If you’re a Jane Eyre fan, you may find this book too similar, maybe. Let me know!

Rating: 4.5/5

I got this book: ARC from the publishers, Harper, for review

I read this in: English, the original language

Number of pages: 464

First published: 2012 (January)

Genre: contemporary fiction, coming of age

 

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly event hosted by Sheila at Bookjourney to share with others what you’ve read the past week and planning to read next.

*****

I read 5 books in the last week (and one other I didn’t finish)

As I’m doing a reading competition on Shelfari, where we read random books from our shelves and wishlists, I have been reading more than normal. I pretend I’m not taking extra time reading, but I’m competitive, so I do! Oh well, as soon as someone wins, the game is over… so I better read some more and make sure it’s me.

11/22/64 by Stephen King. A man goes back in time to try and prevent the Kennedy assassination. I’m reading this as a judge for the Indie Lit Awards

Life’s a Beach by Claire Cook. A fun, easy read about a woman who is at a cross-roads in her life. 3.5 stars

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen. This turned out to be historical fiction combined with some modern fiction. Enjoyable. 4 stars.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. A janitor with a good taste in books and music pretends to be a working class woman with no such interests. But two of the people in her apartment building befriend her, and discover the real her. 3.5 stars

Away By Amy Bloom. 1924, a Russian Jewish woman loses all her family in a terrible killing. She moves to America where she hopes to have a better future. Then she hears her daughter is still alive in Russia and wants to go back to find her. An adventurous book. 4.5 stars

Vals licht by Joost Zwagerman (DNF). A Dutch book that I just didn’t enjoy enough to finish. In fact, I read it for this competition that I told you about (above), so it actually set me back, as I had read 130 pages of this book, then decided I’d take a different book altogether. I could not face reading any more.

Currently Reading

Other news

Click on the orange links to go to the blog post.

Have you been waiting for it? It’s time for another Literary Giveaway Blog Hop! It will run from February 18-22. Do you want to give away a book to your readers? Join up so you are linked to all the other blogs that are participating.

New Arrivals! Check out what books entered my house.

Reviews: 

First You Try Everything by Jane McCafferty. The account of a divorce. The woman can’t accept it and takes dramatic measures. 4 stars

The Look of Love by Mary Jane Clark. A fun mystery about a luxury spa where a murder takes place. 4 stars

The Trout Opera by Matthew Condon. A 100-year old man is asked to open the Olympic games in Australia. He’s kidnapped by the Olympic committee to make sure he’ll attend. 4 stars

Room by Emma Donoghue. A boy and his Mum have been held captive in a room for more than 5 years. The boy tells about his daily life. 5 stars

*****

That’s it! What are YOU reading this week?

 

Book Review: Room by Emma Donoghue

Genre: contemporary fiction
I got this book: from a book swap
First Published: 2010
I read this in: English, the original language
Number of pages: 406
Rating: 5/5

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Room: What it is About

I’m using the description of amazon.com here: “To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it’s not enough…not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son’s bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, Room is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.”

Room: What I thought

5 stars (out of 5) I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book on this subject and then, it being told by a five-year old didn’t appeal either. But this turned out the great book that everyone said it was. It’s not brilliantly brilliant, just a very good book.

Five-year old Jack was an innocent narrator who faithfully told all that happened around him, but interpreted everything with the understanding of a 5-year old. Therefore, some events might have been somewhat disturbing for the reader, but for Jack it was just as it was. This was very well done.

It was interesting to see how Jack was generally contented in his limited world. His mother hadn’t even told him that there was a world “out there”, so he wasn’t missing anything. Whatever he saw on television was not real. Only what happened in the room was real. I found this a very interesting idea. It suggested however, that Ma thought they would never be able to get out. So when they did, Jack was very unprepared for the outside world.

More than that, it seemed that Ma wasn’t prepared, either. She more or less held it all together inside Room, but once out, she couldn’t cope. This was one of the strong points of the book: it didn’t stop at the ‘good ending’, where Ma and Jack were free again, but it explored how free they really were and how they would cope outside. The idea that Jack was keen to go back to Room was very likely; it was an easier life and it felt like home for him.

A great read with lots to think about. Very convincing, too.

 

Announcement: Literary Giveaway Blog Hop (February 18-22)

The Literary Giveaway Blog Hop is an event taking place from Saturday February 18th until (and including) Wednesday Februari 22nd. If you’ve been wanting to give away a book to your readers, maybe to show your appreciation or because you have a special celebration, this is your chance to join up with others.

Isn’t giving better than receiving? Most giveaway blog hops seem to be directed towards young adult and romance audiences. Those hops are not so ideal if you want to give away more literary books (but if you’re interested, I Am A Reader Not A Writer runs frequent blog hops).

The third Literary Giveaway Blog Hop in October was a great success. So, it’s time for a fourth one and I hope you’ll join in.

More details:

This event is an opportunity to give away prizes and get more traffic to your blog. You will run your own giveaway, but it will be linked up to all other participants via a links list (which I will give you just before the event). That way, not just your readers, but also the readers from the other participating blogs will stop by your blog.

You can offer one or more books, a gift voucher (for instance, to amazon or bookdepository), or anything else related to books and reading. There is no minimum or maximum value that your prize should have.

The only restriction is that if you’re giving away a book, that it should have some literary merit. It does not have to be the most difficult classic ever, but please no romance, urban fiction or YA. Thrillers, poetry and non-fiction are fine, as are contemporary fiction, literary fiction and any other genres not in the categories above.

Further information on the prizes: a book can be new or “gently read”. Your giveaway can be just for your country, for your continent, or word-wide. Offering a book via bookdepository.com is a good way to make your giveaway world-wide (although not all countries are available) as it offers free postage.

Last day for signing up is February 15th. Only sign up if you intend to have a giveaway post up on your blog on February 18th.

Copy the image to put the button on your blog (e.g., in your sidebar and/or in a blog post), so you can advertise the Blog Hop and attract more participants to make this a big event and/or tell your readers about the event coming up.

——> Fill out this form <——

I”ll add your blog to the list with links below once I’ve seen that you’ve filled out the form. You cannot add yourself to the linky list. 

Last signup day: February 15th!!

Linky List:

Leeswammes Curiosity Killed The Bookworm Lit Endeavors (US) The Book Whisperer Rikki’s Teleidoscope 2606 Books and Counting The Parrish Lantern Sam Still Reading Bookworm with a view Breieninpeking (Europe, Dutch readers) Seaside Book Nook Elle Lit (US) Nishita’s Rants and Raves Tell Me A Story Living, Learning, and Loving Life (US)

Book’d Out Uniflame Creates Tiny Library (UK) An Armchair by the Sea (UK) bibliosue Lena Sledge’s Blog (US) Roof Beam Reader Misprinted Pages Mevrouw Kinderboek (Dutch) Under My Apple Tree (US) Indie Reader Houston

If you have questions, just ask in the comments, or email me at jh303015 at gmail dot com.

 

Book Review: The Trout Opera by Matthew Condon

I have read very few books that take place in Australia so when I heard about this book I was interested to read it.

The main character of the book is a 99-year old man who is chosen to appear at the olympic games opening ceremony. It was a fun book to read.

The Trout Opera: What It Is About

From Dutch online book store bol.com: “After several lifetimes of living anonymously in the outback, Wildred Lampe is finally marked out for greatness in his hundredth year by the Sydney Olympic Committee who need an Australian everyman for their opening ceremony.

On the verge of becoming a legend, Wilfred Lampe is in his paddock when a freak accident looks likely to rob him of his chance. Helpless in his hospital bed, Wilfred discovers he has a great-niece, the wild and troubled Aurora. She has come to take him home, where he belongs.

As Wilfred and Aurora criss-cross Australia in a clapped-out old Humber Vogue, Wilfred comes face to face with the new Australia, and Aurora, enmeshed in the complex social problems of a modern world, is taught how to repair her life.”

The Trout Opera: What I Thought

The story is divided into pieces from the perspectives of several people in different situations. For instance, there are the two men from the Olympic committee who take Wilfred with them, Wilfred himself, at the age of 99, but also as a 6-year old boy and at several different ages. Then there is Aurora, the great-niece, in her current situation, but she also thinks back to the recent and more distant past. There is Aurora’s boyfriend, then there is a radio host, and maybe a few more people that I forgot to mention.

Anyway, a lot of people and situations that alternate, each taking a chapter at a time (there are 70 chapters in total). I found it a bit confusing because you’re constantly in the head of someone else, or of the same person but at a different age. That made it a difficult story to follow.

The story and the people in it are interesting, however. Wilfred in the hospital, Wilfred as a young adult, the Olympic committee, Aurora and her problems, the radio host with his own problems. Some pieces I found fun to read while others were a bit longwinded.

After a while it becomes clear how all the people and situations relate to each other and then the story starts to become alive for me. Slowly the reader finds out what poor circumstances Wilfred has lived in and is still living in. He seemed to have missed the whole development of Australia as a modern nation and on the other hand, he didn’t really miss much, because he’s fine as he is. And we find out about the difficult situation of Aurora as well as how the radio presenter fits into the story.

The mountains, the river, the trout: it’s all described beautifully. It’s also funny how trout and fish in general repeatedly appear in the book.

Rating: 4/5

I got this book: for review from the Dutch publishers

I read this in: Dutch, the original language is English

Number of pages: 624

First published: 2011 (Dutch, “De forellenopera”; English edition 2007)

Genre: contemporary fiction