Historical Fiction.

Who is the Master of the Horror Genre? Edgar Allan Poe. Nearly 165 years after he wrote his final tale, he is still loved--in fact, he is more popular than when he was alive. Nobody does tales of darkness, mystery, and the macabre like Poe. Nobody.

Edgar Allan Poe's Tales Of Death And Dementia is a graphic novel illustrated by Gris Grimly. It is the second Poe collection Grimly has done: the first, Edgar Allan Poe's Tales Of Mystery And Murder, is also awesome. I am looking forward to his third, and I hope more. His illustrations are just as creepy and understated as Poe's tone which adds a beautiful unique dimension to the tales. The tales have been slightly "nipped and tucked" from their original text, but nothing is lost. The tales are just as wonderfully creepy as they were when written.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" has to be one of the creepiest tales ever written. Written from the perspective of a deranged, cold-blooded killer, it will creep you out. As a child, this tale absolutely terrified me; as an adult, it still gets me, even though I have read it many, many times. The rest of the collection includes the scary yet humorous "The System Of Dr. Tarr And Professor Fether," the tragic "The Oblong Box,", and the weird and disgusting "The Facts In The Case Of M. Valdemar."

A wonderful set of classic tales to revisit next the fireplace on a cold night or maybe all alone in your room on a windy night. The wonderful illustrations make this collection of Poe's dark tales even darker. A book that anyone young or young at heart will enjoy...tick tock, tick tock....

In the summer of 1880, Auguste Renoir persuaded thirteen of his reluctant friends to spend several weekends posing for his famous painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party, which inspired Susan Vreeland's historical novel of the same name.

I started reading the book with some trepidation, because I couldn't help remembering my mixed experiences with historical fiction about famous painters. For example, I had always loved Vermeer's paintings until I read the historical novel Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, which made me wonder exactly what kind of man Vermeer really was. On the other hand, I liked the book Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper by Harriet Scott Chessman, which I thought gave me some insight into Mary Cassatt's life and also the world of the impressionists. My book group decided to read Luncheon of the Boating Party, though, so I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. I listened to it on CD, which gave me the advantage of hearing the correct pronunciation of French words and names. It had the disadvantage, however, that I kept getting the numerous characters confused. Also, I constantly wanted to look at the painting itself as it started to take shape in the narrative. I solved this problem by printing a copy of the Wikipedia article about the painting from the Internet, which included an image. So my suggestion is to have the book and the CD version both on hand for maximum clarity and enjoyment.

I found myself enthralled with the book. I felt like I was immersed in French life in 1880, during La Vie Moderne, an exciting time of social change.  We tend to think we are living in modern times and that all previous times were part of ancient history, but Vreeland managed to capture that time in history and make it feel immediate to me.

A historical novel like this one can be used as a starting point to exploring history and ideas through other nonfiction books and complementary experiences. At KCLS we have one of the books that Vreeland used to research her book: Impressionists on the Seine: A Celebration of Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party by Eliza E. Rathbone et al., which is a great source for more background information and pictures. 

It's not so easy to retire when you are one of Spain's finest swordsmen.  Much as he tries to avoid it, Diego Alatriste keeps getting pulled back into danger's unsympathetic maw.

Arturo Pérez-Reverte is one of my favorite authors, ever since I stumbled across The Fencing Master.  Although he has a number of excellent stand-alone titles, Pérez-Reverte is best known for his musketeer-like Captain Alatriste series.  One of Spain's (and Europe's) most popular authors, he writes in what I think of as a deliciously old world European style - hard to describe - patient and eloquent, but not at all slow.  I find his writing similar to Gabriel Garcia Marquez (without the magical realism).

Diego Alatriste, an inveterate gentleman soldier and veteran of the Flemish Wars (17th century), is willing to fight for God, country and gold, but mainly for gold.  In Captain Alatriste, the first book in the series, he has been hired to assassinate two British visitors.  Always reluctant to shed needless blood, he spares their lives, opening a hornet's nest and infuriating the Holy Inquisition.  Not good.

Pérez-Reverte's works are excellent historical fiction picks for adults and (I think) older teens. If swashbuckling isn't to your fancy, Pérez-Reverte writes some other dynamite thrillers and even a narco-saga that is surprisingly entertaining given the rough subject matter.

There are a few events in US history that are so complex, tragic or emotional that they are still compelling to readers, even decades afterwords.

The Civil War is a good example--new books on Abraham Lincoln and the war seem to come out every month and still make the Best Sellers list.  The sinking of the Titanic is another event that still fascinates readers. One event about which I've read voraciously is the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911.

One hundred forty six workers died in a fire that was under control in less than an hour. Situated on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors of a new "skyscraper" in New York City, the Triangle Factory made ladies' shirtwaists which were all the rage at the time. Like the Titanic tragedy, there are many "if onlys" in the Triangle story that would have meant many lives being spared: proper fire escapes, doors that were not locked by factory bosses, fire hoses that actually worked, enforcement of the non-smoking rule.

In Margaret Peterson Haddix's book Uprising, she brings to life not only the facts of the story, but three young girls who lived them. Yetta from Russia and Bella from Italy both came to the US looking for a better life and hoping to save enough money to bring their families from their homelands.

Caught up in the workers' strike that predated the fire, Yetta and Bella befriend Jane, a lonely society girl who becomes involved in their crusade. Their friendship is a big part of the story, as is the plight of many other girls newly arrived in the States and held at the mercy of greedy factory owners.

Haddix, who is the author of the popular Shadow Children  series for kids and teens, has a talent for mixing history and fiction and the ability to write about tragedies like the Triangle fire without making them maudlin. Even though we know how these sad stories end, in the hands of a skilled author, they are worth the read.

When I was in fourth grade I saw the book Hawaii by James A. Michener; it was the biggest book I had ever seen. I started to read it (I was a precocious child), but I couldn't get past the italics, you know the whole section that was the geological history of the islands. It was many years later before I picked up that book again. Then I discovered The Source! It is my favorite Michener book and it is even bigger than Hawaii. (The book not the state).

The Source is the story of an archeological dig in Israel. It starts in May 1964, describing who will be working at Tell Makor and why they are there. The archeologists are from all over the world and arrive with various specialties that will help decide and define who lived at Tell Makor and what those lives were like. It starts with a bullet casing from a British rifle circa 1950. The last artifacts discovered are five sharpened flints from 9811 B.C.E.

What makes this book so special to me is Michener tells the story of each person that uses the artifacts discovered. He makes the science of archeology up close and personal, it is about the people and their stories. I got the feeling that people really haven't changed over the centuries, we all want the same things and it seems we enjoy fighting to get them, okay maybe not enjoy, but it is much harder not to fight and hate than it is to be peaceful, kind and honest.

If you like a good big story with lots of Holy Land history you will certainly enjoy The Source.

For many years, each fall - The King County Library System has offered a Book Group Gathering and invited members of book groups to get together and learn about the resources the library system can offer to help organize, support, and energize book groups. 

On Saturday, September 26, over 130 people gathered, (mostly women) at the KCLS Service Center for this year's program. With Nancy Pearl offering wonderful ideas for organizing, sustaining and controlling book groups, refreshments and prizes donated by the North Bend, Snoqualmie and Fall City Friends of the Library, and a busy morning of programs, it was huge success.

One of the most interesting items not on the agenda was an opportunity for spontaneous book sharing when one of the speakers had an emergency and couldn't make it. People raised their hand, stood up and gave a title their book group had read, and a very brief book talk.

 

The most wonderful part of this experience was the passion that surged through the room, as someone suggested a title, if others had read it, there was an audible sigh, nods and once in a while, even a shake of the head. The point wasn't to convince others that this was THE book their group should read, but to offer suggestions, endorsements and above all, to share a love of books, stories and literature.

 

We agreed to compile the list of suggestions and post it to our blog.

 

The Color of Lightning - Jiles, Paulette

Fieldwork - Berlinski, Mischa

Little Bee - Cleave, Chris

Mountains Beyond Mountains - Kidder, Tracy

A Far Cry from Kensington - Spark, Muriel

The Poisonwood Bible - Kingsolver, Barbara

 

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright was the subject of scandal in upper-class Oak Park, Illinois. Edwin and Mamah Borthwick Cheney had commissioned Wright to design their home. A romance sparked between Mamah and Frank and an affair quickly blossomed. Both felt obligations to their respective families, so rather than divorce, each separated, to reunite in Europe. For years, they traveled and lived together, each inspired by their own intellectual pursuits. When they returned to the United States, they settled in Wisconsin, in Taliesin, one of Wright's structural masterpieces.

Cheney is conflicted between her desire to be with Wright, and societal expectations placed upon her. Critics of their relationship were open in their distaste for her ethical decisions. Because she was the other woman, Cheney was vehemently accused of homewrecking, more so than Wright. Her narration reflects her guilt and eventual acceptance of her choices

This novel is part historical fiction, part biography, and reflects a dedication on Horan's part to research a relatively unknown part of Wright's romantic past. Beautifully written, Loving Frank exudes a graceful flow, introducing the reader to the beauty and complexity of their illicit affair.

Secret Scriptures
By Sebastian Barry

Roseanne McNulty is 100 years old and has spent over half of her of life in the Roscommon Regional Mental Hospital when she begins the secret journal.  But the voice recalling many years full of turmoil and sorrow does not sound mad.   Her language is at once precise and lyrical, full of poetry, yet firmly grounded.  Her personal tragedy is gradually depicted against the backdrop of sectarian violence and a whole country in upheaval.

Roseanne's journal is interspersed with the commonplace book of Dr. Green, manager of the mental hospital. The institution is being downsized, and he must determine who should be given the freedom to return to the community. Though well meaning he is absorbed in his own sorrow, mourning first the failure of his marriage, then the death of his wife.    There are few records to help him evaluate Roseanne, and she is not particularly helpful to him.  

Dr. Green's search for clues as to why Roseanne was institutionalized finds a somewhat different history than the one the revealed in her journal raising many questions for the reader.  Was her father a member of the hated Irish police, or merely a grave digger?  How did he die?  If she was married, why did she tell Dr. Green he should address herby her maiden name?  Did she kill her only child at birth?  If not what happened to him?  And the big one - is she mad?

The quality of Barry's language and the vividness of Roseanne's story more than compensate for the occasionally awkward device of the two journals and slightly too pat ending.  The people in Roseanne's past; the stifling life of a small town contrasted to the wild openness of the sea; the eternal Irish rain all come alive on the page.  Curl up with this book before a toasty fire on a wet evening and you might not be sure whether the misty rain outside your window is coming in off Puget Sound or Sligo Bay.

 

Mehrunissa, whose name means "the Sun of Women," is born to Persian refugees in 1577 as they flee into the lands of the Mughal Empire.  Her birth marks a change in the fortunes of her family, and she is raised on the fringes of Emperor Akbar's court.  At the age of eight, Mehrunissa attends the festivities as the heir to the throne, Prince Salim, marries for the first time.  In that moment, she vows that she, too, will marry Salim and become a princess.  Several years later, Prince Salim is enthralled by teenaged Mehrunissa from the first time he sees her, just days before her marriage to another man.  Over the next decade and a half, Salim fights for his position in the empire as Mehrunissa endures a loveless marriage.  Finally, after years apart, Mehrunissa must decide if she will stand by her vow even if it means losing the man she has always wanted.

Much more than a simple love story, The Twentieth Wife, by local author Indu Sundaresan, is a fascinating look at the Mughal Empire during its height.  Spanning much of present-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the Empire had a profound influence on language, culture, government, architecture and cuisine.  Sundaresan combines meticulous research with vivid description, bringing the land and people to life.  The sounds, smells, and tastes of India come through on every page, while the descriptions of court life provide action and intrigue.  Even though the historically-based ending of the story is no surprise, Sundaresan's skill as a storyteller kept me enthralled and wondering what would happen next.  That little sadness that I feel at the end of a wonderful book was tempered by knowing that the tale of Salim and Mehrunissa is continued in The Feast of Roses.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
 
It's 1946, and author Juliet Ashton has writer's block.  World War II has ended and she's built her journalistic career reporting on the war.  Juliet is feisty, witty and has suitors clamoring for her attention.  She receives a letter from a Dawsey Adams, inquiring about a particular author's work.  A correspondence ensues, and Juliet learns of an impromptu book club on the island of Guernsey.  Guernsey had been occupied by the Germans during the war.  Soldiers caught a group of islanders celebrating late into the evening.  The guise of a literary club helped them avoid arrest for neglecting curfew.  To avoid suspicion, they continued to meet, and the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society was born. 
 
The islanders are ready to tell their story, and Juliet is thrilled to receive it.  Detailed letters reveal how their daily lives were affected by the occupation and how they coped with the horrors of war.  The island community banded together and pooled their resources.  Friendships evolved around a common love of the book and pleasure in each other's company.  Juliet is enthralled by their lifestyle and has discovered a topic for her new work.
 
I'm a cover snob and this one turned me off immediately.  After succumbing to friend's recommendation, I fell for Guernsey's characters, the epistolary style (written in the form of a series of letters) and its whimsical rhythm.  Cover aside, this is definitely one of my favorite picks from 2009.