Three books

There were three books I read last month that I didn't get a chance to review; I'm finding more and more that not everything I read makes it onto this blog, not sure why as it never used to be the case. I think maybe I'm reading a little more quickly now and the increased volume of books means I literally don't have time to review everything. So anyway, this post will be a quick mention of those three books: The Right Attitude to Rain and The Careful Use of Compliments by Alexander McCall Smith and Callander Square by Anne Perry.

The Right Attitude to Rain is book three in the Isabel Dalhousie series, set in Edinburgh. Isabel is a divorced woman in her early forties - a woman of independent means who is the editor of a philosophy magazine. Becuase of her deep interest in philosophy she is always interested in other people's lives and often gets tangled up in their affairs. Her friends and family think of this as meddling: Isabel herself thinks herself duty bound to help people if she possibly can. In this instalment Isabel comes across an American couple in an art gallery. It turns out they're friends of Isabel's relatives from Texas who are staying with her at the moment. She discovers that the husband feels as though his life is in danger and the person he's afraid of is his young wife. Isabel has already noticed the wife's interest in Jamie, her niece's ex-boyfriend and the young man Isabel herself is in love with. This is an incredibly complicated situation, especially as the husband is showing a marked interest in Isabel herself...
In The Careful use of Compliments Isabel's life has changed out of all recognition. I can't say how as it's rather a huge spoiler but Jamie is now a big part of her life. Sadly this has caused a virtual estrangement with her niece, Cat. Two occurances form the basis of the storylines in this fourth book. Firstly, Isabel gets a letter from one of her philosophy magazine contributors, Professor Dove, informing her that she has been ousted from her job and that he is the new editor. Secondly, two paintings by the same Scottish painter come on the market at the same time. Isabel wants to buy one but there seems some doubt about the authenticity of the work. Isabel, of course, sets about investigating.

This series just gets better and better. I love the little investigations Isabel undertakes, her agonising about her behaviour and that of others. I think sometimes she's not hard enough on people, her niece especially needs a good talking to! But on another subject she take beautiful revenge on someone, which was just perfect. I don't think I could love these books more, even though I realise they're not for everyone, being so character driven and 'thoughtful' and not really plot or action driven. And I think those of us who love them are unable to explain to those who don't, why we're so enamoured. Odd.

Callander Square is Anne Perry's second book in the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series of Victorian crime novels. Charlotte and Thomas are now married. Thomas's salary is not huge so they live simply in a small house - a big change for Charlotte who was brought up in a big London town house with servants and so forth. But she is happy, nevertheless. The story begins when Thomas is called to Callander Square to examine the bones of two babies found buried in the central garden of the square. It's assumed they must be the children of a servant girl who killed her babies rather than lose her job and livelihood. Thomas sets about investigating and realises there are many secrets amongst the aristocracy living in the square. Unfortunately this is a time when the police are not popular with the well-heeled and he comes up against a wall of silence. Charlotte and her sister, Emily, take an interest and before long Emily, now the wife of a lord herself, gains entrance to society in the square and gets Charlotte a position as secretary to a general who is writing the military history of his forbears. Between them can they solve this perplexing mystery?

Another excellent series. The mysteries in these books are very good but even more than that I like the glimpse of Victorian life. The hypocrisy and double-standards, especially of men, are featured very strongly and this I find fascinating to read about. Many women, it seems, actually conspired to keep this kind of thing going but it has to be remembered how little power women had at that time, relying on men for their very existance. Being the subject of gossip was one of the worst things that could happen to you and being an outcast from society a very real threat. So you kept your secrets. Fascinating stuff and I plan to read as many books in this series as I possibly can.

~~~oOo~~~

Garden flowers

Did some work in the garden this morning and then walked around taking a few photos of the early spring blooms. Garden-wise I think this is one of my favourite times of the year when everything is new and green and sparkling somehow, despite the lack of rain in this part of the world just lately.


I'm not actually the biggest Azelea fan in the whole world but even I have to admit that this one is looking stunning this year.



What this is called I have no idea but it too is looking rather impressive.



Posies of primroses next to one of the veg beds. They're sitting amongst what we call 'poached egg plants' which will be out in a few weeks. Hubby would have this untidy little patch out but I refuse to let him touch it!



The apple blossom is almost out, a week should do it I would think.



The helebores, which will be going over soon I imagine.



Think this might be some kind of sea-holly but am not sure. Whatever, the leaves are stunning.



I think this is a dicentra (sp) but we know it as 'Bleeding heart' for obvious reasons. This has to be one of my favourite plants as it just so pretty and delicate.




You can see why I like them so much...



And last but not least the one of the rhodedendrons... it's going over a little now but is ten foot tall and has been giving us a stunning display for a couple of weeks.

~~~oOo~~~

Greenwitch

I rarely read a series of books straight off without a break and Susan Cooper's 'Dark is Rising' sequence is a typical example: I've been reading it for about a year now. Greenwitch is book three in the series and I've just read it for Carl's Once Upon a Time challenge. I find challenges like this one perfect for making me get a move on with various series that I'm dragging my feet on!



The grail cup that children, Simon, Jane and Barney found in Cornwall and which they gave to a museum to look after, has been stolen. Great Uncle Merriman visits and suggests they spend the last week of their Easter holidays back in Trewissick to see if they can recover it. He joins them and with him comes Will Stanton from book two, unbeknown to the children, the last of The Old Ones and there to assist Merriman in the quest.

Simon, Jane and Barney don't take to Will at first and make life difficult for him... much to Merriman's annoyance. Then Barney is assaulted by a strange dark haired man while sketching the harbour, and his picture stolen. Why? Jane, being the only girl, is invited to the night-long ceremony of the Greenwitch where an effigy is built and thrown into the sea. It's a very odd night indeed, culminating in her making a wish...

There's a storm coming, literally and figuratively, and the dark haired stranger is at the centre and maybe even the cause of it. That night will be one of the most frightening Jane will ever experience. The children join forces at last to defeat this representative of the dark and, hopefully, recover the grail.

This is the book that brings together the three children from book one and Will Stanton from book two. It was nice to have them back in Cornwall (I've decided that Trewissick is probably Mevagissey) but I didn't find this book to be quite as good as the first two. It seemed to lack the same detail and atmosphere and felt slightly rushed to me. Nevertheless it was still entertaining and full of action and I'm looking forward to their continued adventures, this time in Wales I believe, in book four, The Grey King.

This was book four for Carl's Once Upon a Time challenge. One more book to go... although I will almost certainly read more than the five books required. I'm quite pleased with myself that I'm actually reading the books in my pool for once and thus taking a few books off the tbr mountain. That is until the two new Temeraire books by Naomi Novik arrive, and I've also added The Snow Spider trilogy by Jenny Nimmo. So perhaps I should stop patting myself on the back quite so enthusiastically!

~~~oOo~~~

Photos

I've taken my camera out with me a couple of times over the past few weeks so thought I'd share a few of the results with anyone who might be at all interested. Views are of the Somerset coast, Exmoor, and Knightshaye's Court near here. As always, click on the pic a couple of times for a larger view.


I particularly loved this glorious bed of polyanthus and hyacinths in Minehead high street the other day.



The beautiful view from the top of Porlock hill, down over Porlock beach. You can just see Wales in the distance.



Exmoor. I thought the trees lined up on the horizon looked like Zulu warriors from that movie.



The old stone bridge at Exbridge... spring daffs only just out a couple of weeks ago.



The woods at Knightshayes Court last week. Spring well and truly arrived.



The woodpile.



Primroses in the grass.



The back gate into the walled kitchen garden.



Inside the walled garden and the beginnings of the huge herbacious borders they have there in summer.



Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.



Daffs in the chicken run.



What they grow their peas or sweetpeas on: I want one.



And this is just a pic I took out of the bedroom window last week. The town was obscured by a foggy haze and then I spotted the balloon...

~~~oOo~~~

Historical - Temeraire

Temeraire - otherwise known as His Majesty's Dragon - by Naomi Novik, is one of those books I've been meaning to read for several years. I know I've put it on my lists for three, if not four, challenges and each time I've finished the challenge with Temeraire unread. Which is a shame really, although in my defense I've always known I would get to it one day and that when I did I would probably love it. So I wasn't ignoring it in the way that you do sometimes when you've bought a book and totally gone off the idea of reading it. Anyway, enough waffle, this time - I refer to this year's Once Upon a Time challenge of course - I was absolutely determined to read it. And I have!



It's the time of the Napoleonic wars and Captain William Laurence is in command of the British vessel, HMS Reliant. A French frigate is sighted off Madeira and battle commences. The Reliant is successful and takes the French ship, but something is not right. The crew are clearly under-fed and weary and in the hold of the vessel Laurence finds the answer. They are carrying a precious dragon egg and it is close to hatching.

Making swift calculations Laurence realises that they have no chance of reaching shore before the egg hatches. Someone aboard will have to harness the young dragon - thus committing himself to a lifetime of being an aviator. It will mean the end of life as that person knows it because from there on he will have to devote himself to his dragon completely. Lots are drawn and a young officer chosen. He is reluctant but willing, but in the event, when the egg hatches, it is Laurence himself that the dragon bonds with. Laurence's life as a naval officer is over.

Or is it? On reaching shore, the head of the aviators sends someone 'more appropriate' to relieve Laurence of the dragon. Laurence, already very attached, is upset but all is well when the dragon, now named 'Temeraire', refuses the change of partner.

Back in England and after explaining the situation to his horrified parents and fiance, Laurence begins his training in Scotland. He is not welcome in the dragon covert. A 'clodpole' navy man amongst young men trained from childhood to their calling - he is a misfit. Only the other misfits want to know him and his life would be a lonely one if it weren't for Temeraire: the two are now inseparable.

Laurence's task now is prove himself. He has to prove worthy of the very special dragon that Temeraire turns out to be... but he also has to prove to the doubters that he can lead in battle and help win the war.

Well, I was told I would probably love this and of course I did. It was a no brainer really - dragons in the Regency period, what's not to like? Naomi Novik has written a delightful book which focusses, first and foremost, on the relationship between Captain Laurence and Temeraire. I was slightly afraid that the focus might be on battles and tactics and there was some of that, but not enough to put me off.

The relationships Laurence forges at the covert are central to the book as well. There are surprises and tensions and a very steep learning curve for both Laurence and his dragon, because Temeraire is also very new at all of this. Laurence makes mistakes, tries to right wrongs and it's all great fun to read about. The historical detail is not at all dry and dusty but is incorparated nicely into the plot, although this being an alternate universe type of story, there are differences of course.

I'm sure anyone reading this will sense that I enjoyed this book immensely. This of course is only the first book in a series which is now six volumes long and I'm so pleased about that! Hopefully I can pick up book two, The Throne of Jade, fairly soon because I really can't wait.

This is book three for my Once Upon a Time challenge which is being hosted by Carl, and book four for my Year of the Historical challenge, which is being hosted by Lurv a la Mode.

~~~oOo~~~

A movie and a TV show

I don't usually do movie or TV entertainment type posts as this is, after all, a book blog, but sometimes something is so good you just have to spread the word. And also, I love it when I get this kind of rec from people's blogs. It gives me a dvd to look out for, a movie to go to, or a new TV show to try and find... (the latest of those being the American TV series, 'Castle'. I've heard it's a really fun crime series but it hasn't reached our main channels here in the UK yet, and it's about time it did!)

Anyway. We had our grandaughter here staying last week and as there was nothing on at the movies that was suitable to take her to, I checked out the dvds in the supermarket. In amongst the cheapy section was The Bridge to Terabithia.



This rang a huge bell... I remembered reading a review of a book by the same name and assumed it was the movie of the book. We bought it and settled down to watch one afternoon.

It's about Jesse, a farm boy who lives with his four sisters and mum and dad. They're not at all well off and emotionally anyway, it seems that Jesse is rather neglected, his parents lavishing a lot of care and love on his tweo younger sisters. Jesse is not happy at school either, he's bullied and withdrawn.

Jesse's life changes when Leslie moves in nextdoor. She's the well educated, only child of two writers and she too is lonely as her parents concentrate a lot on their work. Jesse and Leslie become friends and create the imaginary land of Terabithia out in the woods. It's full of adventure, they are the king and queen and get to fight imaginary, frightening creatures. For the first time in his life, Jesse has a friend and someting to live for.

Well, gosh. This was not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting a fantasy story and yes, there is a small fantasy element to it. But really it's all about the friendship between Jesse and Leslie and how friendship can literally change your life. Their school life is featured a lot, and their home life, and it's quite involving to be honest; you get very wrapped up in events and when something tragic happens late in the movie it's quite devastating. I cried.

The acting in this movie was quite something. Jesse is played by Josh Hutcherson and Leslie by AnnaSophia Robb and both put in stellar performances, but the supporting cast is wonderful too.

One thing I would say... it mentions the Narnia film on the cover. Although it doesn't actually say, ' This is like that movie', some might think it is. It's not... not even remotely... it's better actually, a much more personal and touching film.

All in all, I so recommend this movie. I did wonder if it was a bit old for my almost ten year old grandaughter but she sat entranced all through and loved it to bits. We did too and will certainly be watching it again.

~~~oOo~~~

And the other thing I have to mention is that DCS Christopher Foyle is back on our screens in the UK. It was cancelled a couple of years ago when the ITV 'Higher Ups' changed... the new head honcho didn't like it or something. But there was a huge public outcry, he left (some say because of this stupidity), and Foyle's War is back. People Power rules! LOL.

Here's Christopher Foyle, played by the wonderful and gorgeous (in my opinion anyway) Michael Kitchen.



And here's a rather nice YouTube vid:



I think Foyle's War could easily be my favourite ever TV series. It's so beautifully acted, so restrained, the productions just beautiful. But also it deals with the awkward stuff about WW2. It never says, 'We're all good and the Germans all bad'. It knows full well that there were horrible people on the allied side as well as on the German side. That horrible things happened here, people sacrificed for nothing, people profitting from the war etc. I love that and am thrilled that the series is now back for a 7th. season and is just as wonderful as ever. For those in the US I gather that PBS are screening it in early May. It's a treat not to be missed.

~~~oOo~~~

The Earth Hums in B Flat

I'm fairly certain that the first (and maybe only) place I read about The Earth Hums in B Flat by Mari Strachan was on Elaine's blog - Random Jottings. And I actually haven't read her entire review at all. I got as far as 'Gwenni flies in her sleep', checked it out on Amazon, and ordered it. Such is the power of blogging.



The story is set in an isolated village in Wales in the 1950s. Young Gwenni lives with her mother and father and sister, Bethan, a family that is not really a family at all. Gwenni is very close to her father 'Tada', but is heartily disliked by her mother and older sister. Why? Well, Gwenni is very definitely 'different'. At night, when asleep, she can fly and she can also see things that others don't; Toby jugs on the shelf reacting to events in the house; a fox-fur blinking at her in church; moving faces in the peeling paintwork in the kitchen. Gwenni's mother calls her odd and is constantly afraid of what the neighbours will think of her strange daughter who loves to read and write stories.

Luckily, Gwenni herself is not isolated. Apart from her father she also gets on well with 'Nain' - her grandmother, Mrs. Evans, an educated woman who lends her books, and her best friend and soulmate, Alwenna. But there's a growing problem. Alwenna is older than Gwenni and has just discovered boys: she is beginning not to have any time for Gwenni.

The story really begins when Gwenni is out flying one night and sees the dead body of Ifan Evans floating in the reservoir. She prays it isn't true, that she has dreamt it. When she visits the Evans family the next day and finds Mrs. Evans's face is bleeding, and her husband missing, she assumes - and hopes - that a visit to the dentist has caused the damage. Gwenni sets about trying to find the missing husband. He's known as a bit of a brute and a womaniser and innocent Gwenni starts to discover things she wishes she'd hadn't. When the dead body of Ifan Evans actually does turn up the life of the village is turned upside down. Gwenni's family has secrets and these secrets seem to involve her mentally ailing mother... and possibly the dead man. Is Gwenni going to have do as Alwenna instructs and 'grow up' fast?

Well, obviously I don't know anything about 1950s Wales but I do remember late 1950s and early 1960s Cornwall and, to tell the truth, there isn't much difference. Penzance was a different place to rural Wales but attitudes were very similar. All working class families back then had their little secrets and I have to admit to doing just what Gwenni did and lurking quietly so that the adults forgot I was there. Amazing what you learnt as they chatted on, oblivious. I felt like I knew the Morgan family intimately, possibly because I identified so strongly with the stultified, claustrophobic atmosphere of that time; behaviour was strictly regulated and 'shame' was a big factor in keeping people in their place. Although, it was interesting to note, that ten years later, in the early sixties, church or chapel was less of a feature in people's lives and less of a regulating influence.

Gwenni is somewhat the Welsh equivalent of Mattie Gokey from A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly. She's intelligent, full of curiosity, bookish. She's also, like Mattie, an unlikely candidate for further education simply because of her poor background. I felt for Gwenni just as I felt for Mattie - horribly sad for her prospects and angry and annoyed at the adults who try to thwart her ambition or squash her personality.

In this book the reader is in that odd situation where he or she knows more about what's going on than Gwenni. She's not mature enough to understand much of what she discovers, or has hinted to her, but the reader of course is and can see much of the calamity coming. That's not to say that the reader knows everything, of course, and things happen which take you by surprise. But really the joy of this book is in the world building, in following traumatic village events as they unfold - the story is told in the present tense - and in the fact that you really do care about the people in it, even the unpleasant ones. No mean achievement on the part of Mari Strachan; she has produced a page-turner for her first book - I gather it was a BBC4 'Book at Bedtime' at some stage - and I sincerely hope there will be a lot more from her.