Tag: historical fiction

Book Review: The Last Letter From Your Lover by Jojo Moyes

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A mug of green tea sits in front of a pink paperback copy of The Last Letter From Your Lover. A dilute calico cat sits behind it.

Alexis:

Sort of ironic, isn’t it, since Anna just mentioned Me Before You, Moyes’ trauma porn story? 😬

I needed another beach read, so I grabbed this one from a used bookstore. And though it’s not my usual kind of read, I saw a trailer for a Netflix adaptation, and thought I would pick it up. 

After Jennifer gets into a car accident in 1960, she has amnesia. She doesn’t remember her husband; she doesn’t remember who she is. And when she stumbles upon a letter from a lover, she realizes that her marriage was unhappy, and that she was in love with someone else. The problem is: she can’t remember who he is or where to find him.

Despite not being gothic, this book almost immediately gave me Rebecca vibes. There’s no ex-wife, but Jennifer feels and sees her lover, “B,” everywhere she looks, and it gives a similar sort of mysterious vibe. Plus, Jennifer is the wife of a rich man with a huge estate.

It took me a little while to get into this one. Part of the beginning seems a little unnecessary; Jennifer spends a lot of time getting to re-know her high society friends, only for them to become unimportant characters later on. 

What I did like was Moyes’ engaging, flowing writing style. I liked how the story is non-linear. However, the story switches to the POV of Ellie, a journalist in 2003, and while I enjoyed her perspective, it didn’t come until page 231. I would’ve liked her POV to be more woven into Jennifer’s POV. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I think if you’re looking for a historical fiction story that focuses on love, memory, and sacrifice with light Rebecca vibes, then you’ll enjoy this. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Review: Mexican Goth by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

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Alexis:

This is one of the most atmospheric books I’ve read in a while. It reads like a gothic, psychedelic nightmare. Moreno-Garcia’s gross, creepy descriptions shine. High Place is dripping in mold, villainous characters, and ghost-like visions.

What I enjoyed:

The gothic feel of this novel. I love the homage to books like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre. I love the fairly upfront references to The Yellow Wallpaper.

Moreno-Garcia’s descriptions are wonderful (but in a horror type of way). And she describes everything in masterfully drawn descriptions with high amounts of detail. You’ll have no trouble visualizing High Place or its contents. The descriptions of the mold alone made my allergies want to flare up.

This book touches on a lot of the ideas of the 1950’s, even the unfavorable ones…like eugenics. But I enjoyed the discussions of anthropology and botany.

Francis’ character was definitely my favorite; he grew on me more as the book went along.

What I wasn’t a fan of:

The beginning of this book is so slow. The entire first chapter feels almost unnecessary. The first entire half of the book basically has no plot; it’s just Noemí trying to figure out what the heck is going on at High Place while also trying to comfort her cousin, Catalina. For that reason, I don’t think you can call this book “suspenseful.”

As for Catalina, there are reasons that pop up later as to why we don’t get to know her character that well, but at the same time, I don’t feel like I know her at all. We get Noemí’s perspective on her cousin, but I didn’t even get the notion that she even knows Catalina that well to begin with.

Overall, I wish the plot had been more solidified.

All in all, this book is split pretty much down the middle for me. The first half is slow moving and has a gothic atmosphere, while the second half is faster moving and leans more on horror.

If you want a lushly written, atmospheric, bizarre gothic story with a twist of horror, then this might be the book for you. Just be aware that it unravels slowly, but the descriptions and the twists at the end will stick with you.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Trigger warnings: Rape/sexual assault, violence, murder/death. Mentions of suicide, cannibalism, eugenics, incest, and miscarriage.

Review: The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman

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Alexis:

Despite the fact that the characters were a little too distant and one dimensional for my taste, this was still a five star read for me. Hoffman’s writing is haunting, beautiful, and lyrical. I love magical realism, and this book is a wonderful mix of magical realism, historical fiction, and folklore.

The book focuses on Lea at the beginning of WWII during the Nazi regime. Lea’s mother’s one goal is to keep her daughter safe, so she does the unthinkable: finds Ettie, the daughter of a rabbi, to create a golem, a powerful magical creature/person made from clay, who is to protect Lea at all costs.

This is a Holocaust story, and Hoffman doesn’t shy away from the horrors that the Jewish people of Europe faced. But I love the way Hoffman weaves small beauties into the story, especially with the relationship of Ava (the golem) with the heron. The heron was a beautiful symbol throughout the book. Out of all of the characters, I actually felt like I connected with Ava the most.

This is a survival story, so while I prefer to get into the heart and soul of the characters, the distant POV felt right with the atrocities the characters face in the story. Hoffman focuses on what it means to be human, and what it means to survive.

VERDICT: 5 stars

Review: The Masterpiece by Fiona Davis

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Alexis:

Hi, everyone! I’m moving into my new apartment tomorrow. I’m really excited, but I’m also already exhausted just thinking about it!

The Masterpiece is the last book I read on the beach. It isn’t my usual read, but it was a great beach read! Overall, this is one of those books that I read and I liked, but it didn’t leave a long-lasting impression.

The book alternates between two timelines. In 1928, Clara Darden is an illustrator teaching at the Grand Central School of Art in New York City. In 1974, Virginia Clay is a recent divorcee and cancer survivor who begins working at the Grand Central Terminal when she finds a painting abandoned in the old art school. 

What I liked: I loved that the story centered around a building. I learned a lot about the history of the Grand Central Terminal. The story focuses a lot on the beauty of the terminal in the 20’s, and how the building has been worn down over the years by the time the 70’s roll around. 

I really enjoyed reading about Clara’s life as a woman struggling to prove herself as an artist. I loved her determined character, and her struggle resonated with me. I also learned a lot about art, especially how illustrators, not to mention women artists, were viewed in the 1920’s. 

What I didn’t like: I wasn’t a huge fan of Virginia’s storyline. I’m not really sure why, but it didn’t resonate with me like Clara’s storyline. 

Clara’s sectionsfocused too much on Oliver, in my opinion, and I wasn’t a fan of his character.

I also found the ending to be melodramatic and not very believable. 

As an aside, my mom also read this book. She loves historical fiction, and she really liked this book. She loved the descriptions and the history of the Grand Central Terminal. 

VERDICT: 3 stars

Review: The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

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Alexis:

The Blood of Flowers focuses on an unnamed fifteen-year-old girl in 17th century Persia, which is now modern day Iran. Her passion is making carpets, and after her father dies, she and her mother are taken in by her carpet-maker uncle. But then she is forced into a sigheh, a three month contract of marriage, with an older man, in order to have money for her and her mother to survive.

I loved the descriptions of the fabled city of Isfahan. The author spends a lot of time describing the marketplaces and the people that the main character runs into. She writes beautiful descriptions of the food, drink, and clothing of the characters. My favorite part of this book was the carpet making. It was such an interesting process to learn about, and the author did a great job describing the carpets, which were such an important way of life in 17th century Persia.

That being said, this novel is very slow-paced. It took a couple of chapters for me to get into it, and even then, I never felt particularly connected to the main character, despite the book being in first person. The plot is very simple: girl’s father dies, girl and mother must find a way to live, girl accepts a short marriage contract for money.

Unfortunately, way too much of this book focuses on the sigheh. Every chapter focused on the main character trying to sexually please her husband. The first couple of times were necessary, in order to show how the main character has no say in society, her life, or her marriage. She only exists to please a man. And while this is important to focus on, as a historical fiction novel, the author spends an increasingly amount of time on their sex scenes.

The novel also has many tales intersected throughout. While I liked these at first, there were too many of them and they drew me out of the story.

Eventually, the novel pulls away from this and focuses on the carpet making once again. But when the novel ends, I felt like I only got a glimpse of the main character’s life after her sigheh. The novel drags on and on, and then all of a sudden the girl is nineteen, in a better place, and the book just ends.

Overall, I can see the main point the author was trying to make. Life was terrible for women in 17th century Persia. Carpet making was not for women. Girls were supposed to be forced into child marriages by the age of fifteen. The author tried to show that the main character was different: she had a voice, she got out of a marriage, and she had a talent in a man-dominated field. But she and the other characters often felt flat.

The book had a great premise, and I loved the author’s worldbuilding. But I struggled to connect with the characters and the story.

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VERDICT: 2 ½ stars

Alexis’ May Book Haul

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While I was in Kansas City this week, I visited a used bookstore and got these two books: The Blood Flower by Anita Amirrezvani and The Star-Touched Queen by Roshanki Chokshi.

I can’t wait to read them!

What are your weekend plans? I went to my cousin’s bridal shower today and I’m going to a Lebanese food festival tomorrow. I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend!

Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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Alexis: Read 3/17/19

Well, this book is certainly a saga. It feels like three different books, because really, it is. Pachinko covers four generations of the same family, from the early 1900’s to the 80’s. The story opens with Sunja, a Korean peasant, who meets a wealthy businessman and forms a relationship with him. When Sunja becomes pregnant, she finds out that the businessman is already married. So instead, she accepts a generous offer of marriage from Isak, a sickly Protestant preacher.

The amount of detail Lee manages to pack into this book is astounding. She covers the historical and political aspects of each time period. The book especially focuses on what it means to be Korean during a time when the country is taken over by the Japanese and then later split into two. Her characters deal with the dysphoria that they feel as Koreans living in Japan, as well as discrimination. I really enjoyed learning about the history and culture of Korea, and I could really go for some Korean or Japanese food right about now!

While extremely detailed, Pachinko is written matter-of-factly, with no flowery descriptions. Lee writes from a distant, omniscient point of view. At the end of the book, Lee discusses her reasoning behind this. She says, “‘Fair’ seems like a simple word, but I think because my subject matter is so troubling and controversial, I wanted my narrator to be as objective as possible” (494). Lee certainly achieves this, as the book, especially the first half, almost reads like a historical account. At first, I found the tone off-putting. But once the book became more political, I understood the need for distance. Still, that doesn’t neglect the fact that I prefer to get more into characters’ heads and emotions. I love character-driven stories, and while this was that, I never felt too involved in the characters’ lives.

For example, Lee has a bad habit of simply stating “and then he died.” When she did this in the beginning of the book with Yoonie, Sunja’s father, I did a double-take. She nonchalantly stated his death and they hardly went into it in the next chapter, and she repeats this throughout the book. While I understand her distance, as a reader, this was very off-putting. I wanted to feel each death and life-changing event the way the characters did.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, even if I had to enjoy it in chunks. I learned a lot about Korea’s history and the history of misplaced Koreans. I really don’t know how to rate it as a whole, as it covered so much ground.

History and detail: 5 stars

POV and writing style: 2 stars

Characters: 4 stars

Review: Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

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“‘It’s not fair. People claim to know you through the things you’ve done, and not by sitting down and listening to you speak for yourself. No matter how much you try to live a godly life, if you make a mistake in this valley, it’s never forgotten. No matter if you tried to do what was best.’”

Burial Rites is historical fiction and follows Iceland’s last execution of Agnes Magnúsdóttir in 1829. Agnes has been convincted of murdering two men and is sentenced to death. While she awaits her execution, she is sent to work on an isolated family farm. Agnes has an unexpected effect on the family while she stays.

Burial Rites is very dark, but beautifully and hauntingly written. I’ve never read anything set in Iceland before, and enjoyed learning about the area and time period. This is different from a lot that I’ve read recently because from the beginning, you know what’s going to happen—Agnes is going to die. The real tension in the book is between the family, servants, and priest on the farm where Agnes resides as she awaits her impending death. There’s also the mystery of what happened that night of the two murders, and what Agnes’s role in the deaths really was.

The characters make the story. Agnes’s backstory is heartbreaking and makes her feel real. Kent made me feel sympathy for Agnes despite her murder charge.  

There are a lot of questions in this book of justice and right versus wrong. Who gets to decide when someone deserves to die? Are some people’s words more valuable than others? This can be read as an examination of the death penalty in its most ancient and barbaric forms.

Religion’s role in justice is also a prevailing theme of the book, and something I found interesting. Agnes is assigned a priest to help her find achieve absolution with God before she is executed. Agnes resists by not repenting and, slowly, begins talking as an equal with the priest. Something Agnes repeatedly questions is why she has to ask for forgiveness to a God who is allowing her to be executed.

I love historical fiction that shows the discrepancies in class, and there is a very clear class divide in this era of Iceland. Agnes is not only a murderer, but a servant accused of killing her master, which adds a level of certain guilt in the rest of society’s eyes. When she first arrives at the farm, the entire family is disgusted by her. Agnes is gradually accepted by the family despite her class and status as a convicted criminal.  

Definitely check out this fantastic debut!

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

Review: Honeysuckle Holiday by Kathleen M. Jacobs

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Alexis: Read 3/11/19

*The author sent me a copy of her book in exchange for an honest review.*

Honeysuckle Holiday was such a poignant read. Don’t let the cover fool you: this short book tackles childhood innocence and racism.

The story follows Lucy in two different time periods: 1965 and 1970, when she was twelve and sixteen-years-old. Though Honeysuckle Holiday is categorized as YA, I would describe it more as a bildungsroman/coming-of-age story. When Lucy’s father leaves, not looking back, on Christmas Day, she and her older sister, Caroline, try not to dwell on it too much. But she knows something has changed when her mother refuses to talk about him and when they have to move into a different house.

In her acknowledgements, Jacobs quotes a woman named Peggy Fox: ‘“You captured the voice of a twelve-year-old girl very well.’” And she’s right. Jacobs’ writing flows beautifully, but I was very aware that I was reading in the perspective of a twelve-year-old.

Lucy notices everything around her. She relates things to her Barbie dolls, which she admits she’s starting to outgrow. She is jealous of some of Caroline’s things but also wants to be like Caroline when she grows up. She partly knows why her dad left but is partly left in the dark. She’s curious about the world around her and asks lots of questions. Jacobs’ detailed descriptions mimic Lucy’s curious mind. I also like how she includes a lot of parenthetical phrases, as Lucy has a lot of afterthoughts.

I love all of the references Jacobs includes in her book. Lucy’s mother wears Chanel No. 5. Lucy uses a Velveeta box to hold her collection of found objects. The characters reference It’s A Wonderful Life, The Beatles, and TV shows of the time. These references cemented the story into its setting and time period, bringing it to life.

Lucy mentions To Kill a Mockingbird multiple times, and even relates herself to Scout. I found this fitting, as the story reminded me a lot of To Kill a Mockingbird. Both are told from a young perspective, but are really told for a more mature audience. Both deal with racial tensions and divides, as well as the horror of the KKK. I loved Jacobs’ inclusion of descriptions of food. The book is set in the South, and I enjoyed reading about Lila’s apple pies, okra, and Lucy’s love of steak.

While I liked how Lucy describes the honeysuckle vines ( as well as the smell) outside of her window, I don’t think the title of the story sums it up very well. Though the story itself was impactful, the title was not. To me, the honeysuckle symbolizes Lucy’s childhood innocence, and the book is about coming-of-age and losing that behind. I’m also not sure why the first couple of chapters are in Caroline’s POV.

Overall, if you’re looking for a quick read that’s packed with vivid details, that will draw you into the 60’s and 70’s, and whose message will stay with you, then I definitely recommend it.

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

Review: The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo

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Alexis: Read 2/27/19

The Night Tiger is a fascinating blend of magical realism, historical fiction, romance, and murder mystery. It follows two main characters: Ji Lin and Ren. Ji Lin is the apprentice of a dressmaker who is also secretly a dance-hall girl. Ren is an eleven-year-old houseboy who recently switched masters due to his old master’s death. Their lives come together when Ji Lin finds a severed finger and tries to figure out where to return it.

I love that the book is set in 1930’s colonial Malay, now modern Malaysia. This makes for a rich and cultural setting, and I loved reading about the different languages spoken and the foods eaten. I loved Choo’s descriptions of clothing from Ji Lin’s point of view, and how she showed England’s rule and influence over the culture of Malay.

Throughout the book, Choo focuses on the superstitions based on chinese numbers, as well the folklore of weretigers. She even includes a section explaining these at the end of the book, which I wish were placed before the book as pretext, but I still appreciated her including them at all.

The first 30 pages were a little slow, and I had to get used to Choo’s writing style and tone. But then I was hooked. This isn’t a fast-paced book, and the mystery is revealed slowly. Though the main plot is fairly slow, there were enough subplots to hold my attention.

I loved Ji Lin as a character. She’s a classic modern day heroine in 1930’s Malaysia, yet she also fits in perfectly in the time period. She’s intelligent and clever and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. Yet, unlike where a lot of strong female characters seem to fail, she is still feminine and caring. I also really enjoyed Shin, her step brother’s, character. I found he and Ji Lin to have a lot of chemistry, and I found their relationship moved in a natural direction.

What I didn’t like about the book: the switching POVs. Ji Lin’s chapters were first person, past tense, while Ren’s chapters were in third person, present tense. And every once in a while, I was thrown into William Acton’s POV (Ren’s new master). It would have served the book better if both Ji Lin and Ren’s chapters were in first person, or, honestly, if the whole book was in Ji Lin’s perspective. Sometimes Ren felt like an afterthought.

I really enjoyed The Night Tiger’s setting, atmosphere, and characters. I wish the ending had tied up some of the loose ends, but overall, this was an interesting and unique read. Just don’t read it if you get queasy at the mention of severed fingers!

VERDICT: 4 out of 5 books

 

SPOILERS BELOW:

I’m not really even sure how to address the twin issue. Why do authors always feel like one of the twins has to be dead? I enjoyed Ren’s “cat whiskers” sense, but Yi’s role in the story was kind of “eh” for me.

I actually really liked the fact that Ji Lin and Shin fell in love. Their relationship, and the progression of their relationship, felt very real to me, and I loved the dynamic. I didn’t find it weird because they were so close and important to each other and not actually related.

However, I wasn’t a fan of how Shin’s character progressed. He professed his love for Ji Lin, only to beg her to have sex with him…? It felt completely out of character, as Shin was nothing but respectful towards Ji Lin, and even though he was portrayed as a womanizer, I knew from the beginning that it was obviously just a front. I felt like their almost-bedroom scene could have gone very differently. But, in the end, I was glad Ji Lin stood up for herself and decided to wait on marriage and pursue a career. It felt true to her character.