Due to the two-day hangover following St. Pat's, and the two smaller ones since, I didn't read as much as normal the last week, so not too much to report. Finished The Rose Grower by Michelle de Kretser a while ago (maybe last Friday? MAYBE Thurs., but I think I just came home from work and passed out, after trying not to die all day), and really enjoyed it. It's about a family (and associated friends, etc.) during the French Revolution, and I really ended up liking it. The political upheaval was always very present, but not overwhelmingly so, and the characters were nicely drawn. It was interesting because it's written from the point of view of several characters, and the chapters switch in between with no real headings, so you need to read a bit to figure out who is talking, which is like in that book I started the week before (?), La Salle
, but whereas it was annoying in the Vernon, I thought De Kretser used the device in a way that just made me read more carefully, and be more engaged with the story. I'm not doing a very good job describing it, but I liked it, and would definitely recommend it as a story; as far as the history part of it being historical fiction, I don't know enough about the period to really know if it's any good or not, but it felt right. It wasn't incredibly exciting or anything, almost Austen-ish in its quiet - but compelling - narrative flow, but I was pulled into it, and sad when it was over. This is apparently the author's first novel, but I would definitely read more by her.Also read The Nature of Monsters by Clare Clark, who wrote The Great Stink, which I raved about in this blog last month. At first I didn't like Monsters as much, but I ended up being completely absorbed. This one is set in early 18th century London, and centers around the tension between old traditional beliefs and emerging medical "science" - sort of. Good NYT review has a better summary than I can give, or feel like writing, but I would say the important thing for me was that she has, once again, characters that are written so believeably they manage to feel totally familiar, despite being in a completely foreign setting, and she makes London come alive in all it's grimy foulness - and moments of crystalline beauty that are all the more special for their rarity. I wonder if she is planning on just writing a series of books of London at different, stinking time periods...? Neither one of these was really a good hangover book, though - you had to focus - so I didn't read much else. Tried to read another one of those Sebastian St. Cyr books by C.S. Harris on Sat., but couldn't make my eyes focus (three girls, one 6 month old German Shepherd, 12 bottles of wine and a 70 degree days spent on Boston Common = me walking home, calling D to tell him his gf is fat, calling R to b*tch that Hsin Hsin wouldn't pick up - at midnight! - and then trying, and failing, to read). I feel like I started to read a couple books this week/end, but gave up, but now I can't think of them. Stumbled through the Harvard Bookstore yesterday in a total fugue state searching for something to "read me through the hangover" (as I apparently thought it was fine to explain to the checkout girl) and ended up with a used copy of Innocent Blood by P.D. James. Enjoying it so far, I guess, but a little thrown by the fact I have already come across two references to "slant-eyed" Asian people - not sure if this was ironic or something, or just the author. Have never really been able to get into James, so I don't know why that was what I went with. Honestly, I think I was just wandering through the store's basement and suddenly realized I needed sugar and food, and grabbed whatever I had looked at last. Did something similar on Sunday: met T for coffee and a rundown of my latest antics and poor choices (if you read this, T, thanks for always listening and never judging!), and we - of course - ended up wandering back and forth through Barnes and Noble, where I started a huge list of books in my phone, and then justified buying a paperback Shutter Island because "I had a really rough couple of days, and I need an escape." Of course now I've gotten another book since, will be grabbing three from deposit today, and am only on page 5. Oh, well - the one thing I can guarantee is I will get to it! And I really think I need a non-drinking weekend, so a couple days of curling up with a good book would be idea. Esp. because I think today I need to tell Flava-flav that I can't see him any more, so I will need to keep myself occupied so I don't break down and holler at him.
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