Yah...books I've read since DC -
In the Woods, Tana French -- So good
The Likeness, Tana French -- Even better
Abigail Adams, Woody Holton -- Also great
Band of Angels, Julia Gregson -- Eh
The Wine of Angels, Phil Rickman -- Better than expected, maybe even good
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Soooo... the French books were fantastic. "In the Woods" has been on my list forever, but I never seemed to be able to get it from the library (which I should have realized was a good sign), but when I found it used at Harvard Bookstore I grabbed it. Right off the bat, I thought the writing was amazing, even if the plot wasn't the most original or mind-bending thing in the world. I liked the characters, thought French did a decent job integrating Irish slang into the book without it being grating or too much (no real idea if it's actually ACCURATE, although at one point I think they say "crack" instead of "craic" which I thought might have been a dumbing-down for American editions, but who knows). Basically, just some really gorgeous sentences & passages, simultaneously original and imaginative, but also descriptive in a way that you know exactly what she's talking about and can see it in your mind's eye. I found myself actually slowing down my usual reading pace to soak in the words, and the way they were strung together, so I could savor them.
ReplyDeleteI started "Likeness" the day after I finished "In the Woods" - and the only reason I didn't start it the same day was that I read the last couple of pages on the plane from DC as it was landing in Boston, and by the time I got home it was after midnight and I had to get up for work in 6 hours (but I DID talk up "Woods" to the random guy who asked to share my cab to Back Bay, and then asked me out, so I was thinking about it!). "Likeness" has a different protagonist than "Woods" which initially disappointed me, because I really enjoyed the first book's main character, but I quickly fell in love with the heroine of the sequel (a carry-over, semi-main character). What's particularly impressive is that each of the two protagonists has a distinct voice...and "Likeness" ups the ante with a fantastic plot and great secondary characters. I was thrilled to find out a third in the series was just ordered by Widener, and I think I am second or third in line to get it...can't wait!
When I found out Woody Holton ("Forced Founders" and "Unruly Americans") had written a biography of the fantabulous Abigail Adams, I knew I had to read it - great subject & great writer, win-win! I was so not disappointed: Holton's is an incredibly accessible look at Adams' life, with a focus on her independence within her marriage, at a time when she should have been, by law, under her husband's thumb, and her related involvement in trade and financial speculation. I wouldn't have minded seeing a bit more on her personal relations and particularly what impact Holton thinks she had on hubby John's philosophical and political actions and legacy, but Holton wrote the book he wanted, and I can hardly fault him for that. Overall, wicked awesome, and one I will definitely be recommending.
ReplyDelete"Band of Angels" was entertaining enough for a lazy, mildly-hungover, more than midly sore Sunday, but nothing special. Headstrong girl from Wales joins up with Nightingale's girls in the Crimea, ends up in Sebastapol (I think - am already forgetting) with rakish but loving childhood sweetheart. The best parts were about the horses, the rest has been done before. The same author's book about Englishwomen in India was better, and I didn't think it was all that great - but they're both entertaining enough.
ReplyDelete"The Wine of Angels" was one of the ones I picked up for a VERY hungover Tuesday (whoops - thank you, Cmark!" but it ended up being better than I expected (as well as different from expected, what with the setting being England, not Italy). A female Anglican vicar moves to a small town with her teenaged daughter, there are murders with vaguely supernatural tinges and some vaguely Wiccan kinda stuff. The more "you must respect the spirit of the orchard" bits made me skim a little, but the social & "political" tensions of life in a small town, particularly the progress vs. tradition, new blood vs. locals, stuff was well done & interesting. Plot, and the surprise (one assumes?) ending, were rather predictable, but, again, it was the less obvious stuff that was more interesting, so I didn't really care. I'll probably read more in the Merrily Watkins (the vicar) series - maybe check out one of two from the library, keep them on hand for when I want something entertaining and not-taxing.