Dearest Diary... (Wherein the writer attempts Regency parlance worthy of Mr. Collins)

It is with the greatest felicity that I take up my pen once again after a lengthy absence due to my being much occupied with matters of great import. Now, at last, I may fulfill the happy duty of reporting on D.A. Bonavia-Hunt's Pemberley Shades, the reading of which I have recently commenced, though not yet completed.

To sate my desire to write, I have made the decision to comment whilst I read this promising novel rather than wait for the end. Indeed, though I am just on page 24 and the story remains in expository stages, I find I have much to say.

That Elizabeth seems to me to have forgotten her modest origins - gentlemen's daughter, of course, but with a family of questionnable manners and situation - troubles me. The vicar of Pemberley has most sadly died and Mrs. Darcy, who has now a son of two years, wishes to be certain that the new vicar have no daughters of similar age; this would endanger the boy when he becomes a young man seeking a wife. Only a lady of appropriate standing will do for Richard. Thankfully, her husband, Fitzwilliam Darcy, overcame similar prejudices when choosing her as his beloved.

Mr. Darcy himself (or Fitz, as Elizabeth calls him) is his usual self, concerned with the welfare of his employees and their families. Happily, this has not changed, though it is apparent that Elizabeth has done nothing to educate Fitz on his great fortune of being - how shall I say it? - the big fish on the end of the food chain. No one is bound to ever displace a Darcy from his or her home, as is happening to the deceased vicar's daughters. The vicar gone, they must leave their childhood estate. This is a point on which my twenty-first century self feels powerful stirrings of late twentieth century feminism. Oh, to have means of one's own!

But the strength of the fidelity and partnership that the Darcys share is robustly gratifying. There is nothing on which they do not consult, a very advanced situation for their time, I think, and each appears to be defensive of the other in a manner most appealing.

I must take leave now. Until next time, when I will continue with my attempts at nineteenth century parlance...or give up and resume my modern persona, I am ever your steadfast literary servant, etc. etc.,

Jemima

Thanks to Danielle from Sourcebooks for the review copy of Pemberley Shades.

Happy Birthday Miep Gies!

Tomorrow is Miep Gies's 100th birthday. Gies helped hide Anne Frank and the others in the Secret Annex during WWII and has, by the accounts I've read, always remained loyal and modest about it. I find her so courageous and principled, very admirable. And that this member of that circle of friends is still here today is wonderful and amazing. So here's a big shout out to Miep Gies:

Happy Birthday!!!

Check this out :-) And some advice...

I hope you had a chance to read my Q&A with Lost for Words author, Lorelei Mathias. But I forgot to put something in and I'm a little ashamed of myself and - OUCH! (Note to the wise: If you forget to do something and, thus, the whole 'slapping yourself on the hand' thing comes to mind, DON'T actually do it! It hurts.)

So I'm popping in today and just wanted to let you know that Lorelei has a really fun site of her own where you can read about her books, her articles and play videos! Here's a link. Enjoy!

Charity Girl by Georgette Heyer - A review

Alas, blood is not thicker than water, after all. At least this seems to be the case for Charity Steane, the unfortunate young woman whose father is dead and who has been thrust into the care of her mean relatives. Unable to bear her life with the Bugles, she runs away and is rescued en route to London by Viscount Desford who takes it upon himself to find a better life for Cherry, as she likes to be called.

Georgette Heyer's novel, the second that I've read, is light and frothy. At times it gets a bit longwinded but you can always count on a character to clarify a situation for you and that can be greatly appreciated, as anyone knows who reads books that simply don't make their plots clear. Now who's that? Why's he there, not in London? How'd she get out of that scrape? Characters explain themselves which can be either tedious or helpful, depending on the reader's temperament. Consequently, you could shave off a great deal of this novel and retain the whole plot and even most of the characterization (which, by the way, is done very well.)

There's no real way to emphasize how light this novel is; it's lighter than air or even helium. And it's without that shoe and shopping mania, that man-crazy female theme that so many of today's 'chick-lit' novels aspire to. Say you're drinking champagne. This is the bubble that tickles your nose. Non-alcoholic.

And the characters are loveable, particularly Cherry and Desford and, later, Hetta and Simon. Reading Georgette Heyer's work astutely, the reader realizes that it wouldn't be all fun and games living in Regency England, despite the frothiness of the tales. This becomes obvious when you consider lives from the minor characters' viewpoints, or at least when you consider how vulnerable they are to those on whom they rely. If it's Desford and Hetta being relied on, no problem. The major characters that populate this novel are loveable for a reason, not least of which is their decency.

So why is it that water is thicker than blood? I won't tell you. Why would I want to spoil it?

Thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for this complimentary review copy.

Yea! A Q&A! - Lorelei Mathias

Lorelei Mathias is the author of two novels Step on It, Cupid and Lost for Words. After reading the lovely Lost for Words, a romantic tale of a slush pile reader, her literary discovery and her love-life, I emailed Ms. Mathias with a question and was very pleased to receive her thoughtful response. And I am so pleased now, as well, to present this Q&A, made possible through the magic of email (as were my previous Q&As). If you're looking for a frothy, romantic read for Valentine's Day, the kind that doesn't insult sensibilities or intelligence, Lost for Words may be for you. (Meanwhile, I'm going to look forward to Step on It, Cupid!) Thanks so much to Ms. Mathias for her thoughtful answers! Reader, enjoy!

GBBS: If you could, which literary fictional character would you date?

LM: Septimus Hodge in 'Arcadia' by Tom Stoppard. It's a play, but he's just the most dashing, intellectual hero of all in my opinion. He's classic Byronic hero in looks, and genius in mind. Oh and he's a great dancer too - he's got it all!

GBBS: What is the one book you'd take to a deserted island?

LM: War and Peace. It's so long, so I’d be getting the most out of my one and only book. And it's also one I've not yet got round to reading, but always wanted to!

GBBS: What's your preferred method of book-buying -- internet or old-fashioned bookstores?

LM: I'm a total luddite, so I'd say old-fashioned book stores all the way. There's so much more magic in browsing through old shelves and being surrounded by them than just staring at a screen! My favourite bookshop in the world is 'Shakespeare and Co' in Paris - it's wonderfully chaotic and romantic and dusty...

GBBS: Which writer is so great that it's hard to tear yourself away from his/her writing so you can get stuff done?

LM: Ian McEwan

GBBS: Lost for Words possesses a big sense of fun while declining to stoop to the questionable language and situations of so much chick-lit. Is this a reflection of your preferred brand of writing?

LM: I guess so - I don’t actually read that much chick-lit per se but I do know that the genre often gets slated for being trashy. I don’t know if I succeed in this but I do try to write books that are entertaining but also make you think – so it’s not just literary popcorn, but perhaps chick-lit with a brain… Even though all my books are romantic at heart, I also try and make them books about ideas too, and a bit more nourishing in some way (!). In both my novels there is usually an intellectual pursuit running along side the romantic strand. In Step on It, Cupid Amelie has an ad campaign to come up with, so it’s as much a journey of ideas as it is romantic. Similarly, in my latest, Lost for Words, Daisy is drowning in a slush-pile and is helping a struggling author get published. I’m told my readers enjoy learning about both these industries, (a number of fans have written to tell me they now want to work in advertising or publishing as a result, which is sweet!) So yeah, I like to hope that my readers get more than just escapist buzz from my books, and they’re not (entirely) brain dead when they turn the last page!

GBBS: Are you writing anything new? Any possible sneak-peaks, by chance?

LM: Yes, I've got two ideas on the go at the moment. One's a non-fiction piece but is on a backburner while I focus on the novel. The novel has a much more complex plot than my last two so it's taking a lot longer to do! It's all about a group of friends joined together by weirdly similar circumstances - in some ways it's also a modern spin on John Hughes' classic 80's movie The Breakfast Club. I can't say much more about it than that though for now!

Here she goes talking about movies again!

Just saw Inkheart, based on the young adult novel by Cornelia Funke, and quite enjoyed it! I stopped reading the book when I was well into it because it was so dark, but it was obviously written by a booklover and that sort of persuaded me to like it anyway. The trailer looked good so I thought I'd give it a try.

I can't believe Cornelia Funke wrote the book with Brendan Fraser in mind and was then actually able to get him for the movie! It reminds me of Colin Firth and the Bridget Jones books and movies.

The movie is interesting because it obviously takes place today but one wonders why Folchart, Fraser's character, doesn't just place an ad on Craigslist or something for the book he's seeking. Of course, then we wouldn't get to see the beautiful Swiss village book market and so much would be taken away from the story. Adding to the story's odd placement in time and geography, is Helen Mirren's beautiful wardrobe which seems to come out of the 1930s. It's these different cues the audience gets from the film (when to place it? where to place it? why there? whey then?) that bring to it some of the ambiguity which makes it so storybookish.

Jim Broadbent is wonderfully bumbling as the writer. After seeing him play the professor in Narnia who could expect anything else? Dustfinger isn't anything like I imagined him which would have been a sort of a younger, shiftier Danny Devito. Instead, he's tall and blond, sensitive and conflicted. The young actress playing Meggie is engaging, one might even say captivating, and personifies well the question mark her wandering life seems to be.

A warning is due that this movie can be quite dark and is not for the very young. But what booklover could resist such a story?

A little recycling

On my old blog, Bookspring, I used to post under a heading called Musings every once in a while. I've decided to bring one particular bit of Musings back as I've noticed that people are now talking about what I mentioned there three years ago. Laura Miller touches on childhood versus adulthood reading in her book, The Magician's Book and an article byMichelle Slatalla in The New York Times is entirely devoted to the issue. So, since it seems to be one of the literary topics of the day and since I seem to have been the one of the early birds on this band wagon, I'll re-post here my musings from October 4, 2005.

Musings

I wonder. Why is reading such a different experience as an adult than it is as a child? Children put their imaginations to use so skillfully when reading. As an adult, I'm not sure I have ever been so engrossed in a novel as I was when I was a child reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I'm quite sure I have never read a book in a single afternoon at the library as I did with one of Beverly Cleary's wonderful children's chapter books.

I still love to read, but it is a different experience. A book can interest me, even absorb me, but still not fully envelop me.

Recently, I had been longing to read a great book, the kind of book that makes you feel like you've been sucked into an alternate universe. So, of course, I was on the look-out for one. One day when I was downtown I managed to find a popular book on the shelf of the library. I began reading the book across the street on the terrace of a restaurant, shaded from the sun by a large umbrella over my table. The book, Girl With the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, is a story about a Dutch maid in the painter Vermeer's household during the 17th century. It was intriguing. Despite its stains and tattered condition it was good company. Whenever I left the book I found myself wanting to return to it. But it still wasn't the consuming experience of my childhood. That seems no longer possible.

And, yet, I wonder. Is it the same for all adults? If a person is never encouraged to read as a child, has he missed the only opportunity in life for such an experience? What is reading like for a person who only became a bookworm as an adult? I read raves about books on a literarature-related website I frequent and I wonder how those readers seem to still have the experiences that ended for me as youth did.

Maybe it's just the cynicism of adulthood, the lack of being able to suspend disbelief. Maybe it's chemical - perhaps there is a biological reason children get so absorbed in books and not adults. We live too much on the surface, as has been said. I don't know.

Reading continues to give me pleasure. It provides me with entertainment and information. I recommend it. But, still, I wonder.