Review: What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan

Source: Borrowed from library
Rating: ★★★★★

What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved answers 20 questions relating to the novels of Jane Austen.  John Mullan, an English professor at University College London, explores such topics as the importance of age in Austen’s novels, whether she wrote about sex, why blunders play a major role in her plots, what makes her characters blush, and what are the right and wrong ways to propose marriage.

Mullan answers these questions in great detail, providing plenty of examples from each of Austen’s six novels (Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and Sense and Sensibility) and even two she didn’t finish (Sanditon and The Watsons).  He also touches on the works of other authors from the period, Regency social mores, and Austen’s life to put her work into context.  I certainly noticed many of these things when I read the novels, but clearly I have only scratched the surface of Austen’s work!

I learned many things from What Matters in Jane Austen?, including:

• Mary Musgrove, Anne Elliot’s sister in Persuasion, is the only wife in Austen’s novels to call her husband by his first name.  The subsequent discussion of the meaning behind what characters call each other was fascinating and informative.
• Jane Austen didn’t describe what her heroines looked like, though some characters are described through the eyes of other characters.  In Emma, Mrs. Weston says Emma has “the true hazle eye,” “pretty height and size,” and a “firm and upright figure,” but Austen merely describes her as “handsome” in the novel’s first sentence.
• Austen was the first novelist to describe small changes in the weather.  The weather showed the novels’ chronology and even shaped events, like in Persuasion, when the rain forces Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth to seek shelter in a shop, and he must watch Anne whisked away by his competition, Mr. Elliot.
• There are several important characters in her novels who do not actually speak a word of dialogue, such as Mr. Perry, the apothecary in Emma, and Georgiana Darcy, Mr. Darcy’s sister in Pride and Prejudice.
• Austen sometimes spoke directly to the reader, even going as far as calling Fanny Price “My Fanny” in Mansfield Park.  She is the only heroine Austen refers to in such a familiar and affectionate way.

I loved taking a closer look at Austen’s novels, and I am continually amazed by how many layers there are to her characters, plots, and writing style.  I know that when I re-read her books, I will do so more slowly and with my eyes wide open.  What Matters in Jane Austen? is the perfect book for Austen fans who want even more reasons to appreciate her brilliance, as well as those who think Austen’s novels lack depth.

Disclosure: I borrowed What Matters in Jane Austen? from my local library.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: The Last Van Gogh by Alyson Richman

Source: Borrowed from library
Rating: ★★★★☆

And perhaps,when Vincent arrived that summer, he noticed that nascent stirring about me.  He saw that I was bursting to come to life again.  Twenty-one years of age, and for the first time since I was a young child, I wanted to dance in the garden and sing.

(from The Last Van Gogh, page 72)

The Last Van Gogh chronicles the last 70 days in the life of Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh, set in the French village of Auvers-sur-Oise during the summer of 1890.  It was my book club’s May pick.  (I wasn’t able to attend last month’s meeting, so I can’t include everyone’s thoughts this time around.)  I was especially excited about this book because Alyson Richman’s novel The Lost Wife made my “Best of 2011″ list.  Richman tells this story through the eyes of Marguerite Gachet, the 21-year-old daughter of the homeopathic doctor treating 37-year-old Vincent for depression and anxiety.  Marguerite was the subject of two portraits painted in the days before his suicide.

Just like her late mother, Marguerite feels trapped.  She’s basically a maid to her father and younger brother, Paul, and has little contact with the world outside their home, except to go shopping or attend Mass.  When Dr. Gachet isn’t creating his questionable tinctures and treating his own melancholy, he fancies himself a painter and an art collector and drops the names of his artist friends Cézanne and Pissarro as often as he can.  He doesn’t approve when Vincent voices a desire to paint Marguerite — and neither does Paul, whose failed attempts to secure attention and praise from Vincent strain his relationship with his sister.

The attraction between Marguerite and Vincent is intense and makes Marguerite feel alive for the first time.  Though her father is not likely to approve, Louise-Josephine (the illegitimate daughter of Marguerite and Paul’s “governess” who has been hidden away in the Gachet home since she was 14) gives her reason to hope.  However, Louise-Josephine’s chances of a happily-ever-after are as impossible as her own.

The Last Van Gogh develops slowly, giving readers a good understanding of the Gachet family’s dynamics and the obstacles in the way of Marguerite’s happiness.  Readers know from the beginning that this will be a tragic love story, but that didn’t stop me from hoping for a different ending for Vincent.  Once Vincent decides he needs to paint Marguerite, the pace of the narrative picks up, as Vincent’s poor financial and mental condition and the jealousy and possessiveness pervading the Gachet home conspire against them.

The novel shines in Richman’s descriptions of Vincent’s paintings, from the vivid colors to the symbolism, from his frenzied brush strokes to his burning need to paint whatever inspired him.  She does a wonderful job portraying him as a troubled genius, and one can understand why Marguerite would be drawn to him.  I really felt for Marguerite; she was so isolated, stifled, lonely, and desperately in need of freedom.

The Last Van Gogh is a lovely historical novel about art and inspiration, love and freedom, and loyalty and obligation.  I enjoyed reading about Richman’s inspiration for the book in the author’s note, and I couldn’t help but do some research of my own, searching for information about the Gachets and looking up the paintings Van Gogh painted in Auvers, particularly his portraits of Marguerite.  This is a novel that requires a bit of patience, but readers will be rewarded with rich descriptions of the artistic process and a heartfelt tale of first love.

Book 18 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I borrowed The Last Van Gogh from my local library.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman

Source: Review copy from author
Rating: ★★★★★

To stand here was to experience the magnitude of Mother Nature, to witness her artistry and ruthless power.  I closed my eyes and felt the winds of her sympathy move through my hair, and I listened to her tender mercies echo across craggy cliffs.

To stand here was to feel inadequate and grand and connected to something far beyond comprehension.  But most of all, to stand here was to feel forgiven.

(from Looking for Me, page 164)

Looking for Me is a beautiful novel (the best book I’ve read so far this year, in fact) about following your dreams, holding onto memories instead of things, and making peace with the past.  Teddi Overman left her family farm in Kentucky right after high school to live out her dream of restoring and selling antique furniture.  She knew this was her destiny from the age of 10, much to the disappointment of her mother, who had a more secure future in mind for her daughter.

Around 20 years later, Teddi still wishes her mother would visit her store in Charleston to see her accomplishments and maybe even begin to heal the hurts that have plagued their relationship for so long.  But Teddi ends up back in Kentucky, sifting through a lifetime of memories, secrets, and pain and must finally come to terms with the disappearance of her younger brother, Josh, who spent most of his time in the nearby national forest and had an unexplainable connection with animals and a fierce desire to protect them from poachers.

Her friends — the “firecracker” Olivia, a rare book expert; Inez, her feisty office manager; and Albert, the sweet but reserved furniture restorer — keep Teddi in the present, and an unexpected relationship makes her feel alive for the first time since Josh went missing.  However, she can’t bring herself to believe Josh could be dead or stop looking for him.

Looking for Me is one of those books you know you’re going to love from the very first page.  Beth Hoffman is such a talented storyteller, and I’ve loved her writing since I read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt (which made my Best of 2010 list).  Her characters are so well developed and so real, and her descriptions are so vivid and rich that you feel like you are walking alongside the characters.  The best way to describe Hoffman’s writing is warm and insightful, and this book just spoke to me.  I remember having to go through my grandmother’s apartment, getting lost in old memories, feeling suffocated by grief, and wondering what to keep and what to discard, so I knew what Teddi was going through to some extent.

I love how Hoffman can take you on an emotional roller coaster ride (I teared up reading this on the train and didn’t care if anyone noticed), and even when you feel wrung out and breathless like the characters, you can’t help but enjoy it and want more.  She writes about a family broken by a tragic event, and she does so with heart and even hope.  Looking for Me is such a rich novel, with delicious descriptions of antiques and a portrait of the power of nature, the unbreakable bond of close siblings, and the freedom that comes from accepting the past while looking forward to the future.  When I turned the last page, I knew this was a novel I wouldn’t soon forget and that from here on out, I will read anything Hoffman writes.

Disclosure: I received Looking for Me from the author for review.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Jack Absolute by C.C. Humphreys

Source: Review copy from Sourcebooks
Rating: ★★★★★

Até turned to him. To his silence. “Do you fear what we are to do here?”

“I fear what we may find. Friends who are now foes. All wars are civil wars in some way, Até. This one more than most. Eleven years we have been away. A world changes in eleven years.”

The Mohawk thumped his chest with a closed fist. “It does not change here.”

Jack studied the shoreline. “I think it changes there most of all.”

(from Jack Absolute)

Jack Absolute is the first book in a series set during the American Revolution that focuses on a British spy with conflicted loyalties.  Jack Absolute is a character in The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and C.C. Humphreys was inspired to bring him to life after portraying him in a 1987 revival of the play, which was first performed in 1775.  (I love that the book features a photograph of Humphreys in costume!)

Jack Absolute arrives in London in 1777 after seven years abroad seeking to reclaim his family’s fortune to find that his friend, Sheridan, who believed Jack to be dead, has made him a laughingstock in a play that depicts a failed love affair from his past.  It doesn’t take long for Jack to get himself in trouble while at the theater.  After turning down General Burgoyne’s request to rejoin the British Army and sail with him across the sea to do some intelligence work and help put an end to the war, Jack’s dalliance with an actress leads to a duel and forces him to flee from the authorities — straight into Burgoyne’s carriage, leaving him no choice but to accept his old friend’s offer.  All of this happens in the first three chapters, and the excitement and adventure never let up.

The novel follows Jack as he attempts to track down a spy in the Redcoats’ midst, works with his Mohawk brother, Até, to drum up support for the British among the divided Iroquois tribes, romances the daughter of an American Loyalist, and seeks revenge on the sinister Count von Schlaben.  In rich detail, Humphreys paints a portrait of the American wilderness, the bloody battles at Saratoga, and the excesses of British-occupied Philadelphia.

Jack Absolute is an expertly paced novel that has so much to offer in terms of action, setting, and historical detail.  Jack’s duties keep him on the go, and he always manages to end up in impossible situations, which ensures the plot never slows down.  Humphreys does a brilliant job making the characters, both historical and fictional, come to life.  Jack Absolute is one of the most interesting and complex characters I’ve come across.  He is both brave and foolish, not to mention daring, charming, funny, honorable, and even haunted.  When it comes to the war, he is torn but loyal.  It’s easy to see why he’s a hit with the ladies, and he even surprised me at times, which is what I liked best of all.

Jack Absolute has a little something for everyone — war, sex, romance, intrigue, and even swordfighting.  It gives readers a glimpse of the various sides of the war, Redcoat, Rebel, and Native American, showing how confusing it was for men to fight against men they fought alongside to defeat the French not too long before and how the war put the Iroquois tribes at odds with one another.  It’s also a perfect series book, satisfying readers at the end while paving the way for a sequel.  I can’t wait to follow Jack on his next adventure!

Book 2 for the American Revolution Reading Challenge

Book 17 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I received Jack Absolute from Sourcebooks for review.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Best Kept Secret by Jeffrey Archer

Source: Borrowed from library
Rating: ★★★★☆

Best Kept Secret is Volume Three of The Clifton Chronicles, Jeffrey Archer’s series about Harry Clifton and the Barrington family, set primarily in England.  The series began with Harry’s coming-of-age story in Only Time Will Tell and continued with his adventures during World War II in The Sins of the Father.  Because each book in the series picks up right where the last one left off, with little back story from the previous books, they really should be read in order.  But don’t fret; they are all fast-paced with well-developed, interesting characters, so it won’t take too long to catch up.

In Best Kept Secret, which spans the years 1945 to 1958, Harry is a well-known crime novelist and finally settling into a quiet life with his wife, Emma Barrington, and their young son, Sebastian.  Archer tells the story through the points of view of Harry, Emma, Sebastian, and Giles Barrington, Harry’s best friend and Emma’s brother.  Readers follow the Cliftons and the Barringtons as Harry goes on tour for his latest book, Emma begins the adoption process to give Sebastian a sibling, and Giles fights to keep his seat in Parliament.

Sebastian earns main character status when he plays a pivotal role in Giles’ re-election campaign, which occurs just as Giles’ nemesis and a scheming, money-hungry member of high society join forces to take down the Barrington family and the company they have run for generations.  Best Kept Secret ends up being Sebastian’s coming-of-age story, as he navigates the world of academics and the temptations of more experienced women and unknowingly steps into the world of organized crime.

Archer’s prose is straightforward with minimal description, and at times — at least in the first few chapters — it’s more telling than showing as he fast-forwards a bit in the characters’ lives.  After that, the book speeds ahead, introducing and resolving one plot line at a time and leaving me breathless by the end.  Archer really knows how to build tension and move the story forward.  I’ve enjoyed seeing Harry evolve over time, and I love how Emma is a strong woman not afraid to show her intelligence, take an interest in the family company, and further her education at a time when women weren’t accepted in the boardroom.  These are characters I enjoy spending time with, and I just don’t want the series to end.

Best Kept Secret is an exciting addition to the series that kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.  And even though I knew it was coming (based on the endings of the first two books), I was still shocked by the cliffhanger ending and upset that I’ll have to wait another year to find out what happens.  But if Archer wants me to be excited about the next book, it certainly worked!

(Best Kept Secret is also available as an audio book, and you can listen to the first chapter here.)

Disclosure: I borrowed Best Kept Secret from my local library.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Thinking of You by Jill Mansell

Source: Review copy from Sourcebooks
Rating: ★★★☆☆

“You know, I think it’s a pretty good job I’m here,” she told Ginny.  “Because, basically, you’re pretty hopeless.  You’ve been wrong about everyone so far.”

(from Thinking of You)

Thinking of You is another lighthearted British chick lit novel by Jill Mansell, whose books never fail to bring a smile to my face.  The heroine of Mansell’s latest U.S. release is Ginny Holland, a woman struggling with a newly empty nest and the fact that her daughter, Jem, is doing just fine without her at university.  After mistakenly thinking a roommate would liven up the house and supply her with a new best friend, Ginny takes a waitressing job, only to learn that the owner of the restaurant/antiques shop, the irresistibly handsome Finn, is the same man who nearly had her arrested for shoplifting.

While Ginny struggles to get back in the dating game, her ex-husband, Gavin, continues chasing 20-somethings in miniskirts; her daughter, Jem, learns that the freedom to make your own decisions often is accompanied by huge mistakes; her best friend, Carla, lets her down big time; and her roommate, Laurel, can’t move past a failed relationship.  As always, Mansell gives her secondary characters plenty of time in the spotlight, and they are always just as interesting as the main characters.

Thinking of You is a great escapist read.  I found myself cringing with every mistake and misunderstanding and laughing at every embarrassment.  I wasn’t fully convinced by the main love story, mostly because I don’t think it was as developed as it could have been, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the book.  Mansell is my go-to author for comfort reads that let me just go with the flow, and Thinking of You didn’t disappoint, even if it isn’t my favorite of her books.

I love how Mansell’s heroines are endearingly flawed women to whom I can relate in some way, and I love how she manages to balance weightier issues with humor so her books never feel too heavy.  In Thinking of You, she has created a sweet tale about the bonds between mothers and daughters and the power of female friendships.

Disclosure: I received Thinking of You from Sourcebooks for review.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: The Publicist (Book One) by Christina George

Source: Review copy from author
Rating:: ★★★☆☆

“Miss?” a tall handsome police officer leaned into her, “you were great, you really knew what to say to calm her down.”

“Thank you,” Kate said in almost a whisper.

“May I ask who are you? Her friend, sister, lover?”

“None of the above.” Kate’s mouth turned into a slight smile. “I’m the publicist.”

(from The Publicist, page viii)

The Publicist is the first of at least two books about Kate Mitchell, a publicist for a New York City publishing house.  Kate is 34 and unmarried, too busy with her career to seek out romantic relationships.  She is used to dealing with authors who have crazy demands or are just downright crazy, but in the span of several weeks, her life becomes even more chaotic.

Kate’s worked at Morris & Dean Publishing for five years, so she can easily navigate authors who threaten suicide when a huge interview is canceled, a book signing that almost doesn’t happen because not enough books were ordered, and a has-been celebrity whose drinking problems jeopardize a television appearance.  However, when top editor MacDermott Ellis begins to show interest in her, it’s only a matter of time before she stops protesting and succumbs to his charms.  Although he’s married, Kate believes he isn’t the heartless womanizer her best friend thinks he is.  She’s even more confused when the nephew of her dearest author friend arrives for a Christmas visit, and they hit it off.

Readers not only follow Kate’s romantic troubles but also her friendship with an elderly Morris & Dean author, who never delivered on the second book of his two-book deal, and her professional life, in which Kate and Mac work together on an upcoming sequel to one of Morris & Dean’s most successful bestsellers.

Kate is good at what she does; she has the power to make or break an author’s career with a single phone call.  If only she had that same calm control in her personal life.  I liked Kate from the very beginning, and while I didn’t always agree with her choices, I was able to understand how she could overlook the reality of Mac’s situation and let her feelings guide her.  George does a great job developing both Kate and Mac and the chemistry between them.

I wanted to read The Publicist because it’s an insider’s look at publishing.  George is a publicist in the industry and, therefore, writes under a pen name, which makes the story more authentic…and makes you wonder if any of the authors with whom Kate works are based on real people.  She writes about big egos, changes within in the publishing industry, and various work-related stresses, but she does so with humor and an obvious affection for the job.

Even though the book was predictable, I couldn’t help but enjoy it.  My only complaint is that the major plot threads are not resolved by the end.  I knew there would be a second book, but I expected there to be at least some sort of closure in this first installment and then maybe a little something revealed at the end to lead into the sequel.  I was left wanting more, so I definitely plan to read the second book in search of some resolution.  Nevertheless, The Publicist is a book that will appeal to book lovers wanting to know what happens behind the scenes of a book promotion.

Disclosure: I received The Publicist (Book One) from the author for review.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Cody Epstein

Source: Review copy from W.W. Norton & Company
Rating:★★★★★

What kind of a people, she wondered, does what was done that day and then has no concept of the enormity of their act?

(from The Gods of Heavenly Punishment, page 339)

On the surface, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is a novel about the firebombing of Tokyo in March 1945 during World War II and a handful of people from different walks of life who are impacted by the war.  But it goes so much deeper than that.  Jennifer Cody Epstein introduces her characters before the war, when life was filled with promise, and lets readers follow them through the darkest days of the war and the period of change afterward.

The novel opens with Cam and Lacy on a ferris wheel at a fair in New York.  Cam is shy and quiet from years of being ridiculed by his father for his stutter, while Lacy is a take-charge kind of woman who sets their relationship in motion.  The hopes and dreams they have are put on hold when war breaks out, and Cam joins the U.S. Army Air Corps.  Epstein has readers sit in the cockpit with Cam as he takes part in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942.

Epstein also introduces readers to Anton, the architect behind many of Tokyo’s modern structures who is later called on by the U.S. military to help destroy them.  His son, Billy, is a sensitive soul who doesn’t fit in and feels at home only behind a camera.  Hana, a passionate, modern woman who eschews the old Japanese ways, feels abandoned by the men she has loved and is resigned to a loveless, arranged marriage.  Yoshi is torn between her love for her troubled mother and her need to escape the depression that permeates their home — and then the incendiary bombs rain down on Tokyo.

These characters were intriguing and their stories fascinating on their own, but when the pieces fell into place and the connections between them were made known, I was blown away.  Epstein does a wonderful job painting a picture of Tokyo before and after and makes you feel like you are standing beside Yoshi when the bombs drop, feeling the heat, tasting the smoke, getting lost in all the chaos and confusion.  She is a master storyteller, enabling readers to really get to know her characters as they flit in and out of their lives.

Epstein focuses on the contrasts that make war so complex: before vs. after, war vs. murder, orders vs. ethics, victors vs. victims, us vs. them.  With characters that straddle both sides, she explores the gray areas of war and identity.  Billy was born and raised in Japan but isn’t Japanese.  Yoshi speaks Japanese, English, and French, thanks to her mother, Hana, who was educated in England and feels more English than Japanese.  They desire love, acceptance, security, and to know their true selves — and the war makes their search for these essentials more desperate and necessary.

The Gods of Heavenly Punishment is beautifully written and skillfully constructed.  Epstein moves back and forth between the characters, telling seemingly separate stories, and while readers may not understand where she is taking them, they will be rewarded for their patience in the end.  It’s not an easy book to read given the subject matter, and Epstein doesn’t flinch in her descriptions of the atrocities perpetrated by both sides.  No book about war can be wrapped up neatly or painlessly, but Epstein manages to infuse the ending with hope.  Tokyo is a symbol of these characters, who are brought down by their families and the war, and those who manage to survive will be reborn.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for having me on The Gods of Heavenly Punishment tour.  To follow the tour, click here.

Book 16 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I received The Gods of Heavenly Punishment from W.W. Norton & Company for review.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Legacy of Rescue by Marta Fuchs

I turned to Dad and asked him if he had any feelings hearing German.

“No, why should I?  You can’t blame an entire people for what happened.  I want to be for peace.”

(from Legacy of Rescue, page 95)

Legacy of Rescue is Marta Fuchs’ tribute to her late father, Morton (Miksa) Fuchs, and the man who saved his life during World War II.  Miksa Fuchs, a Jew from Tokaj, Hungary, was sent to a labor camp in 1940.  In early 1945, the Hungarian officer overseeing the Jewish workers was ordered to give them over to the Germans.  The officer, Zoltán Kubinyi, an honest man and a devote Seventh Day Adventist, ignored the order, returned the men to Hungary, and later — when he refused to change out of his uniform into civilian clothes — was taken prisoner by the Russians.  Fuchs and her family never forgot how this man, with a wife and son back home, sacrificed his life to save more than 100 Jewish men from certain death.

The book is very conversational in tone, and thus, very readable.  Fuchs’ father tells his own story here, and you can just feel the passion and strength in his words. Fuchs’ mother and aunts also contribute stories in their own words about their arrival in Auschwitz and their return to Tokaj after the war.  The inclusion of family photos throughout the book helps readers get to know Fuchs and her family and honors those who did not survive.

Fuchs offers her own reflections on fleeing Hungary as a child at the start of the revolution in 1956, talking about the Holocaust with her young son for the first time, meeting Kubinyi’s son, and returning to Tokaj to honor the town’s Jews 50 years after they were rounded up and deported.  Her older brother, Henry, narrates part of the story as well, and reflections from her children and Henry’s children add the voices of a generation far removed from the horrors of the Holocaust but affected by them as well.

Legacy of Rescue is unique among the Holocaust memoirs I’ve read because it is filled with goodness and hope.  There are no graphic depictions of life in the camps, and even though a sense of loss permeates the story, it is really an outpouring of gratitude and a celebration of life.  Fuchs and her family know that the only reason they are alive is because of one man’s selfless act.  This quote, from when Fuchs met Kubinyi’s son, sums up the book beautifully and brought tears to my eyes:

I want to thank you for your father.  I am here in this world because of what he did in saving my father.  But you didn’t have a father to love you and raise you like I had.  (page 122)

Legacy of Rescue may be a short book, but it’s not one you’ll soon forget.  One man stayed true to himself and his beliefs and gave his life to save others.  Another man recognized the chance he was given and emerged from an experience too terrible to comprehend to live a life filled with love.  I think we need stories like this, especially when so much hatred remains in this world.  Fuchs emphasizes that there are good people out there, and we should let their example guide us — and in Legacy of Rescue, these amazing people live on.  I know many people refuse to read books about the Holocaust because they are too painful, so I highly recommend this uplifting story about courage, love, honor, and remembrance.

Disclosure: I received Legacy of Rescue from Smith Publicity for review. I am an Amazon associate.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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Review: Seduction by M.J. Rose

To live in the moment of desire is to be yourself in the most pure and painful way possible, because beneath every touch is the knowledge of how fleeting the pleasure is.  How elusive the passion.  How impossible it is to contain it for long.

(from Seduction)

Seduction is the latest novel in M.J. Rose’s series about reincarnation, revisiting the main character from The Book of Lost Fragrances (which I loved).  As with all the other books in the series, it can be read on its own.  Rose weaves together the past and the present in this haunting, atmospheric tale.  She brings back mythologist Jac L’Etoile, who is still coming to terms with the hallucinations she’s had since childhood, refusing to believe they could be glimpses of her past lives, and mourning the end of a love affair when she is contacted by Theo Gaspard about checking out what could be Celtic ruins on the Isle of Jersey.

Jac hasn’t seen Theo since they were teenagers receiving therapy at a clinic in Switzerland, but she remembers the intense bond they shared, how they understood each other in a way that no one ever had.  Malachai Samuels of the Phoenix Foundation, Jac’s therapist and friend who has devoted his entire life to the study of reincarnation and the search for elusive memory tools, warns her against going, but she’s not going to pass up a chance to explore the ruins and find proof of the existence of the Druids.  However, Theo also wants Jac’s help in finding a journal written by novelist Victor Hugo in 1855 that supposedly is hidden in one of the island’s many caves and details his conversations with the Shadow of the Sepulcher.

The novel shifts back and forth between Jac’s adventures in the caves and ruins of Jersey and the scent triggers that bring her back in time and Victor Hugo’s first-person account of the numerous séances in which he participated in the hopes of communicating with his beloved daughter who drowned 10 years before.  Hugo’s story involves a perfumer with ties to the Gaspard family and a spirit that tempts him with the impossible.

Seduction is a captivating, fast-paced novel that is sensual and mysterious, beautiful and tragic, with luscious descriptions of the scents of ancient woods and the sea.  I was surprised by the complexity of the plot, fascinated by the tortured characters, enamored of the scenery, and even chilled by the evil that Hugo must battle.  Readers don’t have to believe in reincarnation to buy into the plot, nor do they have to worry about romance overshadowing a story about haunted souls struggling to find peace in their lives.  Rose is a gifted storyteller who perfectly blends the fact and the fiction to create an unputdownable novel that had me wanting to drop everything to travel to Jersey and see it for myself.

Book 15 for the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Disclosure: I received Seduction from Atria for review. I am an Amazon associate.

© 2013 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.

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