Category Archives: Book Reviews

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Charlotte and Emily: A novel of the Brontes by Jude Morgan

  By Deanne • November 29, 2012 , ,

Amazing amazing amazing. Those are my choice of words to describe the creative level of writing displayed by Jude Morgan here. I recently finished a certain book covered in another post that had won an award for being gloomy, I didn’t see the appeal. Charlotte and Emily was the kind of book I think should have awards. Why is there no gold star on this book? How come Oprah doesn’t want people to read it? Not violent enough, not immoral enough, not enough social issues. Bullcrap I cry. This is the sort of novel that should receive acclaim, for the simple virtue of the level of skill and talent in bringing writing to life.
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Peter the Great: by Robert K. Massie

  By Deanne • June 12, 2012 , ,

A large book even by my standards- 928 pages in paperback, I’ve finally finished my journey in Russia: Peter the Great. Peter was one of the top three? I’m going to say, most interesting historical figures I’ve ever read about. Believing it was the story of a tyrant, instead I found an utterly dynamic and fascinating individual who can literally be called the forefather of modern Russia. I made that up though so don’t quote it. Continue reading

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Désirée: The Bestselling Story of Napoleon’s First Love by Annemarie Selinko

  By Deanne • May 24, 2012 , ,

I was excited to learn about Desiree, Napoleon’s first love as described by himself in his memoirs. Do his memoirs actually exist? I haven’t checked. Like many fictional historical novels it was a bit disappointing to wonder how much was real and how much imagination. I had to refer to Wikipedia a lot, and I wanted to just enjoy the book. So I only peeked three times.
Eugenie Desiree Clary began as a silk merchant’s daughter in the southern French city of Marseilles near the end of the 18th century, and ended as a Crown Princess, then a Queen in her own right who started a dynasty in Scandinavia. Continue reading

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Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir with Michele Fitoussi

  By Deanne • May 19, 2012 , ,

April 22nd 1987 while the rest of the world was going about its business, four siblings stumbled through the streets of Tangier, Morrocco looking for anyone, anyone at all to help them. Barefoot and starving they searched everywhere for succor. Strangers, former friends, even relatives turned them away. They had just escaped fifteen years of confinement, torture so deeply scarring mentally, emotionally and physically they could never recover.

April 22nd 1987 while the rest of the world was going about its business, four siblings stumbled through the streets of Tangier, Morrocco looking for anyone, anyone at all to help them. Barefoot and starving they searched everywhere for succor. Strangers, former friends, even relatives turned them away. They had just escaped fifteen years of confinement, torture so deeply scarring mentally, emotionally and physically they could never recover. Abdellatif, the youngest was 18. He had been incarcerated since he was three years old. Maria, one of the sisters weighed barely 66 pounds. Malika, the narrator and her siblings had dug for years with spoons, hiding the dirt at night like in some kind of Hollywood movie. Yet this was their life. What had they done to deserve this imprisonment and animalistic treatment? Nothing at all. Continue reading

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The Help: by Kathryn Stockett

  By Deanne • May 19, 2012 ,

Slavery was outlawed in 1863 freeing several million people to have the right to choose their own path in life. Sadly though it’s no news that racial prejudices still exist. When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s I somewhat mistakenly thought that racism was extinct, not having much exposure up in Washington state. Life in the South however has been quite different and still is in many areas today. It has it’s own unique history from that moment the Civil War ended. The author herself was raised in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s which gave her a unique perspective. Many white children were nannied by black women who cradled them, sang to them, dressed them, watched over them; and yet had a much lower status as a person. This book examines the relationship between the employer and employed, between the maids and the children.

Slavery was outlawed in 1863 freeing several million people to have the right to choose their own path in life. Sadly though it’s no news that racial prejudices still exist. When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s I somewhat mistakenly thought that racism was extinct, not having much exposure up in Washington state. Life in the South however has been quite different and still is in many areas today. Continue reading

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Catching Fire: by Suzanne Collins

  By Deanne • May 7, 2012 , ,

Katniss and Peeta have won their lives, but at what cost? Katniss finds herself facing this very question from the moment book two of The Hunger Games series picks up, as she and Peeta head home to District 12. They are victors, heroes, celebrities, but Katniss does not feel relief, far from it. If it were up to her, she would try to forget the Games entirely and never speak of them, and no wonder, but the Capitol as the book says, has a way of keeping the horror fresh and immediate. Continue reading

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The Hunger Games: by Suzanne Collins

  By Deanne • May 5, 2012 , ,

In a post-apocalyptic world, twelve districts and the parasitic Capitol they serve are all that is left of America. The districts specialize in industry or agriculture in a peasant-like state while the Capitol resides in a geographically protected kind of bubble where all that is glitters is gold, wealth and extravagance.

In a post-apocalyptic world, twelve districts and the parasitic Capitol they serve are all that is left of America. The districts specialize in industry or agriculture in a peasant-like state while the Capitol resides in a geographically protected kind of bubble where all that is glitters is gold, wealth and extravagance.

We are immediately introduced to Katniss Everdeen a hardy, pragmatic girl of sixteen who finds both solace and survival from her grim hungry village life by hunting game in the woods outside District 12, with her best friend Gale. Continue reading