The Friday 56: The Lady Elizabeth

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

I've had The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir sitting on my shelf for about a year now. I bought it because I loved Weir's Innocent Traitor but it's not hard to get me to like a book about Jane Grey, she's one of my favorite historical figures. I got bored with Tudor historical fiction though. It seems EVERYONE writes only about that. There have to be some other interesting stories out there. History is full of fascinating people. When I finished the Hunger Games I went in search of something from my shelves, saw this lying there and thought, might as well. So far, it's proving a wonderful read. Weir is a great storyteller, and being an historian also, she's gets the facts straight (unlike Phillipa Gregory). I hate when authors take such liberties that it simply wouldn't have been possible for what they write to have happened. Takes me out of the story. So here's this week's selection (Elizabeth is 6 at this point):

"There are so many ladies at court!" Elizabeth had marveled at their rich gowns, their bejeweled  hoods, their air of sophistication.

A Tale of Two Cities: Audio

For such a classic, I was surprised to learn how little I actually knew about Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. I've read Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield, yet for some reason never really even knew what this was about. I did know that at some point in the book, some man makes a great sacrifice because of a woman and states, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." However, I didn't know why or how that came about.

I can't really say anymore about this book than has been said numerous times in the past. I do know more about the French Revolution than I did before. I never realized that the blood thirsty revolutionaries didn't stop with the nobles. They continued to hang people for just the word of anyone that the person MIGHT be against the revolution. The "laws" that were in enacted during this time which would cause a person to go to the guillotine were ridiculous. At one point in the book a man calls to another, "How many today?" And the other man answers "38! It will be 39 tomorrow!" They are discussing how many will have their heads cut off. It is not a matter of actual guilt, it is a matter of putting heads under the knife, no matter their guilt or innocence. It makes me look at Napoleon in a better light. Jeez, someone had to stop it!

Although it got a very slow start, this book was wonderful and had me crying in my car while I drove home from work. Maybe not such a good thing! It also got me interested in history again. History of all kinds, not just the French Revolution. Wow, my knowledge in that area is horrid!

The Constant Princess: Audio

The Constant Princess is not the first audio book by Philipa Gregory that I have listened to, but it is the first I have been disappointed in. Not because it wasn't a wonderful story (It is). Not because it wasn't well written (It is). And certainly not because Katherine of Aragon led an uninteresting life (No one could say that). But simply because of all the liberties Gregory takes with the historical part of her historical fiction. I know that she often twists parts of the history to make a more interesting plot but seriously why in the world would you have to twist anything in Katherine's story?

I didn't know much about this Queen. Often when people tell stories about the Tudor Court, it is starting with Henry's obsession with Anne Boleyn and his break from Roman Papacy. But this more than 20 years after Katherine and Henry were first wed and the fact that she was first married to his brother, who was supposed to be King, is fascinating enough without adding all the silly twists that I guess romance readers like to see. After I finished the book, I decided to look a little closer at Katherine's real history and see what I was missing, because I just felt this wasn't a complete picture. What I was looking for at first was what happened to her after Henry put her aside for Anne. No one really talks of this and neither did Gregory. I was surprised to learn that she lived in poverty for the last few years of her life, with few servants. She refused to be called Princess instead of Queen, holding to the belief that she was Henry's rightful wife until she died. It may be a good thing she only lived a few more years and didn't see the craziness that came after Anne. My point is, Gregory completely passes on telling this story. She ends her book with Katherine believing she will triumph in her opposition to Henry. It just made me sad knowing this wasn't true. It could have made an even better book to leave out the inaccuracies and then end the book with the proud Queen-now-Dowager Princess. I loved the fiery-ness of this Katherine, though. It is something that is rarely told but knowing her parents are Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, it's not only believable but plausible. Is it accurate? I don't know if that is something anyone could really know.

I would like to continue reading historical fiction. I enjoy the stories, even if the view points and thoughts of the characters have to be made up. That I don't mind. I got into the genre because I have always been fascinated by the story of Jane Grey and was thrilled when I read Alison Weir's Innocent Traitor. Now I'm a little turned off. Does anyone know who the good writers are? The ones who tell a good story without taking too many liberties with the history?

Audio: The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant is the story of Sister Lucrezia, who has left her life story for her daughter to read after dying in her convent. She has been a part of this convent for the better part of her life and when she dies of breast cancer she leaves an odd set of instructions for the nuns who will have to prepare her body. She states she does not want to be cleaned and put in a new shift. The one she wore to serve God will do her just fine. However, with an outbreak of the plague, it is decided that her old clothes must be burned. As the sisters remove the clothes from her corpse they are surprised to find that the tumor that has been such a cause of pain for Sister Lucrezia is no more than a pig's bladder held to her breast. Ripping off her garments fully, reveals a long, sensuous silver snake tattoo running the length of her body and ending with the tip of its tongue at the tip of "her sex." The story beginning on the following pages is of Allessandra Cecchi, Sister Lecrezia's name before joining the convent. This is how we find out how this nun came to be in the convent, why she would lie about her manner of death, and where this tattoo came from.

I can't say I'm giving much away here, it's simply the intro the story that got me hooked and I wanted to share this part with everyone. It is not what's on the back of the book, I feel that gives too much away. I enjoyed this story. I was fascinated by Allessandra. She's a modern woman in a backward time in Florence but also in a time when the world was changing and learning new things (if you happened to be a man). This book deals with a lot of historical events in periphery to Allessandra's life but could not be considered historical fiction as it doesn't deal directly with historical figures, except one known painter. Who knows where Dunant got the idea for this but it's ingenious really. I like what she's done with this painter. That's all I'm going to say on that subject! You just have to read it.

Like I said I enjoyed this book and it has me interested in reading other books by Dunant. It was a nice change of pace from what I normally read.

Royal Blood by Rona Sharon

I am probably the last person to review this book. I feel like I've been reading it forever. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get through it. The writing was wonderful. Sharon's style is vivid and funny and made me want to keep turning the page while I was reading. However, until I got to the supernatural stuff I just had a hard time reading. For some reason I got it in my head that this book was historical fiction. I hadn't read any of the reviews that everyone else did because I didn't want to be tainted while I was reading the book. Something about the style and blurb in the book made me think historical fiction. Maybe the author and publisher wanted to mislead people, not sure. Maybe they wanted the other stuff to be a surprise. I'm going to ruin the surprise so if you don't want to know stop reading at the end of this paragraph! I have to say this book is WONDERFUL! If you like supernatural fantasy with a little erotica, you're in luck. This is the book for you!

If the author and publishers wanted people to be surprised by vampire storyline, it worked. However, I think they're lucky that I LOVE vampire fiction. I've read a lot of vampire fiction, the good and the bad. I was thrilled when I realized the turn the story was taking. I also like historical fiction but I haven't been in a historical fiction kind of mood lately. I promised to review this book before I stopped taking books and so felt I had to do it to keep my promise. Someone else who might, like me, be expecting straight historical fiction but does not care for vampire fiction would probably be turned off by the book. I'm not sure it's a good marketing strategy. There are many, many, many good historical fiction writers. Sharon's book could easily get lost. However, there are many authors of vampire fiction but only a few GOOD ones. Those of us that love a good vampire novel are always on the look out for a good one. Of course, I'm not in the book marketing industry so, what do I know?

The one thing that bugs me about vampire fiction is that some authors feel the need to use an excessive amount of sex. And the long descriptions of what the couple is doing to each other, page after page, is just a little on the pornographic side. I like sex as much as the next person, in case you're interested. I'm not a prude and would rather read/watch about sex than violence (one of my soap boxes - our society bans the wrong stuff. Violence is more damaging to people than sex) but I don't like to read porn. I want a good story. Making people want to stop reading and find their partner is not necessarily a good story. There wasn't a lot of it throughout the book but once it got started, it was in every chapter near the end. I'm just glad the storyline was so riveting otherwise I might have just put it away the way I did with the last few Anita Blake novels. Hamilton's books don't even count as anything other than erotica anymore. I understand the connection between vampire lore and sex. It's always been there. But there are ways to do it (and some authors are good at this) without making your readers feel like they're reading porn. On the other hand, I think some people seek out this kind of writing. So, maybe, that's who she's writing it for.

Again, I will say that this story itself was riveting. Once I got to the vampire story, I just couldn't put it down. I highly recommend this book.

Audio: The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry

I have made a habit of not listening to books that I know I would love if I read if they're not unabridged. At first I tried to make sure I was not listening to abridgements at all but that narrows the list of books I can listen to considerably so I opened up my "policy" to abridged audio books if they are ones I wouldn't normally read. Maybe this has played into my not liking a few of them. Maybe they would have better if it wasn't abridged. I don't know. Maybe it simply left out the stuff I REALLY would have hated! Whichever it is, Steve Berry's book The Romanov Prophecy was interesting in the concept but fell flat in the actual telling. From the box:

Atlanta Lawyer Miles Lord, fluent in Russian and well versed in the country's history, is thrilled to be in Moscow on the eve of such a momentous event. After the fall of Communism and a succession of weak governments, the Russian people have voted to bring back the monarchy. The new tsar will be chosen among the distant relatives of Nicholas II, and Miles' job is to perform a background check on the tsarist candidate favored by a powerful group of Western businessmen.

Suddenly Miles is racing across continents, shadowed by nefarious henchmen. At first his only question is why people are pursuing him. But after a strange conversation with a mysterious Russian who steers him toward the writings of Rasputin, Miles becomes desperate to know more. His only guide is a cryptic message from Rasputin implying that the bloody night of so long ago is not the last chapter in the Romanov's story.

This summary sounded wonderful. I am not the only one who is still fascinated by the Romanovs it seems. However, after I started this book I had a few questions that were never quite resolved. Why exactly is an American so involved in the return of the Tsar to the Russian throne? Simply because he is well versed in their history and language? That's just not a good enough reason. The reason given other than that is because his boss is deeply involved, but that only makes me wonder why that particular American is involved with what they call the Tsarist Commission. It's never answered. Another problem is at one point Miles and a Russian woman who is on the quest with him flee to San Fransisco on the trail of the Romanovs. I won't say why, but the reason given just didn't hold water with me. Seriously, San Fransisco in 1918 just doesn't seem like it would be the banking mecca for anyone, but I might be wrong here. The part about this that really bothers me is that supposedly there are many people after them. These are not just the typical "bad guys" but people in power. Miles is later told that they are able to get the FBI involved and he has been charged with murder. Ok, great! So how did he get out of Russia with his own name on the plane ticket? How did he enter the US through customs and no one stopped him or the Russian woman? How did she just happen to fly through into the US without any questions? Does she even have a passport? THEN they get on another plane from San Fransisco to Atlanta after running from the Russian embassy and having the FBI on their tail. WHAT???!! Who let these supposed criminals on the plane? What happened to heightened security? I won't give anymore away but I will say that for a lawyer, Miles Lord is not very smart in the common sense area. It's amazing he doesn't die in the first chapter.

But I actually kind of enjoyed the story. Except for the parts that were a little frustrating, it was fairly interesting. I just think maybe I should go back to reading what I know I like, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and thrillers. Right now I'm reading one I got an ARC of from LibraryThing and it's another that I think "maybe I should just stick to genres I know I like." I'll tell you about it in a few days.

The City of Falling Angels

This John Berendt's follow-up to Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil. I greatly enjoyed that movie, which is the reason I even picked up the book. I like kooky characters, they're always my favorite in a book. For example, my favorite character in the Harry Potter books is Moaning Myrtle. The City of Falling Angels also has it's share of kooky characters. From the back:

Venice - a city of masks and riddles, where narrow streets and passageways form a giant maze that deepens the sense of mystery. As captivating as it is elusive, the city teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Architectural treasures crumble even as efforts to preserve them are underway. In The City of Falling Angels, John Berendt...unveils the enigmatic Venice as only he can.

The story begins with the burning of the historic Fenice Opera House and winds through the many different odd and glorious people that are involved with the fire and the reconstructions. Interspersed throughout the story is the tale of Ezra Pound's mistress, Olga Rudge, and their daughter dealing with a couple who has taken advantage of Olga in her old age.

This is another story I listened to on cd in the car. Doing a lot more of that lately than actually reading books! It was hard for me to get into this and I might have stopped listening if I had something else to listen to in the car. However, I did finish it and enjoyed it for the most part. The story felt a little disjunct (spell checker says this is not word but I know it is! I hate that!) though. Not only did the author never unite the two stories in any meaningful way, besides the fact that they both take place in Venice, but he also did not make me feel that the main story of the Fenice was all that important to the people involved. It seemed more important to outsiders than to the people of Venice itself. And maybe it was, I don't know. Maybe that was the point. Overall, I enjoyed listening to Berendt read his tale, but I doubt this will make my list of favorite for the year.

Prince of Fire

I've found that since I've been listening to more audio books that I am listening to more books that I never would have read before simply because I'm so hungry for audio books. (I just re-read that convoluted sentence but it makes sense and I am keeping it!) This means that I'll try a book that before I probably wouldn't have even read the book jacket of before. Daniel Silva's Prince of Fire is one of those. From the back:

Few recent thriller writers have elicited the kind of critical praise that Daniel Silva has received, with his "provocative and deeply satisfying" novels featuring art restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon...
Now Allon is back in Venice, when a terrible explosion in Rome leads to a disturbing personal revelation: the existence of a dossier in terrorist hands that strips away his secrets, lays bare his history. Hastily recalled home to Israel, drawn once more into the heart of a service he had once forsaken, Allon find himself stalking an elusive master terrorist across a landscape drenched with generations of blood, the trail turning on itself until, finally, he can no longer be certain who is stalking whom. And when at last the showdown comes, it will not be Gabriel alone who is threatened with destruction - for it is not his history alone that has been laid bare.

Oh, sure that sounds fascinating but here's why I would not have read it before: I don't like "terrorist" thrillers. They are generally all about the evil of the terrorists and the purity of the people out to take them down. And, of course, we are supposed to hope and believe that the evil terrorists will all be killed and the pure will live happily ever after.

I do not believe anything is solved by killing another being. I don't believe in murder for any reason. And I believe that revenge killing is still murder. I believe that war is murder. Everyone who believes there are good reasons for war always points to the two world wars or our civil war and say there was no other way. What they forget is that eventually, one side runs out of people and supplies to fight with or one side is simply better at fighting than the other. That doesn't always mean that the people that won were right. In those wars I mentioned, yes the bad guys lost. But what about all the other wars when good people lost and someone was set up to rule over them? Eventually, when if the "good guys" win, there still has to be talks and a treaty hashed out. Why don't they start with the talks before so many beautiful lives are lost forever?

Ok, off my soap box and back to why I don't like terrorist thrillers. What many people in the U.S. don't realize (because we're not taught this in school) is that there was NO Israel prior to World War II. It was created out of land that was owned by Palestinians WITHOUT THEIR CONSENT. It was simply taken away from them because the European countries that the Jewish people came from didn't want them back. Those countries preferred to deal with the "problem" by getting rid of it. Think anyone in the U.S. or a European nation would put up with their land being taken away and given to someone else without consent? So, I can see why the Palestinians are so mad. However, like I said before, I don't believe in murder, so the way they've handled it is the worst possible way.

Silva doesn't shy away from this in the book. He makes sure his reader knows the reasons for the problems, however, he still does it with an obvious slant toward Israel. He talks about the horrors of Israel destroying Palestinian towns in the early years of their nation but he gives excuses for it. We are still supposed to hope that Allon kills this person. The story is very gripping and I was spellbound through most of it. However, I didn't feel satisfied after I finished the way I normally do when I finish a good book. I was just depressed. I keep thinking: why do they think the only way is violence? When has it ever done good?

Playing Catch Up

Yes, I've been neglecting my lovely blog lately. I can't even say I've been really busy because I've simply been lazy! And when I feel like being productive, I have instead cleaned house (oooohhhh, I know you're jealous) and worked on my new sewing project. This last is going pretty slow right now too because I'm also teaching my sis to sew. Considering I'm not an expert yet myself, this should be interesting.

However I have listened to a few new audio books while driving to and from work so I thought I'd put them all in one post. The first I started but did not finish. This is Ines of My Soul. The story is about a young Spanish woman who follows her husband when he goes off to the New World to make his fortune. The book seemed pretty interesting but there was one thing that turned me off and it happened so much that I just couldn't listen anymore. It's told from the point of view of a much older Ines telling about her younger self, which is fine. I've read lots of books that start in the future and then go back. However, she continually makes allusions to things that will happen later in the most annoying ways. "As you will see later," "As will be explained later," "Which would never come to pass," "If I had only known how it would turn out." These phrases are fairly irritating when used more than once. Yes, I believe you should only use this once in a book no matter how long that book is. It can make a certain impact when used correctly. If used too many times, it simply becomes irritating. If the book is 985 pages long, it should still only be used once. I listened to the audio book for an hour and she said it 10 times. I'm not sure how many chapters or pages that was but it wasn't very long of a time to have it said that many times! Just tell me the story as it happens. Quit telling me that something is going to happen or that I will see different results later. Just tell it and let it unfold naturally. So I wish I could tell you more about the book but I just got irritated and stopped listening. The book is already on it's way to it's new owner, care of Paperback Swap. I hope that person enjoys it more than me.

The next book I listened to was The Virgin's Lover. I have long been interested in the Tudors. Actually, one of my fascinations has been Jane Grey (not a Tudor but close enough). I saw Lady Jane when I was in high school and it has been one of my favorite movies since. I know an awful lot of useless things and one of them is the life of Jane Grey. She was a tragic figure. I read a wonderful book of historical fiction on her life about a year or so ago called Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir.
Anyway, The Virgin's Lover is another book of historical fiction about the romance between Queen Elizabeth I and Robert Dudley (not coincidentally, the brother of Jane Grey's husband, their father was terribly ambitious). I really enjoyed this book. I was constantly on the edge of my seat as if I didn't already know what was going to happen! The only criticism I have is that I really didn't like Queen Elizabeth in this book. I've always thought of her as a strong woman who did not need to lean on men to rule. She was painted very differently in this book; fairly weak. Although, she stood up for herself in the end, throughout the book I kept thinking: "Why are you so weak and stupid?"

I also listened The Andromeda Strain. I saw the movie a couple years ago and thought the book must be better. I was surprised to find that the movie follows the book pretty closely, except for the fact that one of the doctors is a woman in the movie. I enjoyed this and it's fairly quick read so I would recommend it. Like most Crichton books, I have no criticism. I think he blends a little bit of horror with science fiction in modern life very well.

The last audio book I listened to recently (I finished it today) was forever by Pete Hamill. This is another that I am HIGHLY recommending. This starts in the 18th century with a young Irish man, Cormac, who sets out for New York to avenge the death of his father. In the process he saves an African shaman turned slave from an angry mob. The shaman then gifts him with eternal life with one stipulation. He can never leave the island of Manhattan or it will be suicide. There's a little too much violence in the book for my taste, but overall the story is very good.

And yes, I did actually read a book with my eyes instead of my ears. It's so much easier lately to listen since I drive so much. I finished reading Speaker for the Dead for the third time. There is a very good reason this is one of my favorite books. I wish I could share it with everyone I love. I wish they could see it the way I do.