Fairy Tales Can Still be Good Reading

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love George MacDonald. I especially like his fairy tale and fantasy books. Like C.S. Lewis, I love the theology in the stories, and I always find something that speaks to me, or causes me to think more deeply. For example, "It is always dangerous to do things you don't know about." What a simple phrase, but how many times don't I rush in to "fix" something without knowing all there is to know about a situation.

But I digress from the story itself, which is the story of how Curdie, a miner's boy, is to go on a quest. He doesn't really know what the quest is when he starts out, but he is to find out as he goes along . . . "you have orders enough to start with, and you will find, as you go on, and as you need to know, what you have to do. But I warn you that perhaps it will not look the least like what you may have been fancying I require of you." That's a nice little piece of theology that most of us can relate to!

Along the way, Curdie is given a gift of discernment. He will be able to discern whether a man is turning into a beast. "Now listen. Since it is always what they do, whether in their minds or their bodies, that makes men go down to be less than men, that is beasts . . . they do not know it of course, for a beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast, the less he knows it." So true! It seems like in our society we are always choosing to be less of the men or women God created us to be.

At any rate, I liked this old-fashioned story and the old-fashioned message.

For more grown up fantasy, I highly recommend MacDonald's "Lilith". I think it rivals "Lord of the Rings" in many ways. You can get it free for your kindle :-).

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An African Memoir

Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A quirky title always catches my attention, and this was no exception. This memoir of Bobo (Alexandra) Fuller's life is basically a love story about Africa. Not a romantic love story, but real life love story of hard work and tough times in what can be a hard life, but I love it anyway, love story.

Bobo moves with her family to Africa when she is two years old. She has no memory of life before Africa, so when she does go to England, she is surprised by the things she misses, things she just takes for granted are a part of everyone's lives.

 ". . . her (Africa's) smell; hot, sweet, smoky, salty ,sharp-soft. It is like black tea, cut tobacco, fresh fire, old sweat, young grass." 

Then you have the sounds of Africa

"At dawn there is an explosion of daybirds. . .in the hot, slow time of day. . . the sound of heat. The grasshoppers and crickets sing and whine. Drying grass crackles. Dogs pant. . .And at four o'clock. . . there is the shuffling sound of animals coming back into action to secure themselves for the night. . .The night creatures saw and hum with such persistence that the human brain is forced to translate the song into pulse." Those words gave me a nice picture of her Africa.

I was surprised to learn that the author now lives in Wyoming as her passion for Africa came through so clear in her memoir.

I liked this book well enough to try another. . . either "Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness" or "Scribbling the Cat: Travels with An African Soldier".

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Paris in Love by Eloisa James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up "Paris in Love" solely for the title name, and if truth be told, the jacket cover picture. I have never been to Paris, and I knew nothing about Eloisa James. It tickled me to learn that Eloisa is not only a Professor of Shakespeare, but a popular and best selling author of romance novels for HarperCollins. Even though I have given up the sordid romance, I may need to try one of hers - perhaps "The Taming of the Duke", or, "Midnight Pleasures".

I loved Eloisa's writing. I enjoyed her fanciful imagination, and her use of language. It's my understanding that these days, when writing publicity, the guideline is to write for a sixth grade education. It often seems to me that this practice has also been embedded in the novels we read. It was a pleasure to read a book that uses words we don't see so much these days (like insouscience, ignominous and salient). I love words and it's a pleasure to see them used so well.

Her descriptions are lovely:

"Today is rainy, cool, and windy. The sky is silvery gray, like the watered silk skirts of a Victorian lady, long widowed, and still regretful".

 Or consider this fanciful imagining from viewing a Dior window:

"The mannequin came alive in my imagination. I could picture a sleek and gorgeous woman drifting into a drawing room--although she then regarded reproachfully my scuffed shoes and the smudged cuff of my white shirt".

If you have been to Paris, you should read this book for it's descriptions of the city, food and museums. If you haven't been, like me, you will be charmed by the city due to Eloisa's writing.

This memoir is really about family--how she and her husband took a year sabbatical and went to Paris with their children. How this strengthened their family, in part because they only had each other. Not that they didn't have other relationships and friends, they did, but their family unit was their main source of strength and connection.

I started out writing this review by giving "Paris in Love" four stars--but the more I've written, the more I've realized how much I really liked this book, so I'm changing it up to five stars.

Now hmmmm....should I try one of the romances?!

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If You Loved "The Giver". . .

Son by Lois Lowry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was so excited to see that Lois Lowry had written a conclusion to the "The Giver" series. Of the three prior books written ("The Giver", "Messenger" and Gathering Blue"), Giver has been my favorite. I was eager to see what, if anything would be revisited in "Son".

Son is divided into three "books".

• Book One revisits "The Giver" but from a different perspective.
• Book Two deals with "Water Claire" and has what I thought was a truly shocking ending. Not sure how I managed to go to bed and wait another whole day to read Book Three.
• Book Three brings the quartet to conclusion.

I left feeling unsatisfied with the ending (which is why this review is 4 stars and not 5). Not necessarily with how it ended, but it seemed a little rushed to me. I've still been thinking about it though, so I must like it better than I thought.

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Is This the Hasid Way?

Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots by Deborah Feldman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book wasn't quite what I expected. For some reason, I was expecting it to be to similar in style to Lauren Winner's "Girl Meets God". In Winner's book, she speaks with such love and regret about leaving some of the Jewish traditions behind. Of course, Lauren was not a Hasidic Jew.

My main impression after reading this book was a feeling of disbelief. How can it be that in America girls and women can live such oppressed lives. How can it be that girls (at least in this particular Hasidic community) are discouraged from speaking and reading in English, and from reaching their full intellectual potential. How can it be that a 17 year old young woman and her husband cannot know how to consummate their marriage?

I am not entirely unfamiliar with Hasidic customs from reading the novels of Chaim Potok. For instance, the custom of married woman having to wear a wig as a head covering. However, Potok's novels seem to deal with Hasidism in a more tender way. He points out the rigidness of this facet of Judaism, but through a lens of kindness. You won't get that feeling from this memoir. In fact, you'll cringe at some of the stories and practices that Deborah shares. She is very frank, particularly as regarding the sexual struggles of her marriage, her desire to be viewed as an independent and worthwhile woman, and her impatience with the restrictions put on her as a Hasidic woman.

I am not a Jewish woman, much less a Hasidic Jewish woman, so I cannot know what it feels like to be a woman living in such a community. It seems like the rules would chafe my independent spirit, but perhaps, if I grew up in the Hasid way, I would have a love and respect for these customs that is escaping me. However, if girls are truly discouraged from reaching their full potential, then I do find that to be oppression.

After finishing the book, and prior to writing this review, I googled Deborah Feldman and found that there are those that are accusing her of lying in her book. Are these attacks against her because she has exposed the Hasidic community, or has she told untruths? I don't know the answer to that question, but I can tell you it was an interesting book, a quick read, and will provide you with some food for thought--particularly if you research other reviews and blogs after (or before) reading.

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Catherine: From Girl to Queen

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Goodreads, I was so excited to win this book, thank you.

Catherine the Great is a fascinating woman and Robert Massie has done a great job capturing the role she played in history.

I didn't know a lot about Catherine when I began reading, but as I learned about her, she became very real and I was eager to continue reading to learn more about her. It is so interesting that this young German princess, who basically self-educated herself, became such a powerful woman. Married to a weak man, who ignored her both sexually and intellectually, she kept her eyes open for opportunities to learn, grow, and gain the respect and admiration of the Russian people. Although she obviously liked power,I still liked her and sympathized with her struggles. I was impressed that although she believed in a monarchy, she still had a hope to change the system of serfdom in her kingdom. It also impressed me that she did not condone the torture of captured enemies. However, she still pretty much turned a blind eye to the murder of her husband so she could gain the throne.

Isn't it interesting, that the games that we play in the world now have been played since the beginning of time? When her husband wouldn't consummate their marriage, she was encouraged to have a sexual relationship in order to conceive a child. How could it not matter that the child was not conceived by royalty when that child would eventually gain the throne?

What I find so interesting though, is that this strong, intellectual woman, who was Queen of Russia, always had to have a "boy toy" around. In total I think she had something like 12 of them throughout her reign (the older she got, the younger they got). So okay, she's the Queen, and she has boy toys, we can cut her a little slack, it's a lonely job, right? But she lets these boy toys, at least some of them, make her second guess her decisions. That's just wrong. I expect more from a strong intellectual woman. She is so nice to these men in her life too. When she's done with them, she doesn't just boot them out, but usually gives them at the very least a home, a title and an allowance.

I was so impressed with Catherine's sense of justice in the beginning stages of her reign. Have you ever noticed how as people get older they get more opinionated and less tolerant? The same thing happens with Catherine. There are of course, scary things happening - Marie Antoinette, for instance, gets beheaded. Catherine certainly doesn't want to fall to the same fate and thus begins squashing down those who advocate for a more permissive society.

Catherine the Great did, overall, create a society that welcomed more intellectuals. She collected a massive art collection. She never stopped learning. She did not allow herself to become defeated by her circumstances. She was politically savvy and expanded the kingdom of Russia. She wasn't snotty. When she gathered her court around her in the evening, she wanted them there as friends and did away with ceremony. She liked to laugh and play. The palace parks were open for everyone (nobles and common people) as long as they were dressed decently. The role she played in history is a large one. If you'd like to learn more about her, this book is a great place to start.

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