Novel Whore

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This is a fun book review for me because it introduced me to a series of books I will definitely be following and reading when I need a quick book, leading up to the launch of the new Storm Prey by John Sanford. I’m also enjoying the reviews of the other books in the series because of the questionnaire format we are using, you should definitely check all of them out over at TLC Book Tours.

Title and series number of the book you read: Hidden Prey (Lucas Davenport, No. 15)

Year published: 2004

Tell us about Lucas Davenport: What is Lucas doing when he first appears in the book? Lucas is relaxing with his secret love, televised golf, when his wife drives her car through the garage door. Yea, this is why I don’t park in the garage because I’d either end up hitting the door or driving into the house when I accidentally put the car in drive instead of reverse. I immediately like Lucas’ wife Weather (okay, not her name though), and his reaction considering the fact that he’s warned her a million times to not come into the driveway so fast. While he’s cleaning up the mess he gets a call from his boss about a dead Russian that’s turned up that just happens to be a spy. I love those kinds of calls. …continue to the book review of Hidden Prey by John Sanford

I will follow Barbara Kingsolver to the ends of the Earth. Her profound sense of the past and dedication to research is amazing. I fell in love with The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer long ago, and so I was on the edge of my seat waiting for the Doylestown Library to get The Lacuna.

Set in Mexico and the U.S. from 1929-1951, Kingsolver tells the story of Harrison Shepherd, a young boy on the verge of adolescence, interacting with some of the largest political players in history. Born to an American father that knows nothing of him, and a Mexican mother that is always looking for her next companion, Harrison is on his own navigating through life. …continue to the book review of The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

The French Revolution is probably one of the scariest events in “modern” history for me. I’ve never been able to grasp in my head how it must have felt to live in France at that time ever since I read A Tale of Two Cities almost 20 years ago. That’s why I was drawn to The Good Doctor Guillotin by Marc Estrin, billed as historical fiction following 5 instrumental figures leading up to the guillotining of the French Revolution. I’ve always wondered how the person that puts into motion such historical events felt while making the decision and watching the destruction after, whether it’s the inventor of the nuclear bomb, or a president declaring war. …continue to the book review of The Good Doctor Guillotin by Marc Estrin

In case you haven’t noticed, I read a lot of historical fiction, a lot. I love history, I love dragging my family through historical little towns, visiting museums, old ships like the USS Constitution, and learning more about World history. One of the things I love about historical fiction is that they bring a human element to history. I think most people hated history classes in school because it seemed like a lot of useless memorizing of dates and places. Real people were there! Real people had their real lives affected by historical events!

The second thing I love about historical fiction is that the events the novels surround are often events that our history books glossed over or skipped altogether. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford centers around the evacuation of Japanese citizens who were sent to internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Luckily, Mr Ford doesn’t simply regale us with dates and places. The main character Henry Lee lets us into his life as a young Chinese boy living in Seattle during World War II when the Japanese were already beginning to feel the racial tension. …continue to the book review of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

One of the great things about going to the library is that I can see all of the books by an author at once, and so I often end up taking several home at the same time. Since Beloved and Song of Solomon are both on my list of 100 Classic Novels I’m trying to finish by next year, I checked them both out. I love that Toni Morrison, and all great writers, are able to create a new mold each time they start a new book. There are writers that sell a lot of books, but each one is so similar you can tell where they are going. They are nice reads, but you don’t find little nuggets along to way that propel you forward like a great novelist.

Much like Beloved, Song of Solomon centers around the family of an ex slave, but that is pretty much where the similarities end. Marcus Dead married the daughter of the greatest black man in town. The relationship between Marcus and his wife is strained at best, with rumors of incest between his wife and her dead father swirling throughout the story. …continue to the book review of Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison