Book Review: Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters we come to care for

Cons: Lacks focus, so feels disjointed

The Bottom Line:

Chasing Narnia

But plenty else going on

The book lacks focus

Mixed Journey of Self-Discovery

The first time I read The Chronicles of Narnia back in 3rd grade, I fell in love with them. So when I heard about Once Upon a Wardrobe, a novel about CS Lewis and the creation of the series, I was curious. Sadly, the book tried to do too much and fell short for me. 

The year is 1950, and Megs is in her first year at Oxford. She still goes home on weekends, however, to her small village so she can spend time with her younger brother. George has had a weak heart all of his life, and the doctors can’t do anything for him. 

George’s world has been enhanced by the books he reads, and someone has given him a copy of the recently released The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He’s obsessed, and he wants to know where Narnia comes from. Meg’s will do anything for her brother, so she sets out to see if she can get the answer from C.S. Lewis. But what will she find if she meets the author? 

This book has a lot going on. There’s the story of Megs in the “present,” then there’s what’s going on with George. And, of course, the flashbacks to Lewis’s life. Unfortunately, it doesn’t balance them well. We get some vignettes from Lewis’s life from boyhood to young adult, but many of them are summarized stories for us and don’t really let us get to know much about him. Several of the things that happen in the 1950 storyline are illogical. Don’t get me wrong, I liked them, but they didn’t feel plausible. 

Ultimately, this is a coming of age tale for Megs. Again, I liked where it ended up, but it didn’t quite feel like it worked from what we were being given. 

I think part of this is that the basic premise, where did Narnia come from, is a weird question. Especially since the novel kinds of skirts around, giving us all the answers without giving us any definite answers. Trust me, this makes sense when you’ve read it. 

Ultimately, I feel like this is a book where the author had a grand theme planned, but she couldn’t quite pull off her vision. I’m not quite sure how it could have been fixed. Maybe cut out so much about Megs and her personal life? But that was a storyline I really enjoyed. 

Because, don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy the characters. And the book did make me cry a few times. There is something good in here, but it doesn’t work like it should. 

In the end, Once Upon a Wardrobe is a book you should pick up if you are curious about it. I’m not sorry I read it. But I wish the author had focused just a bit more on a core story. It would have helped cement things. 

Book Review: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (Anne of Green Gables #1)

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Good characters

Cons: Rambles, some issue with the plot overall

The Bottom Line:

Come meet orphan Anne

Well loved classic that has charm

But flaws annoyed me

It’s Hard to Imagine a More Romantic Story, but It Didn’t Quite Work for Me

I’ve heard about Anne of Green Gables all my life, and I know at some point I watched the movies with Megan Follows as the main character.  But that’s been years ago, and I really don’t remember much of anything about them.  But, since I have a trip coming up where I will be visiting Prince Edward Island, the setting for the story, I decided I should give the first book a try.

The story takes place around the turn of the twentieth century since the novel came out in 1908.  It tells the story of Anne Shirley, an orphan girl who is sent from the orphanage to live with the Cuthbert siblings, Matthew and Marilla.  The problem?  They were looking for a young boy to help Matthew around their farm, Green Gables.  However, against their better judgement, they find themselves liking Anne, and then beginning to love her.  So she stays.

This book follows her for five years of her life as she grows into a young woman of sixteen.  She is talkative and imaginative and sensitive about her red hair.  Will she make friends with the kids in her new village of Avonlea?  What will happen to her as she continues to grow?

The book is definitely dated.  There are some words here that aren’t used the way they are here anymore.  No, there is nothing offensive about the language.  It’s just dated.  I’m sure today’s kids will still enjoy the story, and it is a window into another place and time.

However, the story didn’t quite work for me.  I think part of it is because I’m the wrong age and gender for the book.  Of the people I know who are fans, almost all of them are women, and most of them first read it when they were pre-teens or teens, Anne’s age in this book.  I can see the appeal for them.  But, coming to it as an adult, I just didn’t find it as appealing.

Part of it is how much time passes.  I find books that cover that much time harder to get into.  It does allow us to see some maturing in Anne, but it also makes things very episodic, which isn’t my preferred style of novel.

While a rags to riches story is always appealing, and I love rooting for the underdog, this book got a little ridiculous by the end.

Having said that, I will say again I can see the appeal.  I definitely grew to like the characters, and a part of me is curious to see what happens to them next.  There are some charming and funny stories in the book that made me laugh.

Fans will immediately recognize what I am riffing on with my review title.  Anne is always imagining this or that, and she is constantly captivated by the romance of this or that happening.

I listened to the audio version narrated by Shelly Frasier.  She does a great job of bringing the story and characters to life.

I’m glad I read Anne of Green Gables since I’ve always heard so much about it.  We will see if I wind up continuing on with the books or not.  Despite the flaws, I enjoyed it just enough to want to know what happens next to Anne and the rest of the characters.

Book Review: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining story

Cons: Thin characters, dated elements

The Bottom Line:

Racing around globe

With paper thin characters

Wanted to like more

The Original Race Around the World

I’ve often thought about reading Jules Verne’s classic Around the World in 80 Days.  Even though I was disappointed with the recent PBS/BBC production loosely inspired by the book, I decided it was time to finally see what happened in the original book.

This book introduces us to Phileas Fogg, a wealthy Londoner in the 1870’s.  He’s a man of exacting standards and routine.  In fact, he has to hire a new man servant because his last one didn’t have his shaving water heated to the exact temperature that Fogg required.  His new servant, the Frenchman Passepartout, is thrilled about Fogg’s dependability since he is looking for a quiet life after leading a life of excitement for the last few years.

Of course, on the exact day that Passepartout enters Fogg’s employ, Fogg makes a bet with the members of his gentlemen’s club that Fogg can make it around the world in exactly 80 days.  So the two set off, planning to take trains and ships to accomplish this feat.

However, a bank has just been robbed a few days before they leave, and a detective in Suez thinks that Fogg matches the description of the bank robber.  Will Detective Fix arrest Fogg for a crime he didn’t commit?  Or will Fogg make it around the world?

I’ve got to say, I was a little surprised at how quickly they covered some parts of the journey, and then how long they spent in other locations.  We pretty much jump from England to Suez, for example.  And I feel like we spend more time in America than anywhere else on the trip.

I found myself struggling to enjoy this book as much as I expected to, and that’s mainly because of the characters.  They are paper thin.  Passepartout is the best of the lot.  Fogg, for example, never shows emotion.  It really makes Passepartout the main character.  Fix and his efforts to slow them down so he can arrest Fogg makes for an interesting complication, and I did get into the story the further along I went, but still, I wish there were more character development.

Another reason I struggled was the constant head hopping.  It’s definitely not a writing style I’m used to these days, and this book is a good example of why it is mostly avoided now.  It’s not done well here.

The book is definitely dated in its portrayal of native cultures.  There are two events that especially stood out to me, one in America and one in India.  Of course, I know that both of the things portrayed did actually happen in real life; and one of them was a major issue that was being dealt with at the time.  I do wonder how prevalent that other was.  As such, it leaves me with mixed thoughts on the inclusion of these incidents in the book from a historical and cultural perspective since they were reflecting the world at the time.  From a dramatic perspective, they gave us some of the most exciting events of the story.

Then there’s Aouda, the only woman in the entire book.  Even by the standards of the thin characters already in the book, she is absolutely the worst character here.  She doesn’t do much throughout the book until the climax, where her presence plays a vital part.  Even so, she is a waste of a character and got on my nerves because of it.  To be clear, she got on my nerves because of how thin and undeveloped she was.  And that is why I found her the worst character.

I really appreciated how the ending was set up.  Yes, I already knew what was going to happen (I’d heard about the ending of the book years ago, so even before I watched the PBS version), so I appreciated the little clues to that which were worked into the book earlier.

Having now read the book, I can certainly appreciate why the PBS version made some of the changes they did to this story.  The dated elements and thin characters wouldn’t fly with today’s audience.  However, I don’t think their fixes were necessarily any better.  In fact, in many cases, they were worse and will date the new production as badly in another few years.

While I’ve been saying I read the book, technically, I listened to the audio version.  The version I got from the library was unabridged, and it was the Recorded Books version narrated by Patrick Tull.  I thought he did fine with the story and keeping the characters straight for us.

I enjoyed the story enough that I’m glad I’ve finally read Around the World in 80 Days.  However, the weak characters and dated elements make it a book to think carefully about before you pick it up.

Book Review: Finding Zelda by Sue Ann Jaffarian (Zelda Bowen #1)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong story mixing comedy and drama well

Cons: A few niggles along the way

The Bottom Line:

Bowen family

Goes through year of ups and downs

In start of series

Zelda’s About to Experience a Bunch of Bad Holidays

Several years ago, Sue Ann Jaffarian released a series of short stories about the Bowen family, focusing on middle daughter Zelda.  She decided that the story was really a novel instead of the connected short stories she was releasing, but finding the time to finish this while working on the novels she had under contract proved difficult.  Until now.  She has finally been able to release Finding Zelda, and it was worth the wait.

We first meet the Bowen family at Easter as Zelda and her two sisters, Norma and Bea, are arguing over who will wear the bunny costume that year for the kids.  Normally, that is something their father would do, but he has vanished without a word to anyone.  Even though the three women are grown, two of them with families of their own, his absence has repercussions in all of their lives and in their family overall.  As the year progresses, how will they deal with what happened?

Now, I know what you are thinking – this book sounds depressing.  Trust me, it isn’t.  Yes, there are some serious issues brought up and dealt with, and those scenes are handled appropriately.  However, there is plenty of comedy to help lighten the mood.  The Bowen family was painfully dysfunctional even before the father took off, and that just brought it to the surface.  And some of the scenes we get as a result are downright funny.  The comedy and drama are mixed well.

Sue Ann Jaffarian is best known for her mystery novels.  This isn’t a mystery.  Instead, it’s the story of a family.  No, this isn’t something I would normally read, but I read it because it was Sue Ann Jaffarian (and because I’d read the stories several years ago).  I’m so glad I did.  The further I got into the book, the more hooked I was.  I just had to know what would happen next to Zelda and how the family would react to everything happening around them.

It helps that Zelda is a strong main character, and extremely sympathetic.  I wanted her to figure out how to deal with everything going on in her life and become stronger as a result.  I found the rest of her family sympathetic at times and frustrating at others, which I think makes them real as well.  Because I came to care for the characters so much, I felt the effects of the story as I was reading.

I do want to point out that this book would be rated PG-13 if it were a film.  There is a smattering of four letter words and some discussions about the characters’ sex lives I could have done without.  However, these are minor aspects of the story so are worth noting only in passing.

If, like me, you read the Holidays from Hell short stories when they were released, you’ll definitely find the first half of the book familiar.  Sue Ann has beefed this section up, adding some scenes and events that had only been mentioned in passing in the original short stories.  And, honestly, it’s been so long that I could remember a few general events, but not all the details, so I was thankful for the refresher.  Once we got to the second half, it was all new material, and I was glad to finally see how everything that had been set up paid off.

Sometimes, when an author writes a book that takes place over many months, it can make for a rough read as the author tries to include too much.  That isn’t a problem here at all.  The changing months were all easy to follow, and we only checked in with Zelda during important scenes in the story, getting summaries of anything that might be important in the time period we were gone.

Originally, Finding Zelda was supposed to be a standalone novel, but Sue Ann has decided it is really a series, with more to come about Zelda’s life.  I’m quite curious the direction these books are going to take, and I will definitely be along for the ride.  I really enjoyed getting to know more of Zelda’s story.

NOTE: I received a copy of this book.

Book Review: The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Great characters and look at 1918 England

Cons: Too much going on; not my type of book

The Bottom Line:

Historical book

Brings time period to life

But not right for me

I Was the Wrong Audience for this Book

It’s no secret that I’ve been a fan of Rhys Bowen’s mysteries for years.  I’ve also followed her to her recent standalone novels, which have been slowly venturing beyond the mystery genre.  That brings us to The Victory Garden.  Set during the final months of World War I, this book leaves the trappings of mystery far behind.

Emily Bryce is about to turn twenty-one, and she is ready to start doing something to help with the war effort.  Her parents have kept her at home with her mom hoping to find someone from the aristocracy to marry her off to, but Emily is determined to find her own path.  While she is envious of her friend who is a nurse on the front lines, she is hoping to find a way to help out closer to her home in England.

Then Emily meets Robbie, an Australian pilot recovering from an injury at a hospital in the area.  Even though her parents forbid it, she keeps seeing him behind their back.  She also soon joins up with the Women’s Land Army, helping to keep the farms in England running to provide food for everyone.  Will her parents ever accept her choices?

This book clearly falls into general fiction.  The only real mystery is how Emily will overcome what life is throwing at her next.  She does go through quite a bit as the story unfolds.  I’m not going to mention anything else specific since doing so would spoil the book.

However, as I read, I struggled to get into the story.  I’m not completely sure why.  It was obvious early on that the book wouldn’t have a mystery, which I suspected from reading the book’s description, and I’m usually able to adjust my expectations pretty easily when that happens.  I do enjoy historical fiction, so that wasn’t the issue either.

If I had to give the book a sub-genre, I’d call it a coming of age story, or possibly women’s fiction.  And I think that is part of my issue with the book.  There’s a reason I don’t tend to read those type of books – I don’t generally enjoy them.  So that is on me for picking up something I don’t normally enjoy.

The book covers a year in Emily’s life, and what a year it is.  Honestly, I think that was my other issue with the story – it tried to do too much.  If one of the things she had to deal with had been taken out of the book, and some of the others had been given time to be further developed, that might have helped me connect to the story more.  Instead, some of what Emily is going through is summarized so much that we don’t get to feel what she is going through as we are told things instead of being shown them.  I felt like I was being kept at arm’s length at times instead of invited into the story.  I did tear up a time or two, but I felt like I should have been more emotionally invested in the book.

I was compelled to keep reading because I enjoyed the characters so much.  Emily is a strong protagonist.  She meets quite a varied group of people over the course of the book, and they all come alive as well, sometimes in just a few pages.

And I was completely taken back in time as I read.  England in 1918 was facing some serious issues as the war wound down, and those are brought to the forefront.  We don’t think often enough of the sacrifices that were being made on the home front during these times of war, and this book does a great job of making us remember just how much everyone suffered during that time period.

So The Victory Garden isn’t a bad book, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Rhys’s other books.

Book Review: Club Deception by Sarah Skilton

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, interesting story

Cons: Weak sub-plots and ending

The Bottom Line:

A magicians’ club

Politics behind the scenes

Fun, could be stronger

Pay Attention to the Woman Behind the Magician

Every year, my local library puts on a local author day, and this last January, I met author Sarah Skilton there.  She had her first adult novel coming out in July, and since it involved magic, I thought it sounded like fun.  Unfortunately, Club Deception didn’t live up to my expectations.

The book follows four characters as their lives begin to intertwine in the world of Club Deception, an exclusive club for magicians in Los Angeles.  There’s Claire, the wife of club president Jonathan.  Jonathan has long cheated on Claire even though she is the mind behind his act and the real person who keeps the club running smoothly.  Then there’s Jessica, the new wife of traveling magician Cal.  Now that they are married, Cal is ready to return to Los Angeles after a three-year absence.  Meanwhile, Kaimi has been hired to sell some pages from a rare manuscript by the master of card tricks.  Finally, there’s Felix, a former baseball player interning with Jonathan in hopes of becoming a world class magician.

Now, this book touts itself as a mystery.  Despite the fact that was are told in the prologue (before we back up six weeks for chapter one) that one of the characters has been poisoned, it really doesn’t fit my definition of a mystery.  Heck, that portion feels like sub-plot because even when we do catch up to the point of the murder, the book focuses on how it impacts the characters and less on the who done it.

And that’s okay because this book is more of a character study than anything else.  I quickly realized that and adjusted my expectations accordingly.  Now this isn’t to say that the book didn’t have an interesting story going on.  There are some secrets from the past, betrayals, and complications for the characters to deal with, and I found myself getting caught up in their stories.  It helps that the inner politics of the club is fascinating, and it features into the story quite a bit.

And this was despite the fact that the characters weren’t always likable.  Mainly, it was Claire I had a problem with.  She is manipulative at times, but at others we see a human who is hurting.  The rest of the cast make some choices I would disagree with at various times, but for the most part I liked them the entire way through.  All four of the characters I mentioned earlier take their turns as our third person point of view narrator, and that gives us amble opportunity to get to know them.  It also gives us different takes on some of the other characters, which is always interesting.

Still, when I got to the end, I felt like it was missing something.  Maybe it’s because I am used to the tropes of the mystery genre instead of general fiction, but I felt like a couple of the storylines didn’t go anywhere.  And I get what the author was trying to do with the ending, but I felt like the characters hadn’t really learned anything from what had happened before and there was more to the story as a result.  Again, maybe that is me.

This is definitely a departure in another way from the mysteries I normally read – the amount of sex on the page.  But it is in keeping with the harder mysteries I listen to, however.

Am I sorry I picked up Club Deception?  No.  There were certainly parts I enjoyed.  I think a little more focus on what the novel wanted to say would have made it stronger, however.

Book Review: On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Interesting, well developed lead characters…

Cons: …Who happen to be criminals

The Bottom Line:

Go on this road trip

With reforming criminals

Watch characters grow

Character Growth on a Road Trip

On the Road with Del and Louise is a very different book from what I normally read.  As the subtitle says, it is a novel in stories.  The book is a collection of six short stories that follow the same characters across the country.  Along the way, we get to know them and root for them to get a happy ending.

These main characters are Del and Louise.  We meet them as Del is about to pull one last job.  You see, he’s a thief, and Louise meets him when he robs her at the 7-11 where she is currently working.  She gives him her number, and the two of them start dating.  But the book starts as they are about to hit the road, and Del is hoping that the money from this one last job will set them up in their future.

It’s that future that seems to be in constant jeopardy.  Del really wants to leave this life of crime behind so Louise isn’t dragged further into it, but things never seem to go as planned.  We catch up with them in Victorville, California, the Napa wine country, Las Vegas, and North Dakota before the duo head to Louise’s hometown in North Carolina to get married.

The six stories and the trouble that Del and Louise find are all very different, and I’m not going to spoil any of that for you.  Most of them fall into the caper side of the crime genre spectrum, but there is one traditional mystery along the way.

All of them are platforms for us to really get to know Del and Louise, especially Louise as she is our narrator.  They are both very complex characters, which is one reason I grew to like them.  Yes, my main complaint with the book is that our main characters, very sympathetic main characters, should be in jail.  Yet I constantly found myself rooting for them to do the right thing and avoid jail time.  Fortunately, their crimes are minimal, and that makes it better for me.

Each story starts slowly, building up to the tease that opened that section.  But once we get to the main plot of the chapter, things really get interesting.  With each chapter being a different plot, there’s no repetition so no reason to get bored.

Because this book is more a character study than a mystery novel (even though it is classified as a mystery), the novel in stories approach works well.  There are themes that weave through all the stories, which help tie things together.  Del and Louise are really the only characters in all the stories, although we get references to some in multiple stories, and Louise usually does talk to her mother (or at least about her mother) in all the stories.  If I could compare it to anything, it would be to a series of books where tiny things from each entry pop up in the others.  And all the time, Del and Louise are growing as characters, which helps keep us invested.

And I know I’m probably the only one who will talk about this being more character study than mystery.  Yes, the plots of the stories are crime related, but that aren’t the focus at all.  I maintained the same thing about Lisa Lutz’s Spellman Files series while devouring each one.  Yet several of them were nominated for top mystery awards, just like this book has been.  I guess I’m just extremely picky in my classifications.

My reservations about our heroes aside, On the Road with Del and Louise is an interesting road trip with two characters who you truly come to care about.  If you are looking for something different in the crime genre, this book is for you.

Book Review: The Story of Diva and Flea by Mo Willems

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Charming, sweet story; wonderful illustrations

Cons: Two French words might trip up young readers

The Bottom Line:

Dog and cat as friends?

Yes, in delightful story

Will charm everyone

Delightfully Cute Story for an Early Chapter Book

As you might have noticed, I’ve become a huge fan of Mo Willems in the last few years.  I try to keep up with all of his books, which is fairly easy because he usually writes delightful picture books.  (No, seriously.  If you’ve haven’t read any of them yet, take five minutes to read one.)  So when I heard about The Story of Diva and Flea, I knew I had to give it a try.  It’s no surprise to me that I loved it.

This is a bit of a departure for Mo in two ways.  First, it is for a slightly older audience than his typical easy reader books.  It’s almost 70 pages long and includes chapters and more words than normal.  Secondly, instead of doing the illustrations himself, Mo asked his friend Tony DiTerlizzi to do them.  Neither of these is a weakness in the slightest, just something worth noting.

The story centers around the unlikeliest of friends, a small dog named Diva and an ally cat named Flea.  Diva lives in a small Paris apartment and stands guard in the courtyard every day.  However, she is very timid and runs away at everything, including approaching feet.  Flea, on the other hand, spends his days exploring the city of Paris and living by his wits.

One day, Flea walks outside the courtyard and sees Diva.  While at first he delights in teasing her, soon he is spending his days telling Diva about all the things he’s experienced.  As their friendship grows, they each impact the other in significant ways.  How exactly will their lives change?

While there may be some changes from Mo’s normal books, there are some similarities.  We get the power of friendship and how that can change you for the better.  That’s a constant theme of his Elephant and Piggie books after all.  Both Diva and Flea are good characters (especially for a short book), and it’s hard not to fall in love with them.

The story is predictable for adults, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t great.  I found myself touched by it, and I’m sure kids won’t figure out where it is going.  Not that the book is filled with twists or surprises.  It’s just a simple, touching story of how an unexpected friendship helped these two characters lead better lives.  It’s truly such a sweet book with nothing that should frighten anyone.

Each two page spread is filled with wonderful pen and ink illustrations by Tony.  His artwork is beautiful and brings the story to life in a rich way.  Most two page spreads are roughly half text and half picture, so the pages will still go by quickly, encouraging young readers since they will feel like they are making great progress in the book.

My only hesitation is a couple of French words that Mo Willems uses.  He gives plenty of context, so it’s easy to figure out what the words mean, but beginning readers might stumble a bit over the French words and their pronunciation.  Then again, maybe that’s just me since I’ve always struggled with foreign languages.  On the other hand, Flea has some very fun misunderstandings of words that will delight young readers.

So if you are looking for a great book to transition your young reader toward chapter books, The Story of Diva and Flea will do just that.  Everyone will be charmed with this delightful story.

While the target audience for this book is Grades 1 through 3, I am still including it in this week's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday.

Book Review: The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan retold in today's English by Cheryl V. Ford

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Powerful allegory in Christian’s journey

Cons: Christiana’s journey in the second half not as strong

The Bottom Line:

Journey of Christian

Facing trials, struggles of life

Still powerful now

Come Join Christian’s Journey to Celestial City

As a kid, I was exposed to The Pilgrim's Progress early thanks to the record of the children’s musical called Enchanted Journey that was based on this classic book and then the book Little Pilgrim’s Progress.  In fact, I was obsessed with the story for a while and read Little Pilgrim’s Progress back to back to back until I found the Chronicles of Narnia.  But that was years ago.  (Let’s not get into how many years ago, okay?)  So when a small group in my church started doing a book study based on The Pilgrim’s Progress, I jumped at the chance to revisit the story.

If you aren’t familiar with the book, it is a classic of literature.  It was written by John Bunyan and was started while he was in prison for illegally preaching the gospel in England during the late 1600’s.  It is an allegory told in the form of a dream.

As the book progresses, we follow Christian as he journeys from his home in the City of Destruction.  He has read that his city is doomed to be judged and he must undertake a journey to escape before it is too late.  Also bothering him is a huge burden on his back.  After meeting with Evangelist, he sets off on a journey along the straight and narrow path to the Celestial City.  But what might he encounter on the way?

Now, if you haven’t figured it out already, let me be clear right off the bat – Bunyan is not at all subtle in his allegory.  If what I already shared isn’t obvious enough, let me share about an encounter Christian has as he is leaving the City of Destruction.  Two of his friends, Obstinate and Pliable come to try to talk him out of his journey.  Obstinate refuses to listen to anything that Christian shares while Pliable goes along with him – until they encounter their very first obstacle.  At that point, Pliable turns and runs home with his tail between his legs.  So scenes like that are predictable as you read it based solely on character names.

And yet, you don’t read this book for the plot twists and surprises or well developed characters, something I had to rewire my brain for as I was reading.  Instead, the morals that Bunyan is trying to share are the reason to read this book.  Those are powerful, and his object lessons are still valid and sharp all these centuries later.  At times, the book reads more like sermons as the characters discuss things back and forth.  It’s sneaky since I would never pick up a book like that, but those scenes were good and always made me stop and think.

Of course, the allegory breaks down at times and things appear and disappear at times when the plot calls for it.  Yet if you take each chapter by itself, there are lessons to learn and things to think about.

Christian’s journey takes up the first half of the book, and is the best known part of The Pilgrim’s Progress.  However, Bunyan wrote a sequel, which details the journey of Christian’s wife Christiana and their four kids.  It is interesting to read it since, while following the same route, the encounters and difficulties are different.

However, I found I didn’t enjoy this half as much as the first half.  Yes, it suffers from the curse of the sequel – the sequel just isn’t as good as the original.  There were other issues with the second half as well.  For example, while the first half definitely had continuity issues, the second half had more as characters seemed to age very quickly and it seemed like Bunyan was forcing things into the story.  Maybe it was the dream framework of the story at work.  The action seemed a bit more forced and the sermons much less sharp.  The second half is certainly worth reading, but there is a reason the first half is better known – it’s the better story and allegory.

Since Bunyan wrote this so long ago, he wrote it in old English.  I don’t know if I could make it through this book in his original version.  This particular edition was translated into modern English about twenty years ago by Cheryl Ford.  She has done a great job of making the story readable for modern audiences while still maintaining Bunyan’s voice.  The difference in writing style between today and 400 years ago is still obvious, and my issues with the narrative were the result of the differences in storytelling between then and now.  Mrs. Ford has kept in the notes and Scripture references from Bunyan’s original in the margins as well.  Additionally, at the end of the book are indexes - an index of all Scriptures referenced and one of the events and characters in the novel.  There are even a few discussion questions for the chapters that cover Christian’s journey.  The book is also filled with the calligraphy of Timothy Botts.  I found this fun and enjoyed seeing how he interpreted the various places and character names.

There was a reason I loved this story as a kid – The Pilgrim's Progress is an amazing allegory of the Christian life with warnings and encouragement for all.  While the second half isn’t as strong, this is a book still well worth reading today.

Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Thought provoking essays from a different point of view

Cons: Some theological issues with how things are portrayed

The Bottom Line:

Enemy’s view of

Temptation and sin.  Digest

It with discernment

Fresh Look at Temptation and Spiritual Warfare from the Other Side

I love The Chronicles of Narnia.  Seriously, in any form I’ve encountered them, I’ve fallen under the spell of them.  But I’ve never moved on to any of C. S. Lewis’s other books until this month, when I listened to The Screwtape Letters.  Naturally, I’d heard about this book for years, and I can certainly see why people talk about it so much.

The premise of the book is unique.  It’s a series of letters from Screwtape, a senior devil, to his nephew Wormwood, who is on his first assignment as a tempter.  We don’t get many details on the man Wormwood is trying to lead astray (he is always called the Patient), but as we go through the roughly 30 letters, a story begins to unfold.  The Patient is a new Christian, and it is Wormwood’s job to keep that conversion from sticking.  Screwtape offers advice on just about anything from his home life to his new love and even the growing European war.  As he does so, we get insight into how even good things can be easily twisted for evil and how the enemy thinks.

Or maybe not.  The thing to remember while reading the book is that this is all one man’s conjecture on how things are in the spiritual realm.  As I was listening, I kept having to remind myself that this is not necessarily the way things are.  Having said that, what is here is actually quite logical and makes a lot of sense with what I’ve seen in my own life.  There is much to think about and chew on, and the book is well worth reading for that reason alone.  Just keep in mind that it is fiction as you think about it.

What I think struck me the most is how easily good things can be twisted around to make them sinful.  That is hit upon several times over the course of the book, and I could certainly see the point Lewis was making.  For example, pride can easily crop up in a group that is right on an issue.  It’s not anything I didn’t already know before, but seeing it laid out from the other side made hit me in a different way.

The book was originally published in 1941, meaning that World War II plays a huge part in the events unfolding.  That may date a few of the references, but none of the real issues brought up are at all dated.

In fact, as Screwtape was expounding on the way the demons are trying to influence the population at large, I recognized much in our world today.  The book may be almost 75 years old, but the vision that Lewis had of our culture and how it would unfold in the future is downright scary at times.  The book concludes with “Screwtape Proposes a Toast,” a speech Lewis wrote in the early 60’s reviving the Screwtape character.  Again, his observations are spot on even all these years later.

Which is why I feel I am sorry to have to point out a theological flaw to the book.  It is obvious as you read that Screwtape thinks a person can lose their salvation.  That’s dangerous theology, and not the way I read the Bible.  I certainly think that Christians can still be lead into sin, however, but the idea that the demons can claim a Christian’s soul goes against what I think the Bible teaches.

The audio version I listened to was from Blackstone Audio and narrated by Ralph Cosham.  He did a great job keeping my interest, which considering the lack of dialogue and other normal fiction trappings was quite a feat.  In a lot of ways, this is non-fiction disguised as fiction, and the mix is just right to keep it interesting and make you think.

So be sure to read The Screwtape Letters with discernment, but by all means read it and think about what is presented in this short novel.  There is a reason that it has been read and talked about for all these years.

I read this book for the Reading to Know Bookclub.  With as short as the book is, there's still plenty of time to read it to participate yourself this month.

Book Review: 1984 by George Orwell

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Thought provoking look at a totalitarian government

Cons: Weak as a novel, but still gets the point across.

The Bottom Line:

While the plot is weak

The thoughts expressed in novel

Are still important

Learn to Love Big Brother

When I was in high school, all seniors read 1984 as part of government.  However, it’s been *mumble mumble* years since them, so the details were pretty sketchy on what happened in the novel.  My impression of it remains the same, short on the novel but long on the thought potential.

Welcome to Oceania.  Our guide to this world is Winston Smith, a member of The Party who works at the Ministry of Truth making sure that all documents conform to The Party line.  And in this socialist vision of the world, The Party, as embodied by Big Brother, is all powerful.

However, Winston is old enough to have vague memories of life before The Party took over England.  While he outwardly tows the line, he is hoping that at some point The Party can be overthrown.  As he starts a forbidden affair with Julia, it looks like his hopes might come to be.  Do they have hope of overthrowing the government?  Or is Big Brother really all powerful?

This novel is essentially broken into three parts.  (Not that I’m being terribly original since Orwell himself did that, too.)  There’s the setup, where we meet Winston and see what his world in this alternative 1984 is like.  Then there’s the part where he and Julia build their relationship.  Finally, there’s the part where Winston faces the results of his actions.

But here’s the thing – as a novel this book falls rather flat.  If I were rating based completely on the fiction portion, I’d rate this book as a 3 at best.  The pacing is very slow as we get lectures at various points in all three sections of the story.  The characters are also rather flat.  We do come to care for Winston enough to root for him to avoid his obvious outcome, but the rest are just there for the story.

This is certainly not a bright look at the future.  While I wasn’t depressed at the ending like I was in high school, it is certainly sobering.

However, the point that George Orwell was trying to make in the book is a warning that still needs to be heeded.  If we let government have too much power, we can lose our freedom and control of our very lives.  Anyone who has been paying attention during the last decade has seen this for themselves just be reading the headlines.  Frankly, it is scary looking at what is happening in American right now.  However, it is easy to point out the planks in the eyes of the other party.  I could sit here all day and pick apart what I think is going wrong based on what one side is doing just based on things I saw on Twitter this morning.  However, if we are honest, these assaults on our freedom are coming from politicians, period.  And not even just politicians.  There are organizations who will try to do whatever it takes to get their way.  It’s scary, and if we don’t watch ourselves, we will wind up living in a world like Orwell describes.  So we need to get the specks out of our own eyes while pointing out the planks in the eyes of the other side.

When Orwell wrote the book in 1948, the technology he describes was certainly fantastic, and we weren’t quite there in 1984.  However, thanks to computers and smart TV’s, we are getting closer to this vision with every year.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I love the internet (it’s how I’m posting this review, after all), and I watch too much TV.  However, those things can be used against us.  We need to be careful.

So, obviously, I think the message of this book is still important, and for that reason it needs to be read.  It’s why I actually gave the book 4 stars, a compromise between the rating as an average novel and the rating as an important piece of literature that needs to be thought about and dissected.  The novel part works well enough to get us involved and see what Orwell is trying to teach us.  I’m sure I would have completely tuned out a non-fiction book that made these same points.  Plus, when we see what happens to Winston, we see the points better.

Here’s another reason to read this book – it has greatly impacted our culture since it was published.  References to Big Brother and NewSpeak all come from this book.  It is always wise to know where references come from and why and what they truly mean.

I actually listened to the audio version by Recorded Books this time around.  Frank Muller did a wonderful job with the narration, which helped keep me engaged even during the slower parts.

No, 1984 isn’t going to be a page turning, highly enjoyable novel.  But it is a book that should be read by anyone who enjoys freedom.  Read it before Big Brother takes away the privilege.

This review is part of Reading to Know's Classics Book Club.  Check out the blog on April 30th for more takes on the book.

Book Review: The Warlord of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (John Carter/Barsoom #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Action and adventure in fast moving story

Cons: Weaknesses of an action story (weak characters and easily overcoming overwhelming odds)

The Bottom Line:

A race across Mars

As John tries to rescue wife

Page turning action

John Carter Races to Save His Wife

I was blindly listening to the second of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Barsoom Chronicles (you know, his books set on Mars), when it suddenly ended with a major cliffhanger.  I vowed I would move on to The Warlord of Mars soon to find out what would happen next.

So why am I just now listening to it a year and a half later?  Because it took me that long to find a copy on audio I could borrow and I never could make the time in my reading schedule to sit down and read a print copy in the meantime.  However, the wait was worth it.

If you are new to the story, the good news is there is enough of a recap at the beginning of the book to fill you in on what has come before.  You won’t get all the nuances of the plot, but you’ll be able to follow the story.  I was thankful for that recap since it helped remind me of things from the second book that had become hazy.

We rejoin John Carter six months after the last book ends – six months after the cliffhanger which left him separated from his wife Dejah Thoris as she was locked in a revolving prison with two other women, one of whom has promised to kill her.  It will be another six months before the prison opens and John Carter learns what has happened during that time.

He has taken to standing watch in the shadows around the temple, and that is how he spots Thurid leaving the temple under cover of darkness.  Intrigued and concerned, he follows Thurid only to find him meeting up with Matai Shang.  Both are mortal enemies of John Carter and all that he loves.  An overheard conversation about a secret way into the prison holding Dejah Thoris and the others sparks John on a quest that will take him all over Mars in an attempt to be reunited with his beloved wife.  Will he overcome incredible odds to do so?

Like the two books that had come before, this book was filled with action.  John Carter travels from one battle and dangerous situation to another often facing overwhelming odds.  Honestly, that is one thing I roll my eyes at – he is constantly overcoming those odds with ease.  This is a book like many action movies today where you have to leave your ideas about reality behind when it comes to what John can do in a tight situation.

Also like in many action movies, the characters are thin.  They don’t get much beyond good or bad as far as character development goes.  Even John Carter, our narrator, isn’t super nuanced although he turns out better than many of the others.  Still, we know enough about them to care about the outcome of the story.

And care we do.  While I recognized the flaws, I was still pulled into the story and cheered or groaned at times.  (Really, I do seem to interact with audio books more than I do the written page, don’t I?)  The action pulled me in and a few times I found myself anxious to see just how John would get out of the latest tight spot he was in.

The audio book I listened to was narrated by William Dufris, and he did a great job with the story.  He kept just the right amount of drama in his voice without overwhelming the action or taking me out of the book.  His voices for the characters, while not super distinct, were helpful in following the dialogue.

I don’t know that I would rush back to reread this book, but I’m glad I finally got to find out what happens to John Carter in The Warlord of Mars.  It’s a fun and imaginative adventure despite its flaws.

Book Review: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun story with a great lesson in equality

Cons: Use of the N word, more episodic than a true novel.

The Bottom Line: 

Float down a river

And see everyone's human

In classic novel

Float on Down the River with Huck and Jim

Mark Twain opened his classic Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with a notice.  "Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot will be shot."  I'm now going to run a great risk and ignore all of those as I review this book.

Okay, actually, the warning about the plot is pretty easy to avoid.  After all, it is really a series of very loosely related events and not a plot in the sense we think of them today.  The story picks up pretty much where Adventures of Tom Sawyer left the characters.  Huckleberry Finn is living in Hannibal, Missouri, and trying to adjust to being "civilized" by the Widow Douglas who has taken the young teen off the streets since his pappy is nowhere to be found.  But then Pappy shows up, and Huck fakes his own death to escape from the abusive drunk.

In my mind, the book really gets rolling when Huck and runaway slave Jim take to the raft down the Mississippi River.  Even then, it's episodic in nature as they get caught up in a feud and harbor two con men, the King and the Duke.  In the final part of the novel, Tom Sawyer makes a reappearance and helps Huck free Jim, who is being held as a runaway slave on Tom's uncle and aunt's farm in Arkansas.

I'm a bit baffled why this book interests me more than Tom Sawyer since both are really a collection of short stories held together by the thinnest of narrative devices.  Really, it could have been posted as a series of short stories or novellas with little to no difference in understanding.

But most people who have a complaint with the story complain about the "climax," or as I view it the final episode.  Once I adjust to the amazing coincidence that Jim is being held by Tom's aunt and uncle, I enjoy this part of the book the most.  The elaborate plan that Tom insists they have to use to rescue Jim is hilarious.  And his reaction to Huck when Huck comes up with the logical, simple way to do things is funny.  Tom is being influenced by all the books he's read and is having so much fun finally living his fantasy of a real adventure I can't help but love it.

What I think appeals to me most is the idea of rafting down the Mississippi care free.  Twain paints such an idyllic picture of Huck and Jim's time on the raft between episodes that it makes me want to try this trip myself today.  Or at least see the Mississippi for myself.  Someday.  If you aren't as captivated by water and boating as I am, this part of the book will be slow and it will probably make the novel seem boring.  Personally, I love getting caught in their world.

I had forgotten just how much dialect Mark Twain used when writing this book.  Huckleberry has had limited schooling, so his grammar is far from perfect.  Since he narrates the book first person, that's reflected the entire way through the story.  Where I struggle more is with the characters who have thick accents.  At times, a few of the characters are also impossible to understand as Twain attempts to capture their accent and lack of education.  Sadly, one of those people is Jim, although he seems easier to understand at some parts and almost impossible at others.  In my mind, this is the most significant flaw of the book.

Outside of Huck and Jim, few characters are around enough to truly develop.  Jim and Huck are very real people, however, and I feel like I know them by the time I'm done reading the book.

The Controversy

This book is frequently challenged (even,  or should I say especially, by teachers) and even removed from libraries and schools because Twain uses the "N" word when referring to the slaves that populate the story.  Frankly, this frustrates me for multiple reasons.  First of all, the term was the term that was used when the book was written (1870's) and more important the correct term when the book was set (1840's).  I fully recognize that it is a hateful term, but I think this is a time where teachers can show how bad things used to be and where we are now in race relations.  (Frankly, the fact that teachers have challenged this book makes me wonder about those people as teachers.)  And the fact that the word still shows up in today's music makes me wonder why this word is enough to get a book removed when other classics have plenty of swear words in them.  (I'm looking at you, Grapes of Wrath, which would get an R rating just from language if it were adopted into a faithful movie.)

As I said earlier, Jim and Huck are the only two characters who truly get developed over the course of the book.  And the thing that amazes Huck as the story continues is when he realizes that Jim is a human just like him.  There's a passage where Jim is describing something that happened with his daughter that is heartbreaking and really makes Huck think.  And, while Jim spends most of the episodes off the raft waiting for Huck to return (so he's not captured as a runaway slave), he winds up setting the wheels in motion to give two characters their well-deserved comeuppance.

It could even be argued that the only real plot in the book is Huck's struggle with himself over his growing friendship with Jim.  Every so often, he struggles with the fact that he is helping a slave escape.  And the climax comes when he debates what to do when Jim is captured.  Finally, he decides that he wasn't made to be good so is going to live a life of sin, starting with breaking Jim out of captivity.  His resignation that this will send him to hell (something I would actually argue against, but for that time, that was what was taught), is a powerful statement and shows just how much Huck has come to view Jim as a human and not a piece of property.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that Twain was actually using this "boy's adventure story" to subtly work on race relations.  And the fact that we let the use of the correct term for the time blind us to the subtlety of his work infuriates me (as you may have noticed).

So I challenge you to pick up Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.  If you can look past a dated (and I will say again) hateful term, you'll find a fun series of stories and two great characters.

Short Story Review: Rockets' Red Glare by Sue Ann Jaffarian (Holidays from Hell #4)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great next chapter for a family I've come to care for

Cons: None for me

The Bottom Line:

Bowen clan returns

For explosive BBQ

A great short story

Fireworks at the Bowen Family Fourth of July BBQ

In 2011, author Sue Ann Jaffarian started a short story series focusing on the Bowen family and their bad holidays.  Unfortunately, life got in the way, and these e-stories stopped.  But she always intended to give us the next chapter, and it has finally appeared.  Just in time for the Fourth of July, we get "Rockets' Red Glare," and it's another winner.

Zelda has been dating a new guy for a few weeks now, and she's decided that it is time for him to meet the rest of the clan.  So she is bring Clay to the annual family Fourth of July BBQ.  She's also invited her grandfather on her dad's side.  That could be awkward since her dad has vanished, leaving her mother without a word.

So she is bracing for fireworks.  However, when they start, they are not at all what she expected.  What will the damage of the latest holiday be?

If you are jumping in here, there's certainly enough background to set the scene for you.  After all, I didn't go back and read the first three short stories before I read this one.  However, I don't recommend it.  While the brief introductions were enough for me to remember what had happened before, you'll certainly miss out if you are meeting everyone here for the first time.

The story is only 34 pages, but it amazes me just how much story and character development we get in that space.  These people come to life, especially Zelda who serves as our narrator.  I found myself caring about the outcome and wondering just where the characters will go from here.

The earlier entries in the series had a comedic element to them that mixed with drama as the story progressed.  This one didn't reach the comedy of the earlier ones before the drama started, but that didn't bothered me at all.  I was pulled into the story and the pages flew by.

And did I mention I'm ready for the next bad holiday already?

I'm glad to revisit the Bowens and get the next chapter in their story.  Those who have already met them will be glad to gather round the BBQ for "Rockets' Red Glare."  And if you are new to the clan, crash one of their holiday parties and find out just how entertaining someone else's bad holidays can be.

NOTE: I was sent a copy of this e-short story in exchange for my honest review.

Short Story Review: Where's Your Daddy? by Sue Ann Jaffarian (Holidays from Hell #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Progresses the family story while focusing on a smaller cast of characters

Cons: Not quite as funny as the previous stories

The Bottom Line:
A strange Father's Day

Lacks some of the humor but

Well worth reading




Interesting Father's Day Mission - Find Your Father

When a favorite author decided to start an electronic published short story series, I knew I'd be reading them.  But Sue Ann Jaffarian is doing something I wasn't expecting because each story builds on the previous ones as we watch the already dysfunctional Bowen family deal with emotional turmoil.  "Where's Your Daddy?" is the third story in the series and another fast, entertaining read.

This is the first Father's Day Zelda has spent without her father.  No, he hasn't died.  But in February, he upped and left his family behind and no one has heard from him since.

But Zelda figures if anyone has heard from him, it would be Pops, her dad's dad.  And so she sets about getting his favorite treat, an In-n-Out Double Double, and shows up at the assisted living facility he now calls now.  Pops has not made getting along with him easy over the years, and Zelda has some stories about the man that are shocking.  But does he have a clue where her father is now?

Each story in the series has mixed a healthy dose of humor with some more tender moments.  This one is no exception, although I found the humor here not quite as funny as the previous two stories.  Still, there were some grins and a laugh or two early on.

While the saga of the Bowen family is progressed in each story, the stories do stand on their own.  In fact, enough background is given you could jump in here if you wanted to.  However, I seriously don't recommend that because some plot points of previous stories are spoiled.  Beside, you'll want to read all of them anyway.

This go around, the story really focuses on Zelda, our narrator for all the tales, and Pops.  We get some updates on the rest of the cast, but no other family members appear.  That's not an issue because Zelda and Pops are more than entertaining enough to keep us interested, and it helps us get to know this new family member pretty well.  One more previously seen character does appear, and the character development on that person really makes me like them more.

As far as the story goes, things move along as a good clip.  It's amazing how much can happen in a few pages when a story is in the right hands, and Sue Ann proves what a master storyteller she is.

Since it's a short story, it can be read in 20-30 minutes.  It's only available in Kindle or Nook for 99 cents.

And it is time and money well spent.  The Bowen family quickly grows on you despite, or maybe because of, their flaws, and "Where's Your Daddy?" is another enjoy visit with them.

NOTE: I was sent this story in exchange for my honest review.

Short Story Review: Pull My Paw by Sue Ann Jaffarian (Holidays from Hell #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Entertaining short story

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: 

At times comedic

And at others serious

Another winner

Worst Mother's Day Present Ever?

After reading the first in Sue Ann Jaffarian's Holidays from Hell short story e-book series, I was anxious to read more.  Naturally, I was thrilled when she again sent me a copy to review.  I dug into "Pull My Paw," and I'm glad to say it is another fun treat.

It's the day before Mother's Day, and as is the Bowen family tradition, they are off to celebrate Mother's Day.  It's been an annual tradition for years.

Zelda's older sister Norma usually gives spa gift certificates, but this year she's shown up with something different - a dog.  As Norma and her husband argue with Zelda and their mom about whether the dog is a good present or not, they learn the dog has a very smelly problem.  As they are reeling from that revelation, their mother makes one of her own.  Can they get Mother's Day back on track?

The opening few pages of this 20+ page story were laugh out loud funny.  And I do mean that literally.  As the story progressed, I felt frustration with Zelda and finally some sobering reminders.  And the ending?  It was equal parts humor and surprise.

This story builds on the story from the first in the series, but each story stands alone.  You don't need to read them in order, but you will find them fun enough that you'll definitely want to read them both.

As with the first story, this one had strong characters, and it was immediately easy to remember them.  It does help that there aren't quite as many characters this go around, although the youngest sister does put in a cameo.  It's the mom who shows the most sides to her personality this time around, and I'm interested to see how some developments play out in future stories.

Since it's a short story, this was a fast read.  Once again, it amazes me just what Sue Ann was able to put into this story considering how short it is.

Having now survived a dog of a Mother's Day, I'm hoping that the Bowen's next bad holiday comes soon.  "Pull My Paw" definitely left me wanting more.