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Nigella Christmas: Food, Family, Friends, Festivities
Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause
The Young Unicorns (Austin Family Chronicles)
My L'Engle reviews seem to have a theme: complaining noises followed by assertions why said complaints are meaningless in view of the whole, and a reference to love as the universal solvent. This book is no different. I'm unable to keep from rolling my eyes when Rob, age 7, pipes up with a malapropism followed with an erudite comment on the second movement of some obscure 12th century piece of music which he knows by heart. The plot here is so unrealistic it would be laughable in anyone else's hands. The scary laser? The tough, gun-toting 'hoods' with the third-grade name? The hysteria about what L'Engle insisted on calling "pot" and "acid" to further distance herself from them? The villains are one-dimensional. Wait for it... Yeah, not a bit of this matters. Honest. Just doesn't matter. The preachifying, the transparent manipulation? Just doesn't matter. Somehow, L'Engle transcends all of that, sucks you in, makes you believe, and holds your hand throughout. Her unvarying theme- love, love, love- makes the Austins real, makes Canon Tallis true, makes the Rabbi lovable, makes your heart pound at all the right places. It's a wonderful book. Put that in the pocket of your scorflam jacket and take it to the bank.
The Moon by Night: The Austin Family Chronicles, Book 2
Let me say first that it's a wonderful book. The characters are people you care about, and get very involved with. The plot is fun. The writing is excellent. However, I think it is dated, no matter what Wendy says to the contrary. The attitudes of the menfolk, first of all- Daddy makes all the calls, takes the women and children out of danger, and dictates what his wife may not wear (pants, natch). John, the priggish elder brother, follows Daddy's lead here. The overarching worry about nuclear war with the Soviets dates it. The wondering if humans will ever fly to the moon dates it. The painful slang- including "hoods" and "beatniks". Even the logging trucks with one log per load make it read as dated. And who calls their father 'Daddy' un-ironically when they are 14? Or like John, 17? Why do I find this particular book dated in a fashion I don't notice with, say, the Betsy-Tacy books? Probably because it feels like L'Engle is attempting to comfort the people who were genuinely Vicky's age when this book came out. There's an undercurrent of very pointed reassurance that seems to be grounded in time, and I think that's what makes parts of this book a little stale. I think that had I been reading this as a young teen in 1963 I would have clung to it like grim death. I read it as a young teen in the mid-70's and thought the slang very silly at the time. But it didn't stop me loving the book.In addition to the things I'm complaining about, there's a timeless story here too, wherein a young girl tries to make sense out of the senseless, to grasp the meaning, if any, of her life at the same time she's beginning to pull away from her family of origin and find her own path. Here is the place in which L'Engle shines like the sun. Her essential, unshakable conviction that there IS a reason for everything, that there IS a hand at the wheel, and that the driving force of that hand is the power of love, infuses every word. And makes all my bitching about beatniks sound as small as it is.It's a wonderful book. I love that it's anchored at both ends with Grandfather. I'll always love Grandfather for giving me Henry Vaughan, but as Kipling said, that is another story.
Meet the Austins
Preachier than the Murry books, by about a mile. There's a passage about Einstein and his religious belief or lack thereof that made me laugh out loud. It was not intended to be funny, I don't think. There's more overt Christianity in this book than I remembered.The Austin parents are idealized and improbable. The story is dating in odd ways- what with the lack of seat belts and the phone ringing in the house all night- that set it off as a period piece rather than a timeless story.Still, it's a warm and wonderful visit to a vanished time. 3.5 stars.
Tigana
I liked this book every bit as well as I remembered. It's as layered as an onion, complex, full of satisfying and memorable characters deployed in a world that's rich and believable.The magic is well-thought out. There are plot twists in plenty- as there should be when there's a dispossessed Prince in a band of itinerant musicians. There are brave and noble women with complicated lives. Beyond the well-told story, though, what this book seems to me to be is an exploration of loyalty and honor and what one can do when rebellion seems impossible. The plot device- a sorcerer takes away the ability for people not born in a town to hear or speak the former name of the town- calls to mind the schools for Native Americans wherein the kids were prevented from speaking their own language, from learning their own culture, and as such it's a pretty profound meditation on the human spirit.
Incident at Hawk's Hill
First re-read of this since I was a kid. I loved it with my whole heart then, and was relieved to find that I still love it.This story, allegedly based on a true incident, is about a boy who lives with a badger for a period of time. The natural history details are glorious- everything you ever wanted to know about badgers, their habits, their diets, and their vocalizations! The story itself is good, though a touch on the melodramatic side.Recommended for natural history people and animal lovers with a high tolerance for exhaustively detailed descriptions of the omnivorous badger's diet (which included lots of cute furry things).
Susannah Rides Again (Susannah, #4)
A very satisfying conclusion to the series- though I confess that I'd love to read Susannah Marries A Mountie! There's some of the disturbing Indian prejudice here when Little Chief makes a reappearance and tells Sue how he has had to embrace the (superior) white man's ways in order to become his awesomely cultured and handsome self.This tale, though, is mostly about kids trying to save the majestic old forests of Canada from the rapacious lumber barons, here as demonized as I've ever seen them. There's plenty of time for high jinks and hilarity in between impassioned speeches, though. And of course, the older teens in the story have some romance. I love these books for what they are, and I love the evocation of Canada at the turn of the last century, warts and all.
 - Muriel Denison, Marguerite Bryan)
Susannah at Boarding School (Susannah, #3)
I'm not one of the rabid boarding school story fans, but I'm willing to follow favorite characters there. Susannah of the Mounties and of the Yukon has been hustled off to a boarding school in England, where she fits in as well as one might expect. She's Canadian, for Heaven's sake, and she questions things. The Boer War is on, and this book is notable in its vociferous anti-war sentiment.There's more than one jarring note, the worst of which is when the junior girls, led by Sue, decide to put on a "darkey minstrel show" complete with shoe polish makeup. I kept reminding myself that this book was written in the 30s by a woman born in the 1880s. Still, well worth a read. Sue's a plucky and winsome character whom I like very much. The fight for the right to wear taffeta petticoats during ground hockey games is delightful.
 - Muriel Denison, Marguerite Bryan)
Susannah of the Yukon (Susannah, #2)
Susannah is back, and she's off on a grand adventure with her beloved Mounties. This time, her parents take her to the Yukon for the gold rush. Denison gives us an exciting portrait of a rough-and-tumble time, but as always, the Mounties are there to uphold the Law. Susannah gets in nearly as much trouble in the Yukon as she did in Regina, and she makes some unusual and delightful friends.Highly recommended, if you can get your hands on it.
 - Muriel Denison, Marguerite Bryan)
Precocious Charms: Stars Performing Girlhood in Classical Hollywood Cinema
Re-reading this with a slightly more critical eye caused me to knock it down a star. Not because of the writing, but because of how the Mounties deal with the indigenous population of Canada. No doubt it's true to its time- but parts are very hard to read with a modern sensibility. There's a passage where a young Indian boy is "kidnapped" from the mission school by his father that is beyond painful to read. There are some other uncomfortable bits around cultural differences as well.But if one can remember that it was written in the 1930s by a woman born in the 1880s, one can understand and read accordingly. It is, at its heart, a warm and charming story of a little girl who falls head-over-heels in love with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and how they gradually come to return her love. Susannah is 9 years old at the opening of this book, and she's a little hellion- a very realistic, foot-stomping, self-centered little hellion who creates chaos without the slightest bit of malice aforethought.Her adventures and scrapes are such fun- and her desperate longing to be a Mountie herself is totally understandable. The snapshot of Victorian Canada is a delight, though not an unrelieved delight- see comment re: indigenous peoples, above.Highly recommended.
A Little History of the World: Illustrated Edition
I can't recommend this much beyond the halfway point. Gombrich does a creditable job right up to the birth of Christ, but in my opinion the wheels fall off this book after the event. It's totally Eurocentric, Christian-slanted history. Very moving illustration of the old saw that history is written by the victors. There's some lip service done regarding the genocides the Europeans were responsible for- but it's cursory at best. And sure, it's a history book for kids, so one wouldn't wish to dwell on the ugliness. And it's also a book written long, long ago (though allegedly updated).For what it is, it's more than a little interesting. For what it isn't, it's not worth picking up.
Ingathering: The Complete People Stories of Zenna Henderson
Extraordinary. I read and re-read Henderson's People books as a young girl and as an alienated teen. No, that's not fair- I didn't read them, I clung to them as a lifeline and dared to hope that there would be a place for me somewhere, someday. I'm pleased to report that, first of all, I've found a lovely place for me, and secondly, Henderson's stories hold up over time.I have carried the Francher kid in my heart all these years, and it was glorious to meet him again. And Karen, of course. And the heartbreaking Eva-Lee. And Lytha. And Melodye, whose spelling I briefly aped. Henderson's characters are alive- gloriously, realistically, maddeningly alive.It surprised me how much of these books I have by heart- the phrases entire, intact. The stories too, of course. I am heartily sorry that Zenna Henderson is not more well-known. She was a hell of a writer. Many of her stories center around the rural teacher and her charges. Re-reading these stories made me remember, among other things, that I always believed, growing up, that I'd be one of those teachers. 'Course, I always half-believed I was one of her lost People, and I waited a long, long time before I gave up on Jemmy & Valancy coming to fetch me Home. Henderson examines the fault lines around religion without ever losing a deep and sobering recognition of The Sacred. Her People's relationship with The Presence makes me so terribly sorry I can't enter into it- but somehow gives me hope that somewhere, somehow, humanity can be healed. If you follow my reviews, you know I'm not a believer in any sort of higher power, but, oh, how Henderson makes me want to be. That's how good her writing is. If you have the slightest tolerance for sci-fi, you should be reading her stuff.
All-of-a-Kind Family
This wasn't as bad as Downtown but it wasn't very good, either. The illustrations were terrible. Seriously bad. The story is not fresh, the plot line is predictable. It's more or less phoned in. Interesting how the bad books in this series are accompanied by the bad illustrations. Or what look to me like bad illustrations.
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
Loved it! Loved it so much I started to wonder what happened to Taylor that her writing took such a nosedive in later years (when she went back to write All of a Kind Family Downtown?)Such a wonderful story, with the romance and The War. I think Ella must be just a skosh younger than Betsy Ray of the Betsy-Tacy series. Henny remains, for me, the least likable of the sisters. Here she's up to her usual tricks. But Mama is magnificent, as always. There's more of the Jewish religion explained- many customs and traditions are included here, much to the edification of young heathens like me. One assumes there are still young heathens to be edified. Highly recommended!
More All-of-a-Kind Family [Unabridged CD Version]
![More All-of-a-Kind Family [Unabridged CD Version] - Sydney Taylor, Suzanne Toren](http://booklikes.com/photo/max/200/300/upload/books/0/b/azure_0ba1556fa3e6cb1066bb831e6ce80bbb.jpg)
Oh, now this one stands up to the re-read. Lovely, lovely book. Evocative of the Lower East Side, poised before the First World War. The family is doing better financially, and there's The Wedding to look forward to and be part of. My favorite bit in this book is when Charlie goes downstairs to solemnly tell the shopkeeper, "My mama don't smile on me." This one gets tucked back on the shelf for certain.
All-of-a-Kind Family
Chalk up another crushing disappointment to re-reading an old favorite. I'm certainly still fond of the characters, but this book feels awkward. The dialogue is stilted, the plot clunky, and the illustrations just stink. There's certainly a place for Beth and Joe Krush, I love their work in several books- but their drawings here make my teeth hurt- their free, almost messy style doesn't gibe with Mama's bandbox neatness. This one's not going back on my shelf (which is to say, goodreads friends, if you want it, it's yours).
All-of-a-Kind Family
First re-read of this book in years uncountable. This is the book from which I first learned about the Jewish faith. As a little heathen child, I'd been dragged to various Christian churches by friends and cousins, and I knew (I thought) all about that religion which was boring, boring, boring. But this...nobody I knew ever built a little bitty house in their backyard. Or got to eat parsley dipped in salt water. I was fascinated. Not only was I a little heathen, I was also a little singleton. Reading this story of 5 close and loving sisters made me envious and amazed. Mama was patient, she was kind, she was wise, she was gentle. She was perfect! Papa was all those things, too, plus he had crinkly eye-corners when he smiled! And the pushcarts! The Library Lady! Dusting for buttons! Coney Is-land! I'm sure I read this book at least 30 times before I turned 14. I don't think I've read it since.I sank back into it with a sigh. They were all still there in New York in 1912, waiting for me. Only this time, I was different. I watched Mama, and I marveled. I know now that Taylor based this family on her own, and I wonder more about some of the stories. Mama worked so hard, so long, and was so incredibly patient. The family's poverty resonates more with me now, and I see what passes between Mama and Papa when they worry about money. And when 4 of the girls are down with Scarlet Fever? What must have gone through her mind that never showed? What about all that sewing? Five girls? That's a lot of little girls to raise on a junkman's iffy income. The picture painted with this book is full of depth and compassion and love. Taylor's writing appears effortless. The illustrations are lovely, too.It's a wonderful book. It evokes an era that's gone forever, and it does it without undue sentimentality and nostalgia. The hardship is right there for those with eyes to see, but so is the love. This family is a whole, functioning, happy family, and it's a delight to join it for an hour. In fact, I'm about to go read the rest of the series, so I'll be joining it for a few days. Lucky me. You should be so lucky.Also? The chick pea man! I love the chick pea man: "Arbis! Shaynicke, guttinke arbislach! Keuf meine heise arbis!"
