Book Review: Candide by Voltaire

/ Jenn / 1 Comment

Our March pick for the Cheshire Cats Classics Book Club was Candide by

Candide, by Voltaire

Voltaire. This is the oldest classics we have read thus far, and perhaps the shortest! Candide comes in at a slim 97 pages and is jam-packed with adventures, peril, and romance.

Candide was first published in 1759 by the well-known Age of Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire. Candide was brought up in the house of a wealthy baron and early in the book exemplifies the subtitle of the book, optimism. The novel takes a turn when Candide’s love for baron’s daughter is discovered and Candide is thrown out into the world to fend for himself.

The fast-moving plot takes us through wars, and earthquake, a brush with the Inquisition, and we journey with Candide to South America, Asia, and back home to Europe. Candide’s optimism is tested with all of the trials he experiences.

I listened to this book, which was just three audio cds. The reader, Tom Whitworth, was unknown to me, and his reading of Voltaire’s magnus opus was average. His voice was lively enough to keep me moderately entertained and focused on the book, but I found I often drifted away.

The book itself reminded me of how difficult life was during the 18th century. Not only in our own history, but across the globe, great changes were happening politically through wars and words. There were several scenes of war violence and torture, along with details of slavery resulting from war.

Candide ended almost abruptly. I found the ending to be rather ridiculous and far-fetched for a book that was not like that throughout the story. No one is truly happy at the end and Candide is not the bright-eyed, optimistic youth we encounter in the beginning.

Look Who’s Writing Romance!

/ Linda / Leave a comment

harlan cobenHarlan Coben’s new book, Six Years, is being touted as his first “romantic thriller”.   During his appearance this morning on the Today Show, he admitted he was a die hard romantic at heart.  He’s been married to the love of his life since he was 20 years old.  Also during the interview, Mr. Coben announced that the actor Hugh Jackman will be playing the role of Jake Fisher, the lead male character of the book.

The publisher’s description reads: ” Six years have past since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.

But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for…but she is not Natalie. Whoever the mourning widow is, she’s been married to Todd for almost two decades, and with that fact everything Jake thought he knew about the best time of his life—a time he has never gotten over—is turned completely inside out.

As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found, or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart, who lied to him, soon puts his very life at risk as it dawns on him that the man he has become may be based on a carefully constructed fiction.

Harlan Coben once again delivers a shocking page-turner that deftly explores the power of past love, and the secrets and lies that such love can hide.”

Sounds like a winner!

BOOK REVIEW: Three Sisters by Susan Mallery

/ Linda / 1 Comment

This is a story about three very different women who live in three very distinctive homes on the same street.  Because theirs are the only homes on the street, they are thrown together to forge a very special bond.

Andi is jilted at the altar in Seattle and decides to make a drastic change in her life by buying a rundown home on Blackberry Island.  Being a pediatrician, she plans to have her practice on the main level, and live on the floors above.  Of course, the contractor she hires is single and sexy, but has his flaws too.

Deanna is the “perfect” mom, “perfect” wife, “perfect” homemaker.  But by being perfect, she’s in danger of losing herself and her family.

Boston is an artist who married her college sweetheart.  The death of their six month old son puts her marriage in jeopardy.

The stories of these three women and the men in their lives are intriguing, relateable, poignant, and compelling.  The author weaves emotional tales of love, tragedy, courage and friendship.  I felt so connected to the characters, that I actually cried at the end!

Book Review: The City’s Son by Tom Pollock

/ Sharon Tyler / 1 Comment

[Cover]

The City’s Son

The City’s Son by Tom Pollock is an urban fantasy novel which marks the debut of the author. The book is suitable for young adults and adults.

Beth Bradley is a rebel, and a girl great with a can of spray paint. She spend her fee time tagging the city, while her friend Pen scrawls poetry to accompany it. Beth’s father is lost in grief over his late wife, and Pen is trapped by the expectations and demands of others. After a daring evening an apparent betrayal separates the friends and sends them both out into a world born of the very essence of London. They have very different paths, and different dreams. Beth meets Urchin, the prince of the streets who opens her eyes to the layers of the world around her. The city and all of its components are alive, and there is a major battle brewing. Reach, a source of death and destruction, is trying to rise, and the city’s creature are abuzz with rumors that Urchin’s Goddess and mother might be returning to fight the final battle. But when the battle is over, who will have won and what will the final price be?

The City’s Son is a original and engaging read. Beth is a risk taker, and is so used to making her own decisions that she does no bow to the voices of those who expect her to. A prince, his people, and their expectations can not withstand her will. She is a strong girl, but still carries a vulnerability that makes her feel real. The collection of the city’s creatures were imaginative an believable. I could easily see some of those statues coming to life, of reflections in skyscrapers taking on a life of their own. The mix of imagination and absolute reality come together perfectly. I will admit to looking at light bulbs, telephone wires, and bricks in a different way since finishing the book.

I highly recommend The City’s Son to teens and adults that like urban fantasy novels that carry with it a fresh perspective of the world, and yourself. There is just as much exploration into what Beth, Pen, and others want as there is the physical world around them.  The story is unique, with a skill in building a world that exists along side our own that reminds me of Neil Gaiman and Holly Black’s work. The introduction to a society that very well could be real, but since we are so good at ignoring what we do not want to see I doubt we would ever notice it. If you are looking for something fun, adventurous, and different then this is a must read!

A version of this review was previously posted on Sharon the Librarian.

The Great Gig in the Sky

/ Susan O. / Leave a comment

This month marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most seminal rock albums of all time: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, which was released in March of 1973.

220px-Dark_Side_of_the_MoonDark Side of the Moon, with its iconic album cover of a prism and rainbow on a black background, holds the American record for most weeks spent on the album charts – 741 weeks. That’s  more than 14 years!  Johnny Mathis had been the previous record holder, at 10 years on the charts. Most major music lists consistently place the album in the top 50 rock albums of all time.

Dark Side became Pink Floyd’s most successful album at more than 50 million copies sold, more than double their hugely successful 1979 rock opera, The Wall.  The album was Pink Floyd’s first attempt at a concept album, loosely following former bandmate Syd Barrow’s decent into mental illness, as later would The Wall.  Interspersed among the lyrical 12-string guitar solos and ethereal synthesizers are snippets of conversation, clocks, helicopters, and of course, the rhythmic banging and chiming of cash registers at the start of Money – an early melodical version of Stomp!, combined with classic rock beats and timeless lyrics.

I received my first copy of the album sometime around 1978 – so long ago I had the album on 8-track!  Now, on CD, it remains perhaps one of my top-20 favorite albums, wonderful for relaxing to or as a background music for writing or painting. My favorite way of listening to it?  With noise-canceling headphones, in total darkness, where the quadraphonic effects bounce around you out of nowhere, the music carries you away, and you lose all track of time.  If you haven’t experienced the album, give this piece of music history a try.  If you have, it’s the perfect chance to reacquaint yourself with a classic.