BOOK REVIEW: The Woman In Black

There were several reasons why I wanted to read THE WOMAN IN BLACK by Susan Hill. One, I had read her sequel to Rebecca and felt that she had captured du Maurier's voice perfectly so I needed to know if the style was her own. I also had seen the play based on the book and really enjoyed it. The play, incidentally, has been running for over twenty years in London.

The plot has all of the elements of a good ghost story. A young lawyer, Author Kipp, has been sent to a remote house to attend the funeral and settle the estate of an elderly client. The house is only accessible during low tide and the path is surrounded by salt marshes laden with patches of quicksand.

At the funeral and on several other occasions, Kipp sees a mysterious woman dressed in black watching him. The residents of the small, local village seem unwilling to talk about the house or its history. What Kipp expected to be a routine task of clearing up an estate soon turns into a horrifying experience: sounds of a child screaming out in the marshes, a nursery waiting for its young occupant, and the mysterious woman in black.

This is a true ghost story and as such requires some temporary suspension of belief on the part of the reader. Hill’s style of writing was once again the formal writing that we expect from the 1800’s (Ms. Hill is a contemporary author). Because the story is told in first person, this formal tone suits Kipp’s voice perfectly. It also suited the mood of the story, the old vacant house, the desolate salt marshes, the standoffish townspeople, etc.

THE WOMAN IN BLACK has been made into a movie that I plan to see. The dark, moody setting of the story would lend itself nicely to the big screen. It is an old fashion ghost story, meaning that it is a gentle story without the gore and violence that we have come to expect from modern “ghost” stories.

I still have to find if this formal style of writing is Susan Hill’s only voice. She tells a “rattling good yarn” as one reviewer put it and I feel that she is worthy of further investigation.

BOOK REVIEW: Look At The Birdie

Maybe there should be a law that stops families from publishing the “unpublished manuscripts” of dead authors. Just maybe the author knew in his or her lifetime that these works should be kept in the trunk.

Saying that, I just finished LOOK AT THE BIRDIE, a collection of “unpublished short fiction” by Kurt Vonnegut. It is a mixture of good and not so good very short stories, but it IS Vonnegut. In other words, how could it be really bad?

If I have a complaint it is that there are no dates connected to any of the stories. It would have been interesting to see if we could watch the development of this literary genius. Because some of the pieces seem to be first drafts, I wondered how early in his career they were written.

The stories cover subjects that are typical Vonnegut. We meet a machine named Confido, that will listen to your deepest secrets and make you happy. Only, remember this is Vonnegut, the results are not what you expected.

Or meet the man who has witnessed a crime and finds himself in a Kafkaesque situation with the man who is basically the town’s police, judge and jury.

New meaning is given to the old adage about little drops of water and little grains of sand in the story of how a woman scorned gets even with an ex-lover. (This might have been my favorite ).

The stories capture the anxieties during the Cold War and the Second World War, a subject that Vonnegut was very familiar with, but there is something that is universal in each. These are stories that you would expect from the pen of Kurt Vonnegut. For a more polished collection, may I suggest Welcome to the Monkey House. Also,it might be a biased opinion, but the best anti-war book written is his very personal Slaughterhouse Five.

Kurt Vonnegut died in 2007 but his work remains a relevant fresh voice, full of black humor, today. LOOK AT THE BIRDIE may be a glimpse at that talent developing.  

BOOK REVIEW: The Healer of Fox Hollow

Joann Rose Leonard is an author who was unknown to me. Her title, THE HEALER OF FOX HOLLOW, did not intrigue me. The synopsis of the paperback did not catch my imagination. So, why will I be watching for the next Joann Rose Leonard book? Probably because I really enjoyed getting to know the healer, Layla. She made me re-think a lot that I thought I knew.

Layla Tompkins's mother died giving birth to Layla. As a result she was lovingly raised by her father Ed. She spent her first five years as a loved, bright, out-going little girl. At age five she becomes mute under mysterious circumstances. All she remembers is that during the night she heard the hissing of a snake and then the terrible pain of her tongue being bitten off.

Her doctor knows that there is more to the story, the sheriff suspects that a crime has been committed, and the snake-handlers at the church she attends believe that she has been marked by God to speak a new language.

Several miraculous cures happen involving the young girl and her reputation as a healer spreads.  As she grows so does her fame and soon even the skeptical doctor has to re-examine his scientific views when Layla hands provide the only relief his war-damaged son finds.

This book is so much more than any synopsis could relate. Characterization is very important to me as a reader and THE HEALER OF FOX HOLLOW is rich with believable people.

Most of the time we are in Layla’s head and watching a little girl who has so much to share lose her ability to speak was painful. I felt for this child who had been so excited to start school only to be met with the cruel taunts of her classmates.

I loved the teacher who understood and recognized the potential of her mute student. I admired the quiet strength and wisdom of Layla’s father, Ed, and the loyalty of her Aunt Avis and cousin Abby. I could feel the evil in her friend's brother and the pain in the veterans back from Vietnam.

This is a story of pain and forgiveness. No matter what a reader’s personal belief encompasses, whether the faith of the snake-handlers or the faith of the non-church goer, Layla will make you believe in the human spirit. And, maybe, that is what it is all about.

Let us hope that we do not have to wait too long for Ms. Leonard’s next novel.

BOOK REVIEW: Frankenstein

My one book group regularly picks a book from the “Should Have Read, But Haven’t” list. Last month we decided to read Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN. And, no, I had never actually read it because after all of the movies, comic books, and Broadway musicals. I felt that I knew what it was all about.

We do know the basic story: Doctor Victor Frankenstein becomes obsessed with creating life. His creation becomes a revenge seeking monster. It seems like a very simple plot to have captured the public since it was written in 1797.

I have always been fascinated in how it was written. Mary Shelley was raised in a freethinking household. With little formal education - remember this was London in the seventeen hundreds when girls were not considered to be “educatable”- Mary was influenced by her parents, Mary Wollestoneraft and William Godwin and developed a love of reading. She eloped at age sixteen with the poet Percy Shelley.

One night at a house party that included Lord Byron, the men challenged each other to a contest of who could write the best horror story. Mary won the bet for her short tale. She later expanded it to a full length novel and in spite of trouble finding a publisher and poor reviews, her story of Doctor Frankenstein and his monster became very popular and has remained so today.

The book FRANKENSTEIN is written in a frame device style. We first meet Robert Walton on a ship in the far North through letters that he is writing to his sister back in England. His ship rescues a man, Doctor Frankenstein, from a large piece of ice and Frankenstein, like the Ancient Mariner, has a story that he has to tell. Within his tale we hear the Monster tell of his lonely life. It was a convenient tool for the author to use for the jump from character to character.

Most of the movies that I have seen of Frankenstein’s story start with the creation of the creature. The book takes us into the earlier mind of Victor and how he became so obsessed with the ability to create life. I wish somebody would do a movie or play that ends with the creation. The emphasis of the book is more on the obsessions of the characters: Walton’s to explore where no man had gone, Victor’s to create life and the Monster’s to be accepted.

Mary Shelley’s style of writing may be a little dated for young, modern readers, but her characters, her physical descriptions, and her insights into the human condition were remarkable for such a young person. There were passages that I felt went too deeply into the background story of secondary characters and were an additional, not needed narrative.

FRANKENSTEIN is a true “classic” novel. It has stood all of these years as the example of what a horror novel should be. And, of course, if imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, I can not think of too many stories that have had as many take-offs, from Boris Karloff, to Abbott and Costello, to Mel Brooks.

I am glad that I read the novel that started the monster craze, but will pass on any of Mary Shelley’s other books. I needed a dictionary to help with the loquacious wordage and my taste runs to a more succinct style.

BOOK REVIEW: The Little Friends

Confession: I did not finish THE LITTLE FRIEND by Donna Tartt which was a sad surprise to me. Donna Tartt was high on my list of Want to Try Authors; she is popular and the recipient of many awards, including a Pulitzer. The notes on the cover of the book made the story sound intriguing. Also, I was hooked by the first chapter. So, I wondered, what went wrong.

We first meet the extended Cleves family while everyone is gathered to celebrate Mother’s Day. The women are busy preparing the meal, four-year-old Allison and her infant sister, Harriet, are sitting on the front porch and the favorite of the family, their brother Robin, is running around the yard and playing with his cat. Moments later, Robin’s body is found hanging from a tree in the back yard.

Twelve years later the family remains devastated. Robin’s mother has withdrawn emotionally, his father has withdrawn to live with his mistress in another city and Allison has become a vague teenager. Only Harriet, now thirteen, seems to be alive. Harriet is bright, fearless, and loves books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Kipling. Much of her play time is spent making the neighborhood boys act out scenes, particularly the more sentimental parts.

Although no one in the family will talk about Robin’s murder, it is still a subject of speculation in town. Harriet becomes determined to solve the murder that she had been too young to remember. In doing so, she opens old wounds and crosses the town’s strict racial and social lines.

I have to admit that the story had me hooked. There were so many questions that I was intrigued by. The problem is that the author took so many detours into characters and situations that seemed to just fill the pages. Admittedly, Tartt is very good at describing scenes and getting into her characters, but she reminded me of the hostess who is an excellent cook, but puts all of her best dishes out for a party. The results can be overwhelming and does not make for a well rounded, balanced meal. (Or like the seamstress who adds one too many ruffles).  I wish the story had moved toward the ending a little more economically.

This does not mean that I will not read another book by Donna Tartt, but I plan to ask a fellow reader who read

Confession: I did not finish The Little Friend by Donna Tartt which was a sad surprise to me. Donna Tartt was high on my list of Want to Try Authors; she is popular and the recipient of many awards, including a Pulitzer. The notes on the cover of the book made the story sound intriguing. Also, I was hooked by the first chapter. So, I wondered, what went wrong.

We first meet the extended Cleves family while everyone is gathered to celebrate Mother’s Day. The women are busy preparing the meal, four-year-old Allison and her infant sister, Harriet, are sitting on the front porch and the favorite of the family, their brother Robin, is running around the yard and playing with his cat. Moments later, Robin’s body is found hanging from a tree in the back yard.

Twelve years later the family remains devastated. Robin’s mother has withdrawn emotionally, his father has withdrawn to live with his mistress in another city and Allison has become a vague teenager. Only Harriet, now thirteen, seems to be alive. Harriet is bright, fearless, and loves books by Robert Louis Stevenson and Kipling. Much of her play time is spent making the neighborhood boys act out scenes, particularly the more sentimental parts.

Although no one in the family will talk about Robin’s murder, it is still a subject of speculation in town. Harriet becomes determined to solve the murder that she had been too young to remember. In doing so, she opens old wounds and crosses the town’s strict  racial and social lines.

I have to admit that the story had me hooked. There were so many questions that I was intrigued by. The problem is that the author took so many detours into characters and situations that seemed to just fill the pages. Admittedly, Tartt is very good at describing scenes and getting into her characters, but she reminded me of the hostess who is an excellent cook, but puts all of her best dishes out for a party. The results can be overwhelming and does not make for a well rounded, balanced meal. (Or like the seamstress who adds one too many ruffles).  I wish the story had moved toward the ending a little more economically.

This does not mean that I will not read another book by Donna Tartt, but I plan to ask a fellow reader who read THE LITTLE FRIEND -- and liked it-- how it all worked out. Tartt is a very prolific author so there are many choices for me to try.

P.S. Just came from a discussion of THE LITTLE FRIEND. I am glad that I did not finish. Enough said.

BOOK REVIEW: In Silence

How far should a small town go to maintain its quiet life, a life that believes in good, solid, family values? That is the question that Erica Spindler addresses in her novel IN SILENCE.

Avery Chauvin has left her hometown of Cypress Springs, Louisiana to become an award winning journalist in Washington. Her father’s death finds her back in her family home, devastated and full of questions. The official cause of death has been deemed suicide, but Avery’s father had been a respected, dedicated physician and not someone who would take his own life. Public opinion feels that his grief over his wife’s death was more than he could bear.

As she starts to clean out her parents’ home, she finds a box of newspaper clippings that covered a fifteen-year-old murder. Questioning old friends brings only more questions and she becomes aware of an unusual amount of recent suicides and odd accidents. Then a woman who has come to town hunting her missing brother vanishes and another is found brutally murdered. It seems as if the past and the present are colliding in the perfect little town.

IN SILENCE is my second Erica Spindler book and there were enough similarities to the first one that I thought that I was ahead of the plot. I was and I wasn’t. There were enough secrets in Cypress Springs to surprise me and keep me reading.

There are also some fairly graphic scenes that caused me to wonder if anyone has ever done a study on the grotesque of women authors vs. male authors. Erica Spindler should be included in such a study. Her murders can be exceptionally brutal, but there seems to be a softer touch in the telling of them.

This is an author that I will continue to read.

BOOK REVIEW: The Island

Belonging to a book club that includes two RN’s, a veterinarian, and a retired biology teacher is hard for an English/theatre major. Usually our book choices are of interest to the whole group, but when the rest of the group picked a book on leprosy, I was hesitant, to say the least.

THE ISLAND by Victoria Hislop is a book that I never would have chosen on my own and I am not too sure how I felt about it. The fictional story is told in narrative, third person style so that it reads almost like a documentary. This was not sounding like your basic light summer read.

Alexis grew up in England with a mother and father who loved her. She always knew that her mother’s past held secrets. Her mother’s family had lived in Greece, but that is all that Alexis knew. Before leaving on a trip through the Mediterranean area with her boyfriend, Alexis is given the name of a woman who still lives in the small town of Plaka on the island of Crete. Fotini would be the best person to explain the past.

Plaka’s main reason to exist was to provide supplies to the island of Spinalonga, a leper colony, and Alexis decides to visit the now deserted island before going to meet Fotini. She had no idea how intimately her ancestors had known the island.

Fotini’s story told of four generations of the Petrakis family, going back to Eleni, Alexis’s great grandmother. Eleni was sent to Spinalonga when her daughters, Anna and Maria, were very young.  This was a time when leprosy was very contagious and carried great social stigma.

The story switches from the leper colony to the family left behind.We get to know the people who live on the two islands and the feeling of isolation of both. The emotions of the mother cut off from her children and the young girls who, missing their mother, had to take over caring for the household, made this a very real story.

Although the style of writing seemed impersonal for such a human story, I did feel that I got to know the characters and care about them. Using the frame of having Alexis being told about her ancestors still brought them to life.  

Most of all this is a story of leprosy told through the lives of four generations of women. Although a cure was developed shortly after the Second World War, it exists in parts of the world where fear and misunderstanding keep people from getting early treatment.