Poetry of Reading: March 2021

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

by Natasa Djordjevic - 8:23 AM

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Queen's Gambit by Elizabeth Fremantle

by Natasa Djordjevic - 9:22 AM

“There are events in life from which we learn our most profound lessons and sometimes those events are the ones of which we are most ashamed.”

It’s a rare thing when an author can create real tension in a story whose ending is already known. Ms. Fremantle has done exactly that in this beautifully written, well-researched, and engrossing story about the last Queen of Henry VIII, Katherine Parr. Further, she has created a central character in Katherine Parr who is believable, sympathetic, and interesting.

Elizabeth Fremantle has added depth and warmth to the time of Queen Katherine, the last wife of Henry VIII. She had an amazing ability to balance home life and royal duties and to stay poised under pressure. While trying to bring about the reformation of the Church, she had to walk a tightrope among politicians and nobles. Not least of all was her volatile husband, the King.

This novel shows Katherine Parr as a person, a loving step-mother, a woman with intelligence and ambition- holding her family and friends together through perilous times. I was enthralled with this woman of rich dynamic.

While the book is about Katherine, it’s also told from the second perspective of her servant, Dot. This allows you a view into two worlds - from the very top to near the very bottom. Fremantle is a master at bringing both worlds to life, never neglecting even the small details that make all the difference in helping to immerse a reader in the time period. I feel this novel gave Katherine the credit she deserves and painted a beautiful picture of the woman and her times.

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

by Natasa Djordjevic - 9:51 AM

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A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner

by Natasa Djordjevic - 9:23 AM

"Everything beautiful has a story it wants to tell. But not every story is beautiful."

I love Susan Meissner’s writing style. She does such thorough research and then weaves such an engaging storyline for her books. This one follows two different stories that are almost a hundred years apart, but there is a beautiful element that ties two women’s lives together. There is a tragic loss, emotional paralysis, and delayed healing in both storylines.

The past and present are beautifully woven together through Taryn and Clara, separated by 100 years, and take the reader through a tale of many emotions. Taryn and Clara are tied together by different tragedies, both occurring in New York City a devastating fire in the early 1900s, and the sadness of 9/11. The 100-year-old French scarf, made from an Indian design, has a repeating pattern of marigolds and is the common denominator between them.

The author brought Ellis Island to life when ships arrived in New York Harbor and immigrants, by the hundreds, passed through Ellis. Many of them had failed the health inspection and ended up in the Ellis Island hospital, many with contagious diseases.

A mix of contemporary and historical fiction, I was profoundly moved by this book. The storyline takes you through tense, emotional, and realistic events. The characters are beautiful and poignant and deal with lost love, choices, and regrets..

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

by Natasa Djordjevic - 11:22 AM

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February Book Wrap Up

by Natasa Djordjevic - 11:41 AM

The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton (✬✬✬)

There is a lot of confusing parts about this book. There are a lot of characters, and the book bounces back and forth with no reference. The characters seem to have no purpose through their parts.

The Last Ember by Daniel Levin (✬✬✬)

Too many historical facts. While interesting and informative, the volume of it was too much to carry the story. I didn’t care for the characters either.

The Reader by Traci Chee (✬✬✬)

I don’t think The Reader is terrible. I just think it could be better. I never felt much of a connection to any of the characters, and I could see all the plot twists coming from a mile away.

The Scribe by Antonio Garrido (✬✬✬)

Wonderfully rich in detail of medieval life during a cold, hard winter. The characters were interesting, well developed, and believable. But some plot events seem unrealistic.