Poetry of Reading

The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel

by Natasa Djordjevic - 11:15 AM

Synopsis:

There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. . . .

A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the Emperor’s attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the Emperor a gift he can never forget.

Mei’s intelligence and curiosity, the same traits that make her an outcast among the other concubines, impress the Emperor. But just as she is in a position to seduce the most powerful man in China, divided loyalties split the palace in two, culminating in a perilous battle that Mei can only hope to survive.

The first volume of the Empress of Bright Moon duology paints a vibrant portrait of ancient China—where love, ambition, and loyalty can spell life or death—and the woman who came to rule it all.

My Review:

“I knew now: love and destiny were two wild horses that could not be curbed. They galloped in different directions and ran down different paths where streams of desire and hope would not converge. To follow one was to betray the other. To make one happy was to break the other's heart. Yet I supposed that was part of life, a lesson we had to learn. To grow up was also to give up, and to build the future was to dissolve the past. The only thing we could do was hope for the best, to believe that the horse we chose would find us a safe destination.”

Wu Zetian is China’s female emperor. The Moon in the Palace chronicles the early life of Empress Wu. Mei, as Wu is called in this novel, receives a prophecy at five years old that she will be the mother of emperors and an emperor in her name. Her fate pleases her father and believes Mei will bring her family honor. When she enters the palace at thirteen, she believes she will at once lead a good life. However, she soon finds that there is treachery in the court, as hundreds of women are fighting to receive the Emperor’s affection. Mei realizes she must stay ahead of her enemies so she can survive and bring her family honor.

Mei is a woman who is devoted to her family. She wants her parents to be proud of her. When she goes to the palace, she is very naive and trusting. She soon realizes that she cannot trust anyone in the harem because they too have the same ambition as Mei. Mei becomes more observant. She is always planning for her survival. She finds a few friends and is very loyal to them. She is also very compassionate. Even though she does not like her enemies, she still feels some pity for them. She yearns to live the life she wants and fights for her happiness. She does not want to be someone’s pawn. Thus, throughout the course of the novel, Mei develops into a mature and capable young woman. I love that she is such a smart woman, yet is still ruled by her heart and makes some less than perfect decisions. It makes her feel a much more realistic to me.

There were many other characters I loved. Like Pheasant , he’s my favorite. I also like Noble Lady. And there are many characters I hate, like the Pure Lady and Rain. And then there are many characters I feel are grey-area. For example, Jewel, Mei’s mother. I feel like it’s a strong aspect of this novel, that it has created characters I love, hate, pity, and so on. There are so many characters who induced emotions in me while reading, not just Mei.

Along the way, the author takes us backstage at the Imperial Court, where we get a glimpse of the inner workings of the Emperor’s vast wardrobe, the silkworm nursery, the epic polo matches, and other fascinating locations behind the palace gates. It’s obvious that the Moon in the Palace is extensively researched, and yet the author wears her historical expertise as lightly as the elegant silks of her characters. Sumptuous descriptions of the sights, sounds, and even tastes make you feel you are right in the middle of the action.

This book was everything I expected. It lyrically portrays all the violence and beauty of one of China’s most cosmopolitan eras. I enjoyed the inclusion of harem politics and plots. While this is a fictional account, I am sure many similar events happened.

It is about duty, friendship, love, loyalty, choices, loss, and sacrifices. This novel is about a woman who is searching to find her happiness. Full of court intrigue, action, danger, and a forbidden romance. Moon in the Palace left me breathless and utterly captivated.

My Rating:

✬✬✬✬✬

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

by Natasa Djordjevic - 5:03 AM

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October Book Wrap Up

by Natasa Djordjevic - 10:40 AM

Hey everyone! As you can probably tell from the title, today I’m talking about all the books I read in October .

So, without further ado, let’s get started, shall we?

1. Joseph, The Good Giant by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets (✬✬✬✬✬)

A great children's fantasy fairy tale that took me back to childhood, in a magical world full of adventures. A wonderful short story I would recommend to both adults and children.

2. Lessons in French by Laura Kinsale (✬✬✬✬✬)

A delightful surprise, this story had great lighthearted intelligent dialogue that makes you love the main characters even though they have many faults. I was prepared to not like the story, but I was charmed and consumed it in a single afternoon. Thank you, Laura Kinsale for both your sense of humor and your talent to write such a sweet story of love.

3. Figures In Silk by Vanora Bennett (✬✬✬✬)

With so many novels now revolving around various players who also feature in this novel — Richard III, Edward IV, the Tudors — it is a relief to find that Vanora Bennett’s focus in her second novel is not on life at court itself but on how the political machinations affect and disrupt the lives of London’s ordinary citizens and particularly its powerful merchants.

4. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (✬✬✬✬✬)

A remarkable study of human nature - in life, all of us have felt anger, hatred, jealousy, heartbreak, desire, guilt and belief, and disbelief. The author does a great job of depicting this myriad of emotions, common to human sense, in the book which is so beautifully written.

5. Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott (✬✬)

I suppose the author felt she had a very good idea about Sir Isaac Newton and his unusual rise to prominence at Trinity College, Cambridge. Sadly, she did not present it very well and produced a book that was not only very confusing but almost unreadable, despite the beautiful descriptive language used in many places. I found it difficult to follow the plot if you can call it a plot, and sometimes I had the strongest urge to just close the book and not reopen it.

6. The Countess and the King: A Novel of the Countess of Dorchester and King James II by Susan Holloway Scott (✬✬✬)

This book is rich in period detail and is well researched. Still, I found the book somewhat tedious, as it seemed to try too hard to be clever. So, though I enjoyed it I often found myself to be disengaged from it. Those who like historical fiction and tales of Restoration English, however, will find something to enjoy in this book.

7. Before Midnight - A Retelling of Cinderella (Once Upon a Time) by Cameron Dokey (✬✬✬✬)

Dokey in the author's afterword speaks about the origins of the story, from the Brothers Grimm to the older Charles Perrault that gives the true name of Cinderella. The novel isn't very long, just under two hundred pages, so there isn't much room for much development for the characters, but the writing and plotting are fairly tight, and the author doesn't forget to put in some descriptive passages that create some lovely imagery.

8. The Guardian Angel's Journal by Carolyn Jess- Cooke (✬✬✬✬✬)

This book had me on the first page. The storyline is unique. An angel comes back to earth to save herself. The storyline was so different and so interesting. The descriptions by the author are vivid. When she describes the angel’s wings, which are nothing like one would imagine, your mind’s eye can see these magnificent creatures.

9. My Name Is Memory by Ann Brashares (✬✬✬✬)

A tender love story with an abrupt ending. I enjoyed turning every page, waiting in anticipation for them to be reunited again. I feel like the ending sort of trailed off, a little unfinished.

10. The Collector by Stjepan Varesevac Cobets (✬✬✬✬✬)

What a brilliant short story. This story is a great mystery with great character development and interesting surprises. The Collector is not what you expect and is absolutely worth your time, especially if you like science fiction and mysteries.

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by Natasa Djordjevic - 9:05 AM

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The Last Great Dance on Earth by Sandra Gulland

by Natasa Djordjevic - 11:21 AM

Synopsis:

The Last Great Dance on Earth is the triumphant final volume of Sandra Gulland's beloved trilogy based on the life of Josephine Bonaparte. When the novel opens, Josephine and Napoleon have been married for four tumultuous years. Napoleon is Josephine's great love, and she his. But their passionate union is troubled from within, as Josephine is unable to produce an heir, and from without, as England makes war against France and Napoleon's Corsican clan makes war against his wife. Through Josephine's heartfelt diary entries, we witness the personal betrayals and political intrigues that will finally drive them apart, culminating in Josephine's greatest tragedy: her divorce from Napoleon and his exile to Elba. The Last Great Dance on Earth is historical fiction on a grand scale and the stirring conclusion to an unforgettable love story.

My Review:

“We are born, we live and we die - in the midst of the marvelous.”

The Last Great Dance on Earth is the ending volume in Sandra Gulland’s trilogy about Empress Josephine, wife of Napoleon. It follows The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. and Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe. This book opens in 1800, with Napoleon as First Consul, and finishes with Josephine’s death in 1814, shortly after Napoleon’s downfall and exile to Elba. As with the preceding two books, it is told in the form of fictional diary entries by Josephine, interspersed with letters to her from Napoleon and others, which tell the story of Napoleon’s battles and other events which Josephine could not have witnessed herself.

Gulland describes the splendor and the balls and banquets of Napoleon’s empire in loving detail and makes you feel as if you were there. She especially shows the magnificence of Napoleon’s coronation, from the point of view of Josephine, who never wanted a crown. Gulland makes the times come alive for the reader.

It was an excellent ending to a brilliant trilogy. Gulland has done her research and France comes alive through the eyes of Josephine Bonaparte. Compassionate, kind and well-loved in France, Josephine also gives us a very intimate and sympathetic insight to Napoleon Bonaparte. I enjoyed this whole series and would heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the French Revolution, the French Republic and the rise of Napoleon. It is engrossing, humorous and heart-rending.

Although each book in the trilogy can be read on its own, I highly recommend reading the whole trilogy from the beginning, starting with The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. (you can find the review here) and Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe (you can find the review here), to get the full effect. Following Josephine’s life from her childhood in Martinique to the end is an extraordinary experience.

My Rating:
✬✬✬✬✬

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by Natasa Djordjevic - 4:32 AM

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Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris

by Natasa Djordjevic - 5:50 AM

Synopsis:

When Tiro, the confidential secretary (and slave) of a Roman senator, opens the door to a terrified stranger on a cold November morning, he sets in motion a chain of events that will eventually propel his master into one of the most suspenseful courtroom dramas in history. The stranger is a Sicilian, a victim of the island's corrupt Roman governor, Verres. The senator is Marcus Cicero -- an ambitious young lawyer and spellbinding orator, who at the age of twenty-seven is determined to attain imperium -- supreme power in the state.

Of all the great figures of the Roman world, none was more fascinating or charismatic than Cicero. And Tiro -- the inventor of shorthand and author of numerous books, including a celebrated biography of his master (which was lost in the Dark Ages) -- was always by his side.

Compellingly written in Tiro's voice, Imperium is the re-creation of his vanished masterpiece, recounting in vivid detail the story of Cicero's quest for glory, competing with some of the most powerful and intimidating figures of his -- or any other -- age: Pompey, Caesar, Crassus, and the many other powerful Romans who changed history.

Robert Harris, the world's master of innovative historical fiction, lures us into a violent, treacherous world of Roman politics at once exotically different from and yet startlingly similar to our own -- a world of Senate intrigue and electoral corruption, special prosecutors and political adventurism -- to describe how one clever, compassionate, devious, vulnerable man fought to reach the top.

My Review:

“Power brings a man many luxuries, but a clean pair of hands is seldom among them.”

The first volume in a trilogy of books about Cicero, Imperium opens with Cicero studying rhetoric to develop himself and follows him through his election for the praetorship. Along the road, we find ourselves involved in political intrigues, corruption trials, family drama, and more, watching as Cicero uses his greatest gift his words and voice to make a name for himself.

A man who raises from a humble nobody to become Consul (the strongest level of leadership in government) and becomes recognized as the grandest orator in history. Using simply his voice and his extraordinary talent for presentation, he begins his career by advocating in court for a man who lost everything to a corrupt Roman governor. After winning the case in grand style, he astounds commoners and senators likewise with his unique powers of speech and his penchant for fighting for the underdog.

As the book develops, Cicero rises through the ranks of leadership, gaining allies and friends, and making mortal enemies. Along the road he gains the protection of the great general Pompey, he makes the enmity of the somewhat less great general Crassus, and he watches as a young Julius Caesar enters politics and begins his journey to becoming Rome’s first dictator.

The story is told by Tiro, Cicero’s slave and personal assistant and confidant. It is written as if Tiro were reading from his account of Cicero’s life. There was a Tiro who supposedly wrote a biography; sadly, that record has been lost to time. The whole book contains only one or two details of physical violence, yet it captures your interest the same as the best thrillers; this is a proof not only to the unparalleled ability of Cicero to produce a vast quantity of captivating and persuasive speeches but also to the author’s ability to turn politics and courtroom adventure into something that is highly readable.

It’s absolutely clear that Harris has done his research here. Every page of Imperium feels like you’re reading something produced by someone who has lived and breathed this world. The book’s conceit that it’s the memoirs of Cicero as described by his personal secretary Tiro works beautifully, providing Harris a unique voice that can both take part in the narrative and comment on it.

More than anything else, Harris’s novel brings this fascinating man to life in all of his greatness and flaws, letting you see how he became such an iconic and important figure at a moment in history that had no shortage of them, and how he both succeeded and isolated himself at the same time. It’s informative, richly detailed, and knowledgeable, and yet it flows like the best novels, keeping you hooked on every development.

Must read for anyone who loves political intrigue, Roman history, and the wisdom of the ancient world. You'll come away with a new admiration for Cicero, the self-made "new man" who rose from obscurity to the consulship without money, family lineage, or military fame.

My Rating:

✬✬✬✬✬

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QUOTES OF THE WEEK

by Natasa Djordjevic - 9:20 AM

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The French Gardener by Santa Montefiore

by Natasa Djordjevic - 8:47 AM

Synopsis:

A neglected garden. A cottage that holds a secret. A mysterious and handsome Frenchman. Prepare to be “spellbound by the sheer charm” of Santa Montefiore’s tender and powerful novel about passion, loss, and the healing power of love.

It begins as Miranda and David Claybourne move into a country house with a once-beautiful garden. But reality turns out to be very different from their dream. Soon the latent unhappiness in the family begins to come to the surface, isolating each family member in a bubble of resentment and loneliness.

Then an enigmatic Frenchman arrives on their doorstep. With the wisdom of nature, he slowly begins to heal the past and the present. But who is he? When Miranda reads about his past in a diary she finds in the cottage by the garden, the whole family learns that a garden, like love itself, can restore the human spirit, not just season after season, but generation after generation.

Wise and winsome, poignant and powerfully moving, The French Gardener is a contemporary story told with an old-fashioned sensibility steeped in the importance of family and the magical power of love.

My Review:

“She was an original ... She was an eccentric. She'd come alive like a fire, telling funny stories and entertaining everyone, then she'd suddenly run out of fuel, make her excuses and leave. You always knew when she'd had enough. Those that didn't would find themselves talk to the walls.”

As wonderful and as sensually charming as a garden itself, this book is about the power of change. Two stories run parallel in this gripping book, one of the past and one of the present. As the past meets the present in heart-breaking ways, it brings the reader to understand the power of nature’s beauty and the power of love’s compassion.

A troubled couple, Miranda and David, move with their family into a country estate. Its overgrown gardens, formerly famed for its considerable beauty, and its tiny abandoned cottage is enchanting but uninteresting to the city born and breed family. A mysterious Frenchman shows up just when Miranda and David decided to employ a gardener. He not only brings back the gardens to the greatness of their past, but he heals his past while providing a future to Miranda’s family. Wonderfully composed, this book will leave you with hope and tenderness, and maybe a little in affection with the French gardener. Anyone who has experienced village life for themselves and or loves gardening will appreciate how Santa Montefiore has captured the essence of the characters and their surroundings.

This is a well written profound tale in which the garden serves as a metaphor of life. It separates the storyline into the four seasons with the garden different each time as is a person through the years. This book is moving because of the wise aging title character who reflects to the spring of his life so that the audience understands what passed to him and his love. Fans will appreciate Jean Paul’s wisdom as it is never too late to hug a loved one even if the person you love has passed; the good memories provide effective mental hugs.

My Rating:

✬✬✬✬✬