Happy Birthday!

Again I've let my book reviews pile up. Today our blog is one year old, so I promised I'd get all caught up by now. I'd like to say I'll stay on top of it after this, but I can't promise- it's happened before! There won't be pictures since I'm not at my own computer, but I'll try and add them later- I do like consistent layouts! Here we go!

BURNING BRIGHT- by tracy chevalier

I'm a big fan of tracy chevalier books, so was thrilled when I found this newish one on the bargain table at the booksmith. I held on to it for a month while I finished the Narnia series, but then polished the 400 pager off in about a week.
It's 18 century England, and the Kellaway family has just experienced the loss of their middle son. Hoping to escape the memories, Thomas Kellaway and his wife move their two younger children, Maisie and Jem, from rural Dorset to London (Lambeth, to be precise) at the invitation of Philip Astley, a circus owner. Thomas is a chair maker, but becomes one of the head set constructors for the circus after realizing there wasn't a large market for his quality chairs in London. The story focuses on his youngest child Jem, and his friendship with a street smart girl named Maggie. The child of a con artist and a laundress, she's confident and familiar with the ways of city folk, and takes to the much quieter Jem instantly, as he does to her. The book focuses on the progression of this friendship throughout a difficult time in English history, and touches on the controversial poetry of William Blake, who lives close by.
While not quite up to par with some of her other books, this was a quick satisfying read which kept me waiting for more.
Netflix rating? 3.5/5 stars

THE LAST BATTLE- by c.s. lewis

The last book in the series, The Last Battle pulls everything together and ties it up neatly. It begins with an ape named Shift and a donkey named Puzzle. Shift is shifty, and concocts a plan where he takes a lion skin and ties it to Puzzle. He parades him around as Aslan, and since most men and creatures hadn't seen a real lion (Aslan hadn't been around in a long time) they believed Shift. He made the Narnians work for the Calormenes and set about cutting down the talking trees to sell for money. King Tirian hears of the return of "Aslan" but knows that something isn't right. He calls on the real Aslan for help, and is sent the Pevensies, Jill, Eustace, Digory and Polly. They rescue the good animals, and enter into Aslan's new world where they see the destruction of what they thought was Narnia.
This was another good one. Instead of wasting the whole book tying everything together, he wrote an interesting story as well.
Netflix rating? 5/5 stars.

THE SILVER CHAIR- by c.s. lewis

The book continues the story of Eustace, and introduces his friend and classmate Jill Scrubb. They are brought to Narnia just in time to save them from a brutal beating from fellow classmates. Aslan explains that Caspian's son, Prince Rilian, had been kidnapped 10 years ago, and must be found before his father dies. He gives Jill four signs to follow in order to find Rilian, and off they go. With the help of a marsh-wiggle named Puddleglum, they journey through the giants' kingdom and into underland to find an enchanted Prince Rilian kept captive by the Lady of the Green Kirtle. After a battle, they're successful in their quest, and return to the castle just in time.
I liked the addition of a new main character. It was done much more smoothly (with Eustace, who appeared before) than in The Horse and His Boy.
Netflix rating? 4/5 stars.

THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER- by c.s. lewis

Lucy and Edmund are spending some time at their cousin Eustace's house. He's awful, and though they try to avoid him, all three get pulled into a painting of a ship at sea that's on the wall of Lucy's bedroom. The are pulled aboard the ship- the Dawn Treader- and realize that their old friend Caspian is aboard and on a mission to find the seven lords of Narnia who were banished by Miraz. Lucy and Edmund join in, while Eustace complains and is as lazy and unhelpful as possible, until he's turned into a dragon. After learning a lesson, the group continues their mission and with much excitement along the way, is ultimately successful.
Definitely a step up from Prince Caspian, this may have been my favorite.
Netflix rating? 5/5 stars.

PRINCE CASPIAN- by c.s. lewis

1300 years after they left (in Narnia years, that is) the Pevensie kids appear on a beach on a seemingly deserted island. After some exploring, they realize that they're actually at Cair Paraval. Soon enough, they save a dwarf who tells them of the evil Miraz who's stolen the throne from its rightful owner. They realize that they're been brought back to return the throne to Caspian, the rightful king. The begin their journey by water, and Lucy's the only one who can see and hear Aslan at first. After insisting he's there, she convinces them to follow her lead and they arrive at the Aslan's How safely. Peter decides to fight Miraz in one-on-one combat, and after treachery and war, they achieve their goal.
Not bad, but it lacked some of the excitement that the first two books had.
Netflix rating? 3.5/5 stars.

THE HORSE AND HIS BOY- by c.s. lewis

Shasta is a young boy who was found on the beach by a Calormene fisherman named Arsheesh. Arsheesh treats Shasta as a slave, and when Shasta overhears him agreeing to sell the boy to another high ranking Calormene, he decides to run away with the noble man's horse. He learns that the horse can talk, and that he's really a Narnian horse named Bree, so they set off on their adventure to return to Narnia. Along the way they meet another Narnian horse named Hwin and her rider Aravis who are fleeing an arranged marriage for Aravis. The four band together, and learn of evil plans to take over Narnia and neighboring lands. They ride quickly, crossing a lengthy dessert in order to warn Narnia and give them time to prepare for battle.
This felt too far removed from the Narnia series due to the fact that the main characters are not Pevensie children, but new characters. They also don't return in future books, making it seem a little removed.
Netflix rating? 3/5 stars.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

There are more than a few classics I never read growing up. For this I have to say, "Thank you Wichita Public Schools." I love Jane Austen books and can proudly say, "I knew Mr. Darcy was not a cad all along." But sadly this is from watching endless hours of BBC productions, not from having read the books. I'll admit it: I've never cracked open a Jane Austen novel. I'm working on remedying this, so decided to make quick work of another classic I've never read, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Growing up next door to Missouri this might be a little surprising but even though ET#1 thought I must have been absent from that week of 9th grade, I checked with my sister and she never had to read it either, so it wasn't my fault. I certainly read a lot of American authors-- Poe, Wharton (Ethan Frome, ugh!), Knowles...but never Twain.
I won't comment a lot on this book, in part because Twain advises us not to read into any morality and in part because any liberal leaning, This American Life loving, born and bred in the heartland (Kansas-- a free state from the get go!) can easily see where the book was going. Plus I had the soundtrack to Big River on cd in about 7th grade. The book was delightful and my only disappointment was that it was essentially a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (oh references to Lost, I'm sure!).
Today I made my own journey...to the grocery store. And bought catfish, in honor of Huck and Jim, and fried it up good.
Netflix stars: 5/5

Run

I tend to be highly critical of books and movies about Boston, always looking for inauthenticity. The Afflecs are always, "We're from Bahston, we've got the accent." And I'm like, "No, you're from Cambridge. But thanks for advocating for the larger Boston metro area." Authors tend to overstate Boston landmarks, making egregious references to neighborhoods like Roxbury, Dorchester and Charlestown. In Run, Anne Patchett made mostly skillful remarks about landmarks, noting the Citgo sign on a drive to Cambridge, and referencing various T stations. In fact, knowing the city and knowing how small it really is and how various locations fit together, is key to the story.

A prominent Boston Irish politician and his wife adopt two African American children after they couldn't have any more children (suspend your disbelief that such a mixing of races could happen 25 years ago in Boston) and Run takes place over the 24 hours after one of the grown sons is nearly hit by a car, save a strategic push from a woman who turns out to be his and his brother's biological mother. The woman's young daughter, Kenya, witnesses the event and over the course of the night details how she and her mother know the family, and how they have been secretly keeping tabs on the boys for years. This sort of anonymity and close proximity is so possible in a city like Boston. Save the transient college students, Bostonians live here for generations and the city is small enough that you can run into the same people over and over again. Blue blood Boston Brahmins live mere blocks from the city's poor in public housing.

Besides checking on the accuracy of references to my city, I also hold close a carefully edited book, one which keeps the economy of words in check. Fortunately this book held up on both accounts. I'll give it 4/5 netflix stars.

As a nice aside, my mom went to a reading by Ms. Patchett and had this book signed for me!