Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Published by Random House

ISBN 10: 1400068932

ISBN 13: 978-1400068937

March 2010

386 Pages

This delightful book is about an older, widowed man who realizes what really matters when he is confronted by both proposed development changes in the small town of Edgecombe St. Mary, and the overt prejudices of his friends, family and neighbors.

 

Major Ernest Pettigrew lives a quiet life at Rose Lodge, his family’s ancestral home. He is thoroughly British, valuing the traditional things; honor, duty, good manners, and restraint. His only brother’s death causes him to reevaluate his life, and he finds it wanting. He realizes how lonely he’s felt since the death of his wife six years ago, and how little he has seen of his only son, Roger.

 

He befriends Mrs. Ali, a widowed, independent shopkeeper of Pakistani descent, when she helps him through the shock of his brother’s death. After her kindness, he finds reasons to go to her little store to buy tea and sundry items almost daily. They discover they have a shared love of literature and arrange readings and then outings together. Their friendship grows slowly, with the two quite aware of their very different lives. However, by this time he is quite smitten with the lovely and intelligent Jasmina Ali, and begins to  court her. As their friendship deepens, she shares with him her fear of giving up her shop, returning to her family and taking on a more traditional role; a move her morose nephew Abdul Wahid encourages for his own reasons; two of which are an antagonistic single mom with a small boy that looks just like him.

 

Roger arrives with a stylish blond American girlfriend, and they make plans to purchase and renovate a cottage close to his father, but need money to do so. Roger encourages his father to sell a very valuable matched pair of rifles his grandfather had left Ernest and Bertie, but Pettigrew resists because he promised never to sell them. However, Marjorie, Bertie’s widow, is also pressuring him to sell the rifles as she needs money as well. Roger is entirely self absorbed and is only interested in furthering his career any way he can, even if that means marrying a woman he doesn’t care about.

 

The local village ladies have made plans for the annual Golf Club dance, the theme of which is 'An Evening at the Mughal Court,’ and have roped Pettigrew into being on the committee and Mrs. Ali into helping also. They both, especially Mrs. Ali, work very hard to make this a success. Pettigrew asks Mrs. Ali to the dance and they attend together. The evening begins beautifully, but then devolves into a nightmare. Mrs. Ali is subtly and then more blatantly insulted several times until she rushes home without Pettigrew; then decides to return to her Pakistani family.

 

Pettigrew is distraught, feeling he has lost Mrs. Ali forever and cannot imagine his life without her. He throws restraint to the wind and goes to rescue her from a dismal life with her hidebound relatives. They escape together, and later, in a climatic scene, Pettigrew faces death, and loses one of the precious guns, in order to save the life of her surly, conflicted nephew.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand looks closely at the expectations and friction not only between generations, but also between cultures, and delves deeply into the notion of the good of progress (good for whom?) and the idea of home. A totally absorbing read, you’ll cheer when Pettigrew goes to rescue his lady love. This thoughtful, charming, and delightful book is Ms. Simonson’s debut novel, and this author can hardly wait for her next book.

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

20th Anniversary Edition
256 pages

ISBN-10: 054739117X

ISBN-13: 978-0547391175
March 2010

This book is based on O’Brien’s tour of duty in Vietnam, and delves acutely into the emotional baggage that the soldiers who served carried both during and after the war. A fictional retelling of factual occurrences, this novel is presented as a series of short stories, and recounts events experienced by O’Brien and the men in his unit.

You are there as he faces down his doubts in a small fishing boat close to the Canadian shore, where a gruff old man has brought him to give him a chance to escape the draft. This is the moment he realized that he was too embarrassed not to go to war and admit he was a coward. You are also with him on a jungle trail looking at the first man he ever killed, experiencing the horror and guilt that paralyzed him. He details the revolting task of removing his buddy’s body parts from a tree after a live grenade he was playing with exploded. Then there is the unexpected transformation of a young American civilian woman into a deadly soldier; who walks into the jungle one night and becomes a legend. He describes the horror of watching his best friend, Kiowa, sink into a field of putrid mud. All of these awful moments, encapsulated into short narrative chapters, produce quite an emotional wallop.

This war story is filled with the immaturity, cruelty and ignorance of young men that at times committed disturbingly senseless and violent acts to balance the horrible monotony and weight of being at war. However, the camaraderie between the men buffers their rage and bitterness and allows their basic goodness to surface. There is respect for an old papa-san who guides them through a minefield and gratitude for the monks that shelter them in their temple. But there is also the adrenaline of being in a battle with the Viet Cong with gunfire and bombs exploding around them; countered by the emptiness of returning home without a sense of purpose.

The bonds forged in war between these men lasted long after the fall of Saigon and the end of the war, just as the images from this book will stay with you long after the final page is read. A visceral and introspective read, The Things they Carried is being republished twenty years after its original publication by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice

Rice’s second book in her “Life of Christ” cycle begins during the last winter before Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan by his cousin, John the Baptist.
Jesus, Yeshua as he is called, is enduring a year of no rain, dusty roads and talk of trouble in Judea.

Those who know him and have heard of his miraculous birth are waiting for a sign of what he will do; and there are some who are growing impatient. Why does he not marry? Why does he continue to work as a common carpenter?

When a beautiful girl is almost stolen from Nazareth by brigands, Yeshua is the first to go to her, and almost causes a catastrophe because he might of touched her. But he finds a way to avert this and helps to arrange the girl’s marriage.

He travels with his family to the River Jordan to meet John; and it is there that his destiny is revealed to him. And after 40 days in the desert and a confrontation with the devil, he is prepared to do his Father’s work.

A beautifully written story about the essence of Christianity; that of compassion and good will towards men.

Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt by Anne Rice

Anne Rice gives us this unusual take on the life of the young Jesus. This character driven novel is told from the viewpoint of seven year old Yeshua. He realizes he is different, but is not sure why. His quest to find out is difficult because no one, not even his mother or Joseph will tell him, so he has to resort to his own devices to find out. He learns bits and pieces about the events surrounding his birth from an Uncle, his elderly great aunt, and from slyly asking the Rabbis. As well, his dreams are filled with strange and fearsome beings and images.

The book opens with the young Jesus inadvertently killing the bully Eleazer simply by wishing him dead; but then he brings him back to life. Confronted by an angry mob over this incident, Joseph takes Mary, Jesus, and his extended family back to Nazareth.

The journey to the Holy Land is not easy, as King Herod has recently died and his kingdom is in turmoil. The roads are full of Roman soldiers putting down Jewish uprisings. As they enter Jerusalem for Passover, they are caught in a riot in the Temple, and Jesus sees a man impaled on a Roman’s spear. This is a horrific thing for the young Jesus to see, and the image does not leave him.

It is not until the next Passover that Jesus learns, from his half brother James, the full story of the night he was born, and the message the shepherds were given from the angels “… for today, to you, is born in the city of David a Savior: Christ the Lord!” He also learns of the terrible thing that King Herod did once he learned of this.

This book captures Jesus’ compassion, wisdom and also guilt over the things done by others due to his birth. This is very different from what we’re used to from Anne Rice, (remember all the wonderfully angst filled vampires stories she used to write?) but she has done her research well, and it shows in the accurate portrayal of life in the first century. An excellent beginning to a new cycle on Christ the Lord that is continued in Christ the Lord:  The Road to Cana.

Souless by Gail Carriger

Carriger’s debut, a combination of paranormal Victorian romance and a comedy of manners is a fast and fun read.

The setting is Victorian London. But this is not your ordinary London, England. In this 19th century London, werewolves, vampires and even ghosts are accepted as a normal part of the population.

Bluestocking Alexia Tarabotti is a 25 year old spinster who doesn’t quite fit into London society. And it’s not just because she’s half Italian (her swarthy complexion isn’t the sought after pale look), outspoken, and has a rather large nose. She really is something else. Alexia was born without a soul; which gives her the ability to disarm any paranormal creature just by touch.

After Alexia kills a vampire with her specially made parasol at a party, she is confronted by Lord Maccon, the handsome chief investigator of the Bureau of Unnatral Registry (BUR), who just happens to be a werewolf. They dislike each other immensely but agree that this particular vampire attack could be part of something more nefarious.

As they go about their separate investigations, we are introduced to an interesting cast of paranormal characters. Lord Akeldama is a foppish but influential vampire, and one of Alexia’s friends. Then there is the feared Countess Nadasky, the Queen of the London vampire hive, and the Professor Lyall, Lord Maccon’s second in command.

We also meet Alexia’s family; her stoic father, her hysterical mother who cares only for the family’s societal standing, and her two airheaded sisters. We also meet her best friend, Ivy Hisselpenny; whose goal in life appears to be wearing the ugliest hats ever created.

Over the last several months, loner vampires and paranormal creatures have gone missing, and no one can sort our why. As well, in London, a new club for scientists has opened recently called the Hyprocas Club, which has attracted scientists from as far away as the colonies.

An unlikely romance begins between Alexia and Maccon and heats up by degrees, leading them into some shocking situations.

On a visit to Lord Akeldama, on a full moon night, Alexia and Akeldama are kidnapped and imprisioned. Akeldama is taken to become part of a horrific experiment, a fate that Alexia will soon share. With no one to rescue her; since all werewolves are locked up on full moon night, her fate is sealed. Or is it?

This breezy, funny paperback novel is a great combination of steampunk and urban fantasy, and is geared to a young adult audience. This writer is looking forward to the sequel, Changeless, due out on March 30, 2010.

Angel Time by Anne Rice

This first in the Songs for the Seraphim series introduces Toby O’Dare. Toby (later called Lucky) is an assassin for the “good guys”, the U.S. government. He was brought up Catholic in New Orleans and once dreamed of becoming a priest. He grew up in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic mother, an absent father and two younger siblings. It became Toby’s job to hold the family together. His one passion is the lute, a medieval instrument that he excels at playing. He thought he was successful at managing his mother’s alcoholism until he returned from his high school graduation ceremony to find his brother and sister drowned in the bathtub, and his mother dead from slitting her wrists. Overcome by the horror and futility of his efforts, he leaves New Orleans. He remakes himself as a street musician in New York City, which brings him to the notice of Alberto, a restaurant owner who gives him a job as a waiter. When the Russian mob moves in and takes over Alberto’s business, Alberto holes up at Toby’s apartment. To repay Alberto’s kindness, Toby takes it upon himself to clear out the Mob; and he does this with ruthless efficiency; exterminating everyone in sight. After, he tells Alberto what he’s done, Alberto introduces to men who will “… take care of him”. So begins his career as Lucky, a government assassin; where he kills by stealthily applied lethal injections. He is quick, precise, and deadly. Lucky is a man of contradictions, he loves music and beauty but hates blood and violence. But he is a tortured soul who has been contemplating suicide for years. After his latest assassination; he is approached by an angel of the Lord, Malchiah. Malchiah offers him a chance of redemption; if he becomes the earthly agent for the angels, he will attain God’s forgiveness. Lucky accepts and he sent back to 13th century England, where, as Dominican friar Brother Toby, he is to protect a Jewish couple wrongly accused of having murdered their young daughter for her conversion to Christianity. 13th century England was a brutal place, rift with prejudice against the Jews, suspicion and intolerance. 100 years before, a child believed to have been crucified by the Jews was made a Saint, Little St. Hugh, in Lincoln. Now the Dominican Friars want a saint for the town of Norwich, and has contrived a story to achieve this. They assert that Meir and Fluria killed their daughter Lea because she converted to Christianity after visiting a church on Christmas Eve. Lea actually died from a burst appendix; called the Iliac Passion in the 13th century. Because her parents buried her under cover of night, there is no body as evidence. How he accomplishes this task through bravery and faith against severe prejudice and overwhelming odds is a compelling story. This expertly written and vividly imagined tale transports you first into the mind of a contract killer; and then to a unforgiving past where the desires of the venal and powerful cause hardship and heartache for the innocent. You will root for Brother Toby as he skillfully navigates the treacherous path between what is wanted by the avaricious monks, what the superstitious mob believes and what really happened to Lea.

Focus on Science Fiction: Watermind

Hello world! It's been a long time since I've blogged due to home repairs, new assignments and life in general. But I'm hoping to be able to blog more regularly now!

In any case, I have read a lot of amazing books, both fiction and nonfiction.

One of most recent was a newish Science Fiction novel by M.M. Buckner called Watermind. This offers a statement on the consequences of our throw away society.

M.M. Buckner offers us this shades of the X Files novel that deals with the possible ramifications of our throw away society. As we acquire new technology, we throw away our old cell phones, MP3 players, and computers. It stands to reason that a lot of our electronic garbage, along with pharmaceuticals and even genetically modified seeds will eventually end up in our water supply. And from such a potent chemical stew; what might emerge? Such is the premise of this book.

Two young people, contract laborers of Quimicron, are working on cleaning up a pollution spill in Devil’s Swamp in hot, humid Louisiana. CJ Reilly is a brilliant but self-destructive MIT student running from the suicide of her emotionally distant father. Max Pottevents is her new lover and is a gifted Zydeco musician. At the far end of the swamp, they come across an area covered in ice.
Intrigued, CJ is interested in studying this anomaly. Sneaking back to Devil’s Pond, she secretly takes a sample under cover of night, and discovers that it’s pure water. She immediately thinks this discovery could be used to supply pure drinking water to third world countries.
But then a man is killed by the anomaly; sucked down into its depths and drowned. Alarmed, the CEO of Quimicron, Roman Sacony, arrives from Argentina, hoping to contain or destroy the anomaly. Assisted by CJ and a cantankerous science team, they take samples to understand what they’re dealing with, but this eludes them.

The anomaly, dubbed the Watermind, thwarts all efforts to contain it. As it moves downstream towards the Mississippi and New Orleans, it grows and becomes more destructive, digesting the iron in barges, freighters and boats, causing them to sink. Roman becomes increasingly desperate, as he dreads the prospect of lawsuits that could bankrupt his company.

Meanwhile, CJ and Max believe they can communicate with the Watermind and think they can do this through music. This proves successful as it is able to transmute the music lessons in 4/4 time to a 3/4 waltz. As they come to realize the Watermind is an evolving sentient being; CJ resists all attempts to destroy it through EM pulses (electric magnetic pulses).

Although injured, they don’t annihilate the Watermind. However it is forced to defend itself, leading to additional deaths. The Watermind becomes an increasingly mutable and wily opponent, transforming from liquid to solid to gaseous almost instantly.

It appears nothing can stop this man made monster, not the Coast Guard, the methods tried by Roman Sacony, nor the Government Their attempts are further impeded by government protestors, uncooperative civilians and one over the top wacky underground journalist.

Will this emerging intelligence be destroyed or will it escape and continue to evolve? The ending, depending on whose side you take, can be seen as either terrifying or hopeful. Part horror story, part tech thriller, Watermind by M.M. Buckner presents a chilling picture of technology gone awry