Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Dec 11

29

Mini Review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 29, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • WWII  | 14 Comments

Description from Publisher:

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
My Review:

My Colleagues and I over at Historical Tapestry had a mini challenge going for 2011.  Read the book that is recommended for you.  Ana picked The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for me to read.  It was a book that I had thought about reading.  I actually won a copy from someone but it was so long ago, I forgot from whom I won it from.  

I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read this wonderful book.  It is told entirely in epistolary format, which was the perfect format for this book.  I felt like a spy, reading copies of letters sent from one character to the next.  The story was so easy to follow yet the writing so eloquent.   The historical aspects of WWII were also well written and seemed well researched.  I never knew anything about the Island of Guernsey and the role it played in WWII before reading this book.

There is a bit of everything in this book including literary references, tragedy, and coming to terms, as well as some happiness and friendship.  I was able to predict the ending very early on in the book but that didn’t stop me from really enjoying this book.

4.5/5

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Dec 11

28

Mini Review: Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 28, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • China • Historical Fiction  | 10 Comments

Description of Shanghai Girls by Lisa See:

In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, twenty-one-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a Dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true Sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree . . . until the day their father tells them that he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.

As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. In Los Angeles they begin a fresh chapter, trying to find love with the strangers they have married, brushing against the seduction of Hollywood, and striving to embrace American life even as they fight against discrimination, brave Communist witch hunts, and find themselves hemmed in by Chinatown’s old ways and rules.

At its heart, Shanghai Girls is a story of sisters: Pearl and May are inseparable best friends who share hopes, dreams, and a deep connection, but like sisters everywhere they also harbor petty jealousies and rivalries. They love each other, but each knows exactly where to drive the knife to hurt the other the most. Along the way they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are–Shanghai girls.
My Review:

I listened to the audio version of this book.  I was really looking forward to it because Snowflower and the Secret Fan made a lasting impression on me.  It was one of those books that have stayed fresh in my mind, even 5 years after I read it.
  

Shanghai Girls was quite a different story from Snowflower but I enjoyed it.  For the most part, I loved the relationship between Pearl and May there were just a few parts that didn’t really work for me.  For instance, while they were confined at Angel Island, May gives birth to a girl.  However, she has Pearl fake a pregnancy herself so everyone thinks she is the mother.  Pearl gives birth in the women’s shower, right  next to were the women sleep, yet no one heard a peep when May was giving birth.  Next thing you know the other women wake up with a new-born among them.  I just found that unbelievable.

The writing itself was wonderful as was the character development and the love hate relationship between the sisters.  That was very realistic to me, having an older sister myself.  Lisa See really captured the period in history in rich historical detail of the Japanese invasion in China and the Chinese immigrant experience in the United States.

4/5

I borrowed the downloadable version of this audio book from my library.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Dec 11

28

Mini Review: Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on December 28, 2011
Posted in Books Read in 2011 • French Revolution  | 5 Comments

In an effort to catch up and review the rest of the books that I read in 2011, I have decided to write some mini reviews.  I got so far behind when I had to go out of town twice this year without internet access.  These mini reviews will be in a different format, as I will be using the book description provided by the publisher and then share my thoughts and feelings on the book.  In 2012 I will go back to my regular style of review with my own description and review.
Description of Madame Tussaud:

Smart and ambitious, Marie Tussaud has learned the secrets of wax sculpting by working alongside her uncle in their celebrated wax museum, the Salon de Cire. From her popular model of the American ambassador, Thomas Jefferson, to her tableau of the royal family at dinner, Marie’s museum provides Parisians with the very latest news on fashion, gossip, and even politics. Her customers hail from every walk of life, yet her greatest dream is to attract the attention of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI; their stamp of approval on her work could catapult her and her museum to the fame and riches she desires. After months of anticipation, Marie learns that the royal family is willing to come and see their likenesses. When they finally arrive, the king’s sister is so impressed that she requests Marie’s presence at Versailles as a royal tutor in wax sculpting. It is a request Marie knows she cannot refuse—even if it means time away from her beloved Salon and her increasingly dear friend, Henri Charles.

As Marie gets to know her pupil, Princesse Élisabeth, she also becomes acquainted with the king and queen, who introduce her to the glamorous life at court. From lavish parties with more delicacies than she’s ever seen to rooms filled with candles lit only once before being discarded, Marie steps into a world entirely different from her home on the Boulevard du Temple, where people are selling their teeth in order to put food on the table.

Meanwhile, many resent the vast separation between rich and poor. In salons and cafés across Paris, people like Camille Desmoulins, Jean-Paul Marat, and Maximilien Robespierre are lashing out against the monarchy. Soon, there’s whispered talk of revolution. . . . Will Marie be able to hold on to both the love of her life and her friendship with the royal family as France approaches civil war? And more important, will she be able to fulfill the demands of powerful revolutionaries who ask that she make the death masks of beheaded aristocrats, some of whom she knows?

Spanning five years, from the budding revolution to the Reign of Terror, Madame Tussaud brings us into the world of an incredible heroine whose talent for wax modeling saved her life and preserved the faces of a vanished kingdom.

My review:

I was so excited to get this book in my hot little hands!  I loved Moran’s previous book,  Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran, in fact I gave it a five star review.  So, did this book hold up to another 5 star rating?  Not quite, in my humble opinion.  Did I really like it?  Yes!  
The writing was excellent as was the story.  However, for me, there were a couple parts that dragged on just a little too much.  I understand that the French Revolution cannot be rushed but I wish a couple of the scenes would have been cut.  That said, that is my only issue with the book.   
The characters were well written and established.  I especially loved the teacher/ student relationship between Marie and Princesse Élisabeth and the descriptions of how Marie created the wax images of people.  Very fascinating!
4/5
I was sent an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher.  Receiving a free copy of this book has in no way influenced my review.

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Copyright 2007-2010: All the posts within this blog were originally posted by Teddy Rose and should not be reproduced without express written permission.

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