Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus More


Apr 11

12

Solange: Dr. Ledru’s Story of the Reign of Terro by Alexandre Dumas

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on April 12, 2011
Posted in Short Story Read in 2011  | 4 Comments

Back in January, John from The Book Mine Set reviewed Solange by Alexandre Dumas.  Since I am a big fan of The Count of Monte Cristo, I had to read Solange for myself.

During the French Revolution it was the sentence of death to be an aristocrat.  Dr. Ledru was walking along the streets of Paris and all of a sudden heard a woman screaming.  He went to find her and saw that she was going to be taken away because she didn’t have a pass.  She claimed she had forgot it at home.  Dr. Ledru did not know her but called her “Solange” and vouched for her.  She called him “Albert”.  These are the names they would call each other for there rest of the story.
He walked her home and confirmed, as he suspected that she was in fact an aristocrat.  Both her father and herself were in hiding and trying to find a way out of the country.  Dr. Ledru pulls some strings and arranges for her father to go to England.  
Solange was to follow after.  However, when her time came, she decided to stay in France with Albert.

With  The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas proved he knew how to weave a great story!  That book was well over 1000 pages.  Could he do the same for a story of only about 14 pages?  IMO, yes, masterfully!  He captured a horrific time in French history and captured the climate of the people with poetic prose.  Highly recommended!  You can read it here.

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

Apr 11

4

The God of Dark Laughter by Michael Chabon

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on April 4, 2011
Posted in Short Story Read in 2011  | 4 Comments

Here’s another story that was put on my TBR by John of The Book Mine Set.  He said Chabon is, “a cross between John Irving, Franz Kafka, and a screenwriter for CSI.”  I am not a fan of CSI, I’m not that familuar with Franz Kafka, but I do like John Irving.  That was enough to entice me to read The God of Dark Laughter.

Thirteen days after the circus left town, a man was found dead in the woods with his entire scalp and face removed  (The CSI part).  He was wearing a threadbare velvet purple suit and a bright orange waistcoat.  There were patches of clashing plaids all over. 

“It was on account of the patches, along with the victim’s cracked and split-soled shoes and a certain undeniable shabbiness in the stuff of the suit, that the primary detective—a man not apt to see deeper than the outermost wrapper of the world (we do not attract, I must confess, the finest police talent in this doleful little corner of western Pennsylvania)—had already figured the victim for a vagrant, albeit one with extraordinarily big feet.”
This quote made me think of Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show (me show my age again). LOL!
The story is narrated by Edward D. Satterlee, the district Attorney of the small county.  The reader get to know some about Edward.  His son had died and then his wife committed suicide. That’s when he started drinking whiskey, which he kept behind the dictionary in his office.   He started living in a boarding house after that.  He was there eating his supper when the call came in. (this was the John Irving part).
This was a very strange story and the crime was quite graphic.  I don’t usually like the crime genre but there was enough in this story for me to enjoy. In fact, I enjoyed it quite a bit!  You can read the story, here.

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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.

Mar 11

28

The Widest Heart by Malka Drucker

Posted by Teddyrose@1 on March 28, 2011
Posted in Short Story Read in 2011  | 6 Comments

John of The Book Mine Set reviewed The Wildest Heart back in August and got me really interested in reading it.  It’s been on my TBR since then.
Malka Drucker is a Rabbi, besides an author.  In fact, she was mentioned in an article on the CBC Website as a pro-gay rights Rabbi.  Good for her for supporting an important human rights issue! (Now you know my opinion on gay rights).

The Wildest Things opens with an unknown narrator, reflecting on an unlikely friendship she had in high school.  The first day in Spanish class was where she first saw Marcia, in fact they were in every class together that semester.  

Marcia was a over weight girl that the narrator would never dream of hanging out with.  However, as she got to know her, she realized that they had a lot in common and Marcia had a great sense of humor.  They became best friends.

” We were an unlikely pair, I, cynical and proud of my perpetual gloom,Marcia, seemingly sunny and easy-going. But we immediately discovered how alike we were. We both loved reading, we hated cheerleaders, and thought a native speaker should teach Spanish. “I don’t want to speak Spanish with Applegate’s Iowa accent,” Marcia wailed.”

Eventually, like most high school friendships, ended.  As the narrator reflects back on the friendship and eventual end, the reader can sense the guilt that she carries about it.  The writing was beautiful and lyrical!  I didn’t want this story to end.  Highly recommended! You can read it here.

If you would like to participate in Short Story Mondays, go to John of The Book Mine Set. He has a short story review every Monday and a place for you to link your short story review. Come join in the fun and add to my short story TBR!

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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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