As I write this, the life of British baby Indi Gregory hangs in the balance. The NHS wants to kill her. Her parents want her to live. The Italian goveAs I write this, the life of British baby Indi Gregory hangs in the balance. The NHS wants to kill her. Her parents want her to live. The Italian government has extended citizenship to her and is fighting in court for jurisdiction so she can be saved and treated in an Italian hospital. And all I can think to do is to pray the plot of this book—that someone would save her, that someone would risk everything to do it. That's the trouble with dystopian fiction...the darkness it depicts is just too close to the truth. I know that, ultimately, the darkness cannot overcome the light, but it is still so strong and so brutal in this world.
But about the book...it's probably more emotionally difficult for adults, especially mamas, than for its younger target audience. I, oddly, hit my biggest snag in chapter 6, less than halfway through. It was suspenseful enough that I had to step away from the book for a few days. I went back to the M. R. James ghost stories as the lesser of two stresses. Ghost stories! I think the smaller event was more suspenseful than the book's main climax because I knew the whole story ultimately had to turn out OK, but anything might happen at that particular plot point. I was finally able to zip through the rest in time for our book group discussion. So...despite my neurosis-induced reading gap, the story grip was strong. The characters were well-drawn. The prose was good (there were a few metaphors I might have made note of if I hadn't just been trying to survive the thing!). The ending was satisfying. And, best of all, the audiobook was admirably narrated by the author....more
April 2024 — Even better the second time around. There were some things I got wrong the first time (thought someone had survived when we're explicitlyApril 2024 — Even better the second time around. There were some things I got wrong the first time (thought someone had survived when we're explicitly told in the first chapter he wouldn't; attributed some thoughts during a sermon to the wrong character) that I cleared up this time. A fierce and forceful Flannerian grace saves sixteen souls who aren't as bad as the seven who die, but who are really not worthy of their deliverance. Kennedy's character creations continue to astound me—she's brilliant in that way. I think the book would lend itself to an excellent film adaptation in the right hands. Please do yourself the favor of reading this is you haven't already!
*****
August 2023 — Best new-to-me novel I've read yet this year.
C. S. Lewis was a fan, as well.
The setup is reminiscent of The Bridge of San Luis Ray.
The Feast starts with an old clergymen arriving at a crony's manse for their annual vacation. The host has broken one of their ground rules: no sermon-writing while they are off duty. But a tragedy has occurred—part of a cliff has broken off and crushed a small hotel, killing most of the occupants—and the old priest must prepare for the funeral service.
The clock then rewinds a bit, and we meet the proprietors, servants, and guests of the hotel. Kennedy's ability to portray a personality in one scene is astounding.
As a reader, I find myself hoping that one or another will be among the victims or the survivors, and then I realize that's probably a bad attitude, despite its being only fiction.
A few hours before I finished, I was sure the end was going to gut me, but I felt that, by framing the story as she did, Kennedy had prepared me for whatever the outcome would be. Forewarned is forearmed. It didn't feel like Dickens or the bad Trollopes or your average Russian novelist.
It's not often I read something this good that no one I know has reviewed on Goodreads, so I'm eager to share the good news of it. I foresee many rereads in my future.
It's also a good test case for Nate Wilson's terrible take on spoilers. I was glad I hadn't even read the book description before I read the whole book. I know I'll never get to read it again for the first time, but anyone who had told me the ending before I started would have done me a great disservice.
Narrator was good except when he got to the text of a couple of hymns and obviously had no understanding of what he was reading....more
June 29, 2023 — I completely spaced that I was supposed to read this for a book group on June 27, but I managed to get halfway through before the meetJune 29, 2023 — I completely spaced that I was supposed to read this for a book group on June 27, but I managed to get halfway through before the meeting time. We had plan to watch an adaptation, anyway, so if wasn't a big deal not to have it fresh in my mind. (We got an episode and a half into the Romola Garai version, which I wasn't really loving because of how nasty Emma and Knightley were being to each other.) I finished it a little after midnight the next night. This time I was struck by the theme that happiness lies in loving and serving others. Not my best skill. Living mostly alone for most of one's adult life is not the most conducive situation for learning this skill. "Go to your room and sit by yourself till you've learned to get along with others" is a strategy that has certain drawbacks. But there's no excuse for submitting to the tyranny of self as I have done, and it's good to have good books that poke at that flaw with a nice, sharp pin.
*****
July 4, 2022 — This time through, I found myself sympathetic to and shamed by John Knightley. He's the only character who ever gets impatient with Mr. Woodhouse, but he manages to pull himself together and be gracious to him. I just get more exasperated as the book wears on. Of course patience with exasperating people is a theme here. When Mrs. Weston arrived at the strawberry-picking party at Donwell, she "seemed to have walked there on purpose to be tired, and sit all the time with [Mr. Woodhouse]...when all the others were invited or persuaded out, his patient listener and sympathiser." And on the same occasion "Mr. Knightley had done all in his power for Mr. Woodhouse's entertainment. Books of engravings, drawers of medals, cameos, corals, shells, and every other family collection within his cabinets, had been prepared for his old friend, to while away the morning; and the kindness had perfectly answered." They at least appear to acknowledge that he is an overgrown child who must have a full complement of toys on hand. And Miss Bates (whose first name is Hetty...who knew?) being another sent to test our moral fortitude in that realm. But they are perhaps too patient with Mr. Elton. That man had no business being in the clergy, and British society at the time was far too tolerant of unfit ministers. No wonder they tolerate even more unfit ones today. Jane at least was willing to point out the ridiculousnesses of Eltons and Collinses, but no one, it appears, was ever willing to do anything about them.
I just can't rave enough about Juliet Stevenson's narration. And of course this is her book, having portrayed Mrs. Elton so brilliantly in the 1996 film adaptation. Usually I fuss (or am sorely tempted to fuss) about mispronunciations in audiobooks. Stevenson, on the other hand, corrects me, making me her adoring slave forever. (Huswif is pronounced hussif...who knew?)...more
I am way too stupid to review or even rate this book. I even picked the easier version, although my book group is technically supposed to be reading RI am way too stupid to review or even rate this book. I even picked the easier version, although my book group is technically supposed to be reading Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self. Philosophy just ain't in my wheelhouse.
Read by the author. That, at least, earns five stars!...more
Lotsa tears throughout this one. I knew most of the story, which contributed to the lachrymal response.
I learned a couple of days ago that the martyrLotsa tears throughout this one. I knew most of the story, which contributed to the lachrymal response.
I learned a couple of days ago that the martyrs' plane was found in the '90s and brought back to the States. Specifically, to the MAF headquarters in Nampa, Idaho. That's just five and a half hours away. Are Protestants allowed to take pilgrimages to visit holy relics? If so, how many years off purgatory would this one get me?
I kinda wanted to smack Jim. His undue delay of marriage and the pain that inflicted on Betty was just dumb. Of course I was exponentially dumber at his age and he was exponentially holier than me at any age, so know I don't really want to smack him.
I also kinda wanted to slap Rachel Saint, but I suppose I'd settle for a time machine so I could take her copies of How to Be Free from Bitterness by Jim Wilson and Seeing Green by Tilly Dillehay. What a piece of work. The men who allowed her to behave the way she did for as long as she did were greatly to blame. I was glad to learn they'd repented of their sissiness and apologized to Betty.
Of the six of us who made it to book group tonight, three had met Elisabeth in person, and one's grandparents had been married by Jim Elliot's father. Hmm...I may need to read Seeing Green, too. ...more
One of the joys of my life is knowing a multitude of authors. When I was a child, I knew none, and they seemed to me like an exalted but quite alien sOne of the joys of my life is knowing a multitude of authors. When I was a child, I knew none, and they seemed to me like an exalted but quite alien species. Now I live in a town where I could not, were I so inclined, throw a rock without hitting an author and having it ricochet off a couple others. Christiana is one such author. And I have never, just to be perfectly clear, had cause, either before or after reading this, her first book, to throw any rocks whatsoever at her.
I know I am not, nor could be, nor would even want to be, perfectly objective in reviewing books by people I know and love, but I am pretty sure I'd think as highly of this one even if I'd never set eyes on Miss Hale. She made me understand the trilogy better, she made me understand Lewis better, and she even made me understand myself better as a reader. The book nailed the three R's: it was well researched, well reasoned, and well 'ritten. I'm sure I will be revisiting it when I read the trilogy again.
Tim Stevenson did a fine job reading, though he pronounces some fictional names different than I would....more
Dear Gilbert — I am sorry. I have tried. I love your essays and nonfiction books. I enjoy Father Brown. I find your prose delightful. But I just can'tDear Gilbert — I am sorry. I have tried. I love your essays and nonfiction books. I enjoy Father Brown. I find your prose delightful. But I just can't take any pleasure in the absurditudinousness of most of your fiction. At least you're consistent: this felt very much like I remember The Napoleon of Knotting Hill feeling, but that feeling just wasn't a great one. If it'd've been a short story, I might've felt different, but Perhaps the gals at book group tonight will guide me to a more enlightened perspective, but till then, I'll give you generous it-was-OK two stars.
The narration was a motley crew of LibriVox readers, most of whom should promise at least never to try to sing again for an audiobook....more
April 2023 — Reread for one of my book groups and bawled my eyes out again. There are a few places where I found fault with the story, but the overallApril 2023 — Reread for one of my book groups and bawled my eyes out again. There are a few places where I found fault with the story, but the overall feel of it is so spot-on effective that I can't really complain...especially if I tell myself that there's a sequel where The Big Missing Piece (view spoiler)[i.e., a father (hide spoiler)] falls into place.
Some books ya read because ya wanna read 'em. And some ya read because yer book group wantsta read 'em. Some books ya read because ya wanna read 'em. And some ya read because yer book group wantsta read 'em. ...more
What say we dig up Henry VII and bury him under a parking lot somewhere for a few centuries?
The Richard III stuff was intriguing and well argued. But What say we dig up Henry VII and bury him under a parking lot somewhere for a few centuries?
The Richard III stuff was intriguing and well argued. But when she started denigrating some of my historical friends, I bristled a bit and went hunting at least for a defense of the story of the two Margarets. And I found this (between asterisks is quoted):
*****
The story of Wilson's death is discussed in Josephine Tey's 1951 novel The Daughter of Time, in which a modern detective criticises versions of historical events created to serve political agendas. Following Mark Napier, Tey portrays the death of Wilson as a myth, referring to the existence of the reprieve, held by the Scottish Privy Council "to this day". She claims that "the original collector of the material, canvassing the Wigtown district only forty years after the supposed martyrdom and at the height of the Presbyterian triumph, complains that 'many deny that this happened'; and couldn't find any eyewitnesses at all". In fact, Robert Wodrow, the original collector of the material published in The History and Sufferings of the Church 36 years after the event, wrote that "our jacobites have the impudence, some of them to deny, and others to extenuate this matter of fact which can be fully evinced by many living witnesses" Kirk Session records written out twenty years after the events provide detailed accounts compiled from the narratives of individuals who claimed to have witnessed the events.
*****
So Tey is not unquestionably reliable.
I so seldom read on paper these days that it was rather a treat. I have margin notes and vocabulary words that I'd like to add to this review, but it's too late for that tonight....more
I quite enjoyed this — quite gripping. I didn't like anybody, but that doesn't get in the way of a mystery the way it does with other types of storiesI quite enjoyed this — quite gripping. I didn't like anybody, but that doesn't get in the way of a mystery the way it does with other types of stories. If everybody's awful, one can happily go about suspecting them all at will. I was left a bit confused at the end...not by the solution to the whodunnit, but by some of the characters' behavior. I figured out some bits of the mystery, and had some bits on my mental list of possibilities, but these was just enough I hadn't thought of to keep me guessing and leave me satisfied.
Narrator was great. How one reads the characters of the opposite sex often makes or breaks a performance, and Ulli Birvé made some interesting decisions in that regard. For some men, she deepened her voice a bit (without overdoing it), and for others, she just kept her normal pitch. And it all worked together.
June 2022 — Reread for book group. I think we're going to watch the movie tonight, too. I warned them we'd need subtitles!
*****
January 2022 — I was heJune 2022 — Reread for book group. I think we're going to watch the movie tonight, too. I warned them we'd need subtitles!
*****
January 2022 — I was hesitant after my first reading to wax too hyperbolic, but after the second, I'll be more bold: this is the funniest book I have ever read.
*****
January 2021 — Very fun and engaging. I first watched the movie twenty-plus years ago with friends who never forgave me for the recommendation. The biggest problem was that it was the only utterly incomprehensible English-language film I've ever seen. I watched it again about ten years ago (judging by the date Angie reviewed the book) with other friends and, crucially, subtitles. It was much jollier that time. But I think I like the book best of all. It has much of the feel of a Miss Buncle, but from a more worldly perspective. The worldliness was perhaps the only downside.
Well. That was about as depressing as it gets. And don't think I missed the message that we can only care about justice if we abandon orthodoxy. Tell Well. That was about as depressing as it gets. And don't think I missed the message that we can only care about justice if we abandon orthodoxy. Tell me: who in this story lived their life more by the principle of survival of the fittest? Exactly. Sorry...not buying your inconsistent-with-reality worldview. ...more
I know I read this twenty or so years ago, but the very only thing I remembered about it was somebody buying penwipers...literally the symbol of insigI know I read this twenty or so years ago, but the very only thing I remembered about it was somebody buying penwipers...literally the symbol of insignificance in the book! But as usual, my fiction forgetfulness served me well, and I got to enjoy it again for the first time. This was the Connie Willis I remember. I was worried she'd turn out to have been the Crosstalk Connie Willis after all, but there was none of what I disliked about that in this. I was engaged and amused all the way through, and plan to listen to the rest of this series if I can find it.
I had to rush through this to finish it before book group. Looking forward to savoring it more thoroughly when the audiobook comes out. I'm afraid I iI had to rush through this to finish it before book group. Looking forward to savoring it more thoroughly when the audiobook comes out. I'm afraid I identified a bit too much with Cora's bitterness. Sometimes false gods take the true God's name in vain. Neither blind submission nor bitter resentment is the right response. Only the truth will provide freedom and peace and hope....more
September 2022 — A quick relisten before a church ladies book discussion tomorrow evening. Since the last time I listened, I finally got into the swinSeptember 2022 — A quick relisten before a church ladies book discussion tomorrow evening. Since the last time I listened, I finally got into the swing of the Puritans and have read most of the books Nancy recommends here. I think I like their books better, but I still like Nancy herself best. ...more
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