tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74753517039781168512024-02-18T23:31:59.864-08:00A Mile High Pile of BooksUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-35778584130138484362018-06-09T07:11:00.002-07:002018-06-09T07:11:55.258-07:00A Death in the Small Hours<div class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="A Death in the Small Hours (Charles Lenox Mysteries, #6)" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344319700l/13538931.jpg" /></div>
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<i>I read a library copy and listened to the library's audiobook copy obtained through Overdrive. Having both options allows me to complete the book even when I am busy doing other things such as driving or cross-stitching.</i></div>
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<i><br /></i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">From Charles Finch, the critically acclaimed author of </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A Beautiful Blue Death</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> and </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A Burial at Sea,</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> comes </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">A Death in the Small Hours</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">--an intriguing new mystery in what </span><i style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">The New York Times</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> calls "a beguiling series"</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Charles Lenox is at the pinnacle of his political career and is a delighted new father. His days of regularly investigating the crimes of Victorian London now some years behind him, he plans a trip to his uncle's estate, Somerset, in the expectation of a few calm weeks to write an important speech. When he arrives in the quiet village of Plumley, however, what greets him is a series of strange vandalisms upon the local shops: broken windows, minor thefts, threatening scrawls.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;">Only when a far more serious crime is committed does he begin to understand the great stakes of those events, and the complex and sinister mind that is wreaking fear and suspicion in Plumley. Now, with his protege, John Dallington, at his side, the race is on for Lenox to find the culprit before he strikes again. And this time his victim may be someone that Lenox loves.</span></blockquote>
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I enjoy reading this old-fashioned mystery series set in Victorian England. It seems like something that would have been written decades ago. What is so nice about it being current is that there are still new books in the series being written. Joy! </div>
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You must start with the first book though. All series must be read in order or you spoil the whole thing. The first book is "A Beautiful Blue Death". Even if your local library does not have it, have your librarian find a copy for you. (It's okay, it's a librarian's job to do so and they quite often enjoy the search.)</div>
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For those of you who may be wondering, this is my cross-stitch WIP (work in progress):</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-69352360039146184792018-06-09T05:34:00.000-07:002018-06-09T05:46:20.302-07:00After the Eclipse: A Mother's Murder, A Daughter's Search<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1487314433l/33413878.jpg" /></div>
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<i>I read this with the Kindle app on my phone. It is a library copy</i></div>
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<i> obtained through Overdrive. Technology is wonderful!</i></div>
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<i><b style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;">A fierce memoir of a mother’s murder, a daughter’s coming-of-age in the wake of immense loss, and her mission to know the woman who gave her life.</b></i><span style="color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span><i style="background-color: transparent;">When Sarah Perry was twelve, she saw a partial eclipse of the sun, an event she took as a sign of good fortune for her and her mother, Crystal. But that brief moment of darkness ultimately foreshadowed a much larger one: two days later, Crystal was murdered in their home in rural Maine, just a few feet from Sarah’s bedroom.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;">The killer escaped unseen; it would take the police twelve years to find him, time in which Sarah grew into adulthood, struggling with abandonment, police interrogations, and the effort of rebuilding her life when so much had been lost. Through it all she would dream of the eventual trial, a conviction—all her questions finally answered. But after the trial, Sarah’s questions only grew. She wanted to understand her mother’s life, not just her final hours, and so she began a personal investigation, one that drew her back to Maine, taking her deep into the abiding darkness of a small American town.</i><i style="background-color: transparent;"> </i><i style="background-color: transparent;">Told in searing prose, After the Eclipse is a luminous memoir of uncomfortable truth and terrible beauty, an exquisite memorial for a mother stolen from her daughter, and a blazingly successful attempt to cast light on her life once more.</i></blockquote>
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I found this memoir on a list of recommendations and was quite surprised to find that it takes place in the little town in Maine where we have a vacation home. The shops and streets and the Italian restaurant that figures largely on the night of the murder are all so familiar.<br />
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I would have found the story compelling even without the familiarity of the setting. It is told by a woman whose young, beautiful mother is brutally murdered while her 12-year-old self hides in the next room. She tells of her family background, marked by violence and dysfunction, as well as her struggles to make a better life for herself, a life very different from her mother's and one that her mother would want for her.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-57676663126067275492012-05-01T15:56:00.001-07:002018-06-09T05:21:45.751-07:00The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The House of the Wind by Titania Hardie is definitely not a fluffy beach-read. It is a book that demands to be savored slowly and thoughtfully with its lushly-written descriptions and gradually-evolving plot. Neither is it a book that can be fully appreciated the first time it is read. The reader may even feel a little frustrated with how slowly the plot progresses but when you get to the end, you want to read it again in order to appreciate all the nuances and subtle hints that were missed in the first reading.<br />
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The book begins with Maddie in California, waiting for her fiance to arrive from England until she is told that he has died in a car accident. She grieves for him and for the marriage that will never take place. She continues to work and live her life but feels isolated and lonely until her Italian grandmother sends her to Tuscany. In Tuscany she begins to feel alive again and becomes interested in the story of a centuries-old villa. <br />
Interspersed with the story of Maddie is another story that takes place in 14th century Tuscany. It tells the story of the inhabitants of the villa that Maddie finds so intriguing, although it isn't until well into the book that the connection is made. It is about Mia, a mute young woman who lives with her aunt Jacquetta in 1347 Tuscany. She has reason to grieve as well as do some of the patrons of the wayside inn run by her aunt. <br />
It is while staying in Tuscany and discovering the history of the villa that Maddie is able to make peace with the empty space in her life that was supposed to be her first year of marriage. She is able to find her life again and fill it with other people and interests. Her visit to Italy has become a pilgimage where she feels the lines blurring between the ancient and modern worlds and where she can imagine a better and happier life for herself, one in which she can be whole. "Something was allowing her to be touched by the world around her again" when before she "felt emotionally torn between two worlds." The weather figures in the story in a mystical sort of way, as do birds. There is also a sort of mysticism and a feeling of destiny in Maddie's life. All in all, it is an interesting book that lingers with you when you finish it so that you have to go back and read bits and pieces again and again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-29243473708179482422012-02-25T07:38:00.001-08:002012-02-25T07:38:30.350-08:00Cinder by Marissa Meyer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I really enjoyed this futuristic Cinderella story! Cinder is a cyborg due to an accident many years before which meant that her foot and hand were amputated and replaced by robotic parts. She was brought home by a man who promptly died after extracting a promise from his wife to care for Cinder. In New Beijing, cyborgs are considered outcasts and Cinder's adoptive mother never lets her forget that. Cinder is an amazing mechanic and the family, her mother and 2 sisters, live off the income Cinder makes. Her reputation is so good that Prince Kai brings his robot to her to be fixed. Naturally he is smitten by her but is also unaware that she is a cyborg. Add in a plague and an evil queen from another planet who wants the Prince to marry her to avert war and it all adds up to be a fun and new take on an old story. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-69301333420245537342012-01-12T08:54:00.000-08:002018-06-09T05:21:16.339-07:00I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I got this book, as usual, from my local public library.</span></div>
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Another Flavia de Luce novel and I think it's my favorite so far. I say so far because all indications are that Mr. Bradley will continue to write these wonderful books, thank goodness. I love Flavia and her sleuthing!</div>
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Flavia de Luce is a precocious, Chemistry-loving, mystery-solving, 11-year-old girl living in rural 1950's England in a big old drafty mansion that her father cannot afford since her mother, the inheritor, passed away without a will. He gives in to the necessity of allowing a movie to be filmed in the home. Flavia and her sisters are thrilled and even put aside their bickering when the crew arrives just before Christmas. Flavia has conjured up a super-sticky glue which she slathers inside the chimney in order to catch Father Christmas but even that is forgotten when a murder occurs.</div>
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<strong>What I loved about it: </strong>Flavia, of course, but even secondary characters are well-described. Dogger is one of my favorites. I also love that all of Feely suitors end up at the house at the same time. Oh, and I love that Flavia still believes in Father Christmas as smart as she is.</div>
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<strong>What I didn't like: </strong>Hmm, can't think of anything.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-60860889142689021162012-01-06T07:16:00.000-08:002012-01-06T07:16:00.579-08:00What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> at my local public library, as usual.</span></div>
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Alice, after passing out and hitting her head, forgot the last ten years of her life. Alice thinks she is 29 instead of 39 and doesn't remember the births of her children, etc. More than that, apparently Alice has become a very different person, one she isn't so sure she likes. Alice's friends and loved ones are taken aback by this "new" Alice and their reactions to her are the best parts of the book, as well as her discoveries about her "new" self.</div>
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It's a fun and quick read (I had it done in a day) and I love a lot of the characters in the book although you want to smack some of them. I found Alice's assumptions about some of the changes very interesting (I'm trying not to give too much away which is why this sentence is so wimpy). </div>
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I had to wonder "what if I lost the last ten years of my life?" Hmm, the birth of my last child, 3 moves one of which was across country, a major injury with multiple surgeries, 3 daughters getting married, my mother's passing away, the birth of my grandson...a lot of life has gone on in those ten years. Going back would find a more innocent and less experienced me. Some of those experiences I wish I <em>could </em>forget although all of them are things that have made me who I am. Alice discovers this same thing. The "new" Alice has changed because of her experiences although seeing them through the younger, more innocent Alice's eyes helps her to reevaluate what effect those experiences will have on her. Loved it!</div>
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<strong>What I liked about it:</strong> I loved going through the process with Alice, finding out about those lost ten years right along with her and seeing the differences in the new and old Alice.</div>
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<strong>What I didn't like:</strong> I didn't really like the whole "boyfriend" part. </div>
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<strong>Was it clean?:</strong> No, not really. Too many incidences of that hated word although most of the book was pretty clean-no sexually explicit anythings and not much language overall but probably 10-15 f-words. Really unnecessary.</div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-21399049427741682082011-08-04T09:30:00.000-07:002011-08-04T09:58:22.969-07:00Dreams of Joy by Lisa See<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNhV5gAUl1XtApwPnp79_SOF8CCqCpATHRP9k74yCYjQQATEwSGb6K0oDnKflltOmeAx6lyPErdt6zTI_VRmr7Vjg2GJtpDdcbjfkeNOD2vGHd2ZuH_OnevVAmPph1jVULwyrr3u9gLU/s1600/Dreams-of-Joy-HiResJacket2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhNhV5gAUl1XtApwPnp79_SOF8CCqCpATHRP9k74yCYjQQATEwSGb6K0oDnKflltOmeAx6lyPErdt6zTI_VRmr7Vjg2GJtpDdcbjfkeNOD2vGHd2ZuH_OnevVAmPph1jVULwyrr3u9gLU/s320/Dreams-of-Joy-HiResJacket2.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In this sequel to <em><u>Shanghai Girls,</u></em> Lisa See tells the story of Joy, a 19 year old girl of Chinese heritage living in 1950's Los Angeles. (If you have not read Shanghai Girls, I strongly suggest that you do before reading this review. There will be spoilers!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Joy, upset and furious with Pearl and May after learning the truth about her parentage and blaming herself for Sam's death, decides to go to China to find her birth father. She became enamoured of Communism and the New China while in college and feels that her place is there with her father. She impulsively leaves for China, leaving behind only a letter to let anyone know what she has done. Pearl decides to follow her in order to talk her into returning with her to California. The problem is that getting in to China is not especially difficult, getting out is nearly impossible.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Joy ends up on a commune in the country and learns that communism is not the ideal she thought it was. Pearl returns to her home city of Shanghai, to her old home, and finds that the city has changed drastically in the 20 years she has been gone. Pearl says: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <em>Old Shanghai, my Shanghai, had plenty of sin on the surface but was shored up by the respectability of banking and mercantile wealth underneath. Now I see the so-called respectability of communism on the surface and decay underneath. They can sweep, strip, and cart away all they want, but there's no changing the fact that my home city is decomposing, rotting away, and turning into a skeleton.</em></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Pearl tries to persuade Joy to return home but Joy is caught up in her new life. It isn't until a nationwide disaster occurs, a famine brought on by the ill-conceived policies of the communist regime, that Joy finally sees the reality of the New China.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>What I like about the book: </strong>Too much to write about here! Mostly I loved the descriptions of China, especially the Chinese country life, as experienced by the peasants. Naturally, those who had the least control over their lives suffered the most for the idiocies of those in charge. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>What I didn't like: </strong>I liked pretty much everything but I would have like to have more about the changing relationships- especially between Joy and Pearl, and Joy and Tao.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Was is clean? </strong>That depends. For adults, yes it was pretty clean however there were definitely some things that would not be appropriate for children or even younger teens. There is not any profanity, but some sex, and then just some situations that would be disturbing to most people, especially during the famine.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-20760443756650477182011-07-13T08:30:00.000-07:002011-07-13T08:39:47.116-07:00Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X_an0nP5KFAJVUqsyVg1MsLZz36fzTMdt_rDxLsQkCarFI9YG1KoUtLlLmyimcuB2eBmy5UFMaZWfiz2pxOWhm-ibsUvzhwNNOAP4HhEAmZ0nyVvP_VaA9tx2bsXqekieuQNIPUp_No/s1600/35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5X_an0nP5KFAJVUqsyVg1MsLZz36fzTMdt_rDxLsQkCarFI9YG1KoUtLlLmyimcuB2eBmy5UFMaZWfiz2pxOWhm-ibsUvzhwNNOAP4HhEAmZ0nyVvP_VaA9tx2bsXqekieuQNIPUp_No/s1600/35.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I cannot imagine what it would be like to have an intellect that is above average, gifted even, and to be thought incapable of learning. Melody, a spunky 11-year-old with cerebral palsy, has lived with that her entire life just because she is unable to speak. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I loved this book by Sharon Draper. Because it is written from Melody's point of view we can get a small idea of the frustrations she deals with on a daily basis, including spending most of her day in a special ed class where she is bored, not being able to yell out in an emergency, and just desperately wanting to be included and treated like everyone else. Melody eventually is able to communicate via computer and it opens up the world to her, even better it lets the world get to know Melody.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
My 10-year-old daughter loved this book so much that she hoped there was a sequel.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is written for ages 9-12 but I enjoyed it too.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
Here is a fabulous study guide with discussion questions and ideas for book reports. (I'm going to have to remember this for my 10 year old):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><a href="http://sharondraper.com/bookdetail-guides.asp?id=35">http://sharondraper.com/bookdetail-guides.asp?id=35</a><br />
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What I liked about the book: Being in Melody's "head", experiencing things as she did.<br />
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What I didn't like: I had to wonder why she didn't have an advocate in the school to make sure her needs were addressed. She should have had the computer much earlier.<br />
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Was it clean? Sure was!<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7475351703978116851.post-18038995571367586512011-06-30T18:16:00.000-07:002011-06-30T18:27:44.974-07:00Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoo3IQcuGTjgtYFqB7csBjEp8Ai5tjpmh7Obaw5EjMWzxvj_2cLRdVYIbIUQnkvpam3ZJn3-LYdGbdAKHvB8VcJhclXVpfBt605wJHWsLbHZchDl31_0ms87gdZuSdPM3r5zCWank9AE/s1600/51brAHATyjL__SL500_AA300_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPoo3IQcuGTjgtYFqB7csBjEp8Ai5tjpmh7Obaw5EjMWzxvj_2cLRdVYIbIUQnkvpam3ZJn3-LYdGbdAKHvB8VcJhclXVpfBt605wJHWsLbHZchDl31_0ms87gdZuSdPM3r5zCWank9AE/s1600/51brAHATyjL__SL500_AA300_.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> It was fun to pick this one up the day after visiting Martha's Vineyard and spending some time in Edgartown, called "Great Harbor" in the book. Even though much of the island is inhabited, there are enough open spaces to get a feel of how it must have looked in the 1660's</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> However, this book is mis-named. Caleb is the first Wamponoag from the Island to attend Harvard but the voice of the novel is Bethia, the daughter of the local minister. It is through her writings that Caleb's story, but more often her story, is told. The "crossing" is his literal crossing the divide between the island and the mainland and, what is much more important, figuratively crossing over to a culture that was assumed by the English to be vastly superior to the Wampanoag culture, although there were many incidences that proved that he hadn't left behind his native beliefs entirely.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Bethia first meets Caleb when she is twelve. She manages to run into many times, always done without the knowledge of anyone else. She teaches him English and he teaches her his language and culture. They meet again when he comes to live with her family so her father could teach him along with her brother and another Wamponoag boy. They eventually end up in Cambridge at a boarding school, preparing for eventual admission to Harvard. Bethia goes too since, due to their reduced circumstances, she becomes an indentured servant at the school.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> I felt that the over-riding theme of the book is the comparison between the English culture and the Wamponoag culture, especially in regard to religious beliefs. What the English accepted as true would seem strange to an outsider, just as the beliefs of the natives seemed strange to them. After listening to Caleb explain their beliefs on many occasions, they started to make sense to Bethia. She attempts to teach him Christianity only to be frustrated when he challenges her beliefs. After listening to him describe some of his beliefs, she writes, <em>"Of course, I thought it all outlandish. But as I rode home that afternoon, it came to me that our story of a burning bush and a parted sea might also seem fabulous, to one not raised up knowing it was true</em>." He eventually becomes a Christian, at least in appearance. <em>"Caleb had taken the teachings of his youth and simply recast them in terms of our teaching.</em>" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The treatment of women in both cultures was a theme that I found very interesting. The prejudice against women at that time was just as strong as the prejudice against the natives, even stronger at times because Caleb and Joel, and even a native young woman, were able to get an education but it was denied to Bethia. She was fortunate to be able to work in an institution of learning so that she could eavesdrop on lectures and lessons.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> The assumption by the English that the Wamponoag were "salvages" seems ludicrous at times to Bethia when she realizes that her own culture, and their mode of living, is found wanting. She worries when Caleb comes to live with her family that he would feel a "lack", that it would be inferior to the home of his childhood with its hard bed and burlap cover instead of soft furs. Their homes were built in well-drained sheltered places, but the English had built their homes "<em>in the path of maritime gales, and already constant use has fouled the springs...I feared that Caleb would feel himself in a reduced condition here."</em> Things are even worse when they go to Cambridge with its closely-built homes and pungent odors. The school where they board is spartan and there is never enough food. Yet Caleb flourishes in many ways, at least in the eyes of the English. They feel that there is a "<em>complete... crossing as Caleb has made into English ways, these many years</em>." Bethia considers him a hero. <em>"He ventured forth from one world to another with an explorer's courage, armored by the hope that he could serve his people. He stood shoulder to shoulder with the most learned of his day, ready to take his place with them as a man of affairs. He won the respect of those who had been swiftest to dismiss him</em>." During the commencement exercises, Bethia finds herself wishing that Caleb had given one of the commencement orations. She thinks that he would have given a "<em>lively exegesis, drawing as it did on a very different experience of what was good and beautiful, and how beauty might be perceived quite differently by foreign souls in unalike times</em>."</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> In other words, the culture of the natives was not inferior to the English culture, just different. It was the English, in their arrogance and their assumption of superiority, that sowed the seeds of discord that led to war.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> Although the historical basis for this book is slim, little is known about Caleb, I felt that the author did well to describe the cultural conditions of the time. I enjoyed it immensely despite being misled by the title and recommend it as a worthwhile read. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>Was it clean?</strong> Yes, very clean! There was very little to object to, just a few adult situations that might make it too adult for younger children, who probably wouldn't want to read it anyway.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1