Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes (by Jamie Ford)

 My Rating:  5 stars

When I finished reading Jamie Ford’s newest novel Love and Other Consolation Prizes, the first words that came into my mind were “heartbreaking” and “heartwarming.”  I felt both emotions strongly throughout the time I was immersed in the story of Ernest Young, an elderly man in his 60s when the story begins in 1962, and his beloved wife Gracie, who is suffering from memory loss and barely remembers who her husband is.  As Ernest stands outside the gates of Seattle’s newest world’s fair, the Century 21 Expo, his memories flow back to the city’s very first world’s fair, the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (AYP), back in 1909 – a day that changed his life forever.  That was the day that, at 12 years old, he was “auctioned off” at the fair, given away as the grand prize in a raffle, technically for the second time.  Prior to that, at 5 years old, when he was still a little boy named Yung Kun-ai living in poverty with his mother in China, he was sent away with an “uncle” who would supposedly take him to America so he could live a better life free from starvation.  Little Yung does make it to America and eventually becomes a ward of the state of Washington, but not before suffering various hardships and discrimination due to his status as a ‘half-breed’ – the “bastard son of a white missionary and a Chinese girl, he was an outcast in both of their worlds.”  Later, he is taken in by Madam Flora, the “winner” of the raffle at the 1909 world’s fair, who also happens to be the owner of a notorious brothel named the Tenderloin, located in the red-light district in the seediest part of town.  Ernest becomes a houseboy helping out with various chores at the brothel and it is there that he meets Maisie, the secret daughter of Madam Flora, and Fahn, a young Japanese maid who works in the kitchen -- together with the other women who live and work at the Tenderloin, they become the first real “family” – albeit an unconventional one – that Ernest ever had.

By now, I believe most already know that this story was inspired by a real event – the raffle that truly did take place in real-life, at the 1909 AYP World’s Fair where an infant boy, also named Ernest, was put up as the “grand prize”.  That raffle did not result in a winner and it is not known what eventually happened to the infant boy, but with the seed of that event, Ford turns it into a story that imagines what might have happened to that boy, with the difference being that the Ernest in Ford’s story is a 12-year-old boy rather than an infant.  Ford also incorporates some of his own heritage into his stories, as anyone who is familiar with Ford’s background will probably know that he is also of mixed-race, with a Chinese father and an “adopted” American last name (Ford) that came about when his 100% Chinese great-grandfather decided to adopt the name William Ford when he immigrated to America back in the late 1800s.  I love the personal touch that Ford incorporates into his stories and the fact that he pays tribute to his heritage, all done in a way that is seamless yet meaningful.

There was so much to love about this book, as it truly combined the best of everything I normally look for in historical fiction: a well-written, captivating story that pulled me in from the start; a good dose of historical content that was obviously thoroughly researched yet did not take away from the flow of the fictional part of the story;  a non-typical love story that tugged at the heartstrings without diving into  “overly saccharine” territory;  endearing characters who, despite being deeply flawed, you can’t help but care about personally and eventually grow to love; wonderful writing that transported me to the time and place that the characters lived in and made the experience feel like a personal one. Ford is known for crafting tender, moving stories that incorporate aspects of hope and redemption and this was definitely the case here with Ernest’s story and the love he had for both Maisie and Fahn.  The ending to their story moved me to tears yet it was not sad or depressing but rather a scene filled with hope that made me feel good inside – I love the way the story came full circle, bookended by the two world’s fairs that also played such important roles in Ernest’s story.

I also liked the fact that this wasn’t a typical love story, but rather a story with substance that also dealt with important societal issues – questions of right and wrong, moral versus immoral and who has the right to judge.  Also topics such as equality, social justice, class issues, women’s rights, slavery, etc. – all heavy subjects that were dealt with in a way that didn’t make light of their existence but at the same time did not weigh down the story with gloom or despair and also did not try to “preach” or attempt to provide any answers, instead letting the reader go with the story and see where it leads.

This is my first time reading Jamie Ford and it certainly won’t be my last!  While I wait patiently to get my hands on whatever Ford decides to write next, for sure I will be moving up the two previous novels he wrote (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Songs of Willow Frost) from my TBR so I can get to both of them before the end of the year.  If you haven’t read Love and Consolation Prizes yet, all I can say is – READ IT!  Wonderful book, highly recommended!

Received advance reader’s copy from Ballantine Books via NetGalley.

Review: The Glorious Heresies (by Lisa McInerney)

DNF (Did Not Finish) - NO RATING given

Sorry, but this ended up being a DNF for me.  I feel a bit bad about it, as I had actually requested a review copy of this book several months ago and there were some issues with getting the physical book delivered to me -- after all the trouble, I felt like I should at least try to push through the book, despite the subject matter not being something I normally would choose to read.  Unfortunately, it just didn't work out. 

It's actually rare for me to DNF a book and this is actually the first book I've done so in a long time.  I got through a little over 200 pages but couldn't really get into the story -- I didn't like any of the characters, the plot didn't really go anywhere, and even though the writing was good, it was hard to concentrate...I found my attention wavering way too often and I kept setting the book aside.  Or perhaps right now is just the wrong timing for this book.  In any case, this book had won a few awards when it was published last year and scanning through Goodreads it looks like there were some pretty good reviews on it, so I'm sure the book has its merits.  Since I hate not finishing books, I will probably give this another try later on...but since I have other books that I need to get to, I will be moving on for now.

Received review copy from Tim Duggan books (Crown Publishing) via Blogging for Books.

Review: The Essex Serpent (by Sarah Perry)

My Rating: 3.5 stars

I had won this book in a Goodreads giveaway a few months back but wasn’t able to find the time to read it until about 2 months ago when it got chosen as the book of the month for one of my book clubs – that motivated me to finally read the book and while I can’t say that I was disappointed with the book, I have to admit that I didn’t really enjoy it as much as I thought I would.

The main strengths of this book I feel were in the characters and the writing.  The primary female protagonist in this book, Cora Seaborne, is a character very different from the typical Victorian era women we may be used to seeing from classical literature.  She is, by all accounts, completely opposite from the prudish, well-mannered upper class women of her time – though smart and well-educated, she possesses neither grace nor elegance nor the typical interest in religion and superstition but instead has an insatiable appetite for adventure and exploring the world around her through the lens of science and the laws of nature.  She is the type of woman who shuns elegant dresses and jewelry and would much prefer going out in ordinary clothes that include an overcoat that looks like it belongs to a man and boots caked in mud perhaps from one of her prior adventures.  She is also witty, charming, open-minded, outspoken, perpetually optimistic (or at least it comes this way) – in more contemporary terms, I would say she has somewhat of a “happy-go-lucky” personality and doesn’t seem to let anything bother her.  On the opposite corner is William Ransome, the local rector of Aldwinter parish with his beautiful but fragile wife Stella and 4 vivacious children – a man who can match Cora for wit and intelligence, but is deeply rooted in his faith and obligation to his parishioners.  He has a pronounced intolerance for superstition and therefore is deeply suspicious of the pervasive rumors of a winged sea creature – the titular Essex serpent – that supposedly lurked in the town’s back waters. There were also other characters in the book that were equally important and played a large part in shaping the story, all of whom were interesting and well-imagined, but to me, Cora stood out from the rest, whether in physical appearance, personality, behavior, attitude, etc.  The author Sarah Perry did a great job imagining her characters and bringing them to life in the story.

In terms of writing, the prose was lovely and elegant, poetic even – I definitely felt like I was reading a classical novel.  With that said though, I felt a lack of consistency with the writing in that some parts were overwritten and overly detailed while others were severely underwritten – I was frustrated at certain parts when the writing got a bit too “poetic”(?) I guess (the right word escapes me at the moment) and I felt like yelling out – just be clear already, did they or didn’t they, did something happen or did something not happen?  Perhaps it was just me but I felt like some parts took a bit too much brain energy to read and process (which is partly why it took me so long to finish reading this book).

I think for me, the part that made this reading most difficult was the lack of one cohesive plot that tied the story together.  Yes, essentially it was the Essex serpent that basically provided the premise of the story and a lot of the subplots (and there were many) linked back to this in some way, but I felt like some were unnecessary and detracted from the story a bit.  I found myself losing interest at certain points but then when it got back to the main story, I started paying attention again.  At one point, I was nearly 200 pages in and I remember thinking to myself that I really didn’t have much of an idea what was truly going on with the story.  It almost felt like I was reading a series of character vignettes detailing how particular characters’ every day lives were upended due to the community’s obsession with a potential serpent lurking in their midst.  While having a book be more character-driven than plot-driven is not necessarily a bad thing, I think it didn’t work that well for me in this particular book because of some of the other things mentioned above.

There were also quite a few themes that the story dealt with – science versus superstition, fanatical adherence to religion versus free thinking and letting nature take its course, prudishness versus being openness and being sexually bold, etc.  To be honest, I didn’t read as deeply into the story as others might have and near the end I was just relieved to finally finish the book, so I really didn’t explore some of these themes as much as I probably could have.  With that said, my review might not be the best one to read if you’re trying to decide whether to read this book or not -- I would suggest checking out the other reviews to get a more balanced perspective.

In the end, while I can’t say I “enjoyed” this book and definitely did not feel emotionally engaged when reading it, there were many good things about the book that made me feel it deserves a higher mark.  In fairness, I decided to rate this 3.5 stars.

Received advance reader’s copy from Custom House (William Morrow) via Goodreads Giveaways

Review: Little Fires Everywhere (by Celeste Ng)

My Ratings: 5 stars

Wow, what a story!   As I try to gather my thoughts to write this review, I am finding it difficult to do because there were too many things that made this book so wonderful!  The premise sounded simple enough – a wealthy family living in a progressive suburb called Shaker Heights, where every aspect of the community is carefully planned out and everyone lives idyllic, picture-perfect lives shielded from the "unpleasantness" of the outside world.   Guided by the philosophy that "as long as you follow the rules, everything will be fine," Elena Richardson is the ultimate embodiment of the Shaker spirit – she leads a perfectly maintained privileged life, married to a successful attorney husband with 4 "perfect" kids (2 boys and 2 girls), living in a big, beautiful house, doing a job she loves and surrounded by close friends who all think and act like her.   For Mrs. Richardson -- who was born and raised in Shaker Heights and whose ancestors had proudly upheld the planned community's ideals for 3 generations – it is unfathomable that anyone would choose to live any other way than the way she and her family and her entire community does.  Into this idyllic setting enters Mia Warren, an enigmatic and intriguing artist who brings with her a fatherless 15-year-old daughter named Pearl – hoping to settle down after years of living a nomadic life, Mia rents a small house from the Richardsons (an arrangement Mrs. Richardson wholeheartedly agrees to because, after all, how can someone who leads such a "perfect" life as hers not have a "compassionate" and "charitable" heart?).  As the lives of the 2 families become more and more entangled, things happen that reveal the deep dysfunction that actually lies just beneath the surface of this community, the Richardson family in particular.  As "reality" sets in and things fall apart around her, Mrs. Richardson sees her carefully curated bubble start to burst, which eventually triggers in her the obsessive need to dig up Mia's past and expose her in a desperate attempt to get her "perfect" life back.  The results of this obsession proves to be unexpected as well as devastating.

Author Celeste Ng writes beautifully – she has a skillful way with words and her storytelling draws you in completely.  From the first sentence all the way to the very last word, I was captivated by this well-crafted story with its well-developed, complicated, yet extremely realistic characters – to be honest, I didn't want this story to end.  It's not often that a book comes along where the characters are explored so deeply and flushed out so completely without sacrificing the story or the writing in any way.  While there were some characters that I didn't like at all and others who were unequivocally endearing, all of them I felt like I understood and could empathize with.  I loved how the characters were drawn so realistically – the portrayal of Mrs. Richardson, for example, with her "holier than thou" attitude and "sweet as pie" platitudes trying to mask the hypocrisy and unethical nature of her actions was truly spot-on!  The story itself explored so many different issues, complicated societal issues such as family, mother/daughter relationships, teenage angst and rebellion, racism, etc. yet this was done in a way that presented both sides while still remaining neutral from a narrative standpoint – something that is extremely difficult to do!  As a reader, I appreciated being presented with both sides and letting me decide for myself what side I wanted to be on.

One of the things I saw in this book that I rarely see nowadays with contemporary authors was the use of allusions and foreshadowing woven so seamlessly throughout the entire story.  The number of direct and indirect references to "fire" and all its different iterations (blaze, sparks, flames, flare, smoke, torch, ember, etc.) from the book's awesome title was astounding, but what I loved most was how these references were so thoughtfully relayed through such beautiful writing!  I would quote passages if I could but seeing that I read an ARC version of the book, probably best not to – besides, there were so many great "fire" related passages that deciding which ones to include and which ones not to would be a nightmare for me, lol.  You will just have to read the book and discover them for yourself! ;-)

My only complaint is a little bit of dissatisfaction with the ending – not because the loose ends weren't tied up (I actually like the fact that Ng went with a non-traditional ending), but because I was so invested in the characters already that I wanted to know what ultimately happens to them, wanted the story to continue on so I could keep spending time with them (part of me also wanted to see some type of comeuppance for the deplorable Mrs. Richardson, whom I detested from the beginning of the story to the very end, lol).  But of course, the ending reflects how real life works and I am perfectly fine with that!

This book made me think and reflect on a lot of things but most of all, it made me think about life and all its complexities.  No matter how much we may want to -- try to -- plan or control things, life happens and more often than not, takes on directions that we don't expect, can't anticipate, can't control, and oftentimes can't change.  Whether good, bad, or indifferent, when life happens, even the best-laid plans cannot help us avoid it..  Wonderful book, highly recommended!!!

Received advance reader's copy from Penguin Press via Penguin First to Read program and Edelweiss.

Review: The Space Between Words (by Michele Phoenix)

My Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4

This book turned out to be a bit different from what I expected it would be, though not necessarily in a bad way.  Originally, when I had read the synopsis of the book (which is what had prompted me to request it from NetGalley in the first place), I was expecting a dual timeline historical fiction novel with equal (or near equal) emphasis on both the historical and contemporary storyline, as this type of narrative structure seems to be the norm nowadays with this genre.  Michele Phoenix’s The Space Between Words turned out to be a “different” type of book in that the story is actually a contemporary one, albeit with some historical elements woven in.  The main narrative revolves around events that took place not too long ago (in 2015), with a small portion of the book jumping briefly back to a historical event that took place back in the 17^th century.

The story takes place at the end of 2015, right after the horrific terrorist attacks on the Bataclan concert hall in Paris, France.   The main character is thirty-four-year-old Jessica, who was in attendance at the concert along with one of her friends when gunfire erupted in the main chamber of the concert hall.  Jessica endured injuries during the shooting and even though she survived and was physically on the path to recovery, the emotional wounds were far from healed.  Wrestling with the emotional trauma from her ordeal and haunted by memories from that fateful day that she wanted desperately to forget, Jessica’s first instinct was to flee France as soon as possible.  However, after some persuasive encouragement from her roommate and best friend Patrick, who had been steadfastly by her side the entire time, Jessica decides to take his advice and continue on with the treasure-hunting trip that the two of them had planned prior to the attack, in the hopes that it will help Jessica with her healing process.  During the trip, Jessica discovers an antique sewing box with old documents inside, which she finds out upon having them translated that they date back to 1695 – pages written by a young French woman named Adeline during a time when the Huguenots in Catholic France were being persecuted for their religious beliefs.  Seeking emotional healing from her own ordeal, Jessica is drawn to Adeline’s narrative and, along with the new friends she meets during her trip, she sets out on a journey to find out the rest of Adeline and her family’s story as they attempted to flee religious persecution in 17^th century France.

I struggled a bit with how to rate this book, as I definitely enjoyed the story overall:  the writing was excellent, the characters were likable, and the author did a good job weaving past and present events into the narrative.  I especially liked how the history of the Huguenot persecution from the 17^th century was presented in the form of Adeline’s story – this was a time period and event that I knew next to nothing about so I appreciated getting some exposure to that part of history in a way that was accessible but also heartfelt.  The timeliness of the novel in taking on the Paris terrorist attacks and its aftermath also makes this a book that is necessary and should be read given the current situation not just in the U.S. but also around the world.  With all that said however, there were definitely some issues with the plot – mainly the contemporary part about Jessica and her experience – that I found difficult to ignore and detracted from the story.  Some parts of the plot felt a bit too “contrived” and at times, I found myself questioning the plausibility of some of the things that occurred.  I also felt that some parts of the book came across a bit “preachy,” which I guess wasn’t too surprising given the religious context with the main events in the book (I found out later that this book is being marketed as Christian fiction, which, while it has no bearing on whether I would’ve read this book or not, since I read across genres and base my decision to read on the book’s synopsis as well as recommendations from friends, it did explain where the “preachiness” came from).  Fortunately, the religious aspect wasn’t too overdone so I think those who aren’t interested in the religious part can still read and enjoy the story.  On the positive side, there was a “twist” at some point in the narrative that was totally unexpected and I felt was done well.  The “mystery” element with Jessica discovering bit by bit what eventually happened to Adeline’s family was also done well and for me, the history part was a huge redeeming factor for the flaws in the main narrative.

In the end, I decided on a rating of 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, as I felt the positives outweighed the negatives for the most part and the writing was truly very good, plus the story was engaging.  I would definitely recommend this one for those who like contemporary stories with a historical element as well as a little mystery and romance thrown in.  I would also recommend reading the final published version of the book rather than an advance copy, as the ARC I received was missing the Author’s Notes section.  I’m a huge fan of Author’s Notes and actually feel this section is necessary (perhaps should even be mandatory) when the book deals with real life historical events.  I will admit to being a little disappointed with the lack of Author’s Notes in my version, though not really a deal-breaker since I can borrow a final version later on and read the notes at that time.

Received ARC from Thomas Nelson / Harper Collins publishing via NetGalley