Archive for category Books
book review: The Ambassador’s Wife
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on August 19, 2015
The Ambassador’s Wife By Jennifer Steil.
Doubleday| July 2015|389 pages |$26.95| ISBN: 978-0-385-53902-9
Rating: ***/5*
When I first heard about this novel I knew I wanted to read it: ambassador’s wife in a Middle Eastern country who gets kidnapped sounded both riveting and exciting. Unfortunately, it’s disappointing because the novel doesn’t delve far enough into the ambassador’s wife as the independent bohemian artist prior to meeting and marrying the ambassador. The basic storyline is that Miranda, an American, married British national Finn who serves as ambassador in a fictional Middle Eastern country. Prior to the marriage, Miranda lived a bohemian lifestyle and dated a woman.
“In the past, only with a woman had she felt her body truly unclench, the result of her politics falling in line with her heart. With men she had always been wary, monitoring her every interaction for signs of a power imbalance.”
Now with Finn, they have round-the-clock protection, servants and bodyguards. For Miranda, she’s given up much of her freedom and also pursuing her art in order to be a steadfast ambassador’s wife. She remains naïve about the dangers associated with being the ambassador’s wife. She thinks she can function just like she did as a single woman in this country. One day hiking with a group of women, she’s kidnapped and it’s an unbearable month-long ordeal that changes everything.
“Despite the tragedies, the restrictions felt slightly absurd to Miranda. She has been hiking in this country for three years without incident, and no one she has encountered on her journeys has ever been less than hospitable. In fact, she has been treated more like royalty in this country than she has been anywhere else in the world.”
There’s not enough color, depth and strength in the details. Steil explains Miranda like this: “In fact, she felt a reflexive and guilty condescension toward such domestic ambitions. Her conscience wrestled with this prejudice, meanness not sitting comfortably in her psyche. Who was she to judge anyone else’s choices? Just because traditional wifely duties were not for her did not make them less worthy.” However, Steil fails to show Miranda as this independent spirit. There are mentions of her teaching her Arab students and encouraging them to paint provocatively but the reader fails to truly feel the power and emotion which art can provoke.
Instead the author turns it into somewhat predictable fodder when she’s kidnapped. Instead of being this cool creative, Miranda is a devoted mom whose child to engulf every aspect of her life instead of remaining that vibrant independent. She truly loses her sense of self by being a mother. In addition, it becomes bogged down in unnecessary detail and for a thriller-esque novel it travels at a snail’s pace. Not good in any way. I applaud author Jennifer Steil’s ability to shape this middle Eastern country and provide readers with an idea what it would be like to be an American navigating such an unusual culture.
I kept reading so that’s the bonus. I would like to read a novel from a female ambassador’s point-of-view. The two novels I’ve read have been from the wives’ perspective. The wives tend to serve as hostesses and do some volunteer work; nothing nearly as challenging as their spouses. Author Jennifer Steil worked as a reporter in Yemen and is currently an ambassador’s wife. I expected way more detail. I’m sure she didn’t want to offend any country but I could certainly recognize either Yemen or Libya in her descriptions. I’m not sure why she chose to fictionalize the country. To me that falls flat. Either create a completely different country or city or don’t faintly hide it and think that no one will figure it out.
–review by Amy Steele–if you like my reviews and interviews please donate so I can continue to write.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Doubleday.
purchase at Amazon: The Ambassador’s Wife: A Novel
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book review: The Dressmaker
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on August 11, 2015
The Dressmaker By Rosalie Ham.
Penguin Books Original| August 11, 2015|256 pages |$16.00| ISBN: 978-0-14-312906-6
rating: ****/5*
“The stranger went back to her room to smoke her cigarettes. She wondered how Paris had found its way to the dilapidated confines and neglected torsos of banal housewives in a rural provence.”
It’s quite possible that I still would have read The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham at some point. However, knowing that Kate Winslet would star in the feature film based on the novel piqued my interest. That’s good and bad. Kate Winslet happens to be one of, if not my all-time favorite actress and not for Titanic. I’ll see anything that she stars in. She’s such an immense talent. Here’s the thing with The Dressmaker: I can’t picture Kate Winslet and Liam Hemsworth together in the lead roles, not only because she’s 15 years older than him and they’re supposed to be close in age [which frequently happens in Hollywood].
After studying dressmaking and fashion design in couture houses throughout Paris, Myrtle “Tilly” Dunnage returns to the small Australian town in which she grew up. Not only did Tilly grow up in Dungatar but she faced much harassment and was basically banished as a child following a false murder accusation. The townspeople find themselves titillated by Tilly’s sewing talents—she can reproduce anything from a fashion magazine and makes lovely outfits to suit any figure—and wary due to her reputation around town.
“Sergeant Farrat said love was as strong as hate and that as much as they themselves could hate someone, they could also love an outcast. Teddy was an outcast until he proved himself an asset and he’d loved an outcast—little Myrtle Dunnage. He loved her so much he asked her to marry him.”
While her fashion business blooms, Tilly finds friendship with cross-dressing police sergeant Farrat and love with Teddy, yet she mostly desires revenge. Tilly proves to be an intriguing character. She’s independent, outspoken and strong despite her past. Her dressmaking and style superb. Is it just provincial pettiness that drove Tilly away and envy that keeps fueling the battle? Ham’s descriptions of the townspeople and fashion burst from the pages and this is a fun, quick summer/weekend read.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Penguin Books.
purchase at Amazon: The Dressmaker: A Novel
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book review: Love May Fail
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on August 5, 2015
Love May Fail By Matthew Quick.
Harper| June 2015|401 pages |$25.99| ISBN: 978-0-06228-5560
Rating: ***/5*
This is my first novel by Matthew Quick. Having liked the film Silver Linings Playbook, I expected to enjoy this much more than I did. It’s a quick read with resonating themes of redemption and second chances. Portia Kane finds herself at a crossroads. She’s in her 40s living in Florida with her adult film director husband. Of her husband Ken, Portia admits: “He wants to be my emotional pimp—the owner of my heart.” Finally his dalliances with younger women drive Portia to head home to her hoarder mom in New Jersey. Fond memories of her high school teacher Nate Vernon instilled hopes in Portia that she might one day become a writer. He gave all his students ‘member of the human race’ cards at year’s end with inspirational messages which Portia always carries with her still. Life intervened and Portia finds herself miserable and unfulfilled. Is it too late for Portia to pursue her goals?
Portia Kane: “How did I end up so seduced by money, living in a tropical palace of marble floors, twenty-foot ceilings, cathedral archways, palm trees, crystal chandeliers, lap pool, hand-carved furniture, and high-end stainless steel appliances—all of which make my childhood dwelling look like a mud hut that barnyard animals would refuse to enter?”
Meanwhile a scandal drove Nate Vernon to retreat to the Vermont mountains. After meeting and later corresponding with a nun on her flight home, Portia decides that to re-align the universe, she must convince Mr. Vernon to return to teaching. In New Jersey Portia encounters her former friend’s younger brother, Chuck Bass, a sweet guy who ran into drug issues in the past and now also finds himself buoyed by thoughts of their high school English teacher. The ex-heroin addict currently pursues a teaching career complicated by his shaky past. Portia and Chuck bond with memories for 80s metal and this elusive teacher–“What do you do when the person you admire most literally turns his back on you?”
Love May Fail dragged at times. There’s a high school teacher in crisis and a nun –so religion in plenty which rarely interests me. I’m fine with unlikeable characters as everyone in the world isn’t likeable to everyone but I need these unlikeable characters to be well-written and compelling. I appreciated the characters of Portia Kane and Chuck Bass and would have preferred the entire novel told from their points-of-view. I found myself skimming the high school teacher and nun chapters. This isn’t the type of novel where the author writes short chapters from varying viewpoints. Instead we don’t get to Mr. Vernon until part two 100 pages in and carry on with him for about 100 pages. When Mr. Vernon thinks that his dog is Albert Camus reincarnated and begins talking to him, it’s a tongue-in-cheek existentialism moment for the novel and it just went too far. More moments could’ve been explored instead—Portia’s hoarder mom for instance.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Harper Collins.
purchase at Amazon: Love May Fail: A Novel
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book review: Project Animal Farm
Posted by Amy Steele in Books, vegan/ vegetarian on July 25, 2015
Project Animal Farm By Sonia Faruqi.
Pegasus Books| July 2015|390 pages |$27.95| ISBN: 978-1-60598-798-9
Rating: *****/5*
“The Miller mindset that we owe animals no more than food, water, and shelter is flawed.”
Even when you know that there’s mistreatment among dairy and animal farms, as I do, this remains a shocking and detailed expose into the disheartening and mostly cruel world of food production. I dare any meat eater to read this book and not think about the farm to table process. Author Sonia Faruqi worked on Wall Street after graduating from Dartmouth College. When the market plummeted and she lost her job, she decided it might be interesting to volunteer on a farm for a bit. A vegetarian, Faruqi visited a dairy farm, a pig farm, a chicken farm, an organic farm, a pastoral farm and a slaughter house in Canada. She then traveled to Indonesia, Malaysia, Dubai, Singapore and Belize and then Vermont [primary agricultural state in New England] and California [second in the nation in animal agriculture behind Texas]. Both Vermont and California have no AG GAG laws—laws which prohibit undercover investigations on the conditions of industrial agriculture operations) to visit farms and factory farms there.
“Certain forms of enjoyment are dependent on drinking a drug of ignorance. Where suffering exists, it’s always there in the shadows, ready to strike at a moment’s notice. Our method of acquiring wealth says more about us than the wealth we acquire.”
Faruqi writes about her experiences at each farm with meticulous details and vivid descriptions. Interspersing her personal experience with facts and figures, Faruqi provides an eye-opening, devastating and shocking explanation of why the food industry must change. At these various farms, she witnessed animals living on top of each other, never getting outside, animals dying from abhorrent conditions. The farms reeked of ammonia as animals stood in their own waste. Dead animals often weren’t located for days because of the over-crowding. In the egg industry, the norm is to slaughter hens at 18 months old. Hens are de-beaked with a hot blade. Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Denmark banned this barbaric practice. Animals get artificially inseminated and are bred with particular strains that serve one purpose: to feed the masses. Chickens have abnormally large breasts that make it difficult for them to move. Faruqi writes: “Artificial insemination is not only unnatural, but harmful. Millions of dairy cows today all over the world are the descendants of only a few dozen bulls. This is the equivalent to passing a complex, swirling pot of genes through a needle pinhole. Such narrow genetic limitation never occurs in nature, because the long-term survival of any species depends on genetic diversity.”
Most factory farmers don’t need to interact with the animals or spend any time near the cages. Using a smart phone and various apps animals can be feed, watered and monitored. 70% of antibiotic use in the United States is in farm animals. Americans spend 10% or less of their salary on food while Europeans spend 50% of their salary on food. Throughout her journey, she meets people with various approaches to farming. Some extremely kind, some who treat animals as products. A few get stressed out by their jobs. Others turn the other way and ignore the negative impact farm life takes upon the animals. Interestingly many of the farm workers or owners are vegetarian. Faruqi notes: “I realized that I’d hardly ever heard about vegetarianism more than I had in this animal farming community that I happened to stumble into. It can’t be a coincidence that some of the people closest to the system of meat production are boycotting meat.”
“When animals suffer, people also suffer. Many farms I investigated were in the throes of disease.”
One question I have is why we are crueler to animals than Europeans. Why does Europe have many more sensible and humane protections for animals and farms? Americans love their cats and dogs but it’s completely different when it comes to how that hamburger or chicken breast arrived at the grocery store. Most choose not to think about it or to just think that the way it’s always been done is fine.
If you don’t care about the animals maybe you care about your carbon footprint: “a single factory farm can generate as much waste as an entire city.” While Project Animal Farm commands the reader’s attention through its well-written prose, conversational style and thorough research, it’s so disturbing at times I had to leave it for a bit. The United States remains one of the worst offenders in humane treatment and protection of animals in the food industry.
Some other tidbits [and there are plenty, so read the book]:
— hens are slaughtered at 18 months
— 9 out of 10 sows in the United States and Canada spend their lives in crates.
— about piglets at a pig farm, Faruqi writes: “From head to hoof, they lived marinated in manure.”
–the veal industry is a by-product of the dairy industry. If you support the dairy industry you support the disgusting practice of “raising” veal. Male calves aren’t wanted by the dairy industry and are sold to veal farmers.
–eight and a half billion chickens, 239 million turkeys, 112 million pigs, 32 million cattle and 2 million sheep and lambs were killed for human consumption in the United States and Canada in 2013. “It is impossible not to view the raising and butchering of animals for food as wasteful and hopelessly inefficient.” Approximately 50% of an animal is actually consumed.
–in Malaysia [population 30 million] there are 500 KFCs, 300 Pizza Huts and 300 McDonalds. Malaysians eat more fast food than Americans. 1/3 of Americans eat fast food once a week while 3/5 of Malaysians eat fast food once a week.
–Mexico [population 122 million] has 240 Walmarts, 150 Sam’s Clubs, 30 Costco, 500 Dominos, 380 McDonalds, 300 KFCs and 180 Pizza Huts.
–review by Amy Steele
Sonia Faruqi will be reading and answering questions about Project Animal Farm at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington on Saturday, July 25, 2015 at 6pm.
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Pegasus Books.
purchase at Amazon: Project Animal Farm: An Accidental Journey into the Secret World of Farming and the Truth About Our Food
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cookbook review: Vegan with a Vengeance [10th anniversary edition]
Posted by Amy Steele in Books, vegan/ vegetarian on July 17, 2015
Vegan with a Vengeance By Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
Lifelong Books| June 2015|276 pages |$22.99| ISBN: 978-0-7382-1833-5
I adore Isa Chandra Moskowitz and have many go-to recipes in Vegan with a Vengeance including: Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy [my mom loves this as well]; Corn Chowder; Classic Pesto; Basil Tofu Ricotta [perfect for lasagna] and Seitan. I actually just made Seitan this week and I’ve been vegan for eight years and vegetarian for decades prior. This recipe for seitan is delicious and super easy. I made several delicious stir-frys and will get 4-6 meals out of one batch.
In 2014, Moskowitz opened Modern Love, a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska, where she serves up seasonal menus of “swanky vegan comfort food.” Her Post Punk Kitchen blog is an outstanding source for recipes and tips. When cooking I often refer to her Appetite for Reduction and Veganimicon [co-written with Terri Hope Romero] which many consider the vegan bible. It’s a must-own for any vegan.
This is the 10th anniversary addition. There are additional recipes including: Black Bean & Quinoa Soup; Chickpea & Rice Soup with a Little Kale; Lentil-Walnut Burgers; Olive Oil Double Crust; Ginger Peach Pea; Asian Tofu and Call Me Blondies. I will definitely try those soups. A vegan must.
The index is much improved. Items organized by both recipe name and ingredient. Moskowitz includes her “The Post Punk Pantry” which gives you suggestions for the spices seasons and other vegan essentials like dried beans, grains, canned foods you should always have on hand for simple cooking. She also suggests knifes, pans, appliances to make your cooking and baking simpler in “Tools and Kitchen Stuff.” Vegan cooking and baking shouldn’t be difficult. It needs to be nutritious and delicious. Right? I’m not much of a vegan baker but she has some delicious baked goods items. There are better pictures, easier directions and streamlined ingredients. I’m as much a one-pot cook as I can be and when you have limited space for cooking as many of us do, that’s key.
Sections: brunch; muffins and scones; soups; little meals, finger foods, and sammiches; sides; pizzas and pastas; entrees; cookies and bars; desserts.
purchase at Amazon: Vegan with a Vengeance, 10th Anniversary Edition: Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock
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Summer Boston-area Book Readings of Note
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on July 15, 2015
JULY
Mia Alvar
In the Country: stories
Harvard Book Store
Wednesday, July 22 at 7pm
Elizabeth Little
Dear Daughter
Harvard Book Store
Tuesday, July 28 at 7pm
Anthony Amore
The Art of the Con: The Most Notorious Fakes, Frauds, and Forgeries in the Art World
Brookline Booksmith
Thursday, July 30 at 7pm
Jennifer Steil
The Ambassador’s Wife
Porter Square Books
Thursday, July 30 at 7pm
AUGUST
J. Shoshanna Ehrlich
Regulating Desire
Brookline Booksmith
Tuesday, August 4 at 7pm
Alice Hoffman
The Marriage of Opposites
Harvard Book Store
Wednesday, August 5 at 7pm
Felicia Day
You’re Never Weird on the Internet [almost]
Brookline Booksmith
Wednesday, August 12 at 6pm
Alex Dolan
The Euthanist
Harvard Book Store
Thursday, August 13 at 7pm
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book review: The Silver Swan
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on July 10, 2015
The Silver Swan By Elena Delbanco.
Other Press| May 2015| 240 pages | $16.95| ISBN: 978-1-59051-716-1
Rating: ****/5*
“Now she felt pure boiling rage. Who the hell was Claude Roselle to get her cello? Alexander was a bastard. She had been so loyal, so foolish. He had cared for no one but himself and his own great legacy. Now, were it in her power, she would destroy that legacy. She felt humiliated. Everyone would know he had taken the Silver Swan away from her and given it to a stranger.”
A mix of high-brow [distinguished cellists and a rare Stradivarius] and low-brow [affairs, questionable paternity, revenge] in a compact novel makes this an ideal summer read. Author Elena Delbanco knows the music world—her father was a prominent cellist who owned a Stradivarius—she knows this subject and utilized that knowledge to effectively advance the storylines. The only child of world-renowned cellist Alexander Feldmann inherits less than she expected when he dies. Instead his precious Stradivarius goes to a former student, an exceptional cellist named Claude Roselle. Delbanco writes: “She felt so painfully Alexander’s disloyalty, the punishment he had dealt her for failing to live up to his expectations, the final lacerating blow to what remained of her fragile sense that he had ever loved her. He had waited until he extracted every last drop of her devotion. Then, dying, he had delivered the coup de grace.”
In a bit of fated sacrifice, Mariana quit her promising musical career to care for her ailing father. Now she discovers that her father may have favored his pupil Claude to his daughter. Her arrogant father traveled the world and left his wife and daughter behind. He had a secret lifelong mistress in Europe. These events cause turmoil in Mariana’s life. Claude takes after his mentor. He’s equally devoted to music and doesn’t desire any familial or relationship commitments– “At thirty-seven, on the brink of international success, major opportunities and engagements, he did not want to marry or have a child.”
Alexander didn’t entirely support his daughter’s goals. “Alexander would say that women were simply not as musically gifted as men—women were never meant to have important careers in music. They didn’t have the creativity or endurance. The life was too hard.” How awful for Mariana. As I was reading I thought that either there would be a clichéd plot turn that I expected or that there’s a truly sinister character and motive. Turns out both. The music coverage and the vengeance aspect worked. Various twists and turns produce a delightful, brisk page-turner. An angry, embittered Mariana refuses to be taken advantage of ever again. A woman scorned by her father and then by Claude after they embark on a love affair, she takes matters into her own hands and decides to enact revenge on both parties. She’s clever, resilient and a layered character. Most everyone can relate to Mariana’s dilemma. Readers will root for Mariana to succeed and adore every minute of it.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Other Press.
purchase at Amazon: The Silver Swan
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book review: Music for Wartime
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on July 2, 2015
Music for Wartime By Rebecca Makkai.
Viking| June 2015|223 pages |$26.95| ISBN: 978-0-525-42669-1
Rating: *****/5*
“The last picture hurt her physically: Michael down on one knee, Vanessa’s hand in his, his mouth goofily open in what must have been song. Bridesmaids clapping and laughing, Vanessa’s eyes rolled back in embarrassment or ecstasy or both. Michael had never looked at Melanie with such silly abandon. She’d always found him hollow in a pleasant way, like a Greek urn. It was a silence and melancholy she’d attributed to his losing a wife.” [“The Museum of the Dearly Departed”]
What an exceptional, stunning and creative short-story collection. Rebecca Makkai seamlessly changes voice and point-of-view for her stories: male [“Peter Torrelli, Falling Apart”], female [“Couple of Lovers on a Red Background”], varied ages [“The Worst You Ever Feel” is told from a young boy’s perspective.], races [there’s Celine, the Asian musician in “Cross”] and sexual orientation. She transports to varied times and places with ease.
“The November Story” focuses on the producer for a reality dating show: “The casting directors are great at spotting borderline narcissistic personality disorder, the kind that makes you just crazy enough for great TV but not crazy enough to destroy a camera with a baseball bat.” In Peter Torrelli, Falling Apart,” Makkai utilizes dark humor: “As much as I didn’t believe his optimism, I was glad he wasn’t giving up. I constantly pictured him hanging himself from the closet rod of his cold little apartment, or drinking something medieval and poisonous.” A woman confronts betrayal in “The Museum of the Dearly Departed.” Makkai includes three stories about her family’s history in 1930s Hungary including “Other Brands of Poison (First Legend).”
Brilliantly written, the stories are dark, moody, atmospheric and completely engrossing. This is short-story writing at its best. Read slowly to truly savor this talent.
purchase at Amazon: Music for Wartime: Stories
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book review: Ana of California
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on July 2, 2015
Ana of California By Andi Teran.
Penguin Original| June 30, 2015|256 pages |$16.00| ISBN: 978-0-14-312649-2
Rating: ***/5*
Fifteen-year-old orphan Ana survived a tough past. Her drug-dealing parents got shot to death and then the same happened to her beloved grandmother [seemingly a revenge plot] a few years later. Shuffled from foster home to foster home, deemed a difficult child, Ana spends a lot of time at the library pouring over films and music and books. That is her escape, her solace. Any child with that kind of traumatic background would have some issues and need a good therapist and definitely find it challenging to trust anyone. Her social worker gives her one last opportunity to live and work on a farm in Northern California.
“Ana Cortez didn’t need anyone to explain it to her: she understood the rhythm of repetitive work, knew all about aligning herself to the synergy of tedium. She was aware of all of the orphan clichés—the Pips, Pollyannas, and Pony boys whose optimism triumphed over difficult circumstances. She’d read all the books.”
This is a modern retelling of Anne of Green Gables. I know I read Anne of Green Gables. I’ve been an avid reader since I could read. My fondest youth literary memory remains for The Secret Garden by Frances Hodges Burnett. I don’t remember the story of Anne of Green Gables enough to compare Ana of California to it. Without that recollection I still enjoyed this novel.
Sister and brother pair Abbie and Emmett Garber operate their family farm. Abbie bakes, pickles and cooks while Emmett makes sure everything’s running on the farm. Ana befriends Rye who feels she’s somewhat of a misfit particularly as she’s come out as gay. She also meets a cute “bad boy” named Cole. Ana confronts her fears, learns a bit about getting along and becomes optimistic that she may be finally home. However a falling out with Rye and liaisons with Cole may threaten her comfortable situation in this rural northern California farm town.
Despite Ana’s unfortunate past there’s little pathos here. It’s light and breezy. Rather happy even. The novel progresses in an inevitable quaint manner at times but it’s a solid summer/weekend read. Ana is a spunky, spirited and extremely likable character. Ana’s grueling past receives the glossy treatment. Readers aren’t allowed to delve into it or truly feel Ana’s pain. The novel keeps a lighter tone which makes it a quick, light read.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from Penguin Random House.
GIVEAWAY: Giving away a copy of Ana of California as well as a copy of Anne of Green Gables to a U.S. resident courtesy of Penguin Random House. If interested please comment below and include your email address. Winner will be selected on July 15.
purchase at Amazon: Ana of California: A Novel
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book review: Newport
Posted by Amy Steele in Books on June 28, 2015
<em>Newport</em> By Jill Morrow. William Morrow Trade Paperback| July 7, 2015|356 pages |$14.00| ISBN: 9780062375858
rating: 3.5/5*
Newport hooked me from page one as a page-turner in which to immerse oneself during a weekend or holiday. There’s the beautiful sepia cover with a blonde young woman with ringlet waves in deep thought in front of phonograph which drew me in. I wanted much more of what I saw on the cover. Newport and the 1920s. Two subjects with sophistication, flair and romantic nostalgia.
Dashing and successful Boston attorney Adrian de la Noye travels to Newport with his young associate/protégé Jim Reid to revise a client’s will. Bennett Chapman plans to marry the much-younger and stunning Catharine Walsh and his children aren’t thrilled over the marriage or their father’s plans to include her in his will. It’s been twenty years since Adrian last visited Newport and his story along with that of the secretive Catharine Walsh and her daughter Amy unfolds. Utilizing séances where Amy serves as a medium for Chapman’s departed wife’s messages to him, her children and others in the room. She declares that Catharine Walsh and Bennett Chapman must marry. She also exposes secrets about everyone. Is it a scam perpetrated by the grifter mother-daughter team or is Mrs. Chapman truly speaking from beyond? Morrow traverses from present day to twenty years earlier and includes several [fairly predictable] twists.
“For as long as Jim had known Adrian de la Noye—and that was practically all of Jim’s twenty-five years—the man had never seemed ruffled or out of place. Such ease was to be expected in the sanctified halls of Andover and Harvard, which Jim had attended on Adrian’s dime. Adrian had been born to fit into places like that, and he called both institutions his alma mater.”
Author Jill Morrow unfortunately does not sufficiently establish setting or time. It could have been nearly any time and any place in the past. If the book wasn’t called Newport I wouldn’t be able to guess where we were. First it was off-season and besides the main seaside mansion that the characters visit and a walk two characters take along the beach, Morrow didn’t really describe what I’ve come to understand about the Newport historical days with the Four Hundred—a group of old money families—holding elaborate and exclusive parties. It unfolds that the Chapman family is new money and therefore not well-regarded by the Newport set. Adrian de la Noye summered on Cape Cod although he partied with his friends in Newport often. This is a character-driven novel where mysterious, broken characters propel the story-lines. Once the reader starts she wants to know exactly what happened and what will happen. For genuine 1920s allure one is better off reading F. Scott Fitzgerald’s This Side of Paradise or Erika Robuck’s Fallen Beauty or countless other novels set in the Jazz Age.
Visit Newport around the holidays to see the mansions decked out gorgeously in holiday decorations.
–review by Amy Steele
FTC Disclosure: I received this book for review from William Morrow.
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About Me
covering mostly music and books. focus on alternative/indie and women in music, literature and the arts. feminist. vegan. mostly alternative, a bit bohemian. Masters in journalism from Boston University. BA from Simmons College.
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