My Lady Judge by Cora Harrison

My Lady Judge: A mystery of Medieval Ireland 

by Cora Harrison

I actually bought this book in a bookstore in Milan, Italy four years ago.  I really enjoy this kind of historical fiction.  Harrison does a tremendous job of recreating life and the kinds of characters in medieval Ireland.  At this in Irish or Celtic history, it is not unusual for a woman to hold such a powerful and prestigious position as a Brehon (Judge).  And Mara is a strong, and intelligent protagonist, who rules not only with her brain, but equally with her heart.  Mara, appointed by the King, is the Brehon for the Irish kingdom of the Burrens, located on the western seaboard of Ireland, in what is now Connemara County.

Mara uses her powers of observation to solve crimes, whether it is the murder of one of her assistants or the disappearance of a neighbor's cow.  There is quite a list of interesting characters, all nicely developed by Harrison.  While she is introducing and setting up the plot, she cleverly weaves a description of specific ancient Brehon laws and how Mara administers these ancient laws.  As previously stated, the novel is set in medieval times, just at the time that a young Henry VIII ascends to the throne of England, which follows a much more harsh and brutal system of Roman laws.  As I have said before with other well written and researched historical novels, it is an exciting way to learn about different aspects of history.  In addition to the history lesson, you will find yourself immersed in the plot, the characters and the conflict that naturally develops between the Catholic faith, trying to establish a foothold in Ireland, and the people's adherence and belief in ancient Celtic practices and laws.

This is a series of novels by Cora Harrison with the Lady Judge Mara as the main character.  You can't go wrong if you choose to introduce yourself to any of Harrison's Brehon Mara's stories.

Van Gogh: The Life

Van Gogh: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith

I believe you have to be a Van Gogh fanatic, as I am, if you are willing to pick up this 950+ page biography on this phenomenal painter, who lived to see only one of his paintings sell.  This is a heavy read in more ways than one.  The authors are the Pulitzer Prize winning team who wrote Jackson Pollock: an American Saga.

The first 400 plus pages primarily deal with Van Gogh's life before he decided to start painting.  While it was informative, it did get to be somewhat repetitive in terms of his relationship with his parents, his behavior and his uncertainty of what he really wanted to do with his life.  This part of the book did tend to drag at times.  When Van Gogh made the decision to start painting, is when the book became more engaging and interesting.  The best parts of the book include the author's descriptions of Van Gogh's thinking and motivation as he was creating his many masterpieces.  

Working with the full cooperation of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Naifeh and Smith had access to a wealth of previously untapped materials. They draw liberally from the artist’s famously eloquent letters, while delving into hundreds of unpublished family correspondences, illuminating with poignancy the wanderings of Van Gogh’s troubled, restless life.

The authors also call into question the accuracy of Van Gogh's supposed "suicide".  There has always been questions about whether Van Gogh really shot himself.  Naifeh and Smith carefully analyzed the accounts and information surrounding Van Gogh's death, and in the Appendix of the book provide a "legally defensible theory" that Van Gogh died as a result of an accidental shooting from a young teenager that frequently harassed him as Van Gogh went into the fields to paint.

This is an exceptionally detailed, and at times compellingly readable, but ultimately heartbreaking portrait of the creative genius of Vincent van Gogh. The fact that I was traveling to Provence (Arles and St. Remy) this summer also compelled me to start reading this biography.  It is ironic that most of Van Gogh's contemporaries and family never believed he would amount to anything.  In fact this biography reveals how frequently Van Gogh received little to no inspiration or motivation to paint.  Only his brother Theo provided encouragement and support, but even then his support was lacking at times.  This constant criticism obviously wore on Van Gogh, as is illustrated in these words from Van Gogh to his brother Theo, "As a painter I shall never amount to anything important, I am absolutely sure of it."

However, this other statement written by Vincent while living in Arles, in southern France, perhaps best illustrates his passion for painting.  "My aim in life is to make pictures and drawings, as many and as well as I can, then, at the end of my life, I hope to pass away, looking back with love and tender regret, and thinking, 'Oh, the pictures I might have made!"  While he never lived to experience what his paintings have meant to society, thank goodness he persevered.  In a very short time, Van Gogh created some of the world's greatest works of art.  "Oh, the pictures he might have made!"

2012 RHS 11th and 12th Grade Summer Reading List

RHS 11th & 12th Grade Summer Reading List

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2012 RHS 10th Grade Summer Reading List

RHS 10th Grade Summer Reading List

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2012 RHS 9th Grade Summer Reading List

RHS 9th Grade Summer Reading List

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The Innocent

The Innocent  by Taylor Stevens

Taylor Stevens, the author, has a great series going.  The Innocent is her second novel based on her intriguing and complex female protaganist, Vanessa Michael Munroe. This is an impressive follow-up to her first (best seller), The Informationist, and she definitely has me hooked.  This is a fast paced, intricate thriller, in which Munroe is hired by her best friend to extract a young girl from a religious cult, called The Chosen, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The girl, Hannah, was kidnapped from her mother, eight years ago, supposedly by her father, who is still a member of the cult.  Hannah's mother, and Munroe's best friend, Logan, had both escaped from this cult.

This particular storyline strikes close to home for the author.  According to her brief bio, Taylor Stevens is herself a religious cult survivor.  She was raised in communes across the globe and denied an education beyond the sixth grade.  She escaped from that life style and now lives in Texas.

When Logan and the girl's mother finally determine Hannah is being held somewhere in Buenos Aires, Logan, well aware of Vanessa's special skills as an informationist, hires Munroe to rescue Hannah from the cult.  Munroe once again is teamed up with Miles Bradford, a former special forces turned private contractor, who was introduced in Stevens' first novel.  Bradford is one of the few people who really understands and knows the capabilities of Vanessa, and they make a terrific team.  As the reader, you become invested in these characters, and you genuinely care about them. 

The Innocent is beautifully written, well paced, suspenseful with smart dialogue.  Stevens has joined my list of must read authors, and I will be waiting anxiously for her third Vanessa Munroe novel.

A Night of Long Knives

A Night of Long Knives by Rebecca Cantrell

This is the second in her series of Hannah Vogel novels.  Hannah is a journalist, who in the first novel, A Trace of Smoke, kidnaps her adopted son, Anton, from SA leader Ernst Rohm, who wants to believe the boy is his

son. (As a point of reference, I have not read the first Hannah Vogel novel.) She flees Germany and vows never to return to her homeland until Hitler, Rohm and the Nazis are gone. Yet here she is on a journalism junket, with son Anton in tow, to write about a zeppelin trip from South American to Switzerland.  The zeppelin is diverted to Germany and lands in Munich, where Hannah and her son of captured by Rohm. 

The reason I picked up this book was because I thought it would recreate the time period of when Hitler came to power, and what life was like for the people of Germany.  Ever since reading the City of Shadows by Arianna Franklin, I have been looking for other novels or nonfiction stories which could transport the reader back in time.  There is a section in City of Shadows where you literally felt as if you were in Berlin just as the Nazis were infiltrating all aspects of life.  In that novel, there were times you felt you needed to look over your shoulder to make sure you were not being followed.  The atmosphere was stifling.

While there is a lot of looking over your shoulder taking place in A Night of Long Knives, you never really feel the tension or the fear, as you do in City of Shadows.  I believe the reason is Hannah feels more like an observer or visitor to Berlin, than a native.  As the reader, you feel like you are just watching Hannah, as she goes from one calamity to the next.  You never really feel vested in her character.  While Cantrell is trying to place the reader in Hannah's mind, as she constantly poses one question after another of herself.  The problem is she never seems to have any answers, so the questions become rhetorical and redundant.

Based on the Title, I also was hoping to gain greater understanding and insight into this particular event in Nazi Germany.  However, the night of long knives takes place before you realize it.  It really only serves as a plot device, allowing Hannah an opportunity to escape the clutches of Ernst Rohm.  According to this story, Rohm is arrested by Hitler himself, and eventually executed.

While the review in Booklist claims Cantrell "nails the prewar German landscape", the review in Publishers Weekly states, "Cantrell’s sequel...will disappoint those expecting a realistic portrayal of 1934 Nazi Germany."  I would agree with PW in this case.  If you are looking for an atmospheric and realistic portrayal of Nazi Germany, there are much better novels and even nonfiction stories, such as City of Shadows (See Feb. 5, 2011 post) and Eric Larson's In The Garden of Beasts (See October 2011 post) that will transport you back to Nazi Germany.