June books

[writerlibrarian]

54. Purloined Letter and Murders in Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
These are classics of the genre. The first classics of the genre. Published in 1841, Murders in the Rue Morgue put on the foundations of the Detective genre. Rereading it made me aware of the whole Holmes vibe and I started to think about Doyle getting "inspired" and how writers, artists in our times are very much restraint in the ridiculous length of the copyright promoted by multinational corporations. But I digress. These and the Mary Roget story are a must read for any detective stories lovers. They are wonderful and if you can read them in French (I know translation!) but when the translation is done by one Charles Baudelaire you just might find that the translated stories are a work of art all of their own.




55. Sharpe's Eagle by Bernard Cornwell

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
After almost 5 years and getting all the Sharpe's books I finally, finally found a way into the series. I've tried 3 times before (well actually 4 times) to start reading this series set in the Napoleonic Wars period featuring Richard Sharpe, professional soldier, great leader, romantic lead and all around action hero. I've tried reading chronologically (twice) starting with Sharpe's Tiger (set in India) didn't work, I found myself not "getting" the feel of the character like there was many many layers I should get and didn't.

I tried Sharpe's Rifles because it was the first movie made, with the wonderful Sean Bean, alas nope. Still not getting into a series I knew in my bones that I would enjoy. Time passed. This spring I found this wonderful group of Age of sail people and someone said they read them as they came out. I went... oh my god... that's brilliant. And it was.

It truly was.

So Sharpe's Eagle. I loved it. You get right into the heart of the action, the character's motivation, wants and needs, the way the army works and the way the war is being fought. How the Spanish and the French and the British are in a huge, huge mess. I liked the tactical warfare, how Cornwell gets into Sharpe's head and how I love Harper.



Afterward, I checked out the chapter on Sharpe's Eagle in The Sharpe Companion. I found some wonderful background information that put what had really happened and what didn't.

56. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
More like 3 3/4 stars.

It's a light read. An easy read. The letter format doesn't annoy and is well used. You hear or learn about things from different people and it adds to the charm of this novel.

Because that's what it is, it's charming. Not in a cutesy way because it does take on some difficult subjects.

How does one survive a terrible period in this case Guersey's German occupation during WW2? Humans can be true to their values and humans can be animals to one another. This is the stories of people who found the strength to go on and survive through friendship and reading books. This Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the lifeboat that the characters grab on and held on to in order to survive. Even Juliet who is writing about the events, who wasn't there but finds herself involved beyond anything she ever thought possible.

Charming with lots of interesting characters maybe some are a little too eccentric (I'm thinking Isola here) but still not enough to annoy me.

57. Orlando by Virginia Woolf

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is more style than substance for me. I enjoyed the style, the writing but was bored for most of the book. There are some parts I liked, the whole frost winter in London, the Constantinople part, the gypsy part. I found that the middle part was sooooo slow to get through.



So beautiful writing but didn't make me go ohhhhhhh.

58. Sugar Rush by Elaine Overton

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Pretty much your average mistake identity romance cliché. There a reason it's a cliché because done well it works. Sugar Rush is okay, I liked the male lead and the supporting characters. Sophie, the female lead was somewhat paper thin compared to the male lead which is unusual. Overall more like 2 and 1/2 stars and a decent read.

Comments

[firecat]

If you like Sharpe, have you read Cornwell's Arthur series? (The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur) I think that's his best work.