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Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel

January 12, 2011 by

Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel was the December book club selection from Everyday I Write the Book, but I ran out of time in 2010 to read it.  Click here if you want to read the discussion.

Frances Ellerby is a young 20-something with her whole life ahead of her in 1969 when she heads to Miami for a wedding, meets a spontaneous young woman named Marse, and finds the love of her life, Dennis.  She makes a major decision and moves from Georgia to Miami to be with Dennis, and while she is uncertain about her life choices sometimes, for the most part she realizes she has chosen the right path.

“The pink undulated and shimmered in the sunlight, fading and brightening.  It was like nothing I’d ever imagined.  Like so much of Miami, the islands were vain, gaudy, and glorious — and in this way they belonged there, undeniably, and I hoped unrealistically that their pink skirts would stay fastened forever.”  (Page 147)

Frances is a young woman who is moored to Miami by her love of one man, but her friendships with Marse and others seem to come in and out of the storyline.  There are moments of utter joy, heartache, and humor, but there also are moments when the story line takes predictable turns as many plots about marriages over time turn to possible affairs and other heart breaks.

“‘Oh, God, I know — they botched her face-lift.’  One of Elanor’s cheeks drooped considerably, and the eyelid on the same side drooped as well, as if she’d been stuck with something and deflated.  ‘She’s going to that guy in Naples to fix it, but they can’t get her in for six months.  You’d think this would qualify as an emergency.'”  (page 194)

Although Daniel sets up the landscape of Miami as over-the-top and gaudy in many ways, readers may be unprepared for the dramatic bombshells dropped on top of one another in the last 100 pages.   Readers may find these sections unbelievable or too much to lump together near the end of a novel, especially one that up until this point had been very predictable.

Frances was too hard to connect with on many levels because she’s so unpredictable in her relationships and she second guesses her decisions at every turn.  Her deep love of Dennis is often questionable.  Overall, Stiltsville‘s setting in Miami grows with each passing decade, but the relationships between Frances and her family often seem stagnant or underdeveloped, though the introduction of Margo, her daughter, is a compelling element that should have been explored more fully.

This is my 1st book for the 2011 New Authors Reading Challenge.

Filed Under: ARC, fiction, Harper Collins, New Authors Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2011, reviews Tagged With: ,

The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen

January 11, 2011 by

Mary Lydon Simonsen‘s The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy re-imagines Pride & Prejudice in such a way that Darcy and Elizabeth cannot get past their misunderstandings and disagreements without a little help from two matchmakers — Georgiana Darcy and Anne de Bourgh.  Anne takes the reins for much of the book after she learns her cousin Darcy has proposed marriage to Elizabeth at Rosings and failed miserably at gaining her hand and love.

The main plot points of Lizzy’s visit to Pemberley, Lydia’s downfall with Wickham, and Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s visit to Hertfordshire are all present, but Anne helps convince Lizzy to visit Pemberley and prompts her mother to visit Hertfordshire.  Georgiana is a secondary matchmaker in this novel, but she’s witty and grows into her role as mistress of Pemberley by ensuring her guests are comfortable and do not annoy one another, especially since Caroline Bingley and Elizabeth are in the same room vying for the same man’s affections.

“And, yet, Anne was saying that Mr. Darcy went with his sister to the milliner’s shop.  Lizzy could just picture him, crossing and uncrossing his legs, and drumming his fingers on top of his hat, when he was not pacing the floor.”  (page 56)

Simonsen has sketched a strong Anne and Georgiana, women who are more modern than convention dictates, but who are well aware of society’s expectations for their behavior.  Georgiana is about to come out into society when things go awry in the Bennet family, but she unselfishly tells her brother to right the wrongs and go to his love to ease her pain.  Unlike Austen’s minimal sketch of Georgiana as a beloved sister, Simonsen creates a strong young woman with romantic notions and a penchant for writing.

Not to worry because Jane and Mr. Bingley’s romance is not forgotten, but there is more than one obstacle thrown in their way after Bingley is convinced by Darcy and the Bingley sisters to cease his courtship of Jane.  Enter Mr. Nesbitt, a solicitor with a odd sense of courtship and love.  This subplot is delightful, serves to increase the suspense in the Darcy-Lizzy romance, and is full of twists and turns.

“While Mary was croaking out a lullaby, the youngster had put his hands over his cousin’s mouth and had asked her not to sing.  Everyone in the family now owed a debt of gratitude to a four-year-old boy.”  (page 161)

“‘I am not angry with either of you.  I am, however, a little disconcerted that you embarked on such an elaborate scheme after I told you I already had a plan in place.’

‘Your plan was terrible.  I have saved you weeks of anxiety about Elizabeth.  You must own to it, Will.  My plan was better than yours.”  (page 204)

The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen is engaging and funny.  The interactions between Anne and Darcy are often filled with playful jabs between cousin, and the dialogue between Jane and Lizzy are not only sisterly but full of sweet teasing.  Another fun re-imagining of Pride & Prejudice that delves deeper into the secondary characters of Austen’s novel.

If you missed Mary Lydon Simonsen’s guest post and the chance to win one of two copies of The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy, there’s still time to check them out.

About the Author:

Mary Lydon Simonsen’s first book, Searching for Pemberley, was acclaimed by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and RT Book Reviews. She is well loved and widely followed on all the Jane Austen fanfic sites, with tens of thousands of hits and hundreds of reviews whenever she posts. She lives in Peoria, Arizona where she is working on her next Jane Austen novel. For more information, please visit http://marysimonsenfanfiction.blogspot.com/ and http://www.austenauthors.com/, where she regularly contributes.

Filed Under: ARC, fiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2011, reviews, sourcebooks Tagged With: ,

Mailbox Monday #113

January 10, 2011 by

Mailbox Mondays (click the icon at the right to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at The Printed Page passed the torch.  This month our host is Rose City Reader .  Kristi of The Story Siren continues to sponsor her In My Mailbox meme.  Both of these memes allow bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received:

1.  Dreaming in English by Laura Fitzgerald from Penguin.

2.  Haunting Jasmine by Anjali Banerjee from Penguin.

3.  The Other Life by Ellen Meister for a TLC Tour in February/March.

4.  Staying at Daisy’s by Jill Mansell from Sourcebooks for March review.

5.  Half in Love by Linda Gray Sexton for a TLC Tour in January.

6.  Cross Fire by James Patterson from my mom.

7. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti from the author and publisher of One Story.

From the library sale:

8. The Opposite of Fate by Amy Tan

9. Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles for the U.S. Civil War Reading Challenge.

10. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

11. Selected Poems by Gwendolyn Brooks for the Fearless Poetry Exploration Reading Challenge.

12. Mornings Like This: Found Poems by Annie Dillard for the Fearless Poetry Exploration Reading Challenge.

13. The Crack in Everything by Alicia Suskin Ostriker for the Fearless Poetry Exploration Reading Challenge.

And for the baby from the library sale:

14. Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter and Frederick Warne; it’s a board book with a fuzzy bunny tale on the front.

15. Dr. Seuss’s All Aboard the Circue McGurkus!

16. The Cat in the Hat Comes Back by Dr. Seuss

What did you receive in your mailbox?

Filed Under: mailbox monday

79th Virtual Poetry Circle

January 8, 2011 by

Welcome to the 79th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

It’s a new year, and if you haven’t heard there is a new feature on the blog this year . . . my first ever, poetry reading challenge.  Yup, that means everyone should be signing up because all you need to do is read 1 book of poetry, and why not start with the contemporary poet featured today?!

Today, we’re going to take a look at a poem from Sweta Srivastava Vikram‘s latest collection, Kaleidoscope:  An Asian Journey of Colors:

I Am Cleopatra

My teacher thinks I have fangs
that dart out words at victims,
slobber my venom over them
and break their spirit —
an anaconda mutilates a rabbit.

My sister says I scare the mirror
with my own reflection. Stupid slut,
she said. I growl until my face
changes colors but hurt remains.
I wipe my tearstains alone.

My parents think I am a dead body
of metallic perforations drowning
in the sea of my idiocy. I should earn
a purple heart for surviving the war
in my family. What can I say?
At teenage, sarcasm doesn’t come free.

I embody the flavors of Cleopatra.
How difficult is that to remember?
Should I soak twenty thousand
Purpura snails to get an ounce
of Tyrian purple to flaunt my charm
and get your unbiased attention?
I like purple, but I do no harm.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions.  Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence.

I’ve you missed the other Virtual Poetry Circles.  It’s never too late to join the discussion.

Filed Under: virtual poetry circle

Interview With Poet Kim Bridgford

January 7, 2011 by

This week at the Poetry Blog of 32 Poems Magazine my interview with poet Kim Bridgford was posted.  She’s a contributor to the magazine and was a delight to interview, especially since she seems to have an obsession like mine — books.

First, let me tantalize you with a bit from the interview, and then you can go on over and check the rest out for yourself.

Without further ado, here’s the interview.

How would you introduce yourself to a crowded room eager to hang on your every word? Are you just a poet, what else should people know about you?

I would call myself “a woman poet entrepreneur.” I like making things happen and creating communities. For example, I edit Mezzo Cammin, an online journal of formalist poetry by women, which is now approaching its fifth anniversary, and I founded The Mezzo Cammin Women Poets Timeline Project, a comprehensive database of women poets, which was launched at the National Museum of Women in the Arts last March. These projects have brought poets together from all over the world. My new job is directing the West Chester Poetry Conference, so my preoccupations, in many ways, are all coming together.

Do you have any obsessions that you would like to share?

I’m obsessed by wonderful books. I loved Nick Flynn’s The Ticking Is the Bomb, for example, and Brigit Pegeen Kelly’s The Orchard. I was profoundly moved by Marilyn Nelson’s A Wreath for Emmett Till.

If I’m working on something, I am obsessed by reaching for what might seem impossible. I would rather have reached for excellence and fallen short than not have reached high enough in the first place. I don’t think there is enough grandeur in modern life.

Do you have any favorite foods or foods that you find keep you inspired? What are the ways in which you pump yourself up to keep writing and overcome writer’s block?

I don’t know that I’m inspired by food, but I currently live in Philadelphia: in other words, I can’t help finding wonderful food wherever I go.

I’m very work-obsessed, so writer’s block is not really an issue. The issue is finding time to write, given my other responsibilities.

She also included a sample poem:

Of Course

There’s no such thing as an ordinary cat.
Lucky Numbers 20, 34, 12, 7, 38, 2

There’s no real way to disagree with that.

A cat will place its faith upon the air,

Believing in the solid of somewhere.

There’s no such thing as an ordinary cat.

There’s no real way to disagree with that.

It brings a mouse as gift, or else a bird,

The way a poet springs upon a word.

There’s no such thing as an ordinary cat.

There’s no real way to disagree with that.

A cat and poet place themselves outside,

And find an open place in which to hide.

There’s no such thing as an ordinary cat.

A dog’s superior? Don’t tell me that.

If you want beauty, there’s the poet-cat.

From Take-Out, reprinted from Poem.

Please check out the rest of the interview on 32 Poems Blog.

Filed Under: Interviews Tagged With: ,

Sanditon by Jane Austen

January 6, 2011 by

Sanditon, another unfinished novel and the last that she was working on before her death, by Jane Austen begins with the Parkers in search of a surgeon to bring back to the seaside town of Sanditon from Willingden to care for the sick tourists and travelers seeking the medicinal attributes of the small town.  Unfortunately, the Parkers’ carriage runs into rough roads in a different Wilingden without a physician and it overturns.  Mr. Parker ends up with a sprained ankle and the adventure begins.

Meeting these characters initially, readers will find Mrs. Parker of few words and Mr. Parker very vocal about his town and his life.  Parker in many ways is similar to Mr. Collins in how he pontificates about Mrs. Denham, the town’s patroness.  Despite an invitation to the Heywoods to spend time in Sanditon, the Parkers had to be content to take one of the daughters, Charlotte.  On the way home, Mr. Parker tells Charlotte about Mrs. Denham and the rest of Sanditon.

“‘There is at times’ said he — ‘a little self-importance — but it is not offensive; — and there are moments, there are points, when her love of money is carried greatly too far.  But she is a goodnatured woman, a very goodnatured woman, — a very obliging, friendly neighbour; a cheerful, independent, valuable character.  — and her faults may be entirely imputed to her want of education.”  (page 166)

Parker believes the sea waters will cure all ills and make sure everyone is healthy, even those who claim to be healthy already.  The introduction describes the outrageous nature of Austen’s hypochondriacs in this novel and attributes the characterizations to her need to lighten her burdens since she had been ailing for about a year before her death.  Whether true or just speculation is hard to say, but it is clear that Austen’s experiences in Bath and with the healing waters got her thinking about her own society and its dependence on these waters to cure their ills.

As the novel progresses, readers will find that Austen has ventured into territory that she is not as familiar with, in that Charlotte Heywood becomes a narrating commentator on this new society in Sanditon.  Readers will enjoy the fresh look at society and their tendency to become ill and recover miraculously when they are needed.  Austen clearly had begun branching out beyond simply highlighting the societal hypocrisy among courtship rituals to discuss other topics like charity to those less fortunate and generating a prosperous town without commercializing it too much.

Overall, Sanditon by Jane Austen may be unfinished, but well worth reading to see how Austen’s work had grown and was about to flourish further.  It is not quite clear who the hero of the novel would have been — although it could be speculated that Uncle Sydney Parker is the hero.  It is clearly not Sir Edward, and the heroine could be Charlotte, though readers’ connection to her because of her observer status and her plight is not all that strong and could signal that Austen had another heroine in mind.  Readers will have fun visiting this seaside resort and its quirky characters, as well as fun speculating where Austen was heading with this story.

Filed Under: borrowed copy, classic fiction, Penguin, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2011, reviews Tagged With: ,

Guest Post: Mary Lydon Simonsen on Research and Travel

January 5, 2011 by

Welcome to today’s guest post from author Mary Lydon Simonsen, author of The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy. Following the guest post, be sure to check out the giveaway for US/Canada residents.

Let’s give Mary a warm welcome!

Thank you for inviting me to post on your blog.

You have asked me to talk about my research in general and if I have toured England as part of doing my research for The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy.

I have been reading non-fiction books on the Regency and Georgian Eras for probably thirty years. I just had no idea that at the time I was reading them that I was researching future novels. Like most people, I was drawn to the tangibles of that time, especially the gorgeous clothes, hairstyles, literature, architecture, romanticized view of traveling in elegant carriages, etc., but I was also attracted to the intangibles, such as the manners and speech of people who appear in Jane Austen’s books.

Having read so much about the era, I know how constrained the lives of most women were. From the moment of their birth, they were under the control of their fathers or a male guardian, then their husbands, or if they never married, possibly their brothers or another male relation. But Elizabeth Bennet is different. She has spunk, and I like spunk. After all, she turned down an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy, one of England’s elite and someone who would have made her financially secure for the rest of her life. That took courage.

On behalf of the era’s repressed females, in The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy, I stormed the fortress and liberated two ladies in Miss Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: Anne de Bourgh and Georgiana Darcy. In this story, Anne is no longer the voiceless daughter of Lady Catherine, but a woman who sees how her cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy, suffers as a result of failing to capture the heart of the woman he loves, and she sets out to change that. On the way, she enlists Georgiana Darcy, who will shortly make her debut in society, and a flower ready to blossom. I wanted to open up Georgiana’s character, and so I wrote about a typical teenager: chatty, nosy, teasing, and curious, but someone who cares deeply about her brother.

As far as travel is concerned, I have been to England twice. During my first visit, I was more interested in the Tudors, and so I visited Hampton Court, the Tower of London, Warwick Castle, etc. On my second visit, I traveled with my two teenage daughters, who were not jumping up and down at the idea of visiting Chawton Cottage, Austen’s last home before moving to Winchester. I did, however, get to Bath and visited all the public rooms, an experience that was very helpful when I wrote Anne Elliot, A New Beginning.  I also drove through Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, and Derbyshire doing drive-by research. Although I did not stop at any Austen locales (except Winchester Cathedral), the countryside left an indelible impression on me and proved invaluable when I started to write Austen re-imaginings.

Thanks Mary for sharing your research and travel experiences with us.

About the Author:

Mary Lydon Simonsen’s first book, Searching for Pemberley, was acclaimed by Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and RT Book Reviews. She is well loved and widely followed on all the Jane Austen fanfic sites, with tens of thousands of hits and hundreds of reviews whenever she posts. She lives in Peoria, Arizona where she is working on her next Jane Austen novel. For more information, please visit http://marysimonsenfanfiction.blogspot.com/ and http://www.austenauthors.com/, where she regularly contributes.

Dear readers, Sourcebooks is offering 2 copies of A Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy by Mary Lydon Simonsen for 2 U.S. or Canadian readers.

To Enter:

1.  Leave a comment on this post about one of your favorite travel spots

2.  For a second entry, Tweet, Facebook, etc. the giveaway and leave a link and comment on this post.

Deadline:  January 12, 2011, at 11:59 PM EST

For another chance to win this book, visit Austen Authors.

Filed Under: giveaway, guest post Tagged With:

Vietnam War Reading Challenge Givaways Ready!

January 4, 2011 by

The Vietnam War Reading Challenge 2010 has ended, but the fun hasn’t.

Participants who signed up for the challenge can now enter the giveaways to win . . . what else . . . BOOKS!

Head on over and check out the following challenges and enter which ones you qualify for based upon your reading achievements.

Giveaway posts are as follows:

Lifers

Bushwackers

Stayed on the Helicopter

Good Luck everyone!

Filed Under: announcements, Vietnam War Challenge 2010 Tagged With:

Mailbox Monday #112

January 3, 2011 by

Mailbox Mondays (click the icon at the right to check out the new blog) has gone on tour since Marcia at The Printed Page passed the torch.  This month our host is Rose City Reader.  Kristi of The Story Siren continues to sponsor her In My Mailbox meme.  Both of these memes allow bloggers to share what books they receive in the mail or through other means over the past week.

Just be warned that these posts can increase your TBR piles and wish lists.

Here’s what I received:

1.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, which I purchased at Kohl’s for my baby girl and some of the proceeds go to charity.

What did you receive in your mailbox?

Filed Under: mailbox monday

Happy New Year! And the 78th Virtual Poetry Circle

January 1, 2011 by

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It’s 2011, can you believe it?  Another year has flown by and it’s time to begin anew.  No resolutions for me this year.  I’m just going to take it one day at a time in 2011 and see what happens along the way.  With the new baby coming and the dog with his same old health problems, I think I’ll have my hands full already.

I’ll try to keep blogging and reading, but commenting on other blogs may be sparse or sporadic.  I hope you’ll all be patient.

I hope you all spent your New Years Eve well and had a great time no matter what you did.  I know I had a good time cosmic bowling for 2 hours with my husband and listening to the PBS Lincoln Center special of music.  I wanted it to be a fun and low key evening and it was.  I even got to pig out on some crab rangoon . . . my favorite Chinese food.

***

Welcome to the 78th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s books suggested. Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

In honor of the new year, lets have a poem about beginnings.  Check out this one from Lord Alfred Tennyson:

In Memoriam

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
   The flying cloud, the frosty light:
   The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
   Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
   The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind
   For those that here we see no more;
   Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
   And ancient forms of party strife;
   Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
   The faithless coldness of the times;
   Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
   The civic slander and the spite;
   Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease;
   Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
   Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
   The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
   Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Let me know your thoughts, ideas, feelings, impressions.  Let’s have a great discussion…pick a line, pick an image, pick a sentence.

I’ve you missed the other Virtual Poetry Circles.  It’s never too late to join the discussion.

Filed Under: announcements, virtual poetry circle Tagged With:

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

December 31, 2010 by

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is bound to be an instant classic among Vietnam War literature.  Drawing from his experiences as a Marine Lieutenant, much like many of the other authors’ novels, Marlantes’s perspective is not only of Marines on the ground in the depths of the jungle, but of a lieutenant who experienced first hand the political battles and horrifying decisions made by other officers and politicians.  Weaving in political dilemmas and screw-ups into the narrative can be burdensome for many writers — dragging down the plot and characterization — but this is not the case with Marlantes’ Matterhorn.

Mellas, the main protagonist, enters Vietnam as a lieutenant with a variety of ambitions for advancement and medals.  He’s been to Ivy League schools, he’s had a charmed life compared to the others in the bush, but he likes to feel like one of the ordinary guys in the bush, though at the same time, he wants to fit in with the officers and to prove his worth.  He’s a dichotomy in himself, displaying openly the struggle between the grunts and the officers within one man.

“Mellas was amazed and ashamed.  He realized part of him would wish anything, and maybe even do anything, if it meant getting ahead or saving his own skin.  He fought that part down.”  (page 7)

Mellas is thrown into Bravo Company and told to take hold of Matterhorn, only to abandon it when the political forces deem Cam Lo a bigger priority.  But by not having the support necessary from the base camps, his company runs out of water and other supplies, forced to hump through the jungle dehydrated and shot up.  There is more than one instance in which this company is thrown into battle with impossible odds, which will remind many readers of the movies that glorify the marines and their victories.  However, this novel shows readers the true nature of those “hollow” victories.  While these men remain dedicated to their missions and each other, without proper strategy and backing their victories become senseless in the eyes of loss and terror.  Even victories become jokes once the reports are made to the command posts and the reports of confirmed and probable dead are doctored — something that was common during the war.

“The records had to show two dead NVA.  So they did.  But at regiment it looked odd — two kills with no probables.  So a probable got added.  It was a conservative estimate.  It only made sense that if you killed two, with the way the NVA pulled out bodies, you had to have some probables.  It made the same sense to the commander of the artillery battalion:  four confirmed, two probables, which is what the staff would report to Colonel Mulvaney, the commanding officer of Twenty-Fourth Marines, at the regiment briefing.”  (page 91-2)

Mellas finds his place within the company and even becomes respected, but his continued ambition clouds much of his judgment and often forces him into situations that are more dangerous than they need to be.  Beyond Mellas, the company is hampered by continued racial tensions between the “brothers” and their white counterparts, with some elements on both sides more violent and outspoken than others.  Others are aware of the increased tension and racial hatred, but attempt to brush it under the rug or ignore it.  The tension builds within the “brothers” camp, pitting China against Henry, in such a way that it can only be released in one way.

“Jackson folded his arms. ‘You think someone’s going to understand how you feel about being in the bush? I mean even if they’re like you in every way, you really think they’re going to understand what it’s like out here? Really understand?’

‘Probably not.’

‘Well, it’s like that being black. Unless you’ve been there, ain’t no way.'” (page 429)

As for the officers back at the base camp, readers will find in Lieutenant Colonel Simpson a possible mirror image for Mellas, depending on how well he reacts to combat situations and political decisions beyond his control.  Simpson is often drunk, quick to anger, and makes rash decisions just with a few promptings from peers and underlings.

There are so many layers to Matterhorn, it is impossible to discuss them all in a review.  Mellas is a troubled hero, but in a way the hero is not any individual Marine, but the jungle that surrounds them.  It beats them down; it disguises the enemy; and it leaves them begging for mercy, but it also can provide them shelter; offer them food; and improve their chances of success.  Psychological effects of war, loss, and camaraderie in highly intense situations can be devastating and enlightening.  One of the best books I’ve read all year and easily one of the best books of the last decade.  Readers interested in drama, tension, war-related literature, and human interactions and societal contexts will be as captivated by Matterhorn as any other book that has come onto the shelves.

This is my 63rd book for this challenge.

This is my 15th book for this challenge.

Filed Under: historical fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2010, reviews, Vietnam War Challenge 2010 Tagged With: ,

Week #4 Matterhorn Discussion

December 31, 2010 by

Today is week 4 of the Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes read-a-long that Anna and I started for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge‘s last hurrah!

Every Friday throughout December, Anna and I have discussed the chapters we’ve read of Matterhorn.

Today’s discussion on War Through the Generations will be about the final Chapters 16-23!

If you’d like to join us, please do so.  We’d love to hear your thoughts on the book.  Even if you join us later on in the month, we won’t mind.  We love book discussions.

Weigh in with your final thoughts on Matterhorn!

***Stay tuned for my final review of 2010 — Matterhorn.***

Filed Under: announcements, Vietnam War Challenge 2010 Tagged With: , ,