Posts in the Reviews Category at Savvy Verse & Wit, Page 149

Poet Andrea Hollander Budy Interview

January 22, 2009 by Serena

I’ve been working on a interview project with Deborah at 32 Poems magazine, and she kindly allowed me to interview past contributors to the magazine. We will be posting the interviews throughout the coming months, and our first interview posted on Deborah’s Poetry Blog of 32 Poems on Jan. 21.

I’m going to provide you with a snippet from the interview, but if you want to read the entire interview, I’ll provide you a link for that as well.

For now, let me introduce to you 32 Poems contributor, Andrea Hollander Budy:

1. Not only are you a contributor to 32 Poems, but you also are a teacher and attend quite a number of conferences. What “hat” would you consider the most challenging to wear and why?

Yes, not only do I write, but guide others both as the Writer-in-Residence at Lyon College and, during the summers, at a variety of writers’ conferences. I also work one-on-one as a long-distance writing tutor (via the mail and telephone). But at all times I wear the same “hat,” because even when I teach others, I do so as a colleague who has enough experience with the craft of creating poems that I can provide insight into the process and help my students or tutees grow stronger as writers and revisers of their own work. Creating one’s own poems is indeed a continual challenge. But whether I am teaching others about this challenge or facing my own blank page, the important point is to enable myself and others to do the best work through continual devotion to doing the work in the first place.

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

It’s the writing itself that reveals my deeper obsessions to me. If I am obsessed with anything, it’s with the process of writing itself, with the joy of making discoveries through writing, and with the pleasures of learning through reading the work of others, as well.

3. I noticed that much of your poetry has been categorized as conversational in tone. Do you believe that to be an accurate depiction. Why or why not? Has this always been the style you’ve used?

I have always tried to write as clearly as possible in language that is free of decoration. A poem is already by its nature a dense enterprise — relatively few words attempt to engage readers and provide a compelling experience — and while I don’t wish to write simplistic poems, I do want readers to easily enter a poem and to discover there something valuable not only the first time they read or hear it, but for them to want to enter the poem again and again and to be ushered more deeply into it each time.

About the Poet:

Born in Berlin, Germany, of American parents, raised in Colorado, Texas, New York, and New Jersey, and educated at Boston University and the University of Colorado, Andrea Hollander Budy is the author of three full-length poetry collections: Woman in the Painting, The Other Life, and House Without a Dreamer, which won the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize. Other honors include the D. H. Lawrence Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize for prose memoir, the Runes Poetry Award, two poetry fellowships the National Endowment for the Arts, and two from the Arkansas Arts Council. Most recently Budy received the 2008 Subiaco Award for Literary Merit for Excellence in the Writing and Teaching of Poetry.

Want to find out what Andrea’s writing space looks like? What music she listens to while she writes? How she stays fit? and much more? Check out the rest of my interview with Andrea here.

Filed Under: Interviews, poetry Tagged With: 32 poems magazine, Andrea Hollander Budy

The Sinner’s Guide to Confession by Phyllis Schieber

January 20, 2009 by Serena

Nikki Leigh contacted me about hosting Phyllis Schieber and her novel, The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, and I was pleased to do so. Stay tuned for information about how you can win your own copy of The Sinner’s Guide to Confession.

The novel is follows longtime friends Kaye and Barbara, who are now in their fifties. Kaye and Barbara soon make friends with Ellen, who is several years younger, but their friendship solidifies and becomes close-knit. The three women are inseparable, but each nurtures a secret.

The alternating narrators for the chapters keeps the reader guessing as to when the friends will break down all of the walls between them and share their deepest secrets. From a romance novelist hiding her alternate career as an erotica writer to a married woman having a long-term, passionate affair. Readers will appreciate the perspective Justine, Barbara’s daughter, provides to Kaye and Barbara’s relationship. The friendship between these women is long standing and much of the story focuses on their relationships with one another as well as their relationships with the men in their lives. The novel may be considered an older woman’s chicklit book, but it has more substance.

Of the three women, Ellen’s story was the most heart-wrenching and deeply moving. Readers learn early on about Ellen’s secret, but as her chapters unfold, the devastation of one decision she makes early on in her life has significant impact on how her life unfolds. Ellen’s decision establishes her reactions and interactions with others, her husband, and her friends. It’s amazing how a decision not completely in her control molded her into the woman readers see in the beginning pages of this novel. Ellen is afraid of making decisions, hides behind the confidence brought by her false eyelashes, and holds deep grudges against her parents.

The intricate relationships between these characters are intense, and the relationships with each family member provides a realistic glimpse into the dynamics of family. Each member plays a specific role in how the family operates, and these women are central to those families.

About the Author Phyllis Schieber:

The first great irony of my life was that I was born in a Catholic hospital. My parents, survivors of the Holocaust, had settled in the South Bronx among other new immigrants. In the mid-fifties, my family moved to Washington Heights. The area offered scenic views of the Hudson River and the Palisades, as well as access to Fort Tryon Park and the mysteries of the Cloisters. I graduated from George Washington High School. I graduated from high school at sixteen, went on to Bronx Community College, transferred to and graduated from Herbert H. Lehman College with a B.A. in English and a New York State license to teach English. I earned my M.A. in Literature from New York University and later my M.S. as a developmental specialist from Yeshiva University. I have worked as a high school English teacher and as a learning disabilities specialist. My first novel , Strictly Personal, for young adults, was published by Fawcett-Juniper. Willing Spirits was published by William Morrow. My most recent novel, The Sinner’s Guide to Confession, was released by Berkley Putnam. In March 2009, Berkley Putnam will issue the first paperback publication of Willing Spirits.

Giveaway Details:

Win A Free Book from Phyllis Schieber – Its very easy to be entered in a drawing for a FREE book by Phyllis Schieber.

Post comments on any blogs during the virtual tour and you will have a chance to win a book from Phyllis.

One random person will win – but we are also asking visitors to share a secret and one secret will also win a free book. As a bonus the blog owner that hosted the winning comments will also win a book.

Share some interesting stories and questions with Phyllis Schieber during her tour – and have a chance to win a book.

Schieber’s Virtual Tour Stops

Reading Guide for Sinner’s Guide to Confession

***Also stop by Tomorrow, Jan. 21, for my interview with Phyllis Schieber***

Filed Under: chicklit, giveaway, Read in 2009, review copy, reviews Tagged With: phyllis schieber, the sinner's guide to confession

A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock

January 14, 2009 by Serena

Caro Peacock’s A Dangerous Affair: A Novel of Victorian England is an advanced reader’s copy I received through the HarperCollins First Look program and will be published by HarperCollins’ Avon imprint on Jan. 27, 2009 in the United States or early February 2009 in the United Kingdom.

A Dangerous Affair is the sequel to A Foreign Affair and picks up with Liberty Lane right after the passing of her father. Her brother is away working with the East India Trading Company, and Liberty is left to earn her way in London as a music tutor. Her meager wages allow her to share lodgings with Mrs. Martley and she takes solace in riding her horse, Rancie, a gift from her father before his death. She has a network of friends who loved her father and have opted to care for her as well in his absence. David Suter is one of those friends and he composes music and leads orchestras at local theaters for a living.

This novel is set in London during the Victorian period, though the actions and language in the novel are more modern than a typical novel of this period. Despite this one drawback, readers will be easily sucked into the story as Liberty seeks to free the wrongly accused after a not-so-well-liked dancer, Columbine, is murdered backstage. From the prominent Mr. Disraeli to Amos Legge who works in the livery, the cast of characters in this novel aid Liberty in her quest to save David Suter’s friend even at the expense of her own pride.

The Old Bailey and a number of other prominent landmarks make it easy for readers to discern where they are in London as Liberty adorns her Sherlock Holmes’ deerstalker to track down the real killer of Columbine. This is an entertaining read with a variety of twists and turns.

Also reviewed by:

Jen’s Book Thoughts

***Remember***

3 copies of Breathing Out the Ghost by Kirk Curnutt are up for grabs here. The deadline for this international contest is Jan. 17.

Filed Under: Harper Collins First Look, historical fiction, Read in 2009, reviews Tagged With: a dangerous affair: a novel of victorian england, caro peacock

Breathing Out the Ghost by Kirk Curnutt

January 12, 2009 by Serena

I received Kirk Curnutt‘s Breathing Out the Ghost for a TLC Book Tour. Kirk also graciously agreed to answer a few questions and giveaway 3 copies of his book to 3 lucky winners anywhere in the world! Stay tuned for the interview and giveaway details.

How would you react if you lost a child? What is the appropriate reaction for a parent who has lost a child? These are the questions tackled in Breathing Out the Ghost. Moving on after a child has disappeared or has been murdered is unimaginable, but life does move on; but how it moves on is up to the family impacted by these tragedies.

“From inside the cab of the combine, Pete watched the reels of the header bat down row after row of soybeans. As the stalks fell backwards, their stems snipped clean by a line of saw teeth on the header’s bottom cutter bar, the bean pods scratched against the metal of the machinery, making the sound of a whisking broom on carpet.” (page 244)

This passage signifies how both Sis and Pete Pruitt and Colin and Kimm St. Claire tackle their grief and pick up the remnants of their lives. The process of rebuilding is a series of fits and starts and restarts; it’s not pretty and it’s never complete. Like the stalks cut down in this passage, lives are halted and lives are skinned raw. While Sis and Pete continue with their lives as best as possible and become a source of selfless comfort for others hit by tragedy in their town, Kimm is left to her own devices when her husband Colin, who calls himself a modern Ahab of the highway, sets out on a journey to find their lost son, A.J. Both stories are separate and connected, but only begin to intersect when St. Claire finds Sis Pruitt at a local fair where she and her group, Parents of Murdered Children, share their photo quilt.

Curnutt doesn’t bob and weave around the anguish these families feel, but he does ensure that each member of these families expresses sorrow and loss in their own way. He’s masterful at creating believable characters, even complex players like Robert Heim, who chose to leave behind his family to save St. Claire from himself.

However, this novel is more than a look at loss, it gauges the inability of control over life and what we as individuals do with that realization. The inability to control life is most evident in St. Claire’s actions, but it peeks out from behind Sis’ veil of normalcy as well. When Sis works with her community members to provide food for volunteers searching for a lost boy, she loses herself in the kitchen conversation, almost fooling herself into believing she’s normal. It’s only when she expresses herself and her memories of her dead daughter, Patty, that she realizes normalcy is not hers.

Through masterful language and description, Curnutt paints a vivid Midwest landscape in which these characters languish in grief and yet flourish in it. From Michigan to Indiana, readers will picture the asphalt highway that becomes St. Claire’s home, office, and escape and the Pruitt’s farm that provides them with order in a town where they feel they have been branded by the murder of their daughter.

One of the best passages in this book is found on page 219, where St. Claire is recording his thoughts on cassette tape for his lost son:

“When I see myself I don’t see anything organic, anything original. I steal my aphorisms from outside sources. My actions pantomime the exploits of others. I’m all imitation, a gloss of a citation. Somewhere along the line I began compiling myself from the excerpts of better men.”

Many of these characters are looking for ways to fill the holes inside them left by loss. And this novel is not just about the loss of loved ones; it is a novel about losing oneself in that loss, allowing it to swallow you whole. The introduction of Sis’ grandmother, Ethel, who has dementia, is a nice addition to the cast. Not only has she experienced the loss of loved ones, but also her own memories and sense of self. However, she is less tortured by that loss, as she is not bound by time lines or turning points that she would like to have a chance to do over. Regret and a lack of control over life can sometimes be more powerful than actual loss. While there are some graphic details involving sexual predator Dickie-Bird, St. Claire’s mythical white whale, this novel is an insightful look at grief, family, and perseverance.

Here’s my short interview with Kirk regarding his writing and advice for amateur writers. Click on his photo to check out his Website.

1. Writers tend to be drawn to a particular genre and style. What would you consider your style? What genre are you most drawn to when writing and when reading? How do the genres you are drawn to when reading and writing differ or are they the same?

I like to think of myself as a lyrical writer. I’m very much influenced by F. Scott Fitzgerald in terms of colors and textures. I also like the way he described emotions. A lot of his stuff is romantic in that it stops just short of sentimentality, and I find myself drawn to that border too. So I like writing with a density to it: Toni Morrison, for example. And Moby-Dick is a biggie for me. I love to get lost in “The Whiteness of the Whale” chapter. I’m not a big fan of stripped-down prose and simple sentences, despite the fact that in my other life I’m a Hemingway scholar. Hemingway is great for aspiring writer because you can learn a lot about how to write landscape.

Because I teach, I read a wide range of books, though mostly 19^th and 20^th century American novels. I suppose I’m drawn to sadder books these days, but only because I find the characters a bit more complex than in comedy. A lot of humor anymore is satirical, meaning the dramatis personae tend to be stereotypes of predictable behavior. This gets particularly irksome in gender comedies. One of my favorite contemporary writers is Thomas Sanchez, who did a great book about Key West called Mile Zero about twenty years ago. His writing tends to be over the top. I also like Andre DuBois II―you can tell he cares about his characters. I try to balance out the more literary stuff with crime books, too. I’m a huge noir fan, and I read all the Hard Case Crime paperbacks when they come out, though I enjoy some more than others. Noir is tricky to do because it’s so stylized―it can come off a little too jokey if the characters aren’t compelling.

2. Most writers will read inspirational/how-to manuals, take workshops, or belong to writing groups. Did you subscribe to any of these aids and if so which did you find most helpful? Please feel free to name any “writing” books you enjoyed most (i.e. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott)

I think you can learn practical steps from manuals and workshops, but really, a lot of development depends upon being an honest observer of your own strengths and weaknesses. I took several writing workshops when I was in my twenties, but I didn’t particularly find them helpful because people were too competitive and there was a lot of posturing instead of work.

I have a small circle of fellow writers who share their work in progress, and it’s the best thing in the world because we’re mutually supportive. We can call each other on deficiencies without hurting each other’s feelings. I also tend to read a lot of literary criticism and narrative theory for ideas and techniques. I loved James Wood’s How Fiction Works, even though I disagree with a lot of his orthodoxies.

3. There is a great deal of poetic prose in your novel, Breathing Out the Ghost. Have you written poetry or have you considered it? Why or Why not?

No, I’ve never tried poetry, in part, I think, because I’m too attached to plot. I do love poetic prose, however, and I think a writer should test the limits of language. That’s part of the reason that I love folks like Melville, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, and Morrison, as different as they all are. I read and teach modernist poetry regularly―I love Hilda Doolittle, for example―and it’s taught me a lot about imagery and symbolism. What a dash of poetry can bring to the prose is simply greater sensuousness. So much of the world feels flat and simplified today; we’ve gotten a bit of a tin ear when it comes to metaphor. So the poetic part is just there to challenge myself to appreciate the richness we tend to overlook.

4. A great deal of writing advice suggests that amateur writers focus on what they know or read the genre you plan to write. Does this advice hold true for you? How so (i.e. what authors do you read)?

I think the “write what you know” dictum is the worst thing that ever happened to writing. It’s been bad for two reasons: it’s encouraged people to believe that personal experience is the only font of knowledge that’s worth exploring, and, as a result, it has discouraged people from learning new things. To me a far better philosophy would be, “If you want to write about something you don’t know, go out and learn it.” And the reality is that professional writers do this on a daily basis.

In my own case, I knew zilch about farming except for some embarrassing memories about how useless I was when I was a child and I would try to help my grandparents milk and harvest. I wanted to know the language of combines and hogs, however, so I went out and educated myself, both by visiting farms and reading books. I’m fortunate that I have a very tolerant uncle who entertains a lot of my stupid questions.

The other downside of only writing what you know is that writers tend to create characters that are only variations of themselves. As much as I love Hemingway and Fitzgerald, they and their generation are to blame for this tendency. At its most reductive, the idea gets boiled down to the notion that men can’t create convincing female characters and that women have the same problem with men. I think what actually happens is that sometimes we as writers don’t extend our characters the courtesy of empathy: we create them as foils whose behavior is the axe we want to grind.

Take the two spouses in Ghost, for example. It was very important to me that readers be able to identify with the dilemmas of both Pete Pruitt and Kim St. Claire as much as the narrative sympathies encourage them to care about Sis and Colin respectively. In essence, I wanted the audience to see the lack of generosity in my main characters’ resentments toward their families, because otherwise all I would have is an unemotional husband and an unfaithful wife. Motives are more complex. I guess the key word is empathy: I think challenging yourself to write about people who aren’t you is both artistically and ethically beneficial. It teaches you a bit of humility about your own opinions, and it allows you to feel for the things other people have suffered without pity or condescension.

5. If you were to create a playlist for your novel, what are the top five songs on that list?

This is a great question! I actually had a group of songs I would play as I was writing. Music is great inspiration because it’s such a different medium and it’s a productive challenge to try to translate its effect into words. The top songs would include:

a) “Yer Blues” by the Beatles. From The White Album, of course. I actually imagined Colin St. Claire listening to this song in the opening chapter, if only because I have memories of listening to it when I was in my very early teens. The Beatles may have been my first earphone album―you know, the kind of record that you end up spending heaps of time listening to in your own little world. Years later I read a quote from Eric Clapton talking about how hard it was for him to take this song seriously because it was so intense it seemed like a parody of the blues. I mean, the lyrics are way over the top: Yes I’m lonely / Wanna die.… etc. etc. Whatever John Lennon’s feelings for it were― and I don’t think he really cared for it―”Yer Blues” has always struck me as that kind of primal scream that’s as much about showing off one’s desperation as it is actually experiencing it. In that way, it seemed to capture for me the solipsism of Colin St. Claire’s quest for his lost son. Here is a version from the Rolling Stones’ Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAjdRHzH4M8

I just love the Beatles! I have to go out and find this song…perhaps the next time I’m at my parents. My dad has the White Album on LP!

b) “You R Loved” by Victoria Williams. This is a great bit of horn-tinged gospel that’s always embodied for me generosity and redemption. Victoria is often depicted as a sort of hippie kook, but there’s a deeply caring side to her music that makes me think of the word healing. I love the chorus: Jesus walked on the water / He turned the water into wine / He went down to the drunkards / To tell them everything is fine / You R loved, You R loved, You R loved. This is the song St. Claire’s daughter would sing to her father. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Go4D_sht00Y

c) “Little Bird” by the Beach Boys. Yes, the Beach Boys. I’m the world’s biggest BB nerd. There’s a real dark side to their late-60s music that only folks who can see past “Surfin’ U.S.A.” are aware of. This song, which appears on their extremely weird 1968 LP Friends, was the first song Dennis Wilson wrote. He later went on to make one of the best albums of the seventies, Pacific Ocean Blue. It would probably upset his fans to know this was the song I had in mind for the villain of Ghost, Dickie-Bird Johnson. “Little Bird” is often described as a gentle, child-like song, but to me it was always creepy. I mean, it was written while Dennis was hanging out with Charles Manson. It doesn’t get creepier than that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BLyXRPl1aE

I have to interject here that I would think that writing a song while hanging out with Charles Manson would indeed be very creepy!

d) “Every Grain of Sand” by Bob Dylan. Not really well-known, but a beautiful song about humility that appeared in the early eighties at the end of his Christian phrase. I snipped a couple of lines for dialogue here and there in the book. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lueCTMdAfrw

e) “If I Should Fall Behind” by Bruce Springsteen. To my thinking, a great love song for people who’ve been together long enough to be disappointed and yet forgiving. I played this over and over while I was writing the scenes between Sis and Pete. There are several versions of this song; it’s been recorded by everybody from Dion (doo-wop) to Linda Ronstadt (jazz). My favorite is the version Springsteen did with the E Street Band c. 2000. Each member of the group takes turns singing a verse, even Clarence Clemmons. It’s a really effective arrangement―way better than the 1992 original. Now everyone dreams of a love lasting and true / But you and I know what this world can do―that’s my favorite line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSAevK9__3k&feature=related

6. In terms of friendships, have your friendships changed since you began focusing on writing? Are there more writers among your friends or have your relationships remained the same?

I’m pretty good at compartmentalizing, so my friendships really haven’t changed in the years I’ve been trying to write seriously. I do have four or five really close friends who are in this game, but the majority of my friends have their own interests. Some are painters, some mechanics, some farmers, some Air Force lieutenants, some bartenders. I think it’s healthy to have a wide circle of folks who aren’t writers. You learn more by hanging out with people who aren’t like you because they know things you don’t. Friends are great sources of knowledge.

I also agree that having friends who aren’t writers is a benefit!

7. Please describe your writing space and how it would differ from your ideal writing space.

I have what’s called a “hidden room” in my house. It’s basically a half-attic that’s been converted into a spare bedroom. I use it for an office. I keep it pretty stark: a little computer table, bookshelves, and a table to hold my coffee cup. I’m usually up in it by five so I can write before work. For years I had a laptop and worked anywhere I could: sometimes at Panera’s or Barnes and Noble, sometimes in my room, sometimes in the car. What’s most important is that you keep up your schedule by being able to write wherever you’re at. Life is going to conspire to mess with your schedule, so you have to adapt.

Thanks so much for these questions! Thank you, Kirk, for graciously taking the time to answer my questions.

About the Author:

Kirk Curnutt is the author of eleven books of fiction and criticism, including the forthcoming thriller Dixie Noir (Fall 2009); Coffee with Hemingway (2007), an entry in Duncan Baird’s series of imaginary conversations with great historical figures: and the story collection, Baby, Let’s Make a Baby (2003).

Breathing Out the Ghost was named Best Fiction in the Indiana Center for the Book’s 2008 Best Books of Indiana Competition. It also won a bronze IPPY from the Independent Publishers Association and was a finalist for ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Awards. Curnutt’s other awards include three consecutive Hackney Awards for short-story writing (2004-2006) and the gold medal in nonfiction in the 2008 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition sponsored by the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society.

A passionate devotee of all things F. Scott Fitzgerald, he is vice-president of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Society and a board member of the Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.

Now for the giveaway information: (Don’t forget to leave me an email or working blog profile)

1. One entry for a comment left on this post regarding why you want to read Breathing out the Ghost.

2. A second entry if you blog about or mention this contest in your sidebar, don’t forget to come back here and leave me a link.

3. A third entry if you comment on a previous or subsequent tour stop and leave me a link to the post you commented on.

Deadline for entries is Jan. 17 at Midnight EST

Here are the other TLC Book Tour Stops:

Monday, January 5th: Diary of an Eccentric

Tuesday, January 6th: Ramya’s Bookshelf Review and Guest Post

Wednesday, January 7th: The Sleepy Reader and Guest Post

Thursday, January 8th: Crime Ne.ws, formerly Trenchcoat Chronicles

Monday, January 12th: Savvy Verse and Wit

Tuesday, January 13th: Educating Petunia

Wednesday, January 14th: Michele- Only One ‘L’

Thursday, January 15th: Book Nut

Friday, January 16th: Anniegirl1138

Monday, January 19th: Caribou’s Mom

Tuesday, January 20th: Lost in Lima, Ohio

Wednesday, January 21st: A Novel Menagerie

Monday, January 26th: Catootes

Wednesday, January 28th: Bloody Hell, it’s a Book Barrage!

Thursday, February 12th: She is Too Fond of Books

Filed Under: fiction, giveaway, Interviews, Read in 2009, review copy, reviews, tlc book tours Tagged With: breathing out the ghost, kirk curnutt

Conscience Point by Erica Abeel

January 6, 2009 by Serena

Erica Abeel’s Conscience Point, published by Unbridled Books, started off rough for me, with shifts in tone and language for one of the main characters, Nick Ashcroft. After about 60 pages or so, I became absorbed in the dark secrets and the Gothic mystery surrounding the once lavish estate of Conscience Point. Madeleine Shaye is a concert pianist, an arts journalist, a mother, and a lover who allows passion to derail her career and lead her down a path that is wrought with disappointment and heartache. Nick Ashcroft and his sister Violet lead Shaye onto this path and become the center of her world, despite Maddie’s obliviousness. The deep secret that tears her relationship with Nick apart is predictable at best, but Abeel weaves a setting that captivates the reader and lulls them into the fantasy.

Shaye is a young pianist befriended by an eccentric artist from a wealthy New York family, Violet Ashcroft. She’s easily dazzled by Conscience Point’s ambiance, and the stormy eyes of Violet’s brother Nick. She is equally captivated by Violet as an outcast and tormented girl. Despite the separation between Nick, Violet, and Maddie that lasts several years and through one marriage each, they connect as most artists will with exploding passion in a paradise far from their “real” worlds. Maddie and Nick revive their lust, which sweeps up Maddie and leaves her blind to the reality of her self-constructed family. “Love cannot dwell with suspicion” is an apt theme running through the first portion of this novel, which stems from an ancient Roman myth featuring Cupid and Psyche. However, amidst the turmoil that her life becomes, Maddie is once again swept up by her true passion–music.

Through the initial pages of the novel, Nick uses terms like “thistle-y” and “joint,” which seem incongruous, and the narrator interrupts herself to stop digressions. These sections can be disruptive to the reader, but as they become less frequent and the pace of the drama picks up, the reader is absorbed.

“She’d never imagined you could love this hard yet keep yourself for your work. They swung through the hours, grooved as trapeze artists. Nick understood the musician’s life, its ardor and implacable demands. . . . She in turn marveled at how he teased out the shapely book hiding in some winding manuscript;” (page 46)

While the plot of this novel is cliche in many ways, the real gem is the poetic language and intricate weave of music and art throughout the novel. Maddie’s magic fingers hit the keys and the reader is drawn into the world of an artist. Conversations with her friend Anton about music and its composers easily draws readers into their highly dramatic world. Maddie has a great many regrets in this novel, but she has no one to blame but herself for her own misfortunes. This is a novel about finding yourself, learning to live with what you discover about yourself and your family, and staying true to your dreams and promises.

I would like to thank the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for sending me this book back in October/November 2008.

Also Reviewed by:
Booking Mama

The first person to comment on this post about why they’d like to read this novel will receive my “gently used” advanced readers copy of Conscience Point.

Filed Under: ARC, fiction, Library Thing Early Reviewers, Read in 2009, reviews, unbridled books Tagged With: conscience point, erica abeel

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

January 4, 2009 by Serena

Janet Evanovich’s Visions of Sugar Plums is a fun holiday listen. The hubby and I listened to this book on our morning commutes and it was a short one at only 3 discs. Visions of Sugar Plums is a “Between the numbers novel.”

I haven’t read any of the number novels yet, but I do have them–thanks to my mom. We started with this audio book and found it amusing. It’s not as funny as A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore, but it is mildly funny.

The main character, Stephanie Plum, is a bounty hunter working through the holidays to catch a defendant, Sandy Claws, who jumped bond. She hasn’t had time to get a tree or presents for her New Jersey-based family. One morning she wakes up to a strange, yet hunky man, in her kitchen. He introduces himself as Diesel, but she wonders if he’s a killer, burglar, or alien. Turns out he’s in town bothering her for a whole other reason–the spirit of Christmas. Will she get the presents she needs for her family, will Diesel help her find the spirit of Christmas, and will she apprehend Mr. Claws?

My favorite parts of this novel involve the “elves” and Plum’s Grandma Mazur. They make this novel fun and festive. One of my favorite scenes is when Mazur is searching for her dentures, which are missing, before her “stud muffin” arrives for their date. They eventually find the dentures in a stuffed dinosaur and they are painted with pretty rainbows thanks to a little girl named Mary Alice, Plum niece. I couldn’t stop laughing as I imagined my grandmother’s dentures in her mouth with rainbows and other brightly colored images on them. Talk about a winning smile.

My husband loves the part where Plum and Diesel enter the toy factory looking for Sandy Claws and find a bunch of “midgets” dressed as elves. Let’s just say you shouldn’t call elves midgets. . .they get feisty and start a riot. Imagine elves screaming, “Get her!” And jumping up onto a female bounty hunter to regain their respect.

For a light holiday read, this book will fit the bill. I wouldn’t have paid full price for the audio book, but it’s worth a check out at the library.

***Don’t forget about the Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Read in 2009, reviews Tagged With: janet evanovich, visions of sugar plums

2008 Wrap Up and 2009 Debut

January 2, 2009 by Serena

I’ve seen quite a few 2008 wrap-up posts among the other book reviewing blogs. I’m going to add my two cents to the fray and offer up something for you to look forward to this year–2009.

I read 63 books in 2008, which is a personal best for me. I enjoyed many of those books, and some of them wowed me. There were others that didn’t wow me at all, and that’s where I’ll start. You can click on the titles of the books in the list to read my review.

Not Worth Checking Out of the Library:

1. The Art of Fiction by John Gardner–this is the worst book I read this year. I found John Gardner pretentious and not very helpful. Many of the passages repeat common mistakes he finds among amateur writers, which might be helpful. But his prose style left me bored and struggling through this piece.

2. Isaac’s Storm by Eric Larson–this book would have been #1 on the list if it weren’t for John Gardner’s condescending prose. While some parts of this book were really interesting, I struggled a long time to finish this one.

Worth the Hardcover Expense:

1. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson–this YA novel was well-written and had a unique plot. It raised a number of moral and ethical questions without preaching to the reader or offering a specific right and wrong answer to the central dilemma. I cannot praise this book enough.

2. Black Flies by Shannon Burke–this tale will stay with you for a long time after reading it. An in-depth look at the lives of New York’s paramedics in Harlem at the time of heavy discrimination provides the reader with both sides of the story. Ollie is a fish out of water in this multiracial community, but he eventually finds his place. Graphic elements of this novel may make it tough to keep reading, but the payoff is worth every page.

3. Testimony by Anita Shreve–Shreve uses her innate skill at alternating points of view to tell readers how one decision made by a group of private school students turns their lives and the lives of those around them upside down. She also shows how the decision impacts those not necessarily close to the teens. While portions of this novel were graphic, they were necessary to help the reader question their fundamental beliefs about certain moral dilemmas.

4. The Road by Cormac McCarthy–this tale follows a man and his son after the world is brought to an end and many in society have taken to violence, cannibalism, and other behaviors to survive. The man and his son, who remain nameless throughout the novel, do not stoop to such levels; and while the novel is dark, there is a glimmer of hope.

5. Mr. Thundermug by Cornelius Medvei—a surprising look at how society would interact with and English-speaking baboon and how that baboon would interact with a society that shuns and misunderstands him and his family. A great look at discrimination in a difference sense; This book may deal with some moral issues, but it also uses wit and humor to keep the read light.

Paperback Best:

1. Pemberley by the Sea by Abigail Reynolds–this modern re-telling of Pride & Prejudice is more than a re-telling. Cassie and Calder have a story of their own, a tale of misunderstanding and timidity when it comes to relationships worth fighting for. Each must learn to love and be loved without condition. Cassie is a marine biologist struggling to get her research funded, and Calder is struggling to become his own man.

2. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips–the modern look at the Greek gods in this novel is humorous and compelling. While there are no major moral or ethical dilemmas raised, this book does provide another look at how far society has evolved or devolved. I love that Aphrodite is a phone sex operator and that Artemis is a dog walker. I’ve never laughed so much out loud while reading a novel, and my transit compatriots must have thought I was loony.

3. Mr. Darcy’s Diary by Amanda Grange–Grange did an excellent job staying true to Jane Austen’s characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy, in this diary kept by the famous and misunderstood Mr. Darcy. It was great to read what could have been Mr. Darcy’s inner thoughts.

4. Cold Rock River by J.L. Miles–Adie’s life is harsh at times, but she finds her way to happiness in this well-written Southern novel. I enjoyed the cast of characters, the tension, and especially the slave journal as it is woven into Adie’s narrative.

5. The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James–a tale that provides an insider’s look at what Jane Austen’s real life may have been like in a fictionalized sense. I love the way in which James weaves in historical truth and fiction in this novel to keep the reader riveted and absorbed in Victorian England.

Audio Books to Die For:

1. A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore–this audio book had us laughing so early in the morning that I actually got to work wide awake. Charlie Asher’s life takes a bad turn when his wife dies and he’s left to raise his daughter alone, but it gets even worse when he finds out he’s Death. This one will have you laughing all the way through.

2. You Suck! by Christopher Moore–is a hysterical vampire novel set in San Francisco, Calif. New vampires often have a tough time adjusting to life of the undead, but this novel has them stumbling through the dark seeking solace and contentment.

3. A Soldier’s Promise by Daniel Hendrix–is a nonfiction audio book with heart. Not only does it take the listener inside the war in Iraq, but it also illustrates the human side of the war, which many Americans forget about. The language in this book is easy to understand and is not overly militaristic.

Poetry You Must Have:

1. Hip Hop to Children for Nikki Giovanni–a trip down memory lane for many readers who grew up when rap and hip-hop music were just taking shape and gaining in popularity. This book and audio CD will help children gain an appreciation for poetry.

2. Human Dark With Sugar by Brenda Shaughnessy–is a mix of dark imagery and content and light humor. Each poem carries a surface meaning as well as a deeper meaning beneath the simple words selected. The sarcasm and bleak language speak to the reader to convey the meaning within each of the three sections.

Ok, now that you’ve got my recommendations from 2008, let’s move onto to something vastly more important–2009.

These are my goals for the blog this year, and I hope some of you will take the time to keep me on my toes.

1. Include more poetry book reviews and interviews

2. Offer personal writing updates on Sundays; I’ll be posting my goal for the new week and whether I achieved the previous week’s general goal, surpassed it, or failed to reach that goal.

I know there are only 2 goals, but with the WWII challenge and blog, I don’t want to over commit myself, which I am known to do from time to time.

My overall goal for 2009 is to complete my poetry book manuscript and prepare it for editing so it can be submitted to publishers in 2010. Anyone willing to give me a kick in the butt, please feel free. I’ll need it.

***Don’t forget about the Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***

Filed Under: Best of 2008, writing goals, WWII Reading Challenge

Cross Country by James Patterson

December 30, 2008 by Serena

Miriam at Hatchette Group sent Cross Country by James Patterson for my review. However, while I’ve been an avid James Patterson reader for some time, I decided to have the biggest James Patterson fan I know review it. My mom, Pat, offered to review the book for me. I’m sure my review will follow sometime in 2009.

About the book (from Amazon.com):

In this 14th Alex Cross thriller, Cross, a Washington, D.C., police detective, takes on a very different quarry—a human monster known as the Tiger with ties to the African underworld. When the Tiger and his teenage thugs butcher writer Ellie Cox, her husband and children in their Georgetown home, Cross is devastated because Ellie had been his girlfriend in college. The Cox family massacre proves to be just the first in a series. Cross pursues the Tiger to Nigeria, where the profiler finds himself at the mercy of corrupt government officials who may be working with the Tiger.

Here’s what Pat had to say about the latest in the Alex Cross Series:

James Patterson’s Cross Country is a page turner from beginning to end.

Alex Cross and Brianna Stone are called to a horrific crime scene, one of the worst murder scenes Cross has encountered in his entire D.C. police career. Families are brutally murdered in their homes. One scene involves Cross’ ex-girlfriend Ellie Randall Cox and her family, and the death of the entire family. Ellie was a reporter who uncovered a series of brutal murders happening both in the United States and Nigeria, Africa.

Cross ends up in Africa on the trail of a notorious killer, Tiger, and his boy killers. From the moment Cross sets foot in Nigeria, he is kidnapped, beaten, and shot at. The fast-paced style that Patterson has cornered the market on continues in this latest Alex Cross story. Everyone Cross comes in contact with is dying or in danger, and eventually, Tiger follows Cross back to Washington, D.C.

This book is fantastic, and I would rate it with 5 stars. It will keep readers glued to the page until they are finished. This is one of the better books in the Cross series, and setting a portion of the tale in Africa was unique and believable.

***Don’t forget about the Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***

Filed Under: fiction, Hachette Books, Pat review, Read in 2008, review copy Tagged With: cross country, James Patterson

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

December 29, 2008 by Serena

Marie Phillips‘ Gods Behaving Badly is one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. What would the ancient gods of Greece and Rome do in today’s 21st Century world? Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, a phone sex operator; Apollo, the God of the Sun, a television psychic; Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Chastity, a dog walker.

The gods have weakened since their days on high at Mt. Olympus, and they are all crammed into a dilapidated home in London, getting on one another’s nerves. The conflict truly begins one night during a taping of Apollo’s psychic show where Eros shoots a love arrow into Apollo’s heart, leaving him powerless against his love for the next person entering his view. Unfortunately, that person happens to be a mortal named, Alice, who cleans the theater where the show is taped. Alice and her friend Neil, who both love one another but are too afraid to make a move, become the center of conflict in the gods’ world.

What has been fascinating about the Greek and Roman gods for many centuries has been their human-like qualities. While they are powerful beings ruling over the human world, they are much like the average mortal in their desires, weaknesses, and arrogance. Phillips easily highlights the human-like failings of these gods and accentuates those failings with “unlikely” professions for them in the modern world.

Watching these gods cope with the 21st Century is a hilarious delight, but even more delightful is Phillips’ use of language. From Aphrodite’s bottom “bouncing like two hard-boiled eggs dancing a tango” (page 89) to Phillips’ description of Neil as a teenager, “an ugly, spotty, skinny-arsed spoddy minger” (page 88). The dialogue is witty as well: “‘. . .you’d better come quick. I’ve got a god passed out on my kitchen floor and I think the world’s about to end.’ (page 213).”

One of the best scenes in this book comes when Apollo finds Zeus in the upper floors of the house staring at the television much like a zombie would. He’s lifeless, but still a god able to stand on his own and still strike down mortals with lightning. Reading this section brought to life the dilemma that often faces many of us, do we unwind too often in front of the television rather than through more challenging activities, like games, competition, reading, and exercise? Is this section a commentary on the lives we continue to lead now, watching television, zoning out, and withdrawing into ourselves away from society. But, I digress.

With an interesting cast of characters from a Christian Eros to a drunk, DJ in Dionysus, Phillips uses her cast of characters to dramatically set the stage for a modern day Greek comedy of errors and missed chances. Even readers who do not have a firm background in mythology will enjoy this book.

If you think this book sounds interesting, you should check out Hachette Group’s discussion with the author, Marie Phillips, on Blog Talk Radio.

***Contest***

Hatchette Group offered to give away 5 copies of the book to my readers with U.S. and Canadian addresses only.

For those international readers, I am offering my gently used copy, so please inform me that you are an international entrant.

For one entry, leave a comment here telling me who your favorite Greek/Roman god/goddess is and why.

For a second entry, blog about the contest or place it in your sidebar and leave a comment here telling me where I can find it.

Deadline is January 5, Midnight EST.

Check out these other Reviews:
Booking Mama
Books Books and more Books!
Diary of an Eccentric
Book-a-Rama
A Reader’s Respite
Booklorn
The 3R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness
Sophisticated Dorkiness
A Life in Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Fizzy Thoughts
The Boston Bibliophile
A Novel Menagerie
As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Filed Under: fiction, giveaway, Hachette Books, Read in 2008, review copy, reviews Tagged With: gods behaving badly, marie phillips

Poet/Writer Meme–Vital Stats

December 20, 2008 by Serena

Deborah at 32 Poems posted this meme a bit ago, and I thought it would be fund to adapt to the writers and book reviewers who read my site.

Simply copy the questions and answer them on your blog. I won’t tag anyone, so it’s up to you if you want to do it in the comments or in your own post.

Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer/poet/book reviewer: 6

Age when I wrote my first short story/review/poem: 10

Age when I first got my hands on a good word processor: 16

Age when I first submitted a short story/poem/review to a magazine: 15

Rejections prior to first short story/poem/review sale: Hasn’t happened yet, unless you count review copies as payment.

Age when I sold my first short story/poem/review: See above.

Approximate number of short stories/poems/reviews sold: 1

Year I first published a book: Hasn’t happened yet

Books published or delivered and in the pipeline: None

Number of titles in print: None

Age now: Not telling.

***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**

***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***

Filed Under: meme, poetry Tagged With: 32 poems magazine

Fixing Hell by Col. (Ret.) Larry C. James, Ph.D.

December 19, 2008 by Serena

Fixing Hell by Col. (Ret.) Dr. Larry C. James, Ph.D. is a nonfiction book about how one army psychologist takes on the task of cleaning up after public relations nightmares at detention centers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib, Iraq.

Dr. James is sent to reform these prison/detention centers after scandals break out regarding the treatment of prisoners and detainees. After conducting research and reviewing the Stanford Prison Experiment, which details how otherwise “good” people can commit atrocities in a prison system, Dr. James heads to Cuba.

He outlines some ground rules before he gets to Guantanamo Bay. One of the main rules he sets forth is that leaders must be seen and present. James walks throughout the complex at different hours of the day, even at 2 a.m. He finds that some of the guards on duty in the wee hours are asleep at their posts, while others claim to have never seen a colonel or other military leaders.

Dr. James leaves Guantanamo only to be sent shortly thereafter to Abu Ghraib following the highly public denigration of Iraqi prisoners at the detention center. Soldiers at the prison disrobed prisoners, posed them naked in a human pyramid, and shot photos of the incidents, which were later plastered all over the news. As a psychologist, Dr. James was sent to the detention center to clean up the facility and establish protocols to prevent further incidents.

The audio of this book was well read and engaging. It certainly kept our attention during our early morning commutes, and it was intriguing to get an insider’s look at the military’s psychology department and protocols. My husband enjoyed the details about how Dr. James remedied the problems at Abu Ghraib and the insight those details provided about the actual facts of the situation.

However, the last chapters of the book slowed down the flow of the book for us. Dr. James offers a great deal of explanation about how the media played up the Abu Ghraib incidents and printed misinformation that maligned the reputations of fellow psychologists and himself. While we understood his need to set the record straight, the information was unnecessary given the timeline he issued throughout the book. Any reports placing him or his colleagues at the detention centers during the scandalous incidents could easily be dismissed.

With that being said, anyone interested in military or war history will enjoy this insider’s look at the Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, and the military’s psychology unit.

About the Author:

Colonel Larry C. James, PhD, served as the Chief, Department of Psychology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the past five years. In this capacity, he also was the Chief Psychologist for the Army’s northeast region and had responsibility over 100 psychologists in this region. Currently, Dr. James is the Chief, Department of Psychology, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. During the Military’s response to 9/11 at the Pentagon, Col. James was the Chief Psychologist for the Mental Health Task Force. Dr. James has been awarded the Bronze Star and the Joint Service Commendation medals for his superior and distinguished services during the global war on terrorism. In 2003, he was the Chief Psychologist for the Joint Intelligence Group at GTMO, Cuba, and in 2004 he was the Director, Behavioral Science Unit, Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Col. James was assigned to Iraq to develop legal and ethical policies consistent with the Geneva Convention Guidelines and the APA Ethics Code in response to the abuse scandal. Also, while at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Dr. James was tasked with developing a mental health clinic to deliver services to approximately 8,000 prisoners.

***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**

***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***

Filed Under: audiobooks, giveaway win, nonfiction, Read in 2008, reviews Tagged With: Col. (Ret.) Larry C. James, fixing hell, Ph.D.

Against Medical Advice by James Patterson

December 18, 2008 by Serena

James Patterson and Hal Friedman’s Against Medical Advice is the first book my mom, Pat, will be reviewing here on Savvy Verse & Wit.

According to Amazon.com’s Product Description:

Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman’s life was a living hell.

Against Medical Advice is the true story of Cory and his family’s decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment.

Without further ado, here’s mom:

Patterson usually writes fiction, but this non-fiction work is well written. Patterson and Hal Friedman met at an advertising agency and both are writers. They took four years to write this true story about Hal’s son, Cory, who has Tourettes Syndrome. One symptom of the ailment is body ticks. After a variety of medical treatments and medications, symptoms were not alleviated and lead to Cory’s over-eating and weight gain.

Cory, an athlete in school, eventually gets into trouble with the “wrong” crowd. Alcohol consumption exacerbates Cory’s medical problems and things spiraled out of control for him. After a number of treatment facilities, Cory is sent to a wilderness camp to help him cope with his ailment.

This is a story of one family’s struggles with a disease that is hard to treat and deal with, and about how this struggle impacted them. I would recommend this book to James Patterson fans and would consider this among his best books. I consider this as a 5-star book.

Thanks mom for your review of James Patterson’s Against Medical Advice.

Pat is an avid James Patterson reader and loves to follow his latest novels. I even thanked James Patterson in person for getting my mom to read. She didn’t read much when I was growing up, at least from what I can remember. Now, if we could only get dad to start reading.

***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**

***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***

Filed Under: nonfiction, Pat review Tagged With: against medical advice, hal friedman, James Patterson

Poet Andrea Hollander Budy Interview

The Sinner’s Guide to Confession by Phyllis Schieber

A Dangerous Affair by Caro Peacock

Breathing Out the Ghost by Kirk Curnutt

Conscience Point by Erica Abeel

Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich

2008 Wrap Up and 2009 Debut

Cross Country by James Patterson

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips

Poet/Writer Meme–Vital Stats

Fixing Hell by Col. (Ret.) Larry C. James, Ph.D.

Against Medical Advice by James Patterson

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