I’m not sure sure how I ended up reading two novels about the Gilded Age back to back, She Walks In Beauty by Sir Mitchell (linked to my review) and now Masquerade by Nancy Moser, but I think doing so enhanced my understanding of that era. They contained similar contrasts of the rich vs. the poor, the plight of  immigrants and the excesses of the rich, as well as descriptions of the lavish clothing and stringent societal rules.

In Masquerade, Lottie Gleason is a spoiled, self-centered headstrong nineteen year old in England being shipped off to marry a rich American to save the family, which is in trouble due to her father’s indiscretions, both financial and moral (though the American family, the Tremaines, don’t know the situation.) When her mother’s plans to accompany her fall through due to illness, Lottie’s maid, Dora, is sent in her stead as more of a companion than maid.

On the ship to America, Lottie hatches the plan that they should switch places. Lottie does not want to marry a man she has never met, she wants freedom and adventure, and Dora could use the financial situation to help her mother. It takes some persuading for Dora to agree, but eventually she does.

Thus we have a Prince and the Pauper situation. Dora finds out that high society has its pleasures, but its has problems as well, and Lottie’s bout with freedom leads quickly to frustration and danger as she encounters people and situations she never dreamed of, but she also finds kindness in unexpected places.

The historical setting has been well-researched and well-written, and I enjoyed that part of the novel, but the tale of the two girls…irritated, I think, would be the right word. It’s believable that someone of Lottie’s personality might dream of such an idea, but it seemed implausible to me that Dora would go along with it and that neither of them would think through the consequences (though thinking things through was not one of Lottie’s strong points, either). For instance, they were themselves on the ship, interacting with other passengers (and Dora almost falling in love with one): did they think they would never seen any of them again once in New York under different identities? And did they think they’d never see their families again, or did they figure by that time the die would be cast and it would be too late for their parents to interfere?

I finally had to just concede the point and move on. But there were minor points that chafed as well: I don’t think we were ever told how the Gleason and Tremaine families made contact in the first place and then got to the point of arranging a marriage for their children. The arrangement makes sense in Lottie’s family’s situation but not Conrad Tremaine’s, the intended beau. Were there no single rich young women in New York, necessitating the family having to make arrangements sight unseen with the family of a girl from England? When one of Dora’s handkerchiefs with her real initials on it is discovered by someone else, we’re not told how it came into her hands for her to have it at just the right moment. Lottie develops a conscience and more of a heart of compassion, but her bent toward being headstrong and impulsive doesn’t change. Dora seems to care for someone back home, someone she met on the ship, and Conrad interchangeably for a long while until she finally makes a choice. The one character whose growth and story arc I most liked ends up kind of left in the dust, but I won’t say who so as not to spoil the story. In the high society church, the author writes, “The organ played a song to remind everyone that God had arrived” (p. 210). Seriously, does anyone think that? That sentence did not make sense to me at all. An occasional phrase here and there seemed anachronistic.

I do, however, like the way the theme of masquerading for various reasons played out not just among the two main characters but several others as well. When someone dropped their mask or pretension and showed their true selves, it was usually a positive.

I had picked this up because I really enjoyed Nancy’s How Do I Love Thee? about Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, but I didn’t care for this one as much. Even still, it’s not a bad book altogether. The characters do grow and learn valuable lessons along the way and do learn to see and submit to the hand of God. Looking at the reviews at Amazon and Christianbook.com, some felt as I did but others really liked it. “You don’t have to take my word for it,” as Levar Burton used to say. And I don’t think this will keep me from trying another of Moser’s books.

On a side note, nearly every time I saw this title around the house, my mind played the Masquerade song from Phantom of the Opera. 🙂

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button.

These months in which the fourth Tuesday is not the last Tuesday catch me unawares! But here is what I’ve finished since last time:

The Way into Narnia: A Reader’s Guide by Peter Schakel, reviewed here. Excellent. I had checked this out of the library but then bought my own copy before I turned it back in so I could transfer my sticky tabs.

A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell, reviewed here, about three very different Italian immigrant girls making their way in 1918 Boston. My first book by this author, and I immediately bought another.

She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, reviewed here, about a young debutante during the American Gilded Age who finds society life is not all it’s reputed to be.

Blue Skies Tomorrow, the third of Sarah Sundin‘s Wings of Glory series about three brothers during WWII, reviewed here. Loved this series.

Learning by Karen Kingsbury, the continuing story of Bailey Flanigan as she struggles facing life on her own, not reviewed.

A Big Little Life by Dean Koontz, a memoir (and a little philosophizing) about his dog, Trixie, not reviewed. I’ve never read any of Mr. Koontz’s books before, and, honestly, I bought this because I was looking for books for my mother-in-law to read, it was in the bargain section, and she likes dogs. I liked his humor and pathos, but unfortunately it doesn’t look like his other books are in genres that I’d like.

I’m currently reading:

Masquerade by Nancy Moser.

Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job by Layton Talbert.

Gospel Meditations For Men by Chris Anderson and Joe Tyrpak, with my son.

Next up…decisions, decisions…probably:

Coffee Shop Conversations: Making the Most of Spiritual Small Talk by Dale and Jonalyn Fincher, recommended by Lisa.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. It seemed like everyone was reading and talking about this a while back and I am just now getting to it.

The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner.

Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World edited by C. J. Mahaney. I’ve had this on my literal nightstand for weeks and want to get to it. Worldliness is one of those difficult concepts: as Christians we know the Bible warns us away from it, but everyone has a different idea of exactly what it is.

Boyhood and Beyond: Practical Wisdom for Becoming a Man by Bob Schultz. I’m thinking about going through this with Jesse.

That should keep me busy for a while! What are you reading?

In She Walks in Beauty by Siri Mitchell, debutante Clara Carter finds that society life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be in New York City circa 1891. Even the snow was grimy from passing through smoke and soot, making the carriage drives to a ball not “as sparkly and festive as they always seemed to be in novels” (p. 135).

But Clara isn’t given much choice. The De Vries heir is back in town, and it has been determined that Clara must catch him in order to save the family’s honor. With the determination of a drill sergeant and the zeal of Mrs Bennet, Clara’s aunt does her best to train Clara for her debut, while Clara would rather be studying or reading Byron. Both her natural good humor and budding social conscience are quashed with propriety, To complicate matters, Clara’s best friend, Lizzie, is debuting at the same time with the same goal.

At first She Walks In Beauty seems like a light-hearted romp as Clara learns the “rules” and foibles of “the game,” but it takes a more serious and darker turn as Clara discovers that even her father is not the man she thought he was, and the falseness and temptations of the life her family is pushing her toward weigh on her conscience. When someone tells her God knows her and loves her as she really is, she doesn’t know whether to believe it at first: no one seems to love anyone just as they are. But a glimmer of that kind of love is reflected in one man, drawing her heart yet highlighting the conflict between duty and reality.

I empathized with the conflict Clara experienced as her eyes were opened more and more. I loved where she ended up on her journey. And I loved that in both books I’ve read by Siri, the dresses on the cover have significant roles in the book!

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Blue Skies Tomorrow is the third of Sarah Sundin‘s Wings of Glory series about three brothers during WWII, and Sarah has managed to hit it out of the ball park once again. A Distant Melody, the first in the series, was one of my top ten favorite books of 2010 and its sequel, A Memory Between Us, is one of my favorites of 2011 so far.

Each book focuses on one Novak brother: in this book, Ray is the peacemaker of the family, and his aversion to having to kill someone has kept him Stateside as a flight instructor. But he wrestles with whether he wants to avoid combat for those reasons or cowardice. A series of events lead him to the desire to prove himself in actual combat.

Helen Carlisle is a war widow actively involved in several volunteer projects with her church and the war effort. Though she puts up a brave front, a dreadful secret she tries to keep hidden threatens to undo her and her blossoming interest in Ray.

The main characters here as in the previous novels are realistically flawed yet sympathetic and very likeable. I was conflicted between wanting to rush to finish the book and see what happened and wanting to slow down and make it last longer so the story wouldn’t be over so quickly. I’ve so enjoyed getting to know the Novaks and I’m a little sad to see the series end!

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

I saw glowing reviews and recommendations of A Heart Most Worthy by Siri Mitchell on several blogs a few months ago. I picked up the book a couple of times, and the back cover said in part, “In 1918 Boston, three seamstresses dare to dream of a better life.” That didn’t really grab me. But, so many people whose tastes are similar to my own liked it, and…that gorgeous dress on the cover would tempt me to serious coveting if I lived in those times. So I finally decided to give the book a try.

Siri has crafted quite an intriguing historical novel set in the Italian section of Boston during a time of heavy migration of Italians from their country to America (which Siri says rightly in an end note has largely been forgotten — I had never heard of the Great Italian Emigration).  WWI and later the Spanish Influenza epidemic figure heavily into the plot, as do Italian family life, prejudice, poverty, and political unrest. And of course love.

Three very different girls poor Italian girls, Julietta, Annamaria, and Luciana, work in Madame Fortier’s dress shop. Julietta wants to meld into American life, move up in the world, and have fun. Annamaria as the oldest daughter is destined by custom to care for her family, postponing or perhaps never having her own chance at love. Luciana just wants to survive, to provide for and protect herself and her grandmother and not attract too much attention so that the man who killed her father does not find them.

There were teary moments as well as at least one time when I almost gasped out loud (at realizing who someone was), times of feeling sad for, frustrated with, and happy for each of the characters.

Since the Italian population was primarily Catholic, naturally the church and spiritual influences in the book come from that vantage point. Since I am not Catholic myself, I would quibble with just a couple of things that were said in that vein, but the book did convey that forgiveness, grace, and help are available from God to those who turn to Him.

One feature that threw me a bit sometimes is that though most of the book is written from an omniscient or third-person point of view, every now and then the narrator breaks through and speaks to the reader directly. It jarred a bit because it was almost like someone speaking to you whom you’d forgotten was there. But the comments themselves were fun and a bit conspiratorial.

Overall I greatly enjoyed the book, and I just bought another Siri Mitchell book to try.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

This may be the first time I have ever reviewed a book before I finished it. (Update: Finished 7/29/13 after finishing The Last Battle.) I didn’t set it aside because I disliked it: in fact, I liked it very much. But there is a chapter on each book in the Chronicles of Narnia series in The Way into Narnia: A Reader’s Guide by Peter Schakel, and I didn’t want to read the chapters covering the books I hadn’t reread yet. I’ll save the rest for Carrie‘s next Narnia challenge next year. But I didn’t want to wait a whole year to talk about this book!

The book first came to my attention when I looked up the Chronicles online at the local library and this book kept popping up in every search. I bristled at the title a little bit at first: it kind of rubbed me the wrong way that someone seemed to claim to have “the” right interpretation of the books (though that is not what he is claiming). But I decided to give it a try, and I am so glad I did.

Dr. Schakel had previously written or edited five books about C. S. Lewis with this being his third book on the Chronicles of Narnia, so he brings a familiarity and expertise with the subject matter to his writing. He begins with a very brief biography of Lewis recounting the influences that contributed to his writing the Chronicles, and then he gives a chapter to discussing  reading order and different texts. I knew there was a controversy about whether the books should be read in publication order or story order, but I hadn’t realized there Lewis had revised some of the text and yet current publishers publish the original rather than the revised (and improved, many believe) versions. Schakel then discusses storytelling in fairy tales, fantasy, and myth and then devotes one chapter to each of the Narnian books, discussing the plot, symbolism, etc.

This may sound a bit too much like English class for some…but I always liked English, myself. 🙂 Seriously, this is a very readable book, and Schakel brought out many insights that I had not considered or noticed.

For instance, I knew the first book took place during WWII, but it didn’t register how that time setting would have influenced reader’s feelings toward a tyrant like the white witch or a traitor like Edmund. And the tea with Mr. Tumnus, dinner with the Beavers, and various feasts must have sounded wonderful to people living with food rationing.

I also didn’t know that Lewis’s friend and colleague, J. R. R. Tolkien, didn’t like the eclecticism of Lewis’s including elements from all different kinds of mythological backgrounds (from Father Christmas to Greek and Norse myths) not because of the differing religiosity but just because he felt they didn’t “go” together.

I had read elsewhere that Lewis “came to regard pagan religions not as false but as incomplete, precursors to Christianity rather than contrary to it” (p. 9) and that explains his inclusion of some elements puzzling to some Christians. But I don’t understand how he came to that conclusion when many pagan religions worship someone or something other than the God of Judaism and Christianity. I would disagree with Lewis on that point but understanding his thinking does help in reading the books.

One of my favorite sections of the book was the discussion of fairy tales as literature. I included these quotes in another post, but wanted to share them here as well:

Fairy stories appeal to some adults and some children because the escape gained through fairy stories enables them to recover, or regain, a clear view of life, and to recover realities not recognized by those who limit reality to material objects…Tolkien says that spending time in an Other-world enables us as we return to see the everyday world renewed, noticing new mystery and complexity in creatures and objects we were taking for granted. (p. 29).

A fairy story is not “untrue”: “the peculiar quality of the joy in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth” on which the fairy story is constructed. It shows us “a far-off gleam or echo of evangelium” in an imaginary world and helps us recover that gleam in the everyday world we inhabit (p. 30). (Quoting a Tolkien lecture “On Fairy Stories” that Lewis edited for print.)

That just perfectly encapsulated for me the appeal of fairy tales.

Schakel also makes a compelling argument for reading the books in publication order rather than story order, going through first impressions and mentions of things in the first book of each order (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is the first in publication order and The Magician’s Nephew is the first in the chronology of the story) and comparing them. Reading LWW first seems to me to enhance the imagination and mystery and gradual discovery of the series.

I enjoyed reading the sections on each book as well. The chapter on Prince Caspian in particular brought out insights I had missed in the book. I had noted the place where Lucy was called to follow Aslan whether anyone else saw him or followed, but I had overlooked multiple references to believing vs. seeing — King Miraz suppressing the truth of Old Narnia to the point where the dwarves and other thought them mere myths, Caspian’s nanny and tutor believing and sharing, the discovery of relics that helped prove Old Narnia and the High Kings and Queens existed (and some, like Trumpkin, needing even further evidence before believing.) Schakel writes, “In Lewis’s thinking, the old adage must be reversed: Believing is seeing. Those who believe are able to see; those who do not believe cannot see” (p. 55). And, “In a story whose theme has been belief and trust, the decisive incidents, ironically, proceed through a series of violations of trust: the insubordination and rebellion of Nikabrik, the treachery of Glozelle and Sopespian in goading Miraz to fight and in attacking the Narnians before the combat has ended, and the infidelity of Glozelle in stabbing the fallen Miraz in the back” (p. 57). “The theme of this story, the quality that gives the book its distinctive flavor, is not that of heroism, the reliance on human efforts, but that of trust, of handing everything over and relying on Another” (p. 59). Caspian had been my least favorite of the first three books, but this discussion of it gave me a new appreciation for it.

Although the Chronicles of Narnia are highly enjoyable in themselves, this book enhanced by enjoyment and understanding of them even more. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series and this book next year. Yes, I know I could go ahead and read them all now, but having devoted most of one month to Narnia, I need to move on to other things, and I’ll wait to devote another month to the rest of the series. And like Lucy and Edmund at the beginning of Voyage of the Dawn-Treader, I’ll occasionally cast my eyes on things that remind me of Narnia and long for the day when I can return.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

Carrie’s Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge ends today, so I thought I’d summarize what I read for it and a few thoughts on the experience.

At first I only committed to reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe because I had so many other books stacked up to read. But I had forgotten that the books aren’t that long and read fairly quickly, and, after all, once you visit Narnia, you can’t wait to go back!

I ended up not getting started til about the tenth of the month due to finishing up a couple of other books. If I had started right at the beginning I may have completed the whole series. But as it was, here is what I finished (links are to my reviews/thoughts) along with one other challenge-related post:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Prince Caspian.

Voyage of the Dawn-Treader.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Graphic Novel.

Narnian Magic (not a book, but a hammering out of my thoughts on the use of magic in the series.)

As you can tell, I am reading them through in publication order rather than story order. That seems to be a big debate these days, but I can’t imagine rediscovering them with anything other than LWW first. And I like reading them in more or less the order Lewis created them (though they may not have been published in the order written) and the public first discovered them.

I’m also part-way through The Way Into Narnia: A Reader’s Guide by Peter Schakel. I am going to save the rest of it for next time because it does have a chapter on each of the books and I don’t want to read those until I have read those books. But the first chapters have been delightful: one is a short biography of C. S. Lewis and the influences in his life that contributed to and may have led to his writing the Chronicles and the other has to do with expressing truth through fairy tales. Two of my favorite quotes are:

Fairy stories appeal to some adults and some children because the escape gained through fairy stories enables them to recover, or regain, a clear view of life, and to recover realities not recognized by those who limit reality to material objects…Tolkien says that spending time in an Other-world enables us as we return to see the everyday world renewed, noticing new mystery and complexity in creatures and objects we were taking for granted. (p. 29).

A fairy story is not “untrue”: “the peculiar quality of the joy in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth” on which the fairy story is constructed. It shows us “a far-off gleam or echo of evangelium” in an imaginary world and helps us recover that gleam in the everyday world we inhabit (p. 30). (Quoting a Tolkien lecture “On Fairy Stories” that Lewis edited for print.)

(Update: My discussion of The Way Into Narnia is here.)

My only disappointment connected with the challenge is that I ordered a set of the series — I wanted to read my own rather than the library’s — but the box that was supposed to house the set arrived broken. So I am going to send it back and look locally for the series, and meanwhile I did use library books again this time, but that was no problem.

I so enjoyed revisiting this series. I like that the challenge immerses me in the series all at once, just as Carrie‘s Lucy Maud Montgomery challenge did earlier this year. I’m thinking I need to do this one month with Laura Ingalls Wilder and another month with Louisa May Alcott as well some time. As much as I love reading new books, and have so many stacked up to get to, I love revisiting these old friends and remembering why I loved them in the first place.

I discovered this book on my shelves while looking for another Narnia-related book. I don’t remember where and when I bought it or whether I ever read it to the children (I’ll have to ask them if they remember it). I didn’t remember it at all until after I read it through again.

Even though the Amazon listing calls this book a graphic novel, the book itself doesn’t have that designation anywhere on it. Perhaps they added that onto it later to make it current and trendy? I don’t know.

It is bound like a book but the illustrations, though not what I would call comic-bookish themselves, are laid out in something of a comic book or graphic novel style. I tried to get a few examples: Please forgive my fingertips in the pictures trying to hold the book open.

The book is abridged and illustrated by Robin Lawrie and was published in 1993. It appears to be out of print though I did find used copies on the Amazon and B&N sites.

I thought the illustrations themselves were lovely and far above what we think of as a comic book style. And I appreciated that many passages were straight from the books though of course many parts were summarized and several scenes left out at the book is only 64 pages.

To many of us the thought that our beloved classic fairy tale has been reduced to a graphic novel  invokes an initial reaction of horror. But we wouldn’t have the same reaction if it were called an abridged illustrated children’s version, which it could be called in one sense. Graphic novels seem to have a connotation of luridness about them though I don’t know if they truly are: my boys read a few when they were younger but were never obsessed by them, and the ones we read were fine though one shop that sold them was creepy. Too, I have no objection to good books being translated into this style for those who do read them. If there are people who only read graphic novels, why not give them a good choice of material?

Though I’d rather read to my children or have them read the full book version for all its richness, if I had one who didn’t particularly enjoy reading or was into graphic novels, I wouldn’t hesitate to let them read this version.

I do wrestle with whether I would use something like this to introduce the books. (My boys are older now so it is a moot question until grandkids come along except for philosophizing). I think I’d still rather have them read the books first and then show them something like this afterward, but I can picture letting a small child look through this while the rest of the family read the books out loud. Knowing the story, I enjoyed looking through this summary and the illustrations.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button.

Since last time I have finished:

No Distance Too Far, Book 2 in the Home to Blessing series by Lauraine Snelling, about a young female doctor in the early 1900s trying to discern whether she is called to Africa, reviewed here.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis, reviewed here.

Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis, reviewed here.

Voyage of the Dawn-Treader by C. S. Lewis, reviewed here.

A graphic novel of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe abridged and illustrated by Robin Lawrie. I just finished this last night and haven’t reviewed it. It’s beautifully illustrated and not hard to read in one sitting, so it may be a good introduction for young readers who are more visually oriented. I’m still wrestling with whether I’d want my children to see this first or the novels. I do appreciate that it uses much of the original text rather than changing the language.

Gospel Meditations For Women by Chris Anderson and Joe Tyrpak, about a 32-page booklet. Excellent.

I’m currently reading The Way into Narnia: A Reader’s Guide by Peter Schakel and Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job by Layton Talbert.

Next, depending on how long Way Into Narnia takes, I may try to read The Silver Chair by Lewis if I think I can do so before Carrie‘s Narnia Reading challenge ends this week. Next up after that is A Heart Most Worthy by Siri L. Mitchell, and I’d like to go through Gospel Meditations For Men with my son. After that I’m not sure — I have several books stacked up to choose from.

Happy Reading!

I love the way Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis begins: “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrub, and he almost deserved it.” Eustace is an obnoxious cousin of the Pevensie children of the previous Chronicles of Narnia books. Lucy and Edmund are having to stay with Eustace’s family while their parents and Susan are in America and oldest brother Peter is preparing for an exam with the professor in whose house LWW took place.

It’s been a year since their last visit to Narnia, and they’re missing it and reminiscing about it in Lucy’s room when they notice a ship in a picture on the wall looks very Narnian. The ship begins to look like it is actually moving, they feel the spray of sea water, and suddenly they find themselves in the ocean near the ship…along with Eustace, who happened to come into the room. The ship turns out to be Caspian’s, and he pulls them out of the water. Three years have passed in Narnia, peace reigns throughout the land, and Caspian is making good on his vow that he would search for the seven lost lords of Narnia whom his evil uncle had sent away in Prince Caspian.

Lucy and Edmund join Caspian, Reepicheep, and the rest of the crew on the search: Eustace has no choice but to come along, complaining the whole time. Their adventures, discoveries, temptations, and lessons make up the bulk of the book. And I can’t say much more than that without telling you too much and spoiling the story for you if you’ve not read it.

I saw somewhere that this book was thought to be “darker” than LWW and Prince Caspian. I don’t know that I would say that, but it does seem each major character struggles more with personal temptations.

We did watch the film version of this book a few months ago, and I liked it well enough at the time, but now that I’ve reread the book, I am disappointed that they made several unnecessary changes. When will filmmakers learn that when they veer farther away from the plot of well-known, beloved books, their film suffers?

One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Aslan relieves Eustace of his (small spoiler here) dragon skin (and that scene was a big disappointment in the movie).

And one of my favorite lines is when Aslan tells the children that in their world he has another name and “You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” That to me encapsulates the Narnia series as a whole.

Though neither Caspian nor Dawn-Treader quite measures up to LWW  for me, they are only a small notch or so below it. I did like and enjoy them very much.

(This review will also be linked to Semicolon‘s Saturday Review of Books.)