You guys!

Go to amazon.co.uk immediately and get at least one of the amazing selection of books they have on [unannounced] Kindle sale right now. Both books by Hilary Mantel, "May We Be Forgiven" by A.M. Homes (Orange Women's Prize for Fiction 2013 Winner) and "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini to name a few are all £0.99 (yes, that is 99p!).

So many books, so little time.

Fun Fearless Female!

"My Notorious Life by Madame X" by Kate Manning.

From the immigrant tenements of the nineteenth century New York City to the charities for orphans and foster homes of then prairie and rural Mid-West America, up to the world of Washington Square and Fifth Avenue high society (where the high society ladies face the same problems as their not so fortunate maids) this consuming narrative, "My Notorious Life by Madame X" is a gripping, clever, moving, morally fascinating and a very entertaining novel.
It reminded me of an epic novel, of a saga, story of generations. Even though, strictly speaking, it covers life of just one woman - from the early childhood till the old age - but what an entertaining account of this real life rags-to-riches tale this life is!

"My Notorious Life" is a gripping story (once you get through the first chapters and get used to the foul language of the streets then spoken by Axie Muldoon), it is full of colourful characters that you come to love, and the magnificently feisty Madame X herself.
The story is beautifully detailed, very entertaining. Every character that appears on the pages of the book is unique and by the end of the book you feel like you'd known Axie and her extended family for a very long time. The book is long and it is a pleasure to relax into it, although when the things start to stir and the charges are brought against the notorious Madame X, I doubt you will be able to relax (I was biting my knuckles, like Axie herself!).

This novel is also a great read for historical fiction fans (the book, I understand, was very well researched by the author, Kate Manning). Recommended! Five stars, as I nearly shed a tear when I finished this colourful account of one woman's life.

P.S. There are, possibly, two things for you to do now that you've decided to get this book:
1. Google the case of Roe v Wade (1973) and think for a minute that just over a hundred years ago the civil world was still at parts in the dark of how female body works and what dreadful circumstances women faced once they started to be sexually active. Moreover, it was only in the 60's of the last century that the pill was legalised and in some countries abortion is still illegal (unless it is for strictly medical reasons). Interesting coincidence here that Axie Muldoon, aka Madame De Deausacq, is Irish (and proud) herself.
2. I am a fan of hardbacks, but I would advise you, nonetheless, to get this novel on Kindle, as the book is quite heavy to carry around.

If you read and enjoyed "My Notorious Life by Madame X", you might also want to check out "The Virgin Cure" by Ami McKay.

Until the end of the world.

I was reading the book about the end of the world (which claims
that "it makes you glad to be alive"), and I stumbled upon this
paragraph:

Is it possible to love so desperately that life is unbearable? I don't
mean unrequited, I mean being IN the love. In the midst of it and
desperate. Because knowing it will end, because everything does. End.

And I thought, I know exactly what the author is trying to say.
Because I feel like this towards you. Don't smirk, but sometimes I
really feel sad and scared because I know that how I feel and how we
are together will end, because everything ends. And I do not mean
soon. I mean that everything ends, in the end, and I feel really sad
that what we have will be over and forgotten. Like, in 80 years.

And the world will end. Right. Ah, I feel really write-ey now!!

I love you. We have some time still (see above).

I love you.

What a blow :(

I hate to write a negative review, but frankly speaking, “Life as I blow it” was a disappointment. Once I started this book, I couldn't stop, I really wanted it to get better, or to get to the end of it. I am into comic books, very much so. I love Chelsea Handler, and Sarah Colonna is a writer and executive producer on “Chelsea Lately”, so I was expecting hilariousness galore.

This is a comic book for adults, i.e. there is a lot of talk about drinking, drugs and [bad] sex. Most of the stories are repetitive and not all that amusing, and would have probably be better translated to the TV-show, rather than being a published literary work. Where I could identify with Chelsea Handler, with some of the stories in her books, I found it really difficult to identify with Colonna. I do identify with being a young person who isn't ready to grow up and be serious, but the way Colonna describes the process, the trying to grow up and then the slump back to behaving like a sex-hungry teenager, it just got a bit boring. I felt I was reading the same story over and over again. I have to admit, I did smile broadly a few times, and some of the stories (especially towards the end) are written better, the storyline and the language are evolving a bit by the end of the book, and the stories become mildly amusing, for that I think the book deserves another star.

Verdict: it’s not that hilarious. It will probably appeal to die-hard Chelsea Handler’s fans, but I doubt you will finish the Colonna book otherwise.

Unique and beautiful, as a snowflake.

“The Snow Child” – what a wonderful, wonderful book. Not a single word is excessive, the descriptions of nature are wonderful and rich and succulent, and even if the story is perhaps at times improbable (I noticed a few people are complaining of that), I felt like it did not need much more than what the author, Eowyn Ivey, gave us, readers. But it is truly a pure joy to read, with a lovely language and affectionate descriptions of both nature and feelings of the characters.

I always try to make my reviews of the books not about synopsis, and I truly think a potential reader should go and read the book himself/herself, rather than rely on a summary reviews. What I feel I should strongly underline is that the books is beautifully written, it is descriptive and magical, and Eowyn Ivey’s images of Alaska are absolutely captivating. In this sense, the book is pure excellence. Eowyn Ivey truly made the setting one of the main characters, and it is the one that could be most easily admired and respected. The images of the cold winter sceneries are particularly melancholy, poignant and simply beautiful. The story, perhaps you will find, is predictable and improbable at times. It is loosely based on a Russian fairy-tale. And what fairy-tale gives explanations and answers to its reader? Sometimes you just have to believe.

“The Snow Child” is different, and even if this is not the kind of book you usually will pick up, I think you should definitely give it a try. I really enjoyed reading it, and it brought tears to my eyes a few times, and anyone who likes this type of story will love it.

“The relentless tiny taps of individual snowflakes landing on her coat…” – do you sometimes think that you could hear it, too? Something that we couldn’t possibly be hearing. This observation of the author made me smile with recognition, and “The Snow Child” is full of these magical observations, you just have to read carefully.

Do you have a credit card [debt]?

I was a huge, HUGE fan of Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, but the last couple of books left me disappointed. I guess you cannot write sophisticated stories about the art of shopping and keep it fresh and interesting for 6 books in a row.

Then, last Saturday, I picked up this book, “Save Karyn” (just because I read another book by Karyn Bosnak, “Twenty Times A Lady”, and found it easy enough for a lazy summer evening).
I was impressed. Such a trivial subject, yet Ms Bosnak keeps her story (of 400+ pages) fast paced, and interesting and smart and not at all repetitive. Moreover, there is no dream solutions (that Sophie Kinsella thinks out in her Shopaholic books, Karyn Bosnak came with genuine solution in her real life, realised her idea, cleverly administered the whole media frenzy around her web-site and universal plea for help (basically, asking random people to help her to pay her debt).

This is a true story, and because it is true you can relate easily (who have not received a credit card bill and was unpleasantly surprised at the amount owned, because more often than note the mind decides to erase memories of a purchase of another haircut, another scarf, another essential face cream or lip gloss that all of us, girl, charge to the credit card… I remember I charged some of the utility bills to my credit card, too… Not all of the items that accumulate debt are frivolous.) There is also a real life drama about Karyn’s unemployment, which really made me suffer for her.
Another plus, she did not exploit the 9/11 issue, even though the story touches it really slightly, I respect Karyn for not abusing the event, like many writers do, I find, nowadays.

And you know what, this book is also about random acts of kindness. And it is such a sweet reminder. Karyn is never bitchy or bitter, which is also a big plus. Sometimes it only takes you one buck to make a world a better place. And sometimes just a smile.

I could not put this book down and I plead: Karyn, please write some more!

P.S. Original website can be viewed here: http://www.savekaryn-originalsite.com/
I spent some time peeking through different things, it is quite amusing!

In the springtime of the year...

I have just finished pretty depressing and quite boring book by Susan Hill, "In the Springtime of the Year". I picked it from the library, I confess, because of the lovely cover. Now, after I read it, I can say that the cover is, actually, the best thing about this book (moreover, this is a re-print edition, and it seems publishers simply scanned and printed out the previous edition, not bothering to edit typos and loose letters scattered around the text).

Well, two young people, falling in love, getting married, the husband dies within a year, the girl struggles for several months after, and at the end begins to if not understand than simply accept the simple fact of death, of the circle of life, what can be born has to die sooner or later, nothing is forever, but perhaps Love and the Present Moment.
You know what, I was hoping for some moving descriptions of love and loneliness and palpable hurt when somebody you love is gone... No, this did not touch the strings of my heart. It's written exquisitely, the vocabulary of the book is rich and opulent, sometimes I found myself being tired, really tired of all the words, nice, adult, rich, exquisite, wonderful words, that failed to make ME, the reader, feel for Ruth and for her dead husband.

I read a few reviews of the books and understand this book is considered one of the finest works of Susan Hill. I read only one of her other works, "The Woman in Black", which did not impress me. Susan Hill, I think, is one of those authors who you can admire and love; devour her books, tasting every word, slow-pacing through her works, indulging in every phrase. The word "academic" comes to my mind. Or you can be left disappointed, if not slightly annoyed with her writing style. For me, it was a little bit of the latter. I do, I do appreciate her turn of phrase and vocabulary, but her works failed to move me how I hoped they would.
My advice: you are one of the two of the above categories, most probably. And most probably, you know which one. So give it a go, enjoy. Or avoid.

One more thing, there is a description of the curate's family, and it left me sad: two people, having two young children, so apart and far away and not belonging to each other, people who live together and yet do not have ability and desire to comfort one another when one of their young daughter dies. I was reading it and thinking, how some people get married and stay married and have a child, and another one... And all this without love. This is depressing as hell.
I am so happy that I have somebody, with whom things are completely opposite. And I think with this Susan Hill reached to my heart, she made me think and appreciate, and stirred my emotions. Fot this, I give the third star.