book review: The Rose Legacy by Kristen Heitzmann

Title: The Rose Legacy
Author: Kristen Heitzmann
Publisher: Bethany House, original edition 2001, republished 2009, paperback, 415 pages.
ISBN-10: 076420713X
ISBN-13: 978-0764207136

When I got the fresh-covered but 10-year-published book The Rose Legacy from Bethany House to review, I wondered, why the resurrection? Then I read this first book in the Diamond of the Rockies series by Kristen Heitzmann, and I understood.

It is 1880. Carina DiGratia, a feisty and beautiful Californian, has been betrayed by Flavio, her childhood sweetheart. However, she will make him pay by setting out on her own. She is sure it will be only a matter of time till he comes to fetch her from Crystal Colorado, where she has a job lead.

But things don’t turn out at all as she expects. Even before she gets to Crystal her wagon breaks down. While she’s trying to figure out what to do, a freight hauler comes along. He offers her a ride into town, but not before making room for his rig to pass by pitching her cart over the steep embankment. Trouble only compounds after that when she discovers the house she has paid for is occupied by squatters, and the job on which she has staked her hopes is in a house of ill repute.

Berkley Beck, the town’s only lawyer, comes to her rescue with the promise that he will look into her house problems. As well he gives her a respectable job in his office – along with hand kisses and longing looks. He creeps her out, but what choice does she have? Meanwhile she does retrieve a few things from her wrecked wagon. In fact, the handsome fright wagon driver, Quillan, is suddenly on hand to help her with the salvage effort.

As Carina settles into a room at Mae’s boarding house and her job at Berkley Beck’s, it becomes evident that all is not well in Crystal. “Roughs” rule the night and law enforcement agents seem powerless to stop the beatings and killings.
Carina, the Italian-born belle of the story, charms with her warm, excitable personality. I love the way Heitzmann makes her feel authentic by sprinkling Italian words throughout her thoughts:

“She sounded like Divina, always disparaging, looking for the bad, the weakness in someone. Where was her indole mite, the sweet temper Papa had praised, calling her dolce angelo, his sweet angel?” p. 93.

Her human and womanly qualities, displayed in friendships with other women, homesickness and a love of cooking also won my heart. Here Heitzmann describes the wonderful day she has talked Quillan into getting just the right ingredients for making ravioli:

“Carina thought how it was as much an art as Flavio’s painting. The mix must be just right. Too much flour and the stuffed pillowy pasta would be dry and heavy. Too much oil and they would sag. A poor seal between the layers of dough and the boiling water would ruin the filling. She could feel with her fingers that she had made it just right. The dough had the consistency of fragile skin – elastic yet powdery.” p. 179

Carina grows familiar with the town and its surroundings by going exploring on her mule Dom. Beyond the ghost town of Placerville, she stumbles onto the Rose Legacy, an abandoned mine which, she discovers, has a Quillan connection.

That dark, mysterious and pirate-like character is fighting his own demons.  He realizes Carina may be useful to him in his vendetta with Crystal. Slowly Heitzmann pulls Carina and us into his past history in a chain of events that transfix with their action, emotion and horror. The parts of the story told from his point of view make for tension as we watch a relationship develop between them – one that can best be described as magnetic with moments of repulsion as well as attraction.

The story delves into many meaningful themes, among them forgiveness, dealing with the past, the importance of family and community, and the possibility of faith in God even when those who claim to be His followers have let you down.

The historical setting makes the story timeless. The author’s skill is manifest as she keeps us reading to discover what happens between Quillan and Carina as much as what will be the next tragedy to galvanize the town.

A re-release of Book 2 of the Diamond of the Rockies series, Sweet Boundless, is in hand. If The Rose Legacy is any indication, its new lease on life will be welcomed. I know I sure want to – no, need to — read it.

(I received this book free from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review. The opinions I express are my own.)
 

spring almanac

I love spring, which has arrived on the Lower Mainland about a month early this year.

These magnolia blossoms were threatening to pop on February 19th.
(click on any photo to enlarge)

Crocuses from February 21st.

Under the blossoms - March 1st.

How is spring treating you? 

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I also blogged here today ("Did you believe?" personal reflections on the 2010 Olympics).

high or low

You are not on a ship.

(Top view of a Vancouver Convention Centre balcony)

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: ACCIDENTAL PHOTOGRAPHY (Photos Taken Accidentally or Unintentionally, Mistakes with Exposure or Focus, Strange Photos)

curling blues (call them silver)

Cheryl Bernard delivers a rock in the second end - yesterday's game. 

(Global TV photo)

The Canadian women's loss to Sweden yesterday in the gold medal women's curling game bothered me way more than I thought it would. What's wrong with silver, I kept asking myself. Nothing, except that it's not gold.

However, I think more than even that they didn't get their gold, was the way that game was lost. The whole match was a roller coaster ride for Canadian fans, and just when the gold was within Bernard's grasp it slipped away - twice!

I prefer endings where my team wins with authority, or comes from behind and triumphs, or if they have to lose, the game has a 'predestined' feeling of loss to it from the beginning. This business of having what felt like an inevitable win slip through your fingers, not so much. (Maybe another reason I'm feeling so bummed out is because the ending to that game is a lot like life. Sometimes victory, or success or whatever we want most slips away just as we can taste it.)

But do I fault the Canadian women? Not for a minute. They gave us hours of wonderful entertainment and fabulous shot-making. What a classy foursome. When I think back on these Olympics, the focused look on Bernard's face as she settled herself in the hack in preparation for her throw will be one of my most vivid memories. Congratulations on a well-deserved Silver Medal, Canadian women's curling team!!

Now to get ready for another rock-fest! Kevin Martin plays for gold at 3:00 this afternoon.

Update: 
Kevin Martin won the gold Saturday afternoon! So did the Canadian men's hockey team a few hours ago. Canada broke the records for most gold medals won by any country at a Winter Olympic Games (with the final gold medal count at 14), and most gold medals won by a host country (previously held by Norway and the U.S. at 10).  Canadian pride is running high today. How sweet it is!!

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Psst - notice the little headings ("Home" "About" and "Index") at the top of this page? I've discovered Blogger's stand-alone pages, and posted an 'about' page in my own style, as well as an index to some of my frequent subjects here at promptings. Keep tuned for more pages. A compilation of favorite quotes is in the works, and I have some other ideas too...

sky

The Pier,  White Rock, BC

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: HIGH or LOW (Photos from a different perspective, Photos from the top or bottom of Buildings, Mountains, Towers, Underneath,...)

vancouver 2010 - our golden friday

Yesterday E. and I joined the masses of Lower Mainland Olympic fans partying and celebrating on the streets of Vancouver. We had decided to do the whole day on public transportation, and so got an early start boarding the 502 bus from Langley at 8:00 a.m. (7:57 to be technical). We arrived at the Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver at 9:18 - excellent time, we thought, with no parking worries to boot.

We headed first to the Pan Pacific Hotel (nice washrooms there!).

(click on any photo to enlarge)

The Olympic Cauldron was our first Olympic destination. As we had heard on the news, they have now designed a camera slit in the chain link so it's easy to get unobstructed photos of the cauldron.

You can also get in line to take photos from one of the balconies of the Convention Centre but since we had set out promising ourselves we would not get in any lineups, our photos through chain link will have to do.

Next we went to Robson Square. Even though the hour was early, there were already lines of people waiting to get into attractions like the Vancouver Art Gallery.

No one was skating on the outdoor rink yet but some folks were getting their thrills on a zip line (for which, again, the lineups were amazing - given how slowly they were pushing people through!).

Next using our bus passes and feet (mostly feet), we checked out David Lam Park in Yaletown. Here everything of interest was behind Olympic barricades with people going through air-port-type security to get in (long lines again, and getting longer by the minute). When we asked, a security guard told us inside the walls were sponsor pavilions and other attractions. We consoled ourselves that we didn't want to be held captive by advertisers anyway, did we?

By now lunchtime was approaching, so we walked back up to Granville and found the restaurant where our son had suggested we meet. Having got our bearings, and still too early to meet him, we wandered Granville to the pedestrian-only area of the street.

The crowds were thicker than ever but it was a good atmosphere with street performers, lots of public art to ogle, and a multitude of enthusiastic Canadians, joined by even the stores in Olympic and Canada-wear of every description.

 The Templeton, where we had lunch, is a fifties style diner known for its great food and friendly service. We enjoyed the personal juke box (right in our booth), the old fashioned greasy-spoon decor and the food (a Med Quesadilla for me and for the boys breakfast - available till 3:00). When but the Olympics would fellow-diners come in wrapped in their national flags?

After lunch it was on to Granville Island (via a walk across the Granville Bridge - magnificent!).

The Island has been transformed into a French quarter with various pavilions and entertainment possibilities. Atlantic Canada has a pavilion there and I'm sure there were more. Again, lineups were the order of the day. Suffice it to say, we didn't go into any of them but instead, elbowed our way through the Public Market, listened to a few buskers, then bought gelatos, found chairs on the patio, and enjoyed more music with a French flair in the company of hundreds of other Olympic revelers.

We headed home around 4:00 p.m. and were glad we did when we saw, on the news, the crowds that plugged the Skytrain and buses later. All in all, it was a beautiful day, fun to be out and joining in the Olympic celebration.

To really take advantage of all the free stuff Vancouver is offering during the Olympics, though, you'd probably want to go out several times, pick a different area to explore in depth each day, then get there early and join the lineup before it got ridiculously (I'm talking hours) long.

old equipment

Cultivator in retirement

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Thursday Challenge

Next Week: SKY (Clouds, Bad Weather, Lightening, Northern Lights, Sunsets, Stars,...)

book review: The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen

Title: The Silent Governess
Author: Julie Klassen
Publisher: Bethany House, January 2010, paperback, 448 pages
ISBN-10: 0764207075
ISBN-13: 978-0764207075

“For years I could not recall the day without a smoldering coal of remorse burning within me. I tried to bury the memory deep in the dark places of my mind, but now and again something would evoke it – a public house placard, a column of figures, a finely dressed gentleman – and I would wince as the memory appeared and then scuttled away, like a silverfish under the door…” p. 7

The voice is Olivia Keene, remembering a childhood incident with her alcoholic father in the prologue of Julie Klassen’s historical The Silent Governess. The actual story (told in third person) begins 12 years later, in 1815, when the now-adult Olivia comes home from work to find that same father in a drunken rage with his hands around her mother’s throat. Olivia hits him on the back of the head with a fire iron; he falls over unconscious and, fearful that she’s killed him, she flees toward a village where her mother has friends.

Before she arrives, however, she wanders onto Brightwell Manor, overhears a confidential conversation, is arrested for trespassing, and held captive to ensure that her knowledge goes no further. There she is eventually installed as a governess, wins the hearts of the household, uses her math prowess to straighten out the manor’s books and her wits to bring to light family scandals. (A plot twist in this book that was also in Klassen’s book Lady of Milkweed Manor is a baby secretly taken from a poor mother at birth and given to a set of wealthy parents to raise. Klassen likes that, I guess.) Of course, all the while our beautiful heroine is winning the heart of the somber heir-apparent, Edward.

Olivia is a complex, smart, though vulnerable heroine. Edward has his faults, though we readily forgive them. The father characters, Simon Keene and Oliver Brightwell, have good and bad qualities, which our leading man and lady struggle to come to terms with. Family members like Judith and Felix add interest with their selfish, sly and sometimes less than honorable actions.

I enjoyed the setting with its authentic-feeling paraphernalia of bonnets, gowns, reticules, horse-drawn carriages, and abigails. The social realities, with its upstairs/downstairs divisions, the need for women to gain station in life with suitable marriages, and the inability to pass on an inheritance except to a birth heir are all characteristic of the time. Klassen manages to use these elements to further her plot as well.

Klassen’s writing is brisk, though dignified in that she uses more formal language than what we’d find in contemporary fiction. A nice touch is the quote heading each chapter. These bits from 19th century writings fill us in on social customs and the common perceptions of the role that the governess should play in an English family.

Besides the theme of attaining and preserving one’s place in society, Klassen also addresses subjects relevant to modern readers. The way the Olivia’s childhood memory casts its shadow over her life brings to mind how such early incidents can affect the course of a life. The preoccupation with status and birthright and how they form self-image and define the characters’ identities directs our attention to the question, what things do we use to define ourselves? The theme of faith also runs through the story – a thread Klassen weaves subtly. What I enjoyed most about the book was its exposé of the governess life in 19th century England.

Finally, Klassen brings us to an ending with many surprises. (Some of the ending plot twists had me shaking my head, though, like when minor characters end up being responsible for some of the main action of the story.) An epilogue ties everything together in a neat package of domestic bliss.

The Silent Governess is an interesting and satisfying sojourn in 19th century England. Fans of the Janes (Austen and Eyre) won’t want to miss it. The paperback edition includes discussion questions, making this a good choice for book clubs and reading groups.

(Sample the "Prologue")

Available now at your favorite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

(I received this book free from a publicist for the purpose of writing a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.)

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 In several places I saw this book recommended to lovers of "Regency" novels. Not sure exactly what that meant, I sleuthed around online and found "The Regency vs. the Regency Historical: A Regency Expert Explains the Difference." In it Mary Jo Putney explains the difference between the two. By her definition, The Silent Governess would fit within the definition of a Regency Novel because of its date (falls between the dates 1800-1830), its preoccupations with society over passion, its rendering of a broad 'slice of life' from the era, and its carefully crafted language.   

life resumes

It's been a hectic last few days as I've been helping with the plans and then throwing a surprise birthday party for my sister. The "surprise" part was, of course, what caused most of the stress.

I spent some hours on Sunday

finding photos, photocopying 

them and putting this collage together. 
(Click on any photo to enlarge)

We were late getting started on this and when we got down to business there were a few hurdles, like the fact that sis was scheduled to work on the night of her birthday, and midweek is not the best time for a party. But I invited her and her daughter for a birthday dinner anyway, she managed to juggle her work schedule, and the midweek date meant I had no problem reserving our complex's party room.

The plan was to have her at my house for dinner, and then bring her over to the party room where her friends would all be assembled for the surprise. The challenge was to figure out a believable reason to take her there without having her suspect she was going to her own celebration.

I noticed that the 10th, the day of her birthday, was also Chinese New Year. So this was the scenario we cooked up.

- Her friend who was my companion in crime would arrive around 6:30 (guests were coming at 7:00). She would phone our house and we would tell B. that hubby had to unlock the party room building for the guests of this Chinese New Year's party.

- When most of the guests had arrived, hubby would phone the house to tell us that the partiers wanted to share their Chinese treats with us; would we like to come over - at which point we would escort her to her party.

I even went so far as to put up a Chinese New Year sign in the window along with balloons on the tree, so sis would see them when she drove into the complex for her dinner with us and believe the story all the more.


Here's how it worked out.

B. accompanying ipod tunes on the mandolin.

1. B. and her daughter came for dinner. It all went swimmingly. She even brought her mandolin - which I had requested.  (It's something she's lately taken up. She loves to jam, and we had invited some of her friends who play instruments to bring theirs to give the evening a musical theme.)

2. After the meal, though, B's friend was late. 6:30... 6:40... still no phone call.

2. Meantime, the phone rang with birthday greetings for sis from a brother in Sask. (So now the phone was busy.) While she was talking, hubby left to let in any guests. It turned out he was just in time to greet the first arrivals.

3. After her conversation, B. decided to phone and wish her twin brother, also in Sask., a happy birthday (using her cell phone this time - and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU TOO BRIAN!!). While she was working on making a connection with him, E. called from the party saying they were ready for us to arrive.

4. But now she was talking to our brother. A good 20 minutes later (and another impatient phone call from the party - hubby couldn't understand why we weren't coming) we finally left the house, supposedly to sample treats at this Chinese New Year party.

5. When we got there everyone jumped up from behind couches yelled "SURPRISE!" and sang Happy Birthday. She had no clue, was completely taken in - so it truly was a surprise.

After that the evening was a pleasant blur of meeting her friends and colleagues, replenishing the punch, organizing a little bit of a program...

Our cousins from Abbotsford sang a song. 

Someone had a violin, someone else brought a whistle and of course B. had her mandolin (which I fetched from the house) so she could pick out the tunes to all the music that was happening.

There was a cake too, 

and gifts.

The "icing on the cake" so to speak, was the late arrival of two of B's friends who had been playing at McBurney's Coffee house a few blocks away that very evening and who dropped in and serenaded us with Beatle tunes etc. on guitar and washboard.

 The birthday girl and (below) her pretty daughter 

who helped put the party together.

                          

Altogether we counted it a great success!

romantic

Romantic

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: OLD EQUIPMENT (Cameras, Cars, Tools, Computers, Musical Instruments, Rusty, Antiques,...)

book review: The Blue Umbrella by Mike Mason

Title: The Blue Umbrella
Author: Mike Mason
Publisher: David C. Cook, Paperback, 448 pages, 2009
ISBN-10: 1434765261
ISBN-13: 978-1434765260

The pathos of an orphan boy under the thumb – and sometimes the cane – of two crone-like and thoroughly evil aunts is hard to resist. That would be 10-year-old Zac, the main character of The Blue Umbrella, author Mike Mason’s umteenth book – but his first for kids. When Aunties Pris and Esmeralda show up at his mom’s funeral insisting he come home with them, Zac is surprised and hesitant. But they won’t take no for an answer and so our hero goes to live with them at Five Corners.

Their sweetness and benevolence soon turn to glares, ridicule, threats and canings. Only Porter’s Store, which Zac sees from his bedroom window, and Mr. Porter himself, who seems to have a special relationship with clouds, wind and sun, offer rays of hope. This is soon snuffed out when the Aunties forbid him to ever have anything to do with Mr. Porter. But it’s an order that is changed when Dada, the Aunties' father, realizes Zac’s relationship with the kindly Porter may be of use to him. The story becomes a cat-and-mouse tale about getting possession of Mr. Porter’s magical blue umbrella.

Zac gets to know Sky Porter along with a whole cast of fascinating characters: the put-upon dwarf Butler, the Reverend Cholmondeley and his son Ches who is a self-declared atheist, Ches’s sister Chelsea who won’t say a word, Eldy the Balloon Man whom you can hear without him uttering anything, and the terrifying Dada who makes even the Aunties tremble and who wants Mr. Porter’s umbrella more than anything in the world.

The story does have its dark side. The Aunties are abusive in their speech and violent in their use of the cane. Many of the characters have secret pasts. And visits with the evil Dada made my skin crawl. The tale is fantastical enough, however, that youthful readers will probably be able to discern it is fiction. The plot and characters reminded me of books by Roald Dahl. In fact, the plot of The Blue Umbrella begins with a situation similar to the one in James and the Giant Peach.

Mason’s writing was a highlight of the book for me – clever, sensuous and laced with big words like dodecahedron and unctuously that are explained in an “after words” glossary. Here, for example, is Zac’s first impression of Dada:

“Laying the cane across her two open palms, Esmeralda brought it near the oval of fur where Dad’s face was. From the dark cave protruded a bulbous, mushroom-colored thing. A nose. Dada appeared to be smelling the cane. Then he turned his head slightly and massaged a leprous cheek against it like a cat rubbing its scent on a leg of furniture. Zac gaped. The nose, the cheek, seemed more like tumors than part of a face” p. 115.

The story is also rife with Christian symbolism – always discreet but impossible to miss if you’re familiar with the Bible and its themes. Here, for example, are some references to wind:

“What was the wind anyhow, and where did it come from?” p. 103
“He let them (a bunch of balloons) pull him along, relishing the clean power of the wind pouring through his body…. He wanted to give himself to the wind wherever it led.” p. 14
“You are a wind lover. The Aunties do not know the wind.” p. 150

(Compare to John 3:8 and Acts 2:2-4)

 The story tackles some very real and serious issues. When Zac gets to know all about Mr. Porter and his powers he questions whether Mr. Porter isn’t guilty of a betrayal of his own. Who can one trust, and where is God when it hurts are other themes that run through the book – along with weather, of course, which we experience a great variety of throughout.

The book is nicely designed with its colorful cover, its ragged-cut page edges and bookmark flaps front and back.

The self-reading level for The Blue Umbrella is middle to upper elementary and the subject matter is probably not suitable for very young kids. However, to my mind this fantasy has classic written all over it and is one in which readers young and old will find much to enjoy and ponder.

Book trailer for The Blue Umbrella



Read excerpts of the book here.

something different

 

Princess Kelp 

White Rock B.C. July 2009

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: ROMANTIC (Flowers, Chocolates, Hearts, Lace, Red, Pink, Sunset, Holding Hands,...)

"Behold the Lamb" (Communion Hymn)

Stuart Townend sings "Communion Song" by Keith & Kristyn Getty & Stuart Townend

book review: The Hidden Flame by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke

I rate this book * * * * *


Title: The Secret Flame
Author: Davis Bunn & Janette Oke
Publisher: Bethany House, January 2010, paperback, 400 pages.
ISBN-10: 0764207423
ISBN-13: 978-0764207426


The year is 35 A.D. The beautiful Jewess Abigail lives in Jerusalem within the despised community of Christ-followers known as the Way. In her role as helper of the poor Abigail tries to keep a low profile. But it is only a matter of time before she becomes the sought-after prize of both a Roman soldier and a Jewish merchant. With her guardian not heard from for two years, will she be able to hold them at bay? Or will she be forced to marry someone who opposes all she believes in and holds dear?

In The Hidden Flame, authors Davis Bunn and Janette Oke have written a story based on events from the early chapters of the Bible book of Acts. Though the book’s main characters are fictional, this story has us rubbing shoulders with Martha, Peter, Stephen, Saul and other New Testament characters in a risk-riddled and action-packed story about the early church.

As a work of Bible fiction I enjoyed it as much as any I’ve read. Familiarity with the Bible story did make me privy to certain upcoming events, but instead of spoiling the story, the knowledge ramped up tension (much like when you’ve seen a character commit a murder and you know who did it but none of the other characters do). The book of Acts is full of miracles, signs and wonders. I felt the authors handled the tricky presence of the supernatural well – managing to keep the integrity of the biblical account while making the events seem plausible.

There was one place, however, where I quibbled with the way the authors plotted one of the main events. Linux’s life-changing epiphany, experienced as he and Jacob are returning from arena, seemed to come like a bolt from the blue:

“Linux was filled with a shame so bitter he too began to falter as he walked. His only defense against life’s bitter dregs had been a cynical quip and a sardonic smile. Now even these were being stripped off.


Then, between one step and the next, it all fell away.


Not that his troubles vanished. But their ability to grip him, to clench him and blind him and choke his heart, all this had simply dropped from his soul…” p. 287

This sudden and unexplainable change of heart puzzled me and seemed like a bit of plotting laziness on the part of the authors. To be sure we have accepted, without questioning, all kinds of unexplainable events from their pens. But this seemed like cheating.

The setting felt authentic with detailed descriptions of Jerusalem at various times of day along with the sights, sounds and smells of city life. A knowledge of the city’s layout made the action feel rooted in reality. The portrayal of the lifestyle, customs and religious observances of these first century Jews made for a rich reading experience.

I enjoyed the way Bunn and Oke expanded and fleshed out Bible characters like Stephen, Ananias and Sapphira. The authors brought the fictional main characters – Abigail, Ezra and Lunix – to life by presenting each one’s part of the story from her or his point of view. I found the historical and fictional characters alike interesting, complex and thoroughly explored.

The writing style is brisk and vivid despite its somewhat formal feel and the sometimes archaic word choice:

“The road traversing the Mount of Olives was still crowded with the people wending their way into the city. Linux and Jacob joined the silent throng and let those about them set the pace. For Linux, it was a decidedly odd sensation to be enveloped within a Judean crowd that paid him no mind… In truth he did not mind becoming mired within this motley group…” p. 286

Each main character grapples with the question Who or what of God, self, fear, ambition, bitterness, faith etc. controls my life? Forgiveness is another theme that keeps reappearing.

All in all The Hidden Flame does a great job of bringing the Bible book of Acts to life. It is Book Two of The Acts of Faith Series. Centurion’s Wife (2009) is Book One.

Available now at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group

(I received this book free from a publicist for the purpose of writing a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.)

messy

Forest boneyard - Savary Island, BC

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: SOMETHING DIFFERENT (Unusual, Strange, Rare, Different, One of a Kind, Weird,...)

book review: The Choice by Suzanne Woods Fisher

I rate this book * * * * *


Title: The Choice
Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Publisher: Revell, January 2010, paperback, 308 pages
ISBN-10: 0800733851
ISBN-13: 978-0800733858

Carrie had no idea, on the morning that was supposed to be one of her last at home before running off with Sol, that a terrible tragedy would soon change everything. But events set in motion that day led to a choice that altered the course of her life.

In The Choice, Suzanne Woods Fisher introduces us to an Amish community in Lancaster County, where we meet Carrie, Emma, Sol, Daniel, Mattie and others. We follow main character Carrie for just over a year as her life takes many unexpected turns, leaving her a wiser, stronger person than she was on those July days when she sneaked away to watch baseball games in town and got up in the middle of the night to rendezvous with her sweetheart via a nearby payphone.

Characters are the book’s strength. Carrie is attractive, likeable, impressionable yet strong-willed, intriguing and a little mysterious. Other characters, though not explored to the same depth, are also complex, interesting and varied. Fisher’s range is seen in how she depicts both Amish and ‘English’ characters with skill, capturing their personalities in actions, mannerisms and conversations.

As much as I enjoyed the characters, I found my credulity stretched by the plot. Three deaths by page 86! That’s hardly what one expects from an Amish pastoral. I had moments when the events felt so random, I wondered if all this was really going anywhere. The plot does manage to come together in the end, though, with even a little mystery to solve.

Fisher’s knowledge of the Amish – including their Pennsylvania Dutch dialect which she often includes in the conversation (always with translation of course) – makes for nice vicarious Amish experiences, like barn raisings and community feasts. It also gives rise to the humor, which comes about when Amish and non-Amish characters meet. Here, for example, Steelhead, a rough-around-the-edges friend of Abel’s from prison, makes mealtime conversation on the day prim and proper Amish matriarch Esther comes for supper:

“'Hooboy!' Steelhead continued, his head turning shiny. 'I never want to eat another morsel of prison grub. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. Know what I’m saying?'


Esther’s eyes went wide with shock and her lips puckered as if she’d just eaten a pickle. Emma covered her face with her hands. Carrie tried to kick Steelhead under the table but missed. Abel cleared his throat, trying to get Steelhead to stop talking, but Steelhead was cornered. His mind was whirring along, and his mouth dragged along behind it, spilling out any thought that passed through his head.” p. 235-6

(Want more? Read the book's first pages here.)

The Choice is about a lot more than just Carrie’s choices. Some characters are faced with choosing whether to be open or to keep secrets. Others are confronted with the choice of whether or not to forgive. The choice of whether to continue to ‘live Amish’ is also an issue. That’s not surprising as many of the characters are in their “Rumspringa” – running-around days, when they can sow their wild oats without the threat of being shunned by the community. In this regard the presence of non-Amish characters is a nice little vehicle for illustrating the temptation to leave by contrasting contemporary plain life with the much freer, though cluttered and technology-driven life of the non-Amish.

Another theme of the story is faith. Both Abel and Mattie are outspoken about their Christian faith – though they live it and speak about it in different ways. In that respect, this Amish story felt different from others I’ve read, where breaking rules like some of these characters did led to much harsher consequences. This story dwells more on the positive aspects of Amish life – like the community helping their own, and their unwillingness to judge people or press legal charges against them. The discrepancies made me wonder whether Amish standards may be not be quite as rigid as I had thought.

If a story about the plain life peopled by a variety of interesting characters is your fancy, The Choice is a good choice for you. More Amish books by the same author will soon be available as The Choice is only the first book in a series called Lancaster County Secrets.

Available now at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group

(I received this book free from a publicist for the purpose of writing a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.)

book review: The White Horse King by Benjamin Merkle

I rate this book * * * * * 

Title: The White Horse King - The Life of Alfred the Great
Author: Benjamin Merkle
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, November 2009, paperback, 272 pages.
ISBN-10: 1595552529
ISBN-13: 978-1595552525

In The White Horse King: The Life of Alfred the Great, author Benjamin Merkle opens the curtain on a time in the Middle Ages when Anglo-Saxon warriors fought Viking invaders with iron spears and defended themselves with wooden shields. This colorful biography focuses on one of the few medieval rulers who earned “the Great” as a tag to his name.

Alfred the Great lived only 50 years (849-899) but managed to cram an amazing amount of life into that time. Not only did he drive the Viking invaders from large parts of what is now England but he also revamped his army and devised a new way of defending his territory. During times of peace he learned to read Anglo-Saxon and Latin, translated key Latin texts including some works of Augustine and some Bible Psalms into the Anglo-Saxon vernacular, and eventually reworked and wrote a legal code for his kingdom. Three themes within Alfred’s life that Merkle draws our attention to again and again are his love for his country, his desire for wisdom, and his willingness to forgive.

Merkle really gets into the spirit of the times in his descriptions of equipment, appearance and manner of fighting, as well as the Anglo-Saxon customs of the day. Though his writing includes a lot of long, complex sentences, his style seems to fit the subject matter. Here, for example, is the description of the first time Alfred led his men into battle against the Vikings:

"As the two armies closed on each other, the various taunts and jeers of the Viking throng began to coalesce into a steady guttural rumble that rolled down the hillside. The deep rumble grew ever louder until that moment — after a seemingly interminable approach — when the first spear tip drove hard into the defiant sheildwall and the valley shook with the crack of the collision. Every nervous stomach, every quivering hand, every dry tongue, all foreboding fears and presentiments were instantly transformed into resolution and determination and the shieldwall erupted with a deafening war cry." (p. 56.)

How accurate is all this? According to the bibliography, Merkle, as a student of theology and classical languages, got as close to source documents as he could. Besides reading works of general Anglo-Saxon history like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and various biographies of Alfred the Great, Merkle consulted Alfred's own writings. He also credits museums in London, Oxford and Winchester for their displays of artifacts from the time.

Another nice stylistic touch is the inclusion of epigraphs from ancient literature (many of these translated from the Anglo-Saxon, no doubt) at the beginning of each chapter. The book's attractive cover (a detail of "The Vigil" by John Pettie 1839-1893), and design (chapter titles in a calligraphic font with decorative left borders on chapter heading pages) add to the feeling of authenticity. The book contains a family tree, a chronology of dates, several maps and other black-and-white illustrations, a bibliography, and a detailed index.

Though I found the prose dense and the read slow going in places, on the whole I felt Merkle did a good job of bringing Alfred and the history of his time to life. His admiration for the man is infectious and he never fails to draw attention to the wellspring of Alfred's accomplishments — his Christian faith. This focus takes the story beyond a mere historical tale to an inspirational one as well.

The White Horse King would be a valuable addition to the library of historians and casual readers. It would also make great supplementary reading for high school and college students studying medieval England.

(If you're interested in reading more of the actual book, rather large chunks of it are online here.)

(I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their Book Sneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.)

winter

Monochrome morning  (2009)

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: MESSY (Children, Natural Disasters, Work Areas, Kitchens, Animals, Hair,...)

could you do this with your books?

... Not sure I could. I've been using some oldies but goodies as quote fodder lately. And I don't need those bruises from kicking myself.

» A minimalist approach to books | mnmlist.com

decluttering

A few days ago I sat down and worked out some goals and resolutions for 2010. I set general and specific targets for myself in five areas: spiritual, physical, social, writing and house and home.

My house and home section reads:

General: Cut down on clutter and stuff I keep and store.
Specific: Choose one area to work on per month. Declutter for three hours per week (all at once or spread over several sessions.) Area for January is my office.

A big reason for starting in my office is because it's in my work space that I give in most noticeably to my tendency to squirrel things away. I have drawers filled with clippings from newspapers and internet printouts on subjects I have found interesting and thought I might write about one day. But how relevant is stuff from 1998, 2002, or even 2005?

Meanwhile I've begun filling boxes with research notes from recent projects, saving them because -- well, who knows, I might need them again. But will I ever? (I paid attention last June when at Write! Canada, Chip MacGregor told our workshop he never keeps notes from a finished project.)

I started my decluttering on Saturday. I spent a most enjoyable several hours surrounded by papers, humming along to the shredder and music on itunes. But I have many tricky bits still to tackle. The book Simplify Your Life by Marcia Ramsland is holding my hand. This statement in Chapter 1 under the heading "Where do I begin"  is my little beacon at this point:

"The basis of determining what to change is really quite simple: Keep what is working; change what is frustrating." -Marcia Ramsland

How do you maintain a streamlined life?

Haiti earthquake and aftermath - 1st hand

I just read an email from a friend Barb who lives in Haiti (not in Port au Prince, but in St. Marc). She knows the Rollings from Clean Water for Haiti and was in Port Au Prince on the 13th helping collect bodies, translating for people at the medical clinic, doing a little first aid and praying. (Her email was passed on to me from others so I don't have permission to quote it. She talks at the end of this video in happier days.)

The Rollings have a blog, where they report on what the earthquake and first few days after it were like. It certainly is a valuable perspective.

monkey bread

For a cinnamon bun-like treat, try making monkey bread.

Basic Monkey Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
7/8 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 Tbsp. shortening
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. yeast (the quick-rise instant type)

For dipping

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted - in separate container
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon - mix sugar and cinnamon and place in separate container.

1. Place all ingredients except dipping ingredients in the bread machine and set for dough cycle. If you mix the dough by hand let it rise for at least an hour before going on to step 2.

2. When dough cycle is finished, place on lightly floured surface, flatten and let it rest for a few minutes. While it's resting, melt the butter (keep separate) and mix the brown sugar and cinnamon (keep separate).

3. With kitchen shears cut the dough into random pieces, dip in butter, roll in brown sugar cinnamon mix and place randomly in a Bundt pan.

4. When all the dough is dipped, let it rise for 45 minutes.

5. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until browned. If the top browns too quickly, place aluminum foil over it.

6. When done, remove from oven and turn pan upside down onto a large serving plate.

7. To serve, pull apart or cut in slices as you would a cake. IT'S YUMMY!!

red

Starting early

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Thursday Challenge

Next week: WINTER (Ice, Icicles, Snow, Tobogganing, Skating, Frost, Winter Clothing,...)

spring clean your rss reader

Do you still read blogs? Though I have my times when I keep up with what all my friends, acquaintances and givers of free information are up to, lately I'm mostly way behind. So I just mark the whole kit and kaboodle read and start over.

I can mark all those unread posts 'read' because I use an RSS reader. I've had a Boglines account from practically the time I started blogging in 2004 and couldn't navigate the whole maze of RSS feeds without it.

But I never organized those feeds, that is, until a few days ago. I happened to be poking around on my Google reader site (which I use sometimes - mostly when Bloglines is down) and realized that I could tuck my various feeds into folders.

Now there's nothing I like more than foldering something. So I made a bunch of folders and got everything all tidy. And then I had the thought  - maybe I could organize my Bloglines feeds in folders too.

Last weekend I discovered I could. So I did. (Here's how: Just click on "Edit" then "New Folder" below list of feeds. Name the folder, then drag and drop blog feeds into it. When done adding folders and organizing blogs click on "Finished" at the top to go to the reader pane.)

Now look how streamlined everything is! Anytime I feel like reading blogs, the genre I hanker after is all in one place and just a mouse-click away.

 If I'm wondering what my writing friends are up to, I click on "Writing Friends" to see who has updated and what's going on with them. If I'm in the mood for more doom and gloom - I click on "Writing Biz" to get my daily dose of advice from overwhelmed agents and snarky editors. If I want something else entirely I click on "Curiosities" to find out the latest from the Antarctica conservation or Bible Illustration blogs.

It's changed my whole outlook on blog reading! Hey, I'm in such a good mood, I may just drop by your blog one of these days and leave a comment! (If you tell me you're reading, of course.)

book review: A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling

I rate this book * * * * *

Title: A Measure of Mercy
Author: Lauraine Snelling
Publisher: Bethany House, October 2009, paperback, 368 pages.
ISBN-10: 0764206095
ISBN-13: 978-0764206092

After her surgical patient dies, 18-year-old physician-in-training Astrid Bjorklund’s thoughts of going to Chicago for more medical training are tinged with misgiving. Maybe she’s not cut out to be a doctor after all. The reappearance of the handsome but enigmatic Joshua Landsverk complicates things. So does the traveling missionary who says more doctors needed in Africa. In A Measure of Mercy, author Lauraine Snelling takes readers back to the fictional community of immigrant Norwegians - Blessing, North Dakota. In this first book of the Home to Blessing series, we follow Astrid and her mother Ingeborg through the summer of 1903 to February of 1904.

Intricately drawn characters, a rich portrayal of ethnic, community, and family life, and a delving into the practice of medicine in the early 1900s were this book’s stand-out features for me.

Snelling fans who have read previous books about Blessing will welcome new installments into the lives of such families as the Bjorklunds, Knutsons, and Hjelmsons. For those new to the community, there’s a family tree at the front of the book. Though that's great to help sort out who’s who, I still got confused by all the sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, as Snelling dives right into the narrative without a lot of explanation.

Astrid and her mother Ingeborg tell most of the story, with snippets told from the viewpoint of Joshua (all in third person). The main characters are all complex, interesting and presented with warts-and-all honesty.

The setting is rich with a host of interesting secondary characters and the challenges of pioneer life. I especially enjoyed the description of all the Norwegian foods, the lively community gatherings, the family-centered Christmas celebration, and the butchering bee (which took me back to my youth and our farm in a German Mennonite community in Saskatchewan).

Astrid’s life as a medical intern in Chicago, with its old-fashioned hospital equipment and the constant demands of study, call, lack of sleep, and homesickness seemed equally real.

The story is anchored in faith. The talented, earnest Astrid struggles throughout the story to discern what is God’s will for her future. Meanwhile at home, her mother grapples with letting her daughter go, missing her and worrying about her. Prayer, reassurance, and guidance from the Bible and pastor’s messages help both of them. Joshua has his own issues as Pastor Solberg’s talks on forgiveness goad him to complete some unfinished business at home.

This rich, gentle story ends with a big loose end, setting us up to await Book 2 in the series. No Distance Too Far is due to be released in April 2010.

[I received this book free from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.]

photo free-for-all

A second-favorite photo: I have this thing for fungi

A most favorite: My littlest grandson (3 1/2 mos) this Christmas

Thursday Challenge

Next Week: RED (Cherries, Apples, Clothing, Furniture, Houses, Cars,...)

merry christmas eve!

Again?

Yes indeed. Today is Orthodox Christmas Eve. Tomorrow is Orthodox Christmas Day.

In honor of my husband's slavic roots (his mother was Ukrainian, his dad Russian) our Christmas decorations are still up and our outside lights still glow through the night reminding everyone there's still a celebration going on!

This Regina Leader Post article addresses some of the challenges associated with celebrating Christmas on a different day than the rest of the population.

This wonderful article called "Russian Christmas"  tells of the rich heritage that accompanies this day in Russia (where Christmas was banned from 1917 until 1992).

Russians celebrate it heartily these days.

Click on the image to view the video Orthodox Christmas enlightens hearts.

book review: A Questionable Life by Luke Lively

I rate this book * * * * *


Title: A Questionable Life
Author: Luke Lively
Publisher: Beaufort Books, October 2009, hardcover, 432 pages
ISBN-10: 0825305217
ISBN-13: 978-0825305214

Jack Oliver’s whole life has been consumed with getting ahead in his banking career. He has worked long hours, shoved his wife and kids into second or third place, and jumped through every hoop that PT&G’s CEO Chad has put in his way. Jack is the heir apparent and knows it’s just a matter of time until he inherits the corner office. That is, until Chad and the board get an offer from Merchant’s Bank that’s too good to refuse.

The merger changes everything. The new management hands out a rash of pink slips. Jack’s future security morphs into a two-year contract. His worsening performance reviews and a health crisis threaten even that.

Enter Benjamin Franklin Price – the head of a small bank in Roanoke, Virginia. He’s looking to groom a successor. Would Jack be interested in moving from fast-paced Philadelphia to Roanoke?

In A Questionable Life, a first novel by Luke Lively, we follow Jack Oliver as he navigates toward his decision and so much more. In every interaction Price asks him questions that make him look long and hard at his life and rethink everything he has ever valued. Could it be there are things more important than success, prestige, and position? Has he come all this way only to find he has taken the wrong path?

The strength of this book lies in its study of character. In brisk and vivid storytelling, Lively narrates the events of Jack’s life in first person, delving into his thoughts and emotions to make him come alive. Though the actual events of the story take place within the span of several years, we get familiar with all of Jack’s life through flashbacks. Lively does explore other characters to some extent as well, but we see them through Jack’s eyes only.

People who work in the financial sector will relate to the office politics, emphasis on the bottom line, and the climbing-over-bodies attitude toward getting ahead. The Price character, with his homey wisdom, provides a stark contrast to that modus operandi. He poses a series of questions which make Oliver, and the reader, stop and take stock.

Each chapter title is a question (“How Did I Get Here?”… “What is Stopping You?”) and contributes to the theme of the need for life evaluation. Little sayings attributed to Price appear in quotes at the top of each chapter (e.g. “Opportunity knocks only if you’re listening” … “If you only focus on what you want, you will miss out on what you have”). They too add to the theme of living an examined and intentional life.

All in all, I found the book a worthwhile and enjoyable read. Though the frequent flashbacks, especially at the beginning, kept delaying present action, those stories were colorful and full of action themselves. They certainly filled in the blanks as to why Oliver was the way we found him and gave us a context for his growth within the story.

Besides being an entertaining read, I can see this book working as a discussion starter at business and professional development meetings on topics of business practices, ethics, and company culture. Hopefully Lively has more stories about bankers and their milieu up his sleeve.

(I received this book as a gift from the publicist for the purpose of writing a review.)

fatabase - may change eating-out fattitude

Want to get really depressed about eating out? Check "The Fatabase" a database of nutritional (including calorie and sodium) amounts on menu items served in 64 BC restaurant chains.

When this was featured as an item on the Sunday evening news, they showed a Hot Chicken Caesar Salad from Earl's (1120 calories) as equivalent to two 6 inch Subway sandwiches or two Big Macs (540 x 2). Yikes - even salad isn't safe!

book review: The Power of Respect by Deborah Norville

I rate this book * * * * *


Title: The Power of Respect
Author: Deborah Norville
Publisher: Thomas Nelson, October 2009, hardcover, 224 pages.
ISBN-10: 0785227601
ISBN-13: 978-0785227601

Few of us need to be convinced of the value of respect – at least insofar as we want others to show it to us. In The Power of Respect, Deborah Norville explores how respect impacts all of life's relationships from how we view ourselves, to how we interact with family members and friends, to how we treat employees and colleagues as the company's CEO. Whether you have yet to be convinced of respect's relevance to you or are someone who thinks you have it all figured out, this book will expand your horizons.

Norville divides her discussion into seven chapters. In them she first tackles what respect is, then goes on to unpack what respect looks like at home, in relationships, in school, in business, and in leadership. She devotes the final chapter to self-respect.

Norville’s job as an anchor of the daily syndicated newsmagazine Inside Edition has given her a variety of relationships, experiences and stories from which to draw  in illustrating her points. She also cites academic journals and market studies to reinforce her message. But this is not a dry school-paper kind of book. Norville’s writing style is vivid and efficient, and the abundance of anecdotes woven throughout ramp up interest. It all adds up to an effortless and inspirational read.

Each chapter also contains text boxes with respect-related quotes of others and “The Power of Respect” tidbits from inside the chapter that underline Norville’s main points. Chapters end with lists summarizing key ideas.

My biggest takeaway from this book was a new realization of the many ways respect shows itself. For a student who didn’t know how to read it was a teacher who set him up with talking books, tailored his assignments to his ability, and so helped him succeed while saving face in front of the rest of the kids. In marriage showing respect may begin with the discovery of what your partner defines as respect. From the family to the workplace, listening is a huge component of showing respect. So is taking employees into your confidence and refraining from micro-managing them.

Whatever your vocation, The Power of Respect is full of inspiration and great examples of respectful living in action. It’s a motivational read that has the potential to change your relationships and positively impact your life.

(I received this book as a gift from the publisher for the purpose of writing a review.)

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Other goodies: Deborah Norville talks about the power of respect.