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Washington “Wash” Black is an eleven-year-old slave on a sugar plantation in Barbados. The plantation master of Faith is cruel and heartless and his punishments range from amputations to burning slaves alive or nailing them through the throat to a tree. When Wash and Big Kit, his maternal caregiver, are called up to the manor to wait on the master, he’s terrified. Why on earth would he, a field worker, be called to the dining hall unless he has done something terribly wrong?
That’s when Wash meets Titch, the eccentric, scientifically-inclined brother (and secret abolitionist) of the Master. Titch requests use of the young boy as he is in need of an assistant for his experiments. Wash has no choice but to leave Big Kit and go to live with Titch in his little cabin. At first, he’s petrified – wondering what this man could want from him. Titch doesn’t seem to recognize his fear and goes about his business. And he demands that Wash call him Titch, never sir or master. Wash is given new clothes, a real bed, and a place at the dinner table. Titch speaks to Wash like a real person and not an animal, although Wash really doesn’t know what to make of it and struggles with trust. But over time, this changes. Titch teaches him how to read and write and a fair amount of science. In turn, Wash shows him his affinity and natural talent for sketching. Wash begins to craft sketches for Titch to be used in a journal for publication.
What Titch is really interested in is the Wind-cutter. A hot-air balloon he has been working on and plans to launch at the top of a nearby mountain. After a gruesome night and a terrible suicide that will undoubtedly be blamed on Wash, the two make for a hasty departure on the Wind-cutter during a nighttime storm.
Wash’s new adventure and life begins with a crash landing and moves on to life on the high seas, and then travels through America, the Arctic Circle, Canada, England, Amsterdam, and Morocco. For a long while he’s hunted as an escaped slave and murderer with a bounty on his head. Living as a free man in Canada and after the collapse of slavery in the West Indies, he experiences life as a lowly black man surviving on a day-to-day basis. His talent for natural sketches brings him back into the sciences through a lucky connection and his journey begins anew.
After I read Washington Black, I thought simply that it was a fun and very unexpected adventure. It wasn’t until I dwelt on Wash and Titch later on when I made the connection, when I saw the similarities. Both characters are searching for someone, seeking acknowledgement and love. Both are dismayed at what they find, one walking out into a snowstorm – the other into a sandstorm. Both have periods of wandering listlessness, and both are pulled by science toward the ends of these periods. Both have a strong sense of familial grief and regret.
Titch and Wash are driven by the same needs and desires, the same egotism that leads them to their final disappointment and a bit of irony. It is here where Esi Edugyan reveals the nature of man, naked and disrobed from societal markings. These are two completely different men with a similar journey in life and when it comes down to it, the same emotional needs drive them. An absolutely brilliant feat of literary architecture.
Titch isn’t a character built around a “white savior” complex although it seemed that way for a bit. Even Wash had his own accusations.
“You took me on because I was helpful in your political cause. Because I could aid in your experiments. Beyond that I was of no use to you, and so you abandoned me.” I struggled to get my breath. “I was nothing to you. You never saw me as equal. You were more concerned that slavery should be a moral stain upon white men than by the actual damage it wreaks on black men.”
But this wasn’t the case, in my opinion. At the end, I didn’t see Titch in the way Washington felt in the above sentiment – I saw Titch as a human who was driven by ego, the desire to be loved by his father, and grief over his cousin, just as Washington was driven by his ego, the desire to be cared about by Titch, and grief over Big Kit.
The prose are simply gorgeous and often poetic. And the writing style is comfortable, enticing. And, of course, you have an adventure beginning with a great escape by hot air balloon. What’s not to like?
Washington Black
by Esi Edugyan
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Lale Sokolov was a young Slovakian Jewish man who faced an ultimatum. One day it was declared that each Jewish family submit one male to work for the Germans or risk having everyone in the family taken. Lale is not the oldest but he doesn’t have children, and so he goes on behalf of his family. Unfortunately, he is not sent to work. He is sent to a concentration camp in Poland. Auschwitz.
From the cattle car ride in, where lives were first lost, to the initial introduction to Auschwitz, Lale was determined to survive. After only a few days, Lale became seriously ill and was put on the cart toward incineration, but was pushed off by a friend. He survived the illness thanks to the tattooist who gave him his number. Because Lale can speak multiple language, he takes that place of the tattooist and becomes a well known figure in Auschwitz.
He and his assistant tattooed every newcomer, including women. The first woman he tattooed was Gita, and he was transported by her eyes. Death was all around him, and he fell in love.
Using his position as the Tattooist, he was able to gain favors by other people in Auschwitze. He traded gems and precious metals found on the dead bodies of Jews for food and necessities which he spread out to his bunk mates and to Gita and her friends. It was an ugly trade, but he did what he had to do to survive.
All the while he kept telling Gita to survive. And if they both survived, he would marry her. Gita was skeptical – she didn’t think she would survive. Not when they were killing hundreds per day in the gas chambers. He continued to try to make her promise, and finally she gave in. She promised to survive. To live.
The love story is believable and poignant. They are not allowed to be together and so they hide, for only seconds at a time behind the administration building. There they find brief intervals of solitude and it is enough to sweep away the heart of the reader. In comparison, I couldn’t stop thinking about The Princess Bride. At one point, Lale is taken by the SS for interrogation. Gita assumes he is dead – but he returns.
“Close your eyes,” Lale says.
“What?”
Close them and count to ten.”
“But -“
“Just do it.”
One eye at a time, Gita does as she is told. She counts to ten, then open them. “I don’t understand.”
“I’m still here. I’ll never leave you again.”
Lale did what he had to do to survive. He bargained the jewels and precious items from Jews who went straight to the gas chambers for food. It wasn’t food for himself. He shared it among his friends and fellow bunk mates. But because of what he did, he never told his story until now for fear of being portrayed as a collaborator.
Unfortunately, that was a very real fear. The Nazis could have held your children hostage under the threat of death, and you would still be sold as a collaborator in the end if you did what you had do to keep your children alive. Hundreds of women who were sold to the Nazis as sex slaves were later identified and prosecuted as collaborators. A fact which is difficult to process. If they didn’t “collaborate” and instead rejected the sexual advances of the Germans, they would have undoubtedly been killed.
The Tattooist wasn’t a collaborator. He was a man in love who defied and tricked the Nazis at every turn. He was a man with a reason to survive.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is an amazing story of humanity, courage, love, and redemption set against the darkest of times. It is a stark contrast between good and evil, and the gray areas in between we all must navigate.
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]]>Not this time. I was determined to bring the kids and take some fun pictures of these spectacular, man-made ice castles.
I just made it, too. It’s close to the end of the season. But don’t you worry. The Ice Castles are back every winter.
And they’re not just in New Hampshire. Owner Brent Christensen had been building Ice Castles in several locations since 2011. Every year, they appear in New Hampshire, Colorado, Edmonton, Canada, Wisconsin and Utah. You can check out all of the locations here: https://icecastles.com/
Gorgeous walls of ice formations are created with lots of tunnels and ice slides for the kids. Hanging chandeliers of crystal ice, several different “rooms”, ice and water fountains, and light shows behind the ice made for a magical experience.
If you plan on visiting, make sure to buy tickets from the website. They are sold out every day so don’t expect to just show up and be able to get in. You must buy tickets a week in advance.
Once inside with your tickets, there is no time limit! Stay as long as you like. There are plenty of nooks and crannies to explore, a concession stand serving homemade hot chocolate and about the best warm and gooey cinnamon buns I’ve ever had, and fire pits scattered here and there for some fast hand warming.
Visit the Ice Castles page for directions. In years to come, the locations may possibly change.
We didn’t stay for the evening and that’s when the magic happens. There is live entertainment and a constant light show behind the ice. I wish we could have stayed late into the evening, but we had a long drive home. It might make sense to reserve a room in the area if you plan on an evening experience. Take a look at this promo video.
Enjoy the sights and sounds of the Ice Castles, as experienced by Rob Wisnouckas of One Bag Travel Stories and captured by Chip Cross! To reserve your tickets, please visit our website at: http://icecastles.com/lincoln/
Posted by Ice Castles NH on Sunday, January 28, 2018
A dazzling experience for all ages! You have to check this out!
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You may have seen the movie. In 1995, Dolores Claiborne hit the big screen starring none other than Kathy Bates as Dolores – and she did a phenomenal job.
I’ve seen this movie a few times in the past, and I never realized it was based on a book by Stephen King. I’d never come across the book before. Reading it was a different experience, but because I had seen the movie, I couldn’t help but hear Kathy Bates’ voice in my head. That’s not a bad thing.
“Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman’s got to hold on to.”
As I said above, the entire book is a monologue. Dolores Claiborne is making an official statement and confession to investigators after the suspicious death of her elderly boss, Mrs. Vera Donovan. She tells the group straight away that did not kill Vera, but she had killed her husband all those years ago. She knows everyone on the island suspected it, but she was never charged with the crime. It was time, she decided, to confess to the murder, and even implicate the recently departed Vera Donovan for it was Vera who gave her the idea.
“But listen to me, all three of you, n hear this if you don’t hear nothing else: everything I did, I did for love … the love of a natural mother feels for her children. That’s the strongest love there is in the world, and it’s the deadliest. There’s no bitch on earth like a mother frightened for her kids.”
Dolores tells the tale of her early years with Joe and her employment with the incredibly difficult Vera Donovan. She worked hard, worked her fingers to the bone, and put nearly every penny away for her children’s education. She was a good mother who lived a hard life. She suffered for a time under the abuse from her drunken husband, but she eventually put a stop to that. As Dolores grew stronger and stood up for herself, her husband Joe turned his attention elsewhere. She decided to leave Joe for good when she discovered what he had been up to, but all the money she had been saving was mysteriously gone.
When Vera catches Dolores crying, she can’t help but wonder why. Dolores Claiborne, the steel rock, crying? Dolores tells Vera the truth, and Vera imparts a secret of her own. Husbands die every day, don’t they?
“I have digged a pit for mine enemies, and am fallen into it myself.”
Dolores explains how she killed her husband on the night of the great eclipse and the fear that followed her. She goes further to describe her continued employment with Vera as a caretaker for the house, and then for Vera herself who slipped in and out of lucidity. As Vera’s health and mind faded, Dolores moved in with Vera and became her sole companion. After Vera died from a fall down the stairs, all eyes looked to Dolores suspiciously. She had always been suspected informally of being involved with Joe’s death. There seems to be a pattern.
I always find strong accents difficult to read when the language is written phonetically. Dolores has a thick Downeast Maine accent. If you’re not familiar with how it sounds, I would describe it as a Boston accent combined with a deep southern accent. It’s very local, a little strange, and very hard on the ears. Reading it was hard on the eyes. Hearing Kathy Bates’ voice over in my head helped me along.
What shines through is the depiction of this hardened, strong island woman. She’s a good woman who works incredibly hard for those she loves, and she’s also a bitch for those she loves. How she carries herself, the things she does and says – it’s an amazing representation of the strength needed to be a mother and a hard worker in a geographic setting with few opportunities. Stephen King nails it. We didn’t get a weak woman who cowers at the feet of others or one who needs to be rescued. We got a MOTHER, through and through.
Dolores Claiborne
by Stephen King
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This small book contains 240 short and concise writings on such topics as meaning, reality, imagination, and time. It presents ideas and insights to be mulled over and thought upon. These fragments are both philosophical and literary. As philosophical, they present ideas that question and seek depth. As literary, they can be considered complete as a highly constructed aesthetic form like poetry.
Steven Maimes is a researcher, philosopher, writer, and principal of SALAM Research in New Hampshire. Author of Adaptogens: Herbs for Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief. Contact: smaimes at gmail.
• We are always on a journey whether we know it or not. Our journey is to any place different from where we are now.
• History is an example and warning to the future. Knowing the past helps one to anticipate the future thus enhance the present.
• The act of imagining allows us to expand time and touch the past. It allows us to play in the present and glimpse the future. It helps provide meaning to experience and understanding to knowledge. It is a fundamental facility through which we make sense of the world.
• The world is constantly upgrading. The question becomes how slow or fast do we participate? With the speed of angels does awareness change. We hold on to thoughts until the next one appears. We act with awareness or not.
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Charley Davidson is back to herself. In the last book, she had become a little withdrawn after being cruelly tortured at the hands of a psychopath, and it took a while to get her groove back, naturally. Completely understandable, even for a non-human celestial being of light with extraordinary healing powers. Had to just, um, throw that in there. In Fifth Grave Past the Light, Charley is on top of her game and it opens with her on a stake out trying to catch a philandering husband in action.
Charley Davidson is a private investigator and also the Grim Reaper, although she doesn’t know everything (yet) that goes along with that job. She’s a beacon of light to all that have passed and are wandering. They pass through her to get to the other side and sometimes, she helps them along. Sometimes, she also helps solve their murders. That’s what makes her a great PI.
At the end of the last book, she solved four huge cases – all in one day. People who weren’t paying attention before are shadowing her now. She’s been helping her father solves crimes since she was four, but now she’s drawn a little too much attention to herself. But when there are crimes to solve, that’s where Charley’s priorities are. Who cares if the big dogs are getting suspicious? Especially now that there are no less than 27 terrified dead women in Charley’s apartment. Well – their souls, not the bodies.
Each of the Charley Davidson books has presented a number of different mysteries. Some are ongoing, but most are wrapped up in each book. In Fifth Grave Past the Light, Charley searches for a serial killer on the loose who has killed at least 27 blond women and children, has a hunch on a local, serial arsonist, and has a mystery to solve with a dead-non-dead nurse who should be dead but isn’t. Her sister Gemma might be in danger, her boyfriend (the Son of Satan) has an ever-growing fan club of smitten women, her friend Garret has some interesting stories from his time in hell and a heart-to-heart with the Fallen One, and someone is out to kill Charley (again).
The romance in this series has turned a number of people off – and a number of people turned on. In the first book, there was the threat of rape and that was difficult to overlook. Abuse is not affection. Although Reyes has never raped nor hurt Charley in this way, his verbiage comes across as abusive. I’m able to overlook this because of the context. He’s a literal demon. Second in command of the vast legions of the underworld. He has flaws. The steamy sex scenes are a little too much for me and I tend to skim them. There’s not enough of a mental connection for me; it’s all heat and physicality. But I do love how their relationship has developed. He can still be a jerk, but Charley puts him in his place every time. And he remains her loyal guardian and protector. The failed assassin from hell who fell in love.
While the romance isn’t my favorite part, everything else is too good to not be vested. I love how these books have multiple mysteries, multiple plots points. And some mysteries continue from book to book like Mr. Wu – the dead guy who hangs out in a corner of Charley’s apartment, the mysterious nature of Charley’s other-worldliness, and what Satan is planning to do. Fifth Grave Past the Light keeps the story moving, the mysteries suspenseful, and the supernatural world growing with war on the horizon. I can’t wait for the next book.
Fifth Grave Past the Light
by Darynda Jones
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]]>Lawrence Millman’s The Book of Origins is a rattle-your-brains collection of tales in the tradition of George Carlin, Jonathan Swift, and Italo Calvino, but not Jane Austen or Henry James. It is a celebration of an increasingly rare phenomenon — political incorrectness. In its pages, you will learn about a highly moral man who refuses to marry his grandmother, God’s failure as a Supreme Being and his subsequent retirement, a man given a prison sentence for writing a novel, a highly moral young man who refuses to marry his grandmother, the kickboxing competition of God and Satan, Harry Potter’s afterlife as a used car salesman. a U.S. president who decides to attack other countries because he’s horny, a barely educated Middle American who’s offered the Nobel Prize in Physics, and numerous other undocumented incidents in our planet’s history.
Lawrence Millman is an established author, having written sixteen other novels, all varying in eclectic genres and is a resident of Cambridge, MA.
Author’s Website: lawrencemillman.com
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The premise begins with a human expedition on a barren planet. There they find a treasure beyond all measure. It is a hidden library of information thought to be billions of years old with no known origins. The humans set up a colony and begin to explore the vast computer library hoping to find new technology they can profit from. Instead, they awaken a Blight, an artificial intelligence from the Transcend that has the power to destroy worlds, galaxies, and beyond. It has happened before. Just before the Blight is fully aware, the humans realize what they have created and rush to evacuate. Two ships leave the planet in haste. One is destroyed by the Blight, the other, filled with children in sleep stasis, escapes.
The ship nearly crash lands on a planet in the Slow Zone and is quickly attacked by a native race. The ship’s pilot and caretakers had been a family of four. The mother and father were killed in the attack, but the two children were taken prisoner by two opposing groups of the same race. The Tines are an intelligent doglike species with long necks who are in a medieval period of society. Individuals are composed of packs sharing a hive mind. One personality might have five or six ‘dogs’, another may have more. Removal of one member marks a decrease in intelligence and possible personality death. For the most part, a pack (representing one individual) is highly intelligent.
Ravna Bergsndot is the equivalent of an intergalactic librarian working at a communications Relay in the Beyond and is the only human there. She has heard of the Blight and about the humans who caused it, and that it is spreading. It is such a dangerous issue that even a Transcendant (think super intelligent aliens with Godlike powers who never bother with the rest of the known Universe) who calls himself the “Old One” has come down from the Transcend to use their Relay to study it in a frantic way. Ravna intercepts an SOS message coming from one of the survivors who landed on the Tines’ planet and she realizes that this is one of the two ships that escaped the Blight.
She has a hunch. It seems like the Blight is looking for something desperately. It destroyed one ship that tried to leave – why? Ravna theorizes that the ship might contain something that can destroy the Blight. She must begin communications with a child who is held hostage on a foreign planet and work to find a way to rescue them and their ship. She is getting close, and so is the Blight. Without warning, the Blight attacks Relay and destroys the entire hub. It also destroys Old One. A Blight that can destroy a God is not something to be taken lightly.
Ravna escaped within seconds on a ship that isn’t quite finished. She’s accompanied by the human vessel the Old One had used – a resurrected human named Pham – and two Skroderiders, a treelike species who are mobile through the use of an electronic cart. With the fate of the Universe at stake, and the annihilation of all humans in motion, they venture out into the Slow Zone to rescue the children and hopefully recover an artifact that can destroy the Blight. But everyone and everything in the Universe is hot on their trail.
Getting into the book is the hard part. Vernor Vinge is the master of “Show, Don’t Tell” and this is where it can get a little dicey. In the very beginning, when we meet the Tines and the humans are attacked, it is really difficult to understand what is going on, especially with the nature of the Tines. Nothing is explained – ever. You learn by reading, and the confusion can be extreme. I had to reread several passages in the first hundred or so pages multiple times while I grappled with the hive mind nature, finally realizing that each individual Tine has five or six members. I eventually cheated and looked up the description of the races. Naturally, I felt a little let down by my reading comprehension skills.
Once you get it, though, you’re in. And once you’re in, you’re not coming out. It’ll grab you and keep you up all night long.
There are a number of fascinating concepts in A Fire Upon the Deep. First are the Zones which dictate technology speed and intelligence. There is the Unthinking Depths where there is virtually no intelligent life, the Slow Zone (where Earth is) where technology and communications are exceptionally slow and could take years to escape even with a warp drive, the Beyond where most intelligent and technologically advanced societies live and mingle, and the Transcend which is limited to the Transcendents – super-intelligent beings. In a Universe where many intelligent beings are mixed with technology, literally spliced with it, venturing into the Slow Zone could spell death. And a Blight that controls technology can wipe out entire civilizations in the blink of an eye.
Another great concept is the Net. I suppose it’s not really a “new” concept, and hey – it already exists. It’s the description of the message boards that Ravna is constantly monitoring to find out news about the Blight which I relished. A somewhat nefarious, universal, interplanetary 4Chan. Also known as The Net of a Million Lies, it provides information from both reputable and popular posters who hold a lot of sway. One particular poster begins to associate the Blight with humans only. As his posts become increasingly polarizing and antagonistic, she feels a Universe of intelligent beings becoming radicalized by his propaganda. It isn’t long before humans are the center target of an universal genocide.
“Death to Vermin.”
The depictions of different alien races are also fascinating. The treelike creature who ride on carts and have foggy memories, warmongering butterflies, and elephantlike mechanics. But the best and fullest description belong to the Tines. It isn’t just their physical characteristics that make this story so great – it is their entire medieval society. They are violent and rash, perform complicated surgeries without anesthetics, lack indoor plumbing, have elaborate castles and military units, and fight for dominance. The sudden introduction of modern technology has the Tines spellbound. Over many months, the Tines learn new concepts through computers, new languages, and how to build deadly new weapons.
A Fire Upon the Deep is a stunning adventure through time and space that will compel you to gaze up at those stars and wonder what the hell is out there.
A Fire Upon the Deep
by Vernor Vinge
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]]>Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m.
There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit.
We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.
Understood? Then let’s begin…
How can any avid reader possibly walk away from this?
Aiden Bishop wakes up in an unfamiliar body with an unfamiliar name. He has no idea who he is. He wakes alone, bleeding, and in the woods with a name on the tip of his tongue – Anna. After witnessing what he thinks is a murder, he is pointed in the direction of a crumbling manor called Blackheath. Much to his surprise, everyone there seems to know him. He’s convinced he has amnesia but in the meantime, he directs the people he finds to the location where he believes a woman had been killed, while he in turn tries to regain his memory.
Alas, his memory doesn’t come. What does arrive is someone dressed as a plague doctor. The creepy costumed man explains to Aiden that he is a guest of Blackheath. And at 11:00 pm, Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered. Each day, he will wake in a new body, inhabit a new guest, to search for the murderer. If he is able to discover the murderer, he will be released. If he cannot, the eight days will repeat itself, and his memories will be wiped clean only to start all over again.
Blackheath is a crumbling manor owned by the Hardcastles and they have invited a number of guests to celebrate in a grand masquerade. The outward appearance suggests a celebration in honor of their daughter Evelyn’s engagement. But the guests know better. The ball is to commence on the exact anniversary of their son’s death, and all the guests that have been invited had been at the manor when their son was murdered nineteen years prior. It’s creepy and morbid, and suggests something dangerous on the horizon.
And now their daughter Evelyn is about to be murdered. Someone has it in for the Hardcastles.
A guest list is provided and each day, Aiden wakes up in a new body. Trying as best he can to learn about each of the guests, and the body he inhabits, he searches for clues to find the killer and escape this madness. But finding the killer won’t be easy, especially because he’s not the only interloper. There are others who are also trapped in bodies at Blackheath who are also looking for the killer. The one who finds the killer first gets to leave. Unfortunately, Aiden has no idea who the others could be, except for the one called Anna whose name was on the tip of his tongue when he first woke up. Anna could be an ally or an enemy. But there’s more. There are also others out to kill him disguised as footmen in servitude.
If you combined an Agatha Christie style mystery, the board game Clue, Groundhog Day, and Sisyphus, you would get The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.
There are several mysteries in The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. The first is the murder of the Hardcastle’s son that took place nineteen years ago because it is almost certainly related to the upcoming murder of their daughter. The obvious next mystery is who is going to kill Evelyn and why. Moving on to strange predicament of Aiden Bishop: Who are the other interlopers? Who is Anna? Why are the footman trying to kill him? Who is the plague doctor? And why on earth is he stuck in this Sisyphean hell?
Aside from the small blurb on the dust jacket, the reader knows about as much as the main character. We have no idea who Aiden truly is, why he’s there, or who the enemies are. We begin to unravel the mysteries along with Aiden with no hint, clues, or viewpoints from other characters. It’s a confusing story line and highly complex with a large number of playable characters.
The mystery compels the reader to keep turning pages resulting in a reader’s version of the raging all nighter. And I couldn’t put this one down. Yet, in the end, I was admittedly dissatisfied. While the mystery of the Hardcastles is a wonderfully constructed murder plot worthy of a Poirot episode, the nature of Aiden’s plight and the plague doctor isn’t given enough retrospect. I wanted to know more about who Aiden really is/was, about the plague doctor, about the “before”… but everything of consequence in these matters are dropped.
This might hint at a second book in the works. If that’s the case – hold the front door, I’m in! But if we’re left with this end, and so many holes, I can’t fully recommend it. However, I seem to be in the minority. The favorable reviews on GoodReads are pouring in and mystery readers are going crazy for The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. So if you’re a mystery lover, dive right in – the water’s chilling.
The 7½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
by Stuart Turton
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]]>by LC Van Savage
BeachHouse Books
Paperback
388 pp
Queenie ( Science and Humanities Press/ Beach House Books) is a compelling semi-autobiographical page-turner about first love, heartbreak, betrayal and personal growth – all subjects central to a high school reader. Additionally, the novel addresses the social issues of bullying, and class and racial discrimination. Hence, it is educative as well as entertaining.
Protagonist Courtenay Walcott was born into money – lots of it. In her early teens, her wealthy lifestyle is torn from her. Suddenly forced to spend her days among the “lower classes”, she is continually disdained and mocked. Now out of her social element, she strains to maintain a balance between two very different worlds, survives a severe beating, endless harassment and constant humiliation. Perhaps most searing is watching her ethical and emotional battle to fit in with elements of society she has been trained to scorn. A shocking, vicious family scandal finally opens her eyes to the true goodness of the “Not of our Kind, Dear” people. This is a cogent story of awakening, realization and maturing.
“I don’t have a lot of time to read other people’s books, but this is a great book. I never stopped reading until the last page. The story brought me back to my own high school years. You nailed it. This is one terrific book and is very well written, and you know perfectly well it should be a movie! GET IT DONE!”
– Charlie Wing, author of over 20 books and Physical Oceanographer
“… beautifully detailed. I could not put it down and cannot recommend it more highly… it’s a great read for all ages. Queenie is a great story and a great book!”
Dr. John Cook,
88 FM Public Radio for the Rio Grande Valley“…you brought the era alive for me. I was there. Your attention to detail is remarkable. You have a great gift. Get Queenie’s story out there; she wants it told.
– Luthera Dawson, prolific Maine author, speaker & raconteur
Author LC van Savage hosted a local TV show on Maine Public Broadcasting Network for 15 years called “Incredible MAINE” where she traveled with her crew all over the state to film unique shows about Maine, her people and the things they do; she never ran out of show ideas! These shows appeared every Saturday morning at 10:30 AM on MPBN. She also had a weekly radio show for three years called “Senior Moment” broadcast from Bowdoin College and in total hosted four different radio interview shows over the years.
Her column “LC’s Take” appeared in the Times Record in Brunswick, Maine for over 30 years, and was also featured weekly in The Coastal Journal out of Bath, Maine for ten years. Her stories and essays also appear in the Maine Seniors Magazine.
A collaborative writer as well, van Savage wrote a book with Marilyn Monroe’s first husband (Jim Dougherty ) entitled, To Norma Jean with Love, Jimmie, featured on E!, TV Guide, The Larry King Show and Bill Green’s Maine. Other collaborative books include Dancing for Poppy, about a woman who overcame an abusive father and went on to survive a long and dangerous life, and Jan of Cleveland, a time-travel book about the 1300s and the intense horrors and humors of that era. Van Savage also wrote the biography of Virginia Mayo, a movie star famous from the l930s through the ’70s entitled The Best Years of My Life, as well as the biography of John Agar, Shirley Temple’s first husband and also a famous star from the 40s and on, entitled On The Good Ship Hollywood.
LC has had articles and short stories published in magazines, small press magazines, anthologies and books. She writes rhymed and rhythmed poetry, and has included these in a book called LC‘s Take – Poetry- I. She still does readings around Maine from her poetry, columns and books.
A how-to book called How to Paint People’s Life Stories is being updated, and includes some of LC’s murals, rugs, bowls and other folk art she has done as well as instructions on how others can do the same. She currently does smaller, one-subject personal bio paintings as well as paintings in that genre on many of the wonderful songs of the Great American Songbook (the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin etc.) and will happily be painting these fabulous songs for the rest of her life.
Queenie, her latest novel, is semi-autobiographical. Next in queue, Frances, a suspenseful murder novel, is written and awaits editing.
Born on Staten Island, New York, she has lived in Brunswick, Maine since 1974 with her husband Stephen. They’ve been very happily married for 60 years, have three sons, and six grandchildren.
The post Local Author New Release: Queenie by LC Van Savage appeared first on The Portsmouth Review.
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