Slave Girls

by Wensley Clarkson

Between this book and Witch Hunt (a book I’ve been reading since October, but still haven’t finished), I’m beginning to think that I should give up on true crime as a genre unless someone specifically recommends it.

Clarkson reports 20 cases of women and girls who are forced into slavery. Their stories range from girls sold to slavers by their parents who are then sold to “husbands” or brothels to women who believed they were making their way to a better life only to find that their passports have been confiscated by their new masters who then force them to work to pay off their debt. Perhaps the most disturbing story, though, was of a woman whose husband sold her to his friend. This friend had been finding it difficult to find a prostitute to service him, because of his well-known sadistic tendencies. After “buying” his friend’s wife, he could demand that she come over any time he wanted, and would beat her senseless. The wife eventually killed her husband, and was acquitted of the murder when prosecutors heard her tale.

While the stories were compelling, if frightening, the writing itself sucked. Clarkson needs to learn the old writer’s adage of show, don’t tell. I don’t need to hear him call a man evil and perverted a sentence after I’ve been told the man wants a 12-year-old bride to use any way he pleases. I get the point. He needs a better editor.

The Sea Lark’s Song

by Diana Marcellas

This is a sequel to Mother Ocean, Daugher Sea, which I read last spring. I’d been waiting anxiously for this second book to come out in paperback, and picked it up on our last trip to Uncle Hugo’s. I was not at all disappointed.

Looking back over the novel, nothing “big” really happened (with the exception of the last chapter), though at no point did the story drag. Lots of small incidents occurred, like the attack on Rowena, and all of them added up to a great story. Though it’s obvious this book is meant as a bridge or set-up for the next book where some major things are now set to occur.

Marcellas continues her excellent style from the first book. She maintains the story and moves it along while still developing sympathetic and believable characters. I’m looking forward to the third book.

The Lion in Winter

I finally was able to get together with Jim and Maggie (my aunt and uncle who live near Atlanta) tonight. They came by the hotel, and whisked me off to the Shakespeare Tavern (a mere 0.5 miles from the hotel) to see their production of The Lion in Winter.

I had never seen this play before (or the movie with Katharine Hepburn and Peter O’Toole), so I went in not knowing what to expect. The basic story is in 1183 King Henry II’s three sons all want the throne. Richard is the obvious choice, being handsome and accomplished in war. John is Henry’s favorite, though, so despite his youth and awkwardness believes he will get the crown. Poor Geoffrey, now the middle child, is often overlooked. During the holidays, Henry allows his imprisoned wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, to come visit. Meanwhile, Henry’s mistress, Alais, is betrothed to one of the sons (though it’s unclear which one). The play is full of scheming, conniving, and witty exchanges.

This production was quite good, though I might agree with Jim that I didn’t like Alais’ performance as much as I could have. I also found John’s portrayal a bit too over the top to be believable.

Politically Correct Bedtime Stories

Modern Tales for our Life and Times
by James Finn Garner

This is a silly collection of fairy tales updated for a more politically correct world. An example from the updated story of Snow White:

Her nickname was Snow White, indicative of the discriminatory notions of associating pleasant or attractive qualities with light, and unpleasant or unattractive qualties with darkness. Thus, at an early age, Snow White was an unwitting if fortunate target for this type of colorist thinking.

It’s a fluffy and fun, if quick, read.

Calendar Girls

4/5 stars

This fun and touching film is based on a true story. The women of the Rylstone Women’s Institute in North Yorkshire decide to have a fundraiser to benefit the hospital where Annie’s husband spent much of his last weeks. But their usual calendar of the sites of North Yorkshire generally does a woeful business, so they decide instead to make a pin-up style calendar. The catch? These are ordinary women, not the young, hot girls usually seen in such calendars.

Definitely recommended. Fun, funny, and even touching, though not sappy. It’s even more fun to think that this was based on a true story.

The New World of Mr. Tompkins

by George Gamow and Russell Stannard

In the 1940s Gamow wrote a series of stories about a bank worker, Mr. Tompkins, and his attempts to understand relativity and quantum theories. While attending public lectures at a local university, Mr. Tompkins falls asleep and finds himself in relativity land where the cosmic speed limit is not the speed of light, but a measly 20 mph — slow enough for the effects of relativity to be viewed in everyday life. During another lecture, he finds himself in a quantum jungle where a buzzing fly is dispersed into a probability cloud, as electrons are due to the uncertainty principle.

This volume is an update of Gamow’s original stories. Stannard has updated facts to match the current state of research, and has added a few new chapters to Mr. Tompkins’ adventures to introduce readers to new developments (such as “atom smashers”).

It was fun to read, though I wonder if a lay person would really understand the stories, especially the chapters containing the professor’s lectures. I had to dig deep, back to undergrad physics, to understand everything. The illustrations, though, may serve to fill the gap for some readers, and perhaps full understanding is not necessary, but more important is the feel for relativity and quantum theories that is presented.

I’d like to look up an original volume someday.

Briar Rose

by Jane Yolen

Becca’s grandmother, “Gemma”, has always told the story of Sleeping Beauty (or Briar Rose). It’s her story. While Becca’s sisters, twins Sylvia and Shana, tire of the story, Becca never does.

On her deathbed, Gemma makes Becca promise to seek out her castle. Among the things Gemma kept at the nursing home was a wooden box with papers and photos that none of the family knew existed. These provide the clues for Becca to track down her Gemma’s past. It leads her to New York State and eventually Poland. There she finds a man who knew her Gemma during the war. And he knows why Gemma calls herself sleeping beauty.

This book was very engaging. At no point did Becca’s search become tedious, and I found myself getting quite excited when she finally finds out her Gemma’s true story (I was annoyed that my Mom wanted us to leave for lunch just as I got to that part).

A Christmas Story

by Jean Shepherd

Some of the stories from Shepherd’s books, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, were used to create the movie A Christmas Story. The relevant stories are collected in this volume.

Shepherd’s style is much like the move — funny, but not quite so absurd as to be unbelievable. This was a fun, quick read, and makes me want to check out the other collections for the other shorts written by Shepherd.

The Great War: The American Front

by Harry Turtledove

This is actually the second book in an alternate history series by Turtledove, in which the USA does not win the civil war..er..the war of succession (pardon me). I haven’t read the first book, but it’s not necessary to understanding this one. The only important part is that there is now a USA and a CSA (Confederate States of America) occupying what we know as the USA.

Due to alignments made during the war of succession, when World War I breaks out, the USA is on the side with Germany, while the CSA is on the side with Britain, France and Canada. The war is fought in North America.

This novel follows the lives of several characters in both the USA and CSA during the first part of WWI. These characters range from soldiers to farmers, factory workers to political figures. The novel is formed out of small bits of each character’s life. I was worried when I came to page 50 and there had been no repeats in the characters, but the characters do come back, and we follow their progress through the war. Unfortunately, the war is still going strong when the novel ends.

All of the stories were captivating, but yet the book felt really, really long. I can’t say why exactly. Still, I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but am a bit disappointed that it covers the European Front, since I would have liked to know what happens to the characters I’ve gotten to know on the American Fronts.

Rabbit-Proof Fence

3.5/5 stars

In the 1930s, half-breed aboriginal children are taken from their homes and trained as domestic staff to save them from having to live between two worlds. Molly, Daisy and Gracie are three such children. However, Molly escapes with the two other girls in tow. They trek 1,500 miles across the Outback, following the rabbit-proof fence (constructed across Australia to keep the rabbits contained), since they know that the fence runs near their village. Mr. Neville, the legal guardian of all such half-breeds according to the government mandates, has a tracker and local authorities searching for the girls the entire time.

This was a good film, though somewhat depressing.