ESCAPE TO THE PAST WITH: Longbourn by Jo Baker

I read Jane Austen many years ago and was/am an ardent fan. Still, for some reason, I haven’t felt any desire to choose among the myriad Austen-related historical novels that have been coming out in the last few years. I’m not so enamored of the characters that I need to see their stories carried on. Or re-evaluated. Maybe it’s because I read Austen’s work so long ago. Or maybe it’s because I want to remember the characters as they were, not interpreted by another author.

But then I saw the blurb for Longbourn by Jo Baker. This is Pride and Prejudice as seen from the point of view of the Bennets’ servants. My first thought was: The Bennets had servants? Apparently, they did. They just didn’t receive any notice. They were beneath notice. So what do the servants think of the goings-on at Longbourn?

With the popularity of Downton Abbey, the soap opera mixture of upstairs and downstairs has proven to be compelling entertainment. Add to this the allure of Pride and Prejudice and the book was impossible to resist. But I had mixed feelings about it.

It’s a slow starter. In Longbourn, the servants seem to take as little interest in the goings-on upstairs as the Bennets take in them. Unless it is going to directly affect their lives, the characters in Longbourn don’t bother with Austen’s characters. They are too busy working. The plot of the book has to be fitted chronologically, more or less, to the plot of Pride and Prejudice because the relationship to the classic is the selling point of the novel. So the familiar major events are remarked upon. Jane goes to Netherfield and catches a cold. Mr. Collins comes for a visit and ends up proposing to Elizabeth. The Bingleys leave Netherfield abruptly. Etc. But this info, interesting as it may be to the reader, means very little to Sarah, the housemaid-protagonist of this novel, who is very much wrapped up in her own problems. Sarah’s concerns and, to some extent, those of the other servants, are the stuff of this book, not the love lives of the Bennet girls. And, frankly, it took a while before I was able to find Sarah’s problems all that compelling. It was an interesting concept, but not all that interesting a read.

Sarah is an orphan who was raised up by the housekeeper/cook at Longbourn, Mrs. Hill. Sarah is a young woman now, and has come to resent the grueling drudgery of her life and the hopelessness of her situation. Although grateful to Mrs. Hill for rescuing her from the orphanage, Sarah works hard from dawn until past nightfall and sees no hope for a better future. The difference between her life and that of the ladies she serves could not be more starkly presented.

One day, a new man, James, arrives on the scene who is hired on as footman. Although Sarah briefly entertains a fantasy of a romance, the footman ignores her. In turn, she scorns him, convincing herself that he is hiding some terrible secret. She turns her attention instead to the footman of the newly arrived Bingleys. The handsome messenger is flirtatious and charming and he brightens her days.

There is in-depth description of the workaday life of maidservants of the time period. While I admired the realism, unfortunately, reading about so much drudgery was a bit monotonous. I got tired of Sarah’s chilblains.

Eventually, the storyline does take off as Sarah tries to take more control of her life. It turns out James is hiding a secret. It isn’t just Sarah’s imagination. Sarah and James are good people who inevitably become drawn to one another but obstacles are put in their path.

The roundabout love story works. It is not a "Romance" with dances and ball gowns and high society manners and intrigues. It’s gritty and difficult with no magic solutions. No one races around to rescue the broken dreams of the poor. Not even Mr. Darcy. In the end, the most striking feature of the book is how disinterested Sarah is in the Bennet girls’ stories and how disinterested they are in her. It’s an unflinching look at the lives of domestic servants in late 1700's England and an interesting love story in its own right. But it doesn’t borrow much from Pride and Prejudice except the names of characters and a loose structure based on a plot outline for action that is happening pretty much off stage.

This is the 36th book I've read for the Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry.

BOOK REVIEW: A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler

I did it! I successfully completed the TBR pile challenge (hosted by Roof Beam Reader)–with a month to spare. I’ve been so addicted to library books lately that I’ve been neglecting my challenges and then I realized how little time I had left and started to panic. So I read The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney last week and was then so close to finishing that I pulled Anne Tyler’s A Patchwork Planet from my shelf and polished it off.

Way in the past, I read a few of Tyler’s books and always enjoyed them, but I fell out of the habit of reading her. I bought A Patchwork Planet at one of our library’s used book sales because I knew, from experience, I would like it. But I felt no particular urgency about reading it. It was one of my alternates for the challenge. When I decided to read it, I devoured it in a day.

The hero of the story is Barnaby Gaitlin. Barnaby had a very troubled adolescence that he is just now starting to shake off as he turns thirty. His family is close but dysfunctional and his role within it is "black sheep," which doesn’t do much for his self-esteem. He has an ex-wife and a nine-year-old daughter who live in Philadelphia. (Barnaby lives in Baltimore.) He sees his daughter only on the last Saturday of the month, an uncomfortable arrangement. His life is primarily defined by his job, one of irregular manual labor. He works for Rent-a-Back, hired by the hour by the elderly or disabled for various odd jobs. Barnaby is particularly good at this because he is patient and kind-hearted; he forms affectionate bonds with the clients.

Despite the fact that Barnaby is good at what he does and performs a valuable service for many people, he is underappreciated by his family. Ironically, his family are "The Gaitlins" of the Gaitlin Foundation. His father and brother sit on the board of a foundation for the indigent set up by a wealthy great-grandfather. They are credited with being "do-gooders" when in fact it is Barnaby who is doing good. Barnaby is criticized for his lifestyle and lack of money, the implication being that he is lazy and unambitious. In fact, he is very hard-working and conscientious. He simply values different things.

Barnaby’s life begins to change when he meets a woman who is practical, steady, slightly older than he is, and much more socially adept. She helps him to begin to mend some of his fences. He takes steps toward an adult relationship. He feels his life is moving forward at last.

But is it?

Tyler’s novels always are wonderful for their character explorations. Barnaby is typically quirky, as are the characters he deals with on a regular basis. Tyler explores issues of aging and dependence in a touching way that manages to be both sad and funny. The detailed vignettes of Barnaby’s daily life make him seem very real (as do his family and friends) even though (or perhaps because) they are all a little odd. And it is also very real that Barnaby’s problems are not wrapped up into a neat little package and solved at the end of the book. It has an abrupt and not entirely satisfying ending but a realistic one. The book is classic Anne Tyler and it reminds me why I find her books so readable. It’s all about the characters.

BOOK REVIEW: The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney was a 2006 Costa Book of the Year and received a fair amount of critical acclaim. I bought the paperback, and it’s possible it has been on my bookshelf six or seven years. Once again, the TBR pile challenge (hosted by Roof Beam Reader) is helping me to slowly clear the backlog of books I once enthusiastically purchased but never got around to reading.

The Tenderness of Wolves is literary historical fiction billed as a mystery. Set in the frigid Northern Territory in 1867, it begins with the murder (a scalping) of a French trapper. The body is discovered by Mrs. Ross (the sole first person narrator). She reports the murder to the town’s most prominent citizen, Mr. Knox. He reports it to the "Company," the fur trading company that has more or less of a monopoly on the dealings in that vast area. The Company sends out a team of investigators to catch the murderer. To Mrs. Ross’s dismay, her seventeen-year-old son disappeared the same morning, making him a suspect.

Another suspect presents himself by appearing in the victim’s house, where Mrs. Ross catches him. William Parker, a friend of the murdered man who is also a trapper and who is half-Native American, is immediately arrested for the crime. But not everyone believes he is guilty. Upon his release, he sets off in search of the real murderer, serving as Mrs. Ross’s guide. She is in pursuit of her son.

There are numerous subplots wrapped around this basic plot–the search for the trapper’s killer and the question of why he was killed in the first place. Much of the book is told from the third person viewpoints of other characters, alternating with Mrs. Ross’s first person viewpoint, which takes a little getting used to at first, but which serves the book well.

Still, despite the fact that the main plot involves a search for a murderer, it doesn’t read like a basic who-dunnit. There are not really clues to follow–not about the murder. There are questions about the various people and their motivations for behaving as they do. There is a mysterious piece of bone with markings on it that brings a separate plot question into the mix that has little to do with the main story. There is also a subplot of two sisters who had gone missing into the woods many years ago. These mini-mysteries intersect with the story of Mrs. Ross and Parker’s search for the murderer, but mainly tell stories in themselves.

The novel is heavy on atmosphere. The bitter cold and emptiness of the Northern Territories is emphasized, giving a sense of the loneliness. There is a good deal of examination of the psychology of the numerous characters, making for a read that is insightful, but with a storyline that dragged at times. Not all the subplots were equally interesting, but each contributed something to the whole.

This novel was also long-listed for the Orange Prize. The writing is beautiful and it’s one of those sad, haunting novels that, although not exactly enjoyable, is altogether worthwhile.

In addition to the TBR pile challenge, this is my 35^th book read for the Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry.

STACKING THE SHELVES: I bought books!

I've been on a library binge lately, mainly because I have no room left on my bookshelves. But it's been so long since I've splurged on new books for myself that I couldn't help it. I bought two historical novels.

Hild by Nicola Griffith

This is an editor's choice in the latest Historical Novels Review. The link is to the review. While you're there, you can check out the HNS website. If you're a historical fiction fan, there's no better resource!

My second new acquisition is Longbourn by Jo Baker. I haven't been drawn to Jane Austen spin-offs even though I love Austen. Maybe it's because I read her books so long ago I feel I should re-read the originals before going off on tangents. But this one had a unique sounding premise and I fell for it. So, we'll see what I think when I read it! (Link is to goodreads page)

Longbourn by Jo Baker

This is my first time taking part in Stacking the Shelves hosted by Team Tynga's Reviews. Look at all the wonderful books people are reading!

BOOK REVIEW: A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam

A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam came recommended in my library’s new fiction newsletter. Although it had a ring of "contemporary relationship novel" to it–not my usual cup of tea– the relationships were unique enough to catch my interest and I requested the book.

The premise, as I understood from the blurb, was that a chimpanzee, raised by humans, must inevitably be sent to a primate research facility where he would not be able to fit in among his own kind because he had been raised as a human. It would be a story of love, loss, and loneliness, but the twist to make it interesting would be its unusual protagonist. I approached the read with some trepidation because I expected it to be emotionally brutal. However, I didn’t find it draining; instead, it was emotionally rather flat. Other readers have certainly not had that reaction to the book, but I just never did connect with any of the characters, human or chimpanzee.

Walt and Judy are an affectionate Vermont couple who discover that they cannot have a baby. Judy is devastated. Walt wants only to see Judy happy, so he manages to acquire a baby chimpanzee for her through means that are shady although not exactly illegal. They raise the chimp as a son, not a pet, naming him Looee. They understand that he is not human, but they expect others to treat him as a part of their family. As Looee grows older and larger, even they have to come to grips with his alarming strength and disruptiveness, so they build a concrete addition to their own house so that Looee can have a place of his own. They spend time with him, but increasingly need time for themselves.

Interspersed with this family drama, there are alternating chapters taking us to a primate research facility in Florida. The facility has started as a center for research on primate behavior and psychology. The director worked with language and had taught two of the chimps to recognize symbols for words and even to form sentences to communicate. The book takes us into the heads of the chimps, particularly Mr. Ghoul, one of the chimps involved in the original set of experiments. The author puts words (some made up) into Mr. Ghoul’s head –what he thinks the chimps would be thinking. It’s more or less convincing–convincing to me, but I’m a human. What do I know about what a chimp would actually be thinking?

Over time, the facility grows. Its focus expands. There are more chimps with Mr. Ghoul and the director stops trying to get them to communicate with people and now simply studies how they interact with each other. In other areas of the facility, medical testing is going on.

Eventually, Looee outgrows his Vermont family. He has become dangerous. The only solution is to send him to a place that knows how to house chimps in a way that is safe for humans. Looee is sent to Florida.

It’s a long hard road for Looee. It’s not a pleasant situation for any of the chimps. (Understatement. A section of the book is given over to moralizing about the inhumanity of medical research on animals.) It’s not particularly pleasant for any of the humans in the book either. While I found the whole thing a curious and interesting exploration of the various "what-ifs?" I’m not sure, at the end of it all, what the author’s "beautiful truth" was supposed to be. That we are not so very different from chimps? It isn’t exactly a revelation.

BOOK REVIEW: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Our next book group book is The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. It’s been on my I-should-really-read-this list for a long time, but it wasn’t something I particularly wanted to read. I’m glad our book group chose it, because I enjoyed it much more than I expected.

Junior is an Indian growing up on a reservation in Spokane, Washington, where poverty, alcoholism, and violence are the norm. He is further disadvantaged by having been born with hydrocephalus and a seizure disorder, so he refers to his brain as damaged. However, there is no evidence of that. He’s the smartest kid in his school and a good (coordinated) basketball player. Still, he tells us that he stutters and lisps and wears lopsided glasses. Being skinny and awkward in appearance, he’s a natural target.

Despite the many disadvantages of his situation, Junior cannot be kept down. He wants to be a cartoonist (examples included), and he allows himself to dream. When a teacher tells him that there is no hope on the reservation so he has to leave before he is trapped like everyone else, Junior decides to transfer to an all-white school in a neighboring town.

Junior’s adolescent male observations on life, love, alcohol abuse, education, basketball, friendship, and true tragedy make this a touching and painful story, but also a hopeful and, at times, a funny one. Junior has a way of bringing out the good in people–sometimes it takes a while, but if there is good, it’ll work its way out. Unfortunately, while there may be an optimistic end in sight for Junior, the overall picture of the reservation life and the people he must leave behind remains bleak. And because it shows us that picture, too, this is an important book.

ESCAPE TO THE PAST WITH: A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

I should have read A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams over the summer because it would have been a great beach read. (Or vacation read since I’m not a beach-goer.) But this historical love story set primarily in a vacation community (Seaview) on the beachfront of Rhode Island in the 1930s is enjoyable enough to read any time.

The protagonist is Lily Dane, a smart young woman from an elite family who has spent her life summering in Seaview. For most of her life, she had been best friends with Budgie Byrne–outgoing, wild, indulged, beautiful Budgie who makes Lily feel staid and bland in comparison. In 1931, while in college, on a date at a Dartmouth football game, Budgie introduces Lily to Nick Greenwald, a friend of her boyfriend. Lily has been forewarned about Nick–he’s Jewish. This doesn’t matter to Lily, though it will to her parents. For Nick and Lily, it’s love at first sight.

The novel flashes back and forth in alternating chapters between 1931 and 1938. A mystery of sorts is unfolding. Because while Nick and Lily’s college romance is rapidly progressing in 1931, leading to a forbidden engagement, seven years later it is Budgie and Nick who appear in Seaview as Mr. and Mrs. Greenwald, newlyweds. Lily is living with her all-but-absent mother and a six-and-a-half-year-old sister, Kiki.

The old-line Seaview community does its best to ostracize Nick and Budgie. Nick rarely bothers to make the commute from New York, but Budgie is determined to repair the damage to her friendship with Lily. Even after all this time, Lily is unable to break away from Budgie. Moreover, she is infuriated by the bigotry of those who would shun Nick. And so they slip into the cracks of her world.

This is a fun read. The clues to the various mysteries of the relationships are not too deeply hidden, so you can guess what the revelations are going to be. Nevertheless, the story barrels along to an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

This is my 34th book read for the Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry.