In Boxers, we see the origins of the Chinese Boxer rebellion through the eyes of Bao, who becomes one of its leaders. Bao grows up in rural China at the end of the 19th Century. He lives for the spring every year when travelling troups perform operas, full of drama, excitement and ancient stories of heroes and gods. The stories stay with him throughout the rest of the year when he performs his chores and is teased by his older brothers. His life changes irrevocably the day one […]
Cold in Iceland
Burial Rites is Hannah Kent’s first novel and an auspicious start to her career. Set in 1828-1830, the plot is based on real people and factual events surrounding the last execution of a criminal in Iceland. For those who prefer their fiction historical and who have enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s Alias, Grace or the novels of Geraldine Brooks (who is thanked in the author’s note), this is a book you will want to read. In 1828, a well known herbalist and healer (some said sorcerer) named […]
Doomsday Book
Quick Synopsis: Part 1 of The Oxford Time Travel Series. A college student travels back to the Middle Ages and problems ensue both in the past and the present. Quick Review: Overall fast-paced and enjoyable. A good read if you’re interested in time travel, science fiction, or the Middle Ages. Read the full review here.
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night
Fever tells a fictionalized story of Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary for being identified as one of the first carriers of typhoid fever. I’m a little wary of most historical fiction, but I was interested enough to learn more of her story (even fictionalized) that I picked it up. It really is a fascinating story – Mary worked as a cook for several years for several families and eventually the health department identified her as the cause for concurrent typhoid outbreaks at her […]
A treasure chest for those who like conspiracy theories
Seventeenth book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. What could one want from a historical yet fictional novel? That it be accurate when it is talking of history and that it be filled with spectacular fictional tales. In Foucalt’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco delivers on both counts. This is a book that is full of historical facts and some amazing conspiracy theories. There are so many of them, that every other line has a reference to some obscure cult or secret organization with events that […]
Metaphorical poetry masquerading as prose
Sixteenth book reviewed as part of the 130 Challenge. This is a feeler’s book. While you’re reading this book, you don’t think through the story, you feel your way through it. You are taken on an epic journey through a century of existence – subdued passions, resigned fates, a grudging surrender to the onslaught of time that is made inevitable by the mere act of existing. You will feel the layers of time peel away and color your senses with their distinctive hues, as seen […]
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