Persuasion

  Persuasion, published posthumously in 1818, is Jane Austen's last completed novel. Though it isn't as recognizable as Pride and Prejudice, Emma, or Sense and Sensibility, it is perhaps my favorite Austen novel. The writing and social satire is sharp and biting. The romance, of course, is sweet, satisfying, and the center of the book.

Description (from Goodreads): When Anne Elliot falls in love with a handsome and charming young man, she must make a wrenching decision. The man she loves is perfect in every way...except one: he lacks the wealth and social status that would make him a suitable match for Anne. At least, that is what friends and family persuade Anne to believe. So Anne breaks off the match and sends Wentworth away, but she can't help wondering: Did I do the right thing? It is a question that will haunt her for years until, unexpectedly, Wentworth returns. His circumstances have improved greatly, but is it too late for Anne?

Review: Like all of Austen's novels, the plot of the book is very straightforward. Our heroine, Anne Elliot, made a mistake eight years ago and the question of "What if?" has haunted her ever since. Anne was in love with a navy officer named Frederick Wentworth when she was nineteen years old. Wentworth was everything that Anne wanted in a spouse except he lacked two important things: social stature and money. Through persuasion and influence from her peers and society, Anne went against her gut instincts and declined Wenthworth's marriage proposal. Now in her late 20s (which is an old maid in Austen's times!), Anne has been shuffling between and living with vain, superficial, and irritating family members and friends. And with the unpredictable hands of fate, she once again encounters Wentworth who is now a renowned Captain in the Royal Army. The two are now forced to revisit old wounds and perhaps make amends.
  I absolutely adored Anne and I think she's probably the most realistic heroine that Austen created. She is logical, quiet, calm, and thoughtful. She isn't the first one to make impulsive decisions or rash prejudices against people she's met, but an observer of human behavior. Her thoughtfulness is her flaw as she over thinks everything. Though we may frown at her decision to decline Wentworth's proposal, we can understand why she declined. Without money and social stature, the two that made her society go round, there wasn't much of a future for Anne and Frederick. The prospects of attaining a future that went beyond attending balls, house visiting, and taking care of families is what Anne and Frederick both wanted. With that understanding in mind, her sacrifice of happiness leaves a bitter taste in our mouths as we watch Anne get belittled and brushed over. Anne immediately gets our sympathy and we hope for the moment where she stands up for herself.
   Unlike Anne, Frederick is a hard character to like at first. He is distant and appears extremely cold. His actions don't always make sense as he tries to make Anne jealous by being someone else's suitor, but we have to remember that is what Anne perceives him to be as we are watching the story unfold in her eyes. I thought it was interesting how our perceptions of Frederick changes as we hear other characters' opinion of him.
  The romance of Persuasion is very subdued, immersed in the quiet glances and in the body language of Anne and Frederick. The two play around the fire of attraction though their pride and resentment is what keeps them apart even though their pairing is now acceptable in the eyes of society. It is completely frustrating watching these two characters who are obviously in love with one another to come clean and actually communicate, but when they do the book soars. If you love romance and second chances, do pick up Persuasion.
 
Rating: 4.5 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended for teens and adults.

If you like this book try: For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diane Peterfreund, Captain Wentworth's Diary byAmanda Grange, The Family Fortune by Laurie Horowitz

Such Wicked Intent (Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein #2)

  Are you looking for a gothic,ghostly read that isn't overly scary for you? Then I would suggest picking up Kenneth Oppel's new series called the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein, which is a re-imagined origin story of Shelly's anti-hero. Such Wicked Intent is the perfect read for this Halloween season.

Description (from the publisher): When does obsession become madness? Tragedy has forced sixteen-year-old Victor Frankenstein to swear off alchemy forever. He burns the Dark Library. He vows he will never dabble in the dark sciences again—just as he vows he will no longer covet Elizabeth, his brother’s betrothed. If only these things were not so tempting.

When he and Elizabeth discover a portal into the spirit world, they cannot resist. Together with Victor’s twin, Konrad, and their friend Henry, the four venture into a place of infinite possibilities where power and passion reign. But as they search for the knowledge to raise the dead, they unknowingly unlock a darkness from which they may never return.

Review: Such Wicked Intent begins three weeks after the events of This Dark Endeavor took place. We find Victor and his family in mourning for their terrible loss. He rejects alchemy and complies with his father to burn down the Dark Library where he first heard of the Elixir of life. All of the books in the library burn with the exception of one. Soon visits to a spirit world and discovery of an ancient text on the wall of a cavern beneath the chateau revive Victor’s hopes, leading him to attempt creation of a replica body for Konrad’s spirit to inhabit. Of course the traveling back and forth from the spirit world has consequences, but that doesn't stop Victor's obsession nor does it quell Elizabeth's yearning to hold her fiance once again.
  This Dark Endeavor presented us with a love-triangle with Konrad and Victor pitted against one another for their affections for Elizabeth. Such Wicked Intent now turns the triangle into a square by adding another pursuer of Elizabeth's heart which complicates matters, as does Victor’s growing obsession with power. How far is he willing to go to bring his brother back to life? Does he really want to re-animate his brother? And for whom? What else could he learn from the spirit world? Oppel fleshes out these questions through Victor’s internal moral quandaries and continued scheming.
  I loved the vivid descriptive language found in the book and the further character development of the main characters. I like how Oppel uses Elizabeth, the symbol of passivity as well as Victorian female virtue in the original novel, as a three dimensional person who has her own selfish desires despite her tireless efforts to stay true to societal's conventions in his story. The conflict of interests among all of the characters keep the narrative intense and engaging. The reoccurring theme of science versus religion is done very well without being too heavy handed. While the dark supernatural powers and the back-and-forth travel to the spirit world aren't necessarily plausible, however, Oppel's great storytelling skills doesn't make us seem to notice. Plus, there isn't really much of an explanation in the original Frankenstein of what mixture of science and magic Victor exactly used to create his monster.
  Though Victor learns an important lesson at the end of this book, there is still the curiosity and the drive to see how far humans can go with science in the back of his mind that is not only very chilling but in a morbid way excites us to learn what boundaries he will cross next.

Curriculum Connection: Use to accompany the original novel.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: Mild PG language, an attempt at sexual assault, and some disturbing images. Recommended for strong Grades 6 and up particularly for those who enjoy historical fiction, horror, and adventure with a minor romance subplot.

If you like this book try: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Death Note manga series by Tsugumi Oba, Clay by David Almond, Prodigal son by Dean Kootz (an adult book with YA appeal)

Adult Mini-reviews: The Woman in White and And Only to Deceive

 I was seeking recommendations for Victorian mysteries for my Death by Gas Light Reading Challenge and was directed by these two titles. The Woman in White is a classic and declared by many the first suspense fiction ever written. And Only to Deceive is the first book in the Lady Emily series which the Chicago Tribune heralded as "Sherlock Holmes in a skirt". Both titles caught my eye and thought I would give them a whirl.  

Description (from the back of the book): Full of secrets, mistaken identities, surprise revelations, amnesia, locked rooms and locked asylums, and an unorthodox villain, The Woman in White marked the creation of a new literary genre of suspense fiction that profoundly shaped the course of English popular writing. One of the greatest mystery thrillers ever written, Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White was a phenomenal bestseller in the 1860s.

Review: The Woman in White is a mystery of the main character as its title states. The woman is known as Anne Catherick who appears as a phantom and an escapee from a well known insane asylum. Is she a madwoman? Or a victim of foul play? The mystery goes beyond Anne, though, and victim or madwoman, she becomes the key to unraveling a whole host of deceptions involving identity theft, forgery, monetary theft, and possible murder. Every motive is explored in this hefty yet entertaining book. 
 I think a lot of people have zero patience when it comes to Victorian novels. The length and slow pace are major turn offs, but you have to remember that the novel was one of the few form of entertainment at the time. Many writers such as Collins, Dickens, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote their books/short stories in an episodic fashion and were paid by the number of words written. What really surprised me about The Woman in White is that it didn't feel as if it was written in parts and hastily put together. The story flows well and it is told from multiple perspectives and it opens as if the reader is seated at a trial and the so-called crime has already been committed. As we hear testimonials from a wide range of social ranks, we are asked to identify the criminal. 
  Like many Victorian novels, the evil people are clear-cut and justice is served, but Collins also manages to his main cast of characters depth and time to full develop. While I could foretell how the book would end, Collins manages to throw me some curves and I wasn't completely bored. I would recommend this book if you would rather read a mystery set in the real Victorian period rather than a contemporary author trying to recreate a Victorian mystery.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended to teens and adults who enjoy Victorian and Gothic fiction.

If you like this book try: Bleak House by Charles Dickens, Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Description (from the book's panel): Emily agreed to wed Philip, the Viscount Ashton, primarily to escape her overbearing mother. Philip's death while on safari soon after their wedding left Emily feeling little grief, for she barely knew the dashing stranger. But her discovery of his journals nearly two years later reveals a far different man than she imagined--a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who apparently loved his new wife deeply. Emily's desire to learn more of her late husband leads her through the quiet corners of the British Museum and into a dangerous mystery involving rare stolen artifacts. To complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond matrimony into darker realms.

Review: And Only to Deceive is a charming and cozy Victorian suspense/mystery. I read the book very quickly due to its great leading, delightfully head strong heroine, Lady Emily who exudes confidence, wit, and assertiveness while retaining Victiorian sensibilities. Lady Emily is in a strange predicament. She married Philip Ashton to relief herself from her overbearing mother. Unfortunately right after her honeymoon, her husband whom she has only known less than a month dies. Lady Emily feels guilty whenever someone comes with their condolences and talks about her husband since she really has no feelings about him whatsoever. Throughout the book, Lady Emily begins to discover what kind of man her late husband was and in a weird way starts to fall in love with him until she learns that he may or may not a) be dead after all and b) be involved in the black market. Along the way we meet many colorful secondary characters such as Cecile du Lac, a Parisian of a certain age who could really care less of what society thinks of her, and it will be terribly wrong of me to not mention the irresistible Colin Hargreaves who made me smile every time he appeared on the page. The mystery is well balanced with the Victorian social mores and the sexual chemistry between Lady Emily's suitors are handled with flirtatious banter and tension. I will definitely be returning to these characters and plan to catch up on the series as there are six books already out. If you're curious at all about Victorian mysteries and looking for a place to start, I highly recommend this book. I would also recommend it to readers who enjoy an Austenesque read or a clean, fun mystery.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: None. Recommended to teens and adults who enjoy a clean, Victorian setting and mystery.

If you like this book try: Bellfield Hall by Anna Dean, What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris, The Blackstone Key by Rose Melikan , Snobbery with Violence by Marion Chesney, Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn, Agency series by Y.S. Lee