Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Water for Elephants
by Sara Gruen
$14.95

Paperback: 350 pages

Publisher: Algonquin Books (April 9, 2007)

ISBN-10: 1565125606

ISBN-13: 978-1565125605

Annotation/Flashtalk:

“I DON’T TALK MUCH about those days. Never did. I don’t know why—I worked on circuses for nearly seven years, and if that isn’t fodder for conversation, I don’t know what is.

Actually I do know why: I never trusted myself. I was afraid I’d let it slip. I knew how important it was to keep her secret, and keep it I did—for the rest of her life, and then beyond.
In seventy years, I’ve never told a blessed soul.”

Summary:

The novel opens almost immediately with the murder of August, the animal trainer for the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth.  Gruen proceeds to tell the story, from the perspective of a 90+ year old Jacob Jankowski and his current life in a nursing home and a much younger Jacob as he is working on the Depression-era circus so many years ago, including how he came to witness August’s murder.

After the sudden death of Jacob’s parents, he finds himself just 0ne exam sort of his veterinary license, but without a penny to his name.  The shock of the events sends Jacob adrift, where he winds up as part of the Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth. There he meets Camel, part of the circus’ menagerie crew; Walter and Queenie, the show’s resident dwarf clown and his dog; August and Marlena, the animal trainer and his wife the show-horse rider; Uncle Al, the owner and ringmaster; and a host of other circus workers and performers (kinkers, but not to their faces).

Gruen’s level of research is apparent in the details she brings to the story, the language of the circus, the workings of the circus, the politics of the circus, and the subtle nuances of the time, including a real Depression-era affliction called “Jake leg.”

It is only at the end of the novel that the murder is solved, and the murder identified. Gruen leaves several breadcrumbs so that the astute reader may figure out the shocking truth.

Genre/Subgenre: Historical Fiction/Romance/Mystery

Evaluation: 4-stars.

The Coral Theif: A Novel by Rebecca Stott

The Coral Thief:A Novel
by Rebecca Stott
$15.00

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau (May 4, 2010)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0385531486

ISBN-13: 978-0385531481

Annotation/Flashtalk:

Would you trust the word of a beautiful woman who stole your most important possessions?  Can you trust a thief when she says she will return your property, but then suddenly goes silent? Will you risk your career on her word? Find out what Daniel Connor does when faced with the formidable Lucienne Bernard in The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott.

Summary:

Set in post-Napoleonic Paris, Daniel Connor is on his way to study and work at the Jardins des Plantes under the tutelage of Dr. Cuvier, one of the leading naturalists in Paris.  Daniel was bringing with him some coral specimens and a manuscript from his previous professor Jameson.  On the coach ride into Paris Daniel meets a fascinating and educated lady named Lucienne.  Making the mistake of falling asleep, Daniel’s belongings go missing; he can only assume they have been stolen by Lucienne.

When he reaches Paris he attempts to locate her, when he is unable to do so, he reports the theft to the Paris police.  So fascinated by his story, the chief inspector Jagot takes up his case personally. He warns Daniel that Lucienne is a dangerous woman and he must report any contact with to him immediately.

Lucienne does eventually reach out to contact Daniel in order to arrange to return his things; however, their meeting is postponed for an urgent matter takes Lucienne away from Paris.  Just when he is about to give everything up and admit failure Lucienne contacts him again.   She returns just enough of Daniel’s belongings to get him back into the good graces of Dr. Cuvier, whom he has been putting off for over a month by saying he is ill.  Daniel begins work at the Jardines and continues to see Lucienne without a word to Jagot. 

Later Daniel learns of the history between Jagot and Lucienne and what sort of danger Lucienne is in.  Jagot is blackmailing Lucienne and threatening to kidnap her daughter, Delphine if she does not break into the Jardines and steal the Satar diamond.   Together with Lucienne’s friends, Daniel and Lucienne plot a way to secure a safe passage for Lucienne and Delphine out of Paris. 

Throughout the story we are treated with a look into the goings on of post-Napoleonic Paris as the treasures once stolen by Napoleon are returned to their rightful owners, to the debate between evolutionists and naturalists in this revolutionary time of science, and to a diary-like accounting of Napoleon’s own exile.

Genre/Subgenre: Historical Fiction/Science/Romance

Evaluation: 4-stars.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
by Christopher Moore
$14.99

Paperback: 444 pages

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; First Perennial edition (February 4, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0380813815

ISBN-13: 978-0380813810

Annotation/Flashtalk:

Have you ever wondered what happened to Jesus between the story of his birth and when the story picks up around 26AD when he his baptized by John the Baptist?  The missing Gospel is finally available, and it’s been written by Levi (also known as Biff) Jesus’ childhood friend.  See what Jesus was like as a teenager and find out how he came to understand that he was to be the ultimate sacrificial lamb.

Summary:

The Bible seems to leave out much of the story of Jesus’ life after about the age of 12 up until the time he is around 26; the lost Gospel that fills in the gaps is finally available.  As a teenager, Jesus is not feeling much like the messiah he is supposed to be.  In Lamb we find out about Jesus’ early and teenage years as he and his childhood friend Levi (who is known as Biff) travel the Orient to track down the Three Wise Men to help Jesus come to understand his true mission.  Biff’s telling of the tale makes Jesus more human than we can ever imagine; "Don't you go believing the messiah never hit anyone.” We learn the origins of why Jews eat Chinese food on Christmas, how the Easter Bunny becomes associated with Easter, and why Jesus feels so strongly about “knock and the door will be opened to you.”  (Luke 11:9 and Mark 7:7)

Genre/Subgenre: Humor/Historical Fiction/Christianity

Evaluation: 4-stars.

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustan Thomason

The Rule of Four
by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason

$7.99

Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages

Publisher: Dell; First Edition edition (June 28, 2005)

ISBN-10: 0440241359

ISBN-13: 978-0440241355

Annotation/Flashtalk:

The ancient text Hypnerotomachia Poliphili has left scholars baffled for years. It has brought on rivalries, ruined lives and careers.  This time, however, it has brought two Princeton students together; Paul is a ravenous scholar of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and Tom is the son of one of the works’ former obsessed scholars.  Can these two finally crack the mysteries held inside?

Summary:

Tom grew up in the shadow of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, an ancient text many scholars believe hold mysteries tight within its pages.  Tom’s father was a scholar of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili for many years, until a rival scholar defamed him in an attempt to discredit his work; Tom’s father died shortly after in an accident that may not have been a true accident.  After the accident and understanding what the depths of his father’s obsession did to their family, Tom swore off the book.  It wasn’t until his freshman year when Paul Harris tracked him down at Princeton and brings the book back into his life.  Paul’s senior thesis is all about Hypnerotomachia Poliphili and the book seems to be taking its toll on Paul too.

In their senior year, as Paul seems to be coming closer and closer to finding out the truth, strange things start to unfold. A student, and close friend of Paul’s, is murdered shortly after he provides Paul with what might be the missing link to finally cracking the code.  Tom, Paul and their roommates Gil and Charlie are swept up in the mystery of trying to find out who the murderer is and they must also keep themselves from becoming the next victim. 

Genre/Subgenre: Adventure/Historical Fiction

Evaluation: 4-stars.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

$15.00

Paperback: 290 pages
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback; 1st Thus. edition (May 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0385341008
ISBN-13: 978-0385341004

Annotation/Flashtalk:After six months of nothing to eat but potatoes and turnips would you risk being caught eating a smuggled pig? Would you be able to think on your feet in the face of the German occupying forces who caught you out after curfew? What is a Potato Peel Pie? Find out how the members of Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society came to be in this heart-warming novel by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows.

Summary:It is through a bit of serendipity that author Juliet Ashton becomes acquainted with The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Juliet is contacted after one of her former books winds up in the hands of Dawsey Adams. Dawsey contacts Juliet to learn more about the book’s author Charles Lamb and to ask for the name of a London bookshop where he might obtain more of Mr. Lamb’s writings. Dawsey feels a kinship to Mr. Lamb after what he and the other literary society members went through during the German occupation. Set just after WWII’s German occupation of the British Channel Islands, this epistolary novel tells the tale of how a British author befriends a group of people, who themselves only came together under the ruse of a lie to survive the hardships of war.

As the tale unfolds we learn about the island, the occupation, and the story of how Dawsey, Booker, Isola, Ameila, Elizabeth, Eben, Clovis and Will became the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The common thread in all of their stories is the quick-thinking Elizabeth who saved them by inventing the literary society as their excuse for being out after curfew. Elizabeth, now gone from the island, is not missing from the hearts of the society members, as they take turns raising Elizabeth’s daughter Kit until she can return.

Genre/Subgenre: Historical Fiction/Epistolary


Evaluation: 4-stars.