Eleanor by Alice Loxton

How about some more walk books? When I was eight or nine, I remember being enthralled reading about the journeys of Marco Polo. Much later, I reveled in Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.  That one even had a movie starring Robert Redford made about it. And then, there was the pride and lost shoe leather that goes with putting together the two editions of my own book--London Theatre Walks. It should not be surprising then that my eyes perked up when this title appeared on the new publication shelf at the Marion library.

Eleanor, by British writer Alice Loxton, is subtitled “A 200 mile walk in search of England’s Lost Queen.” In 1290, when Eleanor of Castile not Aquitaine, the wife of England’s King Edward I died, her embalmed body was carried from Lincoln to London before its burial in Westminster Abbey. At each of the twelve overnight stopping places on the route, her devoted husband decreed that a stone cross be built to commemorate the journey. Few of these so-called “Eleanor Crosses” have survived, but Loxton put on a stout pair of boots and decided to make an on-foot pilgrimage along the entire cortege route. Her impressions of the towns she passed through, their ancient and current history, the people who accompanied her or met on the way, and the English weather she faced because it was December in the midlands, make for a sort of modern Canterbury Tales. There is trial and tribulation, flooding and sunshine, humor, and above all, a fine historical portrait of an almost forgotten Queen. You can even enjoy this book if you aren’t a history buff, because it is filled with some lovely fellow hikers and quirky citizens of the mainly small towns along the way. One little nugget I remember was about the two rival inns in a tiny town called Stony Stratford (a place where a bridge of stones forded the river Strat). It had two rival inns across from each other on the high street. One was called the Cock and the other the Bull.  Both were hotspots for local gossip and each became famous for their, sometimes wild, embellishments of the stories. Thus, we have the true origin of “a cock and bull story.” Can’t leave without noting that the photo reproduction is pretty shabby, but the book is blister-free.

I give it a four out of 5.

Book of Forbidden Words by Louise Fine

 

Book of Forbidden Words by Louise Fine

Book of Forbidden Words by Louise FineThe Book of Forbidden Words is what I would label a Cozy, Dan Brownish, mystery, romance.  Ms. Fine tells her story in alternate chapters that move back and forth between Paris in the 1500’s and Levittown NY, during the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and McCarthy Red Scares of the 1950’s. Her choice of times quickly reveals her theme--the continuing problematic status of women throughout the ages.    

In the sixteenth century, Paris was aflame with book burning and heretic hunting as Protestant ideas were spread via the new medium of printed books. A former nun, Lysbette Angiers, brings a revolutionary manuscript written in a strange code to the printing establishment run by another woman--Charlotte Guillard. Angiers is brutally murdered shortly after she turns the manuscript over and the female printer comes under suspicion of printing heretical material.

In New York in 1952, Milly Bennett, an English war bride, is having a hard time adjusting to her role as an American housewife. Her husband, who was an American pilot in the war, is now a successful businessman who departs each day from their Levittown house, leaving Milly at home to keep house, shepherd the children, interact with other local housewives, and provide dinner for the family when he returns each evening.

A complication develops when a strange older man turns up bearing a 16^th manuscript that is beautifully illustrated but written in a strange code. We now learn that Milly was a math whiz, who was recruited to Bletchley Park to help break the German codes during the war. The visitor catches the eyes of neighbors and Milly calls him an old relation because the British Official Secrets Act still prohibits her from mentioning anything about her war activity. The visitor is actually her former commanding officer at Bletchley, who is now an antique bookseller. He wants Milly to use her old skills to decipher an old manuscript written in a code. Milly jumps at the opportunity to alleviate her current boredom. She is successful and the knowledge leads her into a writing career under an assumed name. It doesn’t take long for her identity to be discovered and that turns into more serious problems with America’s McCarthyites.   

The author’s evocation of American life (She is a Brit.) is not completely convincing, but she does do a good job of connecting the status of intelligent women in multiple ages. The explanations of code breaking are well done without being overly technical and the style is   straightforward without much color or imagery. All told good, but far from great.

I give it a 3 out of 5.

The Lost Language of Oysters by Andrew McCall Smith

 

I am particularly fond of Alexander McCall Smith’s Professor Dr. Von Igelfeld novels because they are imbued with delightful satire about college professors. These are the kind of people who can have long arguments about whether there is a case for the development of a new linguistic tense called the “past-trivial”, which would refer to things so unimportant that they should be forgotten immediately.  

The Lost Language of Oysters is set in a fictional hidebound German university, and the lead character is the good Professor Dr. Dr. Moritz-Maria von Igelfeld, whose claim to academic fame rests upon the publishing of his seminal and highly regarded study of Portuguese irregular verbs. His coveted Chair is so august that it has no required teaching responsibilities and “almost unlimited funds for conference attendance.”

His friend, and also rival, is Professor Dr. Detlev Amadeus Unterholzer. Their coffee lounge sparring is constant, but goes astray when two female American scholars arrive for a visit. One of them is an avid motorcycle rider, and Professor Von Igelfeld develops quite an interest in her—so much so that he lets her take him for a ride on her rented bike. This unusual behavior is so out of character for him that Professor Unterholzer believes his colleague has gone insane. This allows him to suggest to higher authorities that Von Igelfeld should be sent to a rest home for treatment. This, by happenstance, would also allow him to take over Von Igelfeld’s plush and much envied office space.

These events could be the basis for major interpersonal warfare or even lead to a fine murder mystery,  but this is Andrew McCall Smith, and all the skirmishes end pleasantly amidst a full measure of amusement and gentle chuckles. Pick this little volume up for a quick, and enjoyable read.  There will be no need to ponder the great issues of life.   

I give it a solid four out of five

---

 

 [JDY2]

Theater Kid by Jeffery Seller

 

Theater Kid is a newly published theatre memoir and Jeffery Seller is the almost perfect person to write this show business miracle story. He was adopted, ping ponged between a hard-working mother and a mentally unstable philandering father, and was gay. Although his early sexual awakenings were unrecognized, salvation came in the form of a love for the theatre and a literal worship of musicals. This culminated in a deep desire to make theatre happen.  

He goes to New York after graduating from the University of Michigan and gets a job in a booking agency. From there, he learns show business from the bottom up, finds boyfriends in spite of the scourge of AIDS, and ultimately captures the golden ring by producing Rent. That opens the floodgates of success and he follows up with Tony Awards for Hamilton, In the  Heights, and Avenue Q.

Yes, all this, can be in your future too, but little time is spent on reminding the myriads of wannabees that Broadway Roulette, like all gambling operations, produces far more losers than winners.   

4 out of five

 

Review: Andrew Shaffer, Hope Rides Again

 

It’s bit early for a beach trash novel, but Shaffer’s Hope Rides Again earns a spot on the list. As Joe Biden is feeling out running for the presidency, he visits Barack Obama in Chicago. Obama’s Blackberry goes missing and the two men set out to solve the crime. There are improbabilities galore and lots of inside political jokes about Chicago and both men. It is occasionally funny, but mostly it is confusing and lame. Save your money. Go swimming at beach and take this book in the water with you.

Review The Brothers of Baker Street

 

Since the expiration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s copyright, there have been numerous books that feature further adventures of Sherlock Holmes, his wife, his daughter, or one of his relatives. The Brothers of Baker Street by Michael Robertson was touted as the first modern crime novel series to use a Sherlock Holmes connection to anchor a modern story. Robertson introduces the Heath brothers--Regie and Nigel. Regie is a Barrister and tries cases. Nigel is a Solicitor who offers up legal advice and recommends a Barrister if a case goes to trial. In a strange coincidence their offices just happen to be located at  221 Baker Street in London and letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes keep arriving at this address. In another coincidence, their lease contract includes a provision that requires the current occupant of the address to answer all letters to Holmes to the best of their ability.

In the modern day, brother Regie is having a problem keeping his girlfriend out of the clutches of a wealthy pulp newspaper owner and Nigel is advising on a case in which a London black cab driver is accused of murdering two American tourists. Regie takes the case to court and manages to clear the driver, but things get more dicey when that driver is murdered and Regie is accused of killing him. Nigel does manage to get Regie out of the pokey and now all that needs to be done is to figure out whether the real killer is another frustrated black cab driver or the inventor of a GPS system that could put London’s venerable black cabs out of business by eliminating the need to pass the so-called “knowledge” in order to qualify as a driver.

Meanwhile, letters to Sherlock Holmes keep piling up at the law office. Most are ignored until one until one arrives signed by someone called “Moriarity” who claims to be a descendent of Sherlock’s old nemesis Dr. James Moriarity. The letter also seems to reveal things about the Black Cab murders that have not been known before.

The plot is clever and moves briskly.  There is a good deal of sly humor along with information on the world of London taxi drivers and the British trash press. There is also some mild sexual language, although in the end, Nigel’s girlfriend, Laura, turns out to be more than a pretty face with a great figure.  

 I reported on the 2^nd book in the series a while ago--titled The Baker Street Jurors, and I enjoyed it enough that I searched out its predecessor.  There is a 3^rd book in the series and I may see if I can find it in the next month or so.

I give this one a nice 3.5 out of 5. (i.e., never going to compete for the Nobel Prize, but a good read within its genre.)  

The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

 

Book Review The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown

We begin with a quote from the book. “The high ground can be defended only if we are actually on it.” The problem for this book is determining where the high ground is: in a Russian insane asylum, in the twisted mind of a rogue CIA operative, in the equally twisted mind of a Jewish “golem”, or in the modern research on the nature of Symbology, Noetics, and Cosmic Consciousness.  If this already seems crazy, I suggest you leave Mr. Brown’s latest novel unread. If you still want to take the plunge, welcome to the historic city of Prague, under whose sacred ground lies a darker realm called Threshold, which will, when activated, control the world. The Prague background works well, especially if you’ve been there, and the thriller portions are engaging, but this is still not much of a novel.

Enter Robert Langdon, professor of Symbology, who travels to Prague to hear a lecture by   Noeticist scholar Katharine Solomon.  Langdon has a thing for Ms. Solomon, but unfortunately, after a rousing sleepover on the night before the lecture, Solomon disappears along with the manuscript of her most recent breakthrough book about the nature of human consciousness.

From here on, Brown keeps you on pins and needles as Langdon engages in a frenzied murder filled chase through and under the streets of Prague to find her. Complications multiply and it gets harder and harder to determine who the good guys are. As Langdon notes, “Quis custodiet Ipsos custodes.” Who will guard the guards?

All this running around is punctuated occasionally by philosophic ruminations about ancient mysticisms and the nature of cosmic consciousness. You are peppered with multi-syllabic words and fears of what might be hidden in the dark recesses of American and foreign intelligence operations. I finally cried ‘ENOUGH’ when every new underground door required a different secret code for access.

If you are really searching for inner wisdom and how the brain works, I would recommend David Brooks’ latest essay on that topic in The New York Times. Mr. Brown tries very hard to put  depth into his work, but I’m afraid he only succeeds in making the whole enterprise more ridiculous.  

I give it a 3 out of 5.