The Winter Rose

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly is a historical novel set in early turn-of-the-twentieth-century London. Among its many characters are India Selwyn Jones, one of the first graduates of an all-female medical school, and Sid Malone, the leader of the most infamous street gang. The two cross paths . . . his life needs saving, both literally and metaphorically, of course . . . and they fall in love. But in between the tale of star-crossed lovers and a few bodice ripper scenes, this sweeping epic of a novel weaves a pretty good tale. Of the many side characters, there is an up-and-coming politician and his wife, India's dastardly fiance who has political ambitions of his own, a couple of adventurous teens who lead us into the world of early mountain climbing, and India's plucky nurse sidekick.

Like Emma Brown, this book gets a little preachy in its modern day stance on social conditions of the time. India's great dream is to open a free clinic in Whitechapel, a working class neighborhood of London. She defies the doctor she works for by supplying women with contraceptives and actually providing sanitary conditions for her patients. A number of political issues, including women's suffrage, are touched on via the politicians. But mostly this is a love story. It's the kind of book you reach for on a rainy day when you don't want to leave the house--fully engaging and one you can't put down. Not the brainiest of novels, but meaty enough that you don't have to be embarrassed. It lost me a little at the end when the action moves to Africa--due to the kind of coincidences generally found only in nineteenth century novels, several of our characters end up on the continent independently only to cross paths later. But I found myself hoping for a happy ending so much I could overlook this.

I picked this up as a galley because I knew Donnelly from her young adult novel A Northern Light, which is loosely based on An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. It's about a murder on a lake . . . the details are fuzzy, but it was also a great read. Only 9 books left on the list! Single digits!!

Harry, Revised

I didn't have high hopes for my latest gym book--Harry, Revised by Mark Sarvas--but it turned out to be better than I thought. The book opens with Harry sitting in a diner, waiting to work up the nerve to ask out the waitress. We know he is late for something, and it sounds like a job interview, but in the very last sentence of the chapter it is revealed that he is going to his wife's funeral.

The book is loosely influenced by The Count of Monte Cristo--Harry even orders a monte cristo sandwich in the first scene--with Harry trying to be a modern-day Dantes and helping an older waitress in the same diner. Of course, he only does so to impress the first waitress and get her to go out with him. He wants to help, but he ends up making life worse for the waitress more often than not, by acting before he really thinks through his plan. Interspersed throughout are flashbacks to his life with Anna, his wife, and we see that, along with impressing the cute waitress, Harry is also trying to atone for past mistakes. I haven't read The Count of Monte Cristo, so I can't really tell how much this book is influenced by Dumas's classic or how effective it is, but it is a worthwhile read in any case.

The only real fault I have with the book is that it is set in Los Angeles, a city I know well, but it feels more like New York. Maybe it is the diner that threw me off--while there's a diner on every corner in New York, they are few and far between in LA. Or perhaps because Anna came from and old money family in Connecticut. Something just felt very East Coasty. But a minor hang up for a pretty good book.

The Emperor of Ocean Park

I picked up The Emperor of Ocean Park by Stephen L. Carter at a used book sale, because it made quite a splash when it came out in 2002. And it was a story full of intrigue and suspense, and even action . . . but I thought it could have been told in about half as many pages. Most of the book moved at a slow pace. It would just start to take off with some bit of action or a new revelation, and then the next chapter got bogged down in back story.

Talcott Garland, who goes by the Dostoyevsky-inspired nickname Misha, has just learned of his father's death. His father, known even to his children as The Judge, nearly landed a seat on the supreme court bench, but was marred by scandal during his confirmation hearings. Misha's sister is convinced the judge was murdered and is conferring with conspiracy theorists over the internet. Meanwhile, Misha's shifty Uncle Jack is pressuring him to uncover The Judge's "arrangements." Chess pawns are mysteriously delivered to Misha . . . he is beaten and even shot. It's quite the ride. But, I found the end a little unsatisfying--especially for a 650+ page book!

I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, but at least it's one more off my list!