The Last of the Wine

Title: The Last of the Wine
Author: Mary Renault
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1956
Rating: 8/10

Review: Chad suggested that we read The Last of the Wine as a group read. He learned of the book from Jo Walton's Among Others. After I finished reading the novel, I went back and took a look at what the protagonist in Among Others says about the book and honestly there's very little beyond the mentioning of Plato. So while I am completely mystified as to why this book stood out next to the million books mentioned in Among Others, I am really glad it did since I definitely enjoyed it.

There's a huge contrast to The Game of Kings, which I just finished reading. On one hand, the author manages to convey the feel of Ancient Greece perfectly well without using any sort of convoluted language and gets deep into the psyche of her characters who are the focus of the story. On the other hand, the contents of the plot are extremely linear and simple compared to The Game of Kings. It's funny how these two books are so similar at a glance -- they both have a fictional protagonist surrounded by historical figures, war, relationships, intrigue -- and yet, the two books couldn't be any more different in writing style, plotting, and the message they convey.

The Last of the Wine is written in the form of a memoir by a well-born Athenian named Alexias. He tells of his birth and boyhood, his friendship with Socrates, Plato, and Xenophon, his relationships familial and sexual, and finally his fight against the oligarchs, Spartans, and others. The outcomes of many such stories could be easily predicted by someone who has studied the Peloponnesian War, but I am not one of these folks, so there was a sense of suspense for what will happen.

One difference from The Game of Kings is the way the history was presented; I didn't feel overwhelmed by facts and figures and factions. I have actually managed to get a feel for what happened in the conflict between Athens and Sparta and a general feel for the politics of the time. I still had to flip back sometimes to remember who was who at times, but it was definitely much more manageable a book.

I was really interested in the portrayal of the famous Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Plato and I liked the way Renault imbued them with a sense of humanity despite the fact that Socrates seemed to be impossibly insightful all the time. It kindled my interest enough to spend a few hours on the Wikipedia today reading about the facts of these historical figures and it was surprising how much of this knowledge I already got from the novel.

Another unusual detail in The Last of the Wine is the focus on homosexual relationships between men. The book postulates that relationships between men were commonplace and encouraged and even codified by the Greek society. I don't know how historically accurate this portrayal is, but the relationship between Alexias and Lysis feels natural and genuine. This doesn't prevent them from having sex with women and marrying and the way the two are combined is internally consistent. Women get treated pretty much like property, rather than partners in the book, and the men lovers are the actual confidants.

All in all, I enjoyed The Last of the Wine despite the fact that the story didn't have a strong plot. The characters and the surroundings more than made up for it and I even checked whether there was a sequel to the story, but alas.

The Game of Kings

Title: The Game of Kings
Author: Dorothy Dunnett
Series: The Lymond Chronicles, book 1
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1961
Rating: 7/10

Review: I picked up The Game of Kings expecting it to be a quick and entertaining read. However the book both disappointed and exceeded my expectations. I haven't read something I have felt this conflicted about for a long time.

At first I found this book to be a really slow going. There are historical battles, skirmishes, and maneuvers going on throughout the book that I really didn't care much about and the number of characters and their politics make the book pretty confusing. Worst of all is probably the language in which the book is written is imitating an old-English style and at times I just had to guess what the author is trying to say. Oh, and not to forget countless French, Spanish, and Latin quotations throughout. Here's an example of a passage early in the book:

"Softly, softly! Remember your superior upbringing, and your Caxton. How gentlemen shall be known from Churls. Don't be a Churl, Marigold. Full of sloth in his wars, full of boast in his manhood, full of cowardice to his enemy, full of lechery to his body, full of drinking and drunkenness. Revoking his own challenge; slaying his prisoner with his own hands; riding from his sovereign's banner in the field; telling his sovereign false tales..."

This is the style in which the main character, Lymond talks throughout the book and while comprehensible, it's often not the easiest dialogue to understand.

Nevertheless, despite all the issues I had with the novel from very early on there was something to the story that really hooked me in and urged me to continue reading. The chapters are chess-themed and represent various intrigues in the novel. And I have to admit to the book being intricately plotted. Things come together in some very interesting ways towards the end of the novel and I really liked all the twists and turns the book ended up taking.

The second half of the book went much faster than the first. I guess I got used to the writing style and finally started to tell who's who in the book and started enjoying some of the characters a whole lot more than I did at the beginning. I don't think I picked up much in terms of history beyond the fact that Scotts and English fought a whole lot in 1540s, but that wasn't my main objective anyways. The story ended up being worth reading and I would probably recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good intrigue and is willing to put up with the thorny writing style.

How the Light Gets In

Title: How the Light Gets In
Author: Louise Penny
Series: Inspector Gamache, book 9
Genre: Mystery
Published: 2013
Rating: 8/10

Review: I bought the hardcover copy of this book at Louise Penny's recent library visit to my neighborhood. My copy says, "To Maria, Welcome back to Three Pines". I may have criticized the ending of the previous book while she was signing my book, but I was still certainly looking forward to finding out what was going to happen to Gamache and Beauvoir.

The story is set back in Three Pines once more. In fact, during her talk, the author mentioned that she's planning to continue staging her series in Three Pines every other book in order to make sure that Three Pines doesn't turn into Cabot Cove. In this book, Gamache investigates a murder of a woman who was famous for being born a quint -- one sister out of five sharing a birthday -- born naturally before IVF was invented.

However, the murder of a quint is probably the least significant part of the novel because the story arch of conspiracies and treacheries started in the previous books finally comes to a resolution. We get to find out who leaked the warehouse attack video and more about Francoeur's political dealings as well as his latest plot.

It's a comparatively action-packed book and one I enjoyed more than several preceding offerings. It's a very satisfying ending and one I really enjoyed. There were a few things that bothered me in the book -- some of the events came together a little too smoothly, but overall it was a pretty gripping plot. I am still not convinced about the Beauvoir's relationship to Gamache in this series, but I am willing to suspend my disbelief at the premise and enjoy the rest all the same. Especially with all the favorite folks from Three Pines back in the game.

I also really liked Louise Penny's explanation for the title of this book. Apparently it comes from a verse of Leonard Cohen's lyrics:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in.

The imagery fits really well with the contents of the book and I am totally looking forward to the next book in the series.

P.S. On a completely unrelated note I saw How the Light Gets In on NPR's hardcover fiction list with a completely incorrect plot summary. How do these people manage that? Ruth does not disappear in this book... sigh. 

July and August Recap

Even though I've left school quite a few years ago, it's hard to not associate September with the start of the school year. I sort of miss the trips for school supplies and the anticipation of new classes. When I was in elementary school, they used to give us lists of books to read through the summer. Now I just wish that I would have three months off to laze around and read books and have someone cook for me. Despite not getting the summer vacation, I did do quite a bit reading this summer and I am happy with all the reading I have done. There were lots of enjoyable books in the past two months.

1. The Algebraist by Iain Banks
2. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neal Gaiman
3. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
5. Blackout by Connie Willis
6. All Clear by Connie Willis
7. The Human Division by John Scalzi
8. Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
9. Divergent by Veronica Roth
10. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

I enjoyed Connie Willis' books very much. This has been my year for lots of WWII lit and Willis has really brought the period into color for me. I also really enjoyed watching The Bletchley Circle which is a short series following four women who were code-breakers during WWII and reunite again after the war to find a serial killer on the loose.

I also got to meet Louise Penny this month whose mystery series I've been devouring all year. I went to her talk and book signing and found myself the youngest person in the room by a 30 year margin. She signed her latest novel, How the Light Gets In, for me and I actually asked her about the unsatisfying relationship conflict in the previous book, A Beautiful Mystery. She defended her character choices, and though I wasn't necessarily convinced, I am looking forward to the latest book to see where she takes it next.

Insurgent

Title: Insurgent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent, book 2
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2012
Rating: 7/10

Review: I decided to continue reading the series, even though the third book isn't available yet. Insurgent picks up where Divergent left off and continues the story of Tris and Tobias.

I didn't enjoy this book as much as the first one. Perhaps it's the novelty of the ideas and the world that have worn off. Or maybe it's just the effect of endless shooting and politics that dominate this book, but it just didn't touch me as much at the debut novel did. It was entertaining, but lacked the oomph factor. Especially with Tris mostly behaving like a zombie most of the time, I had a hard time relating to her.

The ending of the book is pretty clever and leaves a cliffhanger interesting enough that I will probably be picking up Allegiant when it comes out later this year.

Divergent

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Series: Divergent, book 1
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2011
Rating: 8.5/10

Review: One of my co-workers recommended this book to me and being on a YA kick this month I decided to give it a go. I was very glad I did too because I enjoyed it a whole lot.

The setting of the book is in post-apocalyptic Chicago where the humans have split into 5 factions. The five factions are Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, Candor, and Dauntless. Plus there are the faction-less folks who are pretty much the poor and the homeless. The five factions each have a defining characteristic that they take very seriously. Our main character, Beatrice or Tris as she calls herself, grows up in Abnegation. This is the faction that celebrates selflessness and tries to help others. At sixteen all children are allowed to choose what faction they will belong to. To help with the decision they are given a test consisting of a simulation designed to suggest the faction they are best suited for.

The story starts on the day of Tris's test where the simulation gives out unexpected results -- she is not suited for any one faction, but she is suited for three of them. She is divergent. And that's something she needs to hide in order to be safe. What follows is the story of Tris's adventures as she initiates with a faction that she chooses.

The plot is fast-paced and has a number of qualities I enjoy: a sympathetic main character, good supporting cast with complex relationship development, a romance, and lots of action. It's a fun story and I stayed late into the night to find out what's going to happen to Tris next. The conclusion of the story leaves a bit to be desired -- it goes by a bit too fast, but I thoroughly enjoyed the rest of it.

The story strongly reminds me of The Hunger Game series. There's a post-apocalyptic world with an underlying political plot. There's a brave and resourceful main heroine who overcomes her obstacles. There's a movie in the works. So if you liked the former, I would definitely recommend this book to you.

Boy Nobody

Title: Boy Nobody
Author: Allen Zadoff
Genre: Young Adult
Published: 2013
Rating: 6/10

Review: I picked this book up based on a synopsis I saw on another site. The premise of the story is a 16-year old boy who shows up at your school as a new kid, becomes your friend, and then suddenly someone close to you dies of seemingly natural causes. The boy's parents allegedly move towns and the boy disappears never to be seen again. Of course in this case, the boy is a trained agent, whose mission was to kill.

Really, I only have myself to blame in being disappointed in this book. I think I came with expectations that were a bit too high for a plot like the above. What it turned out to be is a teen high school drama with just enough mention of sex to be interesting to teens and just enough story to keep reading.

The main character's secret protocol procedures just kept me rolling my eyes a whole lot. And he endlessly belabored the point that he's a soldier for whom mission is everything and he will get it done and so on and so forth. For a trained operative who can read people and gain trust so well, he certainly isn't very perceptive about himself and his deductions leave a lot to be desired. That's probably the crux of the problem for me -- I liked the antagonist better. At least she was pretty smart.

The plot was reasonable for a YA story, it had a bit of a twist, even though I saw it coming. Overall, I imagine I would have enjoyed it a whole lot more as a teenager without the critical lens on the believe-ability of the character's actions and motivations. I also didn't connect well with the whole betrayal, mother, father scenario, but Zadoff gets points for adding that layer into the book, it was actually not badly done.

Basically, I would recommend this to actual teenagers. I don't think this works well as a YA for adult enjoyment. This reminded me quite a bit of Francine Pascal's series Fearless. So if you liked this book, you might want to check that out as well.