Palladian by Elizabeth Taylor

Cassandra Dashwood, at the age of eighteen is quiet, bookish and, dare I say, a little dull. And, after her father’s recent death, she is alone in the world.

Fortunately Mrs. Turner, her former headmistress, takes an interest in Cassandra, and finds her a post: Marion Vanbrugh is a widower with a young daughter, Sophy, and he needs a governess.

It was so, so easy for Cassandra to cast herself and Jane Eyre and Marion as Mr Rochester.But reality would prove to be a little different.

Marion was as quiet, bookish and dull as Cassandra. And he was weighed down by his family; an elderly aunt, who kept house quite ineffectually; a cousin, pregnant by her lover, not her husband; another cousin, who was charming but quite directionless; and Violet, his wife who had died but still had a presence.

And they all lived together, their lives stagnating in a crumbling mansion.

It was fortunate that Sophy was charming, and that her father took a great interest in his daughter and her governess …

This is a story with echoes of other authors: Jane Austen in the heroine’s name, and in more besides; Charlotte Bronte in the heroine’s position; Ivy Compton-Burnett in some of the dialogue and relationships; Daphne Du Maurier in the presence, and untold story, of Marion’s wife; Molly Keane in the crumbling mansion; Thomas Hardy in some of the darker moments; and maybe even more that have passed me by when I was caught up …

Not a satire, not a pastiche, but something rather different, and rather more interesting. Something I can’t quite explain.

A dark tale, but the darkness is offset by wry humor and dry wit.

Events unfold slowly, but every sentence brings a new insight, or a new development. There are small, subtle changes, and there is one sudden, tragic, utterly real event that will change everything.

Everything is driven by the characters; characters I found difficult to like, but they were pinpointed so accurately that I was always fascinated. Because I understood their situations, their inner lives, their motivations, and what made each of them unique.

And there is a nicely drawn love song threaded through. Though there will not be happy endings for all …

Palladian is a strangely intriguing novel – just as good as I had hoped but not at all what I had expected.

The Ladies' Paradise by Emile Zola

The Ladies’ Paradise was one of those books I meant to read, expected to love, but never quite got to for a long, long time. But now I have, and the verdict is flawed but fabulous.

Let me explain.

The story begins with twenty year-old Denise Baudu and her two young brothers arriving in Paris from the country. Denise has done her best for her brothers since their parents died, but she was struggling, and so she came to Paris to take up the offer of help and support that her uncle had offered.

I was immediately pulled in by the storytelling, and I worried that maybe that offer was the kind you make but expect never to be taken up. And indeed it was. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help but he was struggling, his small shop losing business to the expanding department store across the street: The Ladies’ Paradise.

And that presented Denise with a problem: she had to work, but the only work available was at The Ladies’ Paradise. The establishment hated and resented by her uncle and his neighbours.

She understood their feelings, but she had to work, and she was drawn to dazzling emporium. Denise secured a job. And she stepped into The Ladies’ Paradise.

There is so much to say about The Ladies’ Paradise.

It is an almost magical emporium, a huge department store that grew from a small draper’s shop, packed full of seductive colours, fabrics, clothes, furnishing, and so much more. The descriptions are rich, detailed, and utterly captivating.

It draws in the ladies of Paris very cleverly, with carefully planned layouts, seasonal sales, attentive service, such well thought out, modern marketing. So much modernity, but behind the scenes it was rather different. For the staff it was not so very different from life in service in a big house. They lived in dormitories, ate in a canteen, had little time of their own, and had to work, work, work to secure the commission they so desperately needed and to hold on to their jobs.

Denise struggled at first, and she was easy prey for ambitious, ruthless salesgirls. But she knew she had to support her family, she held on to her principles, and, though there were many setbacks, in time she would rise through the ranks.

And Denise caught the eye of Octave Mouret: the creator, the owner of The Ladies’ Paradise. A man who knows how to seduce women, in his private life and in his wonderous emporium. But Denise is the woman who will not be seduced. And of course, that makes her all the more fascinating …

The Ladies’ Paradise held me from start to finish. With wonderful, readable storytelling. With rich descriptions, and so, so many details. And with some quite extraordinary set-pieces.

I’m afraid that the characters didn’t quite live up to all of that. The leads were a little too predictable, a little too straightforward, and the supporting cast a little too one-dimensional. And the view of human nature was a little bleak. So many thoughtless, selfish people.

But I loved watching the social changes that the department store was bringing, and I was captivated by the nicely predictable love story.

And now I am wondering which of Zola’s works to read next.

Any suggestions?

Shelly's Updates

I liked seeing the updates of other readers here recently. I'm about a third of the way into the 54th title from my list. I seem to go in spurts, but I'm moving ahead nonetheless.

The last three books I finished were Crime and Punishment, The Truth About Jesus, and Crimes of the Heart. The one I'm working on now (#54 of 100) is Tarzan of the Apes. I just posted an entry at my main blog with some ramblings on (not reviews of) those titles.

J.C.'s Update

I was inspired by Moonrat's post to take a moment and post about what's been going on with this challenge. (Thanks Moonrat!)

So far I've only read 13 books. Kinda pathetic, but I'm hoping to catch up a bit this year.

I've read 4 since the last update and they are:

010. Capote, Truman -- Breakfast at Tiffany’s
011. Atwood, Margaret -- The Handmaid’s Tale
012. Gaiman, Neil -- The Graveyard Book
013. Hemingway, Ernest -- The Old Man and the Sea

My favorite of the lot was The Graveyard Book. The surprise was Breakfast at Tiffany's. Classic case of seeing the movie first and then reading the book, which was very different. Still a great read.

This year, my goal is to read at least 10 from my list. The ones I'm looking forward to most are:

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Hope all is going well with everyone else. Happy Reading!

Moonrat's update

Hi, folks! I haven't posted an update in a long time, but I'm still working pretty hard on my list.

I realize I have read the following since I last posted:

East of Eden, John Steinbeck
The Farming of Bones, Edwidge Danticat
The Known World, Michael Chabon
Werewolves in Their Youth, Michael Chabon

I've also read significant portions of David Copperfield and Moby Dick, but these are both titles I am working through slowly when I'm in the right mood.

I've also started trying to read a lot of classic crime fiction. It's a second (and less well-structured) reading project. Anyway--if you're a crime fiction reader, let me know some of your favorites. I'm very curious.

Michelle(TBA)--My 100

Hi, I'm Michelle.  Since we have several Michelles already, I'll be know as Michelle(TBA).  My main book blog is The True Book Addict (hence the TBA = True Book Addict), on which my primary focus is historical fiction.  I also have a horror/speculative fiction review blog, Castle Macabre.  I track all my reading challenges, including perpetual challenges and long term challenges like this, at my challenge blog, Challenges of The True Book Addict.  My list comes from my 3000+ home library, of which many of the 2000+ fiction books have been languishing--unloved--for years.  LOL! These are books I've been wanting to read for a long time.  There are also some more recent acquisitions which are books I purchased because I'd really been wanting to read them (but aren't they all that for us, truth be told).

These are listed in alphabetical order by author's name, but will not be read in this order.  Goal date is January 17, 2017.

1. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
3. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
4. Running with the Demon by Terry Brooks
5. The Last Days of Pompeii by Edgar George Bulwer-Lytton
6. Possession by A.S. Byatt
7. The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr
8. The Love Knot by Elizabeth Chadwick
9. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
10. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
11. The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu
12. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
13. The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell
14. Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell
15. Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell
16. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
17. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
18. The Passage by Justin Cronin
19. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
20. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
21. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
22. The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
23. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
24. Queenmaker by India Edghill
25. Under the Snow by Kerstin Ekman
26. Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine
27. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
28. The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan
29. In the Woods by Tana French
30. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
31. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
32. Grendel by John Gardner
33. Helen of Troy by Margaret George
34. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
35. The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
36. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
37. The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland
38. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
39. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
40. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
41. Roots by Alex Haley
42. Forever by Pete Hamill
43. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
44. Tess of the D'urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
45. Chocolat by Joanne Harris
46. Lake of Sorrows by Erin Hart
47. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein
48. Dune by Frank Herbert
49. The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks
50. Lord of the Dead by Tom Holland
51. The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
52. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
53. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
54. Ahab's Wife, or the Star-Gazer by Sena Jeter Naslund
55. Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles
56. The Burning Times by Jeanne Kalogridis
57. The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis
58. The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent
59. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
60. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
61. The Bottoms by Joe R. Lansdale
62. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
63. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
64. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
65. The  Covenant by James Michener
66. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
67. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran
68. The Green Knight by Iris Murdoch
69. The Eight by Katherine Neville
70. Anno-Dracula by Kim Newman
71. The Red Church by Scott Nicholson
72. The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates
73. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
74. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
75. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears
76. The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman
77. Here Be Dragons by Sharon Kay Penman
78. Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
79. Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
80. Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
81. The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice
82. Christ the Lord by Anne Rice
83. Angel Time by Anne Rice
84. A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice
85. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
86. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
87. Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts
88. Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott
89. Snowflower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
90. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
91. The Terror by Dan Simmons
92. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
93. The Seventh Scroll by Wilbur Smith
94. Ghost Story by Peter Straub
95. Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
96. The Passion of Artemesia by Susan Vreeland
97. The Religion by Tim Willocks
98. The Keep by F. Paul Wilson
99. Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
100. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey

A wonderful opening pulled me straight into the 1920s. And straight into London's theatreland.

It was beautifully written and it was clear that Josephine Tey, already a successful playwright, knew and loved the world she was writing about. And that she understood the importance of the big picture, of the small things, and of the psychology of her characters.

And in the very first chapter there was the crime. Such an elegant, clever scenario:

" 'Chap fainted,' said someone. No one moved for a moment or two. Minding one's own business in a crowd today is as much an instinct of self-preservation as a chameleon's versatility. Perhaps someone would claim the chap. But no one did; and so a man with more social instinct or more self-importance than the rest moved forward to help the collapsed one. He was about to bend over the limp heap when he stopped as if stung and recoiled hastily. A woman shrieked three times horribly; and the pushing, heaving queue froze suddenly to immobility.

In the clear white light of the naked electric in the roof, a man's body, left alone by the instinctive withdrawal of the others, lay revealed in every detail. And rising slant-wise from the grey tweed of his coat was a little silver thing that winked wickedly in the baleful light.

It was the handle of a dagger."

An audacious murder, in the middle of a queue of people, all pressing forward, eager to see the final performance of popular musical.

The investigation fell to Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard. A detective without the gimmicks, or idiosyncracies of many of his contemporaries, but with a great deal of intelligence and charm, I soon suspected that his creator was a little in love with him ... quite understandably ...

There was little physical evidence, little witness evidence, but a careful, methodical investigation began, and in time the dead man was identified, his life examined, and suspects identified.

Often the story was quiet, but it was always engaging.

The characters were so well drawn, and they always offered me a question to ponder.

There were some great moments and some lovely diversions: a trip to the Highlands of Scotland in pursuit of a fleeing suspect stood out for me.

And the writing was wonderful. Josephine Tey wrote such lovely prose, balancing rich descriptions and perfectly observed dialogue, with intelligence and wit always threaded through.

Elements of the modern police procedural can be seen, but this is very much a book of its time. The language, the world it describes tie it to the 1920s, and references to the Great War emphasise its lasting impact on a generation.

I was caught up in that world, and with Inspector Grant and his investigation.

The resolution owed as much to luck - or maybe policeman's instinct - as solid police work.

I didn't mind that, but it did confirm my feeling that this was a good book rather that a great book.

And certainly more than good enough to make sure that I will read my way through the rest of the series ...