| Book Reviews by Edward Pettit ______________________________ _________________________ |
The Bibliothecary
a blog of literary endeavour
a blog of literary endeavour
| October 1, 2006, Philadelphia Inquirer "A could-be biography of Sir Thomas Malory" Malory: The Knight Who Became King Arthur's Chronicler By Christina Hardyment HarperCollins. 634 pp. In Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E. Lawrence recounts an episode when he and his tattered Arab force take refuge with no food or fuel - 28 men - in two reeking rooms. His men suffer, but the indefatigable Lawrence has a talisman: "In my saddle-bags was a Morte d'Arthur. It relieved my disgust. The men had only physical resources." For Lawrence, Sir Thomas Malory's prose epic Le Morte Darthur is a spiritual resource. Its chivalric stories give him hope in the face of despair. The Morte inspires Christina Hardyment in much the same way. Her biography of its author treats the Morte as chivalric scripture. It "still has lessons to teach us: lessons about taking personal responsibility, being loyal and tolerant, defending the weak - that 'generosity of spirit.' " Read the entire review |
| October 4, 2006, Philadelphia City Paper The Meaning of Night: A Confession By Michael Cox W.W. Norton. 672 pp. The treat of the novel is that it doesn't pretend to be more than it is, a sensationalist page-turner, and it delivers on almost all counts. I have trouble giving examples of what I found most engrossing or delightful because I would not want to spoil any of the plot's intricacies. The plot is like a wicked tree in a bewitched forest, slowly wrapping its branches around an unsuspecting reader, its roots rising from the earth like tendrils to trap its victims. And best of all, the narrator is a paranoid, psychotic murderer. What more fun do you want from a book on a cold, autumnal night? Read the entire review |
| October 22, 2006, Philadelphia Inquirer "'Cold Mountain' author fails in his second novel" Thirteen Moons By Charles Frazier Random House. 422 pp. At one point, Will Cooper builds a magnificent home, modeled on one of the great plantation houses of Thomas Jefferson. Then he leaves it and wanders the country. Not quite aimlessly: He is on a sort of quest to find Claire. But while the knight-errant of medieval romance encounters evil knights and strange beasts, Cooper just wanders, encountering very little of interest. At this point, the narrative itself also becomes unmoored. The plot drifts rudderless across currents of print, the reader just begging for something to happen. Ultimately, nothing does. As compelling to read as Cold Mountain was, Thirteen Moons compelled me only to wish for its end. Read the entire review |
| January 7, 2007, Philadelphia Inquirer "Faerie lore befitting science and fantasy" The Ladies of Grace Adieu By Susanna Clarke Bloomsbury. 224 pp. The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies By Robert Kirk NYRB Classics. 144 pp. Most of the stories are set in 19th-century England, and the title story even includes Jonathan Strange in a supporting role. A couple are set in the 16th and 17th centuries, and one is a medieval folktale of John Uskglass, the once and future Raven King who bridges the realms of faeries and humans. The collection started a little slowly for me, but as I read on, the flow of themes began to seduce me like a faerie charm, binding me ever more tightly, one slight band at a time. The humans in Clarke's tales are forever threatened by an unknowable world that coexists with their own. Sometimes the two clash with a kind of devilish humor, like Shakespeare's Puck pulling the stools out from under unsuspecting milkmaids. Sometimes the clash is malevolent, and pain and death are at stake. Through it all, Clarke writes with witty aplomb. The threats seem real, but let's have another cake with our tea before we face wrack and ruin. If the stories of Ladies serve to add more flavor to the world of Jonathan Strange (as if the footnotes finally did get their own book), then another recent book will also fit the bill - The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies by Robert Kirk. But Secret Commonwealth is no invention of Susanna Clarke, an imagined book to flesh out the backstory of her novel. Robert Kirk was an Episcopal priest in the Scottish Highlands during the late 17th century who made a serious study of the folklore of his parishioners. The extended essay was left as a manuscript at his death and published in the 18th century and in the 19th by both Sir Walter Scott and Andrew Lang. Read the entire review |
| February 4, 2007, Philadelphia Inquirer "A boy's dark story of magic" The Book of Lost Things By John Connolly Atria. 339 pp. At its heart, The Book of Lost Things is a coming-of-age tale. The innocence of childhood is tested and David must learn to overcome his fears. But the author asks much deeper questions of his reader, questions that challenge the very concept of "childhood innocence." What of the jealousies and desires of children? Are children corrupted as they grow older? Can maturation itself be labeled corruption? Is innocence something achieved or is it innate, a pure center at the heart of every child? In subverting fairy stories into tales of horror, Connolly has created a framework that complements David's own maturation. David must relearn the stories to find his way, but must also come to grips with his own inner demons. The Book of Lost Things is an intense and satisfying book for the dark nights of winter. Read the entire review. |
| Feb 22, 2007, Philadelphia Inquirer "Mystery opens underbelly of Philadelphia society, 1842" The Conjurer By Cordelia Frances Biddle Thomas Dunne / St. Martin's. 306 pp. Biddle pays a great deal of attention to the manners and mores of her upper-crust characters. She delineates how their social practices shape their behavior, as well as the very philosophies by which they live, from the correct color of a gown for a particular season or occasion to the correct room in which one should receive particular visitors. I was a little leery that I had stumbled into one of those cozy mysteries written for little old ladies who live in quaint country cottages (with several cats). But the action of the novel soon took a decidedly grim turn. Kelman, the investigator, is also on the trail of a serial killer who has been murdering child prostitutes in the city's brothels. The conjurer of the title, Eusapio Paladino, seems to be channeling the victims while he performs seances at dinner parties of wealthy citizens (during which he also entices the wives of his high-society patrons to become his mistresses). Indeed, all of Biddle's characters have secret inner lives that chafe at the severe restraints with which their society has bound them. Most acquiesce. Some, like Martha, seek to break free. Some twist their desires into murderous impulses that trail them like shadows through the murky alleyways of the city at night. Read the entire review. |
The links to the Phila Inq reviews
are no longer working. The Inq does
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more in their entirety at the new
Bibliothecary blogsite.
are no longer working. The Inq does
not archive their book reviews. You
can read these reviews and many
more in their entirety at the new
Bibliothecary blogsite.