All I Love And Know by Judith Frank

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

For years, Matthew Greene and Daniel Rosen have enjoyed a contented domestic life in Northampton, Massachusetts.  Opposites in many ways, they have grown together and made their relationship work.  But when they learn that Daniel's twin brother and sister-in-law have been killed in a Jerusalem bombing, their lives are suddenly, utterly transformed.

The deceased couple have left behind two young children, and their shocked and grieving families must decide who will raise six-year-old Gal and baby Noam.  When it becomes clear that Daniel's brother and sister-in-law wanted Matt and Daniel to be their children's guardians, the two men find themselves confronted by challenges that strike at the heart of their relationship.  What is Matt's place in an extended family that does not competently accept him or the commitment he and Daniel have made?  How do Daniel's complex feelings about Israel and this act of terror affect his ability to recover from his brother's death?  And what kind of parents can these two men really be to children who have lost so much?

The impact that this instant new family has on Matt, Daniel, and their relationship is subtle and heartbreaking, yet not without glimmers of hope. They must learn to reinvent and redefine their bond in profound, sometimes painful ways.  How does a family become strong enough to stay together and endure when its very basis has drastically changed?  And are their limits to honesty or commitment - or love?

When I finally got around to reading this book, I read it in one sitting.  I read all 420 pages, and did not put the book down once.  I didn't get up to go to the bathroom, I didn't quench the thirst I started to feel half way through, I ignored my phone, and I told everyone to leave me alone.  And strangely, I had this reaction to a book I'm not all that in love with, and I'm not even sure I realized that until I typed it.

And now that I've let the cat out of the bag, I guess it's on me to try figure out why I was so engrossed in a book, that I didn't love.  Normally, even when I'm really enjoying a book, I don't get so engrossed that I can't put it down.  And the two most recent times before this, The Absolutist by John Boyne and Gillespie and I by Jane Harris, were books that I truly loved.  They were books I would recommend to anyone and everyone, and will reread for the rest of my life.  I'm not sure how often I would recommend All I Love and Know, and I'm really not sure if it is a book I will ever reread.  And quite frankly, I'm still not sure I can tell you why, so I think I just wasted this entire paragraph.

I think part of this issue is my somewhat conflicted view of the entire Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  Like Matt and Daniel, I think what Israel has done to the Palestinians is pretty much the same as Apartheid in South Africa.  I think the idea of an entire Ethnic/Religious group, who has been subjugated by other for centuries, turning around and doing the same thing themselves, I find it puzzling and just a tad bit revolting.  It makes no sense to me.  But at the same time, I agree that Israel has every right to defend themselves against those who don't want them to exist as a nation.  But most of all, I don't have an answer.  I don't know what either side should do, though I think the fighting is taking its toll on way too many innocents.

But I think my general unease has more to do with the relationship between Matt and Daniel.  It's messy and complicated, they have a quasi open marriage, which I still do not understand, though I know it happens. And I think it's in that one little facet of their relationship, my own personal issues with it, that prevents me from loving this book.  With everything going on in their lives, with all the pain and conflict, I get why maybe turning outside the relationship for comfort would be something that could happen.  Especially when one of the partners is doing everything that he can to make it work, and the other has shut down and withdrawn so deeply into his pain, that neither one can see straight anymore. I get the need for connection in the face of pain, and I get the urge to get it anywhere you can when you are no longer getting that sense of worth from the man you love.

What I don't understand is how they allowed this to happen before the events of the book.  The openness, though maybe not occurring very often, and with a ton of rules, still went on.  They were happily in love, living together, but allowed each other to be intimate with other people.  Call me a prude, old fashioned, or naive, but I've never been able to understand relationships like that.  I try not to judge those who are in open relationships, and for the most part I don't, but I still don't get it.  And I understand it's not my place to get it, since I'm not in the relationship, but it does stop me from investing to much emotion into a fictional couple that I really wanted to love.  And I really don't understand why the author uses that openness as a vehicle for the couple to implode, or at least the proverbial last straw breaking the camel's back..

Since you can tell from the synopsis that it all works out in the end, I don't feel as if I'm spoiling anything for you, when I tell you that it does in fact have a happy ending.  And I can even go as far as saying that I'm happy it ended that way, and that I adore both Matt and Daniel.  I can even go a step further and tell you that I enjoyed the book, that I became invested in both the story and the characters, that I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with Matt and Daniel. I'm even willing to admit that it's my own personal hangups that kept me from loving what I read.

And now that I'm done typing, I'm even willing to concede that maybe I loved this book more than I did at the beginning of the review.  Maybe its as simple as uttering my relationship hangups out loud, albeit in type.  Could actually admitting your issues, no matter where they come from, allow you to get over them, to not let them cloud your judgement? Maybe it is that simple, or maybe, just maybe actually sitting down to write a review actually forces you to rethink the entire process over again.  No matter the reason, I'm now willing to admit that I loved the book, and that I would highly recommend. it.  I just hope you guys don't think I'm too schizophrenic now.

I want to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  Please visit the tour page to read other reviews, hopefully they will be more coherent than mine.

Heartbreak and Pain, The Way Wordsmithonia Radio Does It

Last week was all about love.  This week, not so much.  Today I'm going to treat you to some of my favorite breakup songs.  The songs you listen to when your heart has been ripped out of your chest, and you feel as if life is simply going to end.  They are the songs you listen to when you are crying your eyes out, ripping up the pictures, and burning the letters.  And yes, I've done all those things.  I won't even tell you about the time a stuffed animal went into the fire place with the letters, let's just say it didn't smell all that well.

But sometimes break up songs can do more than allow you to wallow in self pity.  Sometimes, once the pain has started to lessen, they can help you realize it's time to move on, that it's time to pick yourself back off the ground and get on with life.  They can be the songs that makes you realize the relationship wasn't all that to being with, that just maybe, it was unhealthy for you.  And sometimes, when you listen to the angry breakup songs, they just make you feel better, imagining yourself doing every single thing to that car.  No matter the content of the song, a good breakup song will allow you to deal with, and eventually accept what fate has done to your heart, and the great ones will help heal it.

And Then There Were None - 1945

The concept is pretty simple.  Eight complete strangers are invited to a mysterious island home, by a host that none of them know, a Mr. U.N. Owen.  Once there, they are met by two servants, who had just arrived themselves, and have instructions to make the guests feel welcome. After a dinner, conducted with a still absent host, all ten of them are accused of murders, that for whatever reason, the courts could not touch,  murders their host feels they should be punished for.  What follows is a twisted little game, following the lyrics of a children's nursery rhyme, resulting in them being killed, one by one.

The source material for this movie, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, has always been my absolute favorite mystery from her, or anyone else.  When I was a kid, the book was still being called Ten Little Indians, which was an improvement over it's original title.  I don't believe I ever saw a movie adaptation of this until a few years ago, when I happened to stumble upon a DVD of this one.  Much like I did with The Bat, it was one of those cheaper DVDs that used to sit at the checkout counter of big box stores, but regardless of who released it, I knew I had to own it.

Directed in 1945, by Rene Clair for 20th Century Fox, this was the first film adaptation of the book.  And in my humble opinion, it's still the best.  Now like all of them, except for a Russian adaptation, it follows the ending that Christie wrote for the stage play, not for the novel.  Honestly, I'm of two minds on that.  I love the book ending, it's perfect, it wraps everything up, and justice is served all around.  But the hopeless romantic in me, the guy who always roots for a happy ending, loves the way it ends.  I would love to see them redo this one at some point in time, with the book ending, just to see what I think of it.

Two other points on the differences between the movie and the books, one some of the names are changed, though I can really find no reason for that.  Maybe it was done to match the names in the play, but not sure if they were any different from the movie version.  The other change, and the one I find the most interesting, is in the crimes three of the guests are accused of.

Two of them involved the death of children, and one, of the suicide of a unwed, teenage girl.  In the book, Vera Claythorne is accused of allowing her boyfriend's nephew to drown.  Because she was jealous of the kid, she allowed and encouraged him, to swim out past his abilities, and didn't do anything to save him.  In the movie it's her sister's fiance she is accused of bumping off, though no motive is given.  In the movie, Prince Nikita Starloff is accused of running a couple over, simply by going too fast and not paying attention.  In the book, it's Anthony Marston who is accused of doing the same thing, but this time, mowing down two children. Neither men were able to show any sort of regret for the deaths, other than for losing their driver's licenses. Emily Brent, is accused of turning away her young problem of a nephew, which resulted in his death.  In the book, she turns out her maid, who became pregnant, out of marriage of course. In both cases her rigid morality would not allow her to show any symphony.  Because those cases dealt with child murder, and unwed pregnancy, it was determined that they would not live up to the Motion Picture Production Code, which ruled Hollywood at the time.  Apparently the public could not be exposed to such horrors.

Ten little Indian boys went out to dine;

One choked his little self and then there were nine.

Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;

One overslept himself and then there were eight.

Eight little Indian boys travelling in Devon;

One said he'd stay there and then there were seven.

Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;

One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.

Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;

A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.

Five little Indian boys going in for law;

One got in Chancery and then there were four.

Four little Indian boys going out to sea;

A red herring swallowed one and then there were three.

Three little Indian boys walking in the zoo;

A big bear hugged one and then there were two.

Two little Indian boys playing in the sun;

One got all frizzled up and then there was one.

One little Indian boy left all alone;

He went out and hanged himself and then there were none

The host of this little party, U.N. Owen, has gathered together a stellar cast of some of the best character actors of all time; C. Aubrey Smith, Queenie Leonard, Walter Huston, Barry Fitzgerald, Mischa Auer, Richard Haydn, Roland Young, June Duprez, Judith Anderson, and Louis Hayward (who I have always had a slight crush on).  Every single one of these actors, regardless of how much screen time they are given, the order in which they die determines that, embody their characters to the nth degree.  I won't tell you which two of them manage to escape the island, but you can probably guess that I'm happy about one of them.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Sherlock Holmes

So I'm ending the month with one of the greatest literary detectives of all time.  He is one of those characters everyone knows, even if you have never read one of his stories, or seen the myriad of screen incarnations.  There are so many takes of the original story, it would be impossible to even catalog them all, at least not without taking up way too much of your time.  I would argue that he is the most recognizable fictional character to ever grace our collective consciousness.  Since you have already seen the title of this post, you guys know I'm talking about the great Sherlock Holmes.

Not only do I argue that he is the most recognizable character, I also think an argument could be made for him being the most influential character of all time.  I would wager that without Sherlock Holmes, there would have never been a Hercule Poirot, nor the bazillion consulting detectives that came after him.  And I think it could also be argued, that had Dame Agatha had still managed to dream up Monsieur Poirot, he wouldn't have been as popular as he was in his own right.  Thousands of mystery writers owe their livelihoods to Sherlock Holmes, and his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Hell, even Sesame Street couldn't help but have a Sherlock Holmes character of their own, Sherlock Hemlock.

How can you not idolize a man who can tell you where you were born, where you bought your shoes, what you had for dinner last night, whether you are carrying on a torrid affair, your financial situation, and the reason why you are visiting him, all within a few minutes of meeting the man?  And it's not like he makes a secret of how he does it, he will gladly explain it to you, even if it's only to show off his brilliant brain.  Add in the fact that he is a neurotic, manic depressive drug addict, and you have the ingredients for one of the most engaging characters of all time.

For a character that originally starred in 56 short stories and four novels, he has gotten around since then.  I'm not even going to count all the "new" adventures of Sherlock Holmes that seem to pop up on book store shelves on a regular basis.  He has appeared in over 200 movies, and quite a few radio and TV adaptations.  He has been played by a string of actors, including; Basil Rathbone, Johnny Lee Miller, Peter Cushing, John Barrymore, Charlton Heston, Alan Napier, Christopher Lee, Larry Hagman, Michael Caine, Frank Langella, Robert Downey, Jr., and Benedict Cumberbatch.  That's not even touching the men who have played him.

Simply put, Sherlock Holmes is the God of Mysteries, and we need to all bow down, and pay homage to him. The genre I'm addicted to, the authors I adore, and the characters I love, all owe their existence to this pipe smoking, violin playing, swordsman.

Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie

Synopsis From Dust Jacket:

Elinor Carlisle always assumed she would marry her childhood friend and distant cousin, Roderick Welman.  Instead he fell in love with Mary, whom Elinor and Roderick used to play with on their Aunt Laura's lavish estate.  When Mary is gruesomely poisoned by morphine, suspicions naturally fall upon Elinor.

Then Aunt Laura, who bequeathed her estate and fortune to Elinor, is also found to have died from a morphine overdose.  The murderer seems obvious to everyone - everyone, that is, except Hercule Poirot.  The Belgian sleuth summons all his powers to unravel the intricacies of a case that seems deceptively simple on the surface.

I'm so glad that the synopsis is a little off on Hercule Poirot's involvement in this book, yes he is in it, but as in The Mystery of the Blue Train, he is an almost off page participant.  He is there in the beginning, and he does solve the case in the end, but that's it.   The middle section, the huge middle section, is simply the story itself.  How the characters interacted with each other, the way misunderstandings grew into suspicions, the way characters were manipulated and discarded like trash, all take center stage.  For that matter, Poirot is only brought in at the behest of young Dr. Lord, who seems to have taken a fancy to Elinor.  He's more than an afterthought, but not by much.  And I loved this book for that reason.  It's the perfect dose of Poirot for me, too bad the rest of his books aren't as sparse in his usage.

When I first cracked the book open, I was struck be the initial similarities between it and The State Vs. Elinor Norton by Mary Roberts Rinehart.  The Rinehart proceeded this one by quite a few years, so at first I was feeling a little trepidation.  I was concerned that Dame Agatha had "borrowed" from my second favorite mystery author of all times.  Luckily, other than they both have a woman named Elinor on trial for murder, and that both books both open with the trial, and they both have a male bystander in love the with heroine,  they don't really have all that much in common.  The victims, the motives, the plot twists, and the solution, are all completely different between the two books, so by the end I was able to breathe a little easier.

I can't say that the mystery itself compelled me all that much, it was a little twisty and circumvent for my taste, but the characterization more than made up for that.  More than anything, this is a character novel, driven by them, and created for them to live their lives. From Elinor, Dr. Lord, Roderick, Mary, the two nurses taking care of Aunt Laura, to Mary's abusive father and even on down to Poirot, it's the characters that drive this story, not the mystery.  I think it's the family dynamics that turned the story in that direction, because first and foremost, it's family relationships that are at the heart of the entire damn thing.

Here is Where by Andrew Carroll

If you didn't know that Edwin Booth saved the life of Robert Todd Lincoln, months before his brother assassinated President Lincoln, you aren't alone.  I had no clue, and that's the point of this book.  The author, Andrew Carroll, who had files upon files of little know historical oddities, decided to travel the United States, visiting the sites of pivotal points in American history, that most of us have forgotten about.  And forgotten is probably not the right word, let's just say this book is full of events and people that most of us never heard about, though we should have.

He had a few self imposed criteria. They had to be sites that were nationally important, not just some fun local event that didn't have that much of an impact, outside of the neighborhood it took place in.  But most importantly, they had to be unmarked, which most of the time, meant they were forgotten.

But this isn't just a book full of unconnected events and the personalities involved, instead its a travelogue that celebrates this country's past, and honors those that are trying to preserve it.  The author isn't just slapping down some dates and names, he's letting us in on the journey, allowing us to share in the discovery, to revel in our collective history.  Each trip is a separate journey, and we are right there with him, as he visits the sites and talks to the locals, gleaning information from everyone he meets.  You can feel the reverence and even the awe that he feels at times, being on location, where those we should honor, gave up their lives or fulfilled a life time of accomplishments.

He starts us off in Hawaii, not the most logical choice, nor his first choice.  Rather he is forced to accommodate his journey, to meet the demands of where he is going.  And it's with Hawaii that my studying began.  I was unaware of how a kamikaze pilot crash landed on the small island of Niihau.  Nor did I know of his capture by the locals, and how some trusted members of the community, who happened to be of Japanese heritage, tried to help him in escaping.  It's that incident that helped cement the distrust of Japanese Americans, and helped to land them in internment camps for the remainder of World War II.

What follows is a state by state tour, exploring other such events. But he doesn't go off willy nilly, or even follow in a way that makes the most geographical sense.  Instead he breaks the stops down into categories, using these events and places to explore broader themes running throughout our history.  He visits those who are trying to figure out who was here before us.  He delves into the darker side of expansion, discovery and growth.  He visits the homes of men and women who pushed our country forward through innovation and science.  He even touches upon the future, how our past teaches us about what is to come, and how there are those who are trying to preserve it for those generations to come.

And just to put out there one random fact that I never knew, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, started in Haskell County, KS.  I live in Kansas, but haven't been into the Western part of the state, I always knew that I never wanted to take a trip to Sublette.

I received this book for free from Blogging for Books, for this review.

Love, Wordsmithonia Radio Style

No, I'm not in love.  And no, I have no current prospects for it.  But for some odd reason, it's been on my mind a lot lately.  I'm not sure if it's the amount of m/m romance books I've been reading since I got my NOOK last November, but love is on my mind.  I'm not even sure if I'm ready for the emotion itself, but I'm ready for the music.  There are certain songs that can make my heart skip a beat, and get me thinking of the last time I was in love, or the prospect of finding it once again.  Not sure what the Fates have in store for me in the love department, but I know that there are certain songs I will never stop listening to.