Mailbox Monday for 5/2/11

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at The Printed Page and is being hosted all this month by Mari at Mari Reads.

Just one book this week.  I received a trade paperback of Night Crossing to Athens by Irene Magens from the LibraryThing member giveaway program.

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

Synopsis From Back Cover:

When Nina Revskaya puts her remarkable jewelry collection up for auction, the former Bolshoi Ballet star finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland, and of the events, both glorious and heartbreaking, that changed her life half a century earlier. It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of dance and fell in love, and where, faced with Stalinist aggression, a terrible discovery incited a deadly act of betrayal—and an ingenious escape to the West.

Nina has kept her secrets for half a lifetime. But now Drew Brooks, an inquisitive associate at a Boston auction house, and Grigori Solodin, a professor who believes Nina’s jewels hold the key to unlocking his past, begin to unravel her story—setting in motion a series of revelations that will have life-altering consequences for them all.

When I first started this book I was expecting to read just another typical blend of historical and modern day fiction.  The second part I normally don't have a problem with, it's the first part that has been rather hit or miss for me.  There is just something about the genre that for whatever reason I normally don't connect with.   There have been a few exceptions to that, but they have been few and far in between.  Luckily, this was one of those exceptions.  Actually, the historical flashbacks actually felt more real to me than the modern storyline.

There was something so breathtakingly beautiful about Nina's story in a Russia ruled by Stalin.  From the time she was a child she was taught to believe one thing about her country and the life she would live.  What she didn't know, and what she wouldn't know for years to come, was the truth.  That her life and those of her friends were in constant danger unless they toed the party line. 

Her life in the ballet and with her husband, the poet Viktor Elsin, is told through flashbacks as she is preparing to auction off her jewelery collection.  She is forced, almost against her will, to relive certain moments of her life that are both joyous and painful.  For years she has tried so hard to hide from a perceived betrayal that has been eating at her since it first entered her head.  She slowly comes to the realization that secrets destroy on their own.  That once you hold something inside for so long, it becomes more painful than the initial hurt.

There was nothing about this book I didn't like.  The characters were vivid and seemed to be almost real, despite my knowing this was fiction.  I actually wanted to google Nina Revskaya and see if I could find any videos of her dancing across the stage.  I wanted to read the poems of Viktor Elsin and find the emotion in them.  The settings were almost tactile in the realness.  I could smell the dressing room as Nina and her friends would get ready to dance as if their lives depended on it.  I could hear the music as she dances across the stage.  Everything was real and assaulted my senses in ways that many books are never able to do.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this one.  Please visit the tour page to read other opinions on it.

Favorite Fictional Character --- Auntie Mame Dennis (Back Pain Repost)

Right now I'm sitting at the computer and not loving the experience.  I lifted some boxes yesterday, apparently the wrong way, and my lower back has been annoying me ever since.  Because of that I'm not in the mood to sit down and write out a FFC.  Instead I will repost one I've previously done on my second favorite fictional character of all time, Auntie Mame.

I first met and fell in love with Auntie Mame in high school. I was home from school (don't remember why) and happened to turn on A&E. I didn't turn it off for the rest of the day. They were running a movie marathon of "Auntie Mame" starring Rosalind Russell and I was hooked. I must have watched it 3 times that day. My mom by the way thought I was completely crazy but let me do it anyway.

Now this post isn't about the movie or the book. It's about why I loved this character when I first met her and why I still do to this day. It's about the way Auntie Mame connected with a part of me that was craving something I didn't even know I was missing.

This was the mother I always wished I had. I envied little Patrick with a vengeance. Why should he get the perfect (in my view) mother when I didn't get one. I just didn't think it was very fair. Now I didn't give a second thought to the fact that Mame was only getting custody of Patrick because his father (her brother) had just died. Who cared about the reason? I was green with envy.

Mame was the ideal liberal, free thinking woman of her day. She believed in experimental education, couldn't stand snobbery, and was so shockingly outspoken it took your breath away. Even when she lost all her money and lost Patrick to a boarding school all in the same day she rose to the challenge and rebuilt her life anew. She was brazenly resilient and I admired her for it. She never stayed down and never let those around her fall down.

Here was an individual who took control. A woman who wouldn't let someone else dictate to her the way she should live her life. A loving mother who cared for her charge and made sure he grew up to be a man any mother would be proud of. A woman who took in a single, pregnant women in a time when the idea was scandalous.

I could go on and on about parties, fox hunting while wearing boots that don't fit, jingle bell bracelets, world travels, and writing books. There was so much to this woman that I still am amazed every time I watch the movie, read the book (Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis), or even watch the musical with Lucille Ball as Mame.

She has been my inspiration in so many things. In the movie she says "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death." I believe that's true and I never want to be one of those "suckers". For that is what Auntie Mame Dennis did. She Lived, Lived, Lived.

Lost In Shangri-La by Mitchell Zuckoff

Synopsis From Front Cover:

On May 13, 1945, twenty-four officers and enlisted men and women stationed on what was then Dutch New Guinea boarded a transport plane named the Gremlin Special for a sightseeing trip over “Shangri-La.” A beautiful and mysterious valley surrounded by steep, jagged mountain peaks deep within the island’s uncharted jungle, this hidden retreat was named after the fabled paradise in the bestselling novel Lost Horizon. But unlike the peaceful Tibetan monks of James Hilton’s book, this Shangri-La was the home of Stone Age warriors—spear-carrying tribesmen rumored to be headhunters and cannibals.

But the pleasure tour became an unforgettable battle for survival when the plane crashed. Miraculously, three passengers survived—WAC Corporal Margaret Hastings, Lieutenant John McCollom, and Sergeant Kenneth Decker. Margaret, barefoot and burned, had no choice but to wear her dead best friend’s shoes. McCollom, grieving the death of his twin brother also aboard the Gremlin Special, masked his grief with stoicism. Decker, too, was severely burned and suffered a bloody, gaping head wound.

Emotionally devastated, badly injured, and vulnerable to disease, parasites, and poisonous snakes in the wet jungle climate, the trio faced certain death unless they left the wreckage. Caught between man-eating headhunters and the enemy Japanese, with nothing to sustain them but a handful of candy and their own fortitude, they endured a harrowing trek down the mountainside—an exhausting journey into the unknown that would lead them straight into a primitive tribe of superstitious natives who had never before seen a white man–or woman.

I left a comment the other day, I forget where though I'm sure I'll remember later, about my discovery of great non fiction books being part of the reason I love book blogging so much.  Whether they are books that I have the pleasure of reading or those reviewed by the bloggers I love, I'm finding books about subjects that I either never heard of before or those I'm not all that familiar with.  This book, Lost in Shangri-La, recounts a story I never knew about, but I'm damn glad I do now.

This was a fast paced narrative recounting what happened after a C-47 carrying 24 military personal, 9 of them WACS, crashed into the mountains of Dutch New Guinea.  For some reason I always think that World War II ended after the Allies defeated Hitler.  I almost forget that the military campaign taking place in the Pacific ended later than that.  I forget that we still had men, and sometimes women, fighting and dying as they fought the Japanese.  I forget that the Atomic bombs we dropped on Japan happened later than the suicide of Hitler.  So it's with that forgetfulness of knowledge that I entered into this book.

Those 24 military personnel that crashed landed into a mountain as they were taking a short respite from duty, were brave men and women who were willing to give of themselves to defend this country.  They were flying to see, most of them for the first time, a remote mountain valley that had recently been discovered.  In that valley, locked away from the rest of the world, lived thousand of native villagers locked in countless wars between villages.  They lived with very little clothing, raised their children, grew sweet potatos, raised pigs, and warred on their neighbors for reasons they forgot long ago.  They believed in sky spirits that one day would come back and change their world forever.  Little did they know that when they encountered the three survivors of that plane crash, that the "sky spirits" were going to be the cause of such monumental change that things would never be the same again.

What I love about this book is how the author recounts not only what happened, but who it happened too.  Throughout the book he introduces not only the three survivors but the other 21 people who did not walk away from the crash.  It's not just the names that are listed though.  Where they are from, who they loved, their goals in life, the details needed to make them real, where what was given.  He made me feel as if I was walking along with the 3 of them as they struggled and fought to walk away from the plane and those they knew and loved.  He brought to life how they lived amongst the natives as they waited for rescue.

He also helped me to learn about the individual native members of the Dani people as they try to figure out the actions of these "sky spirits" that have been thrust upon them.  He was able to recount the way certain natives and the survivors got to know each other and how they often times misunderstood what they other group were doing.  Like with the survivors we find out what has happened to them in the years after the rescue and weep at how their valley has "progressed" into the modern world.

This was also the story of the brave men who risked life and limb in order to rescue the three and bring them back to safety.  This was no small feat since their was almost no logistical way that didn't have dire consequences if things didn't go right.  They had to parachute in then hike to the area the survivors where in.  The author brings their personal stories to life in a way that made me want to read more about the Filipino-American soldiers who fought, for whatever reason, against the Japanese.

I loved getting to know all the people involved and I certainly plan on reading/discovering more about them.  I really hope that the movie(s) planned shortly after the event happened becomes a real thing someday.  Everyone involved deserves the recognition and gratitude that tends to come from a great story being told on the silver screen.

I would like to thank Trish of TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read/review this book.  I would highly encourage everyone to visit the tour page to read more opinions on the book.

Mailbox Monday for 4/25/11

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme created by Marcia at A Girl And Her Books and is being hosted all this month by Amy at Passages to the Past.

I received a trade paperback of Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon and a hardcover of On China by Henry Kissinger.  Both of them are for upcoming TLC Book Tours.

Happy Easter Everyone

I Just Wanted To Say That I Hope You All Have A Wonderful And Happy Easter

The Bat by Mary Roberts Rinehart

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Someone - or something - is trying to frighten Cornelia Van Gorder to death.  But the plucky patrician doesn't scare easily.  Neither the unearthly sights in the courtyard nor the unnerving sounds creaking in the attic can budge her from her isolated country mansion.

Even rumors of an escaped lunatic known as The Bat only bring out Cornelia's fondness for murder mysteries, and a secret longing to play detective.  But when she stumbles upon a corpse on storm-swept night, Cornelia realizes she's involved in a most dangerous game - one she's playing alone, and in the dark, deadly shadow of.... The Bat.

I really don't remember what my first mystery book was or even what age I was when I first opened one.  More than likely it was a Nancy Drew or Encyclopedia Brown book.  It wasn't until I read my first Agatha Christie book that I truly became a fan for life.  I was such a fan of her that I tended to ignore other well known authors and even moved onto Fantasy for a while.  Now as an adult I'm having a great time discovery authors that have made names for themselves in the mystery genre.  One author that I never heard of until Yvette, of in so many words..., reviewed a book of hers.  Her name is Mary Roberts Rinehart and because of Yvette I figured out that she wrote the inspiration for one of my favorite Agnes Moorehead movies.  That inspiration was The Bat, and luckily I found it in a used bookstore.  Once I got home I couldn't help but get started on it and I finished it rather quickly.

Now this book is actually a novelization of the stage play "The Bat" that Rinehart wrote along with Avery Hopwood. The funny thing is, the play was actually the stage adaptation of her novel The Circular Staircase. I think that fact that this book came from a stage play is what made it a blast to read. It has the ebbs and flows of a stage play as the characters enter and exit the stage. That aspect actually reminded me of "Noises Off" as characters constantly exit and enter as certain key characters are doing the opposite. Chance encounters and even chance misses are part of what makes this book feel like a romping travel through a very scary house.  Now I just need to see if I can get a hold of the play as well.

Obviously since I love the movie so much it was a little hard for me to separate the movie from the book.  This was the same problem I had with The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett.  While the problem was the same, my reaction to it was a little different. this time around.  I was able to keep them separate in my head and not compare the two of them as much.

When Cornelia Van Gorder decides to leave NYC for the Summer she drags her VERY Irish maid Lizzie Allen, and her niece Dale Odgen along with her to a rented mansion out in the country.  The owner of the mansion, Courtleigh Fleming, had supposedly died while he was out of town on his business.  He was president of the local bank.  After his death, Richard Fleming,  his nephew, decided to rent the place out for the Summer.  Now while that seemingly innocent transaction was taking place, other mischievous was afoot.  The Bat, the most elusive criminal ever know has been spreading terror throughout the area.  Every attempt has failed to bring his string of theft and murder to an end.  When an ambitious detective decides to attempt what has already gotten one of his colleagues killed, the capture of The Bat, the game is on.  Throw in a bank theft, from Courtleigh Fleming's bank, that a cashier is being charged with and you have the makings of a great thriller.

Fortunately, at least for her, the estate she rented was in the middle of The Bat's territory.  It doesn't take long before strange sights and sounds are bothering the residents of the house.  Men without faces, weird tapping noises in empty rooms, and glowing eyes are just some of the odd things that are bothering the residents of the house.  Because of all the strangeness the servants up and quit except for the hysterical (I mean that in both senses of the word) and Courtleigh Flemings Japanese butler, Billy.  Both of them have seen and heard things that scare them, but for reasons of their own, they won't leave.

Cornelia, who refuses to be scared by anything, quickly becomes convinced that the missing money is hidden somewhere in the house and that someone is looking for it.  She is joined in the house by the detective who arrives just as the action start heating up.  Before we know it there are characters (three of which I haven't even talked about) all over the house, some of whom end up dead before the mystery is solved.  The solution is fantastic and one of the best I've seen done in this type of mystery book.  It was slightly different from the movie version I'm used to, so while I wasn't surprised by it, I felt a little annoyed I didn't figure it out earlier than I did.  Now I will say I figured it out before the reveal, but it was still a lot of fun.

There are at least three movie versions of this story, one of them a silent film that I just discovered and will be watching soon.  The one I love though was made in 1959 and starred Agnes Moorehead as Cornelia Van Gorder and Vincent Price as Dr. Wells, one of the characters I didn't talk about in the book review.  His character, friend and physician to Courtleigh Fleming is the same, though the movie fleshes him out a bit more.  I love the movie and while I may do a review of it someday I just wanted to say that I would encourage everyone to watch it.  I found the full version on youtube and since I can't embed it, I'll include the link to the movie and keep my fingers crossed that someone will watch it.  They also have the 1926 silent movie version as well.

Challenges: M&S, VM