THE SECRET LOVES OF JULIA CAESAR

TITLE: THE SECRET LOVES OF JULIA CAESAR

AUTHOR: NOËLLE HARRISON

Pages: 161

Date: 02/04/2014

Grade: 5

Details: Companion book to “The Adulteress”

            Received from the author

Own

From the author’s website:

“The Secret Loves of Julia Caesar is a search for the true nature of love in all its glorious and terrible manifestations. It can be read as a companion book to my 2009 novel, The Adulteress since The Secret Loves is the book that Nicholas finds in his attic, penned by June Fanning, a young wife who lived in his house during the Second World War.

At the same time this novella is a complete book in itself; my re-imagining of the true story of Julia, infamous daughter of Emperor Augustus of Rome, who was exiled to a deserted island for her adultery. It will take you on a sensory journey to Ancient Rome; and further perhaps, to your own heart and fantasies?”

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My thoughts:

This small but utterly beautiful book contains the story of Julia Caesar, the fabled beauty who was the daughter of the Emperor Augustus of Rome. The reader watches as Julia loses her mother at an early age. We witness a few months of happiness when Julia, aged only 14 marries her cousin Marcellus who loves her enough not to take her to his bed for fear that childbirth will kill her. We are with Julia as her heart breaks when Marcellus dies and despair with her when she’s forced to marry the much older Agrippa. We rejoice for Julia when she at last discovers the comforts of sex with her lover, the poet Sempronius Gracchus and mourn for her as comfort turns into addiction.

It is heartbreaking that Julia only discovers the joys of intimacy and sex after the husband she loved deeply has died, while she is pregnant with her first child by the husband she detests, and from a man who can only be her lover.

“This is the secret of love. It is sex.”

And because the man who teaches her about love is also a man who will never love just her, Julia tries to find that elusive feeling again and again through meetings with difference lovers and prostitution. It is the forbidden love with and from her slave Phoebe that teaches Julia her second lesson about love:

“This is the secret of love(…). It is trust.”

But years of being used by her husband and allowing herself to be used by others have turned Julia’s once pure feelings into something cynical.

“Love is a game (…) which we humans like to play, and sometimes it is fun and sometimes it hurts. Like any game, there is a winner and a loser.”

And yet, Julia’s need for love and the pleasure she derives from sharing that love with men bring her an endless amount of satisfaction.

“Yes, I am a whore in the goddess sense. A vessel for physical pleasure, a priestess for the body.”

Exiled by her father for her promiscuous behaviour, it takes Julia a long time before she comes to terms with her fate and the solitude that will be hers for the rest of her life. And yet, it teaches her the next lesson about love:

“This is the secret of love (…). Forgiveness.”

It is exile that will take Julia from utter despair and depression:

“And when she replays these scenes they weigh like lead upon her heart, because she regrets everything.”

to the lesson about love:

“Yes this is the secret of love, giving.”

This book is beautiful in more ways than one. I’m not sure I would call this book a novel. I think “The secret loves of Julia Caesar” could be better described as a work of art. Between these covers we find Julia’s story but we also discover beautiful drawings, fragments of history and wonderful poetry. This is not the sort of book you pick up and read from cover to cover in a few hours. This is a publication that should be treasured, reflected upon and slowly devoured. I can only hope that the upcoming e-book release of this story will be able to bring all these aspects of the story to the reader.

Noëlle Harrison has discovered the secret of beautiful words, made it her own and then, generously, decided to share it with the world:

“We are the same Phoebe (…). We have already cried the tears of many lifetimes. We are saltwater sisters.”

GRETEL AND THE DARK

TITLE: GRETEL AND THE DARK

AUTHOR: ELIZA GRANVILLE

Pages: 358

Date: 06/02/2014

Grade: 5+

Details: Received from Hamish Hamilton

            Through Nudge

Own

“‘Yes, life is hard,’ whispers Erika, ‘but knowing about other people, other civilizations, other ways of living, other places – that’s your escape route, a magical journey. Once you know about these things, no matter what happens, your mind can create stories to take you anywhere you want to go.’”

Vienna, 1899. When Benjamin finds a thin, naked and injured young woman he brings her to his employer, the celebrated psychoanalyst Joseph Breuer. The girl claims to have no name and no feelings. In fact she insists she is an automaton without feelings, on a mission to kill a monster before it grows too big. Dr. Breuer is intrigued and decides to find out who the girl is and how she ended up in the dishevelled state she was found in. It is a mission that will put young Benjamin in terrible danger.

Years later in Germany young Krysta is trying to make sense of her life. Her mother has killed herself and when her father is ordered to work in an infirmary with the ‘animal people’ she finds herself all but abandoned by everybody who has ever cared for her. When her father dies as well, Krysta is dropped into a nightmare. Her only escape comes in the form of stories and fairytales; those she’s been told over the years, those she tells herself and those she hears from the people she’s forced to live among now. It is Krysta’s imagination that gives her the strength to keep going; that will make survival possible for her and Daniel, the boy she meets in the middle of hell.

Two stories that appear to have little or nothing to do with each other until suddenly they do and create a magical ending.

This is one of those breathtaking books that have you wondering what it is you are reading until the moment when all is revealed and you know you’ve just read something amazing. This is a truly original story that will break your heart only to put it back together again and leave you feeling uplifted and enchanted.

When I’d read the first 100 pages in this book I still had absolutely no idea what exactly the story was about or where it might be going. I was also completely engrossed in the narrative. The writing is smooth and very descriptive and draws the reader into a world that doesn’t appear to be real and yet is painted so clearly it almost glows off the pages. It is like seeing something from the corner of your eye only to have it disappear when you turn to look at it straight on.

It is impossible not to get caught up in the two stories. Poor Krysta’s life is so filled with pain, loss and lack of compassion it breaks your heart and makes you want to cheer for the bad mannered girl who refuses to allow the uncaring adults around her to bully her. The story of the girl found in Vienna on the other hand, feels more like a fairytale; a magical but rather dark fantasy.

There are recognisable connections between the two stories almost from the start, but nothing prepared me for the revelation of how they were connected. For me, it was nothing short of brilliant. And that is all I can say about it without spoiling the extra-ordinary reading experience this book gives the reader.

For me personally this book holds an added bonus. Some of the books described in ‘Gretel and the Dark’ are titles I recognise from when I grew up in Holland. I devoured the Winnetou and Old Shatterhand stories by Karl May when I was a teenager and the book of instructional tales for children described here is one that could be found on the shelves in my childhood home. I’ll never forget that story about the girl who played with matches and was surprised and delighted to find it referenced here.

This is a book about stories and fairytales. About the power of words and the magic that allows us to use our fantasy to deal with the things life will throw at us. This is a story about love and what it is capable of. This book will enthral you long before you know what the story is about and will keep you thinking for days after you’ve finished reading it. This is a book for everybody who loves stories and reading.

‘Gretel and the Dark’ is nothing short of an amazing reading experience.

THE BLACK COUNTRY

TITLE: THE BLACK COUNTRY

AUTHOR: ALEX GRECIAN

Pages: 416

Date: 15/10/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: no. 2 The Murder Squad

            Received from Penguin

            Through Nudge

Own

The year is 1890 and three people have gone missing from Blackhampton, a miner’s village in the Midlands. Inspector Walter Day and Sergeant Hammersmith from London’s Crime Squad are sent to the remote village to investigate the disappearances and are given only two days to solve the mystery.

Once the two investigators arrive in Blackhampton they find a closed and rather hostile community. The local policeman may have asked for their assistance but even he seems reluctant to share information or offer real assistance.

As Day and Hammersmith start their search for the missing adults and their young son they are amazed that even the child’s siblings seem uncurious about what has happened and are determined not to tell them anything useful.

And while Day and his companion are unaware of it, the missing locals are not the only problem they are facing. There are other dangers out and about. There is the mysterious guest sharing the guesthouse they’re staying in as well as somebody hiding in the woods who seems to have an agenda of his own.

As the spring weather reverts to snow storms, even the village itself seems to conspire against our investigators as it subsides deeper and deeper into the mine shafts underneath it. The odds are stacked against Day and Hammersmith and solving the mysteries may be the least of their problems as staying alive suddenly becomes an issue.

The Black Country is a very appropriate title for this book. Not only does Blackhampton sound like a dark place, it is literally dark due to the mining activity there and the smokestacks that are constantly spewing smoke. But there is more; the locals are hostile, uncooperative, superstitious, and appear to be going out of their way to make the investigation as difficult as possible. In fact, the whole story, including the solution to the various mysteries, is dark. There is some relief to all the darkness in the form of the interactions between Day and Hammersmith, a short visit from Day’s wife and the arrival of Dr. Kingsley and his kind but slow-witted assistant, but the overall tone of this story is as gloomy as the title suggests.

That is not to say this isn’t a good book. This is in fact a very well plotted mystery and a fascinating read. I’m very impressed with the way in which Alex Grecian managed to tie three, apparently completely unrelated, story threads together in what was a gripping finale. I am fascinated with the time in which these books are set. The police force in London has been reformed after the debacle that was the investigation into Jack the Ripper, resulting in the new Murder Squad which Day and Hammersmith are part of. Forensic science is slowly emerging as Dr. Kingsley uses new and unconventional techniques to find answers to some of the questions the investigation gives rise to. Combined with an intriguing story, all these aspects serve to give the reader a book that is almost impossible to put down.

This is a book that will be appreciated by any reader who enjoys a good mystery, a fascinating historical novel, a true page-turner or all of the aforementioned.

ROSE UNDER FIRE

US hard cover

TITLE: ROSE UNDER FIRE

AUTHOR: ELIZABETH WEIN

Pages: 368

Date: 09/10/2013

Grade: 5

Details: Received from Disney Book Group

            Through NetGalley

Own / Kindle

The Blurb:

“While flying an Allied fighter plane from Paris to England, American ATA pilot and amateur poet, Rose Justice, is captured by the Nazis and sent to Ravensbrück, the notorious women's concentration camp. Trapped in horrific circumstances, Rose finds hope in the impossible through the loyalty, bravery and friendship of her fellow prisoners. But will that be enough to endure the fate that’s in store for her?

Elizabeth Wein, author of the critically-acclaimed and best-selling Code Name Verity, delivers another stunning WWII thriller. The unforgettable story of Rose Justice is forged from heart-wrenching courage, resolve, and the slim, bright chance of survival.”

“Fight with realistic hope, not to destroy all the world’s wrong, but to renew its good.”

They do say, be careful what you wish for because you might just get it. Rose Justice learns that lesson all to well. Only 18 years old she is one of the youngest pilots involved in the war effort. Flying planes to transfer them from one airfield to another, what she really wants is permission to fly missions in to war-torn Europe. When she does get that opportunity through her uncle’s influence it turns into her first and last trip. While she safely delivers her passengers at their destination, she goes missing on the return trip. Nobody knows what happened to her, nobody knows where she went down, everybody, while hoping that she may be alive, is starting to realize that she has probably died.

But Rose hasn’t died. She’s been intercepted by German planes and captured. Through an administrative error she ends up in Ravensbrück Concentration Camp. Here she’ll experience horror, fear, hunger and desperation. In Ravensbrück she will also discover friendship and loyalty beyond her imagination.

“I’m done with it now – dry words on a page. The reality was much worse.” – Rose about when she arrives in Ravensbrück.

This is not an easy book to read. The reader is lulled into a false sense of security during the first part of the book which details Rose’s time in England, flying planes from one airport to another. In fact, by the time everything goes horribly wrong for Rose the reader is as ill prepared for what she is about to face as the character is. Like I said in my review of “Code Name Verity” I have in the past read a lot of books about WW II and I honestly thought there wasn’t a lot I didn’t know about. But, while I did know that the Germans used their prisoners for medical experiments, I did not know that the victims were called “Rabbits”.

And it is those “Rabbits” that this book is really about. Rose may be the main character, she may be the one telling this story but she is really only a mouthpiece used to describe horrors that are hard to imagine, even though we know they are true. Horrors so extreme that the world refused to believe them until it was forced to view the (living) evidence. Rose is incapable of telling her fellow prisoners that while the plight of the Rabbits had been reported in England, people hearing about it refused to believe it and brushed it off as propaganda. Because some things are just too hard to believe. However, if there is anybody out there who doubts that the things described in the section of this book set in Ravensbrück are true, if anyone finds themselves thinking that friendship couldn’t exist in such a place, that (young) people couldn't possibly survive such an experience, that it wasn't possible to cheat certain death, or that escape was impossible I would tell them to read Samuel Pisar’s memoir “Of Blood and Hope” and never doubt again.

Don’t read this book expecting a repeat of “Code Name Verity”. That book was a thriller with twists and turns and an uncertain ending as well as a story about friendship. “Rose Under Fire” is no thriller; we know Rose is going to survive that is made clear at the start of the book. This book is about what it took for Rose to survive and what surviving did to her. This story is harder to read because the horrors described are so – and I can’t think of a better word – horrific that even I, who has read so many books about this subject in the past, at times found it hard to read on.

This is a book that will break your heart, fill you with horror, and make you gasp in disbelief. Yet it is also a book that will flood you with admiration for the strength of these women. The power of hope against the odds and the capacity to selfishly love, even in the direst of circumstances, will restore your heart again.

UK paperback

Like I said above; these days I try to steer clear of books about WW II. I read my fill of them growing up in Holland. On the other hand I’m glad that books like these still get written. This is a story that can’t be allowed to ever be forgotten. And it is books like this one that ensure that present and future generations won’t be allowed to forget. Like the “Rabbits” say in the book: the world needs to be told. It needed to be told then, and it needs to be told now in the hope that there will come a time when people are no longer capable of inflicting this sort of trauma upon others.

“People don’t get moving, they don’t soar, they don’t achieve great heights, without something buoying them up.”

MRS POE

TITLE: MRS POE

AUTHOR: LYNN CULLEN

Pages: 336

Date: 06/10/2013

Grade: 4.5

Details: Received from Gallery Books

            Through NetGalley

Own/Kindle

The Blurb:

“1845: New York City is a sprawling warren of gaslit streets and crowded avenues, bustling with new immigrants and old money, optimism and opportunity, poverty and crime. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” is all the rage—the success of which a struggling poet like Frances Osgood can only dream. As a mother trying to support two young children after her husband’s cruel betrayal, Frances jumps at the chance to meet the illustrious Mr. Poe at a small literary gathering, if only to help her fledgling career. Although not a great fan of Poe’s writing, she is nonetheless overwhelmed by his magnetic presence— and the surprising revelation that he admires her work.

What follows is a flirtation, then a seduction, then an illicit affair . . . and with each clandestine encounter, Frances finds herself falling slowly and inexorably under the spell of her mysterious, complicated lover. But when Edgar’s frail wife Virginia insists on befriending Frances as well, the relationship becomes as dark and twisted as one of Poe’s tales. And like those gothic heroines whose fates are forever sealed, Frances begins to fear that deceiving Mrs. Poe may be as impossible as cheating death itself.”

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“A writer and his demons. A woman and her desires. A wife and her revenge…”

If you are going to write a novel about a historical figure it is hard to imagine a more fascinating person than Edgar Allan Poe. He of the dark twisted tales, who married his teenage niece, and was apparently determined to alienate the very people who admired his poetry and tales.

How different a character Frances Sargent Osgood is. She may be a poet, like Poe, but whereas his poems are created to shock and scare, hers deal with flowers and are beautiful. No wonder she is surprised when Poe confesses to admiring her poems when they first meet.

In modern times most people would understand how a woman like Frances, abandoned by her philandering husband, might fall for a man like Poe and act on that attraction. In New York of the 19^th century such understanding was rare. In a time when women still became the property of the men they married any close contact between a married woman and a man other than her husband was frowned upon, if not condemned. Although there appears to be, at least in this book, a double standard in this regard. While Frances friendship with Poe is cause for scandal, nobody appears to raise an eyebrow at the way Rufus Wilmot Griswold pursued her.

Before Frances meets Poe she is convinced she dislikes the man. She doesn’t like or approve of his poem “The Raven” and fails to understand why it would be so popular when it is so very dark. However, upon meeting Poe, Frances can’t help being attracted to the man, even if it is against her better judgment.

“I knew that I should dislike the man, should fear him, should keep my distance at all costs. I knew that I would not.”

In the society in which they live their attraction to each other could never lead to a happy ending, and despite their best, if somewhat awkward, attempts at secrecy, rumours about the two of them soon spread.

When Frances befriends Poe’s wife Virginia a curious but ultimately dangerous game kicks off. Is Virginia pushing Poe and Frances together with her insistence on contact with Mrs Osgood or has she a far more sinister game in mind?

This is a fascinating book. As a story of doomed love it would have been a great read if the two characters had been fictional. The fact that both Poe and Frances are real historical figures and a possible affair between them something which has been speculated about since their own days, only makes this story more interesting.

Because of the circles in which Frances and Poe moved, the reader is treated to glimpses of a host of famous names: Miss Louise Alcott, Mr. Walter Whitman, Mr. Herman Melville, Mr. Ralph Waldo Emerson, to name but a few, all make fleeting appearances. The expansion of New York City is another part of the story that makes for interesting reading. It is hard to imagine farmland and hills where nowadays we only see buildings and flat land. And the emergence of things we take for granted these days – Morse code and Central Park for example – puts this story even more firmly in its historical context.

The writing in this book is beautiful. In fact, it is easy to imagine that this book might be written by Frances herself; it sounds like a work written by someone who loves words and beauty and has a talent for combining the two.

This is a heartbreakingly beautiful story about love and loss as well as a thoroughly good read. The combination of poetic writing and an at times very dark story-line, means that the reader is thrown from pure awe at the skill of the author to pure horror about what is actually taking place. This is a book well worth reading, regardless of whether you’re a fan of Edgar Allan Poe and/or Frances Sargent Osgood or not.

It is as if producing a creative work tears a piece from your soul. When it is ripped completely free of you, the wound must bleed for a while.”

CRY TO HEAVEN

TITLE: CRY TO HEAVEN

AUTHOR: ANNE RICE

Pages: 582

Date: 17/09/2013

Grade: 5+

Own

The blurb on the back of the book:

“IN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY ITALY THE CASTRATI RECREATED HEAVEN ON EARTH.

Their exquisite voices soured above the glittering world of courtiers and nobility. Those who achieved fame were showered with riches and sexual favours. But their success also had a terrible sadness.

TONIO, of noble birth, is the victim of a vengeful brother. Disinherited and forced to join the ranks of the castrati, he plans his revenge while striving to become the greatest of all singers.

GUIDO, sacrificed to the knife at an early age, composes opera and dreams of the perfect voice to give it life. He discovers Toni and becomes his teacher.

Together they reach the very pinnacle of success. Tonio is pushed to the extremes of endurance as he tries to resolve his lust for glory and for vengeance.”

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“Don’t weep in front of these strangers! Cry to heaven, cry to heaven, cry to heaven.”

Oh my, what a book. Beautifully written, it tells a story filled with beauty, music and love while portraying unimaginable pain, desperation and hate. The idea of the mutilation young boys went through so that they might avoid losing their beautiful soprano voices is so cruel, so very inhumane it is hard to imagine that it really happened. But it did. Young boys gifted with promising voices, often from very poor families, were subjected to this form of mutilation to alleviate their family’s hardship and give them a chance at a more prosperous future. Young boys such as Guido in this story, who would never know what it would be like to be a man. Young boys who would grow up to look different from other men, who would be instantly recognisable as castrati, who could achieve fame and fortune but would never have been seen as “normal” people. But if the boys were young enough when the operation took place and if they were good enough to make a name for themselves, they had every opportunity to make a satisfying life for themselves with often only a vague idea of exactly what it was they had lost.

How much worse to have the mutilation inflicted upon you when you’re fifteen, when you’ve had your first glimpses of what it might mean to be a man, when you’ve started to think and dream of everything you might do and achieve in just a few more years. How much worse when you’re Tonio and the thing you love most in the world – singing – is used against you to rob you of your heritage, your family, your home and everything you thought was waiting for you in the future.

And how very well does Anne Rice share the pain of this loss with her readers. Because this is, for the most part, a story about loss. There is Guido who has to come to terms with the loss of his voice.

“It was as if his own voice had been his lover, and his lover had forsaken him.”

And while he finds his salvation in teaching others to sing and writing his masterful songs and operas, it isn’t until he hears Tonio’s voice and is given the opportunity to mentor him that he finds a new and maybe his true purpose in his life.

Guido may have lost his voice, Tonio loses everything he has ever known when he’s just fifteen years old. Exiled from his home in Venice, robbed of his manhood and his inheritance it is no wonder he falls victim to anger and despair.

“No matter how he felt, he would behave as if he did not feel it, and everything would be better.”

And even when Tonio does allow his love of singing to ease his pain, the taboos he still has to overcome are as enormous as the mountain he can see from his bedroom in Naples.

But this is also a story about love; love found in the most unexpected places. The love between Guido and Tonio, enduring, volatile but indestructible. The love of music. The love for others, strong, beautiful and engrossing but never replacing or diminishing the love between the teacher and his star pupil. This is a story about facing the hand life has dealt you and playing it the best you can, only to discover that maybe you ended up with a winner after all.

This is a story that will break your heart in a multitude of ways only to put it back together. This is a book filled with characters that will captivate you and stay in your thoughts for a long time after you finish reading. For me this was a book about a phenomenon I was barely aware of; a phenomenon I found as fascinating as I found it abhorrent.  There is a quiet beauty in this book. The writing appears distant and yet gives such a wealth of emotion and beauty.

I don’t quite have the words to describe just how much this book affected me; how strongly this story touched me. I have the emotion though; I love this book and this story.

I owe Tiffany Reisz a debt of gratitude for recommending yet another jewel of a book. Once again she has brought me to a story that has made a lasting impression on me. I will forever be grateful for the day I found a description of “The Siren” on NetGalley and decided I needed to read it. Who knew that one click on a “request” button would bring me such a wealth of literary, as well as other, delights.