In the High Peaks
















Sunday, November 6, 2022

Favorite Books from the Glorious Month of October

     Finally back to the blog after a glorious October. We had an unusually long, exquisitely beautiful fall foliage season that distracted me from most chores and activities, though I managed to keep up with my 2-hour daily reading habit. I must say, though, that only a few books were truly noteworthy of the eight or so that I read. 

     In the historical fiction category, I really enjoyed An Indiscreet Princess by Georgie Blalock. I’ve never read a book, fiction or nonfiction, about Queen Victoria’s children. This one is about Princess Louise, who had a passion for sculpture and pushed her boundaries so that she could study sculpting. By all accounts she was an accomplished artist, and managed to mingle, secretly, with a group of artists in London, including James McNeil Whistler. And she falls in love. This one is impeccably researched, although the author could not get access to Louise’s personal papers in the Royal Archives, and Louise’s partner’s family burned all of his papers after his death. I was also fascinated to learn about the adult lives of Queen Victoria’s children.

     I just finished one of the best thrillers I’ve read in quite some time. In my view, anyway, Catherine Steadman’s recently published The Family Game is the best of the four thrillers she has published. I know many of you were taken with her debut, Something in the Water. I liked it, too, but I thought that The Family Game was more polished and the loose ends more neatly tied up by the end. But I need to qualify that. Steadman’s novels, even though she’s a stellar producer of fireworks, always have some aspects that don’t quite hang together. This one was a superlative ride, however, and sometimes that’s what matters most.  Londoner Harry (Harriet) is a novelist and is married to Edward, an American and the oldest son in an ultra-rich family. When Harry is introduced to his family, she soon realizes that the secrets they keep are fraught with danger for everyone, but especially for her. Set in New York City and at The Hydes, the family’s palatial estate in the wilds of upstate New York, the action takes place between mid-November and New Year’s.

     Perhaps the best book from a literary perspective, is the new mind-bending novel We Spread by the Canadian writer Iain Reid, who is best known for his novel I’m Thinking of Ending Things. (The link will bring you to a blogger's review that expresses exactly my thoughts. Do scroll down to his "My Thoughts" section.)  I have seen We Spread categorized as psychological suspense, suspense thriller, literary fiction, science fiction, you name it. The fact is the novel doesn’t fit into any one genre.  Penny is an elderly artist living on her own in a New York City apartment, and she’s not doing well living on her own. She takes a tumble and finds that she ends up in an unusual assisted living home that has only 4 elder residents. It’s the most unsettling book I’ve read this year. Reid has crafted this so that the reader can never be sure exactly what is going on, what is reality and what is not, and the relative soundness of Penny’s mind. 

November Plans:  For Nonfiction November, I am about to start reading The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation by Rosemary Sullivan, a book I purchased early this year and haven't yet had time for.  I've been saving it for November. But! When I searched and searched Nonfiction November online, do you realize it's all on Twitter and Instagram? I was going to try to post an icon or something.  Oh, poor Twitter--poor Twitter followers! Elon Musk is the penultimate evil wizard of social media, sad to say. If I were an avid Twitterer, I'd be frantic, frankly.

10 comments:

  1. An Indiscreet Princess sounds like agood read. I must admit that I know very little about Queen Victoria's children other than that she married a lot of them off to European royalty. I'm glad that you enjoyed your Fall season.

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    1. Because Princess was a "royal rebel," her story was fascinating. She would never have been able to do all she did today without the public knowing everything about it. A good, solid story.

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  2. It is so good to see a post from you and hear about your reading. All of the books you mention sound good and I will check them out. Indiscreet Princess appeals because I don't know much at all about Queen Victoria or her children. I have heard of Catherine Steadman but was not sure what type of thrillers she wrote.

    We Spread sounds like the most challenging read for me; I am not sure if I would be able to take it. But I would like to give it a try. And it is a plus that the book is by a Canadian author.

    The book about Anne Frank that you will be reading should be very interesting.

    Take care and enjoy your reading.

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    1. One of the benefits of Indiscreet Princess is that it includes lots of information about Queen Victoria's nine children. Princess Louise was closest to her oldest brother, Bertie, the Prince of Wales who eventually became Edward VII. They had such a supportive relationship, largely based on the fact that their mother was so impossibly self-centered and difficult. Loads of good stuff in this one.
      I know what you mean about We Spread--it's too close to reality to be an entirely fun read.
      But Catherine Steadman's thrillers are so roller-coasterish that I find them to be total fun, in exactly the same ways a good mystery is fun. Nothing to fear there, it's all too outlandish to be taken too seriously.

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  3. Judith, thanks for the further information on Indiscreet Princess and Catherine Steadman's thrillers. Now I am sure I will want to try them both.

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  4. I thought the first Catherine Steadman was well done in that it kept me nervously on edge but it was one of those books where I kept saying, "No! Please don't do that!" which was exhausting!

    Did you ever get a chance to try one of Paula Munier's mysteries? I think you would really like the setting, just an hour or so away in VT.

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion! I don't know Paula Munier's mysteries. Will definitely check them out.

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  5. A 2-hour daily reading habit sounds very good! I need to get on the stick like that. So is the We Spread novel really good? I plan to read it. thanks. I'm an Anne Frank-ophile. love her diary

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    1. Oh, I am utterly devoted to Anne Frank's diary. I'm so glad that many have named it one of the finest works in 20th-century literature.
      I thought We Spread was brilliant, really--if I am to be totally honest. And I mean brilliant in the way he crafts every scene to puzzle the reader, and to make the reader question everything we perceive as real.

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