Monday, October 24, 2011
More Thoughts....
I really do enjoy reading books about young famous people... before they were famous. It is so interesting to read about this being with other... now famous... people. I enjoy the tangled lives that they seem to have.
Book Review: THE PARIS WIFE
"The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain
"Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quite twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness - and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group - the fabled "Lost Generation" - that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pond, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become THE SUN ALSO RISES. Hadley, meanwhile strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage - a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they've fought so hard for.
A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley."
I absolutely love this book!!! The author brings in many things we may not have thought about, like the lifestyle of the era in Paris. Many parts of this book also fascinated me. He was from the Chicago area. There is reference of 'corn' and 'Indiana'. They lived on $3000 a year, which translates to about $33(ish) now. They had sherry and biscuits for breakfast and alcohol every meal and then some. They had a 'practically' full time nanny that did so many things. Heck she was their housekeeper before Bumby, the son, was born. I understand that this is a fiction book, based on facts gathered. I love it and it really has peeked my interest in "The Sun Also Rises". I believe I will read that one.... which will be my first Hemingway book. His name is well known; however I often wonder how many of the people that 'knows the name' has read one of the books from this author.
"Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quite twenty-eight-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness - and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group - the fabled "Lost Generation" - that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pond, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald.
Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become THE SUN ALSO RISES. Hadley, meanwhile strives to hold on to her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage - a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they've fought so hard for.
A heartbreaking portrayal of love and torn loyalty, The Paris Wife is all the more poignant because we know that in the end, Hemingway wrote that he would rather have died than fallen in love with anyone but Hadley."
I absolutely love this book!!! The author brings in many things we may not have thought about, like the lifestyle of the era in Paris. Many parts of this book also fascinated me. He was from the Chicago area. There is reference of 'corn' and 'Indiana'. They lived on $3000 a year, which translates to about $33(ish) now. They had sherry and biscuits for breakfast and alcohol every meal and then some. They had a 'practically' full time nanny that did so many things. Heck she was their housekeeper before Bumby, the son, was born. I understand that this is a fiction book, based on facts gathered. I love it and it really has peeked my interest in "The Sun Also Rises". I believe I will read that one.... which will be my first Hemingway book. His name is well known; however I often wonder how many of the people that 'knows the name' has read one of the books from this author.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Book Review: Painted Ladies
"Painted Ladies" by Robert B Parker
"Called upon by The Hammond Museum and renowned art scholar Dr. Ashton Prince, Spenser accepts his latest case: to provide protection during a ransom exchange-money for a stolen painting.
The case becomes personal when Spenser fails to protect his client and the valuable painting remains stolen. Convinced that Ashton Prince played a bigger role than just ransom delivery boy, Spenser enters into a daring game of cat-and-mouse with the thieves. But this is a game he might not come out of alive...
Completed the year before he passed away, "Painted Ladies" is Spenser and Robert B. Parker at their electrifying best."
This book was ok. I actually got the book on cd and maybe it was the narrator that caused this book not to be the best book ever. The story line was good, just seemed to lack something for me.
"Called upon by The Hammond Museum and renowned art scholar Dr. Ashton Prince, Spenser accepts his latest case: to provide protection during a ransom exchange-money for a stolen painting.
The case becomes personal when Spenser fails to protect his client and the valuable painting remains stolen. Convinced that Ashton Prince played a bigger role than just ransom delivery boy, Spenser enters into a daring game of cat-and-mouse with the thieves. But this is a game he might not come out of alive...
Completed the year before he passed away, "Painted Ladies" is Spenser and Robert B. Parker at their electrifying best."
This book was ok. I actually got the book on cd and maybe it was the narrator that caused this book not to be the best book ever. The story line was good, just seemed to lack something for me.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Book Review: The Informant
"The Informant" by Thomas Perry
"The Butcher's Boy is back. Thomas Perry's vengeful assassin, who turned on his Mafia clients and helped his author win an Edgar Award in 1983, has been quiet for a decade. Now, one of crime fiction's most memorable killers has returned to play a deadly physiological game with Elizabeth Waring, the only Justice Department official who ever believed he existed.
The Butcher's Boy knows Waring can help him hunt down the Mafia boss who sent a team of hit men to kill him - and in return he offers her key information that will help her crack an unsolved murder. So begins a new assault on organized crime and an uneasy alliance between opposite sides of the law. As the Butcher's Boy works his way ever closer to his deadly enemy in an effort to kill him first, Warning is in a desperate struggle, either to force her unlikely ally to become a protected informant or to take him out of commission for good."
Awesome book. I didn't expect the ending at all and was totally shocked by the outcome. Again not a typical book I would have chosen; however this book club has opened some new door. (smiles)
"The Butcher's Boy is back. Thomas Perry's vengeful assassin, who turned on his Mafia clients and helped his author win an Edgar Award in 1983, has been quiet for a decade. Now, one of crime fiction's most memorable killers has returned to play a deadly physiological game with Elizabeth Waring, the only Justice Department official who ever believed he existed.
The Butcher's Boy knows Waring can help him hunt down the Mafia boss who sent a team of hit men to kill him - and in return he offers her key information that will help her crack an unsolved murder. So begins a new assault on organized crime and an uneasy alliance between opposite sides of the law. As the Butcher's Boy works his way ever closer to his deadly enemy in an effort to kill him first, Warning is in a desperate struggle, either to force her unlikely ally to become a protected informant or to take him out of commission for good."
Awesome book. I didn't expect the ending at all and was totally shocked by the outcome. Again not a typical book I would have chosen; however this book club has opened some new door. (smiles)
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