Book Review - Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron

Synopsis: First published to overwhelming acclaim in 1951, Lie Down in Darkness is the novel that established William Styron as a writer of international stature. It is a brooding, rhapsodic, sometimes searing portrait of a Southern family in extremis: Milton Loftis, a man of great charm and infinite weakness; Helen Loftis, who has given all her frustrated love to their crippled daughter, Maudie; and Peyton Loftis, adored by her father, loathed by her mother, and ultimately destroyed by that mixed inheritance.

First Line: "Riding down to Port Warwick from Richmond, the train begins to pick up speed on the outskirts of the city, past the tobacco factories with their ever-present haze of acrid, sweetish dust and past the rows of uniformly brown clapboard houses which stretch down the hilly streets for miles, it seems, the hundreds of rooftops all reflecting the pale light of dawn; past the suburban roads still sluggish and sleepy with early morning traffic, and rattling swiftly now over the bridge which separates the last two hills where in the valley below you can see the James River winding beneath its acid-green crust of scum out beside the chemical plants and more rows of clapboard houses and into the woods beyond."

Random Quote: "She had come to him six years ago, he remembered, on a rainy Sunday night in October when the leaves of sycamores lay upon the rectory lawn in drenched disordered piles and a gathering wind, blowing in chill and premonitory gusts from the river, had made him think wistfully of a new furnace and despairingly of his God who, he had prayed, would reveal Himself finally this year and preferably before Advent. It was a season for him of self-searching and vague, amorphous sorrows."

Review: I recently managed to make it all the way through Sophie's Choice, a book I had attempted to read in college and hadn't had the maturity to finish. I loved it on my recent read so I thought I should return to Lie Down in Darkness, another book I hadn't been able to complete.

Dovima, age 26 - Image by dovima_the_devine via Flickr

This is a very good, if not great, novel. It is also very depressing. I remember it being so depressing that I just couldn't get through it the first time (and my memory was good). All the same, the writing is beautiful and the characterizations clear and sad. In a sense, this novel is a lyrical essay on Tolstoy's quote about unhappy families from Anna Karenina: "Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

The novel opens on Peyton Loftis' body returning to her family on the train from New York after her suicide. Styron ranges back and forth in time and point of view throughout the novel in presenting the causes of Peyton's depression and suicide.

Peyton Loftis is the template for a particular kind of doomed Southern girl - beautiful with Daddy issues and a dozen bad habits, the kind of girl certain kinds of boys fall in love with but never marry. She is in some ways a very old-fashioned character - very much of her own generation. Reading her will make you grateful that our mothers' generation fought the feminist battles and gave us options beyond attending Sweet Briar and marrying the first fraternity boy that crossed our path. I think it's a wonder more intelligent and creative women didn't cut their own throats in the public square out of sheer boredom.

I'd like to say that all the changes in the status of women in the last 50 or so years have made the Peyton Loftises of the world obsolete, but that would be untrue. There are still plenty of boxes for both women and men to be confined to and political and societal change don't necessarily eliminate them.

I'm glad I made it through this one this time. It is, as I said, a good novel. I can strongly relate to all the flavors of despair that Styron depicts and truly felt the presence of his own depression throughout the novel. Styron is wonderfully flamboyant with language and character, even when weighed down with his own demons.

Book Review - Fallen by Lauren Kate

Synopsis: Seventeen-Year-Old Luce is a new student at Sword & Cross, an unwelcoming boarding/reform school in Savannah, Georgia. Luce’s boyfriend died under suspicious circumstances, and now she carries the guilt over his death with her as she navigates the unfriendly halls at Sword & Cross, where every student seems to have an unpleasant—even evil—history.

It’s only when she sees Daniel, a gorgeous fellow student, that Luce feels there’s a reason to be here—though she doesn’t know what it is. And Daniel’s frosty cold demeanor toward her? It’s really a protective device that he’s used again . . . and again. For Daniel is a fallen angel, doomed to fall in love with the same girl every 17 years . . . and watch her die. And Luce is a fellow immortal, cursed to be reincarnated again and again as a mortal girl who has no idea of who she really is.

First Line: "Around midnight, her eyes at last took shape."

Random Quote: "Daniel was looking around, like he'd heard something. She felt certain he didn't know it was her: He wasn't scowling."

Review: Recently I paid a visit to Target to pick up some things. I always stop by the book section when I'm there, even though I don't usually buy anything (I'm a used book and library kind of girl). I like to see what they've got on display because it keeps me abreast of what's selling out there in the wonderful world of books. On this visit, I was appalled to find that there was nothing in the young adult section, but paranormal romance. It was all 90210 with fangs, fur, or wings. How depressing!

Bonaventure Cemetary - Image by code poet via Flickr

Don't get me wrong - I like well-written fiction that contains an element of the paranormal and even an element of romance, but that's not all I like. I shudder to think that these are the only books being marketed on a mass scale to teenage girls. The fact that they are frequently dreadfully written and feature relationships that teeter on the edge of emotional (if not physical) abuse is appalling. Why are we giving young women the message that they should be stalking and putting up with young men who are emotionally unavailable, passive aggressive, and (by the way) not human?

Fallen follows the latest version of this trend by making the bad boys (yes, there are two fighting over our intrepid heroine) fallen angels. The setting is Savannah, but the writer takes no advantage of it. We are to believe that the characters are in a reform school, but it reads more like one of those schools advertised in the back of Town and Country for challenged kids. It's boarding school with slightly higher security.

The concept of this book could have been interesting, but the book definitely falls short. Wooden characters, a truly dumb heroine, and completely unbelievable storyline make this one worth missing. I like the cover, though!

Thanks to the publisher for letting me read an advance copy of this book. I wish it had been better, but maybe the sequel will be an improvement.

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) random teaser sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & the author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

My Teaser:

"It was like waking from a nightmare to a worse nightmare. I sat up, heart pounding, slapping at the blank wall for the light switch until the terrible realization dawned on me that I was not in my own room."

- The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Mailbox Monday

Just two books this week, both from paperbackswap.com!

The King of Lies by John Hart. Jackson Workman Pickens, known to most as Work, mindlessly holds together his disintegrating life: a failing law practice left to him when his father, Ezra, mysteriously disappeared, a distant wife who shares their loveless marriage, and an estranged sister who bore the brunt of their childhood trauma. And then Ezra's body is discovered. Set to inherit his father's fortune, Work becomes a prime suspect. But so does his sister, Jean. As much as Work's life was overshadowed by his domineering father, Jean's life was nearly destroyed by him. But does that make her capable of a vicious murder?

Exposure by Kathryn Harrison. Ann Rogers appears to be a happily married, successful young woman. A talented photographer, she creates happy memories for others, videotaping weddings, splicing together scenes of smiling faces, editing out awkward moments. But she cannot edit her own memories so easily–images of a childhood spent as her father’s model and muse, the subject of his celebrated series of controversial photographs. To cope, Ann slips into a secret life of shame and vice. But when the Museum of Modern Art announces a retrospective of her father’s shocking portraits, Ann finds herself teetering on the edge of self-destruction, desperately trying to escape the psychological maelstrom that threatens to consume her.

Happy Monday, everyone!

Book Review - Spellbinder by Helen Stringer

Synopsis: Belladonna Johnson can see ghosts. It’s a trait she’s inherited from her mother’s side of the family, like blue eyes or straight hair. And it’s a trait she could do without, because what twelve-year-old wants to be caught talking to someone invisible?

It is convenient, though, after Belladonna’s parents are killed in a car accident. They can live with her the same as always, watching the same old TV shows in their same old house. Nothing has changed . . . until everything changes.

First Line: "It was Wednesday."

Random Quote: "The Dullworth's school library was not one of its best features. The parents of prospective students always reacted with surprised disappointment when they got to the part of the school tour where Miss Barker led them into the small octagonal room. Surely, they thought, this can't be it?"

Review: This was a delightful book about a girl who can see ghosts (it runs in the family). It's good that she can see visitors from the other side because her parents are ghosts - killed in a car accident, but still taking care of her. One day, all the ghosts in the world begin to disapp

British schoolkids - Image by Phil Romans via Flickr

ear, including Belladonna's parents. She and her friend, Steve, and her ghostly friend Elsie team up to discover what's happening.

This was a book where I loved both the story and the characters. Ms. Stringer creates a believable world for her characters to inhabit. The heroine is smart, funny, competent, and imperfect. Her friends are just that - friends. As a trio they are successful because of their friendship. It was wonderful to read about a competent female character and her friendships. Ms. Stringer is a wonderful writer who has created a wonderful first book in what promises to be an entertaining ongoing series appropriate for ages 9 and up.

Thanks to the publisher for allowing me to review an advance copy of this book!

Book Review - Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper

Synopsis: The Dark is rising in its last and greatest bid to control the world. And Will Stanton -- last-born of the immortal Old Ones, dedicated to keeping the world free -- must join forces with this ageless master Merriman and Bran, the Welsh boy whose destiny ties him to the Light. Drawn in with them are the three Drew children, who are mortal, but have their own vital part in the story. These six fight fear and death in the darkly brooding Welsh hills, in a quest through time and space that touches the most ancient myths of the British Isles.

First Line: "Will said, turning a page, "He liked woad. He says - listen - the decoction of Woad drunken is good for wounds in bodies of a strong constitution, as of country people, and such as are accustomed to great labour and hard course fare." "

Random Quote: "And he and Jane and even Simon could feel the sudden weight of silence around them like a blanket. Neither Will nor Bran moved; they simply stood looking at Barney."

Review: This is the last of the Dark is Rising sequence and, in keeping with my re-read of the Prydain Chronicles, this is probably my least favorite book, again because it is the most epic.

Steam train from the Tallilyn Railway - Dolgoch Falls - Nr Tywyn, Wales - Image via Wikipedia

In this last tale the Dark and Light are gathering for one last battle and Will Stanton and his Welsh friend, Bran, must gain the crystal sword and join with the Drew siblings to aid Merriman.

Everyone is here, but for me the book is marred by the long section all about looking for the crystal sword through the Lost Land. The pace in this large section seemed off and I had trouble caring about what happened. The ending of this novel also feels off, somehow - like Cooper ran out of steam and worked to tie up loose ends all at once. Choices are expediently made or not made at all and Gummery, predictably, goes off to the Summer Country (or the Old One equivalent).

Still and all this is a wonderful series for both children and adults (and excellent for reading aloud chapter by chapter)!

Book Review - The Grey King by Susan Cooper

Synopsis: There is a Welsh legend about a harp of gold, hidden within a certain hill, that will be found by a boy and a white dog with silver eyes -- a dog that can see the wind. Will Stanton knew nothing of this when he came to Wales to recover from a severe illness. But when he met Bran, the strange boy who owned a white dog, he began to remember. For Will is the last-born of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to saving the world from the forces of evil, the Dark. And it is Will's task to wake -- with the golden harp -- the six who must be roused from their long slumber in the Welsh hills to prepare for the last battle between the Dark and the Light.

First Line: "Are you awake, Will?"

Random Quote: "Holding the harp experimentally in the crook of his left arm, Bran ran his fingers gently over the strings. And the sounds that came from them were of such sweetness that Will, beside him, caught his breath in astonishment; he had never heard notes at once so delicate and so resonant, filling the hall with music like the liquid birdsong of summer."

Review: After The Dark Is Rising, this is my favorite of the Dark is Rising Sequence. This novel works because it is such an intimate and romantic story. The Welsh setting is beautifully described and the pain of being different and approaching adulthood are captured in all their sticky reality.

Will Stanton, suffering from the after effects of a long illness and slowly regaining his memory is sent to Wales to recuperate. There he meets Bran, the mysterious white-haired boy,

Cader Idris - Wales - Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

and Cadfal, his beloved dog.

There is quite a story in here interwoven with the larger story of the battle between Dark and Light. It would be easy to make the character of Bran all sweetness and light, but Susan Cooper never takes the easy way out. She fills Bran with all the contradictions contained in every one of us - the potential for good and evil residing uneasily twinned inside him, waiting for him to choose his way.

This is the book that made me want to visit Wales when I was a little girl. I still do.

Book Review - The Greenwitch by Susan Cooper

Synopsis: Simon, Jane, and Barney, enlisted by their mysterious great-uncle, arrive in a small coastal town to recover a priceless golden grail stolen by the forces of evil -- Dark. They are not at first aware of the strange powers of another boy brought to help, Will Stanton -- nor of the sinister significance of the Greenwitch, an image of leaves and branches that for centuries has been cast into the sea for good luck in fishing and harvest.

Their search for the grail sets into motion a series of disturbing, sometimes dangerous events that, at their climax, bring forth a gift that, for a time at least, will keep the Dark from rising.

First Line: "When the Dark comes rising, six will turn it back ..."

Random Quote: "A faint light seemed to glimmer from the blue-black shadow in which she was hidden, and all around them lights began to glow and flash from the fish and sea-creatures waiting there, watching. Will aw the dangling bait-stars over great gaping mouths; strings of round lights like port-holes running the length of strange slender fish."

Review: In the third book of the series, the Drew kids and Will Stanton team up (not always happily) to find the stolen grail and figure out what's going wrong with the Greenwitch.

A giant grouper - Image via Wikipedia

This book is in many ways Jane Drew's story. It is her participation in the Greenwitch ceremony and her wish for the Greenwitch's happiness that inform the events that transpire.

A wonderful exploration of the Greenwitch mythos seamlessly woven into the story of the battle of Light and Dark that Cooper is telling. This book both builds on the other two and makes you want to know what happens next.

Book Review - We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier

Synopsis: They entered the house at 9:02 P.M. and trashed their way through the Cape Cod cottage. At 9:46 P.M. Karen Jerome made the mistake of arriving home early. Thrown down the basement stairs, Karen slips into a coma. The trashers slip away.

But The Avenger has seen it all.

First Line: "They entered the house at 9:02 p.m. on the evening of April Fool's Day."

Random Quote: "She was aware of the smell when she entered her bedroom, a soiled scent just barely there, making her pause and sniff tentatively, wrinkling her nose. The smell of something spoiled and decayed, an under-the-surface odor, hinting of vomit and things gone bad."

Review: This is a frequently challenged book (like most of Cormier's books) about a group of teenagers who break into a house, vandalize it, and assault the young teenage girl who makes the mistake of coming home early. The violence is ugly, brutal and exceedingly real. The book unflinchingly depicts it and then moves beyond it to address the consequences of this violence for everyone concerned.

Cape Cod architecture - Image by lakewentworth via Flickr

Cormier deals with dark subjects in a complex and mature way. So many books for young adults romanticize violence in one way or another, but his do not. They show it in all its nasty, empowering glory. They're disturbing and make you feel dirty once you've read them, but they also make you think and analyze the whys and wherefores and that's what good books do.

This one is disturbing enough to give you nightmares, but compelling and truth telling all the same. Given the amount of violence our young adults experience in their day-to-day worlds, more books need to help them explicate it for themselves.