La's Orchestra Saves the World

Finally! I feel like I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, where I'm not really interested in whatever book I've picked up. I returned a bunch of half-read books to the library yesterday. They weren't bad necessarily, I've just had a hard time getting into them. Fortunately, I loved La's Orchestra Saves the World: A Novel by Alexander McCall Smith.

I've seen this book reviewed on a few book blogs and was struck by the title and the cover that doesn't seem to fit the title. It's about a woman in England during WWII and how her life must go on inspite of the war being fought. Although the war plays a role throughout the novel, it's not exactly a war novel. It's more like Little Women - you know the war's going and it clearly affects the characters and story, and yet it's in the background. And I think that's how many of our modern wars are. They affect us, but mostly in the background, unless you or a close loved one is in the military. And that's what a lot of the book is about. Life must go on, even during war. You have to keep living your life, even though it's hard because you know others are out there fighting for you. 

It's also about how the little things in life make a difference. La starts an orchestra to keep the local military and townspeople occupied and give them a bright spot to look forward to, and something beautiful in the midst of something ugly. Does her orchestra really save the world? No, but does it improve the lives of those involved? Absolutely.

It made me think of last year at work, when we went through layoffs. Seeing your friends laid off is terrible, and not being sure if you'll be next makes it even worse. You feel like you can't control anything, especially when the people you see losing their jobs are smart, hard working, wonderful people. We also had many projects cut or put on hold during that time, and everyone started doubting if they were making any kind of difference and wondering what the point of working hard is. I created a silly little sign for my office that simply said: Today is a good day if I helped a coworker and I helped something in the field. That's it. Look at the small things. Did I make a coworker's day better by asking her about something going on in her life or offering to help with something? Did I make someone laugh, or answer someone's question? Then I made a difference. It was a small thing, but that got me through that time and kept me from dwelling on all the things I couldn't change.

I also felt that McCall Smith does an excellent job writing with a woman as the main character. I completely identified with her, and she seemed really real to me. I think that can be hard to do period, so I'm always extra impressed when someone can write so strongly about the opposite sex.

Finally, I loved the relationships in the book. It tells a story about how someone can effect your life and be part of a powerful romantic relationship without ever actually dating/kissing/making love. I know I have someone like that in my past, and in so many ways he is so much more important that most of my actual ex-boyfriends or random guys I kissed. And yet we never went on a date and actually only saw each other in person a handful of times. We met at a camp when we were 15 and had this weird instant connection. I lived in a suburb of OKC, he lived in a suburb of Tulsa. We actually managed to stay in touch, surprising in the days before free long distance and high-speed internet. He sent me roses on my sixteenth birthday, we saw each other the next two years at camp, and he came to see me once.  And yet I was closer to him than I was to boyfriends I saw every day. Maybe it's because the other stuff wasn't there to get in the way and we actually had to talk. But this book reminded me of that, and I enjoyed reading a love story that felt more real to me than most fictional love stories. It also admitted the importance of relationships that are hard to define.

Oh, one more thing! This book made me want to go live in the English countryside. I already wanted to live in a cottage in England, but this book just added fuel to the fire. McCall Smith did a great job describing Suffolk and made me want to live there. I also thought it was interesting that he talked about how many of the people who live there have never been to London. How can you live in England and not have been to London? That seems crazy to me, but of course it's true that many of the country folk have probably never gone, especially back in the 30s and 40s.

I'm glad it McCall Smith has a fairly long list of other books, so I will definitely be checking those out soon!

The Black Tower

I have to admit I was disappointed by Louis Bayard's The Black Tower. It had a lot of elements I like: mystery, historical fiction, alternative history, gritty detectives, a likable main character. But I just didn't love it. I didn't dislike it; I think I just had really high expectations that weren't met.
I had read several great reviews for The Black Tower, and many compared it to Matthew Pearl's works, which I love. There's even a quote from Pearl on the back cover singing the book's praises. And Bayard had an essay in Maybe Baby that I enjoyed, so I fully expected to love this book and be enthralled all the way home from San Diego.
But I wasn't. I think the language bothered me and kept pulling me out of the story for one thing. Bayard uses current curse words and some slang terms that startled me as I was reading and took me out of nineteenth century France and into modern America. It's an easy thing to avoid dropping the F bomb, so I was surprised he must have purposely included those and a few other words/sayings. It's a small thing, but it was really distracting.
Although the storyline idea was good - the son of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette was imprisoned during the revolution and was thought to have died in a tower, but this book asks, "what if he didn't die?" Intriguing idea. And it was suspenseful until about halfway through, and then I just wasn't engrossed anymore. I took out my iPod and listened to music for a while and just stared out the window, which I never do on a plane. I had other books with me, but I didn't pick up one of those either, so perhaps I was just exhausted from the conference and not able to focus and it didn't quite get a fair shake. Anyway, I kept flipping back and forth between reading and not-reading it the rest of the trip and finished it just as we hit the runway in Oklahoma City.
Has anyone else read any Bayard? Did I not give him a fair chance? I'm curious since I fully expected to love the book.

A Lady Raised High

I'm embarrassed to admit it took me months to finish A Lady Raised High by Laurien Gardner. I think I started it in June. Clearly it was not the most riveting book I've ever read. I think a big part of that was that I've already read a lot of books about Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. I'm a little obsessed actually. I've read probably 10 books and have watched several movies about them, along with The Tudors. So, I know the story already. It all started with Phillipa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl (the book was a lot better than the movie, as usual) and I moved on to histories by Alison Weir. So it's not entirely the author's fault I wasn't that interested.
But, I think another reason why I didn't stay interested is that it was told from the rather boring character of Frances, maid to Anne. Frances is plucked out of obscurity by Anne before she becomes queen after protecting her from angry villagers. She's raised high to being one of the Queen's ladies. You're supposed to care about Frances and her love story as well as Anne's, but Frances is stupid, boring, and unfailing devoted to Anne. She can't see Anne's fault and puts her own life in danger needlessly to try to help Anne. Which normally would be brave, but just seemed stupid in her case, because she was so naive about the whole thing and couldn't see that the court wanted to convict Anne.
Overall I would skip this one. Go for the Phillipa Gregory or try Jean Plaidy. Plaidy's writing can be a little harder to get through, but she's historically accurate and still writes a good story. Although, I'm still considering reading Plain Jane by Gardner since I already own it (bought them at a library book sale), so I guess that tells you it wasn't completely terrible. I suppose if I resell both of them to Half-Price Books though, I'll make my $.50 back and it's necessary to read it...

Chang and Eng

Read this book: Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss. It's one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's about a pair of conjoined twins, the ones from whom the term Siamese twins comes from. It takes place during the 1800s and goes back in forth in time from thier birth and childhood and when they are older and living in North Carolina. It's based on a true story and the main events are true, but it's a fictionalized account of their lives. It's told through the perspective of Eng. It's beautifully written, and I can't believe it was Strauss's first novel. The characters are wonderfully drawn, and he clearly separates the characters of Chang and Eng. He really makes you picture what life would be like with no privacy, to always have someone attached to you. Eng tends to retreat into his mind, I think because that's the one place he can be alone. I found it interesting that a third character seemed to appear between them, the band that connects them. It almost took on a life of it's own, made a third character of Chang-and-Eng in addition to the two separate characters.
Strauss starts with a compelling story. I've always been fascinated by and somewhat repulsed by conjoined twins. I feel bad saying that and I hate that people mistreated conjoined twins as monsters, but it just seems so wrong. I think it's also just something people don't like to think about because we can't imagine having to go through life like that. I was amazed at how strong Eng remained though, although Chang's tendency to turn toward drink is understandable as well.
I thought it was amazing that while the boys were taken by the King of Siam and used as entertainment, and eventually sold to an American to use for shows, they were never actually part of a circus, not for lack of trying on P.T. Barnum's part though. They still have both inner and outer battles over maintaining their dignity as they perform though. The later parts of the book take place against the backdrop of the War of Yankee Agression (I can't believe Strauss referred to it that way!), which highlighted Chang and Eng's own personal civil war against each other later in life. How can you not grow to resent this person who is always there, not just looking over your shoulder but practically attached to it? But as their mom says, how can you fight with someone you're physically attached to? That would be madness.
Eng also has internal battles over marriage and love. He believes it will never happen for them, but then they meet two sisters in North Carolina. The book covers the logistics of the marital bed and how awkward that is when there's a third person literally in bed with you that you're trying to pretend isn't there.
As someone who desparately needs her alone time, I cannot fathom having someone attached to me at all times. It's actually that thought that makes it hard for me to want children. But Strauss did an incredible job of creating this story and making feel like I was Eng for a time. He transported me into the mind of a Siamese conjoined twin man in the 1800s. That's impressive. So, you should absolutely go read this book. I can't wait to pick up his other two books.
Also, this books gets to count for one of my reading challenges! It has a proper name and is worth 5 points in the four-month reading challenge.