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| Shoutout to my husband for taking this picture of me! |
After falling behind on my reading goal in December, I finished War and Peace in January and I am now (mostly) back on track! I'm still reading my last January book (Us Against You), so that one won't show up until my February Reading Recap. Let's take a quick look at the books I did read, though!
Climbing the Mango Trees, by Madhur Jaffrey
★★★
This was the last food memoir on my list! As much as I love food memoirs, I'm relieved to be done with them for a while.
Madhur Jaffrey is an actress and cookbook writer, and in this memoir she reflects on her childhood in India. While I loved learning about this period in Indian history, I found the memoir to be somewhat disorganized, and it just kind of ended without wrapping up at all (that's life, I guess).
Here is my favorite quote from the book:
"That was the trouble with my two older sisters: they were models of decorum and decency–thoughtful, fair, polite, pretty, demure, soft-spoken, and considerate. If I was hurt and angry, I bawled and beat my fists; they cried softly into their pillows. If I rode first our tricycle and then our 'lady's' bike like a fiend, they wafted along on them like dainty clouds. If I complained about the behavior of an uncle or a cousin, they pointed out his good side. If I was somewhat unruly like Elizabeth Bennet, they were decidedly versions of Jane Bennet. If I was Jo in Little Women, they were just as clearly an amalgam of Meg and Beth. I was doomed by comparison. (Yet you see how I reserve the role of heroine for myself?)"
Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction, by Lynne Olson
★★★
Empress of the Nile is a biography of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt, a French Egyptologist who lived from 1913-2011. In addition to teaching at the Louvre, she also curated the Louvre's Egyptian department for a number of years and helped transfer (most of) the Louvre's treasures to other parts of the country during World War II to keep them safe from art-grabbing Nazis. Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt was an amazing woman and her story definitely deserves to be told, but I don't think I would describe her as a daredevil.
I enjoyed reading this book, as I love learning about ancient Egypt (and it was interesting to learn about modern Egypt too!). However, it didn't feel like a biography to me. By the time the book got to the 1950's, it had largely stopped talking about Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt and instead delved into the events surrounding Egypt at the time. The book went into some detail on Jacqueline Kennedy's role in saving Abu Simbel, one of Egypt's temples that was in danger of drowning under the rising waters caused by the newly rebuilt Aswan Dam, and now I think I'd like to read a biography of Jacqueline Kennedy!
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
★★★★
I've already spilled my thoughts about War and Peace in a book review, so if you want to know what I thought of it, you can go read that post here!
Before Midnight, by Cameron Dokey
It's official: Cameron Dokey is one of my new favorite authors.
Ella Enchanted is still my favorite Cinderella retelling, but Before Midnight is right behind it! Cameron Dokey's storytelling style reminds me of Robin McKinley's, so I'm planning to read Cameron Dokey's Belle this month (I had to get it from Thriftbooks because my library didn't have it) and compare it with Robin McKinley's Beauty, which is my favorite ever Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Things I loved about Before Midnight (*SPOILERS*):
1. The stepmother and stepsisters. They weren't evil! Even Anastasia, who was unpleasant at first, turned her attitude around and became a sympathetic character by the end.
2. Cendrillon and Raoul's relationship. They were described as being a little more physically affectionate than your typical brother and sister, but it was clear that while they loved each other, they weren't in love, and I found that refreshing.
3. The magic! I want to know more about their wish magic and how it works.
4. The pumpkin theme throughout the book. I appreciated this subtle nod to the original fairytale.
5. Old Mathilde. She was sort of the fairy godmother character, but mostly the characters helped themselves instead of relying on magic to sweep in and save the day.
6. Cendrillon and Pascal's relationship. I usually dislike the "love at first sight" trope, but this time it was set up early in the book and almost became part of the story world's unpredictable magic, so it kind of worked. And at least Cendrillon already knows before she meets Prince Pascal that he is kind and just, and his people love him.
*END OF SPOILERS*
7. "To wish is to be alive."
Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver
★★★★★
Once again, Barbara Kingsolver brings us a stunning, beautifully written novel. This book, published in 2019, is the story of two families living in the same town more than a century apart. The town, Vineland, is real, as is its founder, Charles Landis. My mind was truly blown when I looked it up and discovered that it and he were a historical place and person!
I love Barbara Kingsolver's writing! She uses a modern voice for the chapters that take place in the present day, and when she switches to the other storyline, her writing style shifts as well to a more 19th century style (with modifications to make it easier to read for a modern audience). This was emphasized to me when I finished one of the present day chapters and started a 19th century chapter and the word "fortnight" jumped out at me right away. In addition, Kingsolver has such a delightful way of phrasing things. For example: "Willa had to row backward through several tributaries of thought to get to his meaning."
The characters felt so real (some of them actually were, as mentioned earlier!). From the present day storyline, I think Tig was my favorite character, while my favorite character from the 19th century storyline was, of course, Thatcher.
This book left me with the question: How much wrapping up is a perfect amount? Upon finishing Unsheltered, at first I was dissatisfied with the ambiguity in the ending of the 19th century story, but after considering it, I think there was a perfect amount of ambiguity.
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