Book Review - Bosses and Blackjacks

Bosses and Blackjacks: A Tale of "The Bloody Fifth" in Philadelphia by L. C. Bennett Stern

Family Saga, History, Politics - You Know, All the Fun Stuff

Imagine finding out David Bennett, the grandfather you never knew, was a notorious player in Philadelphia politics at the start of the 20th century. Imagine reading about him in old newspapers. Imagine what his life was like. Imagine what brought him to his place in the world.

That’s exactly what L. C. Bennett Stern did with her fictionalized non-fiction book, Bosses and Blackjacks: A Tale of “The Bloody Fifth” in Philadelphia.

On a journey to discover a lost relative, Linda explores family, local history, and the vagaries of politics, along with the needs and emotions that drive people to do things that might not be as ethical and moral as they wish. 

A story that is accessible, believable, and compassionate, Linda invites us to learn more about life in the early 1900s from close perspectives and intimate vignettes. The book includes images from contemporary sources. 

Linda is currently working on book three of her trilogy, The Mari Mort Theater Trilogy, loosely based on another interesting ancestor that moves coast to coast with Mae, David Bennett’s older sister.  I highly recommend you check them out, too.

Stern Words - website

L.C. Bennett Stern - facebook

 

Book Review - The Bell Jar

 

TITLE: The Bell Jar

AUTHOR: Sylvia Plath

PUBLISHER: Pharaohs and Gods; 1st edition (November 1, 2020)

PUBLICATION DATE: November 1, 2020

GENRE: Roman à clef

FROM AMAZON: The Bell Jar is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas", the novel is semi-autobiographical, with the names of places and people changed.

THE REVIEW:

1. Summary: Esther is a scholastic prodigy. Everyone has high hopes for her, including herself. She wins a summer month-long paid internship at a fashion magazine in NYC. The year is 1953. She begins to unravel. Her mother and a longtime boyfriend are the other main characters. An assortment of other people flit through her life as she attempts to experience life while at the same time losing her desire to live. She ends up being committed by her mother in the hopes that she becomes normal again.

2. Evaluation: The writing style was easy to read and smooth which was the only reason I was able to finish the book. The Bell Jar is a synonym for the sensory dampening Ester experienced, the cut off of sound and sensation, the idea of being an observer and separate from all around her. Despite some interesting situations, like her obsession with losing her virginity because her boyfriend was more experienced than she was, I felt no connection to Esther. Perhaps this was intentional as a way to experience her disconnectedness. If so, it was well done because I didn’t much care what happened. I read it as an autobiography and not as a novel. 

3. Recommendation: If you are studying Sylvia Plath, then read this. I came away feeling nothing and I doubt I’ll remember much of it. I was disappointed. Maybe I just didn’t understand it.   

4. Final Thought: If you do decide to read it, don’t get it from this publisher. It’s clear the text was scanned and no one proofed it. Errors throughout. 

Book Review – Infinity: Chronicles of Nick

Infinity: Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon



Sherrilyn Kenyon is one of my most favorite authors. I have read ALL of her books and can’t wait for the next one to come out. 


She is a series author and has created several fantastic worlds. She lists them in reading order so it’s easy to keep track of where you are in each series. Her Dark-Hunters series is my favorite and the most popular. Infinity is the latest in this series.


These books are great for both men and women. They are packed with history, myth, fantasy, sex, evil, love, war, and searing inter-personal and internal conflicts.


Start at the beginning and enjoy hours and hours of non-stop fun.

From the website:


The world of the Dark-Hunters is unlike anything you've every seen before. It's dark. It's gritty. It's dangerous...


And it's a whole lot of fun.


My name is Nick Gautier and this is the story of my life.


First off, get the name right. It's pronounced Go-shay not Go-tee-ay or Goat-chay (that has an extra H in it and as my mom says we're so poor we couldn't afford the extra letter). I'm not some fancy French fashion designer. I'm just a regular kid... well as regular as someone with a stripper for a mother and a career felon for a father can be.


But as my mom so often says friends are what God gives us to make up for the families we're born into. And my mother, in spite of her occupation is a lady and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. Consider this your notice. You respect Cherise Gautier or I'll learn you better.





I give all of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s books 5 out of 5 butterflies. They are well written, interwoven and mega-fun.

Visit my main blog The Chrysalis Stage

Book Review – The Jesus Dynasty

The Jesus Dynasty by James Tabor






This book was very readable and fascinating. It proposes some very plausible explanations for the “historical” Jesus.


It does say that Christianity as we mostly know it today is based on visions by Paul that are not rooted in actual history so if you are not interested in hearing this, I’d suggest you not read the book.


If you want to read a well-researched alternative view of Jesus, I definitely recommend the book. It is not a Dan Brown, jump-all-over-the-place theory.

From the website (about the author):


James Tabor (Ph.D. 1981, University of Chicago) is Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he has taught since 1989. He previously held positions at Notre Dame and the College of William & Mary. His training is as an historian of Christian Origins and Ancient Judaism. Tabor has combined extensive field experience in archaeology in Israel and Jordan with his work on ancient texts, including work at Qumran, Sepphoris, the “Suba” cave, and most recently, Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. He is chief editor of the Original Bible Project, a new scholarly translation of the Bible for the year 2012.

From the website (about the book):


Based on a careful analysis of the earliest Christian documents and recent archaeological discoveries, The Jesus Dynasty offers a bold new interpretation of the life of Jesus and the origins of Christianity.

In The Jesus Dynasty biblical scholar James Tabor brings us closer than ever to the historical Jesus.  Jesus, as we know, was the son of Mary, a young woman who became pregnant before her marriage to a man named Joseph.  The gospels tell us that Jesus had four brothers and two sisters, all of whom probably had a different father from him.  He joined a messianic movement begun by his relative John the Baptizer, whom he regarded as his teacher and as a great prophet.  John and Jesus together filled the roles of the Two Messiahs who were expected at the time, John as a priestly descendant of Aaron and Jesus as a royal descendant of David. Together they preached the coming of the Kingdom of God.

I give this book 5 out of 5 butterflies. Well written, easy to understand and thoughtful.

Visit my main blog The Chrysalis Stage

Book review – Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga Book 4) by Stephenie Meyer




If you are a huge fan of this franchise, you might not want to read any further because I am not.


I finally finished the 4th book of the Twilight Saga. I made myself read the books because my daughter and then several people I know, became major fans of the books and movies. And you can’t take that away from Stephenie Meyer.


But I just don’t know why. The writing is ok but not spectacular. The story is predictable and most of the characters (especially the main ones) are quite boring, simplistic and inconsistent in annoying ways.


I want my vampires to be packed with suppressed passion and my werewolves to be bursting with unsuppressed passion and the people attracted to them agonizingly conflicted about wanting them. But I didn’t get any of that. The evil in the books is so sanitized. The final battle is blah. There’s no really conflict in any of it.


This quote from Publishers Weekly says it best:


Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily--in other words, grandeur is out. This isn't about happy endings; it's about gratification. A sign of the times?


There’s no blurb about the book on the website without loads of spoilers.





I give the whole series 1 out of 5 butterflies. Read them if you want to know what prompted the phenomenon but this is not Romeo and Juliet.

Visit my main blog The Chrysalis Stage 

Book Review – The Passion

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson




The Passion won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1987.


I can’t make up my mind about this book. The characters were fascinating in an intellectual way but I didn’t find any of them substantive. They have only stayed with me in a vague sort of way. I found myself adding so much of my own imagination to the story that I felt almost cheated by the writer.


I did keep reading but only because I was waiting for something I never got. I felt it lacked passion. It was well written from a craft stand-point.


It’s not a very long book so if you want to experience some quirky characters, I recommend it. But in the end, I was disappointed with the story as a whole.

From the website:


It was Napoleon who had such a passion for chicken that he kept his chefs working around the clock. What a kitchen that was, with birds in every state of undress... It was my first commission. I started as a neck-wringer..

This is the story of Henri, a young Frenchman sent to fight in the Napoleonic wars. It is the story of Villanelle, a cross-dressing Venetian woman, born with webbed feet.

I give this book 2 out of 5 butterflies because the story left me unfulfilled.

Visit my main blog The Chrysalis Stage

 

 

Book Review - Tsunami Blue

Tsunami Blue by Gayle Ann Williams




Quilly wrote a review of this book a while back.


It is a first book by Gayle Ann Williams and it won the Dorchester Publishing Award. It is also the first book in an upcoming series, the second book of which has been sold and due out in March 2011.


This was another fast paced read with another very unique heroine. Set in the not-so-distant future, the world has changed due to climatic upheaval. With a unique gift and survivalist training, Tsunami Blue tries to make the world safer for others despite their hatred and fear of her.


I was very impressed by the quality of the story, characters and writing. I am very happy I can look forward to more by this author.

From the website:


NO SAFE HARBOR


With her badass rain boots, her faithful dog, and the ability to predict the monster tsunamis that have reduced the US to a series of islands, Kathryn O’Malley isn’t afraid of much. Cut off from all society, she takes to the airwaves as Tsunami Blue, hoping to save something of humanity as the world around her crumbles. But Blue should be afraid—because her message reaches the wrong ears.


Now she’s the target of ruthless pirates known as Runners who want to use her special talents for their own profiteering—as soon as they can find her. Blue’s only shot at survival lies with the naked stranger who washes up on her rocky beach. A man who might just be working for Runners himself. Torn between suspicion and attraction, the two will have to navigate a surging tide of danger and deceit if they hope to stay alive.

I give this book 4 out of 5 butterflies because the ending is a tad lukewarm.

Visit my main blog The Chrysalis Stage

Book Review - The Girl

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

You should know up front that the author, Stieg Larsson, is dead. I tell you this because he meant to write a series of ten books and there are only three in print. He almost finished a fourth, but because of Swedish laws, it apparently will not be published. We’ll have to wait and see.

It is obvious that these books are meant to be series but don’t let that stop you from reading these books. They are loads of fun and very interesting. I don’t know much about Sweden, so I learned a bit about their government and history and now I need to learn more.

The books are fast paced, loaded with interwoven plots and story lines, filled with conspiracies and the characters are different. Parts are briefly very graphic but not gratuitous.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – plot summary (from the website):

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist is hired by Henrik Vanger to investigate the disappearance of Vanger’s great-niece Harriet. Henrik suspects that someone in his family, the powerful Vanger clan, murdered Harriet over forty years ago. 

Starting his investigation, Mikael realizes that Harriet’s disappearance is not a single event, but rather linked to series of gruesome murders in the past. He now crosses paths with Lisbeth Salander, a young computer hacker, an asocial punk and most importantly, a young woman driven by her vindictiveness.

Together they form an unlikely couple as they dive deeper into the violent past of the secretive Vanger family.

The Girl Who Played with Fire – plot summary (from the website):

Lisbeth Salander is wanted for a triple murder. All three victims are connected to a trafficking exposé about to be published in Mikael Blomqvist’s magazine Millenium, and Lisbeth’s fingerprints are on the weapon.

Lisbeth vanishes to avoid capture by the justice. Mikael, not believing the police, is despairingly trying to clear her name, using all his resources and the staff of his magazine. During this process, Mikael discovers Lisbeth’s past, a terrible story of abuse and traumatizing experiences growing up in the Swedish care system.

When he eventually finds her, it’s only to discover that she is far more entangled in his initial investigation of the sex industry than he could ever imagine.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest – plot summary (from the website):

Two seriously injured people arrive at the emergency ward of the Sahlgrensa hospital in Gothenburg. One is the wanted murderer Lisbeth Salander who has taken a bullet to the head and needs immediate surgery, the other is Alexander Zalachenko, an older man who Lisbeth has attacked with an axe. 

In this third novel in the Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth is planning her revenge against the men who tried to kill her, and even more importantly, revenge against the government which nearly destroyed her life. But first she must escape from the intensive care unit and exculpate her name from the charges of murder that hangs over her head.

In order to succeed with the latter, Lisbeth will need the help of journalist Mikael Blomkvist. He is writing an exposing article that will shake the Swedish government, the secret service and the whole country by its foundations. Finally there is a chance for Lisbeth Salander to put her past behind her and finally there is a chance for truth and justice to prevail.

Here’s the hype from Google products:

All across America, readers are talking about Stieg Larsson's best-selling novels, set in Sweden and featuring Lisbeth Salander "one of the most original and memorable heroines to surface in a recent thriller" (The New York Times) The trilogy is an international sensation that will grab you and keep you "reading with eyes wide open" (San Francisco Chronicle) "[It] is intricately plotted, lavishly detailed but written with a breakneck pace and verve" (The Independent, U.K.), but "be warned: the trilogy is seriously addictive." (The Guardian, U.K.) "Believe the hype . . . It's gripping stuff." (People) "Stieg Larsson clearly loved his brave misfit Lisbeth. And so will you." (USA Today) "Larsson has bottled lightning." (Los Angeles Times) … "Unique and fascinating . . . Like a blast of cold, fresh air.” (Chicago Tribune) "Wildly suspenseful . . . Intelligent, ingeniously plotted, utterly engrossing." (The Washington Post) "A gripping, stay-up-all-night read.” (Entertainment Weekly) "Dynamite.” (Variety)

I give these books 4 out of 5 butterflies (I'm going one short only because I want the other 7 books.) 

Visit my main blog The Chrysalis Stage