So for years and years and years I've been hearing about the joy of community supported agriculture, aka CSA. And it so happened that I happened to be reading The Lakewood Observer this spring and noticed an article for LEAF, which is working with two farms to bring CSA to Lakewood. I paid $240 for a half-share and the season runs from this week into October. Pickup is at the library from 6-8 on Thursday nights.
So what did I get?
*a bunch of beets
*2 cups of pecans
*1 bunch onions (fat round globes with stalks)
*about a pound of peas in shells
*1 head red leaf lettuce
The beets mean salad, of course, probably with the pecans. The onions make me think of corn chowder or corn stew. Peas remind me of these risotto cakes that I've been thinking of making for a while. And lettuce is salad. Thank god for my secret identity of Salad Girl!
Any other suggestions?
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Short Librarian Beeswax Roundup
I'm No Antidigitalist I'm not one to get all het up over what Michael Gorman is ranting about on a given day. For those not in the biz, he's one of the leading librarians and a past President of ALA and he demeans bloggers a lot. Yeah, whatever. But this is a wonderfully catchy and clever song composed of some bits of his most recent writings on what has become known as the Encyclopedia Britannica flap. Give it a listen.
The Modern Librarian: A Role Worth Checking Out is the Washington Post's coverage on the premiere of the film Hollywood Librarian, and last week's ALA conference. It looks like a good, inspiring movie, which may be good or bad depending on who you talk to. More librarians in the media? Good! Where's the medical librarian cutting House's subscriptions and picking the locks on his office to get a journal back? Heroes could use a librarian to hang out with good ol' Mohinder and help him organize his data and find people. Who could out-ugly Ugly Betty? Give us The Lipstick Librarian at least!
But please don't go entering the profession without investigating it. I'm on New-Lib, and I just can't take the whining.
This engrossing presentation gives more examples of how the librarian is depicted in pop culture.
The Modern Librarian: A Role Worth Checking Out is the Washington Post's coverage on the premiere of the film Hollywood Librarian, and last week's ALA conference. It looks like a good, inspiring movie, which may be good or bad depending on who you talk to. More librarians in the media? Good! Where's the medical librarian cutting House's subscriptions and picking the locks on his office to get a journal back? Heroes could use a librarian to hang out with good ol' Mohinder and help him organize his data and find people. Who could out-ugly Ugly Betty? Give us The Lipstick Librarian at least!
But please don't go entering the profession without investigating it. I'm on New-Lib, and I just can't take the whining.
This engrossing presentation gives more examples of how the librarian is depicted in pop culture.
Summer Reading Means Summer Drinking
I don't drink much for various reasons, but for some reason when it's over 85 degrees (and preferably over 90), I thirst for a cocktail. Ah, the joys of living without air conditioning. I think the evolution of the habit is due to the fact that when it's very hot, light reading is a necessity. And what could be lighter than P.G. Wodehouse? In between the hijinking, Wodehouse characters are always having a tipple.
I made Lime Rum Shrub last week, with a slight modification--I only had 2 cups or so of rum, so this is heavy on the sugared lime juice. It's ready to drink, but it's not hot enough, blast it!
Other cocktails for summer? I like this Gin, Tea & Lemon Fizz, but the name is uninspiring. The Presbyterian is wonderfully evocative, but I wonder what's in a Catholic? Or an Episcopalian? But anyway, a twist on the classic bourbon and gingerale is always welcome. I like mine with no soda, and a lemon or lime twist plus the maraschino cherry.
I made Lime Rum Shrub last week, with a slight modification--I only had 2 cups or so of rum, so this is heavy on the sugared lime juice. It's ready to drink, but it's not hot enough, blast it!
Other cocktails for summer? I like this Gin, Tea & Lemon Fizz, but the name is uninspiring. The Presbyterian is wonderfully evocative, but I wonder what's in a Catholic? Or an Episcopalian? But anyway, a twist on the classic bourbon and gingerale is always welcome. I like mine with no soda, and a lemon or lime twist plus the maraschino cherry.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
The Yiddish Policemen's Union--Michael Chabon
I've been having a few interviews lately, and I've been asked to do a spur of the moment booktalk as one of the questions. I've been using this book, so it deserves a blog entry to pass along the love.
In a Sitka, Alaska that has been a refugee station for Yiddish-speaking Jews for the past 60 years, a man is found dead of an overdose in a derelict hotel. Meyer Landesman, policeman and fellow down and outer, is asked by the manager to investigate. Despite being officially taken off the case, he and his partner/cousin Berko Shemets continue to poke around the case, venturing into the worlds of chessplayers, the ultrareligious, and various family secrets. Sitka's on the brink of being handed back to the States, and everyone is veering between hopelessness and action as they scramble to find sanctuary before being kicked out of the community they've managed to create.
It's a wonderfully drawn world. I was about ready to buy a plane ticket to Sitka before remembering it's not really an Eastern European shetl with extra blintzes and snow. You've got great descriptions and writing, like this:
"The Taytesh-Shemets family lives in the Dnyeper, on the twenty-fourth floor. The Dneyper is round as a stack of pie tins. Many of its residents, spurning fine views of Mount Edgecombe's collapsed cone, the gleaming Safety Pin, or the lights of the Untershat, have enclosed their curving balconies with storm windows and louvers in order to gain an extra room. The Taytesh-Shemetses did that when the baby came along: the first baby. Now both little Taytesh-Shemetses sleep out there, stashed away on the balcony like disused skis." (36)
I'm hoping for a sequel of sorts concentrating on the Taytesh-Shemetses--Berko and his scrappy wife Esther-Malke are worth further exploration and I found their relationship more interesting that that of Landesman and his ex-wife.
So who would this appeal to? People who like noir, mystery, richly drawn characters, alternate history, Jewish culture/Jewish fiction, exotic locales, and are interested in a downbeat narrative.
I did have a problem with the book that's not precisely about the text. I've previously mentioned that I have certain issues with Chabon's wife Ayelet Waldman, who basically has no personal censor that would prompt her to keep certain business to herself ("oh, I hope my child is gay, I had an abortion, I am super special and bipolar, I have hot sex with my husband, I hate my mother-in-law"--dear god, shut up! Some things are personal!). And I also have problems when too much of an author's life makes it into a book. it just creeps me out. Let's just say the character of Meyer's ex-wife, Bina Gelbfish, bears a shocking physical resemblance to Waldman and the guilt over aborting a baby with a disability is a major character point for Landsman in the novel. This real life parallel made me uncomfortable.
In a Sitka, Alaska that has been a refugee station for Yiddish-speaking Jews for the past 60 years, a man is found dead of an overdose in a derelict hotel. Meyer Landesman, policeman and fellow down and outer, is asked by the manager to investigate. Despite being officially taken off the case, he and his partner/cousin Berko Shemets continue to poke around the case, venturing into the worlds of chessplayers, the ultrareligious, and various family secrets. Sitka's on the brink of being handed back to the States, and everyone is veering between hopelessness and action as they scramble to find sanctuary before being kicked out of the community they've managed to create.
It's a wonderfully drawn world. I was about ready to buy a plane ticket to Sitka before remembering it's not really an Eastern European shetl with extra blintzes and snow. You've got great descriptions and writing, like this:
"The Taytesh-Shemets family lives in the Dnyeper, on the twenty-fourth floor. The Dneyper is round as a stack of pie tins. Many of its residents, spurning fine views of Mount Edgecombe's collapsed cone, the gleaming Safety Pin, or the lights of the Untershat, have enclosed their curving balconies with storm windows and louvers in order to gain an extra room. The Taytesh-Shemetses did that when the baby came along: the first baby. Now both little Taytesh-Shemetses sleep out there, stashed away on the balcony like disused skis." (36)
I'm hoping for a sequel of sorts concentrating on the Taytesh-Shemetses--Berko and his scrappy wife Esther-Malke are worth further exploration and I found their relationship more interesting that that of Landesman and his ex-wife.
So who would this appeal to? People who like noir, mystery, richly drawn characters, alternate history, Jewish culture/Jewish fiction, exotic locales, and are interested in a downbeat narrative.
I did have a problem with the book that's not precisely about the text. I've previously mentioned that I have certain issues with Chabon's wife Ayelet Waldman, who basically has no personal censor that would prompt her to keep certain business to herself ("oh, I hope my child is gay, I had an abortion, I am super special and bipolar, I have hot sex with my husband, I hate my mother-in-law"--dear god, shut up! Some things are personal!). And I also have problems when too much of an author's life makes it into a book. it just creeps me out. Let's just say the character of Meyer's ex-wife, Bina Gelbfish, bears a shocking physical resemblance to Waldman and the guilt over aborting a baby with a disability is a major character point for Landsman in the novel. This real life parallel made me uncomfortable.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Re-Gifters--Mike Carey, Sonny Liew & Marc Hempel
This offering from the DC Comics Minx line is much, much better than the The PLAIN Janes. Matter of fact, I wish I'd had this graphic novel available last week when I had a request for romantic stories, "not racy!" and suitable for a 12 year old girl. I'd of handed this over with joy, for it's such a good story.
Dik Seong Jen aka Jen Dickson aka Dixie is a Korean American teen living in South Central L.A. Her life is pretty normal--a mom, a dad, little twin brothers, a best friend, school, hapkido practice, and a crush. A huge crush that's distubing her life, especially her hapkido studies, for her crush is one Adam Heller, blond god and fellow hapkido student. Dixie's a great character--she's smart, devoted and funny but has a terrible temper and can be rash. She's got a good heart though--a fierce warrior of a girl for the modern age.
So in order to declare herself to Adam, Dixie will not only wear makeup and a short skirt to his birthday party, but she will give him an awesome present. A large heavy statue of Hwarang warrior, the purchase of which takes all her savings and the money her dad gives her to enter the hapkido tournament. It's a beautiful statue that reminds her of him and of course he will recognize that they are similar souls.
No, he doesn't get it. Adam actually regifts the statue to his own crush, who doesn't understand the meaning either.
How that statue makes its way back to Dixie, and how she gets to compete in the hapkido tournament fills the rest of the tale, with help coming from unexpected sources.
The art does a great job of conveying the story--lots of small panels and thick lines that show emotion and immediacy. The characters are easily distinguishable, and Liew and Hempel do a great job of depicting their personalities through their drawn figures.
I also love the writing. It's brisk and the story unrolls at a fast pace, but character development is nicely balanced. Carey has a good ear for teen girl dialogue and puts a lot of poetry into Dixie's narration. One of my favorite bits: "I'm not all that good at shop. I've got enthusiasm but no discrimination, Mr. Callender says. But that day I was worse than usual. I kept thinking Adam thoughts. They made me want to sing and cry at the same time. But you can't do either of those in shop." (32) There's nice description and explanation of Korean culture, hapkido and life in Dixie's neighborhood.
Read alikes for this would be author Joan Bauer, who writes about teenage girls with personal passions who are trying to figure out the world, and the great book Beetle and Me: A Love Story, about a girl fixing up her dream car, the VW Beetle of her childhood. I'm also reminded of Arsenal from Hopeless Savages , another girl martial artist with strong emotions. This would also be a good choice for a parent-daughter reading project/club/share, because there's a lot to talk about and examine and the story has positive family dynamics and themes.
Dik Seong Jen aka Jen Dickson aka Dixie is a Korean American teen living in South Central L.A. Her life is pretty normal--a mom, a dad, little twin brothers, a best friend, school, hapkido practice, and a crush. A huge crush that's distubing her life, especially her hapkido studies, for her crush is one Adam Heller, blond god and fellow hapkido student. Dixie's a great character--she's smart, devoted and funny but has a terrible temper and can be rash. She's got a good heart though--a fierce warrior of a girl for the modern age.
So in order to declare herself to Adam, Dixie will not only wear makeup and a short skirt to his birthday party, but she will give him an awesome present. A large heavy statue of Hwarang warrior, the purchase of which takes all her savings and the money her dad gives her to enter the hapkido tournament. It's a beautiful statue that reminds her of him and of course he will recognize that they are similar souls.
No, he doesn't get it. Adam actually regifts the statue to his own crush, who doesn't understand the meaning either.
How that statue makes its way back to Dixie, and how she gets to compete in the hapkido tournament fills the rest of the tale, with help coming from unexpected sources.
The art does a great job of conveying the story--lots of small panels and thick lines that show emotion and immediacy. The characters are easily distinguishable, and Liew and Hempel do a great job of depicting their personalities through their drawn figures.
I also love the writing. It's brisk and the story unrolls at a fast pace, but character development is nicely balanced. Carey has a good ear for teen girl dialogue and puts a lot of poetry into Dixie's narration. One of my favorite bits: "I'm not all that good at shop. I've got enthusiasm but no discrimination, Mr. Callender says. But that day I was worse than usual. I kept thinking Adam thoughts. They made me want to sing and cry at the same time. But you can't do either of those in shop." (32) There's nice description and explanation of Korean culture, hapkido and life in Dixie's neighborhood.
Read alikes for this would be author Joan Bauer, who writes about teenage girls with personal passions who are trying to figure out the world, and the great book Beetle and Me: A Love Story, about a girl fixing up her dream car, the VW Beetle of her childhood. I'm also reminded of Arsenal from Hopeless Savages , another girl martial artist with strong emotions. This would also be a good choice for a parent-daughter reading project/club/share, because there's a lot to talk about and examine and the story has positive family dynamics and themes.
Maybe I Could Be A Series Character
As I'm applying for jobs, I'm reminded of the Cherry Ames series. You remember, it started in the 1930's-1940's, and followed Cherry through her training, WWII, and various post-war jobs? Nursing took Cherry to a lot of different places and adventures before it turned into a mystery series. So I think I should have a series. Possible volumes include:
Kerry _____, Cruise Ship Librarian
Kerry _____, Sheriff's Office Librarian
Kerry______, Hospital Librarian
Kerry______, Large Urban Library Adult Services Librarian
Kerry______, Children's Librarian
Kerry______, Women's Nonprofit Organization Librarian
Kerry______, Rural Librarian
Kerry______, Foreign Librarian
Ay, yi, yi. Yeah, this is one of those occasions where I am cracking only myself up.
Kerry _____, Cruise Ship Librarian
Kerry _____, Sheriff's Office Librarian
Kerry______, Hospital Librarian
Kerry______, Large Urban Library Adult Services Librarian
Kerry______, Children's Librarian
Kerry______, Women's Nonprofit Organization Librarian
Kerry______, Rural Librarian
Kerry______, Foreign Librarian
Ay, yi, yi. Yeah, this is one of those occasions where I am cracking only myself up.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
The Spellman Files--Lisa Lutz
Oh. My. Awesome.
That's what this book is. It got a great review in Entertainment Weekly a couple of months ago, so I was really looking forward to it since I trust their reviewers. But what that short capsule did not convey was the excruciating mixture of sharp comic writing, good characters, and heartwarming family love that makes this an super enjoyable novel and perfect for summer reading.
Izzie Spellman, 28, works for her parents' San Franscisco private investigation firm, and has managed to turn herself into something resembling an adult after a long and tumultuous stint as her family's devil child. She's even got a new boyfriend, a nice normal dentist. True, he thinks she's a substitute teacher, and is curious about her family, but when your family violates other people's privacy for a living and an avocation, certain countermeasures have to be taken to keep them out of the loop. Izzy's going make a big step--she wants to quit the business and move out of the apartment in her parents' house, but before they'll accept her resignation she has to solve a 15 year old missing persons case that been languishing in the dead file.
Are you looking for a plot? There's not much of one. It's totally character driven, and Izzie's telling the story that outlines out the history of her family and tracks events up to the ostensible opening, which has her being interrogated by the police investigating the disappearance of her 14 year old sister Rae. It's a lightly told tale of family love-hate, and excellently written, and very, very funny. Every page is amusing, and I can't even start quoting because I'd violate copyright and post the whole thing. It's that good.
The book's being marked to adults, but I'd give it to a high schooler-the themes of independence and how family shape you are right for that demographic. Excellent book, one of many great reads I've encountered recently.
That's what this book is. It got a great review in Entertainment Weekly a couple of months ago, so I was really looking forward to it since I trust their reviewers. But what that short capsule did not convey was the excruciating mixture of sharp comic writing, good characters, and heartwarming family love that makes this an super enjoyable novel and perfect for summer reading.
Izzie Spellman, 28, works for her parents' San Franscisco private investigation firm, and has managed to turn herself into something resembling an adult after a long and tumultuous stint as her family's devil child. She's even got a new boyfriend, a nice normal dentist. True, he thinks she's a substitute teacher, and is curious about her family, but when your family violates other people's privacy for a living and an avocation, certain countermeasures have to be taken to keep them out of the loop. Izzy's going make a big step--she wants to quit the business and move out of the apartment in her parents' house, but before they'll accept her resignation she has to solve a 15 year old missing persons case that been languishing in the dead file.
Are you looking for a plot? There's not much of one. It's totally character driven, and Izzie's telling the story that outlines out the history of her family and tracks events up to the ostensible opening, which has her being interrogated by the police investigating the disappearance of her 14 year old sister Rae. It's a lightly told tale of family love-hate, and excellently written, and very, very funny. Every page is amusing, and I can't even start quoting because I'd violate copyright and post the whole thing. It's that good.
The book's being marked to adults, but I'd give it to a high schooler-the themes of independence and how family shape you are right for that demographic. Excellent book, one of many great reads I've encountered recently.
I'll Let YOU Touch My First Editions...
Nice video by New Zealand band HauntedLove. YouTube still hates me, so follow the link.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The Shadow And The Star--Laura Kinsale
This book makes me feel bad for people who don't read much, because by not reading they miss emotionally wrenching and perfectly written stories like this and are the poorer for it. This is one of those books you pick up and read, finish, then turn around and read again. And you think on it, and you notice more detail, and you put it all together and read bits again, and then you fall on the floor wasted and realize it's a freaking masterpiece. Completely knocked out by how the author has made you care for the characters, and that the language, characterization, description and mileu are spot on, and damn it, it is over and you will never read it for the first time again. And you've let your duties slide and you have to break the spell to get away from it a bit, but you don't want to because it's that good. It's not a crack book, it's an opium book--you just want to curl inside and live in the dream a while.
Okay, so here's a confession--this is a romance novel. Laugh all you want. Laugh that I, Kerry--yes, she of the flinty exterior, the cool analytical intelligence, she who has been known to turn off NPR and yell accusingly that the news coverage is trying to manipulate her and prey on her emotions, the disparager of weddings, of sentiment, the Irish Catholic Most Likely To Engage In An Arranged Marriage, yes she--has taken to reading romance novels, particularly historical romance. Because I like my love repressed and unspoken and angsty. (And I took this habit up after my dad died. Make of that what you will.)
And we have repressed, unspoken, twisted and angsty love galore here. (Warning, spoilers ahead. I didn't know any of this when I started reading, which might be why it had such a grip on me. If you think you might read this book at some point, stop reading this post now and save your enjoyment.) We have a plot of boy meets girl, girl helps boy, boy helps girl, boy is obsessed with another girl which makes the girl who loves him sad, boy and sad girl have sex and are forced to marry, and boy faces fears about self and realizes that maybe he's not worthless.
Does this sound completely over the top and ridiculous? Oh wait, there's more.
Our hero, Samuel Gerard, is a ninja. A Victorian era white boy ninja. Kind of an accidental ninja, really. He's in London with his sort of family from Hawaii, visiting for the Queen's Jubilee. And what does a successful businessman/ninja with ties to English nobility do when visiting England? He stages a series of burglaries to draw attention and shut down parts of the child sex trade. Because until he was about eight and Lady Tess Ashland's detectives found him, Samuel was one of those children. Yeah, he's a mite bit fucked up.
Our heroine, Leda Etoile, is a genteel young woman of reduced and struggling circumstances. Her guardian died and she's doing her best to hang on to her dignity and virtue as she slips further into poverty. She's working at a fashion house when she and Gerard meet, but when the choice comes to either whore herself or find another job, she leaves her position. She's jobless and nearly broke and it's all going so, so badly when she has a cleaning frenzy and rearranges her room. Which trips up Samuel Gerard, as he's been sneaking into her garret to stash his burglary loot, and leads to his breaking a leg. Ha, ha. Serves you right, stalker boy. So after she helps him with his broken leg, he gives her a job as his secretary. And since they're such good pals, he asks her advice on how to go about courting his foster sister. Because marrying the last woman in the world you'd ever want to have sex with in a crazy attempt to overcome your past is such a good idea. Using the incest taboo as a shield for your feelings and desires -- it was going to work perfectly, Samuel, uh huh. Ay yi yi. Thank god he and Leda wind up married and going back to Hawaii where Samuel finally figures out that he's been played by his sensei for the last 17 years, that the sensei has an agenda that he hasn't been sharing, and oh yeah--maybe Samuel should have cleared those robberies with his sensei first because he stole something that's unleashed trouble, and made Leda a target.
Damn. I know this plot sound ridiculous, with a capital r ,and rhymes with credulous, which is what you have to be. But it works! Why? Because Kinsale so thoroughly grounds her story in characterization and the time period that it's completely believable. There's no talk of feeeeellllings and such to relieve Samuel's pain--he's a simmering mess of sexual frustration and shame and loneliness throughout the book and Kinsale expertly details his torment. He's reserved, secretive and his family doesn't even know him. The nickname of "Mano" (shark) fits him for multiple reasons. He does stupid and admirable things, in equal quantities. And when Samuel finally comes to the point where he gives into what he wants--his loving wife who despite everything he does understands andrefuses to desert him--and It. Is. Awsome. Leda comes off as a bit of a prim priss on the surface, but she's got spirit as she copes with her various humiliations. She's also truly generous person with her love and attention she shows towards Samuel--he may not have wanted to marry her, but she loves him and nothing will stop her from doing for him. They have a happy ending, and by golly they deserve it and you as the reader believe it.
And it's a sign of a good novel when you wind up with lots of questions after finishing a book that aren't about the whys and hows of the story, but of things connected to the story. Thank god I'm a librarian, as I might get around to researching these at some point. I'm now curious about what the shark chant sounds like, sharks in general, 19th century Hawaiian history and politics, Honolulu society, what exactly was going on in the US in 1887, and Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebrations. And I already looked up the meaning behind a turtle as a gift.
You can see me squeeing and bouncing and waving my hands wildly, right? Go get this book and curl up for some summer reading.
Okay, so here's a confession--this is a romance novel. Laugh all you want. Laugh that I, Kerry--yes, she of the flinty exterior, the cool analytical intelligence, she who has been known to turn off NPR and yell accusingly that the news coverage is trying to manipulate her and prey on her emotions, the disparager of weddings, of sentiment, the Irish Catholic Most Likely To Engage In An Arranged Marriage, yes she--has taken to reading romance novels, particularly historical romance. Because I like my love repressed and unspoken and angsty. (And I took this habit up after my dad died. Make of that what you will.)
And we have repressed, unspoken, twisted and angsty love galore here. (Warning, spoilers ahead. I didn't know any of this when I started reading, which might be why it had such a grip on me. If you think you might read this book at some point, stop reading this post now and save your enjoyment.) We have a plot of boy meets girl, girl helps boy, boy helps girl, boy is obsessed with another girl which makes the girl who loves him sad, boy and sad girl have sex and are forced to marry, and boy faces fears about self and realizes that maybe he's not worthless.
Does this sound completely over the top and ridiculous? Oh wait, there's more.
Our hero, Samuel Gerard, is a ninja. A Victorian era white boy ninja. Kind of an accidental ninja, really. He's in London with his sort of family from Hawaii, visiting for the Queen's Jubilee. And what does a successful businessman/ninja with ties to English nobility do when visiting England? He stages a series of burglaries to draw attention and shut down parts of the child sex trade. Because until he was about eight and Lady Tess Ashland's detectives found him, Samuel was one of those children. Yeah, he's a mite bit fucked up.
Our heroine, Leda Etoile, is a genteel young woman of reduced and struggling circumstances. Her guardian died and she's doing her best to hang on to her dignity and virtue as she slips further into poverty. She's working at a fashion house when she and Gerard meet, but when the choice comes to either whore herself or find another job, she leaves her position. She's jobless and nearly broke and it's all going so, so badly when she has a cleaning frenzy and rearranges her room. Which trips up Samuel Gerard, as he's been sneaking into her garret to stash his burglary loot, and leads to his breaking a leg. Ha, ha. Serves you right, stalker boy. So after she helps him with his broken leg, he gives her a job as his secretary. And since they're such good pals, he asks her advice on how to go about courting his foster sister. Because marrying the last woman in the world you'd ever want to have sex with in a crazy attempt to overcome your past is such a good idea. Using the incest taboo as a shield for your feelings and desires -- it was going to work perfectly, Samuel, uh huh. Ay yi yi. Thank god he and Leda wind up married and going back to Hawaii where Samuel finally figures out that he's been played by his sensei for the last 17 years, that the sensei has an agenda that he hasn't been sharing, and oh yeah--maybe Samuel should have cleared those robberies with his sensei first because he stole something that's unleashed trouble, and made Leda a target.
Damn. I know this plot sound ridiculous, with a capital r ,and rhymes with credulous, which is what you have to be. But it works! Why? Because Kinsale so thoroughly grounds her story in characterization and the time period that it's completely believable. There's no talk of feeeeellllings and such to relieve Samuel's pain--he's a simmering mess of sexual frustration and shame and loneliness throughout the book and Kinsale expertly details his torment. He's reserved, secretive and his family doesn't even know him. The nickname of "Mano" (shark) fits him for multiple reasons. He does stupid and admirable things, in equal quantities. And when Samuel finally comes to the point where he gives into what he wants--his loving wife who despite everything he does understands andrefuses to desert him--and It. Is. Awsome. Leda comes off as a bit of a prim priss on the surface, but she's got spirit as she copes with her various humiliations. She's also truly generous person with her love and attention she shows towards Samuel--he may not have wanted to marry her, but she loves him and nothing will stop her from doing for him. They have a happy ending, and by golly they deserve it and you as the reader believe it.
And it's a sign of a good novel when you wind up with lots of questions after finishing a book that aren't about the whys and hows of the story, but of things connected to the story. Thank god I'm a librarian, as I might get around to researching these at some point. I'm now curious about what the shark chant sounds like, sharks in general, 19th century Hawaiian history and politics, Honolulu society, what exactly was going on in the US in 1887, and Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebrations. And I already looked up the meaning behind a turtle as a gift.
You can see me squeeing and bouncing and waving my hands wildly, right? Go get this book and curl up for some summer reading.
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