Wednesday, January 9, 2008

6. The flame trees of Thika : memories of an African childhood


By Edith Huxley

Rated 5 Stars

In 1913, at the age of six, Elspeth Huxley accompanied her parents from England to their recently acquired land in Kenya, "a bit of El Dorado my father had been fortunate enough to buy in the bar of the Norfolk hotel from a man wearing an Old Etonian tie." The land is not nearly what its seller claimed, but Elspeth's parents are undaunted and begin their coffee plantation. Her mother, a resourceful, adventurous woman, "eager always to extract from every moment its last drop of interest or pleasure," keeps an eye on Elspeth's education but also allows her extensive freedom. Through Elspeth Huxley's marvelous gift for description, early twentieth-century Kenya comes alive with all the excitement and naive insight of a child who watches with eyes wide open as coffee trees are planted, buffaloes are skinned, pythons are disemboweled, and cultures collide with all the grace of runaway trains. With a free-wheeling imagination and a dry wit, she describes the interactions of Kikuyus, Masais, Dutch Boers, Brits and Scots, mixing rapid-fire descriptions with philosophical musings. It is a mixture that suits her land of contrasts and unknowns, where vastly different peoples live and work side by side but rarely come together, like an egg beater whose "the two arms whirled independently and never touched, so that perhaps one arm never knew the other was there; yet they were together, turned by the same handle, and the cake was mixed by both."

5. Brothers in battle, best of friends

By Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron
Rated 3 Stars

I think this book was just "a bridge too far" for me. I have pretty much burned out on Easy Company. Still, it was interesting and I read it to the end.


"To single out one or two of [the] Screaming Eagles as the Most Super-Duper Paratrooper or the Best Source for a free beer on VE day would be a fool's errand. But to fail to single out Bill Guarnere and Babe Heffron would overlook a grand entertainment and a stirring inspiration. "'Wild Bill' and 'Babe.' Even their names beg the telling of their tale, like great ball players from the 1920s, or legendary lawmen-or outlaws-of the Old West." Book jacket.

4. The Mercy of Thin Air

By Ronlyn Domingue
Rated 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book and so did Shaun. It was a very poignant, well written and the mystery kept me hanging until the very end.

In 1920s New Orleans, Raziela Nolan is in the throes of a magnificent love affair when she dies in a tragic accident. She narrages the story of her lost love, as well as the relationship of the couple whose house she haunts more than 75 years later. The couple's trials compel Razi to slowly unravel the mystery of what happened to her first and only love, and to confront a long hidden secret.

3. A House with Four Rooms


By Rumer Godden
Rated 4 Stars

In her second volume of memoirs, following a A Time to Dance, No Time to Weep , Godden provides a lively, engaging view of postwar literary and publishing trends as a backdrop to her own personal and creative development. In 1945, her marriage over, she returned home to England from India with two children and few possessions; however, with an unwavering commitment to her writing, she embarked on a career which brought international recognition and acclaim for her adult and children's books. She speaks lovingly of those who encouraged her over the years, including her sister Jon, London agent Spencer Curtis Brown, Viking publishing president Ben Huebsch (her "literary father"), and the late James Haynes-Dixon, with whom she enjoyed a sturdy second marriage. She also recounts in colorful detail her collaboration with French director Jean Renoir during the filming of her novel The River in California and on location in India. We part company with her in the late 1970s as she moves to Scotland. Godden's travels and experiences are related with warmth and insight, and she offers an interesting perspective on the major publishing figures of our time.

2. A time to dance, no time to weep


By Rumer Godden
Rated 4 Stars

This autobiography covers the first 40 years of the life of Rumer Godden who was one of the most prolific authors of her time.

Born in India, at the height of British colonial power, she lived there until the 1950s. Her career as a novelist began with "Black Narcissus", which became a bestseller on publication in 1939 - and like many of her novels - was adapted into a film. Her relationship with India, although passionate, was ultimately and perhaps inevitably ambivalent and this ambivalence came to a head in an incident when she and her children were living in Kashmir. A servant tried to poison them and the notoriety surrounding the case forced Godden to leave Kashmir and eventually India itself.

She belongs in that small and exclusive club of women - it includes Isak Dinesen and Beryl Markham - who could do pretty well anything they set their minds to: hunting tigers, bewitching men, throwing elegant dinner parties, winning literary fame.