Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

A quick rundown… Katey Kontent is trying to make her way slowly upward in 1938 New York. A chance meeting with Tinker Grey causes her star to rise as the year goes on – but how much of this is real?

Strengths: Love the opening, the atmosphere created in the book is fantastic.

Weaknesses: Occasionally lost track of who some people were, otherwise none.

Why I read it: On my wish list and bought on my recent holiday to Singapore

Pages: 352

Published: 2011

Publisher: Penguin US

Setting: New York City

Rating: 9 out of 10

If you liked this, try: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I’ve struggled for several days to write this opening paragraph. Why? It’s because Rules of Civility is a fantastic book and I want to do it justice in my review. Picked up on my recent holiday to Singapore, I feel bad for passing this by in the bookstore at home. It’s a book that completely engulfs you – you are immersed in the setting with the characters.

The book starts at the end – Katey and her husband are attending the opening of a show of clandestine pictures taken in the subway in the 1930s. (Note that this really did happen, and there are pictures throughout the book from the exhibition by Walker Evans – worth a look). There she sees an old friend not once, but twice – Tinker Grey. In one picture, he looks dapper and well-fed. In the other, malnourished and grimy. So what caused this change?

We then move back in time to 1938 New York City, which tells the story of how Katey met Tinker Grey and how their lives became entwined. Katey moves from one social circle to another – from grimy jazz bars to sprawling mansions. Tinker fades in and out and Katey gradually begins to realise that all is not what it seems. She struggles with the sense of right and wrong – who is she to judge? But shouldn’t we be honest to those we love and ourselves?

I read this book in two days. The book brings New York to life – the reader can clearly see the buildings, hear the noise and smell the city. Towles’ ability to do this is masterful – exceptional for a first novel! The characters are also well drawn, especially Katey. We can almost feel her brain ticking over as she tries to figure out who is – and isn’t – telling the truth. Some of the minor characters – particularly the social climbers merge into one though. While being a historical novel, the narrative also has a contemporary feel to it. I don’t mean that the setting is taken out of context, but that the book speaks to you like you are living side by side with Katy. It also captures the air of desolation around the Great Depression.

You might be wondering where the title comes from. It’s from a list that George Washington (yes, that one) made as a youngster. Tinker believes it to be his rules for living successfully in society.

It’s interesting to note that the book cover above – the American edition – has the same cover picture as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in Australia! Although the picture would do both books justice (but I can’t imagine Katey lounging around like that – Eve, perhaps).

See? It’s interesting that two books that are quite alike in my head should even look similar.

I loved this book and can’t wait to see what Amor Towles comes up with next. I love that the subway pictures were used as a contrast to the themes of the book – while waiting for our train ride to end, we show our truthful selves. But in the street, we look and act how others want to see us.

Book Series #1: Popular Penguins

Ah, Popular Penguins. Possibly one of the first ‘series’ linked by pretty covers and publishers to be seen recently in Australia. These were first released in 2009, celebrating the history of Penguin and the cool retro orange covers. They also had a unique selling point – $9.95 AU. This was the first time that many of us had seen books so cheap and so retro!

Needless to say, I lapped them up with the release of the first 50. One of my friends also collects them too – not with the aim of reading them, but for the pretty look on her shelves. 2010 saw the release of more titles in this series, as did 2011. I’m not sure whether there will be any more titles added to what has now become a staple of Australian bookstores – a section of varied titles at a nice price.

So where can I get these books?

If you’re in Australia, it’s easy. Look in your local bookstore! They also pop up in some unexpected places, such as discount department stores like Big W (only the very popular titles).

Overseas, well… they have been available on Book Depository. Otherwise, they can be ordered online from Australian bookshops that ship overseas. I have seen a few floating around Singapore bookshops.

Which books are in the series?

There are currently 174 available titles. They range from modern fiction (High Fidelity by Nick Hornby) to classics (Persuasion by Jane Austen) to short stories (Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote) to non-fiction (The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux).

My favourites are April Fool’s Day by Bryce Courtenay, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh and Casino Royale by Ian Fleming.

A list of all titles available can be found here.

So, they’re $9.95. What about the quality?

Yes, that’s the RRP. These are very hardy little books considering the price. The quality of the covers is very good and I’ve trialled throwing them in the bottom of a work bag many times. I’ve never ripped or creased a cover. They are also nice and light for travel, commuting etc.

Note that I don’t work for Penguin (I wish!); I’m just a massive fan of this book series. Initially I bought a few books by authors I liked (ha ha, so cheap! I thought) and then I extended out to new authors. I’ve found some great new authors this way – F. Scott Fitzgerald, Evelyn Waugh, Truman Capote, Paul Theroux, Timothy Conigrave and Muriel Spark – as well as extending my reading of authors such as Bryce Courtenay, Ruth Park and Jane Austen. Every time I browse the rows in store I come out with something – it’s a dangerous addiction!

These also make really good stocking stuffers at Christmas for the book lovers out there.

Rating: Addictive. Wide range of genres and authors to choose from.

Book Series – An occasional (but growing) series of blog posts

Wow, that’s a long name for a blog post! First of all, I’d like to apologise for not posting much lately. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may have noticed that I haven’t been well. Unfortunately, a simple cold turned into more, requiring a hospital stay and a lot of sleep and meds. I think I’m on the mend now though and have an attention span of more than five minutes!

Before I got sick, I had been planning a series of blog posts about all the lovely book series that are available. Are these series a ploy to get us to buy more physical books in ereading times? Who cares, they look so pretty and collectable! I think my fancy for book series started with collecting The Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins/High/University as a kid. I love that I can continue this well into adulthood. I love to have matching spines lined up beautifully and I’m proud to read such a good looking book in public!

I’ll be going through several series, including the ones above:

• Popular Penguins
• Virago Modern Classics 30^th Anniversary Editions
• Faber and Faber Secrets and Lies
• Vintage Classics
• Twenty Years of Orion
• 21 Vintage Classics

There’s also some new series which I haven’t got to yet. The first one is the lovely Text Classics series, which Text assures me will be out for me to buy in May when I’m in Melbourne bookshopping for work. If you watch the site’s front page, you might even see a tweet from me!

Picador have also released a series for their 40^th anniversary, 12 books with lovely black and white covers.

Are you a fan of book series? Do matching covers cause you to declare undying love?

New books coming up – Bloomsbury

Recently, Bloomsbury Australia/New Zealand kindly sent out a copy of their catalogue for the second half of 2012 (you can find it here). Readers, this is truly book porn at its best! There are so many good titles in this catalogue; it took me ages to write down my ‘I want’ list (which I surprisingly still write by hand).

Here are some of the highlights:

The Harbour – Francesca Brill

‘It is the summer of 1940, and for Stevie Steiber, a young American journalist in Hong Kong, the war raging in Europe is a world away. While longing to be taken seriously as a writer, she keeps her readers informed about society gossip from the Orient, her days at the Happy Valley race-course slipping into dangerous, hedonistic nights.

Major Harry Field has been charged by Her Majesty’s Government with investigating suspicious activity inside the colony. He is intrigued by the recent arrival on the island of Jishang, a sophisticated Chinese publisher who owns a controversial political magazine. But it is Stevie, Jishang’s outspoken, beautiful correspondent who really fascinates him.

As the decadent British contingent remain oblivious to the cataclysm nearly upon them, the spy and the journalist are obsessively drawn to one another. And when the Japanese army seizes the island, they are faced with terrifying challenges. What will they sacrifice to stay alive, and how far will they go to protect each other? The Harbour is a stunning and utterly compelling debut about war, love and culpability set in 1940s Hong Kong and New York.’(from the Bloomsbury website)

I really like WWII novels and Hong Kong is a place that I don’t read too much about in novels.

Abdication – Juliet Nicolson

‘England, 1936. After the recent death of George V, the nation has a new king, Edward VIII. But for all the confident pomp and ceremony of the accession, it is a turbulent time. Terrible poverty and unemployment affect many, but trouble few among the ruling elite; for others, Oswald Mosley’s New Party, which offers a version of the fascism on the rise in Germany, seems to offer the vision of the future.

Nineteen-year-old May Thomas has just disembarked at Liverpool Docks after making the long journey by steamer from Barbados to escape the constraints of her sugar-plantation childhood. Her first job as a secretary and chauffeuse to Sir Philip Blunt, Chief Whip in Baldwin’s Conservative government, will open her eyes to the upper echelons of British society…

The unlikely friendship she forms with Evangeline Nettlefold, American god-daughter of the Chief Whip’s wife and an old school friend of Wallis Simpson, will see her through family upheavals including the shocking, sudden loss of her mother; but more significant for May, the Blunts’ son Rupert has an Oxford University friend, Julian, a young man of conscience for whom, despite all barriers of class, she cannot help but fall.

Secrets, hidden truths, undeclared loves, unspoken sympathies and covert complicities are everywhere – biggest and most dangerous of them all, the truth about the new King’s relationship with a married woman, and the silent horror that few in Britain dare voice: the increasing inevitability of another world war…’ (from the Bloomsbury website)

I love this time period. I haven’t read a lot about Wallis Simpson or the abdication, so I think this is an entertaining way for me to brush up on my history.

 

The Paris Correspondent – Alan S. Cowell

‘High-profile journalist Alan S. Cowell’s latest novel is a fast-paced trip into the dark heart of a newspaper office abroad. Addictive and illuminating, it deftly portrays the rivalries and complicated passions at the story’s heart. Ed Clancy and Joe Shelby are journalists with The Paris Star, an English-language paper based in Paris. Relics from a time when print news was in its heyday, when being a reporter meant watching a city crumble around you as you called in one last dispatch, the Internet age has taken them by surprise. The two friends are faced with the death of what they hold most dear–their careers, and, for Shelby, a woman he cannot bring himself to mention.

The Paris Correspondent is a tribute to journalism, love, and liquor in a turbulent era. Written in riveting prose that captures the changing world of a foreign correspondent’s life, Alan S. Cowell’s breakout novel is not to be missed. Writing from experience and in homage to Reynolds Packard’s Dateline Paris, his razor-sharp and darkly funny style will win readers the world over. ‘(from Amazon.com)

Even though I’m a big fan of the internet, I’ve always found newspapers rather exciting.

 

Momofuku Milkbar – Christina Tosi

‘The highly anticipated complement to the New York Times bestselling Momofuku cookbook, Momofuku Milk Bar reveals the recipes for the innovative, addictive cookies, pies, cakes, ice creams, and more from the wildly popular bakery.

A runaway success, the Momofuku cookbook suffered from just one criticism among reviewers and fans: where were Christina Tosi’s fantastic desserts? The compost cookie, a chunky chocolate-chip cookie studded with crunchy salty pretzels and coffee grounds; the crack pie, a sugary-buttery confection as craveable as the name implies; the cereal milk ice cream, made from everyone’s favorite part of a nutritious breakfast—the milk at the bottom of a bowl of cereal; the easy layer cakes that forgo fancy frosting in favor of unfinished edges that hint at the yumminess inside.

Momofuku Milk Bar finally shares the recipes for these now-legendary riffs on childhood flavors and down-home classics—all essentially derived from ten mother recipes—along with the compelling narrative of the unlikely beginnings of this quirky bakery’s success. It all started one day when Momofuku founder David Chang asked Christina to make a dessert for dinner that night. Just like that, the pastry program at Momofuku began, and Christina’s playful desserts helped the restaurants earn praise from the New York Times and the Michelin Guide and led to the opening of Milk Bar, which now draws fans from around the country and the world.

With all the recipes for the bakery’s most beloved desserts—along with ones for savory baked goods that take a page from Chang’s Asian-flavored cuisine, such as Kimchi Croissants with Blue Cheese—and 100 color photographs, Momofuku Milk Bar makes baking irresistible off-beat treats at home both foolproof and fun.’ (From Amazon.com)

 

I really enjoy baking, so I think I’ll enjoy this one –especially the crack pie!

Note most books are also available in eBook format, which is great for those of us with eReaders and those who have no more room on their shelves.

What tickles your fancy book-wise in the upcoming months?

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Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult

A quick rundown…What do you do when a parent is so badly injured that they won’t recover? Let them go or give them time?

Strengths: Picoult takes a topical situation and explores the potential options.

Weaknesses: Characters can be a little wooden at times.

Why I read it: ARC kindly sent by Allen and Unwin – thank you!

Pages: 421 (ARC)

Published: 2012

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Setting: New Hampshire, USA

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

If you liked this, try: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I would say that I’ve read most of Jodi Picoult’s books (like many, I started with the incredibly moving My Sister’s Keeper). If you’re not aware of her books, she generally takes a hot topic (organ donation from a prisoner, school shootings, teen suicide) and makes a novel exploring all the options. If you’ve ever flicked through one of her books, all the different fonts are not a mistake. Her books are written in the first person of several of the main characters, so you get an idea of each character’s feelings, emotions and thoughts. It’s certainly a great way to look at a topical issue.

Her latest book, Lone Wolf, doesn’t disappoint. The issue is between two estranged siblings, Cara and Edward, fighting after an accident that has left their father, Luke, brain dead. Cara, who has been living with her father for years, wants to give her father every opportunity to make it through. She’s been Googling people who were declared brain dead and then spontaneously recovering. Edward, who left for Thailand six years ago after an argument with his dad, wants to turn off Luke’s life support. Who is right? Who has the power to make these decisions?

The course of the decision making doesn’t run smooth. Cara ‘dobs in’ Edward for unplugging Luke’s ventilator and the whole thing goes to court. Add in their mother’s new husband, representing Edward versus Cara (is this ethical?) and there’s plenty of opportunity for conflict.

You might have noticed that I haven’t yet mentioned wolves. Luke, before his accident, was something of a wolf Steve Irwin. He left his family to spend nearly two years immersed in a wolf pack in Canada and now runs a park with wolves (and mechanical dinosaurs). Was he a good father, leaving his family, or did his time away give him greater appreciation for the importance of family?

This novel has multiple levels of conflict – from simple brother and sister arguments to court room drama; Picoult handles it all with a caring touch and balances the views of the characters nicely. There is also quite a bit of information on the behaviour of wolves – some might find it interesting, others not so. However, it is the comparison between the wolf pack and the human family that gives a human side to Luke and makes the reader care all the more about what happens.

My only critique would be that the secret that Cara is hiding throughout the novel isn’t that big a deal. It didn’t seem to cause her much anguish, despite what she claims is severe guilt later on. Is it a reflection on the teenage psyche (out of sight, out of mind) or just something added in for extra drama? In comparison, I loved the character of Joe Ng and would love to try some of his Sunday morning Cambodian recipes!

A fast read, best read in greedy chunks. An enjoyable read.

(Kudos must also go to Allen & Unwin for the publicity for this book – love seeing books promoted so well! Have seen ads for this book everywhere – buses, train stations, displays instore. A great encouragement to read!)

The Debutante by Kathleen Tessaro

A quick rundown… Two stories running together: the story of Cate in the present, cataloguing the items of a deceased estate, and the Blythe sisters in the 1930s. Can Cate solve the mystery of the missing sister?

Strengths: Interesting idea for a story, some interesting glimpses into fashion history.

Weaknesses: Dreary, conjures up bleak images and not as well executed as it could have been.

Why I read it: On my wish list and saw it at the $5 bookstore

Pages: 384

Published: 2010

Publisher: Harper

Setting: England

Rating: 6 out of 10

If you liked this, try: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield or any Kate Morton novel

This was another $5 bookshop buy. Would it be too harsh to say I’m glad I only spent $5 on it?

This book seemed like it had so much going for it. The plot, while not 100% original, could be so good! Let me just summarise it quickly for you: Cate, troubled by the ending of a previous romance, goes to work for her aunt’s auction business. There, she meets Jack, who is moody with secrets of his own. As they catalogue Endsleigh, the estate of one of the famed Blythe sisters, sexual tension flares. Cate becomes caught up in the mystery of what happened to the younger Blythe sister. Will she realise Jack’s interest and solve the mystery? There are many books that follow this kind of plot – Kate Morton has written some very good (okay, and one not so good) books about the modern and historic, involving big houses and decades old mysteries. Unfortunately, this one is not so good.

Why do I think this? The prose is dreary. I had to force myself to continue to read this, setting myself a page target each day (all for the benefit of you, dear reader – your life is too short for bad books!) The tension between Cate and Jack felt forced and clichéd – like the characters themselves were begrudgingly acting out the part for the sake of the reader. The prose really didn’t evoke an atmosphere either – it felt stilted and restrained. Cate’s love affair lacked love, regret and the anger of betrayal – it really felt like she was just going through the motions. No passion at all!

The mystery was quite interesting though and although the ‘discovery’ is somewhat clichéd (I won’t spoil it for you if you intend to read the book), at least it is solved. The way that Cate got interested in Baby Blythe’s disappearance through a hidden shoebox of memorabilia was unique and one of the more interesting parts of the book to me. The way the ‘historic’ side of the plot was revealed through letters mainly between the Blythe sisters was interesting too, but at times it left more questions than answers for me.

I cared about this book enough to finish, but I’m sorry, not enough to recommend it. It may be an okay beach or plane read at a pinch.

Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer

A quick rundown…The story of Harry Clifton and his entanglement with the Barrington family. Part One of a trilogy.

Strengths: Fantastic action and plot.

Weaknesses: Hearing the same event from another character’s point of view gets a bit boring.

Why I read it: Enjoy historical fiction family sagas.

Pages: 343 (ebook)

Published: 2011

Publisher: Macmillan

Setting: England (primarily Bristol), the high seas

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

If you liked this, try: Fall of Giants by Ken Follett

For some inexplicable reason, this series is linked in my mind with Ken Follett’s Fall of Giants. Is it that they both deal with families and war? Or that they will both be a trilogy? While Jeffrey Archer’s prose may not be quite as eloquent and detailed as Ken Follett’s, he does have several benefits:

1. He can write a page turner that will keep you up late at night. You can’t just stop reading this, there’s always a twist that will make you think, ‘just one more chapter’.
   
2. The books are easier to lift than Mr Follett’s chunksters. Still better if you’re reading the ebook!
   
3. The sequel, Sins of the Father is already out in hardcover and ebook in Australia. (The sequel to Fall of Giants will be released in September 2012 in the UK and USA. Not release date for Australia as yet).
   

Archer’s book deals with Harry Clifton, who never knew his father after he disappeared, presumed dead. The book deals with Harry’s life from birth to university days. We hear about Harry’s life from various points of view – from Harry himself, his mother, his friends, mentors and lovers. This is useful because you can get different points of view on one particular event, but sometimes hearing each person’s version of events can be tedious. You know what’s going to happen and you’re looking out for the titbit that adds another dimension to the mystery of the death of Harry’s father. This improves later on in the book as Harry goes to secondary school and then on to university. The subplot about how Maisie, Harry’s mother, tries to raise the fees for Harry’s private school, is also interesting with lots of unexpected events! This book is certainly never dull.

The last few chapters of the book are a real twist in events and the action steps up a lot of notches. Don’t expect a resolution at the end either – this is only the first book in the trilogy and there’s a lot more to come! If you have peeked at the jacket of the sequel, things will make much more sense after reading the closing chapters.

If you haven’t read this book and enjoy plot driven family saga style historical fiction, I’d recommend you read it, as you can read the sequel straight after! It’s not deep, but a lot of fun. Book 3 of the series will be called Best Kept Secret.