Year of Wonders

"Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague" by Geraldine Brooks
published 2001 308 pages

I won this on the Blogroll Game and was looking forward to it. It's based on the true story of the village of Eyam in England. In 1666, during one of the last outbreaks in Europe, this village guaranteed itself to try to prevent the plague from spreading to neighboring villages.

Anna Firth is an 18-year old widow living in a small village with her two young sons. Her husband died mining lead and now Anna makes ends meet by working at the rectory and farming. The Reverend Mompellion and his wife, Elinor, sends a boarder to her door. The boarder, George Viccars is a tailor. When a bolt of cloth arrives from London for him it brings the plague with it.

As people begin to die, the decision is made to isolate the village. The Lord of the next town will help sustain the people with food, medicine or whatever they need by leaving it on the road to town. And as the death toll mounts, people begin to turn away from faith. Superstition and witches are deemed responsible.

The title is from a poem by John Dryden:Annus Mirabilis, The Year of Wonders. In 1666, England won a war with the Dutch and the Great Fire of London burned out the plague.

As I said, I had been looking forward to this book. And I did enjoy it right up to the last few chapters. Then it turned too unpredictable. People did things that didn't seem in character. But over-all I'll say it was OK.

But over at Bookworms Carnival I saw this review and went out and bought it. It's on my Book of Great Books list so I needed it anyway. Looks like I get to read a good plague book after all.

A Tale of Two Cities

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, ...

"A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens

"A Tale of Two Cities" is set against the French Revolution. French doctor Manette has just been released from the Bastille after 18 years imprisonment. He is reunited with his daughter Lucie who has believed him to be dead. The two of them leave the stirring unrest of France and move to England.

Five years later Lucie marries Charles Darnay. Unbeknownst to her, he was a French aristocrat who relinquished all claim to his family and country. Many years later Charles learns there is a man in prison in France who needs his help. He returns to France and winds up in prison.

"A Tale of Two Cities" is a very vivid portrayal of the period. Dickens gives a powerful depiction of the fear, guilt and malevolence of the era. He doesn't report details of "The Terror" in textbook fashion. You get the feel of the era strictly from the emotions of the people witnessing it.

Unread Authors Challenge

I found a new challenge through Wendy's blog. It's Unread Authors Challenge I have enough books lying around my house to find 6 that qualify. Plus I'll be getting 3 more (so far) for my book clubs. So, I have no doubt my list could be doubled by the time the challenge begins in September.

But for now, my books are:

1.) The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
2.) The Locket by Richard Paul Evans
3.) Rose's Garden by Carrie Brown
4.) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
5.) Notes on a Scandal by Zoë Heller
6.) Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

September can't get here soon enough. These look like some good books.


Update: February 29

I'm afraid I didn't stick to my list. I joined the 888 challenge and some of my books got reassigned. But since I have plenty of books I just tossed some into this. My final list is here. I got The Jungle and Rose's Garden. But I messed up and grabbed the wrong two books to finish the Fall into Reading 2008 Challenge. So I substitted the two I missed here. They were Frankenstein and Playing for Pizza. And for forgotten reasons I rouded out with Shoot the Moon and A Widow for One Year.
Lots of good books on this list.

You Tube Neglect

I've been registered with You Tube for 7 months. I logged on tonight(after having to get a reminder of my user name and going into saved mail for the reminder of my password) and read on my welcome page that I have viewed a grand total of 5 videos. Yes, ladies and gents, 5 videos in 7 months.

Anyway, a friend sent me a really cool video. It's Paintjam Dan Dunn I wasn't too impressed with his painting or his rhythym until the end. Then I was blown away.

I'm off tomorrow so I'm going to spend a little time trying to figure out how to post videos from You Tube onto my blog. I was just there and tried to share Paintjam. You Tube replied the video would be posted to my blog shortly. I have absolutely no information on my You Tube profile at all so I don't know what blog they're posting to. I'll see what happens.

Harry Potter Week

I feel more dignified already. As I was answering the questions, I just knew I was going to be expelled from Hagwarts.



Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

To Kill a Mockingbird

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee
1961 Pulitzer Prize Winner

Scout is a young tomboy growing up with a single father and big brother Jem in a small Alabama town. The children spend their days outside playing and are soon joined by a neighbors young relative, Dill. The three are fascinated with a recluse in a neighboring house and spend their time trying to bet the shy Boo Radley to show himself.

Scout and Jem's father is a local attorney assigned with the defense of Tom Robinson, a local black man accused of raping a white woman. The book is set in 1935 when such a crime was punishable by death.

"To Kill a Mockingbird" is about a child trying to figure out the world around her. Her father is patiently trying to teach his children about prejudice and hatred and how all people deserve respect. It's a deceivingly simple book that covers very complex issues from a child's point of view.

Ethan Frome

"Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton

I won this book on the BlogrollGame. It was on my "Book of Great Book" list so I grabbed it when I saw it. I wasn't familiar with it and not particularly interested. When it came in the mail, I saw how small it was (75 pages)and decided to go ahead and read it. One more of the TBR lists. I loved it.

Ethan Frome is a farmer living in New England. He had been away to school studying engineering when his father became sick, so he came home to take care of the farm. After his father's death, his mother got sick. A cousin came to help care for her and after his mother's death, Ethan marries the cousin. And she becomes sickly. And another cousin arrives to help with her care. But the wife senses a growing connection between Ethan and Millie---the cousin.

This book is a very sad and lonely story. It's a tale of disappointment and lost dreams. It reminds me of one of my all-time favorites, "Of Mice and Men." I'm going to keep this book in my permanent collection for a future reread.