Review and Giveaway: “Glow” by Jessica Maria Tuccelli

Jessica Maria Tuccelli’s debut novel “Glow” is a joy to read.  I’d highly recommend it, and invite you all to participate in a giveaway sponsored by the publisher.  Just leave a comment to enter.  I’ll draw the winner out of a hat on May 31.  Please include your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win.

And now, for my review…

“Glow” is a historical novel set in the American South.  The story centers around a little girl named Ella McGee.  Her father is black and her mother, a civil rights activist, is Cherokee.  When Ella’s mother is threatened before a protest, she puts Ella on a bus back to her own hometown in Georgia, hoping to keep her safe.

While Ella’s story forms the basic framework of the novel, Ella herself doesn’t appear very much.  Instead, Tuccelli tells the story of several generations of Ella’s family, ranging in setting from mountain cabins to plantations.  Through each story, Tuccelli weaves a compelling commentary on race relations and sacrifices made to protect one’s family.

Having so many protagonists in a book of this length should have turned out very badly, but Tuccelli pulled it off masterfully.  Each character’s story is well developed, and watching the relationships between them intertwine gave this book a layer of depth and complexity that I hadn’t expected.  Each character is memorable and unique.  There is the story of Riddle Young, a Cherokee man who had a son, Alger, with a neighbor’s slave, whom he loved, only to realize that the child would be born into slavery.  Riddle spends years indentured as an overseer in order to convince the plantation owner to let him buy his son’s freedom.  Meanwhile Alger falls in love with Willie Mae, who can see ghosts and spirits.  Then there’s Mia, Ella’s mother, as she realizes for the first time as a child that people hate her because of her race.  Mia is such a strong character, and yet we see her desperate worry as she realizes that fighting for her rights places both her own life and that of her daughter in danger.

Each generation in Tuccelli’s story struggles with its own crises, and her characters do everything they can to overcome the obstacles that they face in life.  There is violence, and bad things happen to good people, but at the same time the overall tone is one of hope.

Oh, and did I mention that there’s a ghost story?

The spiritual and paranormal elements in “Glow” enhance the story, but don’t take anything away from the central message.  Tuccelli’s style reminds me of Isabelle Allende’s magical realism.  There are ghosts, but their presence in the story is subtle, and the overall focus is on creating snapshots of race relations throughout a family’s history over the course of several generations.

If you enjoyed “The Secret Life of Bees,” “The Help,” or anything by Isabel Allende, then you’ll probably love “Glow” as well.  I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to share it with you.

“There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister’s Husband, and He Hanged Himself: Love Stories” by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya

I’m in a particularly grumpy/bitter mood tonight, so this is a perfect time to review this book.

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I’m too cynical to take most stories of happily ever after seriously, and love triangles make me want to puke.  This book is different.

Ludmilla Petrushevskaya’s most excellent collection of love stories, entitled “There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister’s Husband, and He Hanged Himself,” take a dark but humorous view on love and society.  Her stories are set in Soviet Russia, and there’s no such thing as a happy ending.  Instead, we find crowded apartments and scheming gossips.  The characters themselves are the outcasts of society, those already struggling against alcoholism, addiction, and poverty.  They see love as a way of improving their lives, and so delude themselves in the name of a dream rather than exercising some basic common sense.

Petrushevskaya’s tone reminds me a bit of Chekhov.  Her stories give little glimpses into her characters’ lives–the man who goes on vacation and enters a relationship with an elderly woman, who loves him because he reminds her of the son that she’d lost, or the seamstress Milgrom who was abandoned by her husband and family, but whose services represent hope to a young woman on the brink of adulthood, who commissions her to make a slinky black dress so she can begin her dating life.  Then there’s Karapenko, a young theater student who has an affair with her mentor and gets pregnant.  The stories seem incomplete, and represent a moment or a chapter in each character’s life.  We don’t see the full story, and that’s part of the beauty of Petrushevskaya’s writing style.

At the same time, Petrushevskaya’s end goal isn’t to be depressing.  Her stories poke fun at Soviet society, but her characters are still sympathetic and resonated with me very well.  They see a lack of hope or possibility in their own lives, and so seek to improve them through romance, no matter how imperfect it might be, and you can’t really fault them for it.

I would highly recommend this collection to anyone interested in Russian literature or culture, or anyone who just likes the idea of a collection of love stories gone wrong.

General Update on Life, the Universe, and Everything

One of several bookshelves, arranged in the style of Tetris, or perhaps Jenga.

I’ve been very quiet lately.  That’s because there’s been a lot going on, between work, school, and …moving!

My new apartment is close enough to where I work that I can walk there, instead of spending almost an hour on public transit each way.  Even better, I live directly across the street from a public library.  It is glorious.

Between Mike and I, we’ve managed to completely fill three bookshelves, and there are still two more boxes of books left to unpack.  My living room is beginning to resemble a library, and I’m pretty sure that a trip to Target for another bookshelf will be necessary in the near future.

As soon as my finals are over (5/12), I plan on writing a lot more book reviews.  Two extra hours in my day will make that much easier.  I’m already more relaxed and am finding that when I get home, I have the energy to read, which is a welcome change.

Here are some of the reviews that are in the works for you to look forward to in the next two weeks:

• “There Once Lived a Girl Who Seduced Her Sister’s Husband, and He Hanged Himself: Love Stories” by Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
• “Glow” by Jessica Maria Tucelli (review and giveaway)

• Author Q&A with Deborah Harkness (Q&A and Giveaway provided by the publisher)

“The Forever Knight” by John Marco

I received a copy of John Marco’s “The Forever Knight” from TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

When “The Forever Knight” begins, the revered knight Lukien is an old man.  He’s got his share of battle scars, and only has one eye.  However, he’s kept alive by a spirit that dwells within his magical sword.  Lukien has lost the love of his life, and he’s bored with his immortality.  He feels as if his life no longer has a purpose.  In an attempt to find new meaning, Lukien sets out with a young girl named Cricket to find out the secrets of her childhood in the war-torn land of Akyre.  Meanwhile, a tyrant king and an undead dragon may be the challenge that Lukien needs to rediscover his inner strength.

“The Forever Knight” is actually the fourth in a series, but don’t let that dissuade you.  The book can be read and understood without reading the books that came before them.  I haven’t read the first three books, and I was completely immersed in the story before I’d even gotten fifty pages in.  The author does a good job of setting the scene and explaining the events of previous books, but by using Lukien’s brooding as a way to do it, the recap of previous books becomes an organic part of the story.

One of the most interesting things to me about “The Forever Knight” is that I didn’t find Lukien to be terribly likeable, even though I enjoyed the book tremedously.  He’s a bit whiny and makes a lot of stupid mistakes which tend to hurt those that he cares about.  He can judge people harshly and he can be self-centered.  At the same time, Lukien’s personality makes the book more realistic and gives it more depth.  He’s got plenty of flaws, even though he does genuinely care about protecting the people he cares about.  There’s a difference between his intentions and execution, and that’s part of what it is to be human.  Considering that Lukien is now immortal, it keeps him from becoming boring or too god-like.

Another thing I liked about “The Forever Knight” was the presence of GLBT characters.  Without getting into too much detail, Marco’s gay characters are presented as complex human beings who are both flawed and heroic.  Actually, the description “flawed yet heroic” could sum up most of Marco’s characters, which was one of the factors that impressed me so much about his writing.

A word of forewarning–people die in this book.  People die in the previous books.  John Marco isn’t afraid to kill off his characters in tragic and painful ways.  There’s one particular part of the book that, if you’re at all like me, will make you cry.  At the same time, I was pleased with the way that the book ended.

Overall, I’d highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a new fantasy read.

 

“A Conspiracy of Alchemists” by Liesel Schwarz

Good evening everyone!  Today is my stop on the TLC Book Tour of Liesel Schwarz’s debut novel, “A Conspiracy of Alchemists,” which is the first book in the Chronicles of Light and Shadow series.  I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

“A Conspiracy of Alchemists” is a steampunk paranormal adventure.  Our protagonist, a young pilot named Elle, agrees to deliver a rather unusual cargo, only to find herself caught up in a plot between the various supernatural forces that share the world.  After her father is kidnapped by Alchemists, Elle must take action, piloting an experimental steam-powered gyrocopter in hot pursuit.  Accompanied by a dangerous yet sexy Warlock named Mr. Marsh, as well as an absinthe fairy that stowed away in her bracelet, Elle begins a journey in which only she can save the world from dark forces grasping for power.

Elle made an excellent protagonist.  She’s an independent young woman in a world where that is unusual, and she is accustomed to having to fight for her freedom and her happiness.  This is countered by her very unique role as the next Oracle, one who is destined to channel the balance of power between worlds.  Elle’s coming-of-age is to learn to accept that she can be her own person, but still accept her gift and all its implications.

The love story between Elle and Mr. Marsh was mind-bogglingly cheesy, and I was completely okay with it.  I was happy to see that it was a love story (the guilty pleasure variety–the tall, dark, and brusque stranger meets a fiercely independent rebellious young woman, at which point they argue for half the book and then realize they are madly in love), and not a love triangle.

The idea of using an absinthe fairy as a major character was quite clever, even though I wish she would have been more developed, or would have at least had a bigger role in the plot.  I also wished that the fairy’s point-of-view hadn’t been signified by a different font, as it was a bit distracting.

I was pleased that the book had an ending, even though it’s the first in a series.  The story arc of this book is resolved, but then the final chapter is set up as a teaser for the next book.  This works rather well.  It makes you wonder what’s going to happen next, but at the same time, you’re not being tortured until the next book is finally written and released.

This is one of those times where I read a book at exactly the right time.  Between work and school, I’ve been pretty stressed out lately, and was in the mood for something light, fun, and not too serious.  “A Conspiracy of Alchemists” met those qualifications.  Absinthe fairies and gyrocopters are just awesome, and evil alchemists and warlocks with questionable intentions are great for brightening up a rough day.

Overall, not bad for a debut novel.  A bit rough around the edges, but still a fun read.

“Six Moon Dance” by Sherri S. Tepper

Last year, I discovered Sherri S. Tepper’s novel “Singer From the Sea.”  It was one of the most bizarre books that I’ve ever read, and I described it in my review as a amalgamation of Dune, Fern Gully, and A Handmaid’s Tale.  When I saw more Sherri Tepper books at the used book store, I couldn’t help myself.  I knew that at the very least, I’d be in for something different.  ”Six Moon Dance” is exactly what I expected–strange, beautifully written, imaginative, and yet vaguely disappointing.

The basic setup of the universe of “Six Moon Dance” reminded me a bit of Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy.  Space travel and colonization raised a host of questions about the meaning of intelligent life, and war and conflict became commonplace.  However, a wise man named Haraldson came up with a series of edicts in order to create an atmosphere of interstellar peace and cooperation.  One such rule is that one can’t set up a colony on a planet that has already has indigenous intelligent life.  In order to enforce Haraldson’s edicts, an intelligent robot called the Questioner was created to travel to different worlds and to destroy those civilizations that refused to comply.

The main story arc of “Six Moon Dance:” is set on the planet of Newholme.  Newholme has one seriously fucked up social structure, which is due to a gender imbalance.  Because women are scarce, they are given special treatment within Newholme’s society. After high-class women have produced children, which is seen as their social duty, they are allowed the service of hunk, a courtesan who’s had a vasectomy.  Meanwhile, men are required to wear veils in public and have limited rights.  Think of Western stereotypes about the Middle East, and reverse them.

Mouche, our protagonist, is in training to be such a courtesan.  He was born in a poor family that didn’t produce any girls, and so his family sold him to a brothel to make ends meet.  However, Mouche’s world is about to change, as a visit from the Questioner reveals dark secrets about Newholme’s past.  Meanwhile, an unprecedented increase in volcanic activity threatens to make the Questioner’s visit a moot point and to destroy all civilization on the planet.

To be quite frank, Newholme’s social structure made me a bit queasy.  I realize that’s the effect that Tepper was going for–to make readers uncomfortable to point out flaws in our own perception of gender roles–but I think that Tepper’s commentary on gender overshadowed an otherwise fantastic story.  The exposition of Newholme’s history and secrets was absolutely brilliant (I’d say more, but that would be going into extreme spoiler territory), but the blatant treatment of gender roles was distracting.  A more subtle approach would have gotten the point across without coming off as preachy.  I was also unsatisfied with the way that the story ended.

While “Six Moon Dance” doesn’t fulfill its full potential, it is still an enjoyable read.  Tepper is able to craft a story filled with intrigue and imagination, and the creatures that she creates are captivating and complex.  Just be warned that the eco-feminist message is pronounced, blunt, and at times overwhelming.

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I read this book as part of The 2013 Science Fiction Experience.

“Katya’s World” by Jonathan L. Howard

I received a copy of Jonathan Howard’s novel “Katya’s World” from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  It is one of the first books books released through Strange Chemistry, Angry Robot’s new YA imprint.  Based on this book, I can’t wait to see more!

“Katya’s World” is science fiction set on the planet Russalka, a colony world founded by Russian immigrants from Earth.  Russalka is an aquatic world with abundant natural resources, which made colonization a viable economic decision at the time.  However, political problems on Earth meant that the colony was ignored and left to fend for itself.  The harsh climate and lack of any actual land surface created a resilient and independent people.

Katya is on her first voyage as a submarine navigator with her uncle Lyukan when the military asks her to assist in a prisoner transport.  This isn’t normal, and both Lyukan and Katya resent the interruption of their command.  However, when the ship is attacked by a sea monster dubbed the Leviathan, Katya, Lyukan, and their mysterious prisoner find themselves caught up in a struggle that could threaten their entire world.

Over the past few months, I’ve been attempting to find YA novels that aren’t the same old tired story of love triangles and teenage novels.  This one is a winner.  Not only does it lack love triangles, but it doesn’t have a love story at all.  Quite frankly, it doesn’t need one.  Katya is a young woman making the first steps in her career, and is going through the phase where people who would normally be authority figures are now becoming colleagues and asking her to help make decisions.  She’s young, spunky, and confident, and her problems revolve around carrying her passengers to safety and fighting sea monsters.

I was also impressed by the world building, because the entire idea of living on a planet without a land surface is something that I haven’t read about before.  Howard explores themes like ethnic identity as he creates a people with Russian ancestry but who have lived on Russalka for so long that they no longer identify themselves with the people of Earth.

Overall, I’d highly recommend this one.  While I read it a couple months ago, I’m including it in The 2013 Science Fiction Experience, as I’m only getting as far as reviewing it now.