HF Virtual Book Tours: NINE BIRDS SINGING BY EDYTHE ANSTEY HANEN

NINE BIRDS SINGING
BY EDYTHE ANSTEY HANEN

New Arcadia Publishing (5 December, 2017)

Paperback; 276 Pages

Genre: Literary Fiction

Rating:

Synopsis:
Maddie is a writer of local history but wants to use her words to unlock the hidden truths that lay just below the surface of her life. But it’s magnetic words on a refrigerator door – Have dreams. Must travel – that push Maddie into the journey she must take: the search for what she has yearned for all her life: independence and freedom from the abusive fanaticism of her parents’ religious beliefs. From Vancouver in the sixties to present day Mexico and a small island on the Canadian west coast, Nine Birds Singing is a love affair with words. It weaves through past glories and youthful hubris in a search for understanding and acceptance. Profound friendship, skewed love and loss all play a role in Maddie’s search for redemption

My Thoughts:

“Where will you spend eternity?”

“The preacher begins his sermon with subdued entreaties for the lost sheep to return to the fold. There is still time, he tells them. But it’s his table-pounding diatribes on hell’s fury that send rivers of fear coursing through Maddie’s veins. There will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Even the water trembles in the glass when he slams his fist against the dais...Maddie sits in heart-stopping silence, her cheeks aflame with guilt. She is more afraid of the preacher than she is of God.”

Maddie, as a child is terrified of the coming Rapture, she knows that due to her sinful ways she will be left behind to suffer for all eternity. Her father’s ferocious religious preaching compounds these fears. She, too, knows that she is different from other children at school, and that her family home life is very strange.  She feels isolated and uncomfortable around others feeling that she does not fit in.

“There’s no use pretending this isn’t about Joey too. The leaky boat that’s kept their life together afloat has been sinking for a long time and Maddie sees now that she’s been the only one rowing anyway. She can’t stay here and wait for the other oar to drop but she doesn’t want to chase Joey down like prey either.”

When, in later years her long-term partner walks out on her, Maddie takes off to visit her friend of many years in Mexico.  Thus begins Maddie’s painful, but enlightening journey for truth and of self-discovery.

Returning to heartfelt memories of her childhood, Maddie looks back at her father’s religious doctrine, her grandfather’s abuse, and her mother’s passivity and uncaring demeanour, all of which have left her feeling a powerlessness and unquestioning acceptance of how badly others have treated her over the years.

“Maddie looks out into the chilly early morning light. She imagines what it would be like to be in Mexico now. Salmon pink and scarlet bougainvillea blossoms, purple jacaranda blooms that drift from the trees like confetti in the time of the winds, the white-faced ibis arcing across the sky at sunset, winging its way toward the lake.”

Set predominantly in present day Mexico, the reader is transported to a Vancouver of the 1960’s, and back again to a small island off the Pacific west coast. Nine Birds Singing takes us on a poignant and highly perceptive journey of exploration and of self-discovery of a woman in her later years.

So compelling with more than one ‘Me Too’ moment along the way, I felt a real connection to this wonderfully inspiring woman. As a result of coming to terms with a difficult past she acquires a new found freedom from the chains of abusive relationships.  Nine Birds Singing is sure to have a recognition and poignancy with readers at a particular stage in their lives, just as I did.

One message or interpretation I took from the book was that as a child the responsibility of others’ abuse or neglectfulness is not yours, and that it’s never too late to take control of your life, to choose your own path and not accept whatever fate throws at you. That, even with the passing of time, it is still possible to throw off the shackles which have bound you for far too long.

An uplifting literary novel of a woman’s coming of age in her older years, Nine Birds Singing is a highly recommend read.

A complementary digital copy of Nine Birds Singing was provided in exchange for an unbiased review and to take part in this TLC Book Tours.

About the Author
Edythe Anstey Hanen has published prize-winning short stories and poetry in literary magazines including Room Magazine and anthologies across Canada, in addition to articles in the Globe & Mail, National Post and the Hamilton Bay Observer and is a regular contributor to Mexconnect, an online travel magazine. She lives on Bowen Island in British Columbia, Canada, where for many years she was the editor of the Bowen Island Undercurrent.

TEASER TUESDAY: The Lost Flower's of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by

 The Purple Booker

It is very easy to play along:

• Grab your current read and open to a random page

• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! 

• Share the title & author, too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here are my teasers this month:

“Some days Alice’s mother disappeared from her body altogether. There were no stories or walks to the sea. There was no talking with flowers. Her mother would stay in bed with the curtains drawn against the blanching light, vanished, as if her soul had gone somewhere else entirely.”

The Lost Flower's of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland

Published by Pan Macmillan (28th June 2018)

Pages: 400

Description
Flowers, fire and fairy tales are the elements that will forever shape nine-year-old Alice Hart's life, in The Lost Flower's of Alice Hart, the remarkable debut by Holly Ringland.
Alice Hart lives in isolation by the sea, where her mother’s enchanting flowers and their hidden messages shelter her from the dark moods of her father. When tragedy changes her life irrevocably, nine-year-old Alice goes to live with the grandmother she never knew existed, on a native flower farm that gives refuge to women who, like Alice, are lost or broken. In the Victorian tradition, every flower has a meaning and, as she settles into her new life, Alice uses this language of flowers to say the things that are too hard to speak.
As she grows older, though, family secrecy, a devastating betrayal and a man who’s not all he seems, combine to make Alice realise there are some stories that flowers alone cannot tell. If she is to have the freedom she craves, she must find the courage to possess the most powerful story she knows: her own.

My Thoughts at 30%
Enchanting, dreamy, mesmerising…I love this book. ‘The Lost Flower's of Alice Hart’ has introduced me to the magical language of flowers and is an absorbing heartfelt tale about grief, abandonment, loss and betrayal and about how with the love and nurturing of others any hurt can be healed, and that with time anything can be overcome.

For me this book does for flowers what Elizabeth J Church’s ‘The Atomic Weight of Love’ did for crows. Deep sigh !

Review to follow on completion.

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao by Martha Batalha

Translator: Eric M. B. Becker

Publisher: Oneworld

Source: Publisher (physical reading copy & digital ARC)

Pages: 230

Rating

Description
Euridice is young, beautiful and ambitious. She sacrifices her own aspirations to marry Antenor, spending her days ironing his shirts and removing the lumps of onion from his food. But as his professional success grows, so does Euridice’s feeling of restlessness. Casting duty aside, she embarks on various secret projects, only to have each dream crushed in turn by her tradition-loving husband. Antenor eventually restores order in his household – until the day Euridice’s long-lost sister Guida appears at the door with a young child and a terrible story.

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is a darkly comic portrait of two sisters who assert their independence and courageously carve a path of their own. A truly unforgettable novel from one of the most exciting new voices in world literature.

Martha Batalha studied journalism and literature in Brazil, working first as a reporter before starting her own publishing company. The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao is her first novel. Martha lives in Santa Monica, California, with her husband and two children.

My Thoughts
Stunning bright, zesty and energetic...If ever a cover promises a lively bunch of characters within its pages then this one does its job.

Martha Batalha as her debut novel has written a heartwarming tale, drawing heavily from her family background, about the lives of two sisters living in Brazil over three decades from the 1940’s through to the revolution in the 1960’s.  Bringing this story to life is a sparkling cast of diverse, complex characters, both men and women who often flawed are shadowed by difficult, and at times awfully grim circumstances. Making this story of substance anything but a heavy read is the easy and engaging writing style full of warmth, humanity, humour and wit that flows effortlessly throughout.  Batalha skilfully presents the reader with an intelligent, culturally informative and thoroughly enjoyable reading experience.

Euridice a dutiful wife, caring mother, and inspirational woman of her time oozes with charm, compassion and a ceaseless creative drive. All of which is quite an achievement when you meet her husband, Antenor who provides such negative support.

‘It was a simple ceremony, followed by a simple reception, followed by a complicated honeymoon. There was no blood on the sheets, and Antenor grew suspicious.’
‘...Antenor decided there was no need to take his wife back to her family. She knew how to make the bits of onion disappear, she washed and ironed well, seldom spoke, and had a terrific rear.”

You will also encounter the spinster Zélia a spiteful vengeful woman damaged by life’s injustices who delights in gossip and thrives on the misfortune of others.

‘Since she couldn't be the Holy Spirit, Zélia contented herself with a lower post, proclaiming herself prophet...That one there is going to drag her husband into bankruptcy, she decreed with her pointy chin.’

TILoEG’s pages are crowded with such huge personalities, so believable and full of presence and life that the pages must have struggled to contain them within. Batalha’s characters, especially the women will remain in my thoughts for some time.

The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao would make an ideal choice for a book group read, funny, heartbreaking with plenty to discuss from a cultural, historical, and women’s struggle for independence (from within and outside of the family) perspectives.

A delightfully engaging and satisfying read beautifully translated by Eric M. B. Becker.  I loved every moment of TILoEG and so eager to share the delight of this sparkling debut with whomever I can.

TLC BOOK TOURS REVIEW: Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki

Woman No. 17 by Edan Lepucki

Hardcover: 320 Pages

Publisher: Hogarth (May 9, 2017)

My Rating:

Disclaimer: A complimentary digital copy of 'Woman No. 17' was provided by TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest unbiased review and to take part in this blog tour.

Synopsis:

A sinister, sexy noir about art, motherhood, and the intensity of female friendships set in the posh hills above Los Angeles, from the New York Times bestselling author of California.

High in the Hollywood Hills, writer Lady Daniels has decided to take a break from her husband. Left alone with her children, she’s going to need a hand taking care of her young son if she’s ever going to finish her memoir. In response to a Craigslist ad, S arrives, a magnetic young artist who will live in the secluded guest house out back, care for Lady’s toddler, Devin, and keep a watchful eye on her older, teenage son, Seth. S performs her day job beautifully, quickly drawing the entire family into her orbit, and becoming a confidante for Lady.

But in the heat of the summer, S’s connection to Lady’s older son takes a disturbing, and possibly destructive, turn. And as Lady and S move closer to one another, the glossy veneer of Lady’s privileged life begins to crack, threatening to expose old secrets that she has been keeping from her family. Meanwhile, S is protecting secrets of her own, about her real motivation for taking the job. S and Lady are both playing a careful game, and every move they make endangers the things they hold most dear.

Darkly comic, twisty and tense, this mesmerizing new novel defies expectation and proves Edan Lepucki to be one of the most talented and exciting voices of her generation.

My Thoughts:

Set high in the Hollywood Hills, LA, Woman No. 17 is a contemporary 'dramedy' with a razor sharp, edgy dialogue and a dark creepy undertone, an undertone in my opinion that didn't really surface. There are some real comedic moments where I laughed out loud, one of my favourite involving the shit-faced nanny and the pooch. Shamelessly, I loved it.

Pearl 'Lady' Daniels, the mother of two boys, one a lively toddler, Devin, and his half brother, 18 year old Seth, has been commissioned to write a book. A book about motherhood and caring for children with special needs. A book which she has no true impetus to write. She hires a nanny to enable her to concentrate on writing without the distraction of family interruptions or routines. This solution in itself brings its own distractions.  Lady is a complex woman with a simmering mass of emotion and hidden depths to her personality that will gradually bubble over during the course of the story.

Esther Shapiro has a very strong dual personality, hers and that of her alter persona of 'S' Fowler which lends an underlying creepiness into the mix.  Esther a 21 year old college graduate is committed to her latest piece of conceptual art, 'The Katherine May Project' where she will devote every waking moment to impersonating her mother as a young girl.  There's nothing she won't do to succeed in the project. Esther, transformed into the unshaven, plain faced, drably dressed, renamed 'S' Fowler is taken on as the Daniels' live-in nanny.

Seth's character is somewhat unique and impressive. As a mute, self imposed or not really doesn't necessitate too much contemplation, Edan has given depth and perception to a character that could so easily have fallen into the background, or have been one-dimensional at best. He uses his iPad, Twitter feed and sign language, including secret signings for Lady, to communicate and interact in a believable fashion.

Early on its pretty obvious that a relationship is inevitable between the nanny and Seth.  It is a relationship that will have a troubling, powerful impact on all three of them.

During the course of alternating perspectives and back stories, a fuller understanding of how the complexities of the family dynamic, significantly that of the mother-daughter relationships, have shaped the women into who they have ultimately become. Sometimes full of selfish tendencies as with Lady not wanting to share Seth with anyone for fear of losing him, and dismissing Devlin's needs in order to fulfill her own; and Esther with her utter disregard for those caught up in her performance art, as she causes upset and mayhem, crossing boundaries, and taking advantage of everyone to the point of exploitation, all for the cause of her art.

I really enjoyed Edan Lepucki's second novel and think it perfect for fans of art literature or anyone wanting to read something 'off-centre' about art and dysfunctional relationships.

Highly recommended.

Edan Lepucki’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS for WOMAN No. 17:

Monday, May 8th: Bewitched Bookworms

Tuesday, May 9th: Books and Bindings

Wednesday, May 10th: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, May 11th: Thoughts on This ‘n That

Tuesday, May 16th: Kahakai Kitchen

Wednesday, May 17th: No More Grumpy Bookseller

Thursday, May 18th: A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall

Monday, May 22nd: Art Books Coffee

Tuesday, May 23rd: Palmer’s Page Turners

Wednesday, May 24th: A Bookish Way of Life

Thursday, May 25th: Booksie’s Blog

Tuesday, May 30th: SJ2B House of Books

Wednesday, May 31st: Fuelled by Fiction

TLC BOOK TOURS Review: Vanishing Point by E V Legters

Vanishing Point by E V Legters

Publisher: Lethe Press (May 27, 2017)
Genre: Contemporary Fiction /LGBT

My Rating:
Disclaimer: A complimentary digital copy of 'Vanishing Point' was provided by the author in exchange for an honest unbiased review and to take part in this blog tour.

"Nothing's changed except Angela Dunnewald." From the inside of her life and marriage, Angela discovers she's gone quite mad. Her sense of self, of direction, has frayed and she finds herself lost and alone despite a calendar full of society events, charity meetings, shopping dates, and dinners her aloof husband expects her to attend. Her best friend is a vivacious flirt, but Angela only strays when she discovers a young drifter haunting the grounds of her house. Desire to be intimate unlocks the need for achievement; Angela becomes unrecognizable to her peers and to herself.

Legters’ new novel offers betrayal, passion, secrets, and truth, all from inside a world that threatens to suffocate to the vanishing point.

My Thoughts:
Written in the present, third person narrative and interspersed with flashbacks to Angela's early married life, much of the book is written in a bleak and languidly depressive tone, but it does have an uplifting anticipatory edge and ultimate feeling of hopefulness too.


Evie's characters are well rounded and plausible with flawed, highly complex personalities, all working to their own agendas.  I didn't particularly like any of them, far too spoilt, spiteful and full of their own self importance for my liking.


I had a real sense that Angela was, indeed, at vanishing point. Her mental state affected me in such a way that I felt despair and miserable reading about her achingly dull, insignificant existence. There, only to give meaning and purpose for another; for Ross her husband of 19 years; or for her friend Lydia of 12 years in accompanying her to the many committee meetings or social gatherings where no one is interested in anyone but themselves.

Change is on the way when Angela notices a young man in the garden.  Ross would call the police insisting on his removal...they don't pay taxes for drifters to endanger them or their property...but Angela doesn't do anything, she is fascinated by his self confidence. He has possession of himself, a surety whereas she has none.  What follows is an intense relationship with some pretty heated sex scenes between Angela and her lover which I felt uncomfortable about to begin with. I'd worried, needlessly, that such an emotive plot line was going to descend into a tasteless porn romance. Nothing wrong with 'pornance' except it wouldn't have been in keeping with the start of this book. The sex scenes were tastefully, and sensually written and showed the evolvement of their relationship perfectly. It is within the realms of her relationship with Daniel that Angela encounters an unknown depth of feeling and desire for, and from another, and where the seeds for her empowerment and personal transformation grow.


There is such an elegance and beauty to Legters' style of writing as illustrated here when Angela is comparing Ross' hands to that of her lovers:


"Daniel’s hands are thin, and the skin also fine-grained; she would have expected a carpenter’s hands to be rough and worn, with a callous or two on the palm. Instead, when he touches her, it’s almost as if he weren’t touching her at all; she has the impression of air, and peace.

Ross’s hands have become wide and heavy and obvious. If they grope her in the dark,she stays still, pretending they can’t wake her."


As for Ross, has he not provided Angela with everything 'they' could possibly ever want?  Ross is infuriating in his insensitivity to Angela's needs and her desires, in dismissing them as petty and unimportant.  He doesn't take anything she says seriously and disregards her almost to the point of not listening to her at all.  She'd loved this cherry tree...

"Ross had said the cherries dropping stained the flagstone. She came home one day to a stump. She’d loved its blossoms; their first spring in the house, she took a dozen pictures of them, and had one framed for the study. Ross said the flagstones were more important, and that he hadn’t known she cared about it. He never apologized."

...Ross never apologises for his actions.


One compromise that Ross had made at the start of their marriage, reluctantly, was to keep a treasured wicker chair Angela had since childhood.  Even so, she was still made to feel silly about wanting to keep such a valueless item...as in evidence here:


"The wicker chair is the one thing from her childhood...She spent hours in it growing up, reading, dreaming."...“Let someone have it who really needs it.” When she told him she needed it, ...he said, “doesn’t wicker belong out of doors?” She reminded him that he’d have plenty from the house where he grew up...“Yes, valuable antiques...” “Ross.” He gave in, ..."Beginning with that conversation, nearly everything she wanted gradually became too much work to gain, and so she gave in to more and more, telling herself all these petty things didn’t matter."


His incomprehension as to why Angela should be so ungrateful or unhappy within their marriage frustrated me no end. It was all too easy for me to think that Ross was all deserving of his wife's infidelity. However, even with such an intense dislike of him, that moral part of me still felt he was as much a victim as his wife and entitled to be told the truth. Alas, real life isn't that way so why should it be for him.

Overall, Vanishing Point is a stylishly written literary tale about a woman so conditioned over time to feel undeserving of attention or real consideration in any way that her reaction is to compromise, and comply in order to save others from their own fragility, and of how as a disillusioned housewife she acts out of impulsiveness to embark on an illicit affair.


Fans of Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road, and Bernard Schlink's The Reader, will undoubtedly savour this one.

About E.V. Legters

Vanishing Point is E.V. Legters’ second novel. Her first, Connected Underneath, published under her given name, Linda, instead of her chosen name, E.V., was released last year and is an INDIE Press Book of the Year finalist. Born in the far western reaches of New York State, and a long-time resident of Connecticut, E.V. is exploring new venues in which to finish her third. She is currently in Portugal.

TLC Tour Stops

Thursday, May 11th: From the TBR Pile

Thursday, May 18th: SJ2B House Of Books

Monday, May 22nd: Sweet Southern Home

Monday, May 29th: Tina Says…

Wednesday, May 31st: All Roads Lead to the Kitchen

Tuesday, June 6th: Books and Bindings

Find out more at website.

After Birth by Elisa Albert

After Birth by Elisa Albert

Publishers:Vintage Publishing

Source: Publishers/NetGalley

Read: February 2017
(DNF'd on first attempt in 2015)

Rating:

Disclaimer: A complimentary copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

Synopsis:
Sometimes I'm with the baby and I think: you're my heart and my soul, and I would die for you. Other times I think: tiny moron, leave me the fuck alone.

A year has passed since Ari gave birth and still she can't locate herself in her altered universe.  Sleep-deprived, lonely and unprepared, she struggles through the strange, disjointed rhythms of her days and nights. Her own mother long dead and her girlhood friendships faded, she is a woman in need.
When Mina - older, alone, pregnant - moves to town, Ari sees hope of a comrade-in-arms. Perhaps the hostile terrain could be more easily navigable together.

With purifying anger and outrageous humour, Elisa Albert unleashes on a culture that turns its new mothers into exiles, and expects them to act like natives. And as she defines the raw experience of motherhood, Albert offers a hilarious and devastatingly honest examination of how we become the women we are.

My Thoughts:

"An edgy, raw 'of the moment', anger rant about pregnancy, birth and motherhood"

'After Birth' is a hard hitting, revelatory tale about 'life after birth', and motherhood told with brutally honest portrayals of its character's and their unforgiving, often outrageous hilarious and irrational observations. With the exception of the lesbianism, drugs and some other scenarios, specifically the 'milk mother' relationship (an unselfish act practiced within certain social/religious groups), it was as if I were reading a close encounter of 'my' life 'After Birth'.  Decidedly the most traumatic experience I've had to date, I felt utterly humiliated and devastated as the fairytale promised me fractured and disintegrated. You know, the one about 'the most beautiful rewarding experience a woman should have is giving birth'. I felt betrayed...It certainly wasn't meant to be the way it played out for me...was it ?

Ari the central character feels similarly... “the baby books said nothing about this,” ... and again about her cesarean section: ...“They cut me in half, pulled the baby from my numb, gaping cauterized center...Sewn back up again by a team of people I didn’t even know...Severed from hip to hip iced, brutalized, catheterized, tethered to a bed, the tiny bird’s heartfelt shrieks as they carted him off somewhere hell itself.”...

On one of her home visits it was obvious to my health visitor that things were a little off when after weeks of sleep deprivation, and still unable to stand upright from my emergency c-section op, and subsequent emergency op to repair the reopening of the aforementioned, I told her that I didn't want my baby, he didn't want me, and to take him away.  Fortunately she didn't believe me and immediately telephoned the doctor who prescribed antidepressants. Why did I let things take such a hold? Well, at the time I 'knew' that I couldn't tell anyone because 'they' would take my baby into care as I was such a bad mum, and then section me for being mentally ill...but they did neither.

Ok so not everyone has such an awful time of it but some mothers do, and although a fictional account 'After Birth' was a revelation and potentially a 'self help' book in my opinion.  Reading about these character's experiences dredged up such powerful emotions from deep down, but ultimately it brought about an acceptance and exorcism 'of sorts' to that period in my life.

My experience was nearly 19 years ago and If this book said anything to me...NO, IT SCREAMED OUT AT ME...that sometimes we need help... that we're not alone...that we'll probably get over it and be okay in the end...that we should not be afraid to ask for help! I went on two years later to have another baby, by elective c-section, and had the polar opposite experience.

After Birth is not a fluffy tale of motherhood, it does not paint a pretty picture of talcum powder smelling newborns, and reading it may destroy the cutesy image. What it does, is give the reader an insight into the frightful nightmare that the experience can be like, at least for some.

The tone of anguish, and despair of the characters was right on the button and the book truly resonated with me. This is a personal emotional account of my thoughts rather than an actual review and other readers will take more, or less from it but essentially it is an harsh story with tender moments narrated by well written colourful characters, some likeable and others not so much, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I wouldn't say that all mothers should read it especially if going through a first pregnancy but I'd definitely suggest giving it a try.  It may not be the right moment, but it's worth giving it a chance.

A narrative of pure emotion and highly emotive, I wholeheartedly recommend 'After Birth' for it's entertaining value and stark honesty. Perfect for the new wave feminism happening now, and guaranteed to whip up some frank and excitable debate in book reading groups.

TLC Book Tours Review: I'll Take You There by Wally Lamb

About I'll Take You There

• Hardcover: 272 pages

• Publisher: Harper; First Printing edition (November 22, 2016)

Rating:

In this radiant homage to the resiliency, strength, and power of women, Wally Lamb—author of numerous New York Times bestselling novels including She’s Come Undone, I Know This Much is True, and We Are Water—weaves an evocative, deeply affecting tapestry of one Baby Boomer's life and the trio of unforgettable women who have changed it.

I’ll Take You There centers on Felix, a film scholar who runs a Monday night movie club in what was once a vaudeville theater. One evening, while setting up a film in the projectionist booth, he’s confronted by the ghost of Lois Weber, a trailblazing motion picture director from Hollywood’s silent film era. Lois invites Felix to revisit—and in some cases relive—scenes from his past as they are projected onto the cinema’s big screen.

In these magical movies, the medium of film becomes the lens for Felix to reflect on the women who profoundly impacted his life. There’s his daughter Aliza, a Gen Y writer for New York Magazine who is trying to align her post-modern feminist beliefs with her lofty career ambitions; his sister, Frances, with whom he once shared a complicated bond of kindness and cruelty; and Verna, a fiery would-be contender for the 1951 Miss Rheingold competition, a beauty contest sponsored by a Brooklyn-based beer manufacturer that became a marketing phenomenon for two decades. At first unnerved by these ethereal apparitions, Felix comes to look forward to his encounters with Lois, who is later joined by the spirits of other celluloid muses.

Against the backdrop of a kaleidoscopic convergence of politics and pop culture, family secrets, and Hollywood iconography, Felix gains an enlightened understanding of the pressures and trials of the women closest to him, and of the feminine ideals and feminist realities that all women, of every era, must face.

My Thoughts:
Ok first of all I just want to clarify that I am a fan of Wally Lamb and absolutely loved 'She's Come Undone', 'I Know This Much Is True', and 'The Hour I First Believed'. 

So, what to say about 'I'll Take You There'...All I can say is that it wasn't what I expected, with less pages than I'm used to with his previous novels, and sparser descriptions or depth of characterisation, I have to say it's not one I particularly liked or felt compelled to finish.

It's an easy read, with light inoffensive material about women, family and feminism. To me though it lacked depth and character build up, resulting in bland uninteresting characters and plot.

However, I do think it would be a perfect, uncomplicated quick 'holiday' read, and has huge potential and appeal for the commercial market reader, more so than the literary fiction fan. In fact I can see it doing very well in this market, and that's a good thing especially if it brings a wider audience to Lamb's books.

Ideal for book club reads for potential discussion about women's roles in society, and family, and feminism in general.

These are only my thoughts on the book and in no way would I wish to dissuade anyone from reading the book. In fact, my view is in the minority and therefore I hope that you take a look at what the other reviewers on this tour have had to say about it.

Disclaimer: I received a complementary advance reading copy of 'I'll Take You There' from the publisher and TLC Book Tours to take part in the blog tour.

 

Photo credit Chris Hetzer

About Wally Lamb

Wally Lamb is the author of four previous novels, including the New York Times and national bestseller The Hour I First Believed and Wishin' and Hopin', a bestselling novella. His first two works of fiction, She's Come Undone and I Know This Much Is True, were both number-one New York Times bestsellers and Oprah's Book Club selections. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Christine. The Lambs are the parents of three sons.

Find out more about Wally at his website, and connect with him on Facebook.

Tour Stops

Tuesday, November 22nd: Jenn’s Bookshelves

Wednesday, November 23rd: Dolce Bellezza

Monday, November 28th: Turn the Page

Tuesday, November 29th: West Metro Mommy

Wednesday, November 30th: Lit and Life

Thursday, December 1st: The Well-Read Redhead

Monday, December 5th: bookchickdi

Tuesday, December 6th: What Will She Read Next

Wednesday, December 7th: Bibliophiliac

Thursday, December 8th: A Bookish Way of Life

Friday, December 9th: Booksie’s Blog

Monday, December 12th: Girl Who Reads

Wednesday, December 14th: Mother’s Circle

Thursday, December 15th: SJ2B House Of Books

TBD: Peeking Between the Pages

HF Virtual Book Tours Review & Giveaway: The Munich Girl by Phyllis Edgerly Ring

The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies That Outlast War

By Phyllis Edgerly Ring

Publisher: Whole Sky Books (November 2015)

Source: Author/Historical Fiction Virtual Tour Books

Pages: 356

Rating:

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Phyllis Edgerly Ring for gifting me a copy of her book and HF Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to take part in this book tour.

"Anna Dahlberg grew up eating dinner under her father’s war-trophy portrait of Eva Braun. Fifty years after the war, she discovers what he never did—that her mother and Hitler’s mistress were friends. The secret surfaces with a mysterious monogrammed handkerchief, and a man, Hannes Ritter, whose Third Reich family history is entwined with Anna’s. Plunged into the world of the “ordinary” Munich girl who was her mother’s confidante—and a tyrant’s lover—Anna finds her every belief about right and wrong challenged. With Hannes’s help, she retraces the path of two women who met as teenagers, shared a friendship that spanned the years that Eva Braun was Hitler’s mistress, yet never knew that the men they loved had opposing ambitions. Eva’s story reveals that she never joined the Nazi party, had Jewish friends, and was credited at the Nuremberg Trials with saving 35,000 Allied lives. As Anna's journey leads back through the treacherous years in wartime Germany, it uncovers long-buried secrets and unknown reaches of her heart to reveal the enduring power of love in the legacies that always outlast war."

My Thoughts:
The Munich Girl is primarily a story of self discovery and the importance of being true to ourselves told through the narratives of three women from present day and 1940's timelines.

In part, it tells the story of Anna Dahlberg, and her journey of uncovering the story behind her mother's portrait of an enigmatic pretty young woman.

It is through her diaries that Peggy, (Anna's mother) tells of how she comes into possession of the painting and becomes the unlikely friend of Ava, (Eva Braun).  It gives us a fascinating imagined glimpse of the world of Hitler's secret mistress.

I loved the writing style, the pace was perfectly timed with scenes flowing effortlessly through each timeframe. Yes, it's beautifully written with meticulously drawn characters, I truly believed in them, and that's where my problem with it lies. It bothered me that the lines between fact and fiction were so exquisitely blurred that I believed in the premise that Eva was an innocent in her naivety and worship of her abuser. I was confused and didn't feel comfortable with it.

Eva Braun was the 'highly kept secret' mistress of Adolf Hitler and yes she was a woman in her own right who under different circumstances may have been all the book portrays of her. She is not to be blamed for the evil acts this man was responsible for, however she did love him and chose to stay with him with the full knowledge of his monstrous beliefs and actions.  No, we shouldn't demonise her, but nor too can I accept a romanticised fairytale version of her. I tried but I failed. Had this been a work of pure fiction I would not fault it.

This isn't a negative review but I do have an opinion that could be perceived as such so I hope it won't dissuade anyone from reading it as Phyllis Edgerly Ring has written an exemplary piece of historical fiction which I truly enjoyed reading. It was just the portrayal of the little known about, factual character I found hard to come to terms with.

Perfect for fans of historical fiction that address history in some form and book groups as I think it could generate some lively debate.

Praise

“I was drawn in by Phyllis Ring’s economical and expressive language. Then the story took over! Protagonist Anna Dahlberg must face the emotional fallout from a traumatic plane crash, while simultaneously uncovering the first clues in a shocking generational mystery involving key players in the Third Reich. Everything’s complicated by a new romance that may help her overcome the past and find her true inner strength. But is it real? Love can manifest itself in enigmatic–and unexpected–ways.” -Elizabeth Sims, author and contributing editor at Writer’s Digest magazine
“… fresh perspective of German women at opposing ends of the warring spectrum … a beautiful story of enduring friendship and the lengths people will go to for love.” -The Stellar Review
“So persuasive is this novel that, before I could believe it was in fact a piece of fiction, I contacted the author and asked where she did her research and where she came up with the idea.” -Leslie Handler, The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Author Phyllis Edgerly Ring writes fiction and non-fiction. She left a part of her heart in her childhood home of Germany, which she visits as often as she can.

Her newest release, The Munich Girl: A Novel of the Legacies That Outlast War, follows the lives of three women there before, during, and after the Second World War. The novel’s protagonist begins a journey that links past and present when she discovers that her mother shared a secret friendship with Hitler’s mistress, Eva Braun.

The New Hampshire author loves writing, travel, and the noblest possibilities in the human heart and is always curious to discover how history, culture, relationship, spirituality, and the natural world influence us and guide the human family on its shared journey.

For more information, please visit Phyllis Edgerly Ring’s website. You can also find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Giveaway - Open Internationally

To enter the giveaway for a paperback copy of 'The Munich Girl', please click here:

Two copies are up for grabs!

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, August 1
 Review at Oh, for the Hook of a Book!

Tuesday, August 2
 Review at Creating Herstory

Thursday, August 4
 Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Friday, August 5
 Interview at Dianne Ascroft’s Blog

Monday, August 8
 Review at History From a Woman’s Perspective

Tuesday, August 9
 Review at First Impression Reviews

Wednesday, August 10
 Guest Post at Let Them Read Books

Friday, August 12
 Spotlight at Just One More Chapter

Monday, August 15
 Guest Post & Excerpt at The Silver Dagger Scriptorium

Wednesday, August 17
 Review at A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, August 18
 Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

Friday, August 19
 Review at Book Nerd

Monday, August 22
 Spotlight at Passages to the Past

Friday, August 26
 Review at SJ2B House of Books