Anna Karenina Read Along: Part Four

Mari at Bookworm with a View is hosting a Read Along of Anna Karenina.  We are reading one of the novel's eight parts each month.  Here are the links to my thoughts on Parts One, Two and Three.

Mari has posted discussion questions for Part Four on her site.  Feel free to jump in with us and participate in the Read Along!

Part Four Synopsis (Wikipedia):
Anna continues to pursue her affair with Vronsky. Karenin begins to find the situation intolerable. He talks with a lawyer about obtaining a divorce. In Russia at that time, divorce could only be requested by the innocent party in an affair, and required either that the guilty party confessed (which would ruin Anna's position in society) or that the guilty party was discovered in the act. Karenin forces Anna to give him some letters written to her by Vronsky as proof of the affair. However, Anna's brother Stiva argues against it and persuades Karenin to speak with Dolly first.

Dolly broaches the subject with Karenin and asks him to reconsider his plans to divorce Anna. She seems to be unsuccessful, but Karenin changes his plans after hearing that Anna is dying after a difficult childbirth. At her bedside, Karenin forgives Vronsky. Vronsky, embarrassed by Karenin's magnanimity, attempts suicide by shooting himself. He fails in his attempt but wounds himself badly.

Anna recovers, having given birth to a daughter, Anna ("Annie"). Although her husband has forgiven her, and has become attached to the new baby, Anna cannot bear living with him. She hears that Vronsky is about to leave for a military posting in Tashkent and becomes desperate. Stiva finds himself pleading to Karenin on her behalf to free her by giving her a divorce. Vronsky is intent on leaving for Tashkent, but changes his mind after seeing Anna.

The couple leave for Europe - leaving behind Anna's son Seryozha - without obtaining a divorce.

Much more straightforward is Stiva's matchmaking with Levin: he arranges a meeting between Levin and Kitty which results in their reconciliation and betrothal.

My Thoughts:
Part Four has allowed me to fall back in love with Anna Karenina.  I love the focus on the relationships and the love story.   I have such a soft spot for Levin and am thrilled that he and Kitty have found each other again.  The dynamics between Anna and her husband are intriguing and I am still trying to come to grips with my feelings about Anna and Vronsky's love.  Having previously hated Karenin, Part Four has shown a new side that has made me like him more - maybe it is the vulnerability that he is showing both in his political and public life, as well as in his marriage.

Discussion Questions (from Oprah.com):
1.  Reflect upon Karenin's predicament. He can't easily divorce his wife, yet she has moved beyond the pale of his influence. If he were to handle the situation in a morally upstanding way, what would be his best course of action?

This is such a difficult situation.  I have a hard time not placing a modern solution to this problem, where a divorce would allow both Anna and Karenin to go their separate ways, and Karenin would not be looked down upon for having separated from an adulterous wife.  I think that divorce is still the best option for Karenin, although with his new-found magnanimity in Part Four, he will struggle with this option, because it does not bring he and Anna back together in the most morally acceptable and religiously appropriate solution.

2.  How is Kitty and Levin’s courtship different from the courtship earlier in the novel? I think that both Kitty and Levin have grown up and are willing to share their love for one another.  Kitty has realized her true feelings for Levin, and was not ashamed to ask for his forgiveness.  I was very pleased that they only had to be together again for one evening to know that they should never be apart again.

3.  At the beginning of the novel, we learn that Anna has a very close bond with her son Seryozha. Talk about what it means for her to leave him in order to be with Vronsky.
In my opinion, Anna must be sacrificing everything for Vronsky by leaving Seryozha behind.  As a mother, it seems a selfish act to choose a lover over a child, without even mention of a fight to keep him.  I think in Part Four we see Anna at her very bottom.  She is annoyed and disgusted by her husband and she is willing to give up her son in order to be away from him.  I question her motivation despite her confessed love for Vronsky, I wonder whether he is truly the reason that she is leaving.


Part Five, here we come!

Book Review: Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephan Benatar (Spotlight Series)

I am reviewing Wish Her Safe at Home as part of the Spotlight Series tour for the publisher NYRB Classics.  Welcome to those who are stopping by as part of the tour.

Wish Her Safe at Home
by Stephan Benatar
NYRB Classics (January 19, 2010)
280 pages

Source:  Personal Copy

Publisher Synopsis:
Rachel Waring is deliriously happy. Out of nowhere, a great-aunt leaves her a Georgian mansion in another city—and she sheds her old life without delay. Gone is her dull administrative job, her mousy wardrobe, her downer of a roommate. She will live as a woman of leisure, devoted to beauty, creativity, expression, and love. Once installed in her new quarters, Rachel plants a garden, takes up writing, and impresses everyone she meets with her extraordinary optimism. But as Rachel sings and jokes the days away, her new neighbors begin to wonder if she might be taking her transformation just a bit too far.

In Wish Her Safe at Home, Stephen Benatar finds humor and horror in the shifting region between elation and mania. His heroine could be the next-door neighbor of the Beales of Grey Gardens or a sister to Jane Gardam’s oddball protagonists, but she has an ebullient charm all her own.

My Thoughts:
**This review may contain spoilers, however for this book, I don’t think that it’s necessarily a bad thing…

Wish Her Safe at Home was a beautifully written story. The character of Rachel Waring was extremely complex and challenged me throughout the entire book. I am normally not a person who wants to know the plot before I read the book, but I felt that it may have assisted me with understanding the novel more fully, had I known just a bit more about where Rachel’s character was headed. Immediately after finishing the book, I want to read it again, with a “if I knew then what I know now” perspective.

As the summary shows, Rachel Waring inherited a home from her great aunt. Having never lived on her own before Rachel saw the possibility of infinite adventures to be had from the inheritance. She spent all of her time creating her perfect home, and the friendship she made with the young boy who created her garden was one that lasted through the rest of the novel.

Rachel’s character was interesting. I first thought that she was extremely eccentric, but came to learn (later than I wanted to) that she was slowly losing her mind. Her interactions with people around her were often humorous, however some of the conversations and scenes were frustrating and almost uncomfortable. I found myself confused during parts of the story. Rachel had a very active imagination and the book often walked through her imagined conversations with others. Near the end of the story, having always assumed that she wasn’t really speaking out loud to the people she was with, I began to wonder whether she was in fact saying the things, instead of just keeping her thoughts to herself.

The development of her love for Horatio was also unique. She went from simply looking to learn more about his history related to her home, to purchasing a painting of him, to eventually thinking herself married to him and expecting his child. The slow evolution of this relationship brought Rachel from being just eccentric, to odd, and eventually to crazy.

I am so happy that I chose this book as part of the Spotlight Series, and I do fully intend to read it again. The writing was beautiful and Stephan Benatar eloquently captured the mind and soul of Rachel. The book was set in the 1980’s, however only minimal references gave away this time period - it could easily have been an early nineteenth century novel in both style and story. Though a truly unique and challenging read, I highly recommend the book to lovers of fiction.

About the Spotlight Series:
The Spotlight Series is designed to "spread the word on quality books published by small press publishers all across the blogiverse." [more]


About NYRB Classics: 
The NYRB Classics series is designedly and determinedly exploratory and eclectic, a mix of fiction and non-fiction from different eras and times and of various sorts. The series includes nineteenth century novels and experimental novels, reportage and belles lettres, tell-all memoirs and learned studies, established classics and cult favorites, literature high, low, unsuspected, and unheard of. NYRB Classics are, to a large degree, discoveries, the kind of books that people typically run into outside of the classroom and then remember for life. [more]

Book Review: Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir by Wendy Burden

Dead End Gene Pool: A Memoir
by Wendy Burden
Penguin Group (April 1, 2010)
288 pages

Source:  Review Copy received from publisher as part of the Spring Reading Series hosted by Lisa at Books on the Brain.

Synopsis from the Author's Website:
For generations the Burdens were one of the wealthiest families in New York, thanks to the inherited fortune of Cornelius "The Commodore" Vanderbilt. By 1955, the year of Wendy's birth, the Burdens had become a clan of overfunded, quirky and brainy, steadfastly chauvinistic, and ultimately doomed bluebloods on the verge of financial and moral decline-and were rarely seen not holding a drink.  In Dead End Gene Pool, Wendy invites readers to meet her tragically flawed family, including an uncle with a fondness for Hitler, a grandfather who believes you can never have enough household staff, and a remarkably flatulent grandmother.

My Thoughts:
Dead End Gene Pool was very entertaining.  It was an interesting glimpse into the world of the very rich, and I especially enjoyed the perspective that author Wendy Burden was able to show of her young life in these surroundings.  The explanations of the strange personalities of the author's family were outrageous.  Burden has quite a talent for speaking of her family with humor, despite the overt craziness of the bunch that could have turned her into a bitter person.

This book is a perfect example of "truth is stranger than fiction."  It is quite remarkable that Burden went on to be as successful as she is, and that she managed to avoid the addictions that many members of her family suffered.  I also enjoyed the descriptions of the book that showed how Burden's family interacted with others outside of their family.  The scene where Burden and her brother would go out to shake their butts at onlookers sailing by their grandparents' Maine mansion were hilarious.  I think that it was a very funny way of coping with growing up in a bit of a fish bowl.  Burden also spoke a bit about how the hired help took care of the family and how the family took care of them into old age.  It was good that Wendy and her brothers had some of these people in their lives to pay attention, when their mother and grandparents were not.

There was enough history mingled into the book to make it just that much more interesting for me.  I liked Dead End Gene Pool very much, and feel like I was given a bit of a peek into a world that I didn't know much about.  I recommend this book to lovers of memoirs, especially memoirs where the author (fortunately) does not take themselves too seriously.

Blog Note: I am an Amazon Associate. I will make a small profit if you purchase a book after following one of the links in this post. Profits will be used to support giveaways and site maintenance.

Book Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
Signet Classics (January 1950)
328 pages

Source:  Personal Copy, Audio

Goodreads Product Description:
Portrays a terrifying vision of life in the future when a totalitarian government, considered a "Negative Utopia," watches over all citizens and directs all activities, becoming more powerful as time goes by.

My Thoughts:
So how have I made it this far in life without reading this book?  After finally taking the opportunity to finish it, I wonder how I made it through high school and through a Political Science degree without having read Nineteen Eighty-Four. 

I chose to purchase this book on audio and loved the narration.  I felt as if I could feel Winston's thoughts as he made a journey to question the life that he was living and question "the party."  This book reaffirmed my love for the freedoms that I enjoy in so many different ways - the freedom to love, to travel, to have a family and friends, to ask questions, to write and acknowledge my feelings, to READ!  This world that Orwell created, and described in such realistic detail, was a nightmare and was in such contradiction to the democratic freedoms that I know.

I think that what struck me the most was the love affair that Winston shared with Julia.  That it was forbidden was horrible, but the lengths that they had to go to be together and to hide their relationship was astounding. Winston risked everything to trust Julia, and he did so with full force, with everything that he had. 

The optimist in me hoped for an overthrow of this world that was described in Nineteen Eighty-Four.  I wanted the characters to experience the world  that I live in, because the alternative that was presented was so unspeakable.  This novel was amazing for its ability to make me appreciate what I have, to describe something so very opposite to what I know.

I hope that everyone has an opportunity to read it and is able to appreciate their reality just a little more, because they have received a little glimpse of Orwell's alternative.

Book Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Trout Lake Media (Oct. 16, 2009)
Source:  Personal Copy (Audio)

Amazon.com Description:
In 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple + intricately patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Self-made, self-invented millionaire Jay Gatsby embodies some of Fitzgerald's--and his country's--most abiding obsessions: money, ambition, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. "Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter--tomorrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther.... And one fine morning--" Gatsby's rise to glory and eventual fall from grace becomes a kind of cautionary tale about the American Dream.

It's also a love story, of sorts, the narrative of Gatsby's quixotic passion for Daisy Buchanan. The pair meet five years before the novel begins, when Daisy is a legendary young Louisville beauty and Gatsby an impoverished officer. They fall in love, but while Gatsby serves overseas, Daisy marries the brutal, bullying, but extremely rich Tom Buchanan. After the war, Gatsby devotes himself blindly to the pursuit of wealth by whatever means--and to the pursuit of Daisy, which amounts to the same thing. "Her voice is full of money," Gatsby says admiringly, in one of the novel's more famous descriptions. His millions made, Gatsby buys a mansion across Long Island Sound from Daisy's patrician East Egg address, throws lavish parties, and waits for her to appear. When she does, events unfold with all the tragic inevitability of a Greek drama, with detached, cynical neighbor Nick Carraway acting as chorus throughout. Spare, elegantly plotted, and written in crystalline prose, The Great Gatsby is as perfectly satisfying as the best kind of poem.

My Thoughts:
The Great Gatsby was one of the books that I read in high school that I have been meaning to re-read, in an attempt to see whether it would mean more to me when I was older, than it did when I was young and easily bored.  I took an opportunity to download an expensive audio version of The Great Gatsby, and count this as my renewed experience with the book.
 
In my mind the book is still OK.  I agree that it shows countless flaws in the the character's pursuit of the American dream.  I'm not sure which errors in judgement were more pronounced in this story - trying to solve problems and win love through money, or the acts of infidelity themselves. 

I was left wondering what I would have thought if I had been in the position of the narrator Nick Carraway.  It seemed as if he moved to West Egg only to find himself in the middle of the affairs of Daisy and Tom Buchanan and then unexpectedly he became the confidant of J. Gatsby.  How strange it would have been to be expecting to start a new career and life, and to be caught up in so much drama.
 
In all, I enjoyed the story and I am glad that I took the opportunity read this classic again.

Book Review: Thaw by Fiona Robyn

Thaw by Fiona Robyn
Snow Books (February 1, 2010)
Paperback, 350 pages
Source:  Personal Copy

Amazon.com Synopsis:
Ruth is thirty two years old and doesn't know if she wants to be thirty three. Her meticulously-ordered lonely life as a microbiologist is starved of pleasure and devoid of meaning. She decides to give herself three months to decide whether or not to end her life, and we read her daily diary as she struggles to make sense of her past and grapples with the pain of the present. "Thaw" explores what makes any of our lives worth living. Can Red, the eccentric Russian artist Ruth commissions to paint her portrait, find a way to warm her frozen heart?

My Thoughts:
I participated in the Blogsplash for this novel beginning in March.  Prior to the release of Thaw, I read Robyn's The Blue Handbag (reviewed here) and enjoyed the writing immensely.

Thaw was a powerful and emotional journey.  The story that Ruth told the reader through her private journal was so real that I almost felt as if I was invading her privacy.  She was a deeply depressed character, and at first the premise that she was spending three months trying to decide if she would end her life was troubling for me.  However, after reading several days worth of her thoughts, I was caught up in her life and her thoughts of why she might want to end it.

Fiona Robyn created a haunting picture of Ruth's character and all of the individuals in Ruth's life that helped to support her and cause her pain.  I especially enjoyed how Ruth shared three memories that haunted her so much that she was reluctant to share them, even in her private journal.  I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading fiction, because the journal seemed so much like a memoir - like I had glimpses of the struggles and thoughts of a real person.

Ruth's character was very real and the journey that she took was very moving.  I felt that she challenged herself to make the most out of the three months:  she included additional people in her life, she attempted to mend severed relationships, and she pursued new adventures - all to see if she would come to feel that her life was worth it.

I enjoyed Thaw very much and felt that I came to know Ruth, and maybe even a few things about myself that I didn't know before.  Robyn's writing is powerful and emotional and she has a true gift for creating genuine and believable characters.

I recommend this novel for lovers of women's fiction and memoirs as well.

If you are interested in reading more about the book or Fiona Robyn, please visit the Thaw site. 

Blog Note: I am an Amazon Associate. I will make a small profit if you purchase a book after following one of the links in this post. Profits will be used to support giveaways and site maintenance.

Anna Karenina Read Along: Part Three

Mari at Bookworm with a View is hosting a Read Along of Anna Karenina.  We are reading one of the novel's eight parts each month.  Here are links to my thoughts and feedback for Parts One and Two.

Mari posted discussion questions for this Part Three on her site.  Feel free to jump in with us and participate in the Read Along!

Part Three Synopsis (Wikipedia):
Levin continues his work on his large country estate, a setting closely tied to his spiritual thoughts and struggles. Levin wrestles with the idea of falseness, wondering how he should go about ridding himself of it, and criticising what he feels is falseness in others. He develops ideas relating to agriculture and the unique relationship between the agricultural labourer and his native land and culture. He believes that the agricultural reforms of Europe will not work in Russia because of the unique culture and personality of the Russian peasant.

Levin pays Dolly a visit, and she attempts to understand what happened between him and Kitty and to explain Kitty's behaviour to him. Levin is very agitated by Dolly's talk about Kitty, and he begins to feel distant from her as he perceives her behaviour towards her children as false. Levin resolves to forget Kitty and contemplates the possibility of marriage to a peasant woman. However, a chance sighting of Kitty in her carriage as she travels to Dolly's house makes Levin realise he still loves her.

Karenin crushes Anna by refusing to separate from her. He insists that their relationship remain as it was and threatens to take away their son Seryozha if she continues to pursue her affair with Vronsky.

My Thoughts:
I was happy that Part Three of Anna Karenina dove back into the love story between Anna and Vronsky.  Anna's husband is frustrating - I want to yell at him to fight for her, but his only concern seems to be for his position in society, and how others may view his decision to handle Anna's affair. 

A brief spark of possibility for Lenin and Kitty is also intriguing - I wonder whether Lenin's pride will keep him from seeing her again.  Learning that she had returned to Moscow without Lenin having visited her was disappointing.   

You would think that this Political Science major would be just as happy with all of the discussion about farming and the farmer/peasant/worker dynamic, but it is not really what I want in a novel.  While I understand the importance of Lenin's thoughts on farming and his relationship with the workers toward establishing the setting for Russia in that day, I find it a bit tiring sometimes.
Discussion Questions (from Oprah.com):
- What do you think about the fact that Karenin considers and rejects the possibility of a duel with Vronsky for Anna? Do you think the fact that he initially decides on divorce instead is reasonable? 

I think that Karenin is more concerned with public propriety and the impact to his career than his feelings for Anna.  Instead of being hurt by her admission of affair, it seems as if he is trying to see the most logical path to assuring his place in society.  I don't think that there was ever a circumstance where Karenin would have chosen a duel with Vronsky - Karenin even thinks of the risk to his own life when considering his opinion.

- Trace the ways Anna has thought of her affair with Vronsky up to this point. Discuss what Anna says makes her happy and unhappy about her situation. Do you think she is being realistic or naive?

I think that Anna has found herself in a position where she lacks control.  She fell in love with Vronsky and is now pregnant with his child.  I believe that she thought that admitting her affair to her husband would lead to freedom to be with Vronsky and live the life that she wants.  While I enjoy the love story between Anna and Vronsky, I do believe that she is being naive - she almost wants to have her cake and eat it too.  She wants Vronsky to offer to take her away, to risk everything as a sign of his love for her, but it is not something that I see he is willing to give her. 
- Do you feel Anna's relationship with her brother and his wife Dolly is a good one? Discuss this dynamic and how you think it may play out as the book progresses.

As I remember it, the only examples of Anna's relationship with her brother and Dolly were in Part One.  Up to this point, Anna was very protective of her brother and came to his rescue when he and Dolly were separated due to his affair.  Anna and Dolly seemed to be very close friends and Dolly respected Anna's opinion.  I wonder whether Dolly will play a role in Anna's life in the rest of the book, now that Anna is a woman having an affair.
 

Looking forward to Part Four - almost halfway there!

Book Review: This One is Mine by Maria Semple

This One is Mine by Maria Semple
Bay Back Books (March 24, 2010)
320 pages

Description: 
Violet Parry is living the quintessential life of luxury in the Hollywood Hills with David, her rock-and-roll manager husband, and her darling toddler, Dot. She has the perfect life--except that she's deeply unhappy. David expects the world of Violet but gives little of himself in return. When she meets Teddy, a roguish small-time bass player, Violet comes alive, and soon she's risking everything for the chance to find herself again. Also in the picture are David's hilariously high-strung sister, Sally, on the prowl for a successful husband, and Jeremy, the ESPN sportscaster savant who falls into her trap. For all their recklessness, Violet and Sally will discover that David and Jeremy have a few surprises of their own. This One is Mine is a compassionate and wickedly funny satire about our need for more--and the often disastrous choices we make in the name of happiness.

My Thoughts:
This One is Mine struck me as a quick, chick-lit read.  I was entertained by the story line and found myself laughing a bit at how some of the characters were a bit over-the-top in their actions. 

The character Violet was stuck in a rut of depression and is the perfect example of how money does not buy happiness.  Her obsession with junkie, music player, would-be golfer Teddy was a mid-life crisis in the extreme.  Descriptions of her brief affair with Teddy were pretty racy and not for those who are easy to blush!

Violet's husband David is a powerful music executive, who quite obviously likes to have control.  I enjoyed the scene where he was at a yoga retreat in a sweat lodge - his emotions traveled from disgust with Violet at the affair he believed that she was having, through anger at how everyone perceived him to be an "asshole," through remembrance of falling in love with Violet, back to being in love and wanting to do anything to save his marriage.  It was quite a trip.

David sister Sally, a diabetic, former ballerina turned gold-digger was the most frustrating for me.  Her scheming to find a rich husband was so orchestrated that it was scary.  The book described her thoughts in such detail - each plan, each alternative, each anticipated outcome of her actions - each choice bringing her farther down the path of destruction.

For all of the depression, crisis and manipulation that occurred in This One is Mine, it was a light and entertaining read.  It was a perfect choice for my morning on the beach - relaxing and not too brain-intensive.  Lovers of chick lit will enjoy This One is Mine.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other participants of the April Book Club hosted by Everyday I Write the Book will think about the novel.

Source:
I received a copy of this book from Hachette Book Group to review as part of the April Book Club hosted by Everyday I Write the Book.

Blog Note: I am an Amazon Associate. I will make a small profit if you purchase a book after following one of the links in this post. Profits will be used to support giveaways and site maintenance.

Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam (February 10, 2009)
Hardcover, 451 pages
Source:  Audiobook from the Library

Description:
Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

My Thoughts:
I have heard wonderful reviews about The Help for so long, and have wanted the opportunity to read it. In the library last week, I took the opportunity to snatch up an audio version and listened to the voices of Minny, Aibileen and Skeeter in any available moment.

I finished The Help three days ago, and I have been feeling a sense of loss and mourning ever since:  I did not want the book to end.  I felt such a strong connection to the characters and the book spoke to me in a way that was so much different than any other book that I have ever read.  The Help was a book that moved me to think about the world that I live in and how very different it is than the world that existed just 50 years ago.  The story was powerful and thought-provoking, entertaining and enlightening.

I am inspired by Skeeter who risked lifelong friendships, love, the relationship with her mother, and even her life to tell the stories that she felt needed to be told.  She was first motivated to impress Elaine Stein, a powerful book editor in New York, but Skeeter's research and storytelling became her only focus in life.  The bravery that ran deep in every character was so moving.  I don't feel like I have had any personal experience in my life that can match the courage that these women showed, when faced with such astonishing risks.
Rarely do I find myself telling every person that I know about a book, but I have wanted to share my feelings and my love for The Help with everyone.  I cannot recommend this book enough - for the history, the story, the strong women, and the overwhelming desire to rise above and be more than the prejudice and hate that ran so deep in Jackson, Mississippi. 

Read it!

Other Reviews:
Age 30+... A Lifetime of Books
The Literate Housewife Review
The Book Lady's Blog

Book Review: The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey

The Yellow House
by Patricia Falvey
Center Street (February 15, 2010)
352 pages

Publisher's Description: 
The Yellow House delves into the passion and politics of Northern Ireland at the beginning of the 20 century. Eileen O'Neill's family is torn apart by religious intolerance and secrets from the past. Determined to reclaim her ancestral home and reunite her family, Eileen begins working at the local mill, saving her money and holding fast to her dream. As war is declared on a local and global scale, Eileen cannot separate the politics from the very personal impact the conflict has had on her own life. She is soon torn between two men, each drawing her to one extreme. One is a charismatic and passionate political activist determined to win Irish independence from Great Britain at any cost, who appeals to her warrior's soul. The other is the wealthy and handsome black sheep of the pacifist family who owns the mill where she works, and whose persistent attention becomes impossible for her to ignore.

My Thoughts:
I was brought up surrounded by family who spoke of our Irish heritage.  One of my most treasured possessions is a shamrock charm that my grandfather picked out for me when I was a teenager - I still make sure to wear it proudly every St. Patrick's Day and on days when I'm feeling especially sentimental.  The Yellow House offered a spectacular view of Northern Ireland in the early 1900's, while the country was in the midst of The Troubles:  when Catholics and Protestants were divided between a desire for an independent Ireland and British rule.  I feel as if I have a little more insight into the history of my family after having read the book.

Eileen O'Neill was brought up by her father to be a warrior, having been instilled with the stories of how her great-grandfather took back their home from the Sheridan family.  The book described horrible circumstances under which Eileen had to pick herself up and ensure that the family that remained was able to stay together and was provided for.   Her strength and spirit wer admirable - I loved the character that Falvey created.

The Yellow House was a story of love, perseverance and fighting for what you believe in, regardless of how others may speak of you, or of risks to your life.  I was impressed how Falvey successfully wove Irish history into such a personal family story.  Eileen O'Neill Conlon was a warrior in her own family, but she also symbolized many warriors throughout Ireland.

The contrasts between characters Owen Sheridan and James Conlon were remarkable.  Each was on the opposite side of the political spectrum, each chose a different way to fight for what they believed in, and most importantly each man pulled Eileen's heart and soul in a different direction.  I enjoyed the love triangle that was created between Eileen and the two men, but I believe more importantly that the historical backdrop of the novel would not have been successful had it not been for the ideological struggle between the men.

The Yellow House was a well written novel - from the first page I could hear the lilt of the Irish brogue ringing through the dialogue.  I highly recommend the book to lovers of historical fiction, lovers of Ireland, and lovers of strong women characters.

Other Reviews:
The Crowded Leaf

Source:
I received a copy of this book from Hachette Book Group to review as part of the Manic Mommies Book Club.

Blog Note: I am an Amazon Associate. I will make a small profit if you purchase a book after following one of the links in this post. Profits will be used to support giveaways and site maintenance.