The Masterpiece: A Novel by Fiona Davis

The Masterpiece: A Novel.  Fiona Davis. Penguin Publishing Group. 2018. 368 pp. ISBN #: 9781524742959.

The world of art in the 1930s was that of a rapidly changing scene, where “traditional” was evolving into “experimental,” where impressionism was turning to modern art.  At the same time, artists were starving as the Depression was approaching and when there is no food, there is no money to buy or even admire art, as art shows cost money to sponsor.  This is the story of Grand Central Station or Terminal in its glorious early and later recovery days.

Clara is a young divorced woman, who is teaching a course on illustration art in the Grand Central School of Art.  She is just hanging on to her position, as being an illustrator is not greatly respected. To some, it’s not even art! But forge on she does! Add to that the fact that she’s a woman and you’ve got the entire nasty picture. 

However, she and her bohemian, endearing friends console and strengthen each other, fall in and out of love together, and do all they can to make sure each is compelled to do their best artistic work possible.  They’re an odd but motley, lovable bunch of characters who immediately and forever engage the reader to want to share their world.

Fifty years later, Virginia Clay is working at the Grand Central Station Information Booth. She’s also divorced and unable to find any other job as she’s totally unskilled for any other job.  She’s a breast cancer survivor as well, her self-image blasted after that experience.  Her life is about to dramatically change after she accidentally discovers some abandoned art works from the Grand Central School of Art.  She will discover one work of art that has a mystery and crime behind it which she and her daughter will relentlessly pursue to a nail-biting end.

The Masterpiece… will thrill the soul of every reader as we get to experience the style, textures, tones, and colors of various styles of art as well as the minds, hearts and souls of the artists who created such notable works of art.  It is light but gorgeous, thrilling reading which this reviewer highly, highly recommends! Loved it so!!! Keep writing, Fiona Davis!!! Your writing is highly creative, skilled, complex and simple at the same time! Admirable!

  

This Time: A Novel About Richard III - in the 21st Century, Book 1 by Joan Szechtman

This Time: A Novel About Richard III in the 21^st Century, Book 1. Joan Szechtman. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. 2016. 304 pp. ISBN #: 9781537460129.

Just as Richard III is struck down at the infamous Battle of Bosworth, a time machine invented by scientists in the 20th Century transports Richard to Portland, Oregon in August of 2004. Hosgrove, the man who wants academic renown displays such an aggressive attitude to Richard that Richard is overwhelmed by the need to defend himself. Katarina, a scholarly linguist, is the compassionate one who manages to gently nurture Richard in this startling new environment. They want information from Richard, proof of the "two missing Princes" being alive and more, evidence Richard is unclear about no matter the time or place.

In this new revised version, we have facts previously unknown but clarified with the discovery and reburial of Richard III’s remains in Leicester, England.  Richard’s DNA led to truths about his physical condition and other revelations.

Richard must adapt to a frighteningly different culture; but Richard is certainly meeting each challenge with aplomb, including how to use modern technology of computers and other daily conveniences we so take for granted.  Being a man of integrity and passion, Richard wants to return to England of yore to save Anne his wife and his son Edward.  One character will quit the project and must be cajoled back if Richard’s dream has the remotest dream of becoming reality. The emotional tenseness is one readers will feel as well due to the author’s superb characterization. 

Richard disappears until it is safe to return to work together with a team that is going to try to restore the life of a family member in Richard's original world. Hosgrove will turn toward Richard in a way that challenges credibility. At the same time, the reader is thrilled to see a romance develop in Richard’s life, one that is full of formidable challenges but more endearing for the way it evolves.

The end of this story is a grand surprise.  All in all, this is a most satisfying historical novel that demands a follow-up because readers will want to know how this story of royalty in the 21^st Century evolves. Please!

Quite a different take, a redeeming look at King Richard III, "Dick," or "Dickon," a man and leader who continues to intrigue old and new readers! Nicely done, indeed, Joan Szechtman!  The audio edition is due to be released September 3, 2018: see:

http://joanszechtman.com/blog/this-time-audio-edition  

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing. Delia Owens. Penguin Publishing Group. Copyright 2018. pb. 384 pp.; ISBN: 9780735219090. 

Kya Clark is a “Marsh Girl.”  She and her father live in the marshes of the North Carolina Coast.  One day her mother packs a bag and leaves. The latter act takes years for Kya to get over, displaying the questions a child experiences when a parent disappears with no communication beforehand and never a word after in a telephone call or letter.  Just gone!

For a long time, Kya stays away from her father during his alcoholic rages but then one days he recognizes that she is a woman now and begins to treat her differently, including taking her out fishing and having small conversation.  Meanwhile, Kya learns to survive with plants and fish from the marsh and learns to catch fish that she sells in order to buy food for her very meager meals.  She begins to collect different rocks, plants, etc from the marsh for comfort after her father suddenly dies.

Yearning to love and be loved, she begins a relationship with two men, one who abandons her in order to pursue his university dreams and the other who is found dead in what is probably a murder but which manifests few clues.  Eventually, Kyra will be charged with the murder of Chase.  A poignant trial follows in which Kyra talks about the fact that she has never communicated or done anything wrong but strongly asserts that the townspeople themselves have irrationally judged her, condemned her, and rejected her for years, without one iota of evidence to support their cruel attitudes. 

Kya survives the trial and grows to be beloved by the first love of her life and to be accepted by the neighbors in town.  Her botanical collections make her famous and financially wealthy.  But the latter is not the essence of this novel.  The need to love and be loved is what truly makes a person, whether human or from nature. 

This is a remarkable novel with many messages but which really is a searing story of love and loss, friendship, betrayal, curiosity, survival and so much more!!! Highly recommended!

Lord of Formosa: A Novel by Joyce Bergvelt

Lord of Formosa: A Novel. Joyce Bergvelt. Camphor Press, Ltd. April 2018. 480 pp. ISBN#: 9781788691390.

In 1624 the island of Formosa belongs to the Dutch as a valuable fortress and trading post.  The mainland, China, is fraught with tension and war as the Manchus battle the Ming dynasty and are slowly but certainly winning.  Ming supporters are fleeing south and actually leaving for Formosa and other islands in the vicinity.  Meanwhile Koxinga is the son of a powerful Ming Admiral who is willing to fight the Manchus to the bitter end.  However, that is not the way history is to unfold.

Koxinga hears a prophecy when he is very young that he will be the Lord of Formosa but also that he will have to pay an immense price for that glorious role.  That fuels his evolution as a thinker, soldier, and trader, roles that are fostered by his father’s illustrious training and respected role throughout China.  Meanwhile, the Dutch are in charge of Formosa but their strength is slowly being drained by the divisions in their own leadership.  Many are good at trade but their poor treatment of the Chinese and distrust of fellow Dutch leaders will prove to be their undoing.  When one makes that statement in a sentence, it may strike the reader as benign.  But the reality is far from benign; literally thousands of deaths will follow as the Dutch send leader after leader to Formosa while Koxinga is planning a massive sea and land battle.  The incremental victory of the Chinese on the island is fascinating reading. 

Koxinga, during these protracted developments, is suffering from what was probably syphilis.  He attempts to get a Dutch physician to heal him but that doesn’t work out so well.  Instead, his volatile temper is increasing to the point where his own supporters are afraid to be around him.  His behavior in the finale of this novel is ruthlessly brutal.  The Dutch men and women will lose numerous leaders and family members, but history is replete with such losses.  Koxinga is honored to this day as an incomparable leader who made Formosa the successful and safe place it was and remains to the present.

For those who love Chinese history, Lord of Formosa is a powerful read and one which this reviewer highly recommends!

So Much Life Left Over: A Novel by Louis de Bernieres

So Much Life Left Over: A Novel. Louis de Bernieres. Knopf Doubleday. August 2018. 288 pp. ISBN#:  9781524747886.

Daniel Pitt longs for the glory days when he was a Flying Ace in WWII.  The camaraderie of his fellow pilots and avoidance of petty squabbles because of the daily reality that some will live and others will die every time they take to the air in battle.  Now, the war is over and he is married to Rosie, a former wartime nurse.  They live in Ceylon, which Daniel loves and Rosie hates.  They have two children whom Daniel adores.  Rosie is continuously demanding they return to live in England and Daniel is heartbroken, as his love for the natives and their culture, especially one woman in particular, have to be sacrificed for his wife’s sanity. 

Meanwhile, Daniel commiserates with his buddy Hugh and is totally oblivious to why his brother Archie is very troubled beyond his obvious PTSD from the war.  Other characters like their gardener, Oily Wragge, are cheery blokes who save this story from excessive heaviness.  The story evolves as everyone eventually has to grow up and realize that past dreams are gone, if one chooses, and decisions must be made of how to make a meaningful future.  Both Daniel and Rosie give the character insight into what they believe, don’t believe, and what they are constantly speculating about; that is what a devastating war does to people, even the British with their “stiff upper lip.”

Louis de Bernieres is a superb writer who gives the reader characters we want to meet and get to know more and more.  The plot is simple but the complexity of character portrayal makes this a sequel one can enjoy as a stand alone novel.  Rather than stereotype these British characters and their thoughts about colonization, religion, etc., we instead have several narrative voices who when combined produce an outstanding work of historical fiction!

Highly recommended reading! Now this reviewer wants to read the first novel in this series and looks forward to the next one!

Becoming Belle by Nuala O'Connor

Becoming Belle. Nuala O’Connor. Penguin Publishing Group. August 2018. 384 pp. ISBN#: 9780735214408.

Isabel Belton is the daughter of a military family, living in a small Hampshire garrison town.  Her father adores her, and her mother abuses her.  It’s 1887 and women’s roles are set in stone but that doesn’t stop Isabel.  At the age of 19, off she goes to London, dreaming of becoming a star and of course she does just that.  She’s quickly hired as she’s beautiful and a talented dancer.  She insists her sister Flor join her and they become the talk of the stage world as the Belton Sisters.  They do their performances but then become the talk of the nighttime “Bohemian” world where drinking, dancing and partying are the norm.  The latter seems their real love!

However, things go too far, and Isabel becomes the defendant in a lawsuit and that Victorian world has its way as the males who will judge her impose in public their traditional, double-faced mores. Later, Belle herself will face that same justice or injustice, depending on your point of view, and eventually escapes by marrying. She’s now the Countess of Clan Carty and able to do as she will without condemnation.  Some reference is made to her gay men friends but never goes into any substance on the issue, nothing beyond how that relationship serves to cover her less innocent deeds.

What saves this novel from being a stereotypical tale is Belle’s friendship with Wertheimer and Belle’s closeness to her sister Flo.  Belle’s trial is a tad interesting as well.   Given the time in which this story takes place, it reads like it took place many, many years later when Belle’s rise to fame and fortune were not questioned.  I wanted to get to know Belle better but that never happens.  One also wonders what happened to her connection to the rest of her family, other than a rather innocuous comment from her mother during her trial.  It’s only at the end when Belle is carrying a child that she can call Garbally Court “home,” leaving Flo somewhat at loose ends.

Becoming Belle is a nice story, a good summer read about the willingness to pay the price of attaining the top of one’s dreams!

Our House by Louise Candlish

Our House. Louise Candlish. Penguin Publishing Group. August 2018. 416 pp. ISBN#: 9780451489111.

Fiona and Bram have been living a “charmed life” up to now in contemporary England.  They own a gorgeous home in the “posh” section of London, slightly above their means but nothing to worry about.  Now, Fiona and Bram decide to separate; they will each live in their home during the week and the other one will stay in a rented apartment.  It takes some adjustment but they handle it with the best possible equanimity, mainly by just forging ahead and never getting around to talking about it all.  Then one day Fiona arrives home to discover it’s not her home anymore.  First, she thinks it’s a terrible joke but then there is intense shock, made much worse that Bram cannot be reached by phone or by any of his peers/friends. 

The premise behind this mysterious mystery is not one most readers will easily relate to but suffice to say that Bram’s very poor in choosing options.  What also might be amusing to some but comes across as somewhat incredible is that both start seeing other men and women but these experiences are low-key and hardly satisfying beyond the first infatuation flush.  The story is told from two narrative viewpoints.

The story behind their forced separation is tragic, to say the least.  One wonders how one would have handled a similar situation.  Of course, there are always evil characters quick to appear and make the most out of the incredible opportunity. 

Our House is listed as a thriller per the unending tension behind Bram who is constantly being afraid he will be arrested and therefore contemplating suicide and being threatened by the many involved in the plot against him.  That gets old because it is repeated so often and starts to seem like “Cry, Wolf.”

The other problem with this storyline is that the characters are somewhat stereotypical, remaining undeveloped and truly unchanging in spite of the disasters happening around and to them.

This is a nice summer read that some will enjoy as a unique mystery with a little bit of suspect romance in between the conflict.