Set in 17th century London, I, Coriander is the story of a girl who finds things very strange. Things go on around her that she doesn’t understand like her father is constantly saying, “Don’t touch these, don’t touch those,” especially with these silver shoes that she found with the letter “C” for Coriander, but apparently she can’t have them. And then things get much more complicated. Her mom dies at the sight of a crow, her dad marries a woman who is way too religious, […]
Saint, warrior, seer, woman.
I wholeheartedly loved this book, but it took me about 100 pages to fall in love. The first bit was a slog–the names are a mouthful and many of them are very similar to each other, we’re thrown right into the plot, and I kept feeling like I was missing important things. (And I probably was…it didn’t help that in the Kindle version, the glossary and the map are way in the back and it’s impossible to go there without losing your place.) I don’t know whether I had […]
Pretty much everything I know about the Boxer Rebellion, I learned from these books
In Boxers, we see the origins of the Chinese Boxer rebellion through the eyes of Bao, who becomes one of its leaders. Bao grows up in rural China at the end of the 19th Century. He lives for the spring every year when travelling troups perform operas, full of drama, excitement and ancient stories of heroes and gods. The stories stay with him throughout the rest of the year when he performs his chores and is teased by his older brothers. His life changes irrevocably the day one […]
Cold in Iceland
Burial Rites is Hannah Kent’s first novel and an auspicious start to her career. Set in 1828-1830, the plot is based on real people and factual events surrounding the last execution of a criminal in Iceland. For those who prefer their fiction historical and who have enjoyed Margaret Atwood’s Alias, Grace or the novels of Geraldine Brooks (who is thanked in the author’s note), this is a book you will want to read. In 1828, a well known herbalist and healer (some said sorcerer) named […]
Doomsday Book
Quick Synopsis: Part 1 of The Oxford Time Travel Series. A college student travels back to the Middle Ages and problems ensue both in the past and the present. Quick Review: Overall fast-paced and enjoyable. A good read if you’re interested in time travel, science fiction, or the Middle Ages. Read the full review here.
Fever in the morning, fever all through the night
Fever tells a fictionalized story of Mary Mallon, better known as Typhoid Mary for being identified as one of the first carriers of typhoid fever. I’m a little wary of most historical fiction, but I was interested enough to learn more of her story (even fictionalized) that I picked it up. It really is a fascinating story – Mary worked as a cook for several years for several families and eventually the health department identified her as the cause for concurrent typhoid outbreaks at her […]
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