Tag Archives: historical

Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Thistle

It’s been awhile since I read a slow classic, over several days, and Death Comes for the Archbishop was just perfect for me: nicely paced, quiet and calm, evocative, and something that transported me to a different time. This was … Continue reading →

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Protected: Atonement, by Ian McEwan

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Thistle

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

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A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray

Posted on June 16, 2009 by Thistle

When Gemma Doyle’s mother dies, she’s sent from India to an all-girl boarding school in England. There, she has to cope not only with being the strange new girl in a very catty society, but with terrible prophetic visions and … Continue reading →

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Lost in a Good Book, by Jasper Fforde

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Thistle

I don’t usually use the book-jacket description, but in this case, I couldn’t explain the essence of this followup to The Eyre Affair better: If Thursday thought she could avoid the spotlight after her heroic escapades in the pages of … Continue reading →

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The Meaning of Consuelo, by Judith Ortiz Cofer

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Thistle

Set in the 1950s in rapidly-modernizing Puerto Rico, this is a coming of age story similar to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Consuelo Signe is growing up in a four-person home, with parents who cannot get along and a younger … Continue reading →

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The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

Posted on April 23, 2009 by Thistle

The Book Thief is about WWII Germany. A girl named Liesel arrives at her foster parents’ home when she’s nine years old. On the trip there, she lost a brother to tuberculosis and gained a book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook, stolen … Continue reading →

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The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

Posted on March 7, 2009 by Thistle

Oh finally! I’m done. I suppose I’ll just say right off that while this book is certainly well written, I didn’t enjoy it very much. It wasn’t the length or anything, though I wish I’d have chosen the abridged version. … Continue reading →

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The Good Earth, by Pearl S. Buck

Posted on February 11, 2009 by Thistle

Minor spoilers. Rather than post a plot summary of this book, I’d rather take you through my thoughts about the story as I went along. This book blew all my expectations out of the water, simply put. I expected to … Continue reading →

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The Eyre Affair, by Jasper Fforde

Posted on January 7, 2009 by Thistle

I heartily agree that something odd is going on; something I can’t possibly explain. The barrier between myself and Rochester has softened. –Thursday Next This is a really odd book. Delightful, but odd. It’s alternate history, and the narrator, Thursday … Continue reading →

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The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti

Posted on December 23, 2008 by Thistle

Twelve-year-old Ren has lived in a Catholic orphanage ever since he can remember. His hand has been missing all that time, too, which is why no one ever chooses to adopt him. When Benjamin Nab unexpectedly shows up at the … Continue reading →

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