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Review: Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters

We have been busy, busy, busy over here. Lots of running through sprinklers and visiting zoos and attending baseball games, not to mention swimming lessons, cookouts and neighborhood festivals. Summer is definitely here. And while all of that has been wonderful, being so active and outdoorsy is really cutting into my reading time. I'm ready to fall asleep around 9 p.m., which is just sad. However, if you are looking for books that will keep you awake, turning the pages long past the time when your brain was still functioning, look no further than something by Sarah Waters.

I read Fingersmith a couple of weeks ago (which I think is her third or fourth book), and this week I read Tipping the Velvet. I'm going to be honest here people, this book is straight up about sex. Love, lust, longing, and very graphic lesbian sex. There are other themes; classism and women's rights predominantly, but this book is absolutely about first love and desire. I didn't know anything about Sarah Waters before I read either book--I had just seen Fingersmith mentioned more than once on other book blogs as a great read. So I was unprepared for Tipping the Velvet. This is perhaps not the book you want to read on your lunch break at work, sitting near curious coworkers.

Tipping the Velvet is set in the 1880s and 1890s in England. Nancy Astley, an 18-year old living at home with her parents and siblings, works at her parent's seaside restaurant as an oyster girl in Whitstable. She and her sister Alice love nothing more than taking the train to Canterbury on a Saturday night to watch the shows at the music hall. There she falls in love with one of the performers, a "masher" named Kitty Butler. Kitty sings and dances in drag, which was apparently the height of fashion and daring at the time. Nancy and Kitty strike up a friendship, and Nancy leaves her family for London, to follow Kitty and help her in her stage career as her dresser.

The time Kitty and Nancy, or Nan, as she becomes known, spend together in London was my favorite part of the book. Waters does a wonderful job describing the music hall scene in the 1880s. I love books about Victorian England and this one ranks among the best for me, in terms of making you really feel like you are there. And, it has the bonus of describing a life that was completely unknown to me--the gender bending, lesbian, music hall artist.

Nan and Kitty live happily for a time, fall in love, perform together on stage, and become fairly rich. But then of course bad things happen and they are torn apart. This begins the series of hard times for Nancy, which last for much of the rest of the book. I'm not going to go into detail about this second half of the book, other than to say that I found it fairly unbelievable (although I bet Waters has done her research and the events are based on things that really happened), and not as interesting as the first half of the book. Although there are some pretty hot sex scenes, I'm not going to lie.

Overall, I liked this book quite a bit. It's definitely a page turner, and was full of fascinating period detail, interesting characters, and did I mention lots of sex? I much preferred Fingersmith, but I'm glad that I read this one too. Next up in my Sarah Waters summer is Affinity. I'll let you know what I think!

Review: I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman

Sadly, I don't think that I'm going to do justice to the book with this review. I am sitting on my screen porch, drinking a fairly large glass of wine, after a very long day involving at least one headache. However, this is my free time away from the kids and I am determined to be productive for at least part of it. So, in case this devolves into gobbledy gook let me say at the outset...this is a very good book. I liked it a lot and I think you will too.

The plot is intriguing. Eliza Benedict is a 38 year old happily married stay at home mom, living in the D.C. suburbs. She and her family have just moved back to the US after an extended stay in London. One day she recieves a letter from an inmate on death row, and we learn that she was kidnapped at age 15 and held against her will for almost 40 days by a young man named Walter Bowman. He was a serial killer, and she was the only one of his victims who survived. Walter wants to talk to her before he is put to death.

The chapters alternate between the present day and the summer when Eliza was 15. Some are told from her point of view, some from Walter's and some from the mother of one of the other victims. All of the characters are fully realized and together present a fascinating picture of what happened. I thought Lippman did an amazing job with Walter. He was the perfect mixture of narcissism, innocence and evil; I think she created the first realistic version of a serial killer that I've ever read. He came off of the page like a living, breathing person--someone anyone would know. That person who is just a little bit off, he almost fits in, but not quite. He wasn't pure evil, like a character in a Stieg Larsson novel, but someone you actually felt a little sorry for, and in some way, understood and empathized with, even though they were doing something reprehensible.

The character of Eliza was more difficult in some ways for me. She is (admittedly to even herself) passive, quiet and doesn't want to cause trouble. She is basically the anti-Tess Monaghan--the heroine of Lippman's long standing detective series. But I grew to love her, and I think Lippman did a wonderful job making her believable from a teenager to an adult. She was a passive, quiet kid--that's what enabled her to survive her ordeal. It makes sense that she would hold on to those aspects of herself into adulthood. I particularly loved the portrayal of Eliza's relationship with her two children. The characters of both kids were spot-on and how they interacted with each other and their parents was great.

This was a convincing and fast paced read. I have liked Lippman's Tess Monaghan series for a long time but I've been afraid to read her stand alone novels because I didn't think they would be as good (see Martha Grimes). But I shouldn't have worried. I thought this was actually much better than her detective series. Everything about it was more mature, and better crafted. I think she is becoming a better writer with every book.

Monday Musing...Can't Put it Down

This week's Monday Musing from www.shouldbereading.wordpress.com asks, "What's the last thing you stayed up half the night reading because you couldn't put it down?"

This is a very timely question for me, as I pretty much stayed up half the night last night reading Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.  What a compelling read (I finished it at 1:30 a.m.)! How compelling, you may ask? Well, I have two young children who often are awake by 6 a.m., so I am almost always asleep before 10:30 p.m. But I could not put it down. I am paying for it right now (2 cups of coffee and a large latte later) but I think it was worth it. Victorian England, pickpockets, orphans, insane asylums, class issues, and a lesbian love affair. Good stuff!

A Conversation I Didn't Really Want to Have...

Will:     Hey mom, look! A bird on the ground! Why isn't it moving?

Me:        Well, it's dead, honey.

Will:       Forever?

Emma:    Bird!!!

Me:          Aaaaccck! Don't touch it!

Will:        Forever, mom? Forever?

Me:          Yep, forever. Ok, let's get in the car.

...........................

10 seconds later

Will:    Mom? Remember that dead bird?

Me:      Gritting teeth.  Yes I do.

Will:    Who killed it?

Me:      Well, probably a cat.

Will:    Did the cat scratch it too much? Or sit on it?

Emma:  Kitty? Meow! Meow! Meow!

Me:     Well, maybe. Or maybe the cat bit it really hard.

Will:     Or maybe the cat stole the bird's heart beat?

Me:    .......

Will:    Or maybe the bird is actually sleeping and when we come back he'll wake up?

Me:    Mayyyyybe...but I think that he is dead.

Will:   Why isn't he in heaven? 

Me:     Anybody want a snack? Or maybe we could listen to some music? How was your day, Emma?

Emma:    Good! Emma Good! Hi Mama!

Will:       Why isn't the bird in heaven, mom?

Me:        CRAP. Well, the bird's body is still here, but his soul is in heaven.

Disclaimer: We are not religious and have taught the kids precisely nothing about heaven.

Will:    What's a soul?

Me:       CRAP. Well, a soul is the part of you that thinks and feels and it kind of is like a ghost. That part of you goes to heaven and your body stays here.

Will:    ......

Me:        Who wants to sing Wheels on the Bus?

Emma:    Emma sing! Emma sing!

Will:     What is the bird's soul doing in heaven, mom? What is going to happen to the bird's body? Are the bugs going to eat it? Will a cat eat it? Will the bones go under the dirt like the dinosaurs? Can a cat eat the bird's wings? Do worms eat dead birds? Who will eat the beak? Does the bird's soul miss having his body?

Emma:    The babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah!

Me:    You know what Will, I think we should get some books about this. It is a very complicated subject and I don't know if I can answer all of your questions.

Will:     Ok, mom. Sounds good. Why did that cat kill the bird?

Emma:    Kitty? Meow! Meow! Meow!

Me:        Head down on steering wheel, never so happy to be home in my life.

******************************

So...I need some good recommendations on books about death for kids. Will is almost 5, and VERY curious about the subject. I think I need books more on the line of science-y explanations as opposed to people feeling sad about death. I don't know if such books exist. Help!

 

New books

We spent the morning running through the sprinkler and our little kiddie pool, as it was a blistering and almost unheard of 94 degrees here by 10 a.m. It feels much more like August than June, and I love it. We have a backyard that is half shaded and half sun, so it works very well for frenetic water activity and then cool drinks on the deck. Repeat numerous times until exhaustion sets in. Now the kids are down for a well deserved nap, and I am planning to sit on our screen porch and make a dent in the pile that I accumulated from the library and a friend this week.

 

Not the best picture, but I'm about halfway through the new Laura Lippman, and the Sarah Waters Fingersmith is next. Then maybe the Louise Erdrich. I have a bad habit of reading more than one book at a time, so that's probably what will end up happening. Sounds like a perfect way to spend a hot summer day, huh? What are you reading?

Beach reading

I didn't actually read this while on the beach, but you definitely should. I am talking about The Masque of the Black Tulip, by Lauren Willig.

I got this when my friend hosted a book exchange party at her house last December (a brilliant idea) and it's been sitting on my shelf since then. I don't know why I didn't read it earlier this year; perhaps I was unconsciously waiting until summer started, because it is a perfect summer read. I have an affinity for historical English spy/romance/mystery type books, which is exactly what this is. This is actually the second book in a fairly long series, the first being The Secret History of the Pink Carnation. From what I understand, each book focuses on a different character, so the story line continues but through someone else's eyes, and you can read them as a stand alone work or as one in a series.

The story in The Masque of the Black Tulip is actually two stories in one. Modern day Eloise is an American graduate student of history, studying in London. She finds letters and other historical documents that unmask "one of history's greatest spies, the Pink Carnation, who saved England from Napoleon." (From the back of the book.) She continues to research and discovers letters about another spy, the Black Tulip, which is what this book is about. The story goes back and forth between Eloise and her budding romance with Colin, the young owner of the country home holding these amazing archives, and 1803 London and Paris, the world of the Black Tulip.

This was a fun read. If you're looking for historical accuracy (particularly about the attitudes and behaviors of young women in 1803), you must look elsewhere. However, if you want a highly entertaining, fast-paced, and well written romance/mystery, this is a good place to start. Also, there is sex! I think I actually blushed in one section. Reading this made me realize how rarely I read a book that explicitly describes sex. It is definitely not a big part of the book (it's all about the chase), but what is there packs a punch.

Overall, I thought it was funny, sweet, and a good read. I will look for another one in the series. I really enjoyed the modern day Eloise sections of the book, and would read more to find out what happens to her, especially. If I'm going to read a book like this I prefer Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Series, but this was pretty fun too. Willig's website header reads, Intrigue, Espionage, Romance, Swordplay, Comedy, which sums it up quite well.