The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett (Book Review)

The Bookman's Tale: A Novel of Obsession

by Charlie Lovett

347 pages

Penguin Group, 2013

fiction/history

Read in 5 days

Another Review

My Rating: ★★★★★ 

Amazon.com / BN.com

"Wales could be cold in February."

Review: If you are a lover of books, history, and the 90's then this is the book for you. I truly marveled at the way Charlie Lovett was able to weave together the history of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth century with a love story from the 1980's, culminating into a deadly mystery in the "present" time of the mid-nineties. For a story that jumped around to three different time periods as well as locations I never once found myself confused as to where one story left off and where it was being picked back up several chapters later. Moving from the WAY past to the closer past and to the present actually worked in the authors favor. I became more invested in where the story was going as more and more of the mystery was revealed.

Basically this is truly a novel of obsession about a man who loves only two things in his life: antique books and his wife. The only thing that could make his life even more happy is if he were to discover the book sellers version of the "Holy Grail." That of course differs depending on what exactly you would be trying to prove or disprove. In the case of Peter Byerly (our main character), in trying to cope and move on from the sudden and tragic death of his wife, he stumbles upon proof that William Shakespeare is in fact the author of his many plays and sonnets. Strange that there happens to still be so many who believe he did not exist, let alone single-handedly write all those brilliant plays. I won't go into the reasons behind these conspiracy theorists theories but they do exist. Anyway, a very old and ancient mystery is awaiting Peter to solve and in doing so he is able to finally close the book on one of his major loves: his late wife.

Discover a mystery like you never thought possible. Fall in love with not just the words but the history behind the binding and the meticulous detail that I believe is still today put into the books we read. So many of us, myself included, take for granted the words we read and most definitely the binding and paper that keeps those words together. After reading this book I have gained a new appreciation for first editions, only editions, and most of all the care and respect that was given to books long ago when having a book printed, then sharing it or passing it along to loved ones was more than just a way of life, it was worth dying for.

Summary: A mysterious portrait ignites an antiquarian bookseller’s search through time and the works of Shakespeare for his lost love 

Guaranteed to capture the hearts of everyone who truly loves books, The Bookman’s Tale is a former bookseller’s sparkling novel and a delightful exploration of one of literature’s most tantalizing mysteries with echoes of Shadow of the Wind and A.S. Byatt's Possession. 

Hay-on-Wye, 1995. Peter Byerly isn’t sure what drew him into this particular bookshop. Nine months earlier, the death of his beloved wife, Amanda, had left him shattered. The young antiquarian bookseller relocated from North Carolina to the English countryside, hoping to rediscover the joy he once took in collecting and restoring rare books. But upon opening an eighteenth-century study of Shakespeare forgeries, Peter is shocked when a portrait of Amanda tumbles out of its pages. Of course, it isn’t really her. The watercolor is clearly Victorian. Yet the resemblance is uncanny, and Peter becomes obsessed with learning the picture’s origins. 

As he follows the trail back first to the Victorian era and then to Shakespeare’s time, Peter communes with Amanda’s spirit, learns the truth about his own past, and discovers a book that might definitively prove Shakespeare was, indeed, the author of all his plays.

To learn more about Charlie Lovett, visit his site here.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker (Book Review)

The Age of Miracles

by Karen Thompson Walker

269 pages

Random House, 2012

young adult/fiction

Read in 4 days

Another Review...

My Rating: ★★★★

Amazon.com | BN.com

"We didn't notice right away. We couldn't feel it."

Review: What amazing storytelling! In a nutshell, what would you do if to Earth suddenly started spinning at a much slower rate than it already does, thereby causing time to take longer to pass by? We all say how much we'd love to have more hours in the day. But, as this story proves, that is, until we actually get those hours. It starts off small, adding a half an hour at a time then continuing until this "slowing" begins to disrupt the lives of society.

This book is told through the point of view of a twelve year old girl living with her parents. She's having a hard enough time going through those changes young girls go through without throwing this phenomena into the mix! Not to mention the revolution that begins to take place among those who refuse to do as the government tells them which is to continue as usual. They go so far as to get heavy black curtains to block out the sun when it's a longer day than normal and get bright lights to put up when it's dark for a long time. Of course you can imagine what this does to the farming industry? Imagine taking every natural disaster you can think of in someones mind and watch everyone scatter to make underground shelters or buy up all the groceries they can. There are a few blackouts as well as a few make-out sessions that happen as the story progresses too. The cynicism is dripping in this book as well as the parallels of this unreal world with the one we are all really living.

Without telling too much of the story and possibly ruining certain parts for you, it's a book anyone can read. There are moments anyone can relate to or at least understand when it comes to Julia's (the main character) life and those around her. There are plenty of secrets as well as lessons learned here as well. I found it easy to follow and never got bored with it at all. The ending is wide open for perhaps a sequel?

Otherwise, there is sadness, death, and a lot of possible truth to what this world and those who inhabit it would be like if there was a constant fear of an impending end.

Summary: Spellbinding, haunting, The Age of Miracles is a beautiful novel of catastrophe and survival, growth and change, the story of Julia and her family as they struggle to live in an extraordinary time. On an ordinary Saturday, Julia awakes to discover that something has happened to the rotation of the earth. The days and nights are growing longer and longer, gravity is affected, the birds, the tides, human behavior and cosmic rhythms are thrown into disarray. In a world of danger and loss, Julia faces surprising developments in herself, and her personal world—divisions widening between her parents, strange behavior by Hannah and other friends, the vulnerability of first love, a sense of isolation, and a rebellious new strength. With crystalline prose and the indelible magic of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker gives us a breathtaking story of people finding ways to go on, in an ever-evolving world.

To learn more about Karen Thompson Walker, please visit her site here.

Rear Window (1954) (Movie Review)

Title: Rear Window

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Screenwriter(s): John Michael Hayes

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

In Theaters: August 1^st, 1954

Run Time: 112 minutes

Color: Technicolor

Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter & Raymond Burr

Genre(s): mystery/romance/thriller

Storyline: Professional photographer L.B. “Jeff” Jeffries breaks his leg while getting an action shot at an auto race. Confined to his New York apartment, he spends his time looking out of the rear window observing the neighbors. He begins to suspect that a man across the courtyard may have murdered his wife. Jeff enlists the help of his high society fashion-consultant girlfriend Lisa Freemont and his visiting nurse Stella to investigate.


Movie Trailer:


My Review: This time I traveled to another borough to see this movie. I went to BAM! and it was a gorgeous theater, on the outside. The actual theater was small and intimate but I actually prefer it that way because you feel that much closer to the screen without sitting in the first few rows (which I also prefer to do).

This movie is a part of a series of Grace Kelly movies BAM! is showing from July 13^th – July 26^th. Of the movies they have elected to show this one is the only one they showed over a 6 day span. To me, that speaks volumes.

Hitchcock loved his blondes, Grace Kelly especially. She starred in several of his movies, including Dial M for Murder and To Catch a Thief. The latter is being shown (and I will be attending) at BAM! as well this coming week.

For this movie however, I feel like Stella, played by Thelma Ritter stole the movie. She has the best one liners and delivers them with such grace and style it’s hard not to easily understand the generation she hales from and agree with her. She is a walking, talking, fortune cookie, or as L.B. Jeffrey’s points out, Readers Digest.

While some might watch this movie and be fearful of their neighbors and probably more attentive as to their surroundings, I feel the opposite. The whole atmosphere of seeing so many different worlds just by gazing out your window. How was L.B. supposed to know a murder would be taking place?

As usual in most of his films, Hitchcock makes a cameo appearance in the movie. If you don’t want to know where, skip this paragraph now, but if you do, read on. The piano player who owns the studio apartment across the way from L.B.’s window, at one point, has a visitor. At first the man’s back is facing the camera but if you know Hitchcock you know more than just the silhouette of his face. Once he turns you can see it is indeed him. I imagine he is a prospective manager or record producer who is visiting the single bachelor to hear him play a piece he has been struggling throughout the movie to finish.

I won’t spoil the movie’s ending but I will point out the way in which the camera angles are used in this movie. Hitchcock was one of the first directors to experiment with camera movements and placement more than anyone else. There is no angle used today that Hitchcock hadn’t tried in one of his movies at least once. This movie is no exception.

Until Hitchcock came along I imagine there was no clear definition for the word suspense. Hence why he is the master of it.

My Rating: A