The Liar’s Dictionary

by: Eley Williams

I found this with a bookseller recommendation at a local bookstore, claiming it was hilarious – I read the first few pages, had to agree, and ended up buying it.

The Liar’s Dictionary is two stories told in parallel, taking place in two different timelines. For transparency, this is one of my least favorite framing methods (and for whatever reason, it’s also really popular right now. I swear I see it in like every other book I pick up.) I somehow completely missed that when I read the blurb of the book, and it took me a while to figure out one was set in 1899 and one was set in present day. Both stories involve employees working on Swansby’s Dictionary, a massive multivolume effort undertaken in the 19th century, (Peter Winceworth’s story, told in third person POV) which has since massively flopped and is generally considered a cultural relic of a sort in the 21st (Mallory’s story, told in first person POV.) Winceworth and Mallory, somewhat coasting along in life, are both confronted with circumstances that shake up their lives a bit.

The connecting point between the two characters is mountweazels, fake words inserted into dictionaries as protection against copyright infringement. Right away, you can feel Williams’ love of English words – there’s 26 chapters, each titled by a word that corresponds to that letter of the alphabet, from A-Z. And there’s a really delightful humor pervasive throughout the book, sometimes in your face (there’s a fantastic scene with a pelican that make me laugh out loud multiple times, and sometimes in a more subtle way that required you to pay particular attention to the writing, like this very relatable gem that reminded me strongly of Wodehouse:

Winceworth had an unqueer desire to delay the inevitability of his working day for as long as possible.

pg. 48

When I was looking for a photo of the book, I saw an NPR book calling this a dual love story, and I don’t think it’s that. Both main characters are either in a relationship or develop feelings for another person, but the driving action of the story is definitely self-exploration and reflection. That doesn’t mean it’s devoid of action – there’s a nice bit of tension and some action, particularly at the latter half of the book. I will note, some of the events in both timelines were a little too similar – for the most part, the story felt super relatable to everyday life in a very funny way, so the occurrence of two unlikely events, one in each timeline, just didn’t feel entirely believable.

The book also examines the fluidity of the English language. There’s a gentle nod towards the changing uses and definitions of words between the two time periods, which was nice to see, and some excellent history tidbits around words and dictionaries I will leave for you to discover. Additionally, one of Winceworth’s key characteristics was a propensity for making up words to fill what he felt were obvious gaps in the English language. I flagged so many of them, but my favorites (after much consideration) were susposset and widge-wodge.

susposset (n.), the suspicious that chalk has been added to ice cream to bulk out the serving

widge-wodge (v.), Informal-the alternate kneading of a cat’s paws upon wool, blankets, laps, &c.

pp. 76 & 166

Williams’ writing was in an odd place for me. She is a great writer, but uses a lot of literary writing techniques to impart seriousness or beauty that I would often recognize as techniques while writing – the bones were just a little too obvious and it pulled me out of the story. But she is also hilarious and occasionally writes something just so incredibly beautiful that I had to stop and appreciate it for a moment.

…knowing the sky was never truly grey, just filled with a thousand years of birds’ paths…

pg. 125

I was much more invested in Winceworth’s story than Mallory’s, and the pacing for both ended up feeling more like a short story pacing than a novel – there wasn’t a lot of time given to the resolution after the climax of either story and I wanted just a little bit more time to exhale with the characters. I also think some of the side characters in Winceworth’s story would have benefited from a little more time to flesh out. I loved Winceworth’s character, though, and while I found Mallory to be not as engaging, I think she was incredibly relatable in an “early-mid twenties, still figuring things out” kind of way.

I found many funny or lovely quotes in this book, and if you’re looking for a funny, lovely, light novel, and like a sly sense of humor with some laugh-out-loud moments, I completely recommend it. If you’re wanting something that’s a deep character study, or if you don’t like short story format and writing, then alas! this may not be the book for you.

Born to be Wilde

by: Eloisa James

Born to be Wilde is James’ newest addition to her Wilde series, which features a ‘celebrity’ family of aristocrats, the Wildes, whose exploits are widely gossiped about and followed in 18th century England.

This installment follows Parth Sterling, an orphaned cousin raised with the Wilde family who is now a wildly successful businessman and banker, and Lavinia Grey, a once-wealthy heiress whose laudanum-addicted mother has left in a bit of a financial pinch. Lavinia finds herself in need of a wealthy husband and though Parth has refused to marry her, he offers to find her a suitable husband.

I love James’ writing but I haven’t been terribly enamored with the Wilde series.  They’re a little more focused on main character drama, when what I’ve always most enjoyed about James’ work is her incorporation of friendships, particularly female friendships. This book was no exception – it was satisfactory but not a stand-out.

Lavinia and Parth had a fiery, annoyed-by-you-but-I-really-like-you relationship which was fun to follow; I definitely enjoyed the bantering between them.  I felt some of the conflict was a tad bit forced, but the chemistry was real and both of the characters were good people, the kind you’d want to hang out with. Lavinia was on a journey of learning to value herself and her talents, and I thought that was a really nice story line. I particularly liked the way it played out; it felt both very empowering and true to the time period.

It may have been that I was reading it just before bedtime but I found it hard to keep track of all the side characters – I kept on forgetting who was who and how they were connected to each other.  I’ve read all the books in this series and maybe I was just tired, but none of the side characters were on the pages long enough to be well-developed and they kept on slipping out of my mind.

One thing that James did really well was her treatment of Parth.  Parth is an Indian-Anglo character; his mother was Indian and his father was British.  He was sent to England when he was 5 and had lived there ever since. He’s very British culturally, but there is a definite acknowledgement that things are different for him because of his mixed heritage.  And it’s rare to find an Indian lead in Western media so clearly represented as sexy (which Parth definitely was! This is one of James’ steamier novels.)

James includes an afterword discussing the relatively accepting attitudes of British society towards Anglo-Indian children in the late 1700s*, which is reflected in the novel (Lord Liverpool, prime minister 1812-1827, was of Anglo-Indian descent.)  This was such a wise decision on her part – it gave her some space where she could include instances of Parth being treated differently, judged and a bit othered, but it didn’t need to be a focal point of his experience as a British citizen. And because she chose to make him culturally British, she didn’t have the opportunity to accidentally mangle Indian culture.

From James’  research, it sounds like Parth’s experience would have been fairly typical for an Anglo-Indian child aristocratic child in this time period. It was a really clever way of including a character of color that was both appropriate for the time period and for the author’s own experience.  I think James has deftly and sensitively added an Anglo-Indian character to the historical romance genre.

So I definitely recommend the book if you’re looking for a unique hero, if you’re a fan of a really nice personal growth journey for the heroine, or if you’d like a good bit of tension between the main characters.  If you’re looking for a supportive female friend group or if you’re not a fan of books that rely heavily on other books in their series, than alas, this may not be the book for you.

*Attitudes drastically changed during the Victorian period, for the worse.

The Other Miss Bridgerton

by: Julia Quinn

I’ve said it before, but Julia Quinn is one of my favorite authors.  I was really excited to see she had another Bridgerton book out – this one a prequel to her original Bridgerton series.

The Other Miss Bridgerton follows the adventures of Poppy Bridgerton, a well-bred young lady on her second Season not quite actually looking for a husband.  She stumbles across a smuggler’s cave one day and ends up whisked away on a privateer’s ship with charming Captain Andrew Rokesby, bound for Portugal and adventure. The story is told from both Andrew and Poppy’s point of view, in third person.

This is, of course, a Regency romance, and it’s delightful and witty and incredibly fun to read. Quinn does such an amazing job of writing intelligent, fun, likable, and realistic characters – Poppy is perhaps my favorite character of hers so far!

Quinn easily takes the reader through the delightful twists and turns of an overly inquisitive mind. Nothing Poppy says is random to the reader, but it’s quite clear why it’s out of the blue for the other characters. Poppy’s train of thought is very similar to mine; I’m the kind of person who might be staring at a piece of abstract art and ask, “Why aren’t frogs a more accepted part of American cuisine?” In my head, there’s a clear connection between the art and fried frog legs, but to everyone else in the room, it’s quite the odd response!

I also love Poppy’s response to being kidnapped – she makes the best of the situation but she also doesn’t shy away from being honest about how crappy it is. I think this is probably my favorite part of the book, as Poppy always strives to be pleasant and kind while still holding Andrew accountable for his actions. What’s more, this is behavior that she has from the start of the book, not some grand climax where they communicate and make things all better.  From the very beginning, she expects him to deal with the fact that he has put her in a bad situation, and she never takes on responsibility for the guilt and shame he feels about it. Here is a relationship built on the premise that a woman shouldn’t minimize her emotions so a man doesn’t have to face his. Excellent.

TOMB has a lot more adventure than the average Quinn novel.  I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it, but I was quickly proven wrong. There’s tons of the usual witty banter between the characters and the action isn’t overdone or wildly improbable. It’s fun and fairly nicely balanced. (Plus, this is a romance novel. You know there will be a happily ever after.) The plot moves along at a nice clip but without taking away from the romance and character development.

The main characters fall in love rather quickly, but hey, it’s a romance novel. Quinn does not write super steamy books and this is no exception – there are a few sex scenes, well-written but not incredibly explicit (by romance novel standards, at least!)

If you’re into hot and steamy romance novels, with lots of dramatic and adventures on the high seas, then this book, alas, probably isn’t for you.  But if you want a feminist, fun read with lots of wit, characters you feel like you could be good friends with, and a satisfying happily ever after, then I highly recommend The Other Miss Bridgerton.

The Table of Less Valued Knights

Hello again! It’s time for my yearly post – I’m in grad school and I read so much for school that it’s hard to want to read for pleasure (even my internet reading is down!) But I have a wee cold this weekend – just enough so that I feel fine as long as I’m not moving – and some library books, so it was the perfect time for some pleasure reading.

I saw The Table of Less Valued Knights at the library and the cover and title grabbed me instantly.  I love comedic fantasy and will read almost anything in the genre.  It’s set in Arthurian times and follows the adventures of Sir Humphrey du Val, a former Knight of the Round Table and current occupant of the Table of Less Valued Knights.  He finds himself unexpectedly on a quest to help a damsel in distress, taking along his unusually short giant squire and pet elephant. (I will say, the one intrusive thought that I had while reading this was how expensive and difficult it is to keep an elephant well-fed – but it is a fantasy.)

Philips delivered right on the mark in most parts.  It was a funny, fast escapism read that kept my attention the whole time, with well-written but not exceptional characters. Philips did a good job of nodding towards the brutal realities of the time while keeping a light and fun tone. The plot was very well-paced and fun – quite easy to keep track of what was happening and I never got frustrated wanting a scene to end so I could get to what happens next.

One way in which it did really well was including sympathetic LGBT characters – they weren’t main characters but they were definitely important characters.  If you’re looking for LGBT friendly (though not centered) fantasy, absolutely pick this up.  I especially liked that Philips both nodded to the historical reality of the time (as far as I understand it) while also using the fantasy element to create places with different social norms. It was an incredibly deft handling of social norms, something fantasy is often quite lacking in.

This book was truly enjoyable and though it wasn’t stand-out awesome, I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for Philips’ other works! If you want your Arthurian legends to focus on the main characters of the legends, look for historical accuracy, or like elaborate world building in your fantasy, this probably isn’t the book for you. If you’re a fan of escapism, are looking for LGBT-friendly fantasy, or love a light, quick read that still has a bit of substance, than definitely pick up this book.

The Summer Before the War

by: Helen Simonson

This was the second book I picked up on my vacation.  I was deliberating between a book set in India (that I decided to check out of the library) and a history of New Zealand (also library) when I saw Helen Simonson’s name.  Simonson wrote Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, which I absolutely loved, enough so that her name makes a book an automatic buy.

The Summer Before the War is set in the summer before the first world war.  It revolves around Beatrice Nash, the first female Latin teacher ever hired by the town of Rye, near Sussex, England.  Recently arrived back in England after the death of her father (they had been living as ex-pats), she’s determined to make it on her own as an independent, successful woman.  She meets Hugh Grange, a surgeon-in-training whose Aunt Agatha was instrumental in Beatrice’s hiring, and in the idyllic countryside summer, begins a slow and wonderful romance.

I really enjoyed this book! I didn’t love it as much as I did MPLS, but I found the tone to be the same kind of inquisitive sweetness – not cloying, just pleasant without glossing over the awful parts of life.  Most of the book is a romance set against a depiction of a small English village. There’s the small town politics; the beautiful summer days and strolls in the gardens; the festivals and fairs; and the small dramas of village life. There’s quirky characters and good food and an idyllic day or two to imagine yourself in.

There’s also the burgeoning feminist movement and a truthful examination of the difficulties of being a single woman in the early 20th century.  There’s the Romani people, who come every summer and have for hundreds of years, yet face incredible prejudice. There’s two men who, at great cost, hide how they truly feel about each other and two women who quietly hide that their relationship is more than society would ever expect.

All in all, it’s a more complete picture than I would normally suspect.  Somerset manages to create a sweet and peaceful village that has room for the daily sufferings and injustices often ignored in idyllic settings. The inclusion of such people adds to the magic, mostly, I think, because they feel real without adding a “dark, seedy underbelly” tone.  (There is no dark seedy underbelly to Rye.)  Instead, it’s a gentle acknowledgement of all that was happening in the village and makes me feel like I was truly seeing a slice of life, rather than the cherry-picked good parts.  It made the escapism of the novel more complete to me and much more emotionally compelling.

Of course, after the summer, the war does break out (and the book does an excellent job of letting the reader feels it’s looming throughout.)  Somerset actually follows the novel through the beginnings of war-time and this leads us to my main issue with the book.  While the pacing in terms of action/not-action was fine, I wish Somerset had let the book play out over a longer period of time.  Everything happens in a 6-month span and it just seems short for the final emotional growth and realizations of the characters.  The last few chapters are jam-packed with important events and I wanted a bit more temporal space between them.  I liked the plot line, I liked the characters’ responses, but for some reason, I just feel she needed to stretch out her timeline by at least another 6 months, if not a year.

I also feel like some of her main characters were a little too good; they needed just a tad bit more flaws for me to really invest in them.  It was such a small imbalance that I didn’t even notice it until I was done with the book.  But it there, just a little. Hugh, in particular, could have done with an unkind thought or two.

If you’re a fan of idyllic British country villages, or if you like small, sweet stories in the face of adversity, or if you’re interesting in a more inclusive historical fiction, this is definitely a book you should try.  If you’re looking for a perfectly idyllic world with no real troubles at all, if you’re a big fan of flawed main characters, or if you don’t like big thematic shifts in books than this, unfortunately, is probably not the book for you.

Sorcerer to the Crown

 by Zen Cho

(Longest absence yet! But I’m hoping to post more often.)

I was traveling around on a vacation last week and I ended up buying two books quite randomly at a bookstore. This book caught my eye, partially because of Naomi Norvik’s recommendation on the cover. I read the first page and was hooked.

Sorcerer to the Crown is Zen Cho’s debut novel.  It’s a fantasy set in Regency England. Zacharias Wythe, a young African-British magician, has just become Sorcerer Royale of Britain, much to the dismay of, well, everybody. While attempting to solve the problem of England’s fading magical supply, he meets Prunella Gentlewoman, a half-white (her background is a spoiler) charge of a girl’s school with a mysterious past and many unfeminine traits, also to the dismay, of, well, everybody.  Together, they’ll face fairies, ghosts, and Wodehouse-worthy aunts to get England set right again.

This book is amazing. It’s written in a Jane Austen-esque style, enough to put you in the Austen mindset but with full acknowledgement of the modern audience – less convoluted sentences, more nods to modern day improprieties, and less modest vagueness.  (I had actually just finished listening to Emma when I read this; it was shocking how much it sounded like Austen!) Cho writes with a charming lightheartedness. Despite the Austen-like style, this is an adventurous fantasy.  The plot twist and turns and takes you on a merry romp.  I bought in completely to both the period setting and the fantasy elements; not an easy task!  It was the perfect escapism book; I read a lot of it sitting in an outdoor hot tub in a garden and I couldn’t have picked a more perfect book for the setting.

Without ever deviating from tone or style, Cho directly portrays the racism and sexism the main characters face.  The book never becomes about racism or sexism, but it never loses sight of the characters’ experiences as people of color.  As all great fiction should, it immerses you in the experience of living someone else’s life; Cho does this masterfully.

And yet, every book has its faults.  In particular,  the pacing on this book is just too fast.  I was expecting it to turn into a trilogy or at least a duo due to the number of plotlines that were popping up and the air of importance around so many of them.  I figured one would get tied up in this book and we’d get a nice big clue about the next one, but instead, nearly everything gets resolved.  It was too much for the second half of the book and I wanted things to slow down.  Everything was plotted well, but I needed more time to explore each of the plot elements – at least one more book’s worth of time!

In short, this book is both fantastic and highly original.  If you’re at all into fantasy, but especially if you love the style of Regency romances and fantasy, or if you’ve been on the hunt for something new, great, and unusual, this book is definitely for you.  However, if you’re looking for elaborate world-building, really value pacing in an adventure/action story, or want a deep dive into the social justice issues intrinsic to her choice of main characters, this, sadly, may not be  the book for you.