The Printed Page

Title: Dragon House Author/website: Dragon House/John Shors Pages: 348 Publisher: NAL Trade Publication date: September ’09 Genre: Contemporary fiction

Dragon House tells the tale of Iris and Noah—two Americans who, as a way of healing their own painful pasts, open a center to house and educate Vietnamese street children. In the slums of a city that has known little but war for generations, Iris and Noah befriend children who dream of nothing more than of going to school, having a home, and being loved. Learning from the poorest of the poor, the most silent of the unheard, Iris and Noah find themselves reborn. Resounding with powerful themes of suffering, sacrifice, friendship, and love, Dragon House brings together East and West, war and peace, and celebrates the resilience of the human spirit.

Two words: Loved it! Absolutely loved it. This isn’t going to be the most articulate, proper book review you’ve read because the more I love a book the more trouble I have expressing just how much I loved it. Just to give you an idea of what went on my house when I was reading Dragon House and couldn’t tear myself away from these characters a conversation went something like this:

Hubby: What’d you do today? Me: Read Hubby: Did you do any laundry, like my golf shirts? Me: Yep sure did (ugh! that’s what that buzzing noise was) Hubby: What’s for dinner? Me: Dinner? (dinner! uh takeout?!) Hubby: did you grocery shop, by chance? Me: Grocery shop. Are you kidding? (damn knew there was something else I was supposed to do) Hubby: What exactly did you do today? Me: I READ for pete’s sake. OK? Had my nose buried in a BOOK!

I couldn’t put this book down. I started this book Sunday afternoon and by Monday night I was done. I did the very same thing with his other two novels. I get so caught in the lives of his characters that everything else just goes by the wayside. I get wrapped up and lost in his stories. I find him to be a gifted storyteller. Whether he’s writing historical or contemporary fiction he draws me in and keeps me engaged with his stories until I turn the last page. Here’s my best recommendation: as soon as I finished Dragon House I wanted to immediately visit with Iris, Noah, Thien, Mai and Minh again. I wanted to continue reading about their lives and adventures. I want to know what the future has in store for them. My next best recommendation for his novels: now that I’ve read all three ~ Beneath A Marble Sky, Beside A Burning Sea and Dragon House I want to read, right now, what he’s working on next (The Wishing Trees). I don’t say that for a lot of authors. But I can’t wait to get my hands on The Wishing Trees. I wouldn’t feel this way if I didn’t enjoy his current and previous work so much.

If you’re not familiar with Mr. Shors novels I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to his work. It’ll take more an a handful of comments to do this so spread the word to your fellow readers. Unfortunately I don’t have a copy of Dragon House to give as my copy is spoken for but I’ll do the next best thing. If a decent number of comments are left I will give away one copy each of Beneath a Marble Sky and Beside A Burning Sea. To get in on the fun:

Leave a comment on this post

Let me know if you’d rather read Beneath A Marble Sky or Beside A Burning Sea; if either is fine let me know that too

Only US and Canadian residents this time around. I’ve used up my current mailing budget for overseas readers with Read It Forward

Closes Tuesday, 6/30/09 @ midnight MST.

I’m a very visual person and love beautiful, or interesting, cover art. It entices, and invites, me to stop and take a peek instead of walking right on by. This week’s Cover Attraction is: Title: Red Lotus and The Concubine’s Daughter Author: Pai Kit Fai Release date: Sept ’09 (both books)

A novel set in China in the 1920s about Siu Sing, the daughter of a Chinese mother and the foreign devil ship’s captain who rescued her from death. Raised until the age of twelve by an elderly Taoist sage who is master of the White Crane and trained as one of his last disciples, she is sold into slavery after he’s assassinated. After spending her teenage years in an opium den, she begins a quest to find Ben Deverill, the father she never knew, and to reclaim her birthright.

Perhaps a 70-year-old spice farmer in southern China in 1907, should know better than to purchase a 15-year-old concubine, especially one who has the presumption to read and write. Still, she is beautiful, an exquisite plaything to replenish his youth and give him more sons….

When the concubine gives birth to a daughter, she kills herself, believing that the child will be put to death as a useless girl. But Li X’ia survives, at the mercy of her father, who sees her only as a source of future profit. When the farmer orders his wives to bind the girl’s feet to increase her value, Li outwits them and escapes the bandages. At the age of eight she is sold to the silk weavers at Ten Willows, where she faces a life of degradation—but Li manages to escape that too, and finds a way to continue the studies that mattered so much to her lost mother. In time she marries an English sea captain, Ben Devereax, only to be murdered by his enemies on the day she gives birth to their daughter.

That daughter, Siu Sing, is spirited to safety by the Fish, a devoted old servant of her parents’. The Fish takes Sing to Master To, a great teacher who watches over the child and trains her in spiritual wisdom and martial arts. But when Sing is approaching young womanhood, the Master is slain by a jealous former pupil, who sells Sing into slavery. Finding temporary refuge at an opium den where she is tutored in the arts of pleasing men, Sing refuses to settle for life as a concubine. Determined to find her English father, she calls upon all her courage and wisdom to embark on an adventure that will take her from great peace to great danger, and from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Shanghai and Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.

I fell in love with both covers. The story lines read as if these are two different novels but the main character has the same name in each so I’m a bit confused. Amazon UK is releasing both in September and has them listed a two separate novels, one paperback, one hardback and two different release dates. Here in the US & Canada only The Concubine’s Daughter is being released. I know where some of my Amazon $$$ will be going unless I can find a way to snag copies before September.

If someone has insider knowledge about whether this is the same or two different novels please let me know. ♦♦♦

What’s your favorite cover attraction this week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Cover Attraction post.

If you enjoy Cover Attraction Vote It Up (BookBlips)

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

*** Non-fiction ~ The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor by Colin Tudge and Josh Young (new-to-me author/Hachette) (Claimed by Wendy)

For more than a century, scientists have raced to unravel the human family tree and have grappled with its complications. Now, with an astonishing new discovery, everything we thought we knew about primate origins could change. Lying inside a high-security vault, deep within the heart of one of the world’s leading natural history museums, is the scientific find of a lifetime – a perfectly fossilized early primate, older than the previously most famous primate fossil, Lucy, by forty-four million years.

A secret until now, the fossil – “Ida” to the researchers who have painstakingly verified her provenance – is the most complete primate fossil ever found. Forty-seven million years old, Ida rewrites what we’ve assumed about the earliest primate origins. Her completeness is unparalleled – so much of what we understand about evolution comes from partial fossils and even single bones, but Ida’s fossilization offers much more than that, from a haunting “skin shadow” to her stomach contents. And, remarkably, knowledge of her discovery and existence almost never saw the light of day.

Suspense/thriller ~ Ghostwriter by Travis Thrasher (new-to-me author/Hachette) (Claimed by Gautami)

For years Dennis Shore has thrilled readers with his spooky bestselling novels. Now a widower, Dennis is finally alone in his house, his daughter attending college out of state. When he’s stricken by a paralyzing case of writer’s block and a looming deadline, Dennis becomes desperate. Against better judgment, he claims someone else’s writing as his own, accepting undeserved accolades for the stolen work. He thinks he’s gotten away with it . . . until he’s greeted by a young man named Cillian Reed–the true author of the stolen manuscript.

What begins as a minor case of harassment quickly spirals out of control. As Cillian’s threats escalate, Dennis finds himself on the brink of losing his career, his sanity, and even his life. The horror he’s spent years writing about has arrived on his doorstep, and Dennis has nowhere to run.

Fiction ~ The Lie: A Novel by Fredrica Wagman (new-to-me author/FSB Associates) (Claimed by Jacqueline)

Ramona Smollens has a chance meeting on a park bench with an older man, Solomon Columbus. The two became lovers, and soon Ramona is leaving the home of her mother and recently deceased father for marriage and the trappings of adult life. She takes with her a dark family secret, the sort of secret one simply did not talk about, one that would stalk her as she matured into her role as wife and mother. Coming of age in 1950s America, Ramona gets her cues about a woman’s role from the world around her, and about female sexuality from the silver screen. But when experience teaches her that Hollywood’s ideal is in fact “the lie,” truth and desire collide with a force that is deeply moving and unforgettable.

***

What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Mailbox post or a list of books if you don’t have a blog.

If you enjoy Mailbox Monday Vote It Up @ BookBlips

I’d like to welcome Mr. James LePore to The Printed Page. His debut novel, A World I Never Made (my review) was released in April. Thank you Mr. LePore for taking time from your busy schedule to answer a few questions for me.

TPP: When and why did you begin writing? JL: I began writing when was ten. I wrote the first paragraph of a story about a ten-year old boy who stows away on a ship to run away from home. After that I was stuck on what to say so I gave it up. Why? Probably because at that moment I really did want to run away from home.

TPP: When did you first consider yourself a writer? JL: I write, but I don’t know if I consider myself a writer. To me a writer is someone who has written and published several books and makes a living from that endeavor. I’m just at the beginning of that process, or at least I hope I am.

TPP: What inspired you to write your book? JL: I heard a story one night about a young woman who had committed suicide and left a taped message for each of her parents and siblings. The sadness of that story haunted me for days. What demons drove that young, seemingly happy woman to take her own life? What could be worse for a parent to have to confront? I started thinking about a suicide as a taking off point for a story, which has been done many times. And then it occurred to me that it might be a much more compelling story—to read and to write—if the suicide was faked. That was the beginning of A World I Never Made.

TPP: Do you have a specific writing style? JL: I don’t think so. I try not to get too fancy.

TPP: What books have most influenced your life most? JL: Too many to name. Many English (Waugh, Forster, Orwell, etc.), and Americans (Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck). I read Catch-22 in college and it blew me away. I think the influence of books on us has as much to do with the book as it does with who and where we are when we read it.

TPP: If you had to choose, which writer would you consider a mentor? JL: I would choose Hemingway, who would probably tell me to get a good editor. The reason I say Hemingway is because of the story I read about an interview he did in which the interviewer asked him why he spent so much time re-writing a certain famous passage in one of his novels. His answer was: Because I wanted to get the words right.

TPP: What book are you reading now? JL: I am just finishing Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

TPP:If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your book? JL: No. I realize that in a thriller things have to move along. The short stories on my website, www.jamesleporefiction.com, gave me a great chance to fill in some details about the main characters that I couldn’t put into the book, and to live with them one last time.

TPP:Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? JL:Thank you for being my readers.

Title: A World I Never Made Author/website: James LePore (author interview @ The Printed Page) Pages: 262 Publisher: Story Plant Publication date: April ’09 Genre: Suspense/thriller

Pat Nolan is summoned from his Connecticut home to Paris after he is informed his only child Megan, a 29 year-old writer, has committed suicide in this well-plotted and briskly paced post 9/11 thriller. Nolan and his daughter have been estranged, and he could not have known that Megan was selling herself to wealthy and powerful men in all of Europe’s capitals and in Morocco. Nolan, still grieving the death of his wife during Megan’s birth, is asked to identify his child’s remains. The body is not Megan’s, though for some inexplicable reason, he says it is. Subsequently he learns Megan has left clever clues, indicating that she wants her father to find her. Nolan is assisted by the inevitably beautiful widow, French Det. Catherine Laurence, whose despised husband was conveniently killed in terrorist bombings only months before. The action moves from Paris to exotic and rugged locales spanning two continents.

***

This is a debut novel but it doesn’t read like it. Mr. LePore’s A World I Never Made is polished and sharply written. I suspect this is because Mr. LePore is a lawyer by trade and most lawyers are gifted story tellers, especially trial lawyers. He’s had years to perfect to his craft. Lawyers spend hours writing legal briefs, opening and closing statements. They spend countless hours getting a jury to believe their version of events, their story per se.

I’ll admit I wasn’t initially hooked. Up front there was too much personal Pat and Megan angst for me. I was worried that if it continued it would interfere with the story line. I always want to get right to action not muck around in the characters personal problems. Hook me first. Grab me, don’t let go and then you can tell me about their flaws. Once we moved on to finding Megan and unraveling the mystery behind her disappearance I was a goner.

How in the world did Megan, and Pat, end up in this mess – on the run with a rule-bending, widowed detective, living with gypsies who have revenge on their minds and hiding from terrorists? Well she slept with the wrong man. The lesson here – pick your bed partners wisely. Not only did she sleep with the enemy but now she has something he desperately wants and will kill for. There is plenty of suspense and intrigue. While I didn’t get the spine tingling, heart pounding feeling I definitely wanted to fit the puzzle pieces together. There are the requisite gun battles and climbing body counts. But more engaging was the mystery surrounding her faked suicide and cross country jaunt from sure death.

I enjoyed A World I Never Made and would recommend it to those readers who enjoy well-written suspense novels. Mr. LePore is currently writing his next novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

***

I’d like to thank Lisa at TLC Book Tours for arranging this tour stop.

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is The Known World by Edward P. Jones. Sharing hosting duties with me this week is Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm. Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves joined us Monday.

***

If you’re not familiar with this award winning book here’s a little background:

Henry Townsend, a black farmer, bootmaker, and former slave, through the surprising twists and unforeseen turns of life in antebellum Virginia, becomes proprietor of his own plantation — as well as his own slaves. Following his untimely death, Henry’s widow Caldonia succumbs to profound grief, and their carefully-maintained plantation starts to come undone: slaves take to escaping under the cover of night, and families who had once found love and loyalty under the weight of slavery begin to betray one another. Beyond the Townsend household, the known world also unravels: low-paid white patrollers stand watch as slave “speculators” sell free black people into slavery, slaves and their masters chafe at the social confines of their relationships, and rumors of slave rebellions set white families against slaves who have served them for years.

*** The subject matter of this book is what initially caught my attention. When I think about the American civil war and slave owners I think ‘white’. It never dawned on me that blacks owned blacks. It wasn’t in any of my US history lessons and I don’t believe I’d ever heard mention of this owner/slave relationship before picking up The Known World. After browsing the Internet in hopes of finding more on this subject I came across very little information. It appears that much wasn’t documented in historical records regarding black slave owners. I did find this article by Robert M. Grooms written in 1997. Wikipedia also lists a reference to this topic in the Slavery in the United States section.

***

This book was as much of a struggle to read as I thought it might be on Monday when I posted my first thoughts. I didn’t finish but gave it a good try. I read halfway and finally put it down. This is an award winning book so I kept thinking (hoping) it would get better. I really feel it was a missed opportunity by the author. Take a little known civil war era fact – black slave owners – and write a wonderfully insightful fiction novel. Unfortunately that’s not what The Known World is. Instead it’s a jumbled mess. It’s full of starts and stops, detours that lead no where. You’re reading along and suddenly what reads like a misplaced paragraph crops up in the middle of story line. Sentences appearing wholly unrelated to time and place. Then once again you’re back to where you were wondering what just happened. At first I didn’t give it much thought thinking I needed to adjust the writing style. But as it continued I realized this was going to be the story style. It’s very confusing and breaks whatever momentum the story has going.

This is one book I won’t be recommending.

***

If you’ve read, or are currently reading, The Known World please share your thoughts with us.

*** This week’s reading scheduling: Monday: The Printed Page/Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves Wednesday: Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm Friday: The Printed Page/Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm

***

I’m a very visual person and love beautiful, or interesting, cover art. It entices, and invites, me to stop and take a peek instead of walking right on by. This week’s Cover Attraction is: Title: The Temple Dancer Author: John Speed Release date: July ’07

Lavish and lush, this mesmerizing novel wends its way across the exotic Indian landscape as Maya, a dazzling temple dancer bought by a savvy Portuguese businessman as a politically expedient gift for the grand vizier of Bijapur, is transported via caravan to her new master. Of course, the road to Bijapur is not a smooth one, and Maya and her escorts face a new danger around every bend.

I looked and looked for a non historical fiction cover this week and came up empty handed. The Temple Dancer has been in my wish list for months so I thought I’d share it this week. ♦♦♦

What’s your favorite cover attraction this week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Cover Attraction post.

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is The Known World by Edward P. Jones.

Follow today’s discussion over at Judy’s blog, Intergalatic Bookworm.

***

This week’s reading scheduling: Monday: The Printed Page/Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves Wednesday: Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm Friday: The Printed Page/Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm

***

If you’re new to Mailbox Monday welcome! Thank you to everyone who stops by Mailbox Monday. Whether you comment or visit I appreciate your taking the time to drop in.

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books came into their house last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

*** Historical fiction ~ The Book of Unholy Mischief by Elle Newmark (new-to-me author) (Claimed by Sandra)

Luciano, the wily hero of Newmark’s entertaining first novel, is only a street urchin when the doge of Venice’s chef finds him, but once dragged into the kitchen as an apprentice, he discovers more bubbling than boiling water. While the town is in an uproar over the rumor of an ancient book containing magical potions and lessons on alchemy, Luciano pines away for a girl and learns the basics of chopping, sweeping and eavesdropping. As he and his maestro become friendlier, Luciano begins to learn that there’s more to his teacher than a garden of strange plants and a box of spices.

Historical fiction ~ The Wet Nurse’s Tale by Erica Eisedorfer (new-to-me author/Shelf Awareness) (Claimed by Teddy Rose)

Susan Rose isn’t the average protagonist: she’s scheming, promiscuous, plump, and she is also smart, funny, tender, and entirely lovable. Like many lower-class women of Victorian England, she was born into a world that offered very few opportunities for the poor and unlovely. But Susan is the kind of plucky heroine who seeks her fortune, and finds it . . . with some help from, well, her breasts. Susan, you see, is a professional wet nurse; she breast-feeds the children of wealthy women who can’t or won’t nurse their own babies.

But when her own child is sold by her father and sent to a London lady who had recently lost a baby, Susan manages to convince his new foster mother, Mrs. Norbert, to hire her as a wet nurse. Once reunited with her son, Susan discovers the Norbert home to be a much more sinister place than she’d ever expected. Dark and full of secrets, its master is in India, and the first baby who died there did so under very mysterious circumstances. Susan embarks on a terrifying journey to rescue her son before he meets the same fate.

Women’s fiction ~ Easy on the Eyes by Jane Porter (Hachette) (Claimed by Ashley)

At 38, Tiana Tomlinson has made it. America adores her as one of the anchors of America Tonight, a top-rated nightly entertainment and news program. But even with the trappings that come with her elite lifestyle, she feels empty. Tina desperately misses her late husband Keith, who died several years before. And in a business that thrives on youth, Tina is getting the message that her age is starting to show and certain measures must be taken if she wants to remain in the spotlight. It doesn’t help that at every turn she has to deal with her adversary–the devilishly handsome, plastic surgeon to the stars, Michael Sullivan. But a trip away from the Hollywood madness has consequences that could affect the rest of her life.

***

What books came into your house last week? Don’t forget to leave a link to your Mailbox post or a list of books if you don’t have a blog.

Welcome to By the Chapter. This week’s featured book is The Known World by Edward P. Jones. Sharing hosting duties with me this week is Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm. Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves will be joining us today.

***

If you’re not familiar with this award winning book here’s a little background:

Henry Townsend, a black farmer, bootmaker, and former slave, through the surprising twists and unforeseen turns of life in antebellum Virginia, becomes proprietor of his own plantation — as well as his own slaves. Following his untimely death, Henry’s widow Caldonia succumbs to profound grief, and their carefully-maintained plantation starts to come undone: slaves take to escaping under the cover of night, and families who had once found love and loyalty under the weight of slavery begin to betray one another. Beyond the Townsend household, the known world also unravels: low-paid white patrollers stand watch as slave “speculators” sell free black people into slavery, slaves and their masters chafe at the social confines of their relationships, and rumors of slave rebellions set white families against slaves who have served them for years.

*** The subject matter of this book is what initially caught my attention. When I think about the American civil war and slave owners I think ‘white’. It never dawned on me that blacks owned blacks. It wasn’t in any of my US history lessons and I don’t believe I’d ever heard mention of this owner/slave relationship before picking up The Known World. After browsing the Internet in hopes of finding more on this subject I came across very little information. It appears that much wasn’t documented in historical records regarding black slave owners. I did find this article by Robert M. Grooms written in 1997. Wikipedia also lists a reference to this topic in the Slavery in the United States section.

***

As to the book itself it’s a struggle to read. Not because of the subject matter but the writing. It’s a jumbled mess. At first I thought it was just me and that I was confusing characters and time frames. But the deeper I’ve gotten into this novel the more jumbled and random the story line becomes. Paragraphs suddenly appear that lead nowhere and don’t have anything to do with the current place in the story. I’ve actually found myself re-reading sections because I’m lost. I keep thinking that I’ve missed or overlooked a paragraph but it doesn’t change on the read through. I’m hoping to make it to the end but at this point I’m not holding out much hope.

***

If you’ve read, or are currently reading, The Known World please share your thoughts with us.

*** This week’s reading scheduling: Monday: The Printed Page/Elizabeth from As usual, I need more bookshelves Wednesday: Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm Friday: The Printed Page/Judy from Intergalatic Bookworm

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