Venetia

Venetia
by Georgette Heyer

Blurb:

Beautiful, capable, and independent minded, Venetia Lanyon's life on her family's estate in the country side is somewhat restricted. But her neighbor, the infamous Lord Damerel, a charming rake shunned by polite society, is about to shake things up.

Lord Damerel has built his life on his dangerous reputation, and when he meets Venetia, he has nothing to offer and everything to regret. Though his scandalous past and deepest secrets give Venetia reason to mistrust him, a rogue always gets what he wants.

As Venetia's well-meaning family steps in to protect her from potential ruin, Venetia must find the wherewithal to take charge of her own destiny, or lose her chance at happiness.

My Reaction:

I've had this on the go for a while.  Simply couldn't seem to get into the story until fairly far along in the book, probably because not much happened for the first half or so, and I wasn't motivated to read very often.  

Venetia has its good points, but I didn't love it.  Heroine too beautiful?  Hero too "meh"? (Yes, I've seen the comparisons to Mr. Rochester, and that occurred to me while reading, too, but Mr. Rochester has a keener sense of humor and regrets his past-- and has an excuse for at least the beginning of his "bad behavior".  Damerel, on the other hand, just feels a little skeevy at times.) 

Part of my problem is the attitude that of course (some? most?) married men will philander.  Apparently, women of maturity and wisdom accept it as a natural part of marriage. Repugnant nonsense!  Is it supposed to be a joke?  I didn't find it amusing.  

There was also very little in the way of tension or romantic suspense, since the "hero" kisses the heroine upon their very first meeting and they are clearly mutually infatuated for the entire novel.  I couldn't muster much enthusiasm.

It just wasn't for me, unfortunately.  

Night Watch

Night Watch
by Terry Pratchett

Blurb:

'Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come round again. That's why they're called revolutions. People die, and nothing changes.'

For a policeman, there can be few things worse than a serial killer at loose in your city. Except, perhaps, a serial killer who targets coppers, and a city on the brink of bloody revolution. The people have found their voice at last, the flags and barricades are rising...

And the question for a policeman, an officer of the law, a defender of the peace, is:

Are you with them, or are you against them?

My Reaction:
(This was a shared read-aloud with Donald, as usual with Pratchett, Wodehouse, and anything I read for the 372-Pages podcast.)

We read this in bits and pieces. It served as a stop-gap when we were caught up on the 372-Pages reading assignments and waiting for the next podcast episode.  That reading method isn't the best when you want to remember every detail of the plot, but fortunately for us, I think we mostly appreciate Pratchett for humor and general style.  

I'm not sure how much of it is the book and how much is "real life" bleeding into my entertainment, but this book felt sadder and more serious than I usually expect from Pratchett.  

The events of the latter part of the novel (especially from finding the lilac and on until the second time-travel) seemed a bit skimmed over, but on the other hand, I rarely enjoy descriptions of action/battle scenes, so that was probably a good thing! 

The social commentary (about revolutions, rioting, and the plight of law enforcement) was particularly interesting and timely to read in 2020!

Sleeping Murder

Sleeping Murder
by Agatha Christie

Blurb:

In Agatha Christie’s classic, Sleeping Murder, the indomitable Miss Marple turns ghost hunter and uncovers shocking evidence of a perfect crime.

Soon after Gwenda moved into her new home, odd things started to happen. Despite her best efforts to modernize the house, she only succeeded in dredging up its past. Worse, she felt an irrational sense of terror every time she climbed the stairs.

In fear, Gwenda turned to Miss Marple to exorcise her ghosts. Between them, they were to solve a “perfect” crime committed many years before.

My Reaction:
I'm a big fan of Agatha Christie's work on TV and film (though some adaptations are better than others).  However, I haven't read many of her novels (maybe three others, besides this one), and I thought I'd try to remedy that, especially since some of the adaptations take great liberties with the original material. That combined with my Swiss cheese memory might make some of the mysteries feel almost new to me.  

I've seen one or two TV adaptations of this novel before, and at least one of them must have made an impression, because I remembered the identity of the murderer very early in the book.  It's not quite as entertaining to read a murder mystery when you already know who the murderer is, as well as most of the key points of how s/he did it and tried to cover it up.  It was still fine, but I did lose my motivation to read quickly.  

This is a great whodunit, especially if you don't go in already knowing the answer!  

Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun
by Stephenie Meyer

Blurb:

When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella's side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward's version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.

This unforgettable tale as told through Edward's eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward's past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?

My Reaction:
This was a shared read with Donald, for the 372-Pages podcast/book club.  It completely slipped my mind to write a review right after we finished it, so these aren't my freshest reactions...

It's been a long time since I listened to the audiobook of Twilight. (I don't believe I ever read it, just listened to the audiobook.)  I remember finding it entertaining for what it was-- a young adult paranormal romance, part of the vampire-and-zombie-obsession / cultural phenomenon that I'll cheerfully admit I enjoyed. 

So yes, I thought Twilight was fine.  I'm not sure what my opinion would be if I read it today, but I suspect I'd still think it was at least "okay".  This, on the other hand, drags.  It's unnecessarily lengthy, painfully repetitious on some points, and generally-speaking, it lacks charm.  A super-fan might enjoy reading the same story less skillfully told from Edward's point of view, but the casual reader won't enjoy the experience.  Edward doesn't come across well, the plot is thin and slow-moving, and there are even a few instances where you may have trouble following the story if you aren't already familiar with Twilight.  

It's more or less what I expected.  No real surprises.  

Reading Midnight Sun reminded me of why I'm not a fan of "reunion shows" or new seasons of old TV shows.  There's a reason why I still haven't watched the "new" episodes of Gilmore Girls.  You can't go back, and if you try, the results are almost always depressing.  Everyone looks so much older.  Some of the actors have died.  That makes me feel older and sadder, too.  That ineffable something that you loved about the original is missing, never to return.  You can't bring it back, and no attempt to recapture the past can ever truly succeed.  It's really better not to try.  

But hey, at least we got some laughs out of it with the 372-Pages podcast!

The Other

The Other
by Thomas Tryon

Blurb:

Holland and Niles Perry are identical thirteen-year-old twins. They are close-- close enough, almost, to read each other’s thoughts, but they couldn’t be more different. Holland is bold and mischievous, a bad influence, while Niles is kind and eager to please, the sort of boy who makes parents proud. The Perrys live in the bucolic New England town their family settled centuries ago, and as it happens, the extended clan has gathered at its ancestral farm this summer to mourn the death of the twins’ father in a most unfortunate accident. Mrs. Perry still hasn’t recovered from the shock of her husband’s gruesome end and stays sequestered in her room, leaving her sons to roam free. As the summer goes on, though, and Holland’s pranks become increasingly sinister, Niles finds he can no longer make excuses for his brother’s actions.

My Reaction:

It took me a while to finish The Other, but I did enjoy it! 

The book gets off to a slow start, but I hesitate to complain about the pacing, since some of the slower, more extraneous elements of the novel were actually my favorite parts.  Certain passages are beautifully written, pleasantly evocative... Almost the kind of thing where you want to climb into the book and live there for a while, except that there's something slightly off the whole time in this book's world, and you aren't sure you'd make it out alive! 

There's a strong sense of nostalgia (for childhood, but particularly for childhood during a period well before my own birth!) woven through the "slow" parts of the book, and I'd hate to have missed out on them.  The normal, almost-idyllic childhood moments contrast well with the horror of the story, too, but there's no denying that the first good chunk of the book is slow-moving.

Aspects of the novel are predictable, it's true, though the major twist, which probably should have been obvious to a reader in 2020, didn't even occur to me until soon before it was revealed.  I was too busy thinking about other things (such as the identity of the narrator and what would happen by the book's end, rather than what may have happened before the story starts). 

In any event, I found it a good read in the genre of "literary horror" (or at least more literary than most horror).  

One more thing, though.  There were times where I felt a kind of mental whiplash over the age of the twins.  I couldn't remember exactly how old they were-- 12 or 14, I thought... the blurb says 13-- because they seem by turns to act too young or too old for their age. 

I guess maybe 13 is a funny age, on the cusp between childhood and the teen years, but there were a few times when I thought one or the other of the twins seemed to behave oddly for their age-- either too immature or with a little too much knowledge of the ways of the world.  One or the other is fine, but to go back and forth was discombobulating. 

Maybe I was mixing up the twins, earlier in the book, before I'd really settled in.  I can well believe that Niles is a "young 13" and Holland a dirty-minded, older-than-his-years type of 13-year-old.  (I think we can all agree that-- mercifully!-- neither of the two are a typical 13-year-old boy! Still, it took me out of the story repeatedly, stopping to think, "Wait a minute... How old is this kid, anyway?!")