Tag Archives: historical fiction

Book Review: James by Percival Everett

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James is the reimagined tale from Huckleberry Finn except it is from the slaves point of view.

Huck Finn escapes an abusive father and James escapes because he hears a rumour that he is to on sold to someone else. The two meet up and make a fraught and challenging trip away.

Like the original story, Everett brings the events of the journey to light from James’s point of view. For those familiar with the original story, beware as it deviates just over the half way point, which I think is a good thing.

There are moments of humour, tenderness and sheer brutality which makes for heavy going in parts. Everett has given us an honest portrayal of what it meant to be a slave together with the attitude and treatment by white folk at the time. Kindness is few and far between except amongst slaves themselves.

Huck is tender yet naïve as he grapples with the injustice of a system he has difficulty understanding as a child. The relationship between them both is a highlight. At other times, the story is sheer adventure, running to escape but always landing on their feet despite seemingly impossible odds. Sometimes you needed to take a leap of faith to believe they could survive.

It’s beautifully written and I can see why it was listed for the Booker. For all the brutality, there is enough light and shade which makes you want to turn the page to see if these two will make it.

Check this one out.

Book Review: In the Margins by Gail Holmes

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What a delightful read this one was.

Set just after the English Civil war in 1647, this is the story inspired by real-life Frances Wolfreston, a rector’s wife who is credited with collecting and preserving the earliest part of Shakespeare’s legacy. But while this may be the case it’s not a story about her collection. It’s much more than that as it a fictionalized examination of her life and the times she lived in.

When there is an introduction of a law where not attending Church or worshipping Catholicism is deemed a crime, Frances as the rector’s wife is charged with recording the names to give to the authorities. However, this triggers memories of her own mother’s secret practice of Catholicism. When her mother is jailed for not going to Church, her own standing in the community is challenged and her relationship with and with her husband and father becomes strained. Through all this is her unwavering passion for books which she turns to for consolation and guidance.

It’s a well-researched story highlighting how Frances sets about to help women whose voices were ignored. There are themes of witchcraft, motherhood, loss, childhood disability, and a class system where education was not seen as useful for the poor. Indeed, during those times, it was rare for women to be able to read and write let alone collect and appreciate books.

A fascinating and disturbing part of history, check this one out.

Book Review: Table for Two by Amor Towles

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I’ve read two of Towles’ last three novels and was thoroughly engrossed in his latest. Unusually I had expected a full length novel but instead what I got was a set of stories set in New York and a novella set in Los Angeles.

The stories ranged in size with the novella dominating the second half.

The New York stories were set early last century. A Russian couple accidently get a visa to escape the early days after the Russian revolution. Another tale tells of a bookseller who forges authors signatures and profits from the sale of the books. Then there  is a bootlegger illegally recording music in Carnegie Hall and a man who secretly figure skates in Central Park. Each story is beautifully told, almost fable-like with a moral dilemma. I enjoyed each of them although some were more touching than others.

The novella in Los Angelos follows a young lady called Eve who takes Olivia DeHavilland under her wing, protecting her from the movie business. Understandably this one is completely engrossing.

Towles captures the glamour and hardship of the era beautifully and of course it is very well written. Some of the stories stretch belief but either way they made for a thoroughly entertaining and enjoyable read.

Book Review: The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

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I really enjoyed reading this intriguing fictional novel set in early 1920’s Penang.

Lesley Hamlyn and her husband Robert entertain house guest, Somerset Maugham who is a famed writer. He becomes caught in a story Lesley tells him about her marriage and her relationship with Chinese revolutionary, Dr Sun Yat Sen. As she confides to him, Maugham becomes caught up with another tale about the trial of her best friend, Ethel Proudlock who was accused of murdering her lover.

What makes this novel so spellbinding is that it is based on true events. I’d not heard of Dr Sun Yat Sen who was responsible for the fall of the Qing Dynasty and was one of the founders of the Republic of China. I’ve also not read any of Somerset Maugham’s works but I’m now motivated to check them out especially, The Casuarina Tree which is set during his time in Penang. One of the short stories, The Letter recounts the the trial of Proudlock.

Tan Twan Eng has cleverly woven a wonderful tale around three historic events to create a truly memorable work. No wonder it was a Booker Longlist in 2023.

The dual narrative alternating between Lesley in first person and Maugham in third works extremely well.

This is a novel about love and betrayal in a colonial setting painted vividly on each page. The author touches on many issues of the time with plot twists along the way.

If you like historical fiction then I think you will love this one.

LIMITED TIME OFFER: Dive into the Enigmatic World of Sugar Creek by S.C. Karakaltsas

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A missing man, a stolen baby, and a plot of land where nothing grows. Are they connected? One person knows.

1948: In the seemingly idyllic town of Sugar Creek, Ellen is eager to share the joyous news of her pregnancy with her fiancé Billy. Billy takes on extra work at a local military base, Ellen’s fears grow when he mysteriously vanishes. Her desperate search for answers turns the town against her, placing her life in jeopardy.

2000: Dana, a GP whose career has hit a dead end due to a mistake, finds a lifeline in an unexpected offer from the desperate mayor of Sugar Creek. Upon her arrival, she encounters unexplained health issues among the locals. Her investigation reveals a decades-long conspiracy leading to an environmental disaster, pulling her deeper into the town’s dark history.

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Critical Acclaim for Sugar Creek:

“The story will grab your attention within the first pages and won’t let go until you turn the last page. It will have your heart beating fast with suspense and you may even find yourself wiping tears from your eyes.” Teresa Collins

“Sugar Creek by S.C. Karakaltsas was one of the best books I’ve read in 2023! When you pick up this book to read, which I highly recommend you all do, set aside a few hours or an afternoon to do so because you will not be able to put it down.” Kymm

“Excellent historical fiction that brings the past and future together, highlighting the wrongs of the past.” Katrina

Book Review: That Bligh Girl by Sue Williams

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 I really enjoyed, Elizabeth and Elizabeth by Sue Williams and was eager to read another of her books. which is steeped in historical detail putting the reader in the centre of early colonial life.

That Bligh Girl, steeped in historical detail putting the reader in the centre of early colonial life, is a fantastic novel about the daughter of Governor Bligh, Mary Putland. She’s a feisty woman forced to accompany her domineering father on a horrific voyage to Australia where she comes face to face with numerous challenges of a new colony.

I’d heard of Bligh from mutiny on the bounty fame, but little else. He was an autocratic, pig-headed, and dogmatic man and despite what she thinks Mary had some of those very qualities. She needed them to stand up not only to her father but to the soldiers of the rum rebellion led by none other than John McArthur, whose wife Elizabeth was featured in Williams earlier novel, Elizabeth and Elizabeth (see my review https://sckarakaltsas.com/2021/07/16/book-review-elizabeth-elizabeth-by-sue-williams/.)

Williams is deft at portraying the strength of women, not only of Mary but her convict maid, Meg Hill.  The historical narrative is rich in detail and whilst life was hard for everyone, it was more so for women.  This is not just about the privileged however, as Williams delves into the difficulties of life for convict women.

We learn more though about Mary’s life, her marriage to her great love, John Putland, his heart-wrenching death and her second marriage.

If you don’t know a lot about early colonial life in Sydney then this might just be the book for you. I’d highly recommend it.  

Book Review: The Women by Kristin Hannah

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This is the first of Kristin Hannah’s books I’ve read and I certainly got a taste for her work.

The Women tells the story of twenty-one-year-old nurse, Frankie who follows her brother to Vietnam. It’s early in the war and her family has a wall of hero’s depicting photos of all the men in the family who have gone to war and fought. Frankie wants to feel useful and to win her father’s approval enlists once her nursing training ends.

Arriving in Vietnam is a baptism of horror for a young woman from a privileged background who was raised to be a future wife and mother. Frankie is thrown into the chaos of death and injury in trying conditions. Once her tour ends and she’s back home her expectations are dashed by a very different America from the one she left. She is thrust into the midst of family disapproval and community disgust about America’s involvement in the war.

I’ve never read anything set during the Vietnam war and certainly nothing about the brave women who were there. Hannah has certainly done her research and puts the reader into the horror of everyday life, of blood and dirt and rain and heat. There is also romance and love and friendship as well.

There are also themes of post-traumatic stress, loss and trauma and while it is a tough one to read at times, there are moments of light and shade. There’s a lot packed into this novel and sometimes the romance angles were a little too predictable particularly in the last quarter.

Otherwise, it’s a solid read which I enjoyed.