Sydney Reads and Reads: May
This month was a bit hit and miss book-wise, or maybe it was just that I wasn't able to find as much dedicated time to read so I wasn't as quickly drawn into the titles I chose. Either way, I enjoyed them all in the end, but I'm looking forward to switching things up in June.
I have to tell you when Ann Bogel mentioned this first title on an episode of What Should I Read Next I literally grabbed my debit card and ran across the street to Downtown Book and Toy to pre-order it.
If you know me at all, you know I love the Roosevelt's; particularly the Theodore Roosevelt wing of the family. I mean I named my cat Roosevelt. Due to my love for Theodore, yes, but also for his eldest daughter Alice Lee. Alice was the daughter of Teddy's first wife and sweetheart of the same name, who died tragically two days after she was born. For that reason, Alice had a strained relationship with her father for much of her life, and an interesting relationship to men in general. All of which we see play out in American Princess by Stephanie Marie Thornton.
The book picks up on the night when Vice President Roosevelt finds out he is to succeed McKinley as President and takes us swiftly through Alice's society debut, her tour of Asia with a US delegation, her wedding, marriage, motherhood, grandmother-hood and so much more, covering nearly eight decades of her life.
Though Alice and I have little in common, she was a wild child and a flamboyant rule breaker, where I live in the comfort of rules and order. She pushed boundaries at a time when women had precious few rights or choices as to how they would spend their time. She fought for, and gained, the respect of the most powerful men of her time, and her name was even thrown about for Vice President in a time before women even had the right to vote. It is her strength and our differences which make me love her fiercely.
My only quarrel with American Princess is that its portrayal of Alice, at times, fought against the ideal of her I had crystallized in my head, my Alice. You see, I began my acting career playing Alice Roosevelt in the musical Teddy and Alice, an experience which, along with Alice herself, changed my life forever. But, I suppose, there's room for more than one Alice in the world. So yes, pick up a copy of American Princess this summer. You won't regret it.
I have been looking forward to The Gown, by Jennifer Robson, for months. I added it to my library holds as soon as it was available and the bookish gods smiled on me this month sending it home with me. Our story opens up on post-WWII Britain in the winter of 1947, one of the cruelest in history, as we follow the lives of two embroiderers embarking on the job of a lifetime... assisting in the creation of Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown! Ann Hughes, a born and bread English girl suddenly finds herself living alone dealing with the loss of her family, both from war and from emigration. Miriam Dassin, arrives in England, fleeing the troubles of the war in occupied France and looking for a new life. Through their stories, we get a behind the scenes glimpse at one of Britain's most sought after fashion houses and feel the weight society was carrying in the wake of The Great War. But wait, that's not all...
We also get to know Heather Mackenzie, living in modern-day Toronto, and follow her as she unravels the mystery surrounding embroidery samples left to her by her late grandmother. Her adventure will take her to London and lead her to the world of a reclusive textile artist and Holocaust survivor. The Gown does flawlessly what so much of today's historical fiction, struggles to do, captures a moment in time from a unique perspective, allowing the history to open up before you in new and unexpected ways. And with three captivating heroines, a mystery, and one of the 20th Century's most famous wedding dresses, what's to stop you from running out to get this title right. now?!
What piqued my interest in The Victory Garden, by Rhys Bowen, was the idea of a young society woman joining the Woman's Land Army and the tail end of WWI and finding her way. It didn't hurt that she finds a long-forgotten journal and begins to dabble in the healing power of herbs, something I'm interested in myself. It was eye-opening to see the relationships Emily, a society girl of the upper class, built with the other Land Girls, and watch her consciousness of class differences grow and shift as time went on. Especially after her lover dies and she is left alone and pregnant. The shift was certainly greater after WWII, but in The Victory Garden you can see a glimmer of what it will be like when women enter the workforce, and the long-held European class distinctions blur and begin the fall away. I also enjoyed getting to dive a little into the mystery of the journal's mysterious owner, and the trouble that comes with it.
On the other hand, I found Emily's doomed love story to take up far too much of the book. Though the consequences of her love affair are surely a main driver of the plot, I found the ramp up too long, and lacking depth. Don't even get me started on Emily's society mother! I found her to be an overbearing caricature, who failed to draw my sympathies. Overall, The Victory Garden was a fine book, but I won't be rushing back to read it again.
Today marks the publishing day for both City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert, and Naturally Tan, by Tan France, both of which I hope to read in June. Later in the month Jill Orr's latest, The Ugly Truth, gets released and I am SO excited to revisit Riley and everyone in Tuttle Corner! Tell me what you're reading this month. I want to know! -xo Sydney
I have to tell you when Ann Bogel mentioned this first title on an episode of What Should I Read Next I literally grabbed my debit card and ran across the street to Downtown Book and Toy to pre-order it.
If you know me at all, you know I love the Roosevelt's; particularly the Theodore Roosevelt wing of the family. I mean I named my cat Roosevelt. Due to my love for Theodore, yes, but also for his eldest daughter Alice Lee. Alice was the daughter of Teddy's first wife and sweetheart of the same name, who died tragically two days after she was born. For that reason, Alice had a strained relationship with her father for much of her life, and an interesting relationship to men in general. All of which we see play out in American Princess by Stephanie Marie Thornton.
The book picks up on the night when Vice President Roosevelt finds out he is to succeed McKinley as President and takes us swiftly through Alice's society debut, her tour of Asia with a US delegation, her wedding, marriage, motherhood, grandmother-hood and so much more, covering nearly eight decades of her life.
Though Alice and I have little in common, she was a wild child and a flamboyant rule breaker, where I live in the comfort of rules and order. She pushed boundaries at a time when women had precious few rights or choices as to how they would spend their time. She fought for, and gained, the respect of the most powerful men of her time, and her name was even thrown about for Vice President in a time before women even had the right to vote. It is her strength and our differences which make me love her fiercely.
My only quarrel with American Princess is that its portrayal of Alice, at times, fought against the ideal of her I had crystallized in my head, my Alice. You see, I began my acting career playing Alice Roosevelt in the musical Teddy and Alice, an experience which, along with Alice herself, changed my life forever. But, I suppose, there's room for more than one Alice in the world. So yes, pick up a copy of American Princess this summer. You won't regret it.
I have been looking forward to The Gown, by Jennifer Robson, for months. I added it to my library holds as soon as it was available and the bookish gods smiled on me this month sending it home with me. Our story opens up on post-WWII Britain in the winter of 1947, one of the cruelest in history, as we follow the lives of two embroiderers embarking on the job of a lifetime... assisting in the creation of Princess Elizabeth's wedding gown! Ann Hughes, a born and bread English girl suddenly finds herself living alone dealing with the loss of her family, both from war and from emigration. Miriam Dassin, arrives in England, fleeing the troubles of the war in occupied France and looking for a new life. Through their stories, we get a behind the scenes glimpse at one of Britain's most sought after fashion houses and feel the weight society was carrying in the wake of The Great War. But wait, that's not all...
We also get to know Heather Mackenzie, living in modern-day Toronto, and follow her as she unravels the mystery surrounding embroidery samples left to her by her late grandmother. Her adventure will take her to London and lead her to the world of a reclusive textile artist and Holocaust survivor. The Gown does flawlessly what so much of today's historical fiction, struggles to do, captures a moment in time from a unique perspective, allowing the history to open up before you in new and unexpected ways. And with three captivating heroines, a mystery, and one of the 20th Century's most famous wedding dresses, what's to stop you from running out to get this title right. now?!
What piqued my interest in The Victory Garden, by Rhys Bowen, was the idea of a young society woman joining the Woman's Land Army and the tail end of WWI and finding her way. It didn't hurt that she finds a long-forgotten journal and begins to dabble in the healing power of herbs, something I'm interested in myself. It was eye-opening to see the relationships Emily, a society girl of the upper class, built with the other Land Girls, and watch her consciousness of class differences grow and shift as time went on. Especially after her lover dies and she is left alone and pregnant. The shift was certainly greater after WWII, but in The Victory Garden you can see a glimmer of what it will be like when women enter the workforce, and the long-held European class distinctions blur and begin the fall away. I also enjoyed getting to dive a little into the mystery of the journal's mysterious owner, and the trouble that comes with it.
On the other hand, I found Emily's doomed love story to take up far too much of the book. Though the consequences of her love affair are surely a main driver of the plot, I found the ramp up too long, and lacking depth. Don't even get me started on Emily's society mother! I found her to be an overbearing caricature, who failed to draw my sympathies. Overall, The Victory Garden was a fine book, but I won't be rushing back to read it again.
Today marks the publishing day for both City of Girls, by Elizabeth Gilbert, and Naturally Tan, by Tan France, both of which I hope to read in June. Later in the month Jill Orr's latest, The Ugly Truth, gets released and I am SO excited to revisit Riley and everyone in Tuttle Corner! Tell me what you're reading this month. I want to know! -xo Sydney
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