Book Reviews in Brief: The Matchmaker of Perigord & Clara and Mr. Tiffany

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but book reviews are so delightful!  Here are two mini reviews from books I've recently read.

The Matchmaker of Perigord by Julia Stuart. I've rarely encountered a novel that was as charming and fable-like as this one.  Set in the tiny French village of Amour-Sur-Belle, whose inhabitants can only charitably be described as kooky, this is the story of Guillaume, the barber-turned-matchmaker, who rather haplessly tries to bring love to Amour. If you're a fan of Chocolat and an admirer of the diversity found in even the smallest hamlets around the world but that still retain the unique flavor of their region, then this is the perfect novel for you. 

This book was published a few years ago from Harper Collins and is available in paperback.  If the author's name sounds familiar, you have have heard us rave about her newest book, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, here in the store and on our blog.

Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland. Vreeland does it again, taking a female character whom art history has relegated to a minor role and creating a wholly believable and full life for her.  Here we have Clara Driscoll, who creates beautiful and innovative glass designs for Louis Comfort Tiffany in fin de siecle New York.  I found the art process behind the making of the stained glass pieces to be endlessly fascinating!  The period detail, as well as the increasing interest in unionized labor and workers’ rights, added to my enjoyment, too.  This is a fairly light read with just enough historical substance to give it a bit of heft.  

This book was published in hardcover by Random House last month.

~Emily

On the Fourth Day of the Holidays My Bookseller Recommended to me!

Four Favorite books!

GOING BOVINE by Libba Bray. Protagonist Cameron has giving up on his family, all too wrapped up in their own lives, particularly his twin sister, to not even acknowledge his existence. But Cameron’s world is shaken up when he’s diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jacob, or mad cow disease. A boy, who at sixteen has never truly lived, is finally given a chance to experience the world as he sets off on an unlikely quest to find a cure and save the world. Mentored by Dulcie, a punk angel with pink hair and spray-painted wings, and assisted by a hypochondriac dwarf and a rescued garden gnome, Cameron sets off on a hilarious road trip in which shenanigans ensue and he learns a little bit about life. A great read with a Don Quixote twist. Ages 14 & up ~Marika

ART AND MAX by David Wiesner. Three time Caldecott Award-winner, David Wiesner, charms audiences once again with this off-beat story of friendship and mentorship. Art, an accomplished painter and Max, an enthusiastic beginner, fall into a whirlwind adventure when Max is inspired to begin painting. The adventure brings them through some pitfalls but ends triumphantly. Mentor unexpectedly becomes the mentored and all through beautiful illustrations that will be long-loved by both kids and adults alike.
Ages 3-6 ~Sophia

THE WOLVES OF ANDOVER by Kathleen Kent. In this prequel to her best-selling The Heretic’s Daughter; Kathleen Kent delivers another powerhouse historical adventure. Her heroine is again Martha Carrier, Kent’s own ancestor who was hanged as a witch in Salem. The thorny romance of young Martha and Thomas Carrier, a mystery man rumored to have fought in the English Civil Wars, is set against the harrowing pursuit of the executioners of King Charles I. ~Chrysler

THE TOWER, THE ZOO AND THE TORTOISE by Julia Stuart. This novel is one of those rare gems that introduces you to indelibly quirky characters, showcases a plot that is utterly rewarding, and provides just as many laugh-out-loud moments as poignant ones. I can’t tell you the last time I read a book filled with such wonderment, and it really is a joy to read a book whose literary value isn’t compromised by its sparkle and charm. People who loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or Major Pettigrew's Last Stand will love this one, too, as will anybody who enjoys books that are pleasantly offbeat and filled with British humor. It was simply enchanting. ~Emily

Happy Tuesday Folks!

Paz,

~Nieves

Amazing coincidence?

Okay, so is it a coincidence? Or is it just an instance of cosmic harmony where two of my best loved books for the fall happen to mention the same obscure historical figure? Mary Toft was an English woman living in the early to mid 18th century who convinced leading medical authorities of the day that she had given birth to rabbits. Yes, live rabbits. Apparently she had them going for quite a while and eventually 'fessed up. What an embarrassment to the Royal docs, eh?

Bill Bryson makes reference to it in his wonderful book called At Home: A Short History of Private Life in a section on medical history, particularly the woefully inadequate medical care given to women up through the 20th century. Not only was it indelicate for a doctor (always male) to actually examine his female patients, his patients didn't even have the vocabulary to describe their ills when something went amiss "down there." It's a wonder that every woman didn't die in childbirth.



In Julia Stuart's charming new novel called The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, it's a minor character who stumbles across the interesting information about Mary Toft and then shares it with his friend Balthazar, a Beefeater living in the Tower of London, as a means of distracting his friend from mourning the death of his son.

I had read Bryson's book first and found the Mary Toft tidbit extraordinary, but that was nothing compared to how I felt when I ran across her name once more in Stuart's novel. Is there anybody out there who can calculate the chances of that happening? I dunno. But it seemed so rare that it deserved its own blogpost.

~Emily Crowe