84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

 

Part memoir, part ode to the written word, 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff is a charming book of 1950s letters from Hanff, a screenwriter in New York, to Frank Doel of Marks & Co, an antiquarian bookshop in London. Hanff finds an advertisement for them in the Saturday Review of Literature, and as she wants books that are either out of print or that she can't find in New York in affordable, satisfactory editions, she makes Marks & Co. her personal book source. The trans-Atlantic correspondence between Hanff & Doel (and others associated with Marks & Co.) evolves from business to the personal as they become friends. You not only get to explore their deepening relationships but you also get book recommendations, a window into the English antiquarian book trade, and a glimpse of an early 1950s Britain still recovering from WWII.

 

I have a weakness for both epistolary stories and books on books, so this one brings delight both ways. We don’t get all the letters, only the ones (I'm guessing) that go beyond business and offer some insight into the characters, their settings and relationships. Helene Hanff is a lively writer with a wonderful sense of humor, who's not afraid to express herself, and the sense of distance provided by the nature of writing to somebody means she's far less restrained than she (or most anyone) would be in person, which only makes it funnier. The tonal contrast between her letters and Frank's, who comes across mostly as a proper Englishman, may be due to differences in American and British culture or the fact that he is representing a business, but you can tell it's not due to a lack of affection.

 

I recommend this book as a heart-warming, quick read (my Penguin edition is 97 partially-filled pages) that pulls you into a world of books and unexpected yet fulfilling relationships. Every time I read it I come away with a smile on my face and a renewed appreciation of the importance of embracing the small joys that leaven the lumps of everyday life.

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis

 To Say Nothing of the Dog is a wonderfully irreverent time travel science fiction novel replete with absurdist humor and appealing characters. A stand-alone entry in Wills’ Oxford Time Travel series, this story takes the reader to Victorian England by way of World War II, looking for the bishop’s bird stump to complete the restoration of Coventry Cathedral. This is more difficult than one might think, given the iron whims of Lady Schrapnell, who co-opts the entire time travel department to complete her pet project. Unfortunately, time itself is threatened when something unauthorized is brought forward in time, and it’s up to our heroes , Ned Henry and Verity Kindle, to overcome advanced time-lag and put everything right.

 The author, Connie Willis, has been named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America and this novel lives up to her reputation. She was inspired by Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome, a Victorian comic novel detailing the small adventures of three gentlemen boating to while away the summer. She translated the river into a Victorian country summer idyll filled with all the small pleasures of lawn parties, croquet, and church fetes, while reveling in the folly and fecklessness of the upper class. She then adds depth and plot by peopling it with professional time-travelers from the future who are forced to reconcile living a life of leisure with preventing a potentially serious catastrophe, while facing personal difficulties of their own. Throughout Willis maintains a light touch, riddled with humor and charm.

 I really enjoyed this read. I appreciate Willis deft touch with combining the serious and the absurd, and the story is laugh-out-loud funny. Her plotting is clever and her timing is right on. Her characters, including their faults, are relatable and lovable, and just a bit hapless, subject to the whims of the story. This is not a serious, in-depth time travel novel; if you’re looking for that try Willis’ Domesday Book. This is a book that uses time travel as almost a McGuffin frame for a confection of a farce.

"Maisie Dobbs" by Jacqueline Winspear

Just finished Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.  I’m really impressed. Even though it’s a mystery, the mystery is almost incidental to the story.  It’s much more about Maisie’s story, World War I and its effects on everybody, and just people being who they are as best they can and getting on with their daily lives in a loving manner. 

I loved the main character Maisie Dobbs.  Hooray for strong female characters! She embodies many of the changes happening in England in that time period. Moving from service to well-educated, middle-class, respected business owner. Healing from grievous wounds. Forging a new identity for herself after a traumatic experience made her rethink who she was.  She does all this without losing her compassion and humanity. She’s independent, strong-minded, and not cooing over babies from page 1.  She’s her own person, and a role-model.

The emotional story is really vivid and well told.  The love story, the emotional component of Maisie's journey through society, the effects of war, the sense of the characters constantly growing and changing are all unmistakable and interwoven, but not maudlin.  Winspear allows you to take in as much of the emotional landscape as you can or want, and at your own pace; she doesn’t push it at you.  The subtleties make it that much more effective and realistic, as I find that my emotions often sneak up on me and it takes me a while to figure out what exactly is going on in my heart. But they pack a punch. I was crying at the end of the book, at the final reveal. 

Her plotting is subtle. There are a number of things going on at any one time, and Winspear manages a number of reveals throughout the book that keep it fresh.  The story also takes some unexpected turns that keep you guessing.  Her characterization is such that even when a character is off-page, you wonder what’s happening to her and how the current events are going to effect her.  

I really liked the theme of World War I.  This is a war that Americans don’t talk about much, although there’s more seen now because of the upcoming 100 year anniversary of the beginning in a couple of years.  Winspear’s obviously done her research, based on my, admittedly, sketchy knowledge of the time period, and I reveled in the historical detail and her wonderful ability to evoke a time period. 

I also really liked the metaphysical and human aspects of the novel.  The metaphysical is nothing overwhelming, but the stress on the importance of meditation for problem solving and living deliberately, the importance of spiritual development, the emphasis placed on empathy were healing. I loved the insistence that we’re all connected and we all have a responsibility to help our fellows as much as we can while allowing each other space and dignity to be who we are and help ourselves as we need to.  There’s also an almost complete lack of judgment, an insistence that that sometimes we’re overtaken by forces we can’t control and we need help that we may or may not receive. You don’t read many novels with this level of intentional humaneness; Winspeare is conveying an admirable way of being as much as a very entertaining story.

LibraryThing

I really like LibraryThing. Heres' my account.

I like that you can use it as a books-to-be-read list, putting tags in to remember why you wanted to read the book, and being able to date when you found it.

I like that it's a very flexible interface, allowing you to enter as much or as little as you care to, and that there are lots of pretty miscellaneous fields.

I like that it allows for copy cataloging, including a cover gallery.

I like the social aspects and the folksonomies.

I like the price.

Melissa.