novel

Marj Casswell’s "A Place to Come Home To" Articulates the High Cost of Settling

Humans, even nomads, are settlers at heart. We want a place to come home to, a hearth to warm our hands around, and other humans to love us. Marj Casswell in “A Place to Come Home To” tells a story of these ordinary yearnings and the high price they exact from us.

In the opening frame of the novel a 40-year-old woman returns to her father’s house where in her girlhood their rich Virginia tobacco farmland stretched in every direction. Time and change have intervened. Her mother and the land are gone, but six diaries from the year she was ten call out to her when she revisits her old room. The ending frame ripples through the years between ten and now, interpreting her life through the insights gained in her reflection the diaries have brought.

While the opening and closing frames give us a sense of context and the passage of time, the guts and heart of the book lie in the 38 chapters between these frames, as all revealing photographs do. Each chapter begins with an excerpt from these diaries written in the summer of 1956 when everything changed and the gravel pit came. The diary excerpts serve as epigrammatic themes for what lies ahead in each chapter. I read the book twice, and on the second reading, I began to title the chapters to keep better track of the ebb and flow of the book’s action and interludes.

“A Place to Come Home To” is both a coming of age story for 10-year-old Meredith (Merri) Coopersmith and a losing of an age. On an intimate canvas Casswell paints the sweeping story of the loss of the family farms and the end of an era. No more will there be a time when the small family farm is a viable way of life.

Both within the Coopersmith nuclear family and extended family we see how land exerts its pull on some and how the pleasures of the city call others. Yearning, hard work, and even strategy cannot save the farm or even the innocence of the community. The gravel pit opens its gaping yaw and swallows up farm land that later will, in turn, be swallowed up by housing developments.

Casswell shows the turbulence inside normalcy. As the world around her changes, the rules around her change, curtailing her adventures on the farm. But her curiosity cannot be held in check. I feared something terrible would happen to Merri in the gravel pits.

Instead, we’re shown in delicate and realistic detail the emotional and spiritual development of a young girl facing family and community conflict and dissolution of life as previously known. We are let inside the interior world of her imaginative daydreams and fantasies. Her parents love her and take good care of her, yet in spite of that, she feels the tension present in their marriage and wants to make it better for them in order to stabilize her world. She carries an adult sense of responsibility that alters her childhood, in spite of her Aunt Elizabeth’s efforts to give her a childhood without cares back to her.

A thread of settling runs through the book–both the positive and negative conations. Merri’s ancestors come to the land as settlers and set up a lumber mill. But, in a kind of fall from Eden, the first settling occurs: “they had to sell off most of the land with trees…because they needed money to live. That’s when they went to growing tobacco. Everybody around here was [growing] it,” her Uncle Lowell (who carries the spirit of the land) explains to her.

This selling off the resources of the land for cash becomes a precursor for the gravel pit contract that brings evil things into a young girl’s world. Each generation has struggled with how to make a living off the land. Arguments have sprung up in each generation. There are those who want to husband and steward the land and those who are just desperate to make a go of it. As a result there’s a slow decline of the land, and a sense of decay and struggle, despite the wish to restore what’s been lost and the honoring of hard times to save a legacy.

The tension in the Coopersmith marriage between Ted and Ellie springs from these differences, as husband and wife want different things. Ted, working a job in town so he can stay on the farm, is sober and focused on labor. Ellie, a good mother, but a city girl at heart yearning for music, dancing, flower gardens, and good times. She’s a city girl transplanted to the country, and the transplant didn’t take. She’s lonely. Ellie finds her husband boring, but has settled down into the marriage, if restlessly, and after a costly error. In this case she settles for a lack of vibrancy in relationship in order to avoid divorce and dies six years later. And Ted settles into his workshop, a world where there are things he can fix and do something about.

Casswell writes of subtle shifts through thematic explorations more than a novel driven by action and plot. This is a quiet, thoughtful and reflective story punctuated by lyrical passages of the workings of nature and a child’s delight in the freedom of exploring the outdoors.

“A Place to Come Home To” gives us a big story in a small package. Its over-riding theme is that time moves on and we must change with the times.

Welcome to the World of Make Believe and Books!

We enter the “Make Believe World” when we open a book and begin to read. In that little corner is a world that can fill us with wonder, where dreams can come true, where we can go on an adventure, learn about history, or we can fall in love all over again…reminding us of the first time we fell in love.

A historical/fiction novel is on the market for ages 16 through adult. Melinda and the Wild West, (ISBN: 1-58982-367-2) was a Semi-finalist for the Reader Views “Reviewers Choice Award 2007.” Debra Gaynor, from Reader Views, wrote: “From the first page I was captivated by this book. I had to continue reading, rushing to turn the page, I had to see what next adventure would catch up with Melinda. The plot is interesting: mixing history with fiction, adventure with romance. This is good Christian fiction. Ms Clarke, this is a piece to be proud of, well done!”

In 1896 Melinda Gamble-a very elegant, na飗e young woman from Boston-decides to give up her life of monotonous comfort for the turbulent uncertainty of the still untamed Wild West. Driven by her intense desire to make a difference in the world, Melinda takes a job as a schoolteacher in the small town of Paris, Idaho, where she comes face-to-face with Butch Cassidy, a vicious grizzly bear, and a terrible blizzard that leaves her clinging to her life. But it’s a rugged rancher who challenges Melinda with the one thing for which she was least prepared-love.

“Melinda and the Wild West is a tender love story. Clarke’s characters are well developed and her setting is compelling. But what separates this book from others is Clarke’s historical accuracy and meticulous attention to detail.” — Betsy Brannon Green, Best-Selling Mystery Author

When a rugged rancher and a determined schoolteacher meet, they tend to butt heads and clash with each encounter, but at the same time there seems to be an underlying interest in one another. In this story, Melinda is trying to help a rebellious student through acceptance and love, and at the same time, she is trying to understand her own heart.

Melynda Gascoyne, The Amherst Bee Newspaper: Buffalo, New York, wrote: “For anyone who likes to read classic-styled romance novels that also have a drop of history, this is the book for you. From one of her students coming to class with skunk oil that explodes, to her encounter with a black bear, there’s always something for the imagination in the book. It is very easy to picture the scene you are reading. Clarke was able to write about love in a soft fashion, not full of the same type of sexual writing of most romance novels. I was impressed with the eloquence in which Clarke spun her story. It was dramatic in some spots and yet contained simply placed bits of humor. I would recommend this to anyone.”

Melinda and the Wild West: A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho is the first in a series. The remaining books will be released in the following order: Edith and the Mysterious Stranger, Jenny’s Dream, David and the Bear Lake Monster, and Elena, Woman of Courage.

Page One Literary Book Review wrote: “Linda Weaver Clarke displays an easy and excellent style of writing, blending adventure/romance/history/humor and courage. A Family Saga in Bear Lake, Idaho is an instant classic and should put this author on the literary map all over the world.”

"Scatterlings of Africa" by Peter Davies: Book Review

Scatterlings of Africa
by Peter Davies
Literally Publishing Limited (2006)
ISBN 9780955440908
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (4/07)

The setting for this gritty, uncompromising book, written by Peter Davies, is Rhodesia in the 1970抯, shortly before becoming Zimbabwe in1980. It tells a story of a white officer in the war against the insurgents, Lieutenant Ron Cartwright. Ron is obsessed with catching ?and killing ?Comrade Gadziwa, a freedom fighter who wishes to restore the land to his people. While Ron is in the bush fighting, his wife Angela and their three young daughters are living in the town and visiting both sets of grandparents on their farms, enjoying a relatively safe and pleasant lifestyle. Ron and Angela have been drifting apart for a while already, mostly due to Ron抯 desire to pursue the military career full-time, which leads to his apparent neglect of Angela and their family. When Angela抯 cousin Mark reappears in her life, an unexpected romance blossoms, followed by a full-blown, steamy affair. Will Angela follow her heart or her mind? Will Ron catch Gadziwa? Is Mark serious?

Mr. Davies?writing is terse and tense. He excels in descriptions of the fighting and related scenes. He does not shy away from brutal depictions of war and torture and those scenes come across as incredibly real. While I cannot say that I enjoyed those pages, since brutality does not tend to be high on my list of enjoyable pursuits, I have to say that I found them haunting and brilliant. I also enjoyed the little vignettes of life and people of Africa, interspersed with the rest of Mr. Davies?writing. His love and knowledge of the land truly shine through in those scenes. The pages that left me slightly puzzled and upset were the ones dealing with Angela抯 affair with Mark and especially the pages describing any kind of 搇ovemaking,?be it those with Angela and Mark or a page of the brutal encounter between Angela and Ron.

After having read Peter Davies?揝catterlings of Africa,?I had a distinct feeling that the author抯 writing it was a real catharsis for him. The very personal view of the events in Rhodesia and the heartfelt depictions of the civil war must have been quite difficult to put on paper. I would recommend this book to people interested in this aspect of African history as well as those who enjoy hard-core warrior books.

Emperor by Colin Thubron

Emperor by Colin Thubron is a mightily ambitious novel. It describes the conversion to Christianity of the emperor Constantine the Great, the circumstances of which are unknown. But this was an event that changed human history. This single event elevated Christianity, previously a minority sect amongst many, to the status of official religion of the Roman Empire. Thus it became the religion of a continent, a status it has never lost.

What is so original about Colin Thubron’s book, however, is its form. The novel is constructed as if it were a sheaf of documents by different authors. The entries are arranged by date, but are constructed as if assembled from a jumble of material stuffed at random by an incompetent clerk into a satchel that was then lost. The author thus assumes many voices, many forms, many perspectives.

Constantine has embarked upon the final phase of his conquest of Rome to establish himself the undisputed leader of the empire. He was in York when his father died and Maxentius, his wife’s brother, usurped the throne. Constantine must therefore raise an army and conquer his way to power all the way from the north of England to the imperial capital. Emperor takes us from the boundaries of Verona to the outskirts of Rome, the progress described via the jottings of several characters.

Constantine’s own journal is the centerpiece. In it the emperor muses on military tactics and the progress of war. But we also discover a sensitive, emotional character often preoccupied with significance deeper than the mundane. The letters and jottings of Fausta, Constantine’s wife and sister of the pretender Maxentius, show how little those involved are able to express or trust their own feelings. Constantine is besotted with her, but she always demands a distance. We are never completely sure of her motives – or loyalties, for that matter.

Synesius, Constantine’s secretary, has seen it all before. His often witty musings offer both context and interpretation. Hosius, Bishop of Cordoba, is the Christian voice that travels with Constantine’s army. His reactions to events are always fundamentally different from what the other characters expect or predict. And there are other minor characters, lesser voices that add further detail and different perspectives.

One of the book’s great achievements is its highly effective portrayal of the pan-European character of Constantine’s alliance and its consequent religious diversity. It seems that there was a real free market in Gods at the time and we quickly feel the need for a unifying cultural and ideological force to match the political and military presence of Constantine. And so the Emperor’s personal needs and pragmatic concerns suddenly coincide and the charismatic presence of Hosius assists.

Overall I felt that Emperor did not quite achieve the ambition of its inspiration, however. In the end the originality of the form became a limitation, constricting the author’s ability to convey both background and context. The story he told was considerably bigger than the form could sustain and so the climax was unsatisfactory. As criticisms go, however, it’s a very small one.

A Review of A S Byatt’s A Whistling Woman

A S Byatt’s A Whistling Woman is a strange book. At one level it’s a straightforward account of university life, with its politics, affairs and academic pursuit. But then there’s the suspicion that none of this is ever satisfying for those involved. They yearn for something bigger, whilst at the same time trying to deny its significance in their lives. Another strand is the career of Federica, one of the book’s principal characters. Almost by default, she finds herself host of a BBC2-style arts review or in-depth discussion. She is forced via the subject matter of her programmes to re-examine a whole host of assumptions. So while the scientists try to identify a mechanism by which memory is both stimulated and fixed by means of electrical stimulation, Federica, via her television shows, offers apparently ever more arcane subject matter, leaving us confused as to what we think we might believe – or even remember.

And these are just some of the strands of plot and characterization in A Whistling Woman, certainly one of the more complex novels I have read in many years. I have not read the previous three works in the series. This may have been why I found a number of loose ends that seemed to have strayed and frayed from elsewhere.

And then there’s the alternative university that establishes itself near to the conventional campus of the University of North Yorkshire, whose acronym, obviously, is UNY, implying generality. The alternative people adopt true nineteen sixties postures, preferring question to answer, experience to knowledge, heuristics to instruction. When we recall this hippy, flower power, professedly liberated, free thinking era, it is wise to bear in mind that this is also the generation that elected Ronald Reagan, tolerated support for death squads in central America and felled the consumer boom of the later eighties. But at the time, these revolutionaries sought something transcendent in their anti-university and found it in a self-destructing religious sect.

But no matter what people profess, no matter what they research, they still sleep with one another, still get pregnant, still need mutual support. The 1960s complicated all of these things with a superimposed need for personal, transcendental fulfillment and expression, whilst, at the same time, destroying perhaps permanently any possible recourse to established religion. In A Whistling Woman, A S Byatt captures this confusion and dissects it, but she offers us no neat packages of analysis, no simple results by which we might identify its elements.

Thriller Suspense Novel Book Review – Kellerman Does it Again at the Clinic

Sometimes you just know a suspense thriller is going to live up to its reputation. And often you figure this out on the first chapter, and you are pleasantly surprised, especially considering the price of a new hardback book when it first comes out and hits the New York Times Bestseller List.

Interestingly enough, many books hit the list, but fail to impress, although there are some authors that, well, let’s just say everything they write is good, or in this case great. I’d certainly like to recommend a great book to you, as I’ve described, the book is;

“The Clinic” By Jonathan Kellerman (Alex Delaware Novel); Bantam Books, New York, NY. 1996. ISBN 0-553-08922-6

There are few great thriller suspense novels like this, a book that is riveting and will have you on the edge of your seat and cause you to cancel dates and events so you can find a cozy place to just sit down uninterrupted and finish it. Jonathan Kellerman, and yes, I know you’ve heard the name, but this like his book; The Web, is a must read. Clinic makes it happen for the reader.

The victim is found dead having been stabbed, but this is not like any regular crime, this is in a very up-scale safe LA Neighborhood. How could this be, and so the story begins, as expert psychologists are brought in along with Milo Sturgis, our trusty famous LA homicide detective to put the pieces in place. What happens next is going to blow your mind. The suspense is incredible, thrilling and one that will keep you up until you’ve finished. An awesome read indeed.

One Thousand Chestnut Trees – Part I

THE SETTING

Much has been said about how the complexity of human differences as to philosophy and aspirations shape a country.

From a classic feudal hierarchical that was the Hermit Kingdom as it was know in the east a long time ago to a country that was obsessed to industrialization (South Korea) and military prowess (North Korea), the novel covers half a century of transition by portraying three generations of a Yang-ban Clan “Min”. During the time of Lord Min Gong-ju, Korea was a nation where vast quantities of lands were divided for the privileged few whether acquired by procurement or by the kings’ grants as a reward.

While the world powers was concentrated in the west as the World War I broke out, Japan developed her resources to be ready for the world’s attention and targeted Korea as her prize for her debut. After the victory of the Russians and the US for Korea, the Kingdom was separated into two countries of different ideology by 38th parallel. When the north attempts to invade the south, the later almost became a barren and deserted land. By the time Anna visited the Korea of her mother, the country was roughly an unfamiliar place in contrast to what her mother told her in stories.

The minor part of the book was a picture of the western world, were Anna grew up as a child. This also shows how she was puzzled by the non-western ways of his uncle and the drained inspiration of her adult life prior to the rediscovery of her roots.

The Swarm – A Novel Of The Deep

The Swarm may not be a title that will attract many to this book.
I must admit that I picked it up a few times in the book shop before I decided to head back
one day and give it a go. I think that the main thing that put me off is that it is based in the
sea and is over 880 pages long!

Well I’m rather pleased that I picked it up one day and started reading.
The Swarm in a nutshell: Something is happening in the oceans. Ships are sinking, people
are going missing and the sea creatures and mammals are starting to attack!

After a major catastrophe hits the leading scientists and military meet to start sorting out
what is happening and what can be done about it before the existence of human kind is extinguished.

The book reads like a Hollywood movie and has kept me gripped. You can feel a bit of the television series 24 in there as a lot of the book seems to take place in real time and shifts
at an excellent pace. If it was on the big screen I’d be sat on the edge of my seat and not minding that this would be a good 5 hour film with some of the best and most spectacular ~effects you have seen. Unfortunately it is not a blockbuster – yet – but it plays very well in
my head.

Well worth reading. Don’t be afraid that it is over 880 pages long and scientific at times – the
author understands this and there is always a character to ask the questions that you are thinking of!

The book is now doing the rounds to the family members and there is a waiting list in the office. I’d recommend this and it’s well worth dropping onto the shopping sites as this is a cheap one for the summer holidays.

I look forward to reading more of Frank Shatzing’s work and most are now translated into English.

"The Wolf’s Torment" by S G Cardin – Book Review

“The Wolf’s Torment” takes you into Moldavia in the 1800s. Crown Prince Mihai Sigmaringen is engaged to wed Theresa, a woman of royal blood, whom he has never met. He has also just discovered that his lover is pregnant. When he learns that she has been deceiving him about her feelings for him, he tries to shut his emotions off. Returning home to Moldavia, and trying to do the right thing, he takes her with him to live near the castle. He also brings his trusted friend Viktor with him.

When he meets his future bride, he realizes that she is a true treasure. Neither he nor his bride is aware that she comes from a lineage of witches. Still she seems to have some magical talents. This disturbs Mihai, because his mother was killed by a witch. When Viktor is bitten by a werewolf, he turns to Mihai for help. Viktor complicates matters by having feelings for Theresa. At times he finds himself unable to control the animal in him. He also begins losing his humanity. He is no longer someone to be trusted.

S.G. Cardin has created a wonderful werewolf story. She also involves witches and vampires. In this book, werewolves have special and complicated ties to vampires and witches. Moldavia is rich in supernatural lore. Placing this story here, adds to the mysteriousness of the country. The plot involves intriguing elements that include deception, greed, lust, and betrayal. The key characters Mihai and Theresa are honorable and have good hearts. What makes the story really interesting is how the people around them commit heinous acts to try to deceive them. They catch themselves falling into traps set for them. Sometimes it is too late.

I really enjoyed “The Wolf’s Torment.” It is refreshing to read a novel that is different from the standard supernatural tales. Taking away the supernatural elements, the underlying story is still really interesting. Cardin puts you inside the heads of her characters and makes you feel their torment. I look forward to the sequel. Do not miss this one.

iUniverse (2007)

ISBN 9780595417339

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/07)

"Landmark Status" by Alan H Rolnick – Book Review

iUniverse (2007)

ISBN 9780595681426

Walter Marsh, owner of the historic and legendary Century Club found himself in a dilemma. His deposit from an out-of-state investor’s group on their option for the club property was nearly all spent. The option was ready to expire. Business was at its lowest ebb. A major convention center complex was in the planning stages. Local political forces were in a battle for control and needed Walter’s property.

Rolnick has fully developed a cast of colorful characters to keep a fast-paced plot moving forward. Walter Marsh calls on lawyer Benjy Bluestone for advice. Smart and stunning, Delia Torres represents a local developer.

Add a few high rollers in Miami real estate and political circles, a mentally-challenged bodyguard chauffer, a novice newspaper reporter, a Bahamian-American politician, and a Cuban cigar importer, and you get the idea of the complex direction and zany antics that follow. Greed, political power, legal maneuvers, and romantic trysts are interwoven into an engrossing plot that replicates the TV series “Miami Vice,” with an on going comedic, satire and tongue in cheek humor.

The setting is Miami with Ponzi schemes; investment fraud and real estate deals draw people from the Midwest, the Northeast, and the state of Texas to get into the action and to own their bit of Florida’s paradise. The plot is powered by quick-witted dialog which reveal the character of the protagonist. Benjy is laid back, with a basic inner sense of doing the right thing. He is loyal and stubborn in addition to laid back but has a fear of failing by following in his father’s footsteps.

Alan Rolnick is a practicing attorney, influenced and motivated by the writing of Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard, and Dave Barry. Alan feels that the legal profession produces natural storytellers, and felt compelled to write a novel. “Landmark Status” is the result.

Alan’s writing is entertaining, and witty. Transitions flow naturally, his characters are easily recognizable and memorable. I was pleasantly surprised at the insight I gained into the land development and real estate industry in South Florida. Another aspect I enjoyed was a glimpse into the historical origins of Miami, and the ethnic influence in the politics of Miami.

I was hooked from the opening wrecking ball to the final explosion.

I am sure that in the near future, attorney Alan H. Rolnick, will be reviewing contracts for the movie rights to “Landmark Status” and will be moving on to write a series of stories based on the legal shenanigans of lawyer Benjy Bluestone. I am looking forward to the sequel.

Reviewed by Richard R. Blake for Reader Views (11/07)

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