The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton

I had never heard of Kate Morton before a couple of months ago. Our family was out walking around our neighborhood and I stopped to check the neighbor's "little library" at the end of their driveway. Inside was a copy of The Forgotten Garden. Initially I picked it up because I liked the title and the cover art. And since it was free there was absolutely no reason I could think of not to take a gamble on it! I carried it off and there it sat on my bookshelf for a month or so. A couple of weeks ago, a particular bloggy buddy of mine mentioned that she had recently borrowed a copy of this book from her library and was going to give it a whirl so I thought I'd try to read it alongside her. That's my backstory on this particular read.

*****
Please note that since completing this read, I haven't bothered to find out anything about Kate Morton so all of my comments are related to this title alone without any additional knowledge of her or her writing history.

*****
Did I like this book?

The short answer:

Yes, with some exceptions.

The long answer:

I found Morton's style of story telling to be captivating. The book tells the story of four women who lived in three different periods in history. All of the women are connected in some way with others and the mystery of the book is exactly how their paths cross. The story slowly unfolds as you jump between the years 1900 and 2005 keeping you guessing the whole while. Personally I'm a fan of stories that cover decades and I don't mind bopping about picking up clues to how everything ultimately fits together. I know that not everyone enjoys that style, but I do.

As this book is part mystery it would be very easy to provide spoilers but I will refrain from doing so. Instead, I'll share part of the description from the book jacket for your information:

"A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book - a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. On her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered, and very little to go on, "Nell" sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurts Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family."

I don't know about you, but I thought that sounded really interesting and mysterious!

Despite my concerns not to provide spoilers, I do feel compelled to share my hesitations about the read so that you can make the best decision for yourself regarding your own desire to read it.

As The Forgotten Garden was published in 2008 it does fall under the header of "modern novel" which has become synonymous (to me!) with lax writing skills, heavy use of foul language and explicit sex scenes. How did this particular title hold up?

Regarding concern #1 (poor writing): I am happy to report that this book does not suffer from poor writing skill. If Morton is a bad writer, I didn't notice. She held me captive to the pages during the entire read. It's hard to find books which keep you engrossed in them from start to finish but such was the case with me and The Forgotten Garden.

Regarding concern #2 (foul language): I didn't notice any at all so I'm sorely tempted to claim that there wasn't any. However, if another reader told me that they found an "unpleasant word" or two I wouldn't be surprised. I usually only focus on the problem if these words are used in excess. (Excess, for me, being used more than four times and in what I would consider to be rather ridiculous and unncessary circumstances.) Morton never felt the need, so far as I'm concerned, to cheapen the book with cuss words.

Regarding #3 (explicit sex scenes): There is a particular illicit relationship which takes place in this book which is flat out disturbingly wrong. You can see it coming and when it hits you very well understand what is happening. (The incident itself is contained to one chapter.) The way she describes what happens is not very explicit. Of course, I rather wish it hadn't been there at all but, for what it's worth, she is more discrete than most in her description. You know what's happening but it is not written out as a play-by-play.

As I say, you can see it coming a mile away and when it happens you could easily skip the chapter and miss only one item which is important to the plot (but you can put other pieces of the puzzle together to answer any questions you might have).

All in all, I found this book to be a really fun summer read. I cared about each one of these main female characters quite deeply and, as I mentioned, found it difficult to live normal life during the reading of this book! All the same, I don't know that I would necessary seek out another Morton title. Of course, if the opportunity presented itself to pick up another very conveniently (as was in the case with this one) I likely wouldn't turn it down either!

What about you? Have you ever read Kate Morton before? What were your thoughts? Any advice or recommendations to offer to myself and others?

The Last Battle, by C.S. Lewis

It was with some amount of dread that I began reading The Last Battle - the final book in the Narnia series - to my children. Bookworm1 was interested to dive on in because it was the only Narnian story that he had not heard. He was ready to listen because he didn't know what was going to happen, poor thing. Not even the title tipped him off.

In the first chapter of this book we meet Shift the Ape and Puzzle the Donkey. We get the idea that the Ape is a mischievous thing, but after all the build up over reading this title, Bookworm1 declared the story "boring." We moved along to chapter 2 and things got dicey when a couple of Calormene heads rolled. From that moment on, Bookworm1 was riveted as was Bookworm2 who loves reading about a good battle every now and again. If battles were what Bookworm2 wanted, battles were definitely what he was going to get. I can't believe Hollywood hasn't dipped their toes into this one! It has everything the modern audience wants: good guys, bad guys, not-so-sure guys, heads being lopped off and fantastic battle scenes between fantastic creatures. While it is perfect food for Hollywood though, I'm not so sure I would necessarily trust them to this!

The Last Battle has a lot of battles in it, as the title might suggest to you. It tells us of the last king of Narnia - King Tirian - who discovers the talking beast and earth men falling for a false Aslan. All of Narnia lives in fear and confusion as Shift the Ape spreads lies about Who Aslan is and what His demands are for His creatures. Shift teaches fear apart from love and places the Narnians under the heavy yoke of Calermene slavery. It is too much to bear and King Tirian is hopelessly - but bravely - fighting back with a little help from some old friends of Narnia.

Throughout this book, hope is battling against despair and I have to tell you that I was becoming extremely emotional as I waded through the chapters. When Narnians began fighting Narnians my day was just about ruined. Jonathan came home from work and I told him I was really quite upset due to the fact that the Narnian dwarfs had turned against Aslan in a very violent way. The kids were wondering why I was crying. (Yes. I was pathetic. But it was really horrible and all my dread of the book was staring me straight in the face. Oh, I hated it.) I told Bookworm1 that we were going to have to speed through to the end of the book so that I could just get the inevitable over with. The kids looked at me completely mystified displaying lopsided grins of curiosity as we read on.

Then. THEN! Narnia fell. Oh, friends. It was a dark day . . . but for Aslan! Somehow, someway Lewis wrote me into the depths of despair and then wrote me out of it with hope, delight and joy. Narnia came to a close but the kings and queens of Narnia then entered Aslan's country. I turned the pages (having forgotten myself how this all played out because I avoid this book as a general rule, not caring to feel it) and was greeted by my old friend Reepicheep. I paused to cry again. This time the kids were snickering at me as I wiped tears away telling them how happy this story was. Reep! He was alive and well and whole and so were all of our friends: the Beavers, Mr. Tumnus, Puddleglum and every Narnian character that we have ever known and loved (minus one, of course).

My heart could barely contain the joy. Why? Why was this story so impacting? Because since I first read this book I have tasted the bitterness of death in losing several beloved family members. The feelings of darkness, despair and loneliness can weight so heavily on one's heart and Lewis's writing brought the pain back up to the surface where I could feel and taste it again. Oh, how I hate sin and death. The darkness of death has to be walked through, yes, but not without a promise -

He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth;
For the LORD has spoken. Isaiah 25:8
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power.
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
Death is a villain, but Christ is the Victor. The pain of losing those we love is so very great as to be overwhelming at times. The pain makes you short of breath and has you grasping for any signs of hope. Of course, there is hope in Christ. And the picture Lewis paints of death defeated - for me - is tremendously moving. Reepicheep stood at the gate welcoming everyone in. The Old friends and warriors of Narnia ran up to greet the kings and queens newly arrived. I wept thinking about how joyful a moment it will be when I see my loved ones once again. And though I love my life here on earth very well, Lewis made me feel and begin to know that this all pales in comparison to "Aslan's country." I wept for joy; I wept for hope restored; I wept for things I haven't previously understood and still do not fully understand. I wept because death really does lose its sting and Christ really does reign victorious.

The kids, of course, didn't see this as clearly as I did. However, I had them in rapt attention as I struggled to keep my voice steady while reading the last two chapters. At the end, Bookworm2 declared that we should "read it again!" as a "Bible story book!" and Lewis' plan to write a "great supposal" which would introduce children to concepts in Christianity met with instant success in our household. I smiled some more as I wiped away a few additional tears, unashamedly. I think it is important to let your kids see you weep in despair and also for joy. Tears are just another way of sharing truth with others if we'll consent to let them fall without trying to hide or wipe them away. Life is a battle but the victory is already won. I hope my kids know this every day that they are alive. I pray they will always be moving further up and further in alongside me. This life - as depicted in part in a magical world called Narnia - is the greatest adventure.

"But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

What On Your Nightstand - August

Oh, Nightstand, how I love and hate you. You remind me of all that I want to read and all that I was not able to get to. Yet I still cannot resist participating in this monthly meme, hosted by 5 Minutes for Books. Although it's almost like torture, I'll continue to plot a course and see how closely I can stick to it.

This past month I have focused almost exclusively on Narnia. I absolutely love The Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge, hosted every year in July right here at Reading to Know.

This year I read The Horse and His Boy aloud to my kids and we just finished reading The Last Battle (review forthcoming). It's been a lovely month in Narnia and, if possible, I love it more than I ever have in the past.

Also in conjunction with the reading challenge, I read Live Like a Narnian (linked to review). I can't say it was my favorite or that it was completely awful. It's just not my first choice. It's worth noting.

Currently, the kids and I are reading 101 Dalmations together along with the classics book club group.

In July I also managed to read the following, all titles linked to my reviews:

• Miss Buncle's Book
• Miss Buncle Married
• Dancing on the Head of a Pen

I am currently in the middle of the following titles (slowly poking my way through):

How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books

Remember, Remember (The Fifth of November): Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About British History with All the Boring Bits Taken Out (Only $0.99 on the Kindle. But I am not reading it on the Kindle. I have a hard copy.)

Other Books I plan/hope to read may include, but are not limited to:

• The Brothers Karamazov (I WILL be reading this one with the aforementioned classics book club.)
• Redwall
• Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey
• The Forgotten Garden: A Novel
• Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (Nobody spoil ANYthing about Potter, PLEASE! This is my first time through the series!)

Beyond that, we shall just see what happens!

Now I'm off to see what you mentioned your nightstands so that I can make my own reading list longer and more complicated.

Dancing on the Head of a Pen, by Robert Benson

I have never heard of Robert Benson before but apparently he has written a number of books. He has written and published so many that many people have asked him for advice on how to write for themselves. This book is an answer to their questions.

Dancing on the Head of a Pen is a very quick and easy book to read. It comes off as more of a motivational speech than anything else and motivational speeches always do tend to go down well. In other words, there are no "ouch!" revelations inside, unless you come to the realization that you are an incredibly undisciplined person (which I am going to bank on you already knowing if you know you want to write but haven't written anything yet). The short answer to the question of how to start writing is simply to do it.

Practically speaking, Benson has filled this book with suggestions based on how he writes, acknowledging that what works for him might not necessarily work for another. He referenced a variety of authors he knows, all of whom have different methods for putting pen to paper. Because all people are different I think it was wise for Benson to write this book with the idea of motivating others in mind, rather than attempting to offer a step-by-step guide to write for publication. If you read this book, you might find yourself motivated to ditch the excuses and get to work. First though, I suppose one must remove the doubts that they have that they can't write anything decent. It's hard to write anything when you assume you have nothing brilliant to offer. I chuckled over this passage:

"A day spent reading Anne Dillard or Graham Greene or John Le Carre or Thomas Merton or Doris Grumbach or Frederick Buechner can convince anyone who wants to write that the good stuff has already been written and, in fact, so marvelously written that anything else by anyone else, including me, borders on being audacious at best and pretentious the rest of the time. Last week while reading Buechner, I realized tat if I wanted to make a contribution to the literary world, I should do his laundry and mow his grass so he would have more time to write." (Chapter 3, Go to Your Room, page 35)

I have a lot of lawns to mow and laundry to do for others!

There are practical tips included in this book but, as I say, Benson is quick to note that these are things that work for him and might not necessarily work for the next person. However, there is one universal truth which stood out to me (because, of course, it would). That is?:

"Any writer should have a shelf of . . . books. He need not read the writers I read. But he should never forget that we are all going to write under the influence of someone. Better for him if those writers are better than most. At the very least they should be the ones who make him want to lie down and take deep breaths before taking up his pen. Those are the books that will make him live, and write, more intensely. Reading anything less will not help him grow as a writer.

A direct relationship exists between the caliber of the writing you read and the caliber of the writing you make."

(Chapter 8, Under the Influence, pp 102-103, emphasis mine)

I agree with him whole heartedly! The people who I read definitely influence the life that I live and, frequently, the way I write. You can tell who I read - I think - if you read a few of my blog posts. Sometimes I think other authors are screaming through me in my speech and writing patterns. So, friends, let us read well so that we may be influenced by the wisest and the best!

I do envision myself writing a book someday. As my first title has flitted away, I'll have to do some additional thinking and pondering. I know that writing is an important way for me to be able to express myself and that I feel calmer and more thought through once I write something down, whether it be for public consumption or personal release. Words matter deeply to me and the order they are placed in can change a world (or, at least, a life). It's interesting for me to pick up books every now and again which talk about how one can write more effectively. For me, writing is a "future thing" but reading Dancing on the Head of a Pen did encourage me to start practicing now.

I pulled out a notebook and got started.

Many thanks to Waterbrook Press for sending a copy of this book my direction in order to facilitate this review. I did not receive any additional compensation for this review and all opinions are - forever and always - 100% my very own!

Miss Buncle Married, by D.E. Stevenson

It didn't take me long to give in a purchase a copy of Miss Buncle Married, on the heels of reading the first in this series by Stevenson. Curious to embark on the next chapter of Miss Buncle's life, I swooped on into the read.

Although this book was very fun and it was enjoyable to find out what happens to Miss Buncle after she gets married I thought this title lacked the charm that is the first story. That is not to say that it is bad at all or that I didn't enjoy it - because I did! I just liked the first title better.

The character of Mrs. Abbott (nee Buncle) is further developed in this sequel. Unlike the first book, Mrs. Abbott isn't in the process of writing books, but in establishing a household. We see her setting up house and getting to know people in her new community. She does write a little bit, but nothing for publication. This book is strictly about her development as a human being in relationship to others around her. Side plots abound, thanks to the neighbors and you meet a range of characters. There is hidden romance, children wrecking havoc through untamed mischievousness, ghosts that aunt and neurotic rich folk. My favorite character in this book is not Mrs. Abbott but I do like the way that Stevenson solidifies her as a person with a life all of their own.

Probably the thing I latched onto the most in the character of Mrs. Abbott is the fact that she is able to write down her thoughts and communicate through the written word. However, when it comes to actual, live conversation she goes a bit tongue tied. When she writes, she's a regular word smith; when she speaks she sounds simple. I so very much identify with that! Really and truly, I hate it when people ask me in person what I think about such-and-such a book. I can never string three words together when asked to answer that question audibly. (Are you surprised? My blog posts can wax eloquent at times. You might assume I'm a talk-a-holic. You would be wrong.) When I'm trying to say what I'm thinking outloud, words just fly out of my head. I very frequently use the wrong words and end up meaning something completely different than what I meant. I don't think I think fast enough to communicate deep thoughts when talking aloud. I'd rather write blog posts. (Then, sometimes when I write it out I'm able to say it with greater ease aloud.) Alas, Miss Buncle/Mrs. Abbott suffers the same and so I sympathized with her a great deal and frowned a bit when she struggled to communicate with others face-to-face. It's such a strange phenomenon (and such a frustrating one for me!) and I wonder if D.E. Stevenson suffered from the same "condition" because she describes it so well in this book.

I'm still very much engaged with Stevenson's writing. Her style is slow and easy and, next to Mitford (and Miss Read), I find her books wonderful and cozy reads. I took my time reading this one (i.e., I spent 5 days reading it instead of 2) and while I found it slower than the first book, I enjoyed it just the same in the end.

No retracting my original statements about finding D.E. Stevenson a perfect "holiday" read. Look her up! I'll look forward to another of her works shortly.

The Horse and His Boy, by C.S. Lewis

This is only my third time reading The Horse and His Boy, the last time being in 2008! The reason for this is that I have long held to the belief that this story is my least favorite in the Narnia series. However, I am reading through the series with my kids and this was the next title up. With a groan (truly) I pulled it from the shelves and braced myself to re-read it. And oh how glad I am that I did! This time, the story spoke loudly to me.

I am grinning at myself over my about-face when it comes to this book. As I said, the last time I read this book was in 2008. Life presented one of its hardest challenges to us in 2009 (worst year ever) and although many of the issues have resolved themselves since that time, 2009 will always be impressed upon our memories as being used by God to shake us up and shake us out of some bad situations and some bad attitudes. Enter: The Horse and His Boy.

This title is all about challenges and how God uses things, people, and situations (which might look awful to us) to bring about good. He uses the "bad" in our lives to change us and to make us into the people He wants us to be and that is what all of the characters in this particular Narnian story happen to learn.

The premise, if you are unfamiliar with it, is as follows:

Fourteen years into the Pevansies' reign as kings and queens in Narnia, in the southern land of Calormen, a boy named Shasta lives with an old fisherman whom he believes to be his father. Shasta and his "father" take in a nobleman (a Tarkaan) for a night's stay and in eavesdropping on a conversation between the fisherman and Tarkaan, Shasta discovers that the fisherman is not really his father. Shasta discovers two additional things: 1. the nobleman's horse is a talking Narnian horse; and 2. Shasta himself is of northern descent. The horse, Bree, and Shasta agree to run away together, "To Narnia and the north!" Along the way they meet up with the high-spirited Aravis and her talking horse, Hwin. The four join forces and commit to traveling to Narnia together. To get there, they must cross a huge dessert and high mountains. The foursome also must outrun their enemies and give warning to Archenland and Narnia of an impending attack by the Calormens. It is quite the adventure story, full of difficulties which must be overcome.

The book starts out quite slow though, with Lewis trying to incorporate archaic language. There is (in my ever so humble estimation) an overuse of the words "thee" and "thou" which I could do without. The vocabulary was a bit confusing and I think the first few chapters of the story rather flew over the heads of my kids. I honestly don't know that they got anything out of the first part of the book. All the while, I was regretting the read and wishing that I was entering the wardrobe again instead of crossing the desert. But a book series is a book series and you can't skip parts or you'll miss important things. So we pressed on!

When we'd reached the middle of the book things started to pick up for all of us. Lewis fell into his "usual" Narnia writing style and began using words and language patterns which make sense to our modern ears. That allowed us all to begin engaging with the story a bit more. By the end of the book I found myself in a flood of tears, just as I usually do when I'm in Narnia. I realized that I loved this book just as much as the others. I might even appreciate it more than some of the others in the series for the message which combines struggle and hope for the victory.

Here are some passages which I marked as being particularly meaningful to me:

Shasta and Bree are conversing and Bree fails to show verbal honor to the leader of the Calormen.

"I say," put in Shasta in a rather shocked voice, "oughtn't you to say 'May he live forever'?"
"Why?" asked the Horse. "I'm a free Narnian. And why should I talk slaves' and fools' talk? I don't want him to live forever, and I know he's not going to live forever whether I want him to or not. And I can see you're from the free north too. No more of this southern jargon between you and me!"

This passage from the Bible popped into my head:

Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Ephesians 4:17-25

When we become Christians, we are to "put off" the old man and his sinful ways and habits. Our actions should change and so should our speech. Why should we talk foolish talk? We are to be made holy, as He is holy. (Lev. 20:26)

Switching to a different subject entirely, there is a different passage which talks about how Hwin and Bree were running to stay ahead of the enemy. Bree was slacking off and being lazy about pushing himself to keep on keeping on. Lewis writes of Bree's condition:

". . . [I]f Bree had had a Tarkaan on his back at that moment to make him go on, he would have found that he was good for several hours hard going. But one of the worst results of being a slave and being forced to do things is that when there is no-one to force you any more you find you have almost lost the power of forcing yourself."

I made mental note to apply this idea of training a person to disciple themselves (as opposed to training them to obey you always) to parenting. You, as a parent, have an obligation to train your child to be a disciplined, hard working sort. However, you can't and shouldn't have to stand by for their entire lives making sure they keep getting out of bed in the morning, keep putting their feet on the floor and keep committing to do right. We, as parents, don't want to raise slaves. I want free-thinkers who are self-disciplined and ready to throw themselves joyfully into whatever God has for them. This passage was a good reminder to me to focus on teaching my kids to self-manage and do right whether I am looking their direction or not.

Lastly (for this post), Aslan appears to the horses. They do not know who he is, but Hwin, the gentle mare, approaches Aslan and says to him:

“Please,' she said, 'You're so beautiful. You may eat me if you like. I'd rather be eaten by you than fed by anyone else.”

Every time I read that my heart swells and I'm not yet sure how to put my thoughts and feelings into words. All I know to say is, "My sentiments exactly." Whether I live or die, I am the Lord's. In rich or in want, I am the Lord's. Everything I have is His and He can eat me if He wants. Every year of my life could be a repeat of 2009 and I would still be the Lord's. He has never left me or forsaken me. He has changed me with lion claw scratches on my back, but He did it for my good. I can run a little faster now, thanks to those scratches. Any scars are alright. They are His motivating gift to me.

To put that another way, I'm most definitely for Aslan, even if there isn't any Aslan.

But there is!

Miss Buncle's Book, by D.E. Stevenson

If you are looking for a FUN, light hearted, clean summer read please look no further. Miss Buncle's Book is nothing but pure delight.

A friend recommended this read for my Kindle (for the aforementioned oversees trip) and it looked curiously engaging. I purchased it for the Kindle and loved it so much that I'm going to turn right around and buy a hard copy of this first title and the subsequent titles in this series by D.E. Stevenson.

Miss Buncle's Book was first published in 1934 and did well enough to be followed by a sequel in 1936 (Miss Buncle Married). It was written by Dorothy Emily Stevenson who had loved writing ever since she was a young girl. Educated at home, young Dorothy discovered that she loved writing as early as the age of eight. However, neither her parents or her governess approved of this habit of hers and so she practiced without their knowledge. It's hard to believe that her family disapproved of writing. I don't think they should have been terribly surprised by her desire to write though as the habit ran in the family. Her father's first cousin was none other than Robert Louis Stevenson! I'm glad Dorothy Stevenson was naughty enough to work against her parents' displeasure in this because what she produced is quite entertaining.

As mentioned, Stevenson plugged on with her writing, eventually having a book of poetry published in 1915. She married in 1916 and her first novel was published in 1923. The first novel was something of a flop but the second met with better success which kept her at her work. All told, she wrote over 40 books, the last being published in 1970, three years before her death. She spent her whole life writing and I will spend the rest of mine reading what she wrote! It looks as if most of her books are out of print but, gratefully, the Miss Buncle ones are back in circulation.

Miss Buncle is the main character in this title. She is a quiet, unassuming single gal who lives in a remote country village in the English countryside. Bored with life and in need of money, she makes a desperate attempt to earn some cash by writing a book. However, she doesn't fancy herself being able to make anything up out of thin air and so she writes about what she knows - the town in which she lives. Miss Buncle changes the names of the characters to protect the innocent (or, perhaps, the guilty!). Miss Buncle's book meets with instant success but the citizens in her local village are not at all happy about it. They are instantly (and correctly) convinced that the book is about them but they do not know which person in their town wrote it, as Miss Buncle wrote under a pseudonym. The entire book is about the townsfolk's disgust and displeasure over the book and describes their hunt to root out the author. It's a simple plot, but a fun one. Stevenson gave the people in the village quite the personalities and the chaos which ensues post publication of Miss Buncle's book as a result of their personalities is quite hilarious.

I highly recommend this read to you. I think you will enjoy it. I know I certainly did and truly can't wait to get my hands on more of Stevenson's writings. Excellent suggestion from my friend! I now pass it along to you.

King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard

After reading Sky's introductory post for this past month's book club read, I was ready to dive on into King Solomon's Mines. However, I took my own sweet time getting around to it, completing it just yesterday. If Sky piqued my interest in it, C.S. Lewis solidified it.

Before reading King Solomon's Mines I was reading Live Like A Narnian and in the back of the book, author Joe Rigney noted that Haggard's book was one of Lewis' favorite as a child. Lewis wrote both about the book and the movie version of it in his essay On Stories (available for free online) and I'll share what he said about it in just a minute. I tried not to pay attention to Lewis' thoughts until I had read the book for myself.

First, let's discuss the story itself.

In this book we follow along with three men - Allan Quatermain, Sir Henry Curtis, and Captain Good - as they seek treasure in Solomon's "lost" mines and also the missing brother of Sir Henry. They traverse the desert in Africa with the help of a few good (tribes)men and have quite a few spectacular adventures finding what they are looking for.

This story was first published in 1895 and was well-received by the public. Billboards and advertisements around London called it, "The Most Amazing Book Ever Written!" (Almost makes authors and potential authors a bit green with envy, doesn't it?) It is notable for being the first African adventure published in the English language and it is credited with creating a new category of book: the "lost world" genre. (Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King also falling into this genre.) Not bad for a book that was written as a result of a five shilling wager against his brother who bet that Haggard couldn't write a book half as good as Treasure Island, eh?! Publishers had trouble keeping up with the public demand for more copies. I think that's a sound win.

Modern readers of this book will, of course, notice how completely politically uncorrect this book is. Haggard describes elephant hunts that just about make one's stomach turn. He notes the love of ivory tusks which is sure to raise the hackles of more than one reader these days. Also, he addresses the African natives in terminology which we no longer use and which I found off putting at best. However, when you consider the fact that Haggard had traveled Africa extensively and had a great respect for Africans you might soften up a bit. While there is room to howl about vocabulary and labels, you also must quickly consider that Haggard did two things in this book which were unique to the time this book was written:

1. He made some of the Africans people of distinction and addressed them as "gentleman." He made them intelligent and not - as was common for the time - barbaric. He elevated their status, giving some of them prime roles into the story which was then unusual.

2. Also of interest, he created a biracial romantic relationship between a white man and a black woman. This had never been done before and is worthy of note.

This to say that King Solomon's Mines expresses much less racism than other books of the day and even "broke the mold" to some degree.

Now, the 1950 version of the movie is supposed to be a fairly good adaptation and I'm looking forward to seeing it although I think C.S. Lewis has greatly dampened my enthusiasm for it. Interested in hearing his take? Here you go:

"I was once taken to see a film version of King Solomon's Mines. Of its many sins —not least the introduction of a totally irrelevant young woman in shorts who accompanied the three adventurers wherever they went—only one here concerns us. At the end of Haggard's book, as everyone remembers, the heroes are awaiting death entombed in a rock chamber and surrounded by the mummified kings of that land. The maker of the film version, however, apparently thought this tame. He substituted a subterranean volcanic eruption, and then went one better by adding an earthquake. Perhaps we should not blame him. Perhaps the scene in the original was not 'cinematic' and the man was right, by the canons of his own art, in altering it. But it would have been better not to have chosen in the first place a story which could be adapted to the screen only by being ruined. Ruined, at least, for me. No doubt if sheer excitement is all you want from a story, and if increase of dangers increases excitement, then a rapidly changing series of two risks (that of being burned alive and that of being crushed to bits) would be better than the single prolonged danger of starving to death in a cave. But that is just the point. There must be a pleasure in such stories distinct from mere excitement or I should not feel that I had been cheated in being given the earthquake instead of Haggard's actual scene. What I lose is the whole sense of the deathly (quite a different thing from simple danger of death)—the cold, the silence, and the surrounding faces of the ancient, the crowned and sceptred, dead. You may, if you please, say that Rider Haggard's effect is quite as 'crude* or 'vulgar' or 'sensational' as that which the film substituted for it. I am not at present discussing that. The point is that it is extremely different. The one lays a hushing spell on the imagination; the other excites a rapid flutter of the nerves. In reading that chapter of the book curiosity or suspense about the escape of the heroes from their death-trap makes a very minor part of one's experience. The trap I remember for ever: how they got out I have long since forgotten." C.S. Lewis, On Stories

I'll probably see the movie anyway. But I don't think I'm going to like the ending very much.

I am very glad that Sky chose this book for us to read last month. It's definitely a tale that will stick with me and I look forward to passing it along to my own kids when they are some bit older. For a moment in time, the pleasure of this book is mine and I'm happy.

If you didn't get around to reading it this past month, put it on your reading list and find some time for it in the future. It's a pretty engaging read.

Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge 2014

Do you know what today is?!!

It's the start of the FIFTH annual Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge. That's what today is. (It's also Canada Day, the 182nd day of the year, International Tartan Day and Olivia de Haviland's birthday. But mostly it marks the start of this reading challenge.)

And what is the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge? It's an excuse to spend a month reading as much Narnia as you can, that's what!

That's right, friends. I'm giving you - as a gift - the entire month of July to revel in the individual stories in The Chronicles of Narnia. You can watch the movies (if you can stomach them), listen to audio books/dramatizations, or read books about Narnia or C.S. Lewis. I give you full permission (if you were looking for such a thing).

As you proceed through this challenge, write up various posts about what you have read sharing your thoughts and impressions of the stories. On Thursday, July 31st we will conclude the challenge and, at that time, I will invite you to share your posts with us.

If you are participating in this challenge, please leave a comment below stating as much, and then feel free to add my Reading Challenge badge to your own post or blog sidebar with the following code:

<a href="http://www.readingtoknow.com/2014/07/chronicles-of-narnia-reading-challenge-2014.html"><img alt="Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge" border="0" src="http://www.bluecastlephoto.com/misc/chronicles-of-narnia.gif" /></a>

I love this challenge for myself and I have also been enjoying taking my children into Narnia with me. You can read of some of our past adventures here:

* In which we meet Aslan.

* Playing Narnia

* Fighting against the Queen of the Underworld

Make this month a fun one! Celebrate this glorious country with your kids by either introducing them to it or sharing in a new adventure. Share what you are learning about yourself or the characters in the stories with them (and with us)!

I hope you will consider joining in and I hope to hear from you if you do!

To Narnia and the North!

Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge 2014