From the Ashes (Ravenwood Mysteries Book 1) –by Sabrina Flynn

Fiction / Detective  / Historical

270 pages / 6397 KB

5 Stars

What a fun read! Turn of the century (1899) San Francisco. Atticus Riot returns from a long absence and wants only to stay retired and lick his wounds. Life has other plans for him, and he once again finds himself embroiled in a mystery as an unwilling detective, striving to find the missing wife/heiress before her kidnappers kill her.

Ms Flynn has done a remarkable job of creating the fog-drenched city and time of the era. The tale is told in different times, so pay attention to the chapter headings, when shown. I rather enjoyed her taking us fore and aft along the time continuum. 

I enjoyed the characters, and look forward to meeting them in future books (I believe there are currently 4 in publication). Yes, I solved part of it before the ending. Note, I said PART of it. The fun in mysteries is trying to figure out the who and the why, and then reading through to the end to see if I was correct. I give myself a C on that one. ;-)

I became very engrossed in the story, therefore, in my book; it is a perfect piece of fiction. The ending was satisfactory, albeit too soon. I really wanted to stay and play with the characters a bit longer. Escapism at it's best!

Bless Me, Ultima --by Rudolfo Anaya

Fiction / Coming of age / Magical Realism

276 pages / 1161 KB

5 Stars

Having recently moved to Albuquerque NM, and searching for books by local authors, I came across Bless Me, Ultima. Oh, what a warm and marvelous welcome to my new home!

Knowledge of some Spanish would be helpful, but not necessary, though the next time I read the book (oh, believe me, there will be a next time!) I will take the time to look up the words I couldn't figure out.

When Antonio is 6, the curandera who delivered him comes to live with his family. She has a special fondness for Antonio and takes him with her when she goes out to gather her herbs and medicines. She teaches him the proper way to harvest them, to talk to the plants, explain why he is taking a part of them.

His mother is a Luna, her people till the land; his father is a Marez, his people were free to ride the plains. Mama wants Antonio to become a Priest; Papa wants him to become a man of freedom. Antonio struggles to become Antonio.

I think this is one of, if not the, best coming of age I've read. I highly recommend the book. The writing is marvelous, the story compelling. An insight into a culture in the process of changing. 

The Snow Child: A Novel --by Eowin Ivey

Fiction 

404 pages / 1154 KB

5 Stars

Eowyn (pronounced A-o-win) Ivey, is one of my new favorite authors! She has taken an old fairy tale, which I remember reading as a child, and retold it in 1920s Alaska, and retold it beautifully.

Jack and Mable are an older couple, have suffered horrendous loss, and decide to homestead in the wilds of Alaska. She thought they would do it together, he decided she would take care of the cabin, he the hard stuff. She contemplates suicide. They barely spoke and one night it snowed, and they were outside and had a spontaneous snowball fight, they laughed, they hugged, they built a snow girl. 

The next morning, the snow girl was demolished and the knit mittens and scarf were missing.

Mabel's idea of partnership was hard won. Slowly, laughter came back to their lives, and a strange, snowgirl brought them new love in handmade birch baskets.

This is a magical, enchanting book, and one of the most beautiful ones I've read in some time. I vaguely remember I didn't care for the fairy tale as I read it, but I absolutely love this book. Huzzah! to Ms. Ivey!!

Hispanic Albuquerque, 1706-1846 --by Marc Simmons

Nonfiction / History 

164 pages

5 Stars

As a history buff, and new to Albuquerque, I asked the locals for some recommendations to get a bit of flavor of my new home. Marc Simmons's books were highly recommended, and this book in particular.

I enjoy reading a history that is, to my way of thinking, interestingly told, and not just "fact, date, fact, date." I had enough of the latter in school. Mr. Simmons gets extra points for not using endnotes. He also did not use footnotes. The book was as smooth a read as good fiction!

This is not a whitewash of how good the Spanish were, or how uncivilized the locals were. When two cultures meet there is bound to be disagreement between them. 

I do admit to wishing the book was longer, and perhaps even with footnotes. It is indexed and has a list of books at the end for further reading. Highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of Spanish Colonial times in New Mexico!