Through the Woods by Emily Carroll

Through the Woods by Emily Carroll. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2014. Hardcover. 208 pages.

This is, hands down, a book that I will come back to many times to reread over and over.  I received this book as a gift a few months ago and had yet to dive in, but I've been in a little bit a slump - what with university and other books I've been reading - and I knew I wanted something refreshing, short, and captivating. Through the Woods delivered all of those things and added more than I imagined.

Through the Woods contains a few relatively short, quick stories, but they have so many layers and so much depth that I truly feel like I would never get tired of them. These tales are all undeniably beautiful, haunting, and spine-tingling. Emily Carroll is a master at telling stories that say a great deal in very few words. The images contribute wonderfully and convey just as much as each word, causing both elements work hand-in-hand. This book is mystifying, beautiful, terrifying, and captivating. I'm not so sure I would recommend reading it at night (unless you're into feeling terrified alone in the dark). Though to be honest, I feel like this would be so much fun to read on a stormy night with some soft lighting (or candles) either by yourself or reading aloud with a few friends or family members. That would bring this book to a whole other level... but I digress.

The pages and illustrations are gorgeous. I love the glossy pages with colors so vibrant you feel like you're holding a much more expensive book in your hands. (I felt overwhelmed with how beautiful it is.) The colors are so vibrant and have a wonderfully haunting quality due to their vibrant hues - the reds and blacks dominate and draw attention to the most captivating parts of each image. It's truly a masterpiece.

Overall, Through the Woods will be receiving a very ecstatic five stars. Go read it!

                          

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You might also like:
Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio, illustrated by WIlliam Stadht
Black Chalk by Christopher J. Yates
Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie

**Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie is out in two weeks on Tuesday, September 8th! Don't forget to pick it up from your favorite bookseller!**

Two Year Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie. Random House Publishing; 2015. 304 pages. Ebook. 

***I received an advanced copy of this book to read and review courtesy of NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group***

I consider myself to be a rather eclectic reader; I can enjoy something in almost any genre, and I can, in a rather chameleon-like fashion, alter my state of mind to various styles of writing. Unfortunately, I couldn't get myself to enjoy this particular novel.

As a result of this, I have officially decided that Salman Rushdie's writing is simply not for me. That is not to say that it is not wonderful writing, as Rushdie has a lovely prose with intricate stories and details, but rather that his writing is just not my type of writing. I have read Midnight's Children and I began (though was unable to finish) The Satanic Verses. I did enjoy Midnight's Children, but I never really fell in love with either of his works. I read both of those a while ago, so I figured I would give Rushdie one more go. Unlike Midnight's Children, there are not hundreds of made-up words that will confuse you - a huge relief to me, I assure you. Two Year Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights is classified as magical realism, but it has plenty of much more fantastical elements to satisfy any fantasy-lover out there.

In brief, Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights follows the story of Dunia, a jinn princess who, unlike normal jinn, falls in love with a mortal man and produces an abundance of offspring with him (seriously - we're talking births of ten to twenty kids at once here, supposedly) over two years, eight months, and twenty-eight nights. Eventually, years and years later, there is a great, unprecedented storm in New York that leaves the descendants of Dunia and her mortal man with strange powers: one man discovers he has begun to levitate off the ground and can longer put his own feet on solid ground; a baby is able to detect the corruption of any one person by merely touching them. All of this culminates in a struggle between dark and light forces, in which her descendants play a large and important part.

There are countless metaphors, symbolism, themes, and underlying messages that I think gives each reader the opportunity to dissect and devour it in their own way. Rushdie's prose is magical in itself: his words float along, perfectly capturing each moment before flowing smoothly into the next. Even in his long (very long), drawn-out informational lectures about the jinn, his words still read in a very lovely and elegant manner. It truly is magical novel, and the overall foundation of the novel is actually rather exciting and intriguing. I love hearing the details of the jinn and the overall fantasy/fairy story elements. Oh, and if there's one thing that one hundred percent, without a doubt understand and can take away from this story? The jinn really, really love sex.

The characters were hard for me to relate to. I felt a rather constant disconnect, and I felt more like an outsider viewing their stories from a great distance than actually being in and a part of their lives as I read along to find out what happens. Dunia is an intriguing character; the jinn don't normally feel many human-like emotions, nor do they generally consort with them, so she becomes unique in her relations with Ibn Rushd, her mortal lover. She tends to float back and forth between worlds, and provides a rather mysterious and complicated character for us to follow.

This is a dense book; the stories intermingle, the writing intermingles, and it continues to become more and more complex as it carries on. I found myself feeling confused and lost at multiple instances throughout the book. I honestly struggled to finish this, but something was tugging at me to carry on (plus, I knew I really wanted to write a review for it). The abundance of metaphors quickly become tangled up in one another, and I soon found myself losing interest at various points. The best way to describe my enjoyment of this novel is with the notion of random spurts of enthusiasm. I would be slogging through a particularly dense or uninteresting part, only to suddenly find myself enraptured in what was happening (I particularly enjoyed reading scenes with Mr. Geronimo). To me, this is a rather accurate depiction of the entire book: it has a somewhat random setup of involved scenes mixed with drier, more textbook-like informational writing. (Side note: I really love this cover, I think it adds a very simplistic yet symbolic image of the contents of the novel. It fits wonderfully - good job, designers!)

Overall, I am giving Two Year Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights  three stars, as it was both intriguing and beautifully written, but also confusing and lacking in engagement. I would recommend this to any who loves mythology, fairy tales, fantasy, magical realism, or deep, complex novels that seem to thrive on in-depth story lines. However, as I mentioned above, I do think this particular novel requires a certain type of reader, though I would encourage anyone interested to give it a try - you might just love it.

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Helen of Troy by Margaret George

Helen of Troy by Margaret George. Penguin Books; 2007. 638 pages. Paperback/Softcover.

This massive tome by Margaret George tells the story of Helen of Troy, the woman whose "face launched a thousand ship." Married to Menelaus, she becomes queen of Sparta and endures a marriage lacking passion or desire. The gods, however (specifically Aphrodite), have other plans for Helen, and she becomes enamored with Paris of Troy, eventually running away with him and igniting the the infamous Trojan War.

I really, really wanted to love this book. I so badly did. I'm a classics major, so this is basically what I live and breathe and am obsessed with. It was a wonderfully written, extremely interesting book to read, but, unfortunately, I had a big problem with the characters - specifically Helen and Paris. I completely understand where this story is coming from and why the characters act in the manner that they do, but I became so annoyed with them at various times throughout the novel. At points, I really just wanted to grab and shake them while telling them to stop complaining - you brought this on yourself, so now live with your consequences. They knew this would happen (damn Greeks always trying to ignore and hide from prophecy when we all know it comes true every. single. time) I was also disappointed with the fact that Helen and Paris' affair never really moved me. I didn't feel caught up in their deep, passionate love; in fact, I almost didn't care. I almot wished Helen had just stayed at home in Sparta. I could obviously see how passionate they were, but I didn't really become a part of it like I had hoped I would. I never really enjoyed or liked Paris' character; he was rather bland and one dimensional. This also moves into the fact that while the story itself was supposed to be extremely emotional and heart-wrenching, it was actually rather emotionless. While the dialogue relating to war and politics sounded very accurate and real, the dialogue concerning emotions, such as between Paris and Helen, was lacking any real meaning, and again, made it hard to care or become invested in their story.

That little rant aside, it was a actually lovely book otherwise. I know, I probably sound contradictory. But honestly, it was beautifully written. The other characters were depicted wonderfully and I truly enjoyed them. The writing was seamless and poetic; it almost begs you to read it slowly in order to fully appreciate the beauty that can be found.

This is definitely a dense book, and it took me a bit longer to get through than other books of this side. There is a lot of information about the characters, politics, war, etc., and it can be a bit heavy and dull at times. I really appreciate the obvious amount of research and effort George went to in order to create an as-accurate-as-possible account of Helen and her involvement with the Trojan War, as it was by far one of the better retellings of Greek mythology that I have read. If she had taken that research and developed a slightly more emotional story, it would have made a much more intriguing novel.

Overall, I'm giving Helen of Troy three-and-a-half stars. I had a really hard time deciding between three and four, so I decided half works well. The story was written beautifully, but the characters lacked depth, and that was a pretty big problem for me, personally.

Books similar to Helen of Troy:

The Creation of Eve by Lynn Cullen

Both novels share a vibrant and elaborate storyline set in a richly described setting. The Creation of Eve centers on a female Renaissance Painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, as she becomes a painting teacher to Queen Elisabeth, wife of King Felipe II of Spain.

Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund

Much like Helen of Troy, Abundance focuses on a first person female narrative that is full of lyrical, poetic descriptions. Abundance follows the life of Marie Antoinette from her marriage to the Dauphin Louis XVI of France to her death in 1793.

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Weekly Wrap-Up 2/22-2/28

Since I'm finally starting to have a bit more spare time, I'm going to be start doing more weekly updates, possibly daily updates/themed posts. So to start that off, here is my weekly wrap-up for this week!

This week was a pretty slow week as far as finishing any books. However, I did manage to finish Sea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong. I really enjoyed it, and should have a review up by the end of the weekend!

Currently Reading:

Centurion by O.C. Shaw (courtesy of NetGalley)
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (AMAZING)
Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch 

I'm hoping to finish these either this weekend or the beginning of next week, so then I can finally get around to finishing The Song of Achilles!

What books did you guys read this week?

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Daughter of Smoke and Bone, by Laini Taylor. Little, Brown; 2014. 448 pages. Ebook.

I loved this book. I really, truly did.

The backstory (skip if uninterested): I first heard about it a couple of years ago when it first came out, thought it sounded interesting... but then quickly forgot about it and moved on. I don't think it particularly stuck out to me at the time. Then, as the years progressed, I kept seeing and hearing more and more about this book, and I added it back to my "to read soon" shelf. I finally picked it up (and bypicked it up, I mean checked it out from an online  library - heck yeah, love those things) on my Kindle. I don't really like reading on my Kindle, but I had absolutely no problem making it through this one.

However, I find it necessary to clarify: just because one may love a book, it does not mean that there were not elements that I did not enjoy. Okay, clarification over.

The review:

Laini Taylor is a serious master wordsmith. Her writing is a lyrical, flowing masterpiece. She knows exactly how to craft her sentences and words to create a perfect scene or emotion. With Taylor, simple says a lot. I can honestly say that her writing did not appear cliche'd in any manner, and truly seemed unique. It really helped with the creation of the world she has created, a world that is truly entertaining and remarkable. Taylor has also been able to incorporate some truly marvelous humour into her narrative that really brings color and life into the story.

Another aspect that I really enjoyed about this book was the characters. Taylor has created an extremely vibrant cast, each with their own distinct personality. They really have depth, as well, which, sadly, I have not been able to find lately in a lot of books. It was so entertaining to read the banter that went back and forth between the various characters. I also really liked the fact that her characters were so real. By that I mean that they weren't perfect. They make mistakes, they say and do stupid things, and they have realistic personalities ad reactions.

The only thing that I wasn't a huge fan of was the shifting perspectives and storylines. I tend to get confused fairly easily with books when they do this, and to be honest it just annoys me, so this bothered me a bit. However, I will say that it did not negatively impede the story or flow, and as you can see, I was still able to really enjoy the story.

I realize that this review has been slightly vague, lacking details about specific characters and such, but I really feel that this is a book that you should go into knowing the basic plot of, but not knowing too much about (not that it's bad if you know a lot). I honestly did not know much, and it just seemed to make it much more enjoyable for me.

So if you, like me, have been putting this book off for a while, don't do it any longer. Pick it up as soon as you can and just allow yourself to get sucked into this truly remarkable world. I've been in a  little bit of a reading rut lately, and it's been hard for me to lose myself in a book like I used to. With this book, however, it was so easy. Go grab a copy, and don't put it down.