It's a busy week, but we've reached the midpoint. Time to link up with Kat and the Unravelers!
Today I've got a big WIP update: I've finished the body of my sweater!
I am hoping that once it's blocked it won't have that balloon effect just above the patterning at the bottom, but otherwise I am very happy with it. The pattern calls for finishing off the twisted ribbing option with a tubular bind-off, but I decided to bind off in pattern instead. For one thing, a tubular bind-off takes a long time, but mainly I don't like how it looks with twisted ribbing. I'd already departed from the instructions quite a bit by combining the two hem options, so what's another change at this point?
As for reading, it's been an interesting mix this past week.
Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser (digital)
My rating: 4 stars
I first heard about this book from
Bonny; I believe she read it as an ARC, so I had a bit of a wait for it to come out and then for the library hold list. But it was well worth the wait. This novel takes the story of Cinderella and reimagines it, in particular reframing it from the point of view of the so-called wicked stepmother. In Hochhauser's version, Etheldreda, the title character, was the daughter of a brewer who fell in love with the son of a wealthy family. Against all odds, they married and had children, only for him to die suddenly not long after. So Etheldreda found herself compelled to remarry in order to provide for her daughters -- only for her second husband to die, leaving her alone to provide for her daughters, her stepdaughter (here named Elin), and the two servants who stayed behind. Their existence is precarious, but Ethel has to keep up appearances so that her daughters can marry well and not starve. And then comes the invitation to the royal ball and the possibility of a royal match, which could solve all their problems -- but it soon becomes apparent that there is a troubling secret at the palace and a marriage with the prince might not be the good fortune it seems to be. I love how Hochhauser subverted the original marriage, making the stepmother's motivation for making her daughters cook, clean, and mend (Elin deems herself a lady and thus too delicate to do any real labor) a matter of critical importance to securing her daughters' future, for if they cannot marry, they cannot survive. And the prince is no Prince Charming; he may be charming and handsome, but that is only his public persona. Ethel is also a great character. She is determined to provide for her family, whatever it takes, and she's no shrinking violet. I really enjoyed my time with her.
by Janice Hadlow (audio)
My rating: 3.5 stars
If you are familiar with Pride and Prejudice, then you know that the middle Bennet sister, Mary, doesn't get much attention in the story. We know she's not especially pretty, wears glasses, and is rather stern and bookish. Here, Mary gets her own story. Roughly the first third of the book covers the original story, now with Mary's perspective, but then we move two years into the future. Mr. Bennet has died and Mr. and Mrs. Collins have taken over Longbourn, so Mary has to find her home with one sister or another, always feeling like she doesn't fit in. Eventually she finds her way to the Gardiners, her aunt and uncle, in London, and it's there that she finally starts to discover her true self. She makes the acquaintance of some eligible young men, and a bit of a love triangle ensues. I thought this book was generally an enjoyable continuation and reimagining of the original story, but I also thought it went on a little longer than necessary and the drama was perhaps not needed. The author also walked a fine line between paying homage to the original story and recreating some of its plot points with different characters.
by Louise Erdrich (paperback)
My rating: 3 stars
It's been far too long since I read any Erdrich, and this one has been on my TBR list for a long time. Irene discovers that her husband, Gil, a painter who has gotten famous by painting portraits of her, has been reading her diary. She starts a new one, a real one, that she stashes in her safe deposit box and begins making things up just to provoke him in the one that he reads in order to try to catch him. Their marriage is tumultuous; Irene is an alcoholic and Gil is occasionally violent toward both her and their children. And the children are aware of it all, dealing with it in different ways. Irene determines to leave Gil with the children, but she can't fully seem to leave him emotionally as well as physically. I have to say that this is probably my least favorite Erdrich novel of all that I've read to date (I think I have four left to read). While there's no doubting her ability to write, these people were so terrible to each other and made each other so miserable that it was hard to read. I was glad that it was a relative short book so that I could wrap up my time with this family and move on.
I'm currently reading
Switzy by Emma Cline and will be starting
Shift, the second book in the Silo series, on my run this morning.
What are you making and reading this week?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment! I try to reply to all comments if I can, but I can only do that if I have your email address. If yours isn't associated with your Blogger account and you'd like me to respond to your comments, please send me an email so I have it!