"Ragtime" by E. L. Doctorow Book Review

Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ragtime is set in America at the beginning of the 20th century. Its characters: three remarkable families whose lives become entwined with people whose names are Henry Ford, Emma Goldman, Harry Houdini, J.P. Morgan, Evelyn Nesbit, Sigmund Freud, and Emilio Zapata.

It is a novel so original, so full of imagination and subtle pleasure, that to describe it further would only dilute the pure joy of reading. Turn to the first page. Begin. You will never have read anything like Ragtime before. Nothing quite like it has ever been written before.

This was a fantastic book! I recommend anyone in high school or older to read it. I had heard about this book because of a somewhat famous musical that is based on it, though I haven't seen it or heard any of its music so I couldn't tell you if they are at all alike. The musical did win a Tony though. Onto the book...

It's written so differently than what I am used to reading that it blew my mind! I actually kind of liked how the dialogue was written, without quotations, so it was like you could decide on your own whether the character said something or not. Realistically, they had to have said some or most of it, but they didn't have to say everything, the story could continue the way it was going regardless of whether one character said something or not. So some of it could be sitting there for just the reader to know about it, but the other characters may or may not have known anything more than what was told to them.

It was interesting that the author used one family whose members don't have names, or at least not important ones, to tell the history of the country's most famous people who shaped an era in everything; in media, beauty and style there was Evelyn Nesbit (who is the only person whom I was familiar with), in business there was J. P. Morgan and Henry Ford, in psychology there was Sigmund Freud (I loved the bit where the author says he took his vengeance on America by ruining sex for everyone which is so true), in entertainment there was Harry Houdini (who is a fascinating person and I am going to hunt down a good biography of him and learn me some), and in politics there was Emma Goldman (who I didn't know existed before I got this book so one day I will learn about her as well). I'm really glad the family members didn't have names because sometimes I have trouble remembering characters who only appear every so often. I can remember 'Younger Brother', but I can't always remember who the hell 'Tom' (as an example) is supposed to be.

The most fascinating characters were the ones the author made up: Coalhouse Walker and Susan, Tateh and his daughter. Their growth over the course of the story is exactly the opposite of each other and I can't help but think that the author was trying to make a statement using them but I am too dumb to grasp it and put it into words. It is interesting that the author was able to use the gaps in time for all the really famous people and string them all together like he did.

A short and fast portrait of America's most famous people. Highly enjoyable and recommended.

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Five out of five Model Ts.

"A Fatal Likeness" Book Review

A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A mystery that explores the dark lives and unexplained secrets of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his wife Mary, author of Frankenstein.

"In the dying days of 1850 the young detective Charles Maddox takes on a new case. His client? The only surviving son of the long-dead poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, and his wife Mary, author of Frankenstein.

"Charles soon finds himself being drawn into the bitter battle being waged over the poet’s literary legacy, but then he makes a chance discovery that raises new doubts about the death of Shelley’s first wife, Harriet, and he starts to question whether she did indeed kill herself, or whether what really happened was far more sinister than suicide.

"As he’s drawn deeper into the tangled web of the past, Charles discovers darker and more disturbing secrets, until he comes face to face with the terrible possibility that his own great-uncle is implicated in a conspiracy to conceal the truth that stretches back more than thirty years.

"The story of the Shelleys is one of love and death, of loss and betrayal. In this follow-up to the acclaimed Tom-All-Alone’s, Lynn Shepherd offers her own fictional version of that story, which suggests new and shocking answers to mysteries that still persist to this day, and have never yet been fully explained."

Before I get started, I will say that I found this book enjoyable and the writing well done. Otherwise, I wouldn't have finished it and this review would just be a list of exasperated complaints.

However, I do have some nit-picking to do.

I must say that I do not like when a narrative goes back and forth between time periods. Specifically, some time in the past and then the current state of affairs. Now, if that actually means a damn to the story, like it is a major part of the plot, then fine, do that, so long as it is sensible. What the author did here, and I don't know if she does it in all of her work, was irritating because it reminded me that she existed and it didn't move the story along. It seemed to always give information that wasn't necessary to be read and almost seemed like she was showing off her research skills in odd moments. I know there is a narrator and that guy knows everything because we're reading this story 200 years in the future, but having that show up slows the pacing of the story and must of it doesn't help me if the character doesn't know about it.

Also, the mentioning that we, the reader, probably know what happened to the main character because we may possibly have read the first book (I didn't), is annoying. Particularly when the narrator goes, "He did this (but YOU know that)". I know the author didn't want to repeat themselves, but there must have been a more elegant way of doing that.

I found the accents perfect, because I knew where they were from and could read them. I have read some characters with accents and had to have it translated like it was a different language (Dracula, anyone?).

I said it before in one of my updates, but I'll say it again: "I find it funny that the author of a British detective novel would mock the character of Sherlock Holmes - even though her detective wouldn't be able to hold a candle to him: he's both stupid (or at least among these particular clients - the only reason he is getting ahead is because some other detective has done the work for him by writing it down) and overemotionally involved in his cases." The movie about Holmes came out recently, you're British, you're writing about a detective that is logical and has scientific methods, and has a disdain for his appearance (unless it will help a case). Am I really supposed to think of someone other than Holmes? You brought this upon yourself, Ms. Shepherd!

It is interesting that she should choose such a famed and literary family to slander in this book. I'm sure there are Romantic fans out there getting their pitchforks and torches ready. I did love "Frankenstein" (the book); it is one of my all-time favorites. But even still, I only found it somewhat irksome that Mary Shelley's character is besmirched so much in this book. (view spoiler)[I always thought her to be a young woman in love with odd ideals not suited to her time, but not so much child-killing, murderous bitch. (hide spoiler)] She does mention after the epilogue that she made up most of it to make a more interesting story, but it is still plausible. After reading about Lord Byron, it wouldn't surprise me if any of them were just as bad. He was a monster, if not an outright sociopath.

It was a typical detective novel, you figured things out as you went. I was very satisfied with the ending - (view spoiler)[though what was up with that girl dying? You had to have a sad ending, didn't you? (hide spoiler)] Overall, a decent book. I enjoyed myself, but I'm not sure I would read more of Ms. Shepherd's work.

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I bequeath this book 3 out of 5 stars. 

Musical Review: "Elisabeth: Das Musical Live aus dem Theater an der Wien"

Picture taken from here.

"Elisabeth is a Viennese, German-language musical commissioned by the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW), with book/lyrics by Michael Kunze and music by Sylvester Levay. It portrays the life and death of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I. It has been translated into seven languages and seen by over ten million spectators worldwide, making it the most successful German-language musical of all time.

"The musical tells the story of Elisabeth ("Sisi") played by the amazing Maya Hakvoort, the Empress of Austria, from her engagement and marriage in 1854 to her murder in 1898 at the hands of the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni (Serkan Kaya), through the lens of her growing obsession with Death (Máté Kamarás) as her marriage and her empire crumble around her at the turn of the century.

"The show opens in the 'nightly world of the dead and the dreamers', where Luigi Lucheni is being interrogated by a Judge as to why he has murdered the Empress Elisabeth. Lucheni claims that he did no more than what Elisabeth herself wanted, since all her life Elisabeth has been in love with Death himself - and vice versa. As his witnesses, Lucheni brings back the dead aristocracy of the bygone era and takes us to the past, where he serves as a sarcastic narrator of the events that lead to the transformation of the sweet and innocent Sisi to the revered and infamous Elisabeth, Empress of Austria and Hungary, and her decline through later years until her assassination." (Source here.)

Maya Hakvoort as Elisabeth and Mate Kamaras as Der Tod/Death.
Picture found here.

Now, it would seem that I have given away the plot, but if you're a fan of European history, specifically the royal houses, then you might already know of the 'romantically' tragic circumstances of the Empress Elisabeth. I should also note that while this musical is not very well known to people in the United States, and other English-speaking countries, I assume, it has been staged in Germany, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, and South Korea. As such, it is the most popular musical to come out of Germany. I'm sure it will be translated eventually, though the symbolism used in the musical might need some toning down before it hits up the American audience, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Michael Shawn Lewis
as Raoul.
You're welcome.
Picture found here.

The only reason I found out about this musical is because I have an odd fascination with Michael Shawn Lewis, I saw him onstage as Raoul in "The Phantom of the Opera" in 2005 and he is the most handsome man I have ever seen in person. Anyway, he played the Kaiser, Elisabeth's husband, Franz Joseph I, on the stage in Essen, Germany in 2001. You can see some of that performance here and here. And as an added bonus, here he is playing Rudolf in another charity performance of some sort; he's kind of too tall for that part, but still, gotta love those leather pants! 

(From L to R) Andre Bauer,
Maya Hakvoort, and Mate Kamaras.
Picture found here.

Onto the DVD:

The story was already very compelling, but Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay did a masterful job interpreting the history and bringing it to life on the stage. What I liked most was that the characters weren't stick thin portrayals of the real people. They made mistakes, they weren't aware of things and they were very emotional, which I loved. Elisabeth could've easily been just a poor victim of some horrible mental abuse at the hands of her mother-in-law and, to a lesser extent, her foolish husband. But no, they had it so that you knew that she had some flaws. Mind you, they were minor faults in comparison to what she ended up dealing with.

An example of the set:
a picture frame that the
actress steps out of.
Picture found here.

The sets and costumes are absolutely gorgeous! Reinhard Heinrich was in charge of the wonderful costumes and Erich Dorfinger was responsible for the sumptuous set designs. I loved the dream world quality to everything.

Now, I don't know much of the story, I've never read about Empress Elisabeth (which I will remedy as soon as possible), but I have read that the Kaiser did in fact love his wife and that shows. But he was in thrall to his mother to such an extent as to let her hurt Sisi. That seems pretty stupid of him, (Spoiler alert) especially since she keeps leaving because of it and he doesn't seem to change his behavior after that. It's a shame he lost so many of his relatives, helped start World War I, and created the foundation for a future Nazi party. It makes me question whether I'm even supposed to like this character, because I do feel very sorry for him. André Bauer played him very well with this certain amount of detached sentiment. 

Serkan Kaya as Luigi Lucheni.
Picture found here.

The narrator, Luigi Lucheni, played by Serkan Kaya, was amazing! I expected not to like him and he was so funny and I connected with him in a way that I couldn't connect with the royals. Another stand out was Johann Ebert who played the young version of Crown Prince Rudolf and he was so cute and adorable! Also, an awesome performer for such a young thing. 

Máté Kamarás was fantastic as Der Tod, or the personification of Death. He has such an unusual voice and an incredible stage presence. Cold but sexy, too. 

The music is nothing short of amazing! So many great songs: 'Der Letzte Tanz', 'Ich Gehor Nur Mir', 'Elisabeths Schlafzimmer', 'Nichts, Nichts, Gar Nichts', 'Der Schatten Werden Langer', 'Eine Terrasse Bei Cap Martin', and 'An Deck Der Sinkenden Welt'.

If I had one criticism to this dvd, it would be that every time a scene ended, they would cut away to the audience and every time I felt like it was taking me out of the performance a little bit. And I found that annoying. Don't break the spell damnit!

This gets 5 out of 5 tragic comedy masks!

I totally recommend this DVD if you enjoy musicals and don't mind just watching and listening to a foreign language because there weren't any subtitle options. The music is fantastic and a feast for the eyes. I hope that one day this is translated into English so I can understand it a bit more clearly. I would like to get a copy of the performance that happened in Essen, Germany in 2001, so I can see my man, as well as Pia Douwes and Jesper Tyden! But until I can scrounge one up, this one is perfect.

UPDATE: If you wanted to watch the whole show, with English subtitles no less, go here.

"Leviathan" Book Review

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

"Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

"With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever."

Excellent book! I'm loving this series! I can't wait to get my mitts on the second book!

Usually I don't like steampunk stories - usually they rely way too much on mechanics that I cannot see to tell the story and it becomes dry just reading description after description. But this one is good and fully realized.

I am so sympathetic to Alek and Deryn is so awesome! I love this history and how it was set up for the Great War. After reading the book, even though I know this is fiction, it's hard to think the Germans and Serbs weren't just itching for a war and those two people had to be killed to start it. I wondered how the disproved that theory.

The technical machines were things I had already read and seen, so that was interesting but also kind of old hat. But the animal fabricated things were fascinating. Probably only something you would see in straight up science fiction, steampunk not quite being science fiction or historical fiction. (I don't really read science fiction, so I'm assuming here.)

I also love the artwork - it is brilliant and beautiful and exciting. And to be honest even with Mr. Westerfeld's excellent descriptions I had trouble picturing everything - so technical and weird - so that helped a lot.

I'm enjoying this immensely. I might even read Mr. Westerfeld's other books. I would compare this to the "Peter Pan and the Starcatchers" series in terms of how good it is and I loved that series.

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I give this book 5 out of 5 books.

"Sutton" Book Review

Sutton by J.R. Moehringer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
"Willie Sutton was born in the squalid Irish slums of Brooklyn, in the first year of the twentieth century, and came of age at a time when banks were out of control. If they weren't failing outright, causing countless Americans to lose their jobs and homes, they were being propped up with emergency bailouts. Trapped in a cycle of panics, depressions and soaring unemployment, Sutton saw only one way out, only one way to win the girl of his dreams.

"So began the career of America's most successful bank robber. Over three decades Sutton became so good at breaking into banks, and such a master at breaking out of prisons, police called him one of the most dangerous men in New York, and the FBI put him on its first-ever Most Wanted List.

"But the public rooted for Sutton. He never fired a shot, after all, and his victims were merely those bloodsucking banks. When he was finally caught for good in 1952, crowds surrounded the jail and chanted his name.

"Blending vast research with vivid imagination, Pulitzer Prize winner J.R. Moehringer brings Willie Sutton blazing back to life. In Moehringer's retelling, it was more than poverty or rage at society that drove Sutton. It was one unforgettable woman. In all Sutton's crimes and confinements, his first love (and first accomplice) was never far from his thoughts. And when Sutton finally walked free - a surprise pardon on Christmas Eve, 1969 - he immediately set out to find her.

"Poignant, comic, fast-paced and fact-studded, Sutton tells a story of economic pain that feels eerily modern, while unfolding a story of doomed love that is forever timeless."(overview via Barnes and Noble)

This is a beautifully written fictionalized biography of William Francis Sutton, a notorious figure known for his charm and nonviolent bank robberies and jewel heists. Though not as well known today as a few of his colleagues, Capone and Dillinger just to name a few, he was one of the most sought after criminals of his time. But also a sort of folk hero, like Robin Hood.

A product of his environment, the banks owned much while people starved and lived on the streets thereby developing a heavy dislike for the rich, he's also charismatic and highly intelligent, escaping prison multiple times and reading the great literary classics and becoming an avid gardener while stuck inside.

It was interesting to meet all of the real-life characters that made up his friends and associates. I would love to read a biography of that lawyer, Samuel Untermyer, he sounds absolutely fascinating.

I felt so bad for Sutton at times, though he was so intelligent and planned his crimes so well, his accomplices would usually screw something up or turn out to be a rat. He couldn't catch a break half of the time. And that had to be one of the worst cases of police brutality I have ever read.

Probably one of the better books I've read all year, I really enjoyed it and hope to read more from the author.

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"The Silver Blade" Book Review

The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"A stirring tale of magic and revolution- fans of The Red Necklace won't want to miss it. The year is 1794. With his beloved Sido safely in England and the Reign of Terror at its height, mysterious Yann returns to revolutionary France to smuggle out aristocratic refugees who will otherwise face the guillotine. But while the two are apart, Yann's Gypsy origins prejudice Sido's guardian against their marriage, thwarting their longed-for reunion. When Sido is kidnapped under strange circumstances, however, Yann must use all his strength and courage to outwit the evil Count Kalliovski, rescue Sido, and help save all of France.

"As she did in The Red Necklace and the award-winning I, Coriander, Sally Gardner spins an epic tale that combines a vivid sense of history, characters full of Dickensian drama and fascination, and a sizzling adventure with touches of magic and romance."

I liked this part of the series, but I think the first book was better. But I felt as if this book could've used a better editor in some places. I also thought that Anselm's part of the story could've ended differently, more drastically maybe. But otherwise I liked it.

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"The Complete Sherlock Holmes Vol. 1" Book Review

The Complete Sherlock Holmes 1 by Arthur Conan Doyle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

• New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars
• Biographies of the authors
• Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events
• Footnotes and endnotes
• Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work
• Comments by other famous authors
• Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations
• Bibliographies for further reading
• Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

"All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works."
Excellent stories and excellent characters! Why have I not read these before?! They should be a part of some high school or literature course somewhere. Americans really should take more British authors seriously. There are only so many plays of Shakespeare and so many novels of Jane Austen to choke over. I find the title kind of funny though: "The Complete Sherlock Holmes: Volume 1". I would hate to see the size of the book that contained both volumes.


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"The Little Book" Book Review

The Little Book by Selden Edwards
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"An irresistible triumph of the imagination more than thirty years in the making, The Little Book is a breathtaking love story that spans generations, ranging from fin de siècle Vienna through the pivotal moments of the twentieth century.

"The Little Book is the extraordinary tale of Wheeler Burden, California-exiled heir of the famous Boston banking Burdens, philosopher, student of history, legend's son, rock idol, writer, lover of women, recluse, half-Jew, and Harvard baseball hero. In 1988 he is forty-seven, living in San Francisco. Suddenly he is - still his modern self - wandering in a city and time he knows mysteriously well: fin de siècle Vienna. It is 1897, precisely ninety-one years before his last memory and a half-century before his birth.

"It's not long before Wheeler has acquired appropriate clothes, money, lodging, a group of young Viennese intellectuals as friends, a mentor in Sigmund Freud, a bitter rival, a powerful crush on a luminous young American woman, a passing acquaintance with local celebrity Mark Twain, and an incredible and surprising insight into the dashing young war-hero father he never knew.

"But the truth at the center of Wheeler's dislocation in time remains a stubborn mystery that will take months of exploration and a lifetime of memories to unravel and that will, in the end, reveal nothing short of the eccentric Burden family's unrivaled impact on the very course of the coming century. The Little Book is a masterpiece of unequaled storytelling that announces Selden Edwards as one of the most dazzling, original, entertaining, and inventive novelists of our time."
It was very good. I loved the way it was written with so many details. But I feel it went a bit slowly. That may be because there was so much to remember and absorb. Overall, a wonderful and beautiful book.

UPDATE: I also want to point out that this book introduced me to the tragic story of Empress Elisabeth. She is only mentioned within the story when the main character meets her and asks her for help, but it's a part I remember very well.

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"Paths of Glory" Book Review

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Some people have dreams that are so magnificent that if they were to achieve them, their place in history would be guaranteed. Francis Drake, Robert Scott, Charles Lindbergh, Amy Johnson, Edmund Hilary, Neil Armstrong, and Lewis and Clark are among such individuals.

"But what if one man had such a dream, and once he’d fulfilled it, there was no proof that he had achieved his ambition?

"Jeffrey Archer’s latest book, Paths of Glory, is the story of such a man---George Mallory. Mallory once told an American reporter that he wanted to climb Mt. Everest, 'because it’s there.' On his third attempt in 1924, at age thirty-seven, he was last seen six hundred feet from the top. His body was found in 1999, and it still remains a mystery whether he ever reached the summit.

"But only after you’ve turned the last page of this extraordinary novel, inspired by a true story, will you be able to decide if George Mallory’s name should be added to the list of legends, in which case another name would have to be removed. Paths of Glory is truly a triumph."
As fabulously well-done as this book was, it has only made me crave for more information regarding this singular person. I enjoyed the book a lot. Found Mallory himself fascinating, as well as his relationship with his family and comrades and one other singular man named Finch. Wonderful book. I recommend it and I hope to read more of this author's work.

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