The Miracles of Santo Fico

I picked up this novel at a book sale last year having been attracted to it because of its setting in Tuscany. However, I became slightly dubious when I picked it off the bookshelf recently and realised that it was a withdrawn library book that had never been borrowed. Well, all I can say is that those City of Sydney Library borrowers missed out on a really great read; I loved it!

Santo Fico is a tiny, forgotten village in Tuscany. Leo Pizzola has recently returned there after spending 20 years in America - he can't wait to leave again, but has no money. As a child he used to show visiting tourists a brilliant fresco in the church (a quite lucrative occupation). Serendipitously, shortly after his return a busload of lost tourists turn up in the town and he reprises his role. Soon, other tourists start to detour to Santo Fico to see the fresco and Leo is making money fast. Unfortunately a severe earthquake hits, partially destroying the church and in the chaos Leo, and his old childhood friend Topo strip the fresco off the wall and hide it.

The resident parish priest is Father Elio, a very disheartened fellow because most of his flock seem to have abandoned their faith, is so distressed by the disappearance of the fresco that he has a crisis of faith. He believes God is punishing him for something (we are not told what until later in the novel). He decides to do penance by fasting. His niece Marta observed Leo and Topo stealing the picture and tells them she will go to the police unless they produce a miracle that restores her Uncle's faith (and stops him fasting himself to death). Leo and Topo are forced to orchestrate a series of man-made miracles, each more botched than the last, but the end results are miraculous:

"His life stretched out before him and for the first time he realised it had all been a miracle - everything - every day - every accident - every coincidence - every disappointment - every joy - all of it"

This is a beautiful novel. The author D.L. Smith has done a truly sterling job.

An Uncommon Reader

Another book I picked up from The Book Depository was Alan Bennet’s The Uncommon Reader. I was going to ask for this for a Christmas present but the rave reviews it has been getting over the blogosphere meant I couldn’t wait another 6 weeks to read it. I took it on the train on Friday, after being chastised by my Military Man for not finishing Mrs Beeton first, and finished it by half way through the trip home. I don’t think there is much point giving a lengthy plot summary here since the story is reasonably well known. In essence, the Queen stumbles across a visiting library van in the palace grounds, borrows a book (to be polite), gets bitten by the reading bug and then, much to the concern of those around her, neglects her royal duties because they interfere with her desire to read. The Uncommon Reader is a novella; brief and to the point, but oh so utterly charming.

Continuing with the Alan Bennet theme we went to see Talking Heads last night. This followed a very busy day….a dress rehearsal for my ballet concert started at 8am and didn’t finish until 2pm, then a rush to the North Shore for a cocktail party to celebrate my old school’s centenary, followed by an apologetic early departure to speed into town for Talking Heads. This version of Talking Heads comprised two monologues: Her Big Chance and Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet. Sigrid Thornton (of SeaChange and The Man From Snowy River) starred in Her Big Chance which is about a woman, Lesley, who clings to the memory of being a glorified extra in a Polanski film while becoming deeply involved in the adult porn industry. English actress Brenda Blethyn starred in Miss Fozzard Finds Her Feet - which was just brilliant! She played a spinster who has an unusual relationship with her chiropodist, Mr Dunderdale. Her comic timing was fantastic; such a privilege to be in the audience.

Miss Garnet's Angel

Sorry for not posting for a while. There has only been limited reading going on here. I had a bit of a shock over the weekend. My husband informed me that he has a 6 month deployment to Iraq next year. I realise that as a wife of a soldier I should be ready for this; but it is a different thing to know in theory they may go overseas, and to experience it in reality. Anyway, the news somewhat upset my equilibrium and tears (for several days) insued. Reading made difficult by sore, red eyes; and continuous drip onto page. Anyway, I am now somewhat recovered and am trying to see the positives in it. Still early days for seeing many; but one I can concieve is a 2 week reunion in Italy in the middle. This is pertinent because the novel I have been reading and loving is set in Venice - Miss Garnet's Angel by Salley Vickers - and my husband's means of breaking the news was to tell me he would take me to visit there...

When Miss Julia Garnet's friend, and 30 year live-in (platonic) companion, Harriet, dies she decides to rent out her apartment and spend 6 months living in Venice. When she leaves England she is a straight-laced individual, somewhat of a loner and, furthermore, a life-long committed Communist. However, Venice gently transforms her. First of all she is befriended by an American couple - the Cutforths. Then she falls in love with the suave Italian Carlo. She is disappointed, later, when she learns that he merely sees her as a means of getting at Nicco: a young boy to whom Julia is teaching English.

Julia also meets 'the twins' - Toby and Sarah who are restoring the Chapel-of-the-Plague. It is they who show her a panel representing the story of Tobias and the angel, Raphael; a tale from the Jewish bible - the Apocrypha. She becomes entraced with the story which unfolds simultaneously with Miss Garnet's experiences in Venice. She begins to envisage the angel and this frees her spirit, allowing her to embrace life like she never has before.

This is a beautiful story and fascinating with its links to the geography and history of Venice; and is made even more so because of the tie-in with the tale of Tobias and the Angel, Raphael.

Salley quotes John Ruskin in the end papers

"If some people really see angels, where others see empty space, let them paint the angels..."

Half of a Yellow Sun

I picked up Half of Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in a Borders 3 for 2 deal. I was keen to read it after I heard it had won the Orange Prize for Fiction this year. I read a previous Orange Prize winner (Small Island by Andrea Levy) earlier in the year and enjoyed it; ergo, I thought the Prize might be a sound indicator for a good read.

I found the novel interesting. Owing to my birth being in the mid 1980s, I wasn’t around in the 1960s to have been aware of the civil war in Nigeria during that period. Consequently, this was educational – not just a ‘fiction’ read. I must admit I struggled initially to get into Half of a Yellow Sun but my perseverance was rewarded and it proved itself a really worthwhile read.

Half of a Yellow Sun tells the story of three lives intersecting during the Nigeria – Biafra civil war. Ugwu is a poor boy who works as a houseboy for a university lecturer, Odenigbo (or Master as Ugwu refers to him when he is the narrator), and his wife, Olanna. Olanna has a twin sister, Kainene who is involved with a shy Englishman, Richard. Obviously, with the exception of Ugwu, they are all used to a fairly high standard of living.

All four Nigerian characters are part of the Igbo racial minority (Christians). First there is coup by Igbo members of the Nigerian Army, then they themselves are overthrown by the majority Muslim racial groups. There is widespread slaughter of the Igbo population in the north of the country. They retreat to the south establishing the independent state of Biafra. Civil war ensues and the characters, with the rest of the populace, struggle to survive (battling starvation). Relationships are tested and as Biafra’s demise becomes more evident they try to cope with their displacement to the bottom of the Nigerian social order.

More Maisie Dobbs

I have recently read two more Maisie Dobbs novels, and I have the fourth (and latest) one in the series dangling tantalisingly ahead of me. My darling husband brought it back for me from his last work trip away – and in the American hardback version!

If you would like to more about the character of Maisie Dobbs please see an earlier post of the 24th of August. Owing to time constraints this evening, I am just going to give a brief summary of the plots here. First, Birds of a Feather. Maisie is asked by Joseph Waite, a well-to-do food merchant, to find his daughter Charlotte who has run away from home. I should mention that Charlotte is a 30 year old woman. Maisie becomes concerned for her safety when she discovers that a growing number of the female friends of Charlotte’s youth have died in suspicious circumstances. Each time, a small white feather is found at the death scene. I can’t really say anymore without giving away the ending but, given that these books are set after WW1 I picked up on the significance of the white feather fairly early!

The third in the series is Pardonable Lies. Sir Cedric Lawton made a promise to his dying wife that he would find their son Ralph; shot down on a flying mission in France in 1917. His wife had always believed Ralph was alive, Sir Cedric asks Maisie to prove he is dead. Maisie’s good friend from her Cambridge days, Priscilla, also makes a personal request that Maisie find out what happened to her brother Peter Everndon who was reported missing, presumed dead. Shortly after her investigations commence, Maisie has attempts made on her life. Undeterred, she travels to France and soon realises that her two cases are interlinked…. Again, in the interests of not spoiling the ending for someone who might chance on this blog and decide to read the book; I say no more.

I love these books. They are gentle and imminently readable. They are the sort of book you look forward to work finishing for the day for; so you can be enveloped, once again, in a slowly unravelling yarn. On that note, I am taking my latest Maisie Dobbs and I am off to read…

Mistress of the Art of Death

I had read about the Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin on a book blog. I read quite a few in my down time at work and I don’t know which one this was on. Anyway, I saw it for $7 at QBD books and decided to give it a go.

Mistress of the Art of Death is set in medieval Cambridge. Several Christian children have been killed and the Jews of the city are being blamed. The King recruits a doctor who specialises in dead people from the School of Medicine in Salerno (relying on a favour from his friend, the King of Sicily). She (in the 12th century?) travels to the city and slowly deduces that (WARNING-possible spoiler) the killer must have been a crusader - and hence solves the mystery. I have mixed feelings about this book. The plot was interesting but it was too bloody in its descriptions for my liking. I like ‘clean murders’ where the emphasis is on the mystery rather than the death.

The Kite Runner

Well, I have so many books to post on as I have been rather remiss of late in keeping this blog updated. Anyway as my husband is away AGAIN this week I am going to post on the 6 books that I have read in recent weeks but haven’t posted on. I think I will do it as a gradual process though over the next few days.

I have been meaning to read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for several years; ever since I printed off Rory’s Reading List – I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan. For those who are not familiar with the programme, Rory was avid reader and there were regular references to literary classics and contemporary fiction. The book list compiled all those books which were referenced in the show. I have all 6 seasons on DVD, and one of the only positives I can see of my husband being away so much is that I can watch episodes without complaints!

Anyway, to the book! I enjoyed it. Amir grows up in Afghanistan. His mother died when he was born, and he and his father live with their servants Ali and Hassan (his son). From a young age Amir can sense that his father (Baba) disapproves of him. He is determined to win the annual kite fight to gain Baba’s approval. He succeeds and Hassan promises to run for the kite so Amir can present it to his father.

Having retrieved the kite, Hassan is caught by the local bullies who demand that he give it to them. Hassan will not and they rape him as punishment (also, in part, because Hassan is racially a Hazara -considered inferior by the dominant Pashtuns). Amir witnesses this but does not intervene. The rest of the story deals with how this lack of action affects him (mostly through the intense guilt) and the other characters in the story.

As a side issue, I read in the NYT last week that The Kite Runner has been made into a movie. It was filmed in Afghanistan. Apparently racial tensions are so heated between the Hazaras and Pashtuns that it is feared that the ‘rape scene’ is inflammatory enough that it might risk the lives of the young actors and their families. They are going to be relocated out of the country before the film is released!

The World According to Bertie

What can I say? I love Alexander McCall's Smith writing. I started this on Tuesday when I had a day off work, sick. I was trying to read Martha Grime's I Am the Only Running Footman for my Cosy September Mystery Challenge, but was struggling. AMS was light and readable - just what I needed.

The World According to Bertie is the latest 44 Scotland Street novel. I don't want to provide any spoilers because I think it is such fun to find out what each of the characters is up to as you read. You never know what will happen next in these stories; there are unexpected turns and events.

Still, a quote I thought worth of a post here comes from chapter 51 - So Many Books Unread and Bikes Uncycled:

And then, she thought, there were those books bought and not read. Somewhere there might be those who read each and every book they acquired - read them with attention and gravity and then put them carefully on a shelf, alongside other books that had received the same treatment. But for many books, being placed on the shelf was the full extent of their encounter with their owner. She smiled at the thought, remembering the anecdote about the late King George VI - she thought, or V perhaps, or even Edward VII - who was presented with a book by its author and said: "Thank you, Mr So-and-So, I shall put it on the shelf with all the other books." This was not meant to be a put-down to the author - it was, by contrast, a polite and entirely honest account of what would be done.

I must confess that this is what happens to a lot of my books. Though, I will not actually put a book on my shelves until it is read. The result: I have a built-in in the spare room which is piled with books! Does anyone else have a similar problem?

The Careful Use of Compliments

I was very excited this Tuesday as I had the opportunity to go and hear Alexander McCall Smith speak. As he is one of my favourite authors I couldn't pass it up. He is as entertaining in person as he is in his books. Anyway, I got copies of latest two The Careful Use of Compliments and The World According to Bertie. And, I got them signed! I was a little disappointed that I got starstruck when I met him and only managed to get a question in about when the next Von Igelfield novel will be published. FYI - it will be Christmas.

Thus far, I have managed to read The Careful Use of Compliments. For those acquanted with AMS's writing this is the fourth novel in the Isabel Dalhousie series. In this book she is in a relationship with Jamie (the ex-boyfried of her niece, Cat) and they have had a baby, Charlie, together. She discovers she has been dismissed from the editorship of the Review of Applied Ethics, and investigates a possible art fraud. I love AMS's writing because it is light and, yet, there are quite strong truths in it. For instance, I like the quote on page 182

"Jamie had looked at her and said, 'That's a very strange remark, Isabel. You talk complete nonsense sometimes. Flights of fancy'.

She had not minded. 'I like to think about things,' she said airily. 'I like to let my mind wander. Our minds can come up with the most entertaining possibilities, if we let them. But most of the time, we keep them under far too close a check.'"

As a side note, I had The Careful Use of Compliments sitting on my desk at work yesterday, having read it on the train going in. The day previous I had had A short history of tractors in Ukranian in the same place; a title my boss had taken note of. Yesterday he came over said "Oh, you've finished with the tractors. And now its, The Careful Use of Compliments. You do read some strange books!"

A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian

Well my Military Man is off at a Dining-In tonight so I am left alone to entertain myself. A good opportunity to post on a couple of books I have read this week. I have been meaning to read A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian for a while, after having heard an interview with Marina Lewycka on Classic FM. Last week I was taking a rain-avoidance shortcut through Borders (very dangerous), noticed it was on the 3-for-2 pile and couldn't resist. I must admit I initially had a bit of trouble getting into it. However, soon the quirky characters and the plot caught my attention. This book has certainly done the rounds of the book blogs already so there is probably not a lot of point giving a synopsis of the plot. In brief, it is the story of a Ukranian immigrant in his 80s who falls in love with a conniving 30-something Ukranian woman. His daughters set out to get her out of his life and out of Britain. Very amusing. I don't know whether I will make an effort to get hold of Marina Lewycka's second book, Strawberry Fields, just yet though as I notice that Dovegreyreader wasn't that impressed with it. I have a feeling that this style of writing might only work as a 'once off' as it is its uniqueness that makes it so interesting. Still, if a see a low priced copy......