An affecting portrayal.
Weir’s erudition in matters royal finds fictional expression in the story of England’s briefest reigning sovereign, Lady Jane Grey.
Lady Jane is often viewed as merely pathetic. Who better to rehabilitate her than Weir (Queen Isabella, 2005, etc.), author of numerous works of popular history, five of which concern the Tudor dynasty. In setting her first novel around Lady Jane, daughter of Henry VIII’s niece, Frances, Weir must surmount two major historical constraints; first, that Jane’s fate is known, and second, that Jane, though precocious and unusually well-schooled for a girl of the time, is a necessarily passive character. A minor throughout, Jane is subject to the whims of corrupt and ambitious adults bent on exploiting her bloodline to advance their own agenda. A Tudor Mommie Dearest, Frances hardens her heart against Jane for failing to be born male. Frances brutally punishes her on the slightest pretext, and Jane is happy to escape to the household of Queen Katherine Parr, King Henry’s sixth wife. After Katherine’s death, Jane narrowly escapes getting caught up in the doomed machinations of the Seymours, protectors of boy-king Edward VI. Frances’ plan to betroth Jane to Edward fizzles. The Seymours’ replacement, the Duke of Northumberland, seeks to circumvent Henry’s will, which provides for the succession of princesses Mary and Elizabeth. As Edward lies dying of consumption exacerbated by a little arsenic, the Duke prompts him to name Jane as his successor. Jane at first refuses the crown, but, a devout Protestant, she’s persuaded that the accession of Mary would mean the country’s reversion to Catholicism. Jane reigns for nine days, but her court evaporates when Mary musters a large army. Now Queen, Mary is loath to execute 16-year-old Jane, but succumbs to pressure from her Catholic allies. Jane has one chance to escape the headsman: Convert to Catholicism. But although Protestants don’t have saints, they have martyrs, and Jane, in the end, is determined to be one.
An affecting portrayal.Pub Date: March 1, 2007
ISBN: 0-345-49485-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2006
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With lantern-lit tales of old China, a rich humanity, and an acute ear for bicultural tuning, a splendid first novel—one...
An inordinately moving, electric exploration of two warring cultures fused in love, focused on the lives of four Chinese women—who emigrated, in their youth, at various times, to San Francisco—and their very American 30-ish daughters.
Tan probes the tension of love and often angry bewilderment as the older women watch their daughters "as from another shore," and the daughters struggle to free themselves from maddening threads of arcane obligation. More than the gap between generations, more than the dwindling of old ways, the Chinese mothers most fear that their own hopes and truths—the secret gardens of the spirit that they have cultivated in the very worst of times—will not take root. A Chinese mother's responsibility here is to "give [my daughter] my spirit." The Joy Luck Club, begun in 1939 San Francisco, was a re-creation of the Club founded by Suyuan Woo in a beleaguered Chinese city. There, in the stench of starvation and death, four women told their "good stories," tried their luck with mah-jongg, laughed, and "feasted" on scraps. Should we, thought Suyuan, "wait for death or choose our own happiness?" Now, the Chinese women in America tell their stories (but not to their daughters or to one another): in China, an unwilling bride uses her wits, learns that she is "strong. . .like the wind"; another witnesses the suicide of her mother; and there are tales of terror, humiliation and despair. One recognizes fate but survives. But what of the American daughters—in turn grieved, furious, exasperated, amused ("You can't ever tell a Chinese mother to shut up")? The daughters, in their confessional chapters, have attempted childhood rebellions—like the young chess champion; ever on maternal display, who learned that wiles of the chessboard did not apply when opposing Mother, who had warned her: "Strongest wind cannot be seen." Other daughters—in adulthood, in crises, and drifting or upscale life-styles—tilt with mothers, one of whom wonders: "How can she be her own person? When did I give her up?"
With lantern-lit tales of old China, a rich humanity, and an acute ear for bicultural tuning, a splendid first novel—one that matches the vigor and sensitivity of Maxine Hong Kingston (The Warrior Woman, 1976; China Men, 1980) in her tributes to the abundant heritage of Chinese-Americans.Pub Date: March 22, 1989
ISBN: 0143038095
Page Count: -
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1989
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
A laugh-out-loud funny book that will delight longtime Kinsella fans and those looking for a cozy holiday story.
Kinsella’s (I Owe You One, 2019, etc.) much-loved Shopaholic is back—and this time, it’s Christmas.
Becky Brandon is looking forward to spending Christmas with her husband and daughter at her parents’ house, just like always. It’s cozy and warm and, other than her favorite Christmas tradition (shopping), Becky doesn’t have to do much of anything. But then her parents drop a huge surprise—they’re moving to an apartment in the superhip London neighborhood of Shoreditch. Now, instead of Christmas sweaters and carols, they’re into unicycles and avocado toast. Her parents’ transformation into hipsters means that Becky has to host Christmas at her home in Letherby. Becky has no idea how to host a holiday dinner for her entire family and extended network of family friends, but she’s never met a problem she couldn’t shop her way out of. As usual, however, Becky finds herself stuck with a ton of problems. First, she needs to find the perfect gift for her husband, Luke, but in order to get it she just might have to petition an all-male billiards club to accept female members (Becky, of course, doesn’t play billiards). She might be in trouble with the entire country of Norway after creating her own (fictional) version of hygge, “sprygge.” Her environmentally conscious sister wants Becky to decorate a broom instead of a Christmas tree and have a vegan turkey on the table. And then there’s her musician ex-boyfriend who unexpectedly shows up in town with his new girlfriend. With everything on Becky’s plate, will she be able to create the picture-perfect Christmas she dreams of? Becky is still a hardworking, eminently lovable character who just wants to do the right thing, even if she usually screws everything up and finds herself in hilariously awful situations (like, for example, storing 30 pounds of smoked salmon on her front lawn under a duvet).
A laugh-out-loud funny book that will delight longtime Kinsella fans and those looking for a cozy holiday story.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-593-13282-1
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Dial Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
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