Audiobook Week: Rash by Pete Hautman

Rash by Pete Hautman. Narrated by Andy Paris. 2006. Recorded Books. 6 hrs. 33 minutes.

First sentence:

Gramps, who was born in 1990, once told me that when he was my age the only way to wind up in prison in the USSA (back when it had only one S) was to steal something, kill somebody, or use illegal drugs.

Synopsis:

Consumption of alcohol: Illegal.

Football and other "violent" sports: Illegal.

Ownership of guns, chain saws, and/or large dogs: Illegal.

Body piercings, tattoos: Illegal.

It's late in the twenty-first century, and the United Safer States of America (USSA) has become a nation obsessed with safety. For Bo Marsten, a teenager who grew up in the USSA, it's all good. He knows the harsh laws were created to protect the people. But when Bo's temper flares out of control and he's sentenced to three years of manual labor, he's not so down with the law anymore.

Bo's forced to live and work in a factory in the Canadian tundra. The warden running the place is totally out of his mind, and cares little for his inmates' safety. Bo will have to decide what's worse: a society that locks people up for road rage, or a prison where the wrong move could make you polar bear food.

A few months before I started blogging, I read Pete Hautman's Rash. I loved it so much that I found myself rereading it a few months later. That was in December of 2006. It took two posts for me to 'properly' convey my enthusiasm. It's been four years since I first read Rash. That is one of the reasons why I wanted to give Rash a listen this week.

What is it about? It's about a teen guy, Bo, who is in trouble with the law. It is set in the future--in the 2070s, I believe--so in trouble with the law means something entirely different. It's a fascinating novel; the little details make it quite a thought-provoking read. The premise being--what would a safer future look like? But just because this is a premise-driven novel doesn't mean that it isn't a compelling read.

The audio book is narrated by Andy Paris. And I think he did a great job with this one. I loved the voices he did for each character. Especially Bork and Gramps. Unfortunately, the audio book of this one is out of print. And it is not available on audible either.

There were several things I noticed this time around.

• I just now realized that the 'figurative' bear chasing Bo during his track races became all-too-literal once he's imprisoned. And while imagining a bear chasing him helped Bo run a bit faster, it is nothing in comparison to the real thing.
• The emphasis on sports. When I read the book, it was easy for me to not focus on the sports. Hearing the book, it became more difficult for me to ignore the fact that this is very much a boy book, a sports book.
• Just how dysfunctional Bo's family is. The strained relationships between members of his family.
• Though it's set in the future--though so many things are unfamiliar, so strange to modern readers--it is very much a coming of age story. The problems Bo has are universal, timeless.
  
• It's a very strange, one-of-a-kind book.
  

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Armadale

Armadale. Wilkie Collins. 1866. (My edition. Oxford World's Classics.) 880 pages.

On a warm May night, in the year eighteen hundred and fifty-one, the Reverend Decimus Brock--at that time a visitor to the Isle of Man--retired to his bedroom, at Castletown, with a serious personal responsibility in close pursuit of him, and with no distinct idea of the means by which he might relieve himself from the pressure of his present circumstances.

Is it possible to summarize Armadale in a sentence or two? In a paragraph or two? Probably not. Wilkie Collins is all about layers. Who else besides Collins would premise a novel with fifty-eight pages of prologue? A prologue that establishes the background of three of his main characters. A foreshadowing prologue that shapes and reshapes the novel. Two men. One name. One dark secret.

Armadale centers around three characters: Allan Armadale, Ozias Midwinter, and Lydia Gwilt. Armadale and Midwinter are best friends. But this friendship is strained at times because Midwinter knows things Armadale doesn't. He knows the dark connection they share. Midwinter learned these secrets through a letter he received when he came of age. His father warned him to never ever have anything to do with Allan Armadale. His father's letter also warned him of a dangerous woman.

Lydia Gwilt, one of our narrators, also enters into the drama. Both Midwinter and Armadale (not to mention the elderly Bashwood) fall in love with Miss Gwilt. But Gwilt is incapable of honesty, and her lies may spin everything out of control.

Armadale is about the struggle of the human soul between good and evil. A novel that asks the question--should children suffer for the sins of their fathers? A novel that explores the idea of Fate and free will.

This is my second Wilkie Collins novel. Last year, I read and reviewed Man and Wife. Armadale is a stronger novel, a better novel. (But it doesn't have a Sir Patrick.) Did I love Armadale? I certainly enjoyed it. I found it difficult to put down. I found myself smiling at Collins descriptions. He could definitely be witty when he wanted to be! I found Armadale to be complex. The characters are drawn from human nature; each of the main characters is flawed. I liked the multiple narrators as well. I was surprised at how much of this story is told from Gwilt's perspective--through letters and diary entries mainly. I thought the pacing was suspenseful, and the last two hundred pages were intense. I would definitely recommend the novel.

'Excuse me,' said the impenetrable Scotchman. 'I beg to suggest that you are losing the thread of the narrative.'
'Nothing more likely,' returned the doctor, recovering his good humour. 'It is in the habit of my nation to be perpetually losing the thread--and it is evidently in the habit of yours, sir, to be perpetually finding it. What an example here of the order of the universe, and the everlasting fitness of things!' (17)

The object of Allan's humane caution was corpulent elderly woman of the type called 'motherly.' Fourteen stairs were all that separated her from the master of the house: she ascended them with fourteen stoppages and fourteen sighs. Nature, various in all things, is infinitely various in the female sex. There are some women whose personal qualities reveal the Loves and the Graces; and there are other women whose personal qualities suggest the Perquisites and the Grease Pot. This was one of the other women. (203)

A young man who plays his part in society by looking on in green spectacles, and listening with a sickly smile, may be a prodigy of intellect and a mine of virtue, but he is hardly, perhaps, the right sort of man to have at a picnic. An old lady afflicted with deafness, whose one inexhaustible subject of interest is the subject of her son, and who (on the happily rare occasions when that son opens his lips) asks everybody eagerly, 'What does my boy say?' is a person to be pitied in respect of her infirmities, and a person to be admired in respect of her maternal devotedness, but not a person, if the thing could possibly be avoided, to take to a picnic. Such a man, nevertheless, was the Reverend Samuel Pentecost, and such a woman was the Reverend Samuel's mother; and in the dearth of any other producible guests, there they were, engaged to eat, drink, and be merry for the day at Mr. Armadale's pleasure-party to the Norfolk Broads. (292)

The age we live in is an age which finds no human creature inexcusable. (374)

'When you say no to a woman, sir,' remarked Pedgift Senior, 'always say it in one word. If you give her your reasons, she invariably believes that you mean Yes.' (439)

The plain fact was, that the music-master attached to the establishment fell in love with Miss Gwilt. He was a respectable middle-aged man, with a wife and family--and finding the circumstances entirely hopeless, he took a pistol, and rashly assuming that he had brains in his head, tried to blow them out. The doctors saved his life, but not his reason--he ended, where he had better have begun, in an asylum. (635)

Other reviews: Shelf Love, Novel Insights, The Curious Reader, Bibliolatry, Savidge Reads,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

The Water Seeker (MG)

The Water Seeker. Kimberly Willis Holt. 2010. May 2010. Henry Holt. 320 pages.

Jake Kincaid was known as the dowser. With a forked branch, he'd made his way from the Arkansas Territory to Missouri, stopping at farms to find waters for new wells. His plan was to raise enough money so he could do what he wanted and never pick up the branch again. But the dowsing was a gift. And a gift might be abandoned, but it will always be there, waiting to be claimed.

Is there an easy way to describe Kimberly Willis Holt's newest book The Water Seeker? I'll try my best to do it justice. Amos' father, Jake, is a trapper. One year Jake returned to discover that his wife has died, but that he has a son. Jake takes the infant and travels to see his brother (Gil) and sister-in-law (Rebecca). He leaves Amos there with the promise that he'll be back as often as he can. He's not completely turning over the care of his son, but he's a trapper and his life is a traveling life. Delilah, Amos' mother, had a great talent for drawing. Though he never knew his mother, he does have her gift. He also has a gift passed down from his father--the gift of dowsing. But he's embarrassed to let anyone know. After all, his father hates this gift. And would rather do anything but use it. But sometimes a man has no choice. He has to do things he hates in order to support his family.

One year Jake returns--and not alone--to learn that Rebecca has died and that Gil and Amos have moved in with a neighboring family. So Jake decides to take his son--then about six--with him. Jake has married an Indian woman, Blue Owl, and the three will be a real family and start a new life. But life is never that easy. They arrive at Jake's cabin and find that Daisy, Delilah's sister, and Homer, her husband, have been living there. Since Jake knows the family background, he can't knowingly send these two away. So the family expands. And keeps expanding--soon Amos has a cousin, Finn.

America is changing too. Its landscape. Its culture. Its "destiny." As much as Jake would love to keep trapping--that just isn't a possibility these days. So Jake decides to try his hand at scouting. He has been recruited to help lead a wagon west on the Oregon trail. The whole family--Jake, Blue Owl, Amos, Daisy, Homer, Finn--set out on a new adventure together. An exhausting, dangerous journey that will take them from Independence, Missouri, to Willamette Valley in Oregon.

The Water Seeker covers decades of American history, from the 1830s to the 1850s. When Amos begins his journey across America, he is about fourteen, his cousin, Finn, is six. So Amos grows up--in so many ways--during this difficult journey. He learns life lessons, has his first heartache, and learns what true love is all about.

The Water Seeker is a complex novel. The characters--and there are so many!--are all well-developed. I loved getting to know them all. There were so many people that loved Amos through the years, so many people who were part of his family--traditional or not. I loved meeting the different families on the wagon train. I loved the realism of it all. Heading west was not easy. It was dangerous. Bad things happened. They just did. One of the lessons Amos learns is that life may be hard, but it's good too. Some things make the journey worth it.

I really enjoyed The Water Seeker. I think Holt is a good storyteller, a good writer. If you love historical fiction, then this one might be for you. I think it would also appeal to adult readers who love historical fiction. Even if they don't usually read children's books. I think there is enough complexity, enough story, enough heart to satisfy.

Other reviews: Kids Lit,

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

These is My Words

These Is My Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine. By Nancy E. Turner. 1998. HarperCollins. 416 pages.

A storm is rolling in, and that always makes me a little sad and wistful so I got it in my head to set to paper all these things that have got us this far on our way through this heathen land.

These Is My Words is the fictional diary of a young woman, Sarah Prine, living (mostly) in the Arizona Territory in the 1880s and 1890s. Sarah's life is anything but easy.

Readers learn this from the start. Within the first twenty or so pages, Sarah experiences loss after loss after loss. A younger brother dying by snakebite. Another brother being shot and having to have his leg amputated. Indians attacking the wagon train the Prine family is traveling with. With multiple deaths there. Including her father--though his death isn't immediate. Witnessing the brutal rape of a friend. But Sarah isn't weak. She isn't one to give up with a fight. For example, witnessing the rape leads her to sneak away, get her gun, and shoot the attackers dead.

Sarah is an incredibly strong heroine. Circumstances forcing her time and time again to be strong, brave, independent. To think on her feet. To fight for herself. To fight for her family. To fight for her land.

The novel covers twenty years. Readers see Sarah grow and develop. We see her as a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a widow. We see her disappointed with life, with love. We see her courage as she chooses to love again. Sarah is a woman who doesn't give up. She's got plenty of gumption.

There is something raw and spirited about These Is My Words. I found These Is My Words to be compelling.

Here are a few of my favorite passages:

Taking up marriage is a good excuse for taking up cursing, I think. (248)

Children are a burden to a mother, but not the way a heavy box is to a mule. Our children weigh hard on my heart, and thinking about them growing up honest and healthy, or just living to grow up at all, makes a load in my chest that is bigger than the safe at the bank, and more valuable to me than all the gold inside it. (303)

One of my favorite scenes is when Sarah exhausted by her work and her children confronts her soldier husband.

All day long I had been at my wit's end alone with these children, and just barely heated up some scraps of beef from yesterday and put in a little vegetable to make a stew, when here came Jack with Blue Horse and some other soldier I don't even know as company for dinner, and on top of that asked me to cut his hair and draw him a bath as he was too tired to haul the water.
I am ever thankful that soldier took one look at me showing with a baby coming along, with my hair falling down, and the broom lying at a mound of broken glass, and supper boiling over on the stove, April wearing a dirty pinafore screaming for me to hold her, and just then the baby in my arms spit up all over me, and he said, You know, Captain Elliot, I forgot to rub down my horse, but I'd be kindly obliged if you'd let me have supper some other time.
When he left, I turned to Jack Elliot and said, If you are too tired to haul water, you are too tired to bathe in it, and I am fit to be tied. Your supper is on the stove and your children are driving me to distraction and April has lost the scissors under the house through a crack in the floor so there will be no haircut tonight. If that don't please you, then I will put on a uniform and ride out of here tomorrow morning and chase around the countryside and you can wear this apron and tend these crying children and this drafty house from dark to dark and then tell me you think I should haul you a bath.
He looked real startled. It is the first time I have ever just purely lost my temper over anything Jack has done. Blue Horse laughed, but when I frowned at him he quieted real quick. I have just had my fill of men and their ways of ordering people around, lately. (310)

All ends well. With that scene. It actually turns sweet.

While These Is My Words probably isn't for everyone, for readers looking for a book about strong, stubborn pioneering women, this one might make a good fit.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

Black Sheep

Black Sheep. Georgette Heyer. 1966/2008. Sourcebooks. 280 pages.

A little before eight o'clock, at the close of a damp autumn day, a post-chaise entered Bath, on the London Road, and presently drew up outside a house in Sydney Place.

Abigail (Abby) Wendover and Selena Wendover are the two aunts responsible for raising their young niece, Fanny, a young lady who is just getting ready to come out in society. When the novel opens, Abby has just returned to Bath from visiting some of her brothers and sisters. So she has missed the early stages of Fanny's young love. Fanny has fallen in forever-and-ever love with Stacy Calverleigh, a man with a bit of a reputation.

While no one can deny that he comes from a good family, it's also undeniable that since Stacy has come of age, the family's financial standing has continued to fall. He desperately needs to marry money if he's going to "save" the family home and keep up appearances--living a certain lifestyle.

Fanny may be young, but she'll inherit a great deal of money when she comes of age. Enough to tempt young Calverleigh. That's how Abby and her brother, James, see it anyway. Selena, well, she's easily charmed. And Stacy has a way of making her think the best of him. Abby fears that Stacy may convince Fanny to elope with him.

Soon after Abby returns home, Miles Calverleigh arrives. He's the "black sheep" of the Calverleigh family. (He's been in India for years.) He has come to Bath quite unaware that his nephew, Stacy, has been there.

Can Abby convince Miles to intervene? Will Miles see his young nephew's affair as being any of his concern? After all, he has never met the boy.

What starts out as "concern" for Fanny and Stacy, develops into something more--much much more. Has Abby found love at last? Will her sister, Selena, let Abby go?

I loved this one. I did. I loved Abby. I loved Miles. I loved the way these two clicked right from the start. I loved the banter the two share. I loved the way that neither really denies the attraction. How Abby doesn't necessarily fight the attraction she feels for Miles. She likes spending time with him. She likes his company. And she isn't one of those to say, well, what will the neighbors think. (Now, Abby, does care a little about what her family thinks.) Miles is unlike so many of the other men that Abby has known. But she likes him just the way he is. I loved how these two accept one another as is. These two are oh-so-compatible.

I would definitely recommend Black Sheep.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews