The Magician is the second book in the series “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel” and I like it a lot.
The first book The Alchemyst introduces readers to the legend of Nicholas Flamel.
Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. He is acknowledged as the greatest alchemyst of his day and it is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.
My Harry Potter friends will know about him and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The records show that he died in 1418 but his tomb is empty.
The legend is that he lives on by making the elixir of life and that the secret of eternal life is hidden within a book that he protects called the Book of Abraham the Mage.
Michael Scott’s series is based on this part of the legend--that the book, in the wrong hands, will destroy the world.
The Magician, Dr. John Dee, plans to steal the book and bring about its prophecy. The Alchemyst, Nicholas Flamel, must protect the book and the good side of the prophecy, which is that twins--Sophie and Josh Newman (regular kids) are the only hope.
The Twins have powers that can be awakened and if they stay on the right side of the battle, they can save the world from the Dark Elders.
I know in writing it seems flaky, but it’s a great, page-turning adventure. I like these fantasy books that are based in reality but have a side of reality that we just don’t see or understand. We ignore magic because it’s just not sensible.
6 books in the series. Books 1 & 2 are in stores.
The Magician by Michael Scott is published by Delacorte Press (part of Random House)
Over at MyNameIsKate.ca I read about a book meme to write about the book you’re reading now and to quote page 123.
The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson is the book I’m reading right now. It’s one of my favourite books this year. I know I should have read this as a hardcover so that I could enjoy the full visual appeal of the book. Although as a paperback, it’s pretty damn good. The cover is like a chocolate brown Moleskine with a belly band (which is a paper banner that wraps around the belly of the book). In this case it’s part of the cover image. Really the design details are wonderful, which is no surprise because CS Richardson is a well-regarded book designer.
The quality doesn’t stop at the design, the writing is worthy of such a great package.
The End of the Alphabet is one of my favourites because it has that level of quirkiness that borders on magical realism but is certainly realism. In this case Ambrose Zephyr is diagnosed with an incurable and untreatable disease. He has 30 days, give or take a day, to put his affairs in order. He makes a list A-Z of places and things he’d like to do before he kicks off.
On page 123, his wife Zipper Ashkenazi is waiting for her husband to have his shirts fitted at the tailoring shop of Mr. Umtata.
A fresh shirt was unwrapped. Ambrose strained out a smile as he dressed.
A miracle, Umtata. As always.
As you say sir.
A bit loose across the shoulders though.
Indeed sire. Shall we check the fit?
With that Mr Umtata took Ambrose Zephyr in his arms. Allow me the lead sir, he whispered.
The men dipped. Deeply, expertly.
Zipper Ashkenazi laughed out loud. For the first time in days.
The End of the Alphabet by CS Richardson (Random House Canada)
Charles Bock and the fine folks at Random House are giving away a free PDF of Charles Bock’s novel Beautiful Children. It’s available until midnight this Friday (February 29).
I think it is a cool idea.
Galley Cat is reporting the following:
Bock’s reasoning for approving this giveaway is simple: “I want people to read the book. If that means giving it away for free on-line, great.” UPDATE: Not that he’s letting this “free” stuff go to his head; as an anonymous tipster pointed out, in tiny, faint lettering at the bottom of the website, there’s a little note that says “© Copyright 2008. Charles Bock. This is our intellectual property, so kindly don’t fucking steal it.”
Download the free eBook until Feb 29.
(Source: Dan Wagstaff, thanks Dan!)
I was looking for a Dan Brown-esque novel to read while in Malta--you know, a light read on goddess worship--and I found this in a bookstore in Valletta, The Maltese Goddess by Lyn Hamilton.
I was looking for a goddess worship book so that I could remind myself of some minor historical points that were alluding me, and so that I could think more about goddess worship on Malta, which seems to have been a big deal. Malta is home to the oldest freestanding structures in the world. The temples of Malta are over 5,000 years old, much older than the pyramids and Stonehenge. And the big find has been thousands of female statues.
The Maltese Goddess was an ok read. It’s labeled an archaeological mystery but really it’s a mystery set on an archaeological site--at one of the temples. The book is set initially in Toronto, where the heroine has an antique shop. Martin Galea comes in, “Mr. I’m So Wealthy I Can Fly You to My Home in Malta to Decorate.” That’s all cool and dandy until Mr. Galea turns up in Malta dead as dead is and stuffed into a dresser.
As I say, it’s light on the goddess worship but was a fun find nonetheless.
Australian author Danielle Wood has created a series of interconnected anecdotes about the lives of women: naughty ones and nice ones. Rosie Little is our connecting character, sometimes a character in the story, sometimes just a narrator.
Wood certainly has an eye for detail and an ear for dialogue. The moments portrayed are pitch perfect. There is a story about a bride in full wedding dress, stuck in an airport during the wee hours of the morning when nothing is open, which cracked me up. There is a story about a nurse for chronic-care patients who is secretly buying baby clothes and storing them in a suitcase under her bed, which made me very sad. Each story struck a chord. And the opening story about fellacio is damn funny.
The packaging of the book is definitely worth mentioning. This is a sturdy little hardcover book. It is super attractive.
Rosie Little’s Cautionary Tales for Girls on Random.ca
Jumping the Queue is Mary Wesley’s celebrated first novel.
While in McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg, I came across a display of Mary Wesley books, all of which have been re-issued with new cover designs.
Wesley started writing at the age of 70 and published a number of books, Jumping the Queue being the first and The Camomile Lawn being her big commercial success. What the Beeb says about Mary.
The opening scene of Jumping the Queue is Matilda writing instructions for her friends and family on how to dispose of her belongings and of the house. She has reached the end of her rope with life and is happily ready to shuffle off with a mortal dose of pills and a nice swim into a strong tide that will pull her out to sea. All is very well with this plan, except the pet gander keeps pecking at her, and when she finally gets to her beach spot there are a bunch of rowdy kids there. No problem. She goes immediately with Plan B and finds a bridge to jump from. Just her luck, there’s a wanted murderer also trying to jump.
Never one to pass by adventure, Matilda invite him home, reprimands him for his behaviour and sets him up in the spare room. The reprimand is for being in her jumping spot, not for murdering his mother, which she is sure her children have thoughts of many times.
Wesley is a fine writer and Matilda is a fine character. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more of her work.
Like Matilda, Mary was a bit of a wild one (she died in 2002). She married early for money and societal pressures. She had a unsatisfying relationship with her mother, which definitely comes out in her work. But with wit and style she managed to free herself from those constraints and find love with a second husband and satisfaction writing. There is a biography available called Wild Mary, but none of these books seem to be promoted widely in North America.
Wild Mary is available from McNally Robinson. I love the store. The website could use some work. More on that later.
The English Patient, The Cinnamon Peeler’s Wife and Handwriting are the only Ondaatje books I’ve ever read. I enjoyed them. I like the lyrical nature of Ondaatje’s writing.
Divisadero fits the bill perfectly. Ondaatje is telling two stories, a modern-day love story and a forgotten love story--I suppose both are forgotten in some ways.
The first story is Anna’s. In the 1970s in northern California, Anna lives with her sister and father on a farm. The hired hand, Cooper, is also part of the family. All three children, Anna, her sister and Coop, have lost their mothers. It’s a strange world. The mothering nature is missing. There are unspoken rules. The girls are competitive for affection. It unwinds when Coop and Anna begin a tryst that is discovered by her father. Anna runs away and keeps running from love for the rest of the story.
The second story is Lucien Segura’s. In a much earlier time in south central France, Lucien lives with his mother, and next door lives Marie-Neige. She moves there with her husband, a much older husband. Lucien and Marie-Neige grow close as they grow up. It’s the turn of the century and times are different than in 1970, yet the complications of loving someone forbidden to you are much the same.
Lucien’s story is much stronger than Anna’s. Although I enjoyed the writing of both, Lucien’s story is almost mystical. It’s more suck in my imagination than Anna’s story.
I wonder if all of Ondaatje’s love stories are ones of lost, discord and memory.
Find out more about Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje.
UPDATE: Don mentions in the comments that Random House has a podcast featuring Michael Ondaatje and his M&S editor talking about Divisadero.
Thanks Don.
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexandre McCall Smith is book 8 in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.
This is a series I particularly love. The characters are incredibly charming, the adventures and mysteries are secondary to the human-behaviour stories being told, and at the end of a long day I can depend on Mma Ramotswe to give me a good laugh.
These are just fun, well-written books.
Often with a series there is the risk of the author running out of steam or of the plots losing their shine, not so with this series. Thank you Alexandre McCall Smith.
Everyone goes through a spot of bother at some point in life. Some of us go through a spot of bother daily--minor things that niggle away at our brain, things that make us doubt what we know or believe to be right. The four main characters in A Spot of Bother go through this hourly.
There’s George. Father of the family. Presumed (by himself only) to be dying of cancer. The doctor says it’s eczema.
There’s Jean. Mother of the family. Been having an affair for several years without complication. Now that George is retired (and fearing he is dying of cancer), he follows her around like a puppy. The foreign attention makes Jean paranoid that George has discovered her affair.
There’s Katie. Daughter. About to be married (for the second time). The family is “chuffed” that her choice of groom is Ray. Ray is dependable, great with her son Jacob, has money and a house they live in for free, but he’s not really their type--class wise, intelligence wise, they can’t really put their finger on it. Katie is also torn about why she’s marrying Ray. Is it to piss off her mother?
There’s Jamie. Gay as a three dollar bill--when he’s with his friends and with Katie--but straight-laced and rather private with his parents and their neighbours. Coming to Katy’s wedding with his boyfriend Tony will disturb the neighbours, cause his mother to hug Tony like a long-lost son (she knows Jamie is gay but doesn’t talk about it) and cause his father (who also knows Jamie’ is gay) to pat Tony on the back and treat him like an associate or sportsmate of Jamie’s.
A Spot of Bother indeed.
George goes crazy.
Jean calls it off with David.
Katie cancels the wedding.
Ray throws a dustbin.
Tony breaks up with Jamie.
Then I can’t tell you what happens because it will ruin the ending for you.
A Spot of Bother is as funny as his first book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
There’s a website for the book aspotofbotherbooks.com, which is also tres drole.
The opening image is an invitation to Katie and Ray’s wedding:
George and Jean Hall
Invite you to the (second) wedding of their (tempestuous, stubborn and ferociously tempered) daughter
Katie
who plans to wed
Ray
(an inappropriate hulk with “strangler hands") on
September 5, 2006
By which time ... George, who is losing his mind as politely as he can, and Jean, who is shagging George’s ex-colleague, and Jamie, their gay son who cannot commit to his lover by inviting him to the wedding, and Katie who fears she really doesn’t love Ray ... pray that their family madness proves to be nothing more than
a spot of bother.
Listen to an audio excerpt.
I enjoyed Mark Haddon’s A Spot of Bother very much, although I’m secretly pleased not to hear any more about Katie. She was a bad influence on my character. I shall try to be more like calm, dependable Ray from now on.
