Bookreview: Winnie and Gurley: The Best-Kept Family Secret

Author: Robert Hewitt
Genre: Non-fiction, Genealogy, Family History
Published: 2012
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 18

The first half of this book tells the story of how the author learned more and more about his grandmother and a family secret came to light, raising a lot of questions. The second half tells the story of his grandparents as far as he and his wife were able to trace it with records from all over.

This book kept me riveted. It’s interesting to those interested in family history, but I think also to those who love buried family secrets coming to light. Some reviews have said there was no new information in the second half of the book, but I disagree. The basic details of the family secret are the same and no big new revelations are made, but the chronological story of Winnie and Gurley gives the reader a much better understanding of the how and why of certain events. And as a genealogist and family historian myself, I admire how clear, concise, yet engaging the second part was written. Recommended!

Bookreview: My Enemy's Cradle

Author: Sara Young
Genre: Historical
Published: 2007
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 17


The Netherlands, 1941. Cousins Anneke and Cyrla are identical in every respect but one: Cyrla is half-Jewish and in hiding, and her neighbors have started to whisper. Anneke, carrying a German soldier’s child, is destined to move to the maternity home which houses the Lebensborn programme. But Anneke’s death and the danger Cyrla is in just by being Jewish push Cyrla into a terrible situation as she takes on Anneke’s identity and place in the Lebensborn. She will need to fool everyone around her – both doctors and fellow mothers-to-be – if she and her unborn baby are to survive.

It took a few chapters for me to get into this story, but once I did I was totally engrossed. When reading about a Jewish character in the Second World War, often a stay in one of the Holocaust camps is included in the book. Those scenes are always horrible to read. But the understated horror of the Lebensborn and all it stands for – all it did and the consequences that are still felt today because of it – are much less known and hit me quite hard. This story hit something deep inside of me, right at the core of my womanhood – I simply cannot describe it in any other way. It were sometimes the most simple things that chilled me to the bone in this story. It’s very good, story-wise, but I think it’s even more important history-wise. Highly recommended – I wish this was mandatory reading for everyone.

Bookreview: Nigella Express

Author: Nigella Lawson
Genre: Cookbook, Non-fiction
Published: 2007
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 16


Nigella Express is a book filled with recipes that are fast and tasty. They’re easy to make, using ordinary ingredients, and as such many of them are suitable for a busy week. Aside from the normal suppers, there’s also a chapter filled with breakfast items, one with lunch items, and one with party recipes. There’s also a chapter filled with holiday recipes that are fast and easy, so you can actually spend time with your guests instead of in the kitchen. And in true Nigella fashion, there’s a good amount of desserts and sweets to be found in this book. Personally, I also thought there was a larger than usual amount of recipes with fish, but that could just be my idea and not the truth.

All of the recipes in this book are tasty, the instructions are clear, and Nigella’s fun writing style appeals to me a lot. Still, I am not giving this book the full five stars. This is mainly because with a good portion of the recipes I felt I could have thought of that myself – not what I look for in a cookbook. Steak with lemon and thyme, for instance, is tasty but not a recipe I would buy a cookbook for. Thankfully, there are some gems of recipes in this book as well, and as always her desserts are to die for. Therefore, a better than average cookbook, but not full points.

Bookreview: Promise of the Wolves

Author: Dorothy Hearst
Genre: Historical
Published: 2008
Personal rating: 3/5
Yearly count: 15


The time is 14,000 years ago. Kaala, a young wolf of mixed blood, should have died at birth. But against all rules, she was allowed to live. But as she grows up, she continues to break the rules that rule the Wide Valley wolves. It could mean the end of her pack, the Swift River Wolves, or it could be their salvation – and that of the humans living in the valley.

This book raises very mixed feelings in me. I liked the fact that it was told from Kaala’s point of view, and I liked the characters in it. Dorothy Hearst obviously has extensive knowledge of how a wolf pack works and manages to portray the wolves in such a way that the reader can relate to them, while still keeping them as wolves, not humans in a wolf skin. And within those confines, she manages to tell a story about the bond between humans and wolves and how that might have evolved all those thousands of years ago.

But what kept me from saying “wow, this book is so good!” was the whole spiritual/religious concept in the book. I could have dealt with legends that wolves tell each other, I could have dealt with a ghost wolf helping Kaala. I could even have dealt with them seeing the Earth and the Moon and the Sun as a sort of gods. But the whole organized religion thing they had going, with the Greatwolves and rules and chosen packs to enforce those rules – that was taking things a step too far. It felt so contrived – so human, in a way. The pieces where the whole religion thing wasn’t at the foreground were great and pulled me into the story. And then the religion came up again – it was an important driving force of the story, so it came up fairly often – and I had to put in a lot of effort to keep reading.

In the end, I am still not sure if I can say I like this book. It wasn’t a bad book, just the opposite. But the religious aspect felt off to me – too much for the story to feel in any way realistic. So instead of a good book I would heartily recommend, it remained a middle of the road kind of book. Not bad, but not particularly great either.

Short Story Review: Masks

Author: Evangeline Anderson
Genre: Erotica, Short story
Published: 2000
Personal rating: 2/5
Yearly short story count: 2


A short erotic story, which was basically some really hot sex with a plot so thin it's not even worth mentioning. It’s a shame, because even a short story can have a good plot, erotica doesn’t mean without plot either. But everything was just hand-waved away, between the sex and the obligatory happy ending. Not a good advertisement for this author – I won’t be picking up any of her full-length books.

Bookreview: Cooking by the Seasons

Author: Kari Ann Allrich
Genre: Non-fiction, Cookbook
Published: 2000
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 14

Cooking by the Seasons is a vegetarian cookbook that’s written as a way of cooking with pagan Wheel of the Year – which basically means with the rhythms of nature. While there’s talk about the Goddess and for all eight of the year feasts on the Wheel of Year, anybody can use this cookbook simply as a seasonal cookbook. No religion – or no pagan religion – needed to enjoy these recipes!

The book is divided into four parts – spring, summer, autumn, winter – and each season is further divided into sub-chapters based on type of dish. There’s beverages and bites, seasonal soups, everyday feasts, savory sides, that season’s salads, and sweet endings. The titles really say it all. And then there are the very helpful appendices. There’s a list of resources for pantry supplies (really only helpful if you’re in the USA), a list of US to UK translations of cooking terms and ingredients, and – the most helpful appendix for me – conversion tables for liquid measurements, oven temperatures and dry weight measures from the American measures to the European system. For instance, 1 cup (8 oz) is about 225 ml. It’s not always very accurate – a cup of rice is different from a cup of flour – but it comes close enough for the recipes to work.

The recipes itself are lovely! Very tasty, with normal ingredients you don’t have to hunt for in specialty shops, and the directions are clear and easy to follow. There’s an abundance of pasta dishes though, although personally I don’t consider that to be a problem. They’re all different enough in taste anyway. The only comment about the recipes I have is that the portion sizes are pretty big. Now, I know my family aren’t big eaters, but if I take a recipe for 4 people, make only half and can still serve 3 people who all take seconds – yeah, big, big portion size! Not a problem, just something to keep in mind. Other than that, I like this cookbook a lot.

Bookreview: A Plague on Both Your Houses

Author: Susanna Gregory
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Detective
Published: 1996
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 13

A Plague on Both Your Houses introduces the physician Matthew Bartholomew, whose unorthodox but effective treatment of his patients frequently draws accusations of heresy from his more traditional colleagues. Besides his practice, Bartholomew is teacher of Medicine at Michaelhouse, part of the fledgling University of Cambridge. In 1348, the inhabitants of Cambridge live under the shadow of a terrible pestilence that has ravaged Europe and is travelling relentlessly eastward towards England. Bartholomew, however, is distracted by the sudden and inexplicable death of the Master of Michaelhouse - a death the University authorities do not want investigated. When three more scholars die in mysterious circumstances, Bartholomew defies the University and begins his own enquiry. His pursuit for the truth leads him into a complex tangle of lies and intrigue that causes him to question the innocence of his closest friends, and even his family. And then the Black Death finally arrives and Bartholomew is dragged deeper and deeper into a quagmire which threatens not only his life, but the continued existence of the University and the future of the town.

I loved this book! Really, really loved this book! The historical setting is done perfectly, it’s very realistic. The characters think and act like medieval people without being so alien to modern readers that you don’t make a connection to them, not something that’s easy to do. And the mystery – oh, that was brilliant. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to the limited knowledge that can be gather about the crimes – no fingerprints or other forensics, like in modern mysteries, and not even fledgling criminal investigative tools like in historical mysteries set in the Victorian period and later. But on the other hand, people were much more superstitious, and feared God and hell, making them confess to things modern day criminals would keep their mouths shut about. Also, people knew each other’s business far better, so odd behavior was noticed. All in all, the mystery in this book was well thought out, had many twists and turns, and managed to surprise me right until the end. Susanna Gregory has truly written a great novel and I will definitely be reading the rest of this series!

Bookreview: Still Life with Murder

Author: P.B. Ryan
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Detective
Published: 2003
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 12

Boston 1868: The wealthy are enjoying the height of the Gilded Age--but not all are wealthy. As governess to the Hewitt family, Irish immigrant Nell Sweeney is sent to discover the truth behind the rumor that their son--thought to be killed in the Civil War--is still alive and in prison.

I loved this Gilded Age mystery. Nell Sweeney is a great character and very well thought out by the author. Her position as a governess coupled with her background gives her the ability to move through virtually all layers of society. How she got to where she is plausible, and on the whole she felt like a real person from that time. Coupled with a great plot with interesting twists and turns, this book was really great. I have high hopes for the rest of this series and will definitely seek them out.

Bookreview: The Three-Arched Bridge

Author: Ismail Kadare
Genre: Historical, Classic
Published: 1981
Personal rating: 5/5
Yearly count: 11

The year: 1377. The place: the Balkan peninsula. An Albanian monk chronicles the events surrounding the construction of a bridge across a great river known as Ujana e Keqe, or "Wicked Waters". If successful in their endeavor, the bridge-builders will challenge a monopoly on water transportation known simply as "Boats and Rafts". The story itself parallels developments in modern-day Eastern Europe, with the bridge emblematic of a disintegrating economic and political order: just as mysterious cracks in the span's masonry endanger the structure and cast the local community into a morass of uncertainty, superstition and murder, so the fast-changing conditions in the 14th-century Balkan peninsula threaten to overwhelm the stability of life there.

Despite the book’s description, there’s actually a pretty solid storyline in the book. The book isn’t gloomy either –something I’ve come to expect from Balkan authors – but is a historical novel that breathes the medieval atmosphere. The characterizations are excellent, the voice of the monk is sublime. The ending had a great surprise and was icing on the cake. This book wholly deserves its five stars!

Bookreview: Raptor Red

Author: Robert T. Bakker
Genre: Historical
Published: 1995
Personal rating: 4/5
Yearly count: 10

A year in the life of a dinosaur named Raptor Red, this book is unique in the fact that the dinosaur is the main character and we see the world from her point of view. Written by a professional paleontologist, the Age of Dinosaurs truly comes to life in this book.

The story is good and gripping, and the author is very skilled in showing more than just Raptor Red’s narrow worldview by drawing other dinosaurs into her story, interweaving several small storylines into the big plot of Raptor Red’s struggle for survival. Only when the author gives too much scientific detail – a mistake he makes mainly in the first few chapters – the pace of the story stops and that’s a real shame. But other than that, I loved this book. A very unique prehistoric novel that deserves the four stars I gave it.