OK. It's been a while. I really have been reading books since October. I even wrote a few of them up for the Staff Reads blog at work. But I have been incredibly lazy about posting on this blog. A few things I read over the last 3 months that I won't be reviewing here:
Many of you probably know that Julian Fellowes writes for the beloved English period drama Downton Abbey. You may even know that he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film Gosford Park in 2002. But did you know that he used to be an actor? And that he's also a novelist? His 2004 novel simply titled Snobs takes a look into a modern day Downton Abbey-type manor house. But lest you think this book is all "Upstairs vs. Downstairs," let me assure you that it is not. It is really about how the class system is very much alive and well in England to this day. And how the aristocracy treats everyone else. It is a comedy of manners- or perhaps, a lack-there-of.
- Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. I finally read this!!! Can you believe that I've seen the Canadian mini-series/movie more times than I can count but never actually read the book???? It has been remedied and I am so pleased to report that the adaptation of the book to screen is so well done as to rival The Princess Bride for "Best Adaptation" in my book. The second Anne series/movie... I'm not going to go there.
- Five Days At Memorial by Sheri Fink. Guys. This. Book. It took me almost a month to read because I found it so incredibly stressful. True story of a bunch of doctors and nurses in the days during the incredible flooding in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. I can't even imagine what those people went through and I certainly can't imagine having to make the tough decisions that they made. Very good, very hard to read.
- Insane City by Dave Barry (audio book version). Who doesn't love Dave Barry? Like his previous two novels, this one is full of vivid characters and crazy situations. Barry is a great narrator and I loved every insane minute of the book.
Many of you probably know that Julian Fellowes writes for the beloved English period drama Downton Abbey. You may even know that he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film Gosford Park in 2002. But did you know that he used to be an actor? And that he's also a novelist? His 2004 novel simply titled Snobs takes a look into a modern day Downton Abbey-type manor house. But lest you think this book is all "Upstairs vs. Downstairs," let me assure you that it is not. It is really about how the class system is very much alive and well in England to this day. And how the aristocracy treats everyone else. It is a comedy of manners- or perhaps, a lack-there-of.
Book Type: Modern Day Downton Abbey. Minus all the "downstairs" stuff.
Stereotype Alert: Not really.
Cover Art: Ring the bell!
Bed/Bride/Bludgeon: Narrator/Charles/Googie
Character Score: 6 out of 10 Mr. Micawbers
What's the Story?: A comedy of manners. Non-aristocratic Edith meets Charles the Earl, gets married and realizes life married to a rich man is not as simple as she originally thought.
X-Factor: Autobiography-ish
Cover Art: The one with the bells is a reissued paperback version. The original 2004/2005 edition is bright yellow with sort of art deco people on it. Funny thing is, this stock bell art on the new cover was also used on the book Servants by Lucy Lethbridge with different cropping etc. You'd think that folks would be pretty sure to use different cover art for two books that deal with the English aristocracy and their homes but apparently not.
Bed/Bride/Bludgeon: Well, though I know far more about Edith than I'd like and far less about the narrator, he sounds hot. And is artistic. And is a born English aristocrat. *swoon* I love boring old Charles. If you had to marry for money/station, I could think of a LOT worse people to be stuck with. Besides, he obviously loves Edith and would do anything for her- why doesn't she teach an old dog a few new tricks? And Googie. Ugh. Fellowes does a great job of painting her as a woman who does what she needs to in order to stay polite within her station. He also paints her as a sympathetic mother who just wants what is best for her son. I get it. She's still annoying.
Character Score: Love most of them, hate a few of them. Love Fellowes' voice. The end.
What's the Story?:
Bed/Bride/Bludgeon: Well, though I know far more about Edith than I'd like and far less about the narrator, he sounds hot. And is artistic. And is a born English aristocrat. *swoon* I love boring old Charles. If you had to marry for money/station, I could think of a LOT worse people to be stuck with. Besides, he obviously loves Edith and would do anything for her- why doesn't she teach an old dog a few new tricks? And Googie. Ugh. Fellowes does a great job of painting her as a woman who does what she needs to in order to stay polite within her station. He also paints her as a sympathetic mother who just wants what is best for her son. I get it. She's still annoying.
Character Score: Love most of them, hate a few of them. Love Fellowes' voice. The end.
What's the Story?:
Snobs is written mostly from the point of view of an actor who was born an
aristocrat, and he tells the tale of Edith Lavery and the Broughtons, who hold
the seat as to the Marquess of Uckfield. Edith, who was brought up in an
upper-middle class household by a mother who longed to be debutante, is a very
attractive blonde who agrees to go along with her mother's plans for coming out
and taking an active roll in London's debutante season. Nearly nine years
later, Edith is working a boring desk job and hasn't landed a rich husband- or
any husband at all. While visiting the friends in Sussex, Edith, our
narrator and their host Isabel Easton, decide to take a public tour of the
nearby manor house Broughton Hall. The group run into one of the members
of the family while on the tour and Charles Broughton (heir to the Marquess and
one of England's most eligible bachelors) takes a shine to Edith. Months
later, the narrator and Edith are both invited to join the Eastons at Ascot in
London. The group run into Charles again and the Earl manages to convince
Edith to join him for tea. The rest, as they say, is history.
Charles eventually proposes to Edith and being the pragmatic
individual that she is, Edith accepts. But life as an Earl's wife is
hardly what she imagined it would be. First, there's Charles mother, Lady
Uckfield (known affectionately by the ridiculous nickname "Googie").
Lady Uckfield probably hates Edith with a venomous passion but seeing as
manners and decorum dictate that she act as if she love Edith, never shows her
true feelings. Googie knows that Edith is not a true aristocrat and that
is the one failing that Edith can never make up no matter how hard she tries.
Edith is, and always will be, an outsider. Then there's the fact
that Charles, while a good, loyal, man is rather...boring. And though
Edith plays her part and immerses herself in running flower shows, working with
local charities and enjoying life in a grand house, she finds herself to be
very unhappy.
Almost a year into their marriage, the Broughtons decide to let a
production company film a period drama on the estate. Our narrator
secures a role in the production and is there to witness Edith finally come off
the rails. Throwing all caution and common sense to the wind, Edith
begins an affair with the film's handsome leading man, leaves Charles and sets
up shop with her new lover in London. Our poor narrator is then forced to
become a sort of go-between for Edith and the Broughton family.
Snobs is a novel about
the less glamorous side of the English elite and can be practically summed up
in the following quote:
"The English, of all classes as it happens, are addicted to
exclusivity. Leave three Englishmen in a room and they will invent a rule
that prevents a fourth joining them."
A delightful read for any who enjoy English history and culture.
X-Factor: Lots of people assumed that this was an autobiography since Fellowes is also a member of the English aristocracy and an actor. It is fiction, but he describes that world and its manners so well that I'd love it no matter what it was.
If you are jonesing for more Downton, do not hesitate to pick up this book!
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