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bookgazing) wrote2009-12-25 01:05 am
bookgazing) wrote2009-12-25 01:05 am
44th Bookworm Carnival - Rebellious Women
Welcome to the 44th edition of the Bookworms carnival, which is the last carnival of 2009. Bloggers have sent in links to some fantastic reviews and there’s even an interview, with a female creator of feisty heroines for you to read.
Female rebellion doesn’t always have pretty results for the women who fight, but it’s the rebels who grind all the things we’re not supposed to do under their heels and leave ordinary women free to fully express their human complexity. I hope today you’ll find heroines you can empathise with, debate about and maybe even worship just a little bit.
Fiction
Chris at bookarama reviewed ‘The Scarlet letter’ where the main character, Hester Prynne is
‘...the wearer of the scarlet A, ornately sewn by her own hand. The letter is punishment for the crime of adultery in Massachusetts during Colonial times. Hester's husband has been missing and presumed dead but she's born a child by another man. She refuses to name the man responsible and carries the burden of their sin on herself.’
Aarti at Booklust reviewed ‘Wish her safe home’ by Stephen Benatar. This one goes on my own to be read list:
‘In the introduction to this book, John Carey states, “…there are really only two alternatives open to [Rachel]… She chooses the other alternative, which is to pretend that her ambitions have been fulfilled- that is to say, to go mad.” Carey thinks (and I agree with him) that, confronted with the decision to either continue her real, drudging existence in London, or to create a new, exciting one in Bristol, Rachel chooses completely to go with the exciting one.’
Melissa at The Betty and Boo Chronicles reviewed ‘Loving Frank’ by Nancy Hoban, who has created a heroine whose rebellion may harm, just as much as it helps.
‘In those times, it was taboo for a mother to abandon her children for a lover. (Not to say that such actions are condoned nowadays ... just that it was a different time).
But abandoning John and Martha, her very young children, is exactly what Mamah does.’
Wordlily wants everyone to know about a series she reviewed, featuring a family called the Spellmans. You can see reviews of the first three books ‘The Spellman Files’
‘The Curse of the Spellmans’ and ‘Revenge of the Spellmans’ by Lisa Lutz. Wordlilly says they:
‘Reminded me in some ways of the all-too-short television series Veronica Mars (not just because they both star a girl, PI, who grew up in the business; also because this girl is tough, and smart, and strong, among other shared traits).’
Heather at Age 30+...a Lifetime of Books reviewed ‘The Wet Nurse’s Tale’:
‘When Susan finds herself with a new baby of her own and minus a husband, she turns to the one thing she can depend on to get her by: her (rather large) breasts.’
If that killer line didn’t intrigue you maybe you’d prefer the female leader presented in ‘The Triumph of Deborah’:
‘Deborah, recently cast off by her husband, develops a surprising affinity for Barak. Yet she struggles to rebuild her existence on her own terms, while also groping her way toward the greatest triumph of her life.’
Nymeth of things mean a lot reviewed 'Lady Audley's Secret'. She was on the fence about whether it reinforced or subverted gender stereotypes, something she says critics have been arguing about for years:
'the mere fact that Lady Audley's Secret raises certain possibilities is significant. The world of the novel is more flexible and less fond of absolutes than what one would expect from Victorian ideology. Like The Woman in White, it explores the cracks and the contradictions in what everyone 'knew' to be true.'
Non-fiction
Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness reviewed ‘Undress me in the Temple of Heaven’, a book that was so good it turned her into one of those crazy people you see shouting at no one in traffic jams:
‘There were times that I was listening to this book in my car when I just had to yell, “Are you kidding? That did not just happen!” '
I reviewed ‘England’s Mistress: The infamous life of Emma Hamilton’. Emma’s first act of rebellion is to be a terrible maid, in order to avoid a life of drudgery and then goes on from there:
‘Everyone knows Emma as the dazzling mistress of Admiral Horatio Nelson, but before she began her association with him she had played many roles. She grew up in the midst of a poor family, supported by women and throughout her early life she earned her living as a maid, a dancer, an artist’s model and a prostitute.’
Plays
Rebecca at Rebecca Reads reviewed ‘Medea’ by Euripides, an ancient tale of revenge:
‘Medea had left her home to come to a foreign land, and now she was being cast aside. Her husband Jason had not only cheated on her but had cast her away and married another, younger woman.
Medea’s reaction to the situation and her subsequent actions are extreme. Like Lady Macbeth, she casts aside her instincts of kindness and, particularly, her motherly love. She murders her own children. But unlike when I read about Lady Macbeth, I felt Medea was in the right.’
Interviews
Haglerat at Unbound interviewed Caitlin Kittredge whose Nocturnes series features supernatural heroines who rebel against the werewolf cliché:
‘Luna is a werewolf, and most werewolves tend to be the cliche "outcast", outside of human society with limited interaction. I wanted to see what would happen if I plunked Luna into the center of the law enforcement profession and turned her loose.’
Hope you enjoyed the carnival, have a lovely celebratory season everyone!
Female rebellion doesn’t always have pretty results for the women who fight, but it’s the rebels who grind all the things we’re not supposed to do under their heels and leave ordinary women free to fully express their human complexity. I hope today you’ll find heroines you can empathise with, debate about and maybe even worship just a little bit.
Fiction
Chris at bookarama reviewed ‘The Scarlet letter’ where the main character, Hester Prynne is
‘...the wearer of the scarlet A, ornately sewn by her own hand. The letter is punishment for the crime of adultery in Massachusetts during Colonial times. Hester's husband has been missing and presumed dead but she's born a child by another man. She refuses to name the man responsible and carries the burden of their sin on herself.’
Aarti at Booklust reviewed ‘Wish her safe home’ by Stephen Benatar. This one goes on my own to be read list:
‘In the introduction to this book, John Carey states, “…there are really only two alternatives open to [Rachel]… She chooses the other alternative, which is to pretend that her ambitions have been fulfilled- that is to say, to go mad.” Carey thinks (and I agree with him) that, confronted with the decision to either continue her real, drudging existence in London, or to create a new, exciting one in Bristol, Rachel chooses completely to go with the exciting one.’
Melissa at The Betty and Boo Chronicles reviewed ‘Loving Frank’ by Nancy Hoban, who has created a heroine whose rebellion may harm, just as much as it helps.
‘In those times, it was taboo for a mother to abandon her children for a lover. (Not to say that such actions are condoned nowadays ... just that it was a different time).
But abandoning John and Martha, her very young children, is exactly what Mamah does.’
Wordlily wants everyone to know about a series she reviewed, featuring a family called the Spellmans. You can see reviews of the first three books ‘The Spellman Files’
‘The Curse of the Spellmans’ and ‘Revenge of the Spellmans’ by Lisa Lutz. Wordlilly says they:
‘Reminded me in some ways of the all-too-short television series Veronica Mars (not just because they both star a girl, PI, who grew up in the business; also because this girl is tough, and smart, and strong, among other shared traits).’
Heather at Age 30+...a Lifetime of Books reviewed ‘The Wet Nurse’s Tale’:
‘When Susan finds herself with a new baby of her own and minus a husband, she turns to the one thing she can depend on to get her by: her (rather large) breasts.’
If that killer line didn’t intrigue you maybe you’d prefer the female leader presented in ‘The Triumph of Deborah’:
‘Deborah, recently cast off by her husband, develops a surprising affinity for Barak. Yet she struggles to rebuild her existence on her own terms, while also groping her way toward the greatest triumph of her life.’
Nymeth of things mean a lot reviewed 'Lady Audley's Secret'. She was on the fence about whether it reinforced or subverted gender stereotypes, something she says critics have been arguing about for years:
'the mere fact that Lady Audley's Secret raises certain possibilities is significant. The world of the novel is more flexible and less fond of absolutes than what one would expect from Victorian ideology. Like The Woman in White, it explores the cracks and the contradictions in what everyone 'knew' to be true.'
Non-fiction
Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness reviewed ‘Undress me in the Temple of Heaven’, a book that was so good it turned her into one of those crazy people you see shouting at no one in traffic jams:
‘There were times that I was listening to this book in my car when I just had to yell, “Are you kidding? That did not just happen!” '
I reviewed ‘England’s Mistress: The infamous life of Emma Hamilton’. Emma’s first act of rebellion is to be a terrible maid, in order to avoid a life of drudgery and then goes on from there:
‘Everyone knows Emma as the dazzling mistress of Admiral Horatio Nelson, but before she began her association with him she had played many roles. She grew up in the midst of a poor family, supported by women and throughout her early life she earned her living as a maid, a dancer, an artist’s model and a prostitute.’
Plays
Rebecca at Rebecca Reads reviewed ‘Medea’ by Euripides, an ancient tale of revenge:
‘Medea had left her home to come to a foreign land, and now she was being cast aside. Her husband Jason had not only cheated on her but had cast her away and married another, younger woman.
Medea’s reaction to the situation and her subsequent actions are extreme. Like Lady Macbeth, she casts aside her instincts of kindness and, particularly, her motherly love. She murders her own children. But unlike when I read about Lady Macbeth, I felt Medea was in the right.’
Interviews
Haglerat at Unbound interviewed Caitlin Kittredge whose Nocturnes series features supernatural heroines who rebel against the werewolf cliché:
‘Luna is a werewolf, and most werewolves tend to be the cliche "outcast", outside of human society with limited interaction. I wanted to see what would happen if I plunked Luna into the center of the law enforcement profession and turned her loose.’
Hope you enjoyed the carnival, have a lovely celebratory season everyone!