Leaving Everything Most Loved by Jacqueline Winspear

This book features a weak, and ultimately forgettable, mystery that allows Maisie to dither about her future. I had assumed that she had decided against marrying James Compton based on the previous book, but she's still considering it, and frankly I hardly understand why she cares either way. The time period is still fascinating, but I don't think Ms. Winspear uses it as well as she used to. I wonder if this series has been over extended.

The Romance of Tristan by Beroul and translated by Alan S. Frederick

This book combines prose translations of The Romance of Tristan by Beroul and Tristan's Madness. The story is not one that a modern reader would expect: there's little continuity (for example, one character dies twice), and the author tells the reader what to think (and then the characters' actions may not match the author's descriptions of their morality). But this version does give a clear version of the romance of Tristan and Yseut with the best episodes preserved (the sword between the sleeping lovers, the piggy-back ride in disguise, Yseut's double-speak, the sail confusion). Of interest to those who want a more complete view of the Matter of Britain and those interested in medieval romance (in a modern translation).

The Art of Courtly Love by Andreas Capellanus

This book is Andreas Capellanus's guide to courtly love. Capellanus was chaplain at the court of Marie of Champagne, and supposedly wrote the book at her request to portray conditions at the court of Eleanor of Aquitane, who was Marie's mother. The first book describes what love is (pain--and, by the way, it can't be experienced between a husband and wife) and how to woo a lady (with descriptions giving sample conversations between eight different couples of different social statuses); the second book describes how to retain love once you've wooed someone; and the third book is a palinode that suggests rejecting love in favor of religion. The book reminded me a lot of Machiavelli's The Prince in genre and style (and perhaps even in content at times). There were some really lovely allegories scattered throughout the book, which added interest to its narrative.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

I enjoyed listening to this book, which is about the way that an environmental anomaly makes a woman reconsider her life and the choices and options available to her. Dellarobia Turnbow, who lives on a farm in rural Tennessee with her husband and two children, wants something more than she has. At the point the story opens, she imagines this something more only in terms of a different man. But everything changes when she suddenly sees monarch butterflies on the family property. Now Dellarobia can see that what she wants might not just be a different husband, but a different life entirely--one where she can put her intelligence to use. At times I found Dellarobia to be an extremely frustrating character, but I did enjoy the path of self-discovery her character took. Barbara Kingsolver read the book herself, and she really brought the book's lyricism to life.

Phaedrus by Plato translated by Christopher Rowe

This dialogue is a conversation between Phaedrus and Socrates. Phaedrus has just heard an impressive speech of Lysius's which contends that it is better to separate sex and love. Socrates, again adopting the pose of an ignorant man, at first gives a speech in agreement (with his head covered!) but then argues that love is a kind of divine madness (the highest of four kinds, actually) and that because the madness is divinely inspired it is actually good. This work is short, but very dense.

The Symposium by Plato translated by Walter Hamilton

This dialogue reflects on the nature of love. It uses a fairly involved frame narrative set up--we hear about the party third-hand--to report only the most significant speeches. We get many different views on the nature and purpose of love, but the dialogue especially shows off Socrates's wisdom (which he displays only after several other people have spoken on the topic). There are mythological explanations of love, but the most convincing and beautiful account of love asserts that at its best, it encourages people to become more virtuous and to pursue excellence. A lovely piece of work--I wish I could have read it in the original Greek instead of in translation.

South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami

This book tells the story of Hajime, whose happy family life is disrupted when a woman he loved in childhood comes back into his life. The story is fascinating, and in some senses, only covered in its contours: there's a lot of Shimamoto's history and circumstances that's simply left unexplained. The book is far more interested in the emotional impact of her interactions with Hajime than in telling her story.

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

In this book Roy's luminous language tells the story of tragedy coming to an Indian family with the visit of their cousin, Sophie Mol. While we know from the very first pages that the stories of the twins Rahel and Estha, their mother Ammu, and their cousin Sophie Mol cannot come to a conventionally happy ending, the book works against convention in its structure, its language, and its plot. If not happy through and through, or entirely hopeful, it does offer a visionary path towards a better life--both through a trans-human ecology and through a commitment to storytelling as a way of reordering and giving meaning to a harsh life. Although the boundaries some of the characters cross in this book may be hard for readers to swallow, the book affirms boundary-crossing as an important activity, and reminds us that these boundaries are only human constructions that get in the way of our full potential. Booker award winner, 1997

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

This book is by turns enchanting and frustrating. I enjoyed the academic hunt for the book (although it ended up feeling like a bit of a red herring or a wild goose chase, because it's one of the major plot points left unsettled for the next two books in the trilogy). The vampire love story was somewhat disappointingly cliché--an incredibly hot vampire with questionable motives just has to take the female lead out a few times and she's entirely head-over-heels in love with him. I really liked that she has her own powers (with a bit of mystery), but at times she struck me as too passive. Although at times the book felt like an adult Twilight, I am intrigued by the series enough to keep reading.

The Squire's Quest by Gerald Morris

In this book our attention returns to Gawain's squire, Terence, who has aged, but is still pretty sharp. He's worried because he hasn't heard from his family at Avalon for quite some time. Furthermore, a young man called Mordred has turned up at court, and while he impresses almost everyone, a few (including Terence and Kai) remain skeptical. There's a long bit with the Emperor of the Roman Empire (in Constantinople) and a Romeo and Juliet type plot, too. Overall, I liked this book; it seems to be shoring things up as they draw toward a conclusion.

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

This book unfurls its story by moving backwards in time. While I enjoyed the portrayal of London during the Blitz, and while I found it intriguing to tease out the dense web of inter-relationships between the characters, I wasn't quite sure what arranging the book backwards added to the telling of the story (except perhaps as a bit of bragging--look how clever I am!--on the author's part).

The Song is You by Arthur Phillips

This book takes us into the musical world of Julian Donahue, who lives through his iPod. We see the crossed-signals he gets and gives as he becomes increasingly obsessed with a young, Irish singer whose music is all the rage. There's a sort of rough humor to this book. I enjoyed piecing it out, and I liked the story, but this book is not on the same level as The Egyptologist or The Tragedy of Arthur.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

This book intentionally points toward Dickens, especially Oliver Twist, set in part among a den of thieves. As the plot unwinds, it's a plot worthy of a Dickens novel--in its crosses and double-crosses and complicated twists. However, while the best of Dickens's novels have many such plots interweaving, this novel has no real subplots. It's still an enjoyable read. Booker shortlisted, 2002.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

I found myself enjoying this book much more than I expected to. In a futuristic society where love is a disease that can be cured (by laser brain surgery) after you turn eighteen, Lena, an average girl in every way, falls in love just months before her procedure and learns to question the foundational tenets of her society. I thought the character of Lena was well done, and the love story tenderly and realistically achieved. Furthermore, the world building worked particularly well: each chapter's headed by some witty epigram taken from the books, websites, and policies that provided the canon of this dystopic government. My biggest complaint is that the book ended on a cliff-hanger, so now we have to wait a year to see how it resolves! This book is definitely part of a trilogy (too many loose ends for a stand-alone novel), but it is a promising opening.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

As I read this book again, I couldn't help but notice how carefully the story is crafted--there's a lot of foreshadowing that works very well, and the imagery is just magnificent. I also really enjoyed the buzzards' service for Matt Bonner's mule's death this time around.

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

This book continues the adventures of Claire and Jamie Fraser in colonial America. They're joined by their daughter Brianna, once she discovers news of their death from the 20th century. The plot of this book moved better than I thought it would once it got started, although I'm not sure that the overall narrative arc was complete (lots of things felt like they were left hanging)--this series definitely builds from one book to the next. Enjoyable, though I feel at times the book's playing the game of trying to figure out how one might transfer knowledge of modern medicine back 200 years.

Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda

This collection of poetry has some really beautiful and memorable moments. The poems are all short, but they're well worth reading. The collection moves from the joys and excitements of young love to the sadness and despair of love's end. I especially enjoyed "Puedo escribir los versos más tristes esta noche," which as its title implies comes near the end of the collection.

A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Houseman

This collection of poetry is mostly written in a pastoral mode. The verse itself is not bad, but sort of what I would expect for Victorian poetry. Mostly it's short and lyric, and has to do with people courting, dying young, and serving in war. I particularly like the penultimate poem, which I have come across before, whose first line is "Terrence, this is stupid stuff." There are intriguing contrasts between the Shropshire countryside and urban London, and between nature, which will continue to exist, and people, who die quickly.

Between the Acts by Virginia Woolf

This book gets at the tensions and confusions that swirl beneath the surface of everyday life. The annual village pageant--this year a history of England--hides marital discord. Just as the country's about to enter into war (there are hints, at the edge of the text, which was written in 1941 and set in 1939), the book closes just as Isa and Giles Oliver are about to enter into their own disagreement. Written in Woolf's beautiful style, this book fairly simmers with its keen and wry observations.

The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart

While the main plot of this book follows a couple struggling to deal with the death of their only son, there's a lot more here. There's a lot of humor, lots of history (especially as relates to the Tower of London) and even a bit of mystery (what exactly happened to Milo, the son?). The playful moments, the magically realistic story of the Beefeater asked to open a menagerie in the Tower, and the story of attempts to find the owners of property lost in the London Underground contrasted powerfully with the story of living with loss. All around an excellent read.