The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

An introspective novel, examining the life of Anne Lindbergh, the wife of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. The first celebrity couple in US history, they captured the imagination of millions at the dawn of aviation and broadcast radio. The novel is fiction, of course, and examines the innermost thoughts of Anne as she copes with life in the shadow of her legendary husband, the death of her child, the notoriety of his anti-semitism and pro-nazi stance before WWII, and the revelation of his many affairs and illegitimate children.

It is fascinating reading, if a little too introspective for my taste. Anne is portrayed as continually questioning her marriage, while still acquiescing to everything her husband asks of her. Understandable actions on Anne's part, given the times that she lived in. At times I wished the novel would deal more directly with the action of the characters lives, rather than simply reflecting events as Anne attempted to decipher their meaning.

PYG: THe Memoirs of Toby, The Learned Pig by Russell Potter

There was an actual pig named Toby, who had a famous stage act in the late 18th century. He could respond to questions by spelling out words with placards that he manipulated with his snout. The act was very popular, so much so that there were many imitators, and Toby was mentioned in the popular press of the day.

This is a work of fiction, an imagined memoir of Toby. It seems to be very accurate in it's treatment of the historical characters around the pig. Toby is presented as being extremely intelligent . The writing is in the style of works from the period, and is very reminiscent of Jonathon Swift and Gulliver's Travels.

Unfortunately, it left me wanting more. Very little is mentioned about how Toby attained the spark of intelligence, or about how a pig would respond so differently than a human to stimulus. Toby is portrayed as a mute human more than anything else, and nothing like a pig. There is very little drama. I thought that the story could have been so much better, along the lines of the novels by Richard Adams.

The Lincoln Conspiracy - A Novel by Timothy L. O'Brien

Ho-hum. A thriller like so many others, it follows the usual formula. The maguffin in this case is a pair of diaries, one belonging to the widow of Lincoln and the other to John Wilkes Booth. The setting is Washington DC just after the assassination of Lincoln. A police detective intercepts the diaries, and then risks his life and that of his wife and friends to keep them from other armed thugs. It reminded me of the improbable TV series, "The Wild Wild West". Historical figures make appearances. There is much chasing around on horses, gun play, and fights between armed gangs. The hero and heroine get captured and escape. There are coverups, plots, and coded messages.

So it's very formulaic, containing all the required aspects of a thriller. It's not particularly convincing or even very novel. In the end, as is usually the case, the maguffin (the diaries) are not very important after all and get lost in the shuffle. There is a twist at the end (of course), but ultimately its just another historical thriller.

East of Denver by Gregory Hill

A black comedy. A son cares for his senile father on the family farm that they are slowly losing to an unscrupulous banker. Through in a paraplegic childhood friend, an overweight "girlfriend", the local drug dealer, and set it all in the dry prairie east of Denver.

It's just a little too dark for my taste. One of my favorite novels is "As I Lay Dying" by Faulkner. That is a masterpiece of the black comedy. "East of Denver" has comic moments that border of brilliant, but the big picture is missing. At times the novel lacks direction. Is it about the son's relationship with the senile father? At one point, I thought the whole odd assortment of characters was going to rob a bank - now that would have been an odyssey worthy of a modern-day Faulkner. But in the end it's just about the son's failure to help his father keep the family farm.

So I was disappointed with the arc of the story, but the comic moments almost make up for it...

Juliet in August

An excellent novel, one of the best I have read this year. It's not a traditional novel with a strong central character, and not a set of short stories, but something in-between. It's a set of loosely connected characters, all sharing the same small-town setting. Whatever it is, it works extremely well. The characters are interesting and engaging, their problems are real and easy to relate to, the setting is alive, and there is just enough plot to move each character along. Even the ending is satisfying. Well done and highly recommended.

The Yard by Alex Grecian

An adequate novel, set in the early days of Scotland Yard, right after the Jack the Ripper murders. It's not a mystery, since the murderers are revealed to the reader in the early pages. It's not particularly suspenseful or thrilling - the plot follows predictable lines. It is entertaining and enjoyable, although there seems to me to be a needless emphasis on blood and gore.

There are anachronisms, which can quickly ruin a historical novel. The insistence by a married woman that she be called by her first name by a complete stranger seems out of character with dialog from the novels of the period, as does the use of the American slang "okay". That may not technically be an anachronism, but it jars and seems out of place.

So an enjoyable read, but nothing to get excited about.

I, Iago by Nicole Galland

A clever, thoughtful novel, this is a retelling of Shakespeare's Othello from the viewpoint of Iago, the villain of the play. Like many of Shakespeare's plays, the motives of the characters in Othello are open to interpretation. Volumes of literary commentary have been written about Othello, but by retelling the story as a novel, this book takes a fresh look at the character of Iago and his motives.

We all know what happens, of course. Iago plays on the jealousy and insecurity of the Moor Othello, the general of the Venetian Army, and his innocent wife Desdemona. Things get out of hand, of course, since it is a tragedy. Othello murders Desdemona, and Iago murders his best friend and his wife.

The novel starts, not with the beginning of the play, but with the childhood of Iago, and fills us in on the backstory of his character that is missing from the play, thus giving us a better understanding of his motives. The second half of the novel covers the action of the play, but since it is told from the first person perspective of Iago, we do not see any of the action in which he is not involved, and are not privy to the private thoughts of any of the other characters. This is very effective. My take on Iago, as presented in the novel, is that he loved Othello, and was jealous after being passed over in his promotion, and at the attention given to Desdemona.

I was also impressed with the author's use of dialog. She used modern English, of course, but it has the flavor of Shakespeare's dialog, with it's use of word play and puns and double entendres.

The novel is clever, carefully planned, and well written. Highly recommended.