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February 24, 2005

The Wild Swans by Peg Kerr

If you like fairy tale retellings, then this story of the Wild Swans (originally by Hans Christain Andersen) is definitely a must read. It is the story of Eliza, an English country lass and her travails as she goes from the England to the New World to break the spell placed on her brothers. It is also the story of Elias, a young man trying to make a living in New York City after his family disowns him.

The book is well written and characterized, but the best thing is the transitions. Each chapter deals with either Eliza or Elias, and they alternate, making this a good book to read while commuting. Peg Kerr works hard to make the transition from one chapter to the other seamless, so that the switch between characters and time periods is not jarring.

Just a warning though. I have cried my way through the last couple of chapters and the author's afterward every time I have read this book. It is incredibly touching without being overly sappy and romantic.

Posted by Seanna Lea at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

February 01, 2005

The Time Traveler's Wife

I started this book after reading an review of it on someone's knitting blog. At first I thought, eh, it's going to be too science-fiction-y, but I was wrong. It took a little about 30 pages to get into it, but the book soared beyond my initial take and expectations. Much more than a science fiction story, this is the story of Henry de Tamble and his struggle with chrono displacement disorder, a disorder that makes him inadvertantly disappear and then reappear at different times of his life. It seems very complicated at first, but you learn to get into the swing of things as you read along.

It is in his time-traveling that he meets his future wife, him as an older man and her as a young girl, and you learn of the struggles they must overcome to make their love, and eventual marriage, work. This is truly a love story above all else, but it doesn't fall into the sappy mushyness it could have, and, most importantly, the love story doesn't get lost in the science fiction aspect of the story.

I've been recommending this book to everyone I know; it was that good.

Posted by Lisa at 07:58 AM | Comments (9)