Hench / Natalie Zina Walschots

 

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Well, that was and wasn't what I was expecting. It has its funny moments, but it deals with many more serious issues than I expected. We meet Anna when she is a temp worker as a hench, scrambling for jobs to keep her from eviction and calculating carefully how to afford enough vegetables to avoid scurvy. I was a bit unclear on why she chose the role of hench. Perhaps it was that old “do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life” bullshit. At any rate, she is hired by the villain Electric Eel, not the best of employers, and when his latest caper attracts the attention of the hero Supercollider, Anna gets severely injured, collateral damage.

Walschotts manages a brilliant critique of the precarious gig economy and of businesses that are willing to dump employees who might require time to heal or otherwise regroup. Whether you're a hench or a mensch, being part of the precariot isn't fun. Anna becomes obsessed with the damage caused by superheroes and she asks the very relevant question: who gets to decide who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? There's a bit of a Watchmen vibe—superheroes maybe aren't the best role models. Anna starts a spreadsheet, which becomes a blog detailing all the harm that superheroes have done. Her project brings her to the attention of Supercollider's arch nemesis, Leviathan and Anna gets a job (with benefits) and a chance at revenge.

Things get serious fast at this point. Anna has real talent at plotting and planning. She rapidly becomes The Auditor, Leviathan‘s right hand woman.

I understand there may be a sequel in the works. I'd be interested if this actually happens. If you enjoyed this book, you might try Watchmen (quite dark) or James Alan Gardner’s Dark/Spark series (All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault, They Promised Me The Gun Wasn't Loaded) for a more humorous take on the superhero gig.


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Extraterrestrial / Avi Loeb

 

Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth by Avi Loeb
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

”If you do not expect the unexpected, you will not find it.”—Heraclitus of Ephesus

I heard Loeb interviewed about this book and immediately put a hold on it at my library. As soon as it came in, I grabbed it and wasted no time getting reading. For me, Loeb's interview was more inspiring than his book. But I do think he has valid points and that the nature of the interstellar object known as ‘Oumuamua should be investigated thoroughly.

In essence, the astrophysical community seems to be sticking to the old wisdom If you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras. In many endeavours this is sensible advice--I've had to deal with a number of beginner birders who are adamant that they've seen something highly unlikely, say an Asian accidental in Western Canada or a species that exists in North America, but not in our area. The vast majority of the time, they haven't seen the unusual, just a normal bird under odd circumstances. But there are always those times…. I know of a Curve Billed Thrasher seen in Northern Alberta one winter, for example. So Loeb is right to remind us that the hoof beats might be horses, donkeys, or zebras and we would do well to allow for the unusual.

It's unfortunate but unsurprising that Loeb's style is somewhat pedantic. I imagine that he's used to being one of the smartest guys in the room. This book may be mostly about ‘Oumuamua, but it also is a comment on the state of the academic world, where reputation and funding opportunities seem to outweigh intellectual curiosity. He points out the unjustified denigration of those who search for life in the universe (such as the SETI project). He doesn't say so, but I think the crop-circles-and-alien-abductions crowd has tarnished this branch of study. Certainly if there were aliens actually visiting Earth, there would be no need to announce themselves so obliquely.

Although he strongly suspects an extraterrestrial origin of ‘Oumuamua, I think what he most hopes for is the opening of the scientific mindset to include this possibility. Preparing for the next appearance of such an anomalous object and getting more definitive answers should be the next goal.


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From Doon With Death / Ruth Rendell

 

From Doon With Death by Ruth Rendell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't think that mystery novels had anything new for me to discover. Man, was I wrong and I'm so pleased about it. For me, the choice of murder victim in this novel stood out. Why in the world would any one go to the bother of killing and dumping a boring, plain woman like Margaret (Godfrey) Parsons? All the men in the case take one look at her photo and pretty much dismiss the most common motive. She's a dowdy housewife and her demise can't be explained by regular motives.

Enter Inspector Wexford, a man who I think I am going to like. He's a poetry buff, rather like one Adam Dalgliesh of P.D. James' creation. But unlike the refined Dalgliesh, Wexford isn't above some coarse policeman's talk. That roots him in reality.

And reality seems to be what interests Rendell. The town that the Parsons live in isn't some charming little English village. It's a town that's become just like any other town, the way all cities seem homogeneous these days, with exactly the same chain stores and restaurants along any main street, defying you to know exactly where you are, Spokane or Saskatoon. The problems are those of the early 1960s, when women were just starting to extricate themselves from being exclusively housewives and starting to reach for sexual equality.

Which brings us back to Margaret, our apparently boring, somewhat religious, utterly unremarkable victim. As Wexford investigates, he discovers a slightly mysterious past. I feel this just goes to show that all of us have past indiscretions that we have papered over and attempted to forget. Next time you meet someone who seems without a single redeeming feature, muse upon what might be found out about them during a murder investigation! While they tell you (as Margaret told the grocery store clerk) what they plan to cook for supper, imagine that this person has had at least one startling relationship or impulsive action lurking in their background and your new acquaintance would be horrified if you knew about it. We all have more in us than most other people will ever appreciate.

This is the first book featuring Wexford, so I assume they will improve. I've enjoyed this one thoroughly so I very much look forward to the next investigation.


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How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read / Pierre Bayard

 

How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why would you want to talk about books you haven't read? There are myriads of reasons. Maybe you're just discussing life and literature in general with a friend. It's nice to discuss a book that they've enjoyed even if you haven't. Maybe you need to sound knowledgeable during a course or to not let your book club know that you never got around to this month's book. (There's a book club example of a woman trying to fake it, unsuccessfully, early in The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires).

I am a retired library cataloguer and have needed to determine the subject matter of many a book that I have only skimmed. There's no time for detailed reading. I would study the dust jacket, the table of contents, the introduction or first paragraphs, and the conclusion. Maybe an index if present. From those elements I could generally make a good estimate of the book's innards. Sometimes I felt like a priestess, trying to divine the future from some unfortunate animal's liver, but it seemed to work. And of course there's always Google and Wikipedia, if you need more input. (How did we catalogue before the internet?)

I've recently been debating with myself the question of whether I can count as “read" a book which is so far in my past that I can't remember a single detail. Books that I read in my teens and early twenties, for example. I can recall enjoying some of them, but no details come to mind. If I can't discuss the book, can I truly say that I have read it? I think this author would say ‘yes.’
Then there are those books that I do remember, but when talking with someone else they start rhapsodizing about an aspect that doesn't ring ANY bells with me. Did we read the same book? Sometimes I'm driven to re-read a book, just to compare their emphasis versus mine. The explanation according to this author is that we each interpret a book through the lens of our inner libraries. Just like eye witness accounts, what you see depends on your angle, your previous knowledge and experience, and how much you identify with what's going on.

I must confess that I don't subscribe to the idea that not having read some “classic" book is somehow shameful. With about 130,000,000 books published, we will each have read only a tiny fraction of what's available. I've never read Moby Dick, but I know what someone is talking about when they refer to a particular pursuit as someone's “white whale.” Maybe someday I will attempt this huge whaling epic, but I don't think its completion measures my worth as a reader or as a person. Of course, things are different if you have a reputation as an academic or a critic to protect. Then it might be necessary to muddy the waters about what you have or haven't read.

Authors who get overly involved in reviews of their books should definitely read the penultimate chapter of this book about the role of the critic. Criticism is its own art form according to this author via Oscar Wilde. Wilde states that the critic should refrain from reading the work in question. I can see where he's coming from since my own reviews are more about me than the book. They are about my thoughts, feelings, and reactions more than they are about the book itself.

For those of us who are just ordinary readers, with no particular position to defend, we can just enjoy reading what suits us.




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Mortal Danger / Eileen Wilks

 

Mortal Danger by Eileen Wilks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Any book with dragons can't be too bad. But this book certainly doesn't start there. Instead it begins with Lily's sister's wedding and the prerequisite ugly bridesmaids dresses. While a horrible dress may seem like a big deal to Lily at this point, she rapidly finds bigger issues to stew about.

This is primarily a relationship book. Lily and Rule literally go to hell, where they settle their major beefs. It's this trip into the land of demons which drags my rating down to 3 stars, as I find Dis/Hell to be awfully easy to survive and escape. The one demon we get to know is a silly, pathetic creature rather than a powerful enemy (it is easily distracted by the concept of multiple orgasms).

As usual, Lily is question woman. For someone with a supernatural power, she is very focused on trying to empirically explain all the extraordinary abilities in her friendship circle. Even Sam, the dragon, is amused by her never ending flow of questions.

I missed Lily's grandmother, who only features in the first few pages of this novel. Much as I love her, I can see where she could potentially steal Lily's thunder. Nevertheless, I do hope that the next book has more grandmotherly influence!

Fun, playful urban fantasy, perfect to help weather these rough pandemic waters.


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False Value / Ben Aaronovitch

 

False Value by Ben Aaronovitch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Obviously, I wouldn't be reading book 8 of this series if I didn't seriously enjoy Peter Grant and his magickal London. I even spent my own moolah to buy a copy to permanently accession into my personal library.

I understand Peter moving in with Beverley, he bloody better if she's expecting his twin children. But I do miss the Folly, Toby, Molly, and more downtime with Nightingale. Aaronovitch has developed so many characters that I'm fond of that he can't possibly shoehorn them all into every book he writes, so I am getting used to enjoying them when they do appear. However Peter retains his cheeky outlook on policing and I enjoy his observations on humanity.

Do I perhaps detect a desire in Nightingale to retire? Please, Ben, say it ain't so! How can magical crime be fought without the Nightingale to back up our brash Peter? Unfortunately for me, things will be very different soon, since Bev can't stay pregnant forever and those twins will change Peter's life in oh so many ways.

It seems that this book is setting up a new story arc to be the scaffolding for the next books. At least I'm hoping that's the plan. Developments that I would like to see include more of the Guleed/Michael relationship, more Molly if there's a way to accomplish that, more than a scant paragraph about Toby, and maybe Bev's mother inspecting those twins, with complications ensuing. My copy of The October Man has just arrived in the mail, so that will keep me going, along with Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, until such time as the new Abigail adventure is fully cooked.

I'm relieved that Mr. Aaronovitch has recovered from his bout of Covid-19 and wish him good heath and good writing!


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The Secret of Chimneys / Agatha Christie

 

The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know that a lot of people don't care for Christie's thrillers, preferring the murder mysteries. I guess I'm in the minority, because I find them highly entertaining. The main character in this one, Anthony Cade, reminded me a bit of Anne Beddingfeld’s love interest in The Man in the Brown Suit. I suppose even the shady characters of the world need a bit of love. I must confess to rather adoring Victoria Revel, who describes herself as a wicked widow and professes polyandrous tendencies. Her sharp intelligence and adept handling of the men in her reach is delightful.

I enjoyed Cade's dialog a lot, his many wryly humourous observations on the matter at hand. It makes me anxious to read another biography of Christie to see if I can get a better estimation of the woman. If one was to believe her autobiography, she just bumped along, being surprised by the actions of those around her. This I just do not believe of the woman who created the ultra-observant Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. It is my belief that she hid behind a façade, much as Miss Marple pretended to be a dotty older woman.

If my calculations are correct, with this book copyrighted in 1925, it would have been written during the turbulent period just before Christie's divorce. In both this novel and the previous one, the female characters pledges themselves to men with murky histories and remain tremendously loyal. By all accounts, Agatha did not want a divorce and felt her own loyalty had been abused. Perhaps that accounts for some of the dramatic pairing up that occurs in these novels? If you can't have it, at least your main characters can?

At any rate, this was a secret well worth reading for. And I pat myself on the back that I figured out M. Lemoine, even if I missed the significance of Boris.


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Water Sleeps / Glen Cook

 

Water Sleeps by Glen Cook
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I started this series, back in 2015, I would never have imagined how involved in it I would become or how convoluted the story would end up. This book has much less in the way of warfare and violence and much more in the way of history, languages, and religion.

Sleepy has become our Annalist, recording the exploits of the pitiful remains of the Black Company. She is our second female Annalist, following in the footsteps of Lady. She also proves to have a devious mind—which one needs if one is going to lead the Company. Sleepy may not want the leadership position, but she knows that the Black Company does not abandon its own and there are a number of members (including Croaker, Lady, and Murgen) trapped by sorcery under the Glittering Plain. The hope is that Croaker and Lady will still be sane enough when rescued to resume the helm.

Sleepy also knows, from reading the old volumes of the Annals, that the Glittering Plain is no place for sissies. You've got to be quick, careful, and crafty. She excels at planning, but sometimes gets paralyzed during the action. Thankfully she has several companions who can prod her back into action.

Water sleeps. The Black Company can bide its time. But it seems the time has come.

Soldiers live and wonder why. Next book coming up soon on my list and I am looking forward to it!

Book number 396 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

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Dragonflight / Anne McCaffrey

Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2021 Re-read

I can still see why this appealed so strongly to me when I was in my twenties. I identified with Lessa's outrage when it is assumed that she can't do things or can't understand things that the men can. It's obvious that she is more intelligent than most of the dragonrider men, who behave like arrogant jerks. Also, the main characters are in their late teens, early twenties, so no wonder twenties me found them attractive, especially when the older people are represented as hidebound and rather clueless.
(McCaffrey was in her early 40s when she started publishing Pern material, but one has to wonder when she started writing it and why she made people her own age so uninspiring.)

F'lar is not as bad a jerk as some of the other men, but he's very much a 1970s character. His tendency to shake Lessa and to slap her when she gets “hysterical" is tiresome. (Women seem to get accused of hysteria whenever men don't want to listen to them). His casual assumption that a very young woman from a very different background will have the same sexual mores and experience as him is unfortunate, as is the fact that no one mentions to Lessa that when two dragons mate, their bonded humans follow suit. There's a lot to the dragon life that Lessa has to piece together on her own.

McCaffrey gives us a smart, strong female main character in Lessa, but then gives up the most of the authority to F'lar. I guess she couldn't envision women running anything besides the kitchens and the medIcal ward? Even the naming conventions for men are different, with the young men getting their fancy names with apostrophes when they become dragonriders, while women in the same circumstances don't. With queen dragons ruling the roost, there would have been all kinds of interesting directions to take Weyr politics, rather than just taking the safe, patriarchal route.

It's the dragons themselves that make this fantasy world interesting. I think all of us who love animals dream of actually being able to communicate with them a la Dr Doolittle. I think for twenty year old me, the thought of having a purpose & a planned out future because of a dragon-bond was very attractive too. No need to agonize over how to support myself or how to use my time. Now approaching 60, I'd be resentful of having a large lizard to take care of every single damn day. Plus, dragons to me look like they could be long lived critters, but they basically suicide when their bonded human dies. This doesn't seem like a good arrangement for dragonkind.

So, while I'm glad to have revisited a familiar place and people, Pern isn't my world anymore and I think I'll leave while I still retain some fondness for it.

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Sky Coyote / Kage Baker

 

Sky Coyote by Kage Baker
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you are a fan of Connie Willis' Doomsday Book or To Say Nothing of the Dog, I think there's a good chance that you will appreciate the Company novels by Kage Baker. The mysterious Company from the future, where they have developed both time travel and immortality. Unfortunately, they can't travel forward to the future and immortality can only be arranged for the very young. So, they travel back in time, rescue children from fatal situations, and make them into immortal cyborg employees who manipulate the past to make a ton of money for the Company.

In this second book, we meet some of the future humans and let us just say that things don't look to good for humanity's future. Future human Bugleg explains it this way: ”People did war. Pollution. Killing things until they were gone. We could stay inside and not hurt anything, but the bad things had happened already.” As a result, they are terrified of animals, the outdoors, their ancient employees, even food that has texture. They drink distilled water, have a horror of caffeine & alcohol, are nauseated at the thought of eating an animal product, and they spend their spare time playing violent videogames to purge themselves of passionate feelings. They have limited vocabularies and no understanding of the civilizations that they are meddling in.

This reminds me of C.J. Cherryh's Precursor, where the returning ship's crew are similarly scared of the outdoors, revolted by food that has flavour and texture, and seem to have forgotten important human social skills.

I don't remember any questioning of the Company's purpose or methods in the first book, but I was pretty involved in Mendoza's situation in that book. This volume gives us a year, 2355, that it seems that there will be a change. This seems somewhat ominous to the Company employees and inspires a lot of conspiracy theories. Much the same as any big organization where change is rumoured. This is well set up now, so I'm hoping that book 3 will provide more detail.

Good adventures, intriguing relationships, and a mysterious future—what more entertainment could you ask for?

Book number 395 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.



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A Room Full of Bones / Elly Griffiths

 

A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So far, I have really enjoyed all the books in this series. This one just cements my affection for them. I think their attraction lies in three main themes. First off, I really like Ruth Galloway as a main character. I like her professionalism and her determination to just get on with things. I'm not cut out to be a single mother (or a married mother, for that matter), but I can appreciate her efforts to raise Kate on her own, especially with all the judgement that seems to get loaded onto mothers. They seem to get blamed for everything that goes wrong with children and fathers get off scot free.

Each mystery provides a complete plot line and an interesting archaeological angle, but it is very much the relationships that keep me engaged in this series. Will Ruth stay single? Will Harry's marriage survive his wife's discovery that he is Kate's father? Will Harry and Ruth find a way to communicate about their child that doesn't ruffle everyone further? There are even the other police officers, whose private lives are starting to form part of the fabric of each book.

But one of the biggest draws is the whole theme of spirituality that is a pronounced undercurrent in each volume. Ruth's parents, the born again Christians, have provided Ruth something to rebel against and she has become a materialist. Show the proof or go away. Harry is Catholic and desperately wanted Kate christened, so much so that he made arrangements for the ceremony. In everyday life however, he's a hard headed pragmatist with no patience for mystical goings on. But both Ruth and Harry have Cathbad the Druid in their lives. Cathbad, who often seems to show up at just the right time to prevent disaster, who has an undying love of ceremonies around bonfires, and an annoying tendency to know just the detail that his friends are searching for.

I do love my genre fiction! I'm so glad that I discovered this series and I'm going to try to pace myself, not binge it. Just knowing that there's a new Ruth novel out there waiting is a pleasure in itself.


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Artificial Condition / Martha Wells

 

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars

So many thoughts about such a short book! Wells has done it again, capturing magic in a bottle. The end of All Systems Red was sudden and unexplained until now. What seemed illogical then is an obvious course of action now.

Murderbot continues to be a very human construct emotionally, even as it continues to be very adept at hacking the systems all around it. But when it hitches a ride with a research transport, it runs into a potential ally/enemy. It makes sense that a research transport would be curious, but its questions are very uncomfortable for our dear Murderbot. I love the name that is bestowed upon this new character, ART (Asshole Research Transport).

All these various bots, constructs, transports, and drones remind me strongly of Iain Banks' Culture series, where humans and artificial intelligences co-exist. It's like the Murderbot universe is the beginning of the Culture. Banks' AIs are acknowledged as full members of society, so presumably there is an emancipation in the future for all of these creations of Wells.

I can hardly wait to pick up the next installment, but I want to ration them out. They are such a joy to read, I would hate to finish them too quickly. Anticipation is a big part of my enjoyment of some series and this is definitely one of those.

Thank you, Martha Wells, for such a fabulous world for readers to experience and enjoy!



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An Autobiography / Agatha Christie

 

Agatha Christie: An Autobiography by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Since I am gradually reading my way through Agatha Christie's novels, I felt it would be interesting to also read her account of her life history and it was an interesting experience indeed. She chose a very casual and confiding style which is very easy to get into.

However, it became obvious that just as we curate our social media accounts to show our best selves to the world, Christie also picked and chose what she was willing to reveal. The portion dealing with her divorce, for instance, downplays her emotional turmoil. The early sections of the book make clear that her childhood was rather Victorian, making divorce a very real personal failure. She never mentions her disappearance after a quarrel with her husband, lasting over a week and engendering a hunt by police.

Despite her careful selection of stories, much of the woman's character shines through. She was very creative, even as a child imagining friends for herself and adventures to share with them. She didn't give herself much credit for observing other people, though how she could write characters like Miss Marple without having a sharp understanding of human frailty? And human strengths too, for that matter.

I had to admire her determination to put her life back together again after the trauma of divorce and her enthusiasm for her trip on her own to Baghdad. Her obvious love of the Middle East is endearing and must have been one of the factors that attracted her second husband. Sharing his archaeological fieldwork seems to have suited her completely.

I was struck with her description of her writing process late in the book. She describes it as waiting, knowing that things were happening, then, just like surfing earlier in her life, timing it right to jump up and ride the wave to a successful finish. Traveling, surfing, house hunting, or writing, Dame Agatha seems to have treated life as an amusing adventure.

I'm glad to have read her version, but have Laura Thompson's biography queued up, ready to give me a different angle on this fascinating woman.


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Fiber Fueled / Will Bulsiewicz

 

Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome by Will Bulsiewicz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Recommended for those who, like me, have been searching for good information on the microbiome and how to “cultivate your own garden.” I chose this book because the author of How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss gave it a thumbs up and the two men certainly share a worldview.

I aspire to increase my plant intake and both books are inspiring for that goal. I'm unsure that I will ever be vegan, but I have no doubt that more plant based meals will be an improvement. I found Bulsiewicz's recommendation to strive to include 35 plant species in the menu each week to be a bit overwhelming at first, but having thought about it a bit, I think it is achievable. There are a few recipes that I'll be trying. I am particularly intrigued by the Biome Broth and I'm going to experiment with miso and try kombucha.

I may not agree 100% with everything in the book, I think there's a lot of good stuff here to be “digested.”


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The Black Tower / P.D. James

 

The Black Tower by P.D. James
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not my favourite James book. Her main character, Adam Dalgliesh, has been seriously ill and must convalesce and decide what to do with his life. Turns out his illness wasn't the fatal cancer his doctors originally feared, so he must find a way to re-engage with life (a circumstance echoed in the situation he finds himself later in the novel).

So we have an uncertain and disillusioned Dalgliesh, called to give advice to a clergyman that he has known when he was a boy. He's unsure what the man wanted to discuss, but by the time he arrives at the odd facility/community where the priest lives, the man is dead. Dalgliesh doesn't want to be an investigator any more, but he also can't turn off his brain. Perhaps it's this lack of true engagement in the main character, but I had a hard time caring whether it was a murder or not.

Of course, the mysterious events don't stop there. The deaths pile up and both Dalgliesh and I wonder why he's still hanging around this weird nursing home. Why hasn't he fled the scene, typed up his resignation letter, and written some poetry about it? During the last 20 pages, James suddenly regains her grip and the plot thunders to an inevitable conclusion.

We can't write fabulous books every time, so I am chalking this offering up to that. I'm still a Dalgliesh fan and will give the next book in the series a chance.


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The Tenant of Wildfell Hall / Anne Bronte

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Anne Bronte's personal background shines through in this novel. Her upbringing as a clergyman's daughter is reflected in the main character Helen's religious view of life. Frankly, Helen becomes quite tiresome with all of her preachifying to her husband and his friends. Like Anne's sister Charlotte's Jane Eyre, who dutifully returns to nurse her Aunt Reed despite that woman's actions, Helen does her nursing duty when called upon. And like Jane, she is rewarded for it.

But Anne also spent time as a governess. By all accounts, it took her some time to get used to living outside the family home and away from her sisters. With her religious upbringing, it must have been a shock to live in a more secular household. Her first situation seems to have involved children who were indulged rather than disciplined, reflecting Helen's concern for her son's upbringing. Anne was a quiet woman and probably also observed far more bad adult behaviour than she let on. I would imagine that some of these experiences were fodder for the drawing room drama in this novel.

She was also witness to her brother Branwell's poor choices, addiction, decline, and death. I have to believe that Arthur's drunkenness and drug use may have been based on Branwell's life, as perhaps are Arthur's infidelities. Branwell, because he was male in the very patriarchal environment, got away with addiction, shirking work, and an affair with his boss's wife, when any of his sisters would have been disowned for such actions. You can see this same dynamic at work in Gilbert, who may be vastly superior to Arthur but still acts like an asshole regularly. He pouts and stomps when he doesn't get his way immediately. He gravely injures Frederick during a temper tantrum and is reluctant to admit how wrong he was even when it becomes plainly obvious. Basically, he's a spoiled, entitled man-child.

It's pretty apparent that Anne saw the unfairness of her society's treatment of women. Once married, a woman was stuck with her husband and had little recourse if he was a brute, a gambler, or a drunkard. He controlled the money, even if it was hers, and everything she owned and was. I'm only amazed that women were willing to remarry. Very much the triumph of hope over experience.

This novel is truly on par with the more famous books penned by her sisters. Kind of preachy, but not surprising when the author's background is taken into account. It seemed strange to me that after showing all the various ways that romantic love could ruin a person's life, that Anne was willing to grant her characters a happily-ever-after ending.


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