The Coffee Trader - David Liss

the coffee trader
david liss
c. 2003
384 pages
completed 6/9/2010

read for: reading western europe challenge

*may contain spoilers*

It rippled thickly in the bowl, dark and hot and uninviting.

In the year 1659, as the Netherlands explodes with innovate speculative business ventures, Miguel Lienzo is living with his brother after suffering a terrible loss with the turn of the sugar trade. He and his friend Geertruid, a Dutch widow, devise a scheme in order to take control of a new commodity recently arrived in Europe, coffee. Their scheme will give them a monopoly on the new drink and make them richer than they could possibly imagine. But there are many risks involved. Being a Portuguese Jew living in Protestant Amsterdam, Miguel must make sure his business dealings with Gentiles don't come under the scrutiny of his people's court, the Ma'amad. Miguel quickly discovers he has made two powerful enemies, one Jew and one Gentile, and as his coffee scheme spills out of control, Miguel finds cause to be suspicious of everyone's loyalties.

This is the second novel by David Liss I've read this year, the first being The Whiskey Rebels, and he's definitely becoming an author I will keep looking in to and looking out for. While The Whiskey Rebels dealt with an era of history I'm fairly familiar with (post-Revolutionary America and the debate over the Bank of the United States), The Coffee Trader was very new. Set entirely in the business world of the Netherlands, right after their fight for independence from Spain, The Coffee Trader was actually kind of lacking on the Dutch details. Other than some unpronounceable names (Annetje, Joachim, etc) and a tolerance of Jews, I felt there was little to distinguish the setting from, say, London, England. Perhaps there really isn't much to distinguish Amsterdam from London, but I find that hard to believe. For me, I like a historical novel to really immerse me in place and culture as much as story and character.

I was a little put off at first because I didn't really understand all the business that was going on. I don't totally get speculative trading. How can you buy and sell something you don't have? As things went on, however, it became apparent that it wasn't essential for me to understand the actual business transactions and that helped me get more into the story. Also, the further you get in, the harder it is to trust anyone, so I quickly began ignoring the actual business and became absorbed in trying to figure out who was betraying who and who was being manipulated and such. That was where the real story was.

The description of coffee was something I found kind of odd. I mean, I've never really felt that caffeine has that much affect on me. Maybe if I started popping caffeine pills we'd see some results, but these people drank coffee and had instant courage and clarity. It seemed to me a little exaggerated, but of course I did grow up in a coffee drinking house. Maybe things are different when it's bran new.

4/5

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt

angela's ashes
frank mccourt
c. 1996
362 pages
completed 5/8/2010

read for: reading western europe challenge, EW new classics

*may contain spoilers*

My father and mother should have stayed in New York where they met and married and where I was born.

Frank McCourt's memoir of his early life. Born in New York at the beginning of the Great Depression, McCourt's family moved to Ireland when he was four. McCourt's memoir begins before his birth and continues through years of abject poverty until he turns nineteen.

I feel a little weird reviewing memoirs, like it's not my place to dislike it because this was actually the author's life. So this review will probably be short.

To be honest, I thought very seriously on several occasions about abandoning this book. I didn't, mostly because that would have been the third book in little more than a month that I had abandoned and I was not down with that, so I stuck it out. I have problems with people who take artistic license with punctuation. I know I've said this before, but I really do believe we have rules on punctuation for a reason. It seems to happen a lot in memoirs especially that people just decide that they have no need for quotation marks. I have a need for quotation marks.

The story (should I call it that in a memoir?) is what I really have trouble critiquing because how can one critique what actually happened? As such I will just say that there was only so much detail on such abject poverty that I could take before I began to get irritated with certain people. And then I felt bad that I felt irritated, but I couldn't stop feeling irritated. I think this book was invoking emotions in me that it wasn't supposed to. There were parts of the book I liked. I thought it was really funny and touching in some places, mostly concerning Frank and his brothers. I did really like Frank. Not so much Angela. She was the one I really got irritated with. And then felt bad about. I'm glad I managed to finish this, but I don't think it's going to stick with me.

3/5

Mistress of the Revolution - Catherine Delors

mistress of the revolution
catherine delors
c. 2008
451 pages
completed 4/13/2010

read for: year of the historical challenge, reading western europe challenge

*may contain spoilers*

I read in the papers this morning that the corpses of the late King and Queen of France, by order of their brother, the restored Louis the Eighteenth, were exhumed from their graves in the former graveyard of La Madeleine, which has since become a private garden.

Now living in London in 1815, Gabrielle de Montserrat, formerly a baroness of France, writes her memoirs. She tells of her learning the heartaches of first love between an aristocrat and a commoner, a forced marriage at fifteen to an aging and abusive baron, and finally the desperation of being a widowed mother at seventeen with a family who refuses to take her and her daughter back into their home. As her only other option was taking the veil and joining a convent, Gabrielle takes her daughter to Paris where she enters the world of Marie-Antoinette. At first life is good for Gabrielle, she is befriended and educated and happy, but as revolution approaches her life is soon in danger and her only hope is the intervention of someone from her past.

I will be the first to admit that most of my knowledge of the French Revolution comes from the musical version of Les Miserables, which let's be for real is not even about the French Revolution (as it's about the June Rebellion of 1832). The rest of what I know is just white knowledge. Oh, and also how the French Revolution was a major factor in the development of political parties in the United States government. So I cannot really comment on the history of this novel (except to say this is probably the first time I'd ever read, heard, or seen Robespierre portrayed in anything remotely resembling a positive light), and as such I am just going to assume that everything was accurate, or if it wasn't there was an artistic reason or interpretation for being inaccurate, and comment only on the story itself.

I have read some comments regarding the main character of Gabrielle that complained that she was somewhat inconsistent and unpredictable, that sometimes she was fragile and helpless and other times she was tough as nails. And while I agree that her personality was a bit contradictory at times, I didn't find any cause for complaint about that. I find that most people are often contradictory. Everyone has faults, everyone is fallible, and a person's nature is often contingent on circumstances. Also, she arrived in Paris at seventeen already a widow and mother. What seventeen year old really has them self together enough to have a completely steadfast, unfaltering personality? I kind of felt bad for Gabrielle. She never quite fit in anywhere. She was too wild and unrestrained for life on her brother's and then her husband's country estates (like when she taught herself to ride a horse astride or wanted to re-befriend her commoner childhood playmate), and was too modest and thoughtful for aristocratic life in Paris and at court. While she managed to move well in Paris society with a few somewhat fickle friends, I was glad they weren't the only people there and she was able to find some friends who could be truly devoted to her and who she could be truly devoted to in return, people like the Duchess, and Manon, and even Lauzun.

The historical details, obviously an important part of the story, I though were well integrated into the story. The descriptions never got too textbook-like or stopped the action and flow of the story, which is something that can really detract from a story.

I do have one criticism, and that is it would have been nice if there could have been one major male character in Gabrielle's life who did not turn out to be abusive in some way. The Marquis and the Baron were just horrible. Villers was great at first, being extremely gentle and kind and patient, but he kind of went crazy as the Revolution grew, and then even Pierre-Andre who was supposed to be Gabrielle's great love had some violent tendencies. I can't believe that every man in France possessed that streak of cruelty. Despite that one complaint, I was still thoroughly entertained while reading this.

4/5

Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett

niccolo rising
dorothy dunnet
c. 1986
470 pages
completed 3/10/2010

read for: reading western europe challenge

*may contain spoilers*

From Venice to Cathay, from Seville to the Gold Coast of Africa, men anchored their ships and opened their ledgers and weighed one thing against another as if nothing would ever change.

Claes vander Poele, a lowly dyers apprentice and bastard, has a knack for getting into and out of the most outrageous mischief, whether that be in the form of seducing serving wenches or causing avalanches in the Alps. With a reputation as a lovable, good natured trouble maker, Claes hides his ambition and his cunning, and bides his time while laying the groundwork for a magnificent rise in society in fifteenth century Bruges. Claes makes some influential friends and alliances during his rise, but also manages to make some extremely powerful enemies. Ending while Claes is still barely twenty, Niccolo Rising marks the beginning of the House of Niccolo Saga.

First off, I am using this book to count as my Belgium book for the Reading Western Europe challenge. I realize Belgium was not really a country at this time. BUT, Bruges was there and is still there (same name and everything) so I say it should count.

I am going to be honest and say there were several elements to this book that I did not understand, mostly involving politics. There is a LOT going on politically: the war between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in England, major conflict between the King of France and the Dauphin who is living in exile, war between England and Scotland. Plus I don't totally know what other places belong to what country. Was Flanders a part of France or its own country? And what about all the areas of Italy? Italy wasn't unified yet, so were all these areas separate countries? So I didn't always know who I was for and who I was against. And that was before we added in the big merchant companies who were backing different leaders as well as dealing with their own internal politics. Plus there were seriously hundreds of characters: Flemings, Venetians, Scotsmen, Greeks, etc. There were literally five pages of listed characters at the start of the book. So needless to say, there was a lot to keep track of. I was often a little confused. Which made for extreme slow going. I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but really I'm not. Just giving anyone else who plans on tackling this book fair warning. Not for the faint of heart!

But despite its complexities, I never felt bogged down. Almost every other page Occasionally I had to refer back to the character list to make sure I knew who was connected to who, but the action never dragged. Claes constantly kept moving and kept getting into trouble. There was a lot of humor in Claes' relationships with his friends Felix and Julius and in the trouble they would find so the action was never too dry. And there were a lot of surprises, especially as more and more of Claes' character emerged. In keeping with my theme of complexity, the characters were equal to the plot. Claes especially, as the hero of the series, grows considerably from a good-natured rogue to a shrewd, calculating prodigy of business and diplomacy. Even by the end of the book it's impossible to understand all of his motives and methods. Probably why there are several more installments to the series.

To sum up, I am super excited that I stumbled upon this series and am eagerly awaiting the time when I can read the rest. This novel has also made me realize how woefully lacking is my knowledge of the history and geography of this period.

4/5

Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir

innocent traitor
alison weir
c. 2007
400 pages
completed 2/5/2010

read for: tbr challenge, year of the historical challenge, reading western europe challenge

*may contain spoilers*

Lady Jane Grey came into this world a disappointment. Born to parents longing for a son, Jane was begrudged her existence from day one. Her only joy came from her studies. Jane was extremely intelligent and, with guidance from her tutors, became one of her times great Protestant thinkers, corresponding with leading theologians. After years of abuse and neglect from her parents, they finally began to notice her, but not for her intelligence and devotion to her religion. Instead, they saw her as a pawn to gaining power. With the death of Protestant King Edward VI becoming more and more inevitable, leading council members looked for any way to keep devoutly Catholic Mary from inheriting the throne. Their plan was to disinherit Mary and her sister Elizabeth, and set Edward's cousin on the throne. But that poor cousin, in the form of Lady Jane, knew the rightful heir to be Mary.

Wow, okay I don't know what is going on with my synopsis of this book. I tried but there is just no fixing it. So my apologies to anybody who speaks the English language for what I have done to it.

My poor description aside, this book was incredible. I was riveted pretty much from page one. I knew the basic outline of the plot just from being aware of Tudor history, but there was so much detail into Jane's life and what went into making her who she was that the story seemed completely new to me. I felt the author did a wonderful job bringing Jane to life, making her sympathetic and likable, and not just a gutless, thoughtless political pawn. Yes, she was overpowered by those around her, but she was sad and strong, and I cheered during the times she was able to stand up for herself. Even in her death she was so brave. I will totally admit to being in tears for probably the last thirty pages of the book.

My sister, the English scholar, is reading the book now and she has complained about the prose style, how she feels it to be a bit clunky, but I never noticed that. I thought all the description to be relevant and never over bearing. There were scenes with horrific detail, such as the scene where Jane witnesses the burning of two heretics or where Jane is blooded for the first time with her parents, that were just enough to make the reader uncomfortable and horrified, but not too much to become sensational and gratuitous.

I only had one complaint through the whole book and that came at the very end. While I really enjoyed the changing narrative, going from Jane's point of view, to her mother's, to her nurses, to Northumberland, and more, I found the executioner's voice at the end to be a little jarring at first. As he continued to speak he seemed to mesh a little more, but up until that moment the action was so tense and then his voice was so easy going. While I imagine he was a good choice so we could end on such a poignant yet horrific last line, I felt maybe there could have been another choice. Perhaps someone else who had witnessed the execution such as the Catholic priest she befriended in her last days or maybe her jailer. They could have closed the narrative with more emotion and heartbreak at Jane's execution and still witness the executioner's last line. But that's just me. Some people probably felt the executioner was the perfect voice with which to end. To each their own I suppose.

5/5

Two more...

My sister the literature scholar has suggested that maybe I'm getting ahead of myself with challenges since I just announced that I'm signing up for two more. But I just can't help myself. I'm not doing any challenges now which makes me sad. :( First the Reading Western Europe Challenge (which sadly doesn't have a picture). Read one book set in each of the twelve countries of Western Europe (the UK has been split up a bit). I tend to read lots of books set in England, and I always feel I need to branch out, but I find it hard to do so sometimes. So this is good. My books will be...

1. Belgium: Niccolo Rising - Dorothy Dunnett
2. France: Mistress of the Revolution - Catherine Delors
3. Ireland: Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
4. Luxembourg: Luxembourg and the Jenisch Connection - David Robinson
5. Monaco: Monaco - Eric Robert Morse
6. The Netherlands: The Company - Arabella Edge
7. Switzerland: The Unbearable Lightness of Being - Milan Kundera
8. Northern Ireland: Eureka Street - Robert McLiam Wilson
9. England: Innocent Traitor - Allison Weir
10. Wales: Border Country - Raymond Williams
11. Scotland: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie - Muriel Spark
12. Channel Islands: Island Madness - Tim Binding

And second, the Year of the Historical Challenge. Read at least one historical fiction book per month. I love history! Which is good, seeing as that's what I'm studying in school. I 'm trying to spread it around and read about different places and different time. My books will be...

1. Innocent Traitor - Alison Weir
2. The Romanov Bride - Robert Alexander
3. The Crusader - Michael Alexander Eisner
4. The Last Queen - CW Gortner
5. Mistress of the Revolution - Catherine Delors
6. When Christ and His Saints Slept - Sharon Kay Penman
7. The Queen's Lady - Barbara Kyle
8. Cleopatra's Daughter - Michelle Moran
9. The Whiskey Rebels - David Liss
10. The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent
11. Dragonwyck - Anya Seton
12. Peony in Love - Lisa See

Woo woo! Come on 2010!