The Liar's Gospel (Naomi Alderman)

The Liar's Gospel is the stories of 4 characters connected to Jesus of Nazareth: his mother, Mary; his betrayer, Judas; his persecuter, Caiaphas; and his accidental rival, Barabbas. Four chapters, four characters, four viewpoints-each from the first person.
It has taken me a while to review this book, simply because I wasn't sure what to say about it.
I must first say that I am a Christian, and although this book is pretty far off from what Christians are generally taught, it was very interesting. Who is to say it did not happen this way? The characters were very realistic, flawed and human. And although each of the characters play an important part in Jesus' life, Jesus didn't always figure prominently into their lives. To some he was a passing madman, someone to feel sorry for, or simply forget.
I enjoyed the author's simple, earthy writing style, and appreciated that she held no punches. As a Christian, the lack of divinity (for lack of a better phrase!) was sometimes hard to take, but I made it through and I am glad that I did.
My favorite line of the book comes from Caiphas--"This?" He asks...he lives a whole life and is remembered for "This?" Pretty brilliant.

House of Rocamora (Donald Michael Platt)

House of Rocamora is the continuing story of Vicente de Rocamora, former confessor to the Royal House of Spain and former candidate for Inquisitor General, now an exiled and self-circumcised Jew named Isaac.
Vicente has left Spain in his long journey to find himself and peace for his soul. He has lost all he holds dear and must start anew. He has traveled to Amsterdam in 1643, seeking to find a broad-minded society and to study his true calling, medicine. Although many question his desire to start a new career in his forties, they are also flattered to be acquainted with such an illustrious person and impressed by his intelligence and intensity. As years pass, Isaac de Rocamora does find a measure of harmony in his career and new family, but as with everything in his long life, tragedy intertwines with fulfillment, and at the last he finds himself again seeking his soul’s peace.
This book is well-written, though it is a bit slow in the beginning, as Isaac is still unclear about his true path and does some wandering. It will help the reader to have read the first book in this series, Rocamora, to understand the impact of events happening in the early sections of this novel. The story picks up as Isaac begins to see his way and put his plans and ideas into action. I enjoyed both books in the series, though I believe I enjoyed this sequel a bit more than the first book, and look forward to the next, which I hope is not too long in coming.
My review courtesy of the Historical Novel Society.

The Forgotten Queen (D. L. Bogdan)

The Tudors were a fiery, memorable family.  Headstrong, passionate, often foolhardy, restless… this describes the forgotten Tudor, Queen Margaret of Scotland.  She was Henry VIII’s older sister, but more importantly, she was the mother of King James V of Scotland, the father of Mary, Queen of Scots.  She tried to set into motion peace between England in Scotland, which would finally be realized with her great-grandson James.

Margaret leaves England at an early age to wed the King of Scotland.  Though they have a loving relationship, Margaret can never understand why he must always have a mistress.  She sees this as a personal affront, but when he dies a few years into their marriage, leaving her a pregnant widow, she misses him dearly. Through several regents, Margaret tries to hold Scotland together. She realizes much too late that her second husband, the Earl of Angus, is greedy and grasping, and by then Scotland is in an uproar.

Margaret lived a long life, having many children. Only two survived infancy, the future King James V and the neglected Lady Margaret Douglas. Bogdan’s Margaret is impetuous, selfish, passionate, lonely, and full of regrets.  Yet she never stops dreaming, or hoping for the best for her adopted homeland of Scotland.

This is an excellent, fast-paced story.  Margaret is a fully developed character who was at times infuriating, and at others pitiful.  The love Margaret must have felt for her country comes through in Bogdan’s lovely descriptions of the country and in Margaret’s feelings about it.  Highly recommended.

My review courtesy of the Historical Novel Society.

The Forbidden Queen (Anne O'Brien)

One of my favorite stories in English history is the story of Katherine of Valois and Owen Tudor's marriage.  So romantic, so unexpected, so honest.
But this book is not just about that particular story.  This book is about Katherine of Valois, beginning from her neglected childhood in a French court ruled by a mad King and an absent Queen.  Katherine is telling the reader her story, from her point of view, naive and foolish as it may have been at times.  Katherine is heartbreakingly honest with both the reader and herself as she rises to become Queen of England to the great warrior King Henry V, the man she dreamed would be her hero and true love, but died before the dream could even be touched upon.  Katherine is straight forward and remorseful as she tells the reader of her depression and melancholy after the death of Henry, and then angry when her lonely heart falls victim to the schemes of an ambitious courtier.  Katherine is truthful, never sugar-coating her actions, even when she happens to accidentally fall deeply in love with her servant, Owen Tudor.  Katherine makes no excuses for herself as she grasps for the happiness that she has always sought, fighting tooth and nail with council and country for what she believes her family deserves. 
Anne O'Brien has written a beautiful, bittersweet novel.  This story deserved to be told, in exactly this manner.  Katherine's story, on Katherine's terms.  Highly Recommended.

Shadow on the Crown (Patricia Bracewell)

In Shadow on the Crown,  Patricia Bracewell has written an engaging story about Queen Emma and her journey from Normandy to England, embellished with forbidden love, crushing sense of duty, and ultimately hope. 
King Aethelred (the Unready) of England’s uncrowned wife has died in childbirth, and admidst unrest on his council and Viking raiders on England’s shores, he is forced into an alliance with Normandy.  Emma is to be the peaceweaver whose influence spans the Narrow Sea.  To Emma’s disappointment, her husband is a misogynist brute who resents and mistrusts his young Norman bride,  and many do not agree with his choice of a wife, including the Lady Elgiva who wanted the throne for herself.  The only light in Emma’s new life is Aethelred’s brood of young children, and surprisingly his eldest son Athelstan, though any child of her body would be rival for the eldest aetheling’s status as heir. 
Emma is the victim of an uncaring husband, a hostile witan, and even the Vikings themselves, but she never displays a victim mentality, or self-pity.  Emma is the annointed Queen of England, and she does everything she can, even at her own personal cost, to do the best thing for England and it’s people.
This book was very well-written, the plot moved quickly and easily and the author did a great job of keeping all the characters straight.  I would have liked to see a little more development in the early stages of the above-mentioned “forbidden love.”  But once it was established is was a lovely and heartbreaking relationship.
Shadow on the Crown is the first in a series of books and I eagerly await the second installment.

God Save the King (Laura Purcell)

I stumbled across this book by accident when a friend added it on Goodreads.  Where was the publicity for this book?  It certainly deserved some!

This was a completely engrossing novel.  Told from the points of view of Queen Charlotte, her daughters Princess Charlotte (called Royal in the book) and Princess Sophia, it painted a vivd portrait of this Hanoverian family beset by so much tragedy.  Queen Charlotte is the beloved wife of King George, who is slowly slipping into madness.  Their five daughters, once happy and joyous, now needed at home to help in the struggle to keep their father sane.  As the family ages, the King slips further and further from them, and Queen Charlotte keeps her daughters closer and closer as she slides into her own bitterness.  As the Princesses age, they long for escape from the misery of their father's illness and their mother's resentment, yet every offer of marriage is refused as the Queen's selfishness will not allow them to escape.  Eventually Royal does marry, and finds both happiness and tragedy in her own family.  Meanwhile, the other girls long for their own lives to begin, leading to scandalous rumors, some true and some untrue and even a premature death. I began the story feeling much sympathy for Queen Charlotte, but eventually her bitterness pushed her family ( and this reader) away from her.  The- almost middle-aged when she married -Royal was the most sympathetic figure in my opinion, though they were all interesting characters.  Very well-researched and beautifully written.  This is the story of King George's women and all they sacrificed to heal the man they loved.

My Top 3 of 2012

I have read a lot of engrossing, fascinating, entertaining, wonderful books this year.  It was pretty difficult to pick only three for my Top 3 reads.  These books are not in any particular order, as they are all so different and incomparable.  These are the three books that I enjoyed the most this year, that I am likely to one day re-read.  I will post an excerpt of my reviews here, but for the full reviews, you'll have to go to the corresponding post.






Along with historical accuracy, a swift-moving plot and little family details that any mother would remember and treasure, such as Lady Dudley’s talking parrot and Lady Grey’s dismay at her daughter’s surprising lack of common sense, the novel includes characterizations at which this author excels. She takes the infamous villains of history and presents them as relatable human characters. This book at times made me smile and then cry with the tragedy. I very much recommend it.  I reviewed this for the wonderful Historical Novel Society.




 This novel asks the question, "Was she a gold-digging, unprincipled harlot, or was she simply doing what was best for the King, and England, and taking what she could along the way?" 
You must admit, she never left the King by choice.  Was that because she couldn't get anything if she wasn't there with him?  Or was it because she truly cared for the King?  Not only that, but what forces were pushing her to behave the way she did? 
This book answers those questions with much insight and poingnancy.   I reviewed this for this blog, received the copy from NetGalley.




When I first began this book, I thought to be reading a simple, possibly frilly book about the back-alley lace trade in late 1600's France and Flanders. Imagine my surprise when the story is told from the alternating, first-person points of view of seven different players, one of whom is so improbable, I just did not know how it could possibly flow.
But flow it did!  I reviewed this for this blog, received the copy from NetGalley.

Those are my top three!  What are yours?