Review: After Midnight by Robert Ryan

Title: After Midnight

Author: Robert Ryan

Publication Year: 2005

Genre: Historical Fiction/WW2

Links: Goodreads | Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle)

In 1944, a Liberator bomber pilot never returns from a mission to Domodossola in Northern Italy. The aircraft and its pilot are seemingly lost for ever.

In 1964, his daughter, Lindy Carr, resolves to find out what happened to her father on that terrible night. She employs the help of motorcycle TT racer Jack Kirby, a man who has his own inner demons to combat. He was a Mosquito fighter pilot during the War and experienced at first hand the astonishing courage of the Italian partisans in the face of Nazi brutality. Jack is keen to find one of the partisans, a woman with a past as dark as the secrets she still holds close to her heart.

My two cents: Robert Ryan is officially one of my favourite authors. If I was impressed with 'The Last Sunrise', this one totally makes him one of my favourites. The book opens with a letter from a pilot posted in Italy to his soon-to-be one-year-old daughter (which was based on an actual letter), written right before he went MIA. Twenty years later, desperate to find out what really happened to her father, Lindy Carr hired Jack Kirby and his one aircraft airline. Soon, Jack Kirby was transported back to the years he spent with the Italian partisans and the role he might have had in the missing of Lindy's father and his Liberator.

I've read plenty of books with Italy as the settings but nothing captures me like this one. The WW2, as fought in Italy and the involvement of partisans in the war are not something I'm familiar with and in the beginning, I had quite a hard time following the events described. I guess a little bit of before hand knowledge would make for a smoother read. 

What I like the most about this book is that the story works at every level, be it the story of Jack's involvement with the partisans during the war, Lindy's search of her father or Jack's post-war life. The building of the pace is neither too slow nor too fast which is just right for my reading. The blurb suggests that this  centred around the missing Liberator and Lindy's search. It's true in a way but the missing Liberator itself is the key to many other unfolding events. The way Ryan intertwined the past (1944) and the present (1964) to build a complete picture is amazing, to say the least. I was totally hooked and I brought this book with me everywhere. The twist was unexpected, especially the one with Lindy and Jack's old love, Francesca.

Jack Kirby is complex. A man with his own demons to combat and the scars that war leave in him, I can't help but feel sorry for him and I keep wishing for things to turn better for him. But, the book is not all dark despite the theme and the story. It's written in a lighthearted way and the dialogs brought smiles to my face on many occasions. My only complain is that this story is quite short (only 300+ pages). The author ended it beautifully, in the wee hours of the dawn. The title might suggest at the darkest hour of the day, that is after midnight before the dawn. After all, the darkest hour is always just before the dawn and did Jack Kirby manage to go through it. 

One of Ryan's many strengths is to create believable settings no matter what the year is and this could only be achieved by extensive research. Though this one leans more towards fiction, the atmosphere portrayed stays close to how one might imagine war and its aftermath are like. If there is one thing that I learned, it is that wars leave scars in everyone and in war, nothing is too personal as people do many things out of desperation and the instinct to survive prevails for most of the times. All in all, an amazing read. 

My verdict: 4.5/5

Challenges: Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011, Historical de Tour Genre Reading Challenge 2011

Review: Hannah (Daughters of the Sea) by Kathryn Lasky

Title: Hannah (Daughters of the Sea, #1)
Author: Kathryn Lasky

Publication Year: 2009

Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy/Historical Fiction

Links: Goodreads | Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle)

Hannah wants to be normal, but she's not. The sea calls to her, and she can see a delicate tracing of scales on her legs. Billowing waves soothe her, but flat land makes her sick. She knows there's something wild in her that's different, wrong - and deeply thrilling.

Only one person seems to know who - or what - Hannah is. He's a guest in the house where she works as a scullery girl, and his fascinated gaze follows her. She doesn't understand his terrifying allure, or her longing. But even as the mystery deepens, Hannah is sure of one thing. A sea change is coming.

My two cents: I came across this series while looking for something with mermaid to read (since I couldn't locate my 'Selina Penaluna' book). I was a bit reluctant to pick this up because of the mixed reviews it receives but it sounds like something I'd really like.

The book opens in an orphanage in Boston where our protagonist, Hannah had lived most of her life. Now fifteen, she was ready to leave the house but she was deemed unsuitable for the employment and was instead sent to Kansas. But Kansas, being far from the sea, made her sick and soon she returned to the orphanage and found a job as a scullery girl at the Hawleys' house, one of Boston's wealthiest families. It was at this house she began to slowly learn of her true identity and destiny.

I would say that the book is more of a historical fiction with a twist of fantasy rather than the other way round. Most of the book is spent on describing Hannah's life as a scullery girl in the household and the elaborate tradition of what it was like to serve in the 19th century in a house of a wealthy family. Though I would have preferred more if more pages were devoted to the fantasy part of the story, I nevertheless enjoyed it thoroughly. I never really read anything with historical settings that took place in the USA and I was kind of intrigued.

Hannah's true identity is kept secret to the readers for most of the book. Clue is given bits by bits particularly through the remarks of one Stannish Whitman Wheeler, a renowned painter who was working on a piece with the Hawleys. Though it is never made clear until a few last pages, it is very clear from the very beginning what the mystery is and who Stannish really is.

I have to admit that the romance between Hannah and Stannish felt a bit rushed. And I was kinda hoping that Lila (one of the Hawleys' daughters) was more than just evil and lunatic. Rather she is just a convenient means to Hannah discovering her true self. The youngest of Hawleys' daughters, Ettie though likable seems a bit too mature for her age sometimes and it is somehow unbelievable. I, nevertheless, love her for all the love she has for Hannah.

The only complain I have is that the story ended rather abruptly. I'd really like to know what would happen between Stannish and Hannah after all those initial attraction especially when he seems to have the answers to Hannah's many questions. However, I'm glad that there are two more books in the series and I hope some of the unresolved story lines in this one will be addressed. Though it ended abruptly, I have a pretty good idea of where Hannah's life would be intertwined with that of her other sisters.

All in all, 'Hannah' is a pretty good read. A very easy read too. I'd totally recommend it to younger readers.

My verdict: 4/5

Challenge: Historical de Tour Genre Reading Challenge 2011

Review: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Title: The Shadow of the Wind (La Sombra del Viento)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafón (Translated by Lucia Graves)
Publication Year: 2001 (Translated in 2004)

Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery

Links: Goodreads | Amazon (Paperback) | Amazon (Kindle)

Hidden in the heart of the old city of Barcelona is the 'Cemetery of Forgotten Books', a labyrinthine library of obscure and forgotten titles. To this library, a man brings his 10-year-old son, Daniel, one cold morning in 1945. Daniel is allowed to choose one book and from the dusty shelves pulls The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. But as Daniel grows up, several people seem inordinately interested in his find. What begins as a case of literary curiosity turns into a race to find out the truth behind the life and death of Julian Carax and to save those he left behind.

My two cents: Greatly amazing! I don't really have any words to describe how I feel about this book but those two words seem inadequate. It is just simply outstanding and beautiful. Once in a while, you come across a book that leaves you speechless and wanting more. This book does just that to me.

It opens in post-Spanish Civil War Barcelona, where young Daniel woke up one dawn screaming as he couldn't remember his mother's face. In his effort to soothe Daniel, his father took him to 'Cemetery of Forgotten Books' where he picked up The Shadow of the Wind by Julian Carax. Enthralled by the beauty of the book, Daniel started looking for other books by Julian Carax. Soon, he found himself entangled in a web of mystery, affecting himself and those he knew and those he would know.

I have to admit, though I've heard good reviews and my friend said it's really good, I was a bit skeptical as I would be picking up a translated copy (my friend read it in its original language). I've read enough of works in my own language which had been translated into English and the end results are mostly disappointing. The beauty of the language and its expression is often lost somewhere in the translation. Somehow, as soon as I started reading, I knew I would not put this down until I finished it. The translation is beautiful. I guess I would never know whether it has done justice to the original text. But it's really good and it didn't really feel like I was reading a translated work.

The characters are complex. Daniel is likable. But the one character that really stole my heart is Fermin Romero de Torres. He's funny, witty, full of expression and dramatic. I just gotta love the guy. At some points, I questioned the introduction of the characters into the story. One such character is Clara Barcelo. At the introduction, I was deceived into thinking she played a key role in the story. But, as the story progressed, it's clear the purpose of her character is to warn the readers of the danger of unrequited puppy love. The lives of the characters are intertwined with each other in such a beautiful and twisted way I could never guess what was going to happen next. People from both past and present are related in ways so complex making the story more interesting.

Now, I've never been to Barcelona, the main setting of this book. It was quite difficult getting into the story at first since the names of the streets are all alien to me. But, the vivid description of the city and its streets helped. As the story progressed and I get more familiar with the names of places and streets, I can slowly picture the beauty of the city and the rich heritage it embraces. At the end of the book, I fall in love with the city and it is my hope to one day set foot in Barcelona. I can certainly feel the author's fondness towards the city.

My review could never do justice to this book. I'd say it certainly fits for bibliophiles. It's a book about books. And the twists are unpredictable. Just when you think the story is going in one direction, it changes its course. There's mystery, horror, romance and humour, all in one book. All in all, it is really a must read. The book stayed with me long after I finished reading it. I couldn't help thinking about the characters and the lives they led. Never before a book touches me the way this book does.

Some memorable quotes:

"Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens."

"Wars have no memory, and nobody has the courage to understand them until there no voices left to tell what really happened, until the moment comes when we no longer recognize them and they return, with another face and another name, to devour everything they left behind."

"There are worse prisons than words."

My verdict: 5/5

Challenges: Historical de Tour Genre Reading Challenge 2011, Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011

Historical de Tour Genre

Second Reading Challenge for me! Yeay! This time it's Historical de Tour Genre Reading Challenge 2011 hosted by Bitsy Bling Books. Go here to check the full entry for this challenge.

Since I'm already doing Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011, I figure, why not take up this challenge as well. After all, I enjoy reading historical so much!

The challenge is open throughout the year, from January 1 - December 31, 2011.

Goals with this challenge:

1. Since this is a tour, the idea is to read at least one book from each sub-category. Of course, it'll be the envy of all if we read more and can do multiple 'laps' around the track.
2. The books do not have to be selected ahead of time. They can be added as we go. Also, if they are listed upfront, we can change them, no bigger. The idea is to have fun. The books can crossover into other challenges, because let's face it -- our eyes would fall out of your head otherwise.
3. It can be joined anytime between now and the later part of this year.

I will post the list of the completed books in this post as I go along. ;)

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

(Historical Thriller)

2. Hannah (Daughters of the Sea) by Kathryn Lasky

(Historical Fantasy)
3. After Midnight by Robert Ryan
(Historical Thriller)

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011

This is my first ever reading challenge. Maybe a bit late, but I hope not too late. Hey, it's only February.

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011 is hosted by Historical Tapestry. There are 5 levels. And my aim as of now is to reach 'Struggling the Addiction'. 10 books to reach the level. Whew!

The challenge runs from January 31 - December 31, 2011.

Books I've finished for this challenge:

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
2. After Midnight by Robert Ryan