Review: Undue Influence

Title: Undue Influence
Author: Anita Brookner
Publisher: Vintage (2001)
Pages: 240
Genre: Fiction
Book Source: My Own Copy

Undue Influence stars Claire Pitt, a 29 year old single woman who finds herself unsatisfied with her rather limited existence. She is lonely. She does not know how to enjoy the freedom that she has. When her mother dies she begins to brood even more than usual. She works in a second hand bookshop with two old ladies- the perfect job for a quiet, solitary type of person. In the bookshop she meets a man who she becomes attracted to...

Undue Influence is a detailed psychological character portrayal. There are a lot of inner monologues because it is the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist that make up the main content of the book. Very little happens by way of plot. There is little going on in Claire's life and Anita Brookner loves to write about the little routines of people who are isolated and lonely. Claire spends a lot of time imagining the lives of strangers and building little stories in her mind connecting people to one another. This habit causes her to misjudge people... "People are mysterious, I know that. And they do reveal mysterious connections. But sometimes one is merely anxious to alter the script. It was not the first time I had been guilty of a misapprehension." (p.7)

This novel has a distinctly lonely atmosphere to it. Claire and other characters in the book sustain their lonely lives by clinging to their habits and routines. When something interrupts these things their world becomes insecure. At one point in the story one of the two old ladies from the bookshop has a fall and goes to hospital. This causes them both to deteriorate and to feel unable to cope with their lives. They sell the shop and move into an elderly persons facility. "... now she looked like a very old woman, collapsed, with a new look of preoccupation on her face, as if factors had entered her life from the outside, and as if another sort of predictability had become apparent. Her valiant daily routine had been broken into." (p.106) There are many other examples of change setting the characters off balance.

I enjoyed Undue Influence. It does drag a little in places because Claire seems to go over things in her mind more than once and the plot does not move quickly. If you are in the mood for a slow moving type of story than I recommend Anita Brookner. If you like excitement in your novels; Undue Influence is not for you. I personally find her novels soothing. They make me crave a quiet uneventful existence for a while. In reading this book, I really felt like I could see into the mind of the main character, Claire. Her insecurity and hesitancy about her every decision was portrayed very thoroughly.

20 Questions with Rebecca of Lost In Books

This week I was featured on 20 Questions - a weekly event on Rebecca's blog Lost in Books.
Check it out if you are interested in learning a little bit more about my reading habits and preferences. Thanks Rebecca - it was fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Yabby Pie (eaten by my Dad on Australia Day)

Australia Day

January 26th - Australia Day

(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

Review: Comfort Living

Title: Comfort Living: A Back-to-Basics Guide To a More Balanced Lifestyle
Author: Christine Eisner
Publisher: Lifestyle Design (2009)
Genre: Non-fiction, Home Decorating
Book Source: Review Copy from Author

Comfort Living is like an emotional self-help book for your home. The premise behind this lovely book is that your home environment feeds your soul. The author Christine Eisner guides her readers on a journey of close examination that ultimately leads to positive changes in the home. These changes in turn influence the tone of your lifestyle.

The book is structured as an eight week course that helps you to develop a personal profile to enable you to turn your home into a sanctuary that meets your needs and priorities. There are many color photographs, practical ideas and tools for journal style reflection which help to get you in touch with your personal home decorating style. A few of the topics explored in this book include: identifying your treasures, enhancing your routines, and adding meaning to everyday objects. Comfort Living inspires a meaningful approach to home decoration.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Review: Living The Law of Attraction

Title: Living the Law of Attraction: Real Stories of People Manifesting Health, Wealth, and Happiness
Author: Rich German and Robin Hoch
Publisher: iUniverse (2008)
Pages: 248
Genre: Non-fiction, Inspirational
Book Source: I received a free copy from the author for this review.

Living the Law of Attraction is a collection of short true life inspirational stories. The theme that ties them all together is the concept that good thoughts attract good things into your life. This concept, called The Law of Attraction, is briefly outlined in the introduction and then the rest of the book is devoted to proving it through testimonials from people who have successfully applied the idea to their lives. The stories are collected into sections based on themes such as: Health, Weight loss, Business, Happiness, Relationships and Everyday Miracles. In some cases the short story was written by someone who is in business or who has written their own book. At the end of each story there is an email or website address that can be used to contact the author. Each contributor has written around three or four pages, so there are a lot of stories in total!

This is a great book to give you a boost emotionally and to remind you to live your life deliberately and positively. I like that fact that the stories are so short because it makes it easy to just catch one every now and again before bed or when you need a lift. It had been a while since I read anything inspirational, so it was refreshing to hear about other people's successes. There is great variety in the collection, making it easy to find something relevant to your own life issues. Living the Law of Attraction reminded me to be more positive toward my life and to take better care of myself and my thought processes.

Review: The Triumph of Deborah

Title: The Triumph of Deborah
Author: Eva Etzioni-Halevy
Publisher: Plume of Penguin Group (2008)
Pages: 355
Genre: Historical Fiction
Book Source: Review copy from author

Deborah, the heroine of this story, is a Biblical figure who was a prophetess and leader in ancient Israel. The people would come to her for guidance and also to judge over their disputes. At the time of this novel there was ongoing enmity between the Israelites and the neighboring Canaanite people. In the story, Deborah convinces the reluctant warrior Barak to attack. When they are victorious, Barak captures two daughters of the Canaanite king (Asherah and Nogah) and brings them to reside in his home. He marries Asherah, the more beautiful of the two princesses even though she hates him for taking her captive. The novel focuses on the lives of three women - Deborah, Asherah and Nogah. It explores the ways in which these women deal with their circumstances and responsibilities. Deborah finds herself estranged from her husband at a time when she is dealing with the burden of protecting her people from their enemies. Asherah and Nogah must learn how to cope with life as captives.

I have not often read historical fiction set in Bible times, so it was interesting to read about this time period. It was a very different life for women in those days. The characters in this novel were quite complex and Eva Etzioni-Halevy wrote a lot about what they were thinking and feeling. The Triumph of Deborah gives an enlightening contrast between Deborah, who was a respected leader and the plight of some captured servant women who were the lowest of the low. I personally felt like the plot was a little too focused on romance. I enjoyed the segments that were about Deborah more so than the love story between Barak and Nogah which seemed a bit melodramatic for my tastes. I would recommend this book for people who usually enjoy historical romance.

Quote: "Sisra had spoken to Deborah as no man had ever dared speak to her before and his words struck her like a slap in the face. Her anger flared up, and this time she retaliated with sharp words of her own." (p.23)

Author Notes: Eva Etzioni-Halevy has also written other Biblical fiction: The Song of Hannah and The Garden of Ruth. She is on Facebook here.

Everything Austen Challenge Summary

The Everything Austen Challenge ended on Jan 1st 2010. I was participating at the basic level which meant that I needed to read / watch six Austen related books or DVD's. So here is the list of the books that I read and reviewed for this challenge. I didn't end up watching any Austen DVD's.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Letters From Pemberley

Old Friends and New Fancies

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manner

Ummm, there is only four there. I guess I did not quite complete the challenge. I am looking forward to watching the new production of Emma that is coming to PBS this month but it is not in time to count for the challenge. I don't think that I am really the challenge type though. I just like to read whatever I feel like, or whatever is on hand. Congratulations to all the other folk that actually kept up with their reading goals!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Literary Excursion

The Nashua Public Library

My own local library building in Nashua New Hampshire is nothing special, but they do have this statue out front. The statue is called Children Reading. Every time we visit the library my youngest daughter sits up on the statue and pretends that she is teaching the children to read. Cute, isn't it.


Note: If you have an interesting library building or library statue photo that you would like posted in this series email me: thereadingjourney@gmail.com

My Favorite Poem

This Is a Photograph of Me

It was taken some time ago.
At first it seems to be
a smeared
print:blurred lines and gray flecks
blended with the paper;

then, as you scan
it, you see in the left-hand corner
a thing that is like a branch: part of a tree
(balsam or spruce) emerging
and, to the right, halfway up
what ought to be a gentle
slope, a small frame house.

In the background there is a lake,
and beyond that, some low hills.

(The photograph was taken
the day after I drowned.
I am in the lake, in the center
of the picture, just under the surface.

It is difficult to say where
precisely, or to say
how large or small I am:

the effect of water
on light is a distortion

but if you look long enough,
eventually
you will be able to see me.)


By Margaret Atwood 1966