Today was my first day of classes as a senior English major at Millsaps. This is a somewhat surreal realization, but what is more disturbing is that I have yet to take an actual class devoted to Shakespeare. Last spring when we signed up for classes I selected one taught by Dr. Eric Griffin called “The Cult of Elizabeth.” For some reason I assumed this would be a course on Shakespeare; I have now realized that it s a course covering a variety of topics centered around Elizabeth I.

The first thing Dr. Griffin pointed out is how much pop culture has gotten into the Tudors as of late. The TV show “The Tudors” (HBO) has gotten a lot of hype. What I did not realize is that much of the show is inspired by the works of the writer Philippa Gregory. Gregory is probably best known as  the author of The Other Boleyn Girl, and she has become quite famous in the pulp fiction circles with her stories from the 16th century. Her latest novel, The White Queen, dips back into the 15th century and has been snapped up by both her cult devotees and newcomers alike. She has proven to be quite prolific over the years with over 20 novels in print.

So, today in class we acknowledged how much writers like Gregory have had an impact on the study of the Tudors as a clan and culture. Most people read Gregory’s books as fact and not fiction; I will admit I greedily lapped up The Constant Princess and The Other Boleyn Girl before realizing that I really needed to accept that these books were hardly considered fine literature. On the same level as Twilight and just as engaging in their own right, with these books Gregory knows how to get an audience under her spell. We read a section of her book in class today, presumably to mock how “off base” her historical assumptions were, only to find ourselves somewhat intrigued (if not disgusted) by how far she is willing to go.

The fact is that the reign of Elizabeth I was a time period rich in literature and full of writers willing to take it to the next level. Like Gregory, they knew how to capitalize on imagination (though of course we can hardly compare Spenser’s poetry to Gregory’s books). Writers such as John Donne, Christopher Marlowe, Francis Bacon and of course, William Shakespeare saw a heyday during this era as Elizabeth I proved herself to be a patron of the arts.

For those of you who are intrigued and want to get your hands on some legit literature, here are some of the books on our syllabus: Elizabeth: The Struggle for the Throne by David Starkey, The Collected Works of Elizabeth I, Endymion (she wrote about herself, excellently enough) by John Lyly and of course, the Norton Shakespeare (sorry, Riverside devotees).

And for those of your who just want some light reading, hit up Philippa Gregory. Don’t feel badly about yourself. I’m guilty too.

-Nell

Okay, well I fell in love with this novel! It may take its place in one of the top five spots on my life-long list of favorite novels! So, you may ask, “Why is that?” Now, I’m challenged to come up with some reasons as to why I really, really liked this book. First of all, it is well written. The author, an Australian woman, was made famous by the popular The House at Riverton (2008). Secondly, this novel , which covers three generations of women, including  a fairy tale artist and present day artist, pushed my imagination far.

Set in the early 1900s in Australia and reaching to the last part of the twentieth century in England, most of the action revolves in and around the mysterious Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast. A master at creating an enchanting scene, Morton enables the reader to picture the wind blown trees, the beautiful secret walled garden leading from the circular maze, the long, winding climb up the ocean cliffs,and the dangerous carriage rides in London. The three main characters, all united in their quest, even though separated by 50-60 years, pull the reader’s heart strings and create great emotional involvement. Love and romance, as suspected on an ancient country estate, do not disappoint either. Throw in a huge mystery involving the disappearance of one of the women, and the reader is hooked and cannot put the book down!

One more thing: a four-year-old girl is abandoned on a ship sailing from England to  Australia! This novel has it all! A favorite among English and Australian readers, Morton is quickly taking her place among  American readers ready for a well written, beautiful story. I’m so glad the publisher’s rep at Simon and Schuster handed me this book!

-Nan

Sometimes you need a book to pick you up and take you somewhere else. That is exactly what Lev Grossman’s The Magicians is doing to me.

Meet Quentin Coldwater. When I did, I immediately fell in love. He’s a nerd so pure he actually manages to transcend  his own stereotype. He loves math and physics. He is still obsessed with his favorite childhoods books. He learns magic tricks in his free time, and he’s head over heels in love with a girl who dates his best friend. And, best of all, he wants to believe that our world contains portals to the worlds beyond.

Readers can relate to Quentin right off the bat because, just like us, he reads as a form of escapism. And, just like us, he wishes that that magic worlds exist.

Of course, within the first 50 pages Quentin finds out that a magical world does exist. But before you write off this book as another fantasy with that “same old, same old” plot, read on.

I’ll admit I’ve only just begun the book but already it draws elements from some of my favorite fantasy stories. Of course with fantasy literature it is almost impossible to write something devoid of cliche, and there are traces of the typical “misplaced boy who finds a magic world” story (e.g. Harry Potter, The Subtle Knife, The Magician’s Nephew), but The Magicians is not a children’s book. The language alone defines the novel. It is written with the skill of someone who has planned a masterpiece and demands to be taken seriously. The fast pace of the novel draws you in. The plot delivers a complexity by the second chapter, and each subsequent chapter ends with a faint abruptness causing you to quickly turn to the next page.

More credit should be given to books that are written purely for escape. Far too often when I work in Oz I see adults creep back to the fantasy shelf and act ashamed as they select the next Olympian or Eragon novel. I make it a point to applaud their choices. Everyone needs to read something that gives them a breath of the impossible, which is exactly what The Magicians is doing for me.

-Nell

We’ve been working hard in the fiction room. We’re cleaning our shelves and getting ready for the new fiction coming this Fall. Our space will be better utilized and you can have more fun browsing and whiling away the hours at Lemuria.

Some more or less well-known authors with new books this Fall (some of these are coming out this month):

Larry McMurtry also has a new book coming out next month called Rhino Ranch. I am certain that I am missing some upcoming titles . . . if you think of one that you’re looking forward to, please comment!

A week from tomorrow (August 11 at 5 p.m.) Mary Ward Brown is coming to Lemuria! (See previous blog.) We are so honored to have her here. Her memoir has just been published and many of you may have also picked up her two collections of short stories.

Summer’s days are numbered. I’ve had enough of 100-degree temperatures and 100% humidity! I’m getting the quilts fluffed and hoping that the firewood will soon be properly cured for some feisty little fires in the stove.

The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean explores the memories and deteriorating mind of Marina, a Russian, who in her old age developed Alzheimer’s and must be cared for by her life long friend and husband Dmitri.  Though Marina can’t always remember where she is or her family, she draws connections to her discombobulated present with her crystal clear past as a docent with the Hermitage Museum during the Siege of Leningrad.  As the novel progresses, the flashbacks to her life during the Siege and experiences at the Museum piece together her present day life and family.

As a young girl, Marina’s parents were arrested and she was left in the hands of her Uncle Viktor, an archaeologist, and his wife. Together they lived with fellow Russians in a cellar taking cover from bombs, while sharing the small ration of bread they received.  Though barely surviving off the limited food supply, Marina worked in the Museum each day packing up the art to keep it protected from the destruction of the bombs. She and another older woman, Anya, removed the paintings but left the empty frames on the wall.  To keep from forgetting the information about the paintings they memorized their “Memory Palace.”  Though the frames remained empty, they would quiz each other on the details of the paintings that once hung there.  Who was the artist? What was the date of the painting? Who was depicted? What color was Madonna’s dress?

This memory palace was something that Marina held onto her entire life.  Even while struggling to remember if she had already had breakfast, Marina was remembering the vivid details of a Diego Velazquez painting, and while she couldn’t remember which blue dress her husband wanted her to wear, she knew the details of the same colored dress that the Madonna wore in another painting.

The vivid details of the paintings  held in the museum have  that she had memorized remained with her, though her present mind is slowly slipping away.  This novel contrasts the present struggle of Marina’s mind and the clear flashbacks of how she remembered her experiences of the Siege.  Dean touches on how her struggles and family were connected by her love and memory of art during World War II.

-Sarah Clinton

One of the biggest perks in being a bookseller is the opportunity to read advanced readers copies of books on the near horizon. Within the last three weeks, I have devoured two incredible reads: Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood and Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore.
Followers of Margaret Atwood have been awaiting with curiosity and anticipation her next release. Having been a fan of Atwood’s for decades, I remember the jolt I initially got from reading The Handmaid’s Tale, Cat’s Eye, and Oryx and Crake. A couple of years ago, Lemuria’s book club “Atlantis” discussed Oryx and Crake, so I was delighted to find two of the same characters toward the end in this new release Year of the Flood. A true dystopic novel based on the scary prediction of what may be yet to come in our world as we know it, Atwood invents a group of people called God’s Gardeners comprised of “Adams” and “Eves” who seek to learn how to live off the land in order to prepare themselves for the inevitable breakdown of society and commerce. In The Year of the Flood, Atwood describes a waterless flood which in essence means the world is near total destruction from a deadly virus which sweeps through the world like a merciless flood. The “brainiac” scientific community has been busy gene splicing creating such animals as the lamb/wolf and the super intelligent pig and the sheep with purple tinted human hair. Atwood’s innate ability to keep the reader entertained with some humor, all the while creating a disturbing scenario marks her as one of the very best writers today. Look forward to a September 1 release!
Known for the success of her 1994 novel Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?, Lorrie Moore creates another page turner with Gate at the Stairs. A true bildungsroman, or coming of age story, Moore introduces the reader to a eighteen year old college freshman female who leaves home and encounters the usual challenges of freedom mixed with responsibilities and romance. However, when she gets her first job as a child care provider of an adopted African American two-year-old little girl living with a Caucasian family, a myriad of new experiences and feelings shakes her world. Joy, pain, sorrow, anger, and in the end hope all mix together in a beautiful way although at times the novel becomes overly steeped in correct political awareness. References to native flower and fauna thrown in to describe the native countryside add a nice touch and levity much needed at times. Moore’s true ability to draw the reader into poignant feelings of the characters gives her a special place in modern day novels with current societal issues. In the end, this coming of age well developed story rings true simultaneously causing the reader to wish for, and yet be relieved to be past, the delicate adolescent turning point of human awareness. Look for Moore’s new release on September 9!
-Nan

I owned Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49 for close to a year before reading it.  I’ve been uncertain about the “post-modernists,” unsure as to whether or not I was ready for the ride.  I’m pleased to say that the experience wasn’t altogether unbearable, and that I may in fact be ready to try for some bigger fish (i.e. Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, Gaddis’s J R, and Gass’s Omensetter’s Luck).

Lot 49 is a wild ride.  It is the story of Oedipa Maas, who becomes the executor of the estate of her former lover Pierce Inverarity.  She travels to San Narciso, Inverarity’s hometown, to carry out the process of receiving the estate.  What she discovers are some hilarious and eccentric characters, small societies previously unheard of, and a conspiracy against America known as the Trystero…or does she?

In Lot 49, Pynchon delivers a linear (basically) narrative rife with ambiguity.  The reader is never certain whether Oedipa is really uncovering a conspiracy, dreaming up circumstance, or is the recipient of a massive joke played by Pierce Inverarity.  Oedipa (taking her name from Oedipus Rex–a most famous truth seeker), never ceases in her effort to uncover the truth.  However, Pynchon’s message is that our world is complex, ambiguous, and uncertain, and that the more truth we uncover, the less we know.

The book is more difficult to read than the average novel.  However, it is a slim 152 pages, and every word is geared towards Pynchon’s purpose.  I encourage readers to step out of their comfort zones, stick with it, and read this book in its entirety.  You will be a richer person for doing so.

part four: chuck palahniuk

check out chuck palahniuk’s books by clicking this sentence

collected stories by amy hempel

jesus’ son by dennis johnson

drown by junot diaz

geek love by katherine dunn

into the wild by jon krakauer

hearsick by chelsea cain

the ice at the bottom of the world by mark richard

father and son by larry brown

ill nature by joy williams

the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald

house of leaves by mark z. danielewski

tumble home by amy hempel

cold snap by thom jones

Every now and then I come across a book that requires more time from me than others.  Such books don’t always have to be hefty like Dostoevsky or Melville (I spent a whole summer reading The Brothers Karamazov, still haven’t finished Moby Dick).  If the book is full of enough depth and beauty to make me reread paragraphs, it doesn’t have to break the 250 page mark to consume more time than average.  Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping is one such book.  The novel precedes her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead, and is one of the best books I’ve read in some time.

The novel involves two sisters: Ruthie and Lucille.  The sisters go through a slough of parental guardians, when their aunt, Sylvie, finally settles in for good.  Sylvie is what is known as a “transient,” and though she’s a welcome addition over the stuffy great-aunts before her, her way of life challenges the sisters’ ideals.  Eventually, a rift develops between Ruthie and Lucille.  Growth, maturation, and the desire to fit into societal norms arise between them, and they are forced to confront the differences breaching their love for each other.

The story is told in an authentic voice, forcing the reader to ask whether they’re reading a memoir or a work of fiction.  She also tells the story in a language rarely seen in contemporary literature.  Typically, I am attracted to fiction that opens with every gun blazing (Barry Hannah, Jim Harrison, and William Gay come to mind).  However, Robinson’s language is so gorgeous that I read on, wondering how she’ll surprise me next.  One passage in particular blew me away: “The sky above Fingerbone was a floral yellow.  A few spindled clouds smoldered and glowed a most unfiery pink.  And then the sun flung a long shaft over the mountain, and another, like a long-legged insect bracing itself out of its chrysalis, and then it showed above the black crest, bristly and red and improbable” (147).  This is only a small fragment of the talent Robinson displays in this work.

If you’re interested in a quiet, heartfelt, and beautifully told story, read this book.  Be prepared to focus, think, weigh, and consider the content.  It’s not a book to be read quickly.

-Ellis

part three: tom robbins

check out tom robbins’ books by clicking on this sentence

the tao of physics by fritjof capra

varieties of religious experience by william james

the masks of god: creative mythology by joseph campbell

the masks of god: occidental mythology by josephy campbell

the masks of god: oriental mythology by joseph campbell

the masks of god: primitive mythology by joseph campbell