Once again, Dan Brown has produced a blockbuster best-seller. In The Lost Symbol, we meet up again with the Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon. As the book opens, Langdon receives a message from an old friend. He is needed to deliver a lecture at the U.S. Capitol building that evening. Langdon is whisked from Cambridge to the Capitol via private jet and limousine. On his arrival, he finds that there is no lecture scheduled, and he is drawn into a bizarre drama, where the life of his friend hangs in the balance.
As Langdon races around Washington to meet the midnight deadline, he is thwarted, and assisted, by people and forces beyond his control, including an official of the C.I.A. and the sister of his friend. The main idea of this book revolves around the rituals of the Masons, and Langdon’s clues to solving the mystery of his friend’s disappearance lie in the decoding of Masonic symbols hidden around Washington.
Knowing nothing of the Masons, I was quite intrigued by their portrayal as this secret group of powerful men. Many of America’s founding fathers were Masons, including George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The Lost Symbol would have the reader believe that the design of Washington D.C. is all based on Masonic symbols and traditions. Well, of course it is not, and much of the symbology presented is fictional.
But it is an intriguing fiction. This book is fun to read and, despite its length, moves quickly. It currently sits in the #2 spot on the New York Times bestseller list. Robert Langdon is a great character, and I’m sure we’ll see more of him. So-read and enjoy, but don’t take it too seriously.
Margaret Atwood has a vivid imagination. She has once again envisioned a bleak and desolate future. Greedy corporations have reaped enormous profit and power. Gene splicing has created odd and dangerous life forms. The environment has been ruined and violence lurks around every street corner.
The Year of the Flood is a companion piece to Atwood’s 2003 novel Oryx and Crake. It is not a sequel, but rather a re-telling from a different point of view. This book is centered on Adam One and his religious sect God’s Gardeners. The gardeners revere all life forms as well as the Earth itself. Adam One predicts an upcoming “waterless flood”, in which most life on Earth will be destroyed. The Gardeners prepare for this eventuality and do all they can to live an environmentally responsible life.
The “flood” takes the form of a bio-engineered plague which wipes out most of humanity, but spares animal and plant life. God’s Gardeners are uniquely suited to survive the plague, and to navigate this new world. The Year of the Flood is told from the point of view of two women who have survived the plague and are struggling to survive.
This novel presents a frightening vision of the future. It is very well-written and worthwhile reading. Once again, Margaret Atwood proves to be a gifted writer. In addition to envisioning a world, Atwood has created the religion of God’s Gardeners. Many of the chapters end with hymns from the God’s Gardeners Oral Book of Psalms. These have even been recorded! So, if you’re not disturbed by the prospect of a dismal future where humankind is destroyed by a terrible plague, then go read this novel.
In USA:
Published in hard cover-Nan A. Talese-2009
Softcover edition-Virago Press (available August 2010)
The Jewel Trader of Pegu is an odd book. It tells the story of a sixteenth century jeweler from Venice. Abraham is sent to Pegu (now known as Bago, a city in Myanmar) to purchase precious stones for the family business. Abraham is Jewish, and the customs of the Buddhists of Pegu are baffling to him.
Abraham hires Win, a local broker, to help him navigate the markets of Pegu. It has taken Abraham a year to travel to Pegu, and he will spend a year there before journeying back to Venice. Win also helps Abraham navigate the strange world of daily life in Pegu.
Jeffrey Hantover seems to have invented a very strange and unbelievable world in The Jewel Trader of Pegu. I really did not care much for this book. I did finish it because it was a selection for my book club, but I’m glad I borrowed it from the library and I don’t recommend it.
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Harper Collins-2007
Softcover Edition-Harper Perennial-2008
Labor Day is the latest book from Joyce Maynard, a writer whose work I always look forward to. She has a unique way of looking at the world. While the premise of this book seems unbelievable, she makes it seem as if this scenario could actually happen.
This novel tells the story of a single mother and her thirteen year old son, living an isolated existence in a small New Hampshire town in the 1980’s. At the start of the Labor Day weekend, Henry and Adele embark on a rare outing to Pricemark to purchase pants for Henry for the upcoming school year. While at the store, Henry is approached by a man in a Pricemark shirt who asks for his help.
Adele and Henry give Frank a ride to their home, located at the end of a dead end street. Frank, it turns out, is an escaped convict. (Henry also has a pet hamster at home who is kept in a cage. This book is loaded with metaphor!) There are roadblocks on the highways leading out of town, and Frank is sure he just needs to lay low for a few days before making his escape.
Frank has chosen wisely. Henry and Adele have few visitors, and little contact with the world. They also could use Frank’s help around the house: fixing leaks, changing light bulbs, even baking pies. As the scorching Labor Day weekend unfolds, the relationship between Frank and Adele deepens, with Henry feeling more alienated.
Labor Day is told from the perspective of a grown-up Henry. He is able to see his mother and his younger self objectively, and compassionately. So fortunately we are spared hysterics and histrionics. Maynard allows the reader to understand the story and the characters, and to gradually develop feelings towards them.
Labor Day was a quick read, and I would definitely recommend it.
The 19th Wife, a novel by David Ebershoff, is loosely based on the story of Ann Eliza Young, one of the wives of Brigham Young, the preeminent prophet and leader of the Mormon Church in the nineteenth century. Ann Eliza left Brigham, and began a crusade to end polygamy. Her story is interspersed with that of a fictional modern 19th wife, BeckyLyn Scott. BeckyLyn is accused of murdering her husband.
The modern story is told through the viewpoint of BeckyLyn’s adult son Jordan, whom she was forced to abandon when he was a teenager. The Scott family is part of the fictional community of Mesadale, Utah. This community calls itself the “Firsts”; they are faithful to the original Mormon belief in Celestial Marriage (polygamy).
When Ann Eliza left Brigham, she began a lecture tour of the country, ending in Washington D.C. and meeting with members of Congress and President Grant. Her voice was instrumental to the passage of the Poland Act, which helped to end polygamy in Utah.
Jordan returns to Utah to visit BeckyLyn in prison. He becomes convinced that his mother is innocent. As Jordan tries to unravel the mystery, we learn more about modern day fundamentalist Mormonism. From Ann Eliza’s story, we learn about the roots of the Mesadale community.
One of my favorite non-fiction books is Jon Krakauer’s fascinating investigation into fundamentalist Mormonism, Under the Banner of Heaven. And of course I never miss an episode of HBO’s Big Love. So when I first head about The 19th Wife, I knew I had to read it. I really enjoyed it, and am glad I actually bought it (even though I am now generally against purchasing books).
In USA:
Published in hardcover-Random House-2008
Softcover edition-Random House-2009
