The Reluctant Matador by Mark Pryor is beyond formulaic. I'm 3/4 of the way into the book and do I put the book down or finish it. There is a slight pulse, but that is all. Can't wait to start the next book. Camilleri!
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Monday, April 6, 2015
Ghost on the Throne by Romm - I Did Not Like How This One Ended
Ghost on the Throne by James Romm was not an easy book to read. I have been reading it since the holidays and just finished it. I thought this book would go more into Ptolemy and the connection to Alexandria. The book just superficially touched upon the subject matter. (That is why I picked this one up in the first place. Cmon, Egypt is a big deal and Ptolemy really had a good thing going.) This book was more into the wars of succession between Peithon, Antipater and then Antigonus One Eye, Cassander and Eumenes. I must say that history is way better then TV as I did not like how it ended. If I were the author, I would have made Olympius the victor, not Cassander. Really??? Hollywood will back me up. But all kidding aside, this is a really good book. It breaks the events down into morsel sized bites so the reader can understand what is going on.
The book spans the time of Alexander's death in 323 BC to 316 BC. You are introduced to characters that you did not know just by reading Alexander's biography. Papers could be written on them all. Things that caught my attention:
Olympias and Philip II role in Alexander (The Great's) Life -
1. Further reading on Philip II is required.
2. Olympias - A very strong female role model! Girls take heed, nothing is too small for you to accomplish!
p284 - "Greek writers loved to contemplate women who resembled tragic heroines, and in Olympias they found all the parallels they could ask for. Born a neo-Trojan princess named Polyxena, she seemed to them to have lived her whole life in mythic roles. As Philip's wife, she had morphed into Medea, murderess of the princess who stole her Husband's affections; as mother of the dead Alexander, she resembled Hecuba grieving for the fallen Hector. As ruler of Macedonia, she evoked Clytemnestra, the iron-fisted queen of Argos, as well as Antigone, but an Antigone in reverse, driven by her passionate devotion to kin and unbury the dead. Whichever of these roles we cast her in, Olympias is undeniably a tragic figure."
p309 - "Olympias died at age 56 or 57. She had exercised more power than any woman in Europe up to her time, with the possible exception of her rival and victim Adea."
What happens in between is after Alexander's death, Olympias and her daughter Cleopatra flee Alexandra to Epirus. Olympias tries to get Cleopatra to marry one of Alexander's Companion generals, but that falls through. She then takes over as regent for her grandson, Alexander (Rhoxane's son) and allies with Polyperchon.
In the end, she makes a fierce stand, but was not able to withstand the siege put on by Cassander. Her royal party is starved out and she is finally taken prisoner by Cassander run through with a sword by his men. But the life and the example she led up to that point were phenomenal. Almost like Terentia, Cicero's wife, but wielding more power. [The book says Adea also had power, married to Alexander's half-brother, but it evident that Olympias wielded equal power for a much longer period of time.]
What influence did this have over Alexander? What influence did both parents have over Alexander? Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.
Which leads me to the next question which popped onto my radar this morning. Olympias's, Philip II and most of all,Alexander's life was quite extraordinary.
The book spans the time of Alexander's death in 323 BC to 316 BC. You are introduced to characters that you did not know just by reading Alexander's biography. Papers could be written on them all. Things that caught my attention:
Olympias and Philip II role in Alexander (The Great's) Life -
1. Further reading on Philip II is required.
- Unified Greece during 23 year reign
- Made first constitution
- Established a monarchy - Empire for his son to inherit
- Military advancements - many successful battles to enlarge empire's boundaries & military advancements
2. Olympias - A very strong female role model! Girls take heed, nothing is too small for you to accomplish!
- Born a Molossian [Greek] Princess named Polyxena in Epirus (southern Albania today)
- Descended from Trojan war heros
- Ritualistic and tribal society
- Philip II 5th bride
 |
| Olympias |
 |
| Angelina Jolie as Olympias |
p284 - "Greek writers loved to contemplate women who resembled tragic heroines, and in Olympias they found all the parallels they could ask for. Born a neo-Trojan princess named Polyxena, she seemed to them to have lived her whole life in mythic roles. As Philip's wife, she had morphed into Medea, murderess of the princess who stole her Husband's affections; as mother of the dead Alexander, she resembled Hecuba grieving for the fallen Hector. As ruler of Macedonia, she evoked Clytemnestra, the iron-fisted queen of Argos, as well as Antigone, but an Antigone in reverse, driven by her passionate devotion to kin and unbury the dead. Whichever of these roles we cast her in, Olympias is undeniably a tragic figure."
p309 - "Olympias died at age 56 or 57. She had exercised more power than any woman in Europe up to her time, with the possible exception of her rival and victim Adea."
What happens in between is after Alexander's death, Olympias and her daughter Cleopatra flee Alexandra to Epirus. Olympias tries to get Cleopatra to marry one of Alexander's Companion generals, but that falls through. She then takes over as regent for her grandson, Alexander (Rhoxane's son) and allies with Polyperchon.
In the end, she makes a fierce stand, but was not able to withstand the siege put on by Cassander. Her royal party is starved out and she is finally taken prisoner by Cassander run through with a sword by his men. But the life and the example she led up to that point were phenomenal. Almost like Terentia, Cicero's wife, but wielding more power. [The book says Adea also had power, married to Alexander's half-brother, but it evident that Olympias wielded equal power for a much longer period of time.]
What influence did this have over Alexander? What influence did both parents have over Alexander? Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.
Which leads me to the next question which popped onto my radar this morning. Olympias's, Philip II and most of all,Alexander's life was quite extraordinary.
- What makes a extraordinary life?
- Could our lives be considered extraordinary on a smaller scale?
- Or must accomplishments be grand and stand the test of time for this to be true?
I must think about this one! More later/P
Monday, March 23, 2015
The Rosie Project, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry and The Signature of All Things...
I have been on a fictional tare recently to keep up with the lovely ladies in my CV book group. The titles they did not read were The Storied Life of AJ Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin and The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. The only book I would recommend would be The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion, the book they did read.
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The Rosie Project was a cute, non-conventional love story. How love can change us? Or just a cute work of fiction set in Australia. There really isn't much meat to talk about, but if you are headed to the beach for spring break, pick it up! The lead character, Don, is a high functioning autistic man. He is a professor at university teaching genetics and decides to help Rosie find her biological dad and falls in love with her.
There is a follow up book called The Rosie Effect.
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I'm not crazy about The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. It came up as a reco when I purchased The Rosie Project. Should have known? But at least I got it from the library. Again, this book is the story of AJ Fikry's twisty-turney life. There is a love story, but it ends suddenly.
The best part of this book is the relationship with his daughter. The wonderful way Zevin has AJ raise his daughter on the island book store. Therein lies the magic.
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The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love fame was a real plot mess. Why? Ms. Gilbert is a terrific writer. The writing is excellent, absorbing; but the plot is weird. Say no more. And then the book ends! Everyone dies and the book just ends (one would believe as Alma does.) I get what she is trying to do, but it is unsatisfying.
There is a discussion in Chapter 15 on the title's meaning, the signature of all things and how god has left his mark on the world. You can see God hand in the world and people must come to see and realize this. After Chapter 15 there is a continued discussion, in Chapter 31, of self-sacrifice and altruism. Alma uses the example of her sister Prudence who gave up her true love, George and Prudence's devotion to the abolitionist cause. Alma recognizes this after her father expires and leaves the estate to her sister. Alma also realizes her father truly loved her as he left everything to her. One of this one is worth two of the other (referring to Prudence.) But we really don't get to the explanation of why Alma/Gilbert introduces altruism & self-sacrifice into the evolutionary mix. Furthermore, Gilbert continues to state, via the characters evolution cannot take into account human consciousness.
It is in the discussion of the signature of all things that this book distinguishes itself. The addition of the self-sacrifice and human altruism to the equation make the conversation more interesting, with the further complication of human consciousness. Gilbert, by way of Alma, also states the purpose of life is the attainment of knowledge. Alma figures this out before expiring. One also hopes Alma got all her questions answered in that last moment and is happily communing with her also departed husband.
Sadly, I do not think the average reader is going to pick up on this line of inquiry in this book as it more going to the heart of historical romance set in Philadelphia and Tahiti. It is too bad as Ms. Gilbert could have taken this line of inquiry onto something bigger in the book notes.
The reason I hooked on to this discussion topic is a conversation I had with a friend on the knowledge and/or quantification of God. Humans used their consciousness to know there was a higher power in the universe and then with the invention of science tried to become closer to him. But there is no way to quantify God.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Rosie Project was a cute, non-conventional love story. How love can change us? Or just a cute work of fiction set in Australia. There really isn't much meat to talk about, but if you are headed to the beach for spring break, pick it up! The lead character, Don, is a high functioning autistic man. He is a professor at university teaching genetics and decides to help Rosie find her biological dad and falls in love with her.
There is a follow up book called The Rosie Effect.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm not crazy about The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. It came up as a reco when I purchased The Rosie Project. Should have known? But at least I got it from the library. Again, this book is the story of AJ Fikry's twisty-turney life. There is a love story, but it ends suddenly.
The best part of this book is the relationship with his daughter. The wonderful way Zevin has AJ raise his daughter on the island book store. Therein lies the magic.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat Pray Love fame was a real plot mess. Why? Ms. Gilbert is a terrific writer. The writing is excellent, absorbing; but the plot is weird. Say no more. And then the book ends! Everyone dies and the book just ends (one would believe as Alma does.) I get what she is trying to do, but it is unsatisfying.
There is a discussion in Chapter 15 on the title's meaning, the signature of all things and how god has left his mark on the world. You can see God hand in the world and people must come to see and realize this. After Chapter 15 there is a continued discussion, in Chapter 31, of self-sacrifice and altruism. Alma uses the example of her sister Prudence who gave up her true love, George and Prudence's devotion to the abolitionist cause. Alma recognizes this after her father expires and leaves the estate to her sister. Alma also realizes her father truly loved her as he left everything to her. One of this one is worth two of the other (referring to Prudence.) But we really don't get to the explanation of why Alma/Gilbert introduces altruism & self-sacrifice into the evolutionary mix. Furthermore, Gilbert continues to state, via the characters evolution cannot take into account human consciousness.
It is in the discussion of the signature of all things that this book distinguishes itself. The addition of the self-sacrifice and human altruism to the equation make the conversation more interesting, with the further complication of human consciousness. Gilbert, by way of Alma, also states the purpose of life is the attainment of knowledge. Alma figures this out before expiring. One also hopes Alma got all her questions answered in that last moment and is happily communing with her also departed husband.
Sadly, I do not think the average reader is going to pick up on this line of inquiry in this book as it more going to the heart of historical romance set in Philadelphia and Tahiti. It is too bad as Ms. Gilbert could have taken this line of inquiry onto something bigger in the book notes.
The reason I hooked on to this discussion topic is a conversation I had with a friend on the knowledge and/or quantification of God. Humans used their consciousness to know there was a higher power in the universe and then with the invention of science tried to become closer to him. But there is no way to quantify God.