Flashback Friday: The Icarus Girl

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Flashback Friday is a weekly tradition started here at Bookshelf Fantasies, focusing on showing some love for the older books in our lives and on our shelves. If you’d like to join in, just pick a book published at least five years ago, post your Flashback Friday pick on your blog, and let us all know about that special book from your reading past and why it matters to you. Don’t forget to link up!

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
(published 2005)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Jessamy “Jess” Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged little girl named TillyTilly. But soon TillyTilly’s visits become more disturbing, until Jess realizes she doesn’t actually know who her friend is at all. Drawing on Nigerian mythology, Helen Oyeyemi presents a striking variation on the classic literary theme of doubles — both real and spiritual — in this lyrical and bold debut.

I was reminded of this book, which I read several years ago, after reading the first batch of reviews for Helen Oyeyemi’s newest novel, Boy, Snow, Bird. It’s hard to believe that this talented writer, author of five novels to date, is only 29 years old!

The Icarus Girl, Oyeyemi’s debut, was published when the author was just 20. This is the only book of hers that I’ve read, so I don’t know how or if her style has changed since her first novel. In any case, while the entire plot didn’t necessarily hold together for me, what I remember about The Icarus Girl is the lovely writing, the sense of magic and mystery that pervades the novel, the very scary and eerie supernatural moments, and the use of Nigerian mythology to deepen and enrich the overall mood.

Have you read anything by Helen Oyeyemi? Do you plan to read Boy, Snow, Bird?

What flashback book is on your mind this week?

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

27Feb2014

Flashback Friday: The Stolen Child

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
(published 2006)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

“I am a changeling-a word that describes within its own name what we are bound and intended to do. We kidnap a human child and replace him or her with one of our own. . . .”

The double story of Henry Day begins in 1949, when he is kidnapped at age seven by a band of wild childlike beings who live in an ancient, secret community in the forest. The changelings rename their captive Aniday and he becomes, like them, unaging and stuck in time. They leave one of their own to take his place, an imposter who must try — with varying success — to hide his true identity from the Day family. As the changeling Henry grows up, he is haunted by glimpses of his lost double and by vague memories of his own childhood a century earlier. Narrated in turns by Henry and Aniday, The Stolen Child follows them as their lives converge, driven by their obsessive search for who they were before they changed places in the world. Moving from a realistic setting in small-town America deep into the forest of humankind’s most basic desires and fears, this remarkable novel is a haunting fable about identity and the illusory innocence of childhood.

This beautiful, haunting book is both fairy tale and a story of disillusioned adulthood, drawing on the myth of the changeling to follow two characters who feel isolated and alienated in their lives. It’s a sad look back at the lost days of youth, with a fantastical twist serving to explain why a man might feel so strange in his own life, always feeling like there’s a part of himself missing.

The Stolen Child is really quite lovely to read. I’ve seen it described as a fairy story for adults, which sounds just about right to me. I’d put it on my shelf right next to Graham Joyce’s Some Kind of Fairy Tale, which also conveys the sense of unfulfilled purpose and a lost life while dwelling in realms both mortal and magical.

I’ve yet to read Keith Donohue’s two subsequent novels, but both (Angels of Destruction and Centuries of June) sound like books that are right up my alley.

What flashback book is on your mind this week?

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

21Feb2014

Flashback Friday: Stardust

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

Stardust by Neil Gaiman
(published 1999)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

In the sleepy English countryside at the dawn of the Victorian Era, life moves at a leisurely pace in the tiny town of Wall–a secluded hamlet so named for an imposing stone barrier that surrounds a fertile grassland. Armed sentries guard the sole gap in the bulwark to keep the inquisitive from wandering through, relaxing their vigil only once every nine years, when a market fair unlike any other in the world of men comes to the meadow. Here in Wall, young Tristran Thorn has lost his heart to beautiful Victoria Forester. But Victoria is cold and distant–as distant, in fact, as the star she and Tristran see fall from the sky on a crisp October evening. For the coveted prize of Victoria’s hand, Tristran vows to retrieve the fallen star and deliver it to his beloved. It is an oath that sends the lovelorn swain over the ancient wall, and propels him into a world that is strange beyond imagining.

But Tristran is not the only one seeking the heavenly jewel. There are those for whom it promises youth and beauty, the key to a kingdom, and the rejuvenation of dark, dormant magics. And a lad compelled by love will have to keep his wits about him to succeed and survive in this secret place where fallen stars come in many guises–and where quests have a way of branching off in unexpected directions, even turning back upon themselves in space and in time.

Neil Gaiman works his unique literary magic in new and dazzling ways in “Stardust, a novel that will shine in the heart and memory far beyond the turning of its final page.

I consider Stardust a modern classic — a dreamy fairy tale with touches of witchy evil, struggles for a throne, and flying pirates! As far as I remember, Stardust was my very first Neil Gaiman book, and I love the fact that it’s perfect for adults but really accessible for kids too.

Stardust is also one of the rare cases where a great books is adapted into a pretty terrific movie… but still, if you’ve only seen the movie, read the book! It’s fun, it’s romantic, it’s exciting, and totally enchanting.

PS – In case you need encouragement to see the movie… how about these magic words? Henry Cavill. The guy who plays Prince Caspian. Are you convinced yet? 🙂

What flashback book is on your mind this week?

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

20Feb2014

Thursday Quotables: Fahrenheit 451

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
(first published 1950)

Montag looked at these men whose faces were sunburnt by a thousand real and ten thousand imaginary fires, whose work flushed their cheeks and fevered their eyes. These men who looked steadily into their platinum igniter flames as they lit their eternally burning black pipes. They and their charcoal hair and soot-colored brows and bluish-ash-smeared cheeks where they had shaven close; but their heritage showed. Montag started up, his mouth opened. Had he ever,seen a fireman that didn’t have black hair, black brows, a fiery face, and a blue-steel shaved but unshaved look? These men were all mirror images of himself! Were all firemen picked then for their looks as well as their proclivities? The color of cinders and ash about them, and the continual smell of burning from their pipes.

It seems like everyone know the first line of Fahrenheit 451:

It was a pleasure to burn.

But who remembers how incredibly Bradbury describes the world of this book and the people in it? I’ve just started a reread of Fahrenheit 451, and I thought I remembered quite a bit, but I was wrong. I keep finding passages, like the one above, in which Bradbury captures a look, a moment or a feeling in such startling, sharply drawn images and words. I’m so delighted that I’m treating myself to the pleasure of reading this amazing book again after so many years!

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Leave your link in the comments — or, if you have a quote to share but not a blog post, you can leave your quote in the comments too!
Visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

14Feb2014

Flashback Friday: House of Stairs

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

House of Stairs by William Sleator
(published 1974)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Peter. Lola. Blossom. Abigail. Oliver. Five sixteen-year-old orphans. One by one, they are brought to a place that is unlike anything any of them has ever known. It’s not a prison, not a hospital. It has no walls, no ceilings, no floor. Nothing but endless flights of stairs leading nowhere – except back to the red machine. The five will learn to love the machine, will let it rule their lives. But will they let it kill their souls?

House of Stairs Can I just tell you how freaked out by this book I was when I was a kid? It’s a totally bizarre tale of psychological conditioning — and I loved it. Five teens trapped in a weird place that just consists of stairs going every which way, plus a single machine that dispenses food… but only if you do what it wants. Yikes! It’s not very long, but it certainly has stayed with me all these years.

House of Stairs When my daughter was the right age, I gave it to her to read, and she was blown away too. And now that my son is in middle school, it’s come back off the shelf again… and we’re trying to convince him that he just has to read this book!

A note on the covers: I think I actually prefer the older, slightly cheesy versions for House of Stairs. The one above just lacks any personality… versus these older ones with bad hair, odd clothes, and lots of drama.

Have you read House of Stairs? Or anything else by William Sleator?

What’s your favorite flashback book this week?

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

13Feb2014

Thursday Quotables: The Fiery Cross

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
(first published 2001)

I’m in the midst of a major fit of Outlander obsession, just finishing a super-speedy re-read of The Fiery Cross (book #5 in the series). There are so many quotable moments, especially when it comes to Jamie and Claire. This one is just perfect, I think, and always makes me sigh.

PS – I loved this passage so much, I just had to decorate it! My graphic design abilities are pretty limited, but I do like the way this one came out!

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Leave your link in the comments — or, if you have a quote to share but not a blog post, you can leave your quote in the comments too!
Visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

7Feb2014

Flashback Friday: The Samurai’s Garden

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama
(published 1994)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen is sent to his family’s summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu’s secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight. Matsu is a samurai of the soul, a man devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world, and Stephen is a noble student, learning to appreciate Matsu’s generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu’s soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.

The synopsis is not terribly helpful, and really doesn’t do justice to the sense of beauty and strength that comes through in this lovely novel. The characters are much more intricate than is first apparent, and as the book progresses, the complicated dynamics unfold to reveal secrets, shames, and passions.

It’s been many years since I’ve read The Samurai’s Garden, and I should probably read it again. I’ve read and enjoyed other books by this author as well, but The Samurai’s Garden is the one that really stands out in my mind as truly special.

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

31Jan2014

Flashback Friday: The Queen’s Fool

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory
(published 2003)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

A young woman caught in the rivalry between Queen Mary and her half sister, Elizabeth, must find her true destiny amid treason, poisonous rivalries, loss of faith, and unrequited love.

It is winter, 1553. Pursued by the Inquisition, Hannah Green, a fourteen-year-old Jewish girl, is forced to flee Spain with her father. But Hannah is no ordinary refugee. Her gift of “Sight,” the ability to foresee the future, is priceless in the troubled times of the Tudor court. Hannah is adopted by the glamorous Robert Dudley, the charismatic son of King Edward’s protector, who brings her to court as a “holy fool” for Queen Mary and, ultimately, Queen Elizabeth. Hired as a fool but working as a spy; promised in wedlock but in love with her master; endangered by the laws against heresy, treason, and witchcraft, Hannah must choose between the safe life of a commoner and the dangerous intrigues of the royal family that are inextricably bound up in her own yearnings and desires.

Teeming with vibrant period detail and peopled by characters seamlessly woven into the sweeping tapestry of history, The Queen’s Fool is another rich and emotionally resonant gem from this wonderful storyteller.

A lot of people discovered Philippa Gregory because of her bestseller The Other Boleyn Girl and its movie adaptation. But for me, my first exposure to this author came when a friend put a copy of The Queen’s Fool into my hands and ordered me to read it!

Long story short, I thought this book was marvelous! The fictional character of Hannah Green is a terrific invention, providing an outsider’s view of the closed confines of life at court. The element of hiding her Jewish faith adds both an interesting historical note as well as a more personal risk for Hannah in her role as companion to both Mary and Elizabeth. Through Hannah’s eyes, we get intimate views of the royal half-sisters’ hopes, fears, and struggles, and it’s all quite fascinating.

There are a ton of books out there, fiction and non-fiction, focused on the Tudor dynasty. In The Queen’s Fool, we see the Tudor women from the unique perspective of a young woman who is powerless yet has almost unlimited access to those on and closest to the throne. I’ve read several of Philippa Gregory’s novels about the Tudors, and while I haven’t loved them all, The Queen’s Fool is one that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

29Jan2014

Thursday Quotables: Dragonfly in Amber

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
(first published 1992)

I’m just finishing a re-read of Dragonfly in Amber (book #2 in the Outlander series) via audiobook, and so many new and different parts jumped out at me this time. I don’t think I ever really paid attention to the quote above in my previous readings, but this time, it struck me as so simple and romantic… that I got inspired, played around with images and text, and made myself a pretty graphic of it! What do you think?

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Leave your link in the comments — or, if you have a quote to share but not a blog post, you can leave your quote in the comments too!
Visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

23Jan2014

Flashback Friday: The Last Ship

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Flashback Friday pick this week:

The Last Ship by William Brinkley
(published 1988)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The unimaginable horror of total nuclear war has been let loose upon the world, and only one ship, the Nathan James, with 152 men and 26 women aboard, has survived. Her captain narrates the electrifying story of this crew’s voyage through the hell of nuclear winter, their search for survival, and the fate of mankind when they find an uncontaminated paradise.

This books gave me nightmares for weeks! Fascinating and horrifying, The Last Ship focuses on — literally — the last ship, a naval warship that has somehow survived the initial devastation of nuclear war by being far enough at sea to avoid the blasts. As the ship’s crew searches for some remaining corner of the world safe from fall-out and radiation, they struggle with what it means to be the last people on earth, what a future might hold for them, and what their obligation toward the survival of the species might compel them to do.

The disasters of nuclear war are unflinchingly described, and the psychological impact of being alone in the world is skillfully explored, with many shades of grey and endless capacity for complete ruin. I enjoyed the descriptions of life aboard ship, particularly as this book was ahead of its time in positing a US Navy in which women serve on board ships alongside men. (The survival of the species thing would be a bit tough, otherwise…)

When it comes to cautionary tales about the arms race and nuclear annihilation, The Last Ship belongs on the “best of” shelf right alongside Nevil Shute’s On the Beach.

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥