Merely Mystery Reading Challenge - Death Comes to Pemberly

Death Comes to Pemberly is a pretty good sequel to Pride and Prejudice. Despite all the complaints about the (somewhat minor, I feel) plot inaccuracies and historical detail, it's still a very good novel that carries on the tone and style of the orignal quite well.

Those expecting a fast-paced mystery plot will be disappointed. Pride and Prejudice is a genteel novel, and Death Comes to Pemberly is, invariably, genteel. There are no dramatic denouments, no high-speed horse chases or even dramatic conflict. The murder itself takes place off-stage and the climax occurs at the trial, but without the dramatic lawyers in Ace Attorney or other books.

I write all the bad things not to make the book seem boring, but to prepare the prospective readers. This book is slow but satisfying. In fact, the plot seems to be merely a vehicle to flesh out the beloved characters and give them another layer of depth - something, which I may add, is done very well.

I finished the book feeling as though I knew the characters better. Darcy's Pride vs Love conflict was interesting to read, and his perspective added to the book. In fact, I think the dominant POV was his, rather than Elizabeth's, which I didn't really mind because the original novel fleshes out her character pretty well.

The only thing I didn't like? Why didn't Wickham die? Hmm.... I wonder if this is a spoiler. But anyways, yes, contrary to the impression given by the blurb, Wickham is not murdered. It's a pity really, I was hoping that the villian gets killed off. But I supposed it's because if he really does die, then who would be cast in a negative light? Lady Catherine? It's possible but quite unlikely she would soil her hands to murder Wickham. I highly doubt she'd even condescend to spit on his dead body.

I really recommend all Pride and Prejudice friends to read this book. It's well-written and I really enjoyed reading it. It also holds true to the Jane Austen spirit, staying firmly within the created universe, unlike some other fan-works like Murder at Mansfield Park (I think it's terrible because it twists the characters. I still don't see the use of re-writing the nature of each character, because they are then no longer the characters you know and love)

As part of the reading challenge, I would place this as a historical murder mystery. Theoretically, it could also be a cozy, since there's no violence or explicit scenes, but I would prefer to use that for an Agatha Christie novel.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Ok this is a really late review. While most people have already read and raved over Graceling (and indeed, have moved on the Fire and Bitterblue), I've just finished the first novel. And you know what? This novel gives me internal conflict :/

Let's just say that I wanted to like this novel, and I did. To an extent (Ah, the dreaded words). I loved the idea of being Graced (it's alot like the parable of the servant and his TALENTS), and the whole AU (Alternate Universe) was quite well crafted, with the idea of the different kings and what not. And Katsa, Po and Bitterblue were well written characters.

What I had a tiny quibble with but can live with was the two plots in the book. There is: a. Katsa leaving the grip of Randa (the bildunsroman is a journey worthy of a separate novel) and b. Katsa and Po rescuing Bitterblue and the fight against Leck. I must say though, I like how the book ended. Even though it is a series, I never liked books with such obvious cliffhangers that you feel blackmailed/forced to buy the second book. And -spoiler alert!- I was pleased to see that they found Po alive before the book ended ^^

My biggest issue with the book was its portrayal of the different relationships. I don't really care about how we're now a modern civilisation and all that, I think pre-marital sex is bad. Plus, this is a YA novel, so I don't think it's very appropriate to have Katsa and Po sleeping together, and then plan not to marry (here's another spoiler: by the end of the book, they decide to stay together but not get married. I don't know if it changes in the later books).

So yes, my biggest issue with the book is a moral issue. Call me small-minded or whatever, but I don't think that it's appropriate, especially when this is not one of the major issues discussed. This isn't like, say War and Peace, which is over a thousand pages long and like a long running Taiwanese serial I will not name, discusses more or less everything under the sun. Graceling is a YA novel about a girl who is Graced and her journey; so this sort of thing has really, no context to be there.

All this being said, Graceling is still an enjoyable book. But, I can't in good conscience recommend it to anyone who's going through a confused stage of life. I think this book should be for older and more mature people, who will not be affected by the portrayal of the relationships in this book.

Pinterest

I've made it to 200 posts! Yay! And instead of doing something normal like, I don't know, reviewing Graceling like I should, I decided to review Pinterest, which has very little to do with books. I have to admit though, I only managed to get an invite yesterday, so I have less than 24 hours of experience (I have been playing with it a lot though).

Pinterest, if you don't know, is a social-bookmarking site. Instead of merely taking note of certain sites and pages, here, you can "re-pin" (it's like reblogging in tumblr) and "like" the different pins, as well as follow people and specific boards.

What I love about Pinterest is how gorgeous everything looks. I like to think that I'm a words person, rather than just a pictures person (both a visual, but in a different way), but I love seeing pictures of the sites that I save. It's actually a really good way to 'capture' the essence of the sites.

The ability to organise things into different boards is another big plus. Once I add the Pinterest button, it's really very simple to save pages. Because I tend to save either book reviews, business stuff (like Havard Business Review articles) and photography things, the ability to organise into categories makes it very easy to find the link that I was looking for. And with this, I've started boards like 'Clothes' (I can't rely on my sis forever) and 'DIY - Crafts and Recipes'. And with the ability to follow specific boards, it means that the updates on the main page are catered to what I like, and I won't need to hesitate over following someone just because I don't like one of their boards.

I'm not used to trawling the net, but the opportunity to use Pinterest makes me want to go outside google reader (I tend to just pick sites I really love and stick with them). Plus, looking at the different pins by other users is like surfing the net, especially since they visit sites I don't even know about!

If you have a Pinterest account, tell me so I can take a look! And if you don't, but want to join, just drop me a note as well, and I'll send you an invite(:

Teaser Tuesdays - Death Comes to Pemberly

Has it already been a week? Woah, for this week at least, time really flew by. And without further ado, here's this week's teaser, from P.D James' Death Comes to Pemberly (A Christmas present I got :D)

"Darcy trudged behind the colonel in a desolation of spirit in which a dozen different fears and anxieties jostled in his mind making rational though impossible. He had never let himself wonder how close Elizabeth and Wickham had been in the days of their friendship at Longbourn, but now jealous doubts, which he recognised as unjustified and ignoble, crowded his mind." (pg. 73)

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by MizB of Should be Reading(: See you next week!