December 2006 Book Reviews

Better late than never?

1. Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber, Rating: 2.5
I made the mistake of thinking this would be a "fun" read - Marie Antoinette, seen through a fashion lens. It's a serious, scholarly, extremely well researched and documented look at her life (it includes 120 pages of footnotes and citations). The author's credentials are serious and I admire her effort; the actual work is really dry. And the biggest problem? She describes clothing very poorly. I finished the book and still don't have a clear idea of what the clothes actually looked like.
2. The Scroll of Seduction, Gioconda Belli, Rating: 3.0
Another look at European royalty, this time Juana the Mad of Spain. There's little published (in English, at least) about this interesting woman, supposedly driven mad by her husband's wandering eye. My biggest quibble with this account are the utterly unbelievable liberties the author takes to flush out the story. Rather than creating a 3 dimensional character, Belli creates a caricature.
3. Middlemarch, George Eliot, Rating: 3.9
Middlemarch is funny and sharp, even biting at times. There's clearly an agenda from the get-go, and I found it interesting how she focused people to display that how they really are, and how they are perceived by others, are so often different. The book is long - it was a struggle at times to finish - but worth the effort.
4. The Texicans, Nina Vida, Rating: 4.1
After a slightly bumpy start, this short, compelling novel swings into high gear, detailing the lives of numerous characters with intersecting lives. It's fun.