Kingdom of the Golden Dragon by Isabel Allende (2004)

I needed another book on cassettes instead of CD's, since my player is on the fritz, so I listened to the next adventure of Alex, now 16 years old, his grandmother Kate, and Nadia as they travel to the remote Forbidden Kingdom in the Himalayas. This time we learn of Buddism and mind control and again, protecting a culture from being destroyed by the "developed" world. Again, people who want to steal the treasures of these people and mythical monsters, this time in the form of Yeti or the Abominable Snowman. (I found myself checking the Wikipedia for a take on the Yeti.) Very enjoyable.

How to Marry a Millionaire Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks (2005)

The title was so silly I just couldn't resist picking up this free book. I don't know much of the Vampire genre, so I can't compare this to anything. I read something by Anne Rice quite a while ago and didn't care for it, so I haven't tried anything recently.
Roman Draganesti has been around for centuries, but is a "good" vampire in today's New York. He has discovered a way to make artifical blood, which satisfies vampire needs without having to use live victims. I liked the concept, that if someone has been around for centuries, awake at nights - they have had plenty of time to study various disciplines - sciences in this case, and plenty of time to work on experiments. Of course, he has become rich with his inventions, like Lazarus Long in Heinlein's books.
Shanna is a dentist, who is almost killed by the mob, but rescued by Roman. They are attracted, but how could she fall in love with a vampire...
I'm not tempted to read more vampire stories any time soon, but I was intrigued by the vampire clans, the interactions between humans and vampires, their virtual sex, but totally unamused by the harems - as if the women vampires couldn't have found ways to become useful and effective in today's world. I'd think they would get bored lounging around and being catty for centuries.

City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende (2002)

Since I love Isabel Allende, I thought I'd listen to some of her young adult books and was not disappointed. In this book, while his mother is being treated for cancer, 15 year old Alex has to go with his grandmother to the Amazon, where she has been sent by the fictional magazine International Geographic. Of course he lands in an adventure involving an egotistical anthropologis, nasty men who are trying to destroy the local Indians so they can exploit the land, Indians who have never had any contact with the outside world, and Nadia, the 12 year old daughter of their guide, who hears with her heart and communicates with animals. Since Alex and Nadia are pure of heart, they are allowed to see more of the Indian life than the adults and they learn to face their fears. Of course the story gets fantastic and they save the day and bring back some treasures that can help the Indians. Great adventure story that also educates.

A Little Fate by Nora Roberts (2004)

This is another one of those three in one Nora Roberts' books, this time with three short fantasy stories.

The Witching Hour (2003) - A pregnant queen escapes her castle during a battle in which her husband dies and evil Lorcan takes over the kingdom. That night she dies in childbirth, giving life to Aurora, who is raised hidden and taught warrior skills to return to revenge her parents and rule fairly again. Her love interest is Thane, who is a lowly stable hand just waiting for the right moment...

Winter Rose (2001) - Deidre rules in a castle under the spell of perpetual winter, like Narnia. Kylar comes riding in through the wintry woods, wounded from battle. She heals him and they fall in love, but must part... The frozen rose in the garden is the indicator for the status of the spell. I liked the details about how she works in a greenhouse to raise food for her household.

A World Apart (2002) - Kadra lives in a primitive world and hunts demons. The demon leader escapes through a portal into present day New York City, where Harper Doyle is a private investigator. Kadra literarily lands on Doyle, who is nursing a hangover. This story was the most fun - I like it when worlds collide like in the Adept series by Piers Anthony. She is wearing Xena leathers and carries a sword. He is good with guns. Again, incredible attraction, when all is done they have to return to their own worlds, but ...

The plots are simple, so they can be told in a 100 pages. I'm sure it was just fun for Roberts to play with a different genre. She has her usual strong women and well developed settings, this time these are alternate worlds with magical power and swordplay.

Gilgamesh (2100 BCE)

A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell
Gilgamesh is an epic poem, considered the oldest story in the world, a thousand years older that the Iliad or the Bible, about the Mesopotamian king Gilgamesh and his friend Endiku, a wild man that grew up in the woods. Endiku is brought into civilization by the erotic arts of a priestess. Then Gilgamesh and Endiku go on to slay monsters and enrage the gods. When Endiku dies, Gilgamesh is grieved, so he goes off on another quest to find immortality.

I was quite amazed, and maybe even bored, to see that hero stories haven't changed that much over the millennium - there is still plenty of ego, violence and sex. What did seem different, that there wasn't a clear sense of good vs. bad. The monster the heroes killed was not necessarily evil, and actually the gods got angry and killed Endiku for his role in it. Sex is also surprisingly explicit and actually a civilizing, healing force, except when Gilgamesh takes his first rights with new brides, but that is an example of his hunger for power. Gilgamesh is an egotistical ruler who really only matures and evolves after his last futile quest for immortality.

I was impressed by the complexity and subtlety of this story from so long ago. The book (and the tape I listened to) consist of both the text of Gilgamesh and an extensive essay by Stephen Mitchell. He explains that the first clay tablets of Gilgamesh were found in 1853 and it took decades before someone could decipher them. Since then numerous fragments and versions have been found throughout the Middle East. Mitchell has not done any translations himself, he has rather adapted numerous versions, using one as the basis, filling in from other versions, and even adding lines of his own to fill gaps or to clarify the story. He has come up with a very readable version.

This book was suggested by one of the audio book store employees, who has been thoroughly fascinated by this epic. I admit my curiosity was piqued and I checked out the library shelves and found many other versions in English including two children's books, plus some versions in German.

Vive la Paris by Esme Raji Codell (2006)

I was amazed by the hard issues discussed in this young adult book (free advance proof from ALA). Paris is the youngest of five, the only girl in a black family, whose father is a musician. She is bright and well liked. Her father sends her to piano lessons with Mrs. Rosen, and old Jewish lady, who teaches her more than music. I'd really like to see what kids get out of this book, but it was written from Paris' viewpoint and it made sense that kids could easily misinterpret things. When Mrs. Rosen shows Paris her the number tatooed on her arm, Paris associates it with what she has just learned about gangs getting tatoos. She hasn't been taught about the Holocaust - probably a hard thing to teach school kids - and she is only in 5th grade. When Paris starts reading about it, she is overwhelmed. Somehow the author manages to weave together Martin Luther King, the Holocaust, bullying, and gay issues - though the latter are not explicitly stated. It reminds me that the blacks and Jews have a lot in common, but as we move further away from WWII, how many people will understand the significance of the Holocaust and how "we need all kinds of people to make a world," as Paris writes in her report. It is scary to read the lists about what our current university students have or have not known in their lives, who have never known the Soviet Union, never mind the horrors of WWII or Viet Nam. They have Iraq, but are we learning tolerance and acceptance of other people's from that?

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)

I really enjoyed listening to this book about Jacob Jankowski, an almost veterinarian, who loses his family and ends up working for a circus in 1931. This rich story gives us a sense of lives during the Depression. This is not a glamorous running away with the circus story, but a nitty-gritty one, mostly about behind the scenes, the caste system, and all the hard work that goes into setting up a circus, taking care of the animals, feeding all the workers, traveling, etc. Apparently Gruen has done quite a bit of research and shares all the terminology, like rubes, roustabouts, redlighting, etc. I always like to see Cornell mentioned - that was the vet school Jacob was attending, before he dropped out right before final exams. Jacob lands in this circus by chance and is kept on because of his vet skills. He falls in love with Marlena, the equestrian performer, who has a paranoid schizophrenic husband. Of course there is an elephant in the story, but my only disappointment was that the reference to watering elephants in the beginning, as if there was a secret to the job, was never explained - or I missed it somewhere.

The other part of the book, which made it so wonderful, was Jacob's story at the end of his life - told by him as a 90 (or is it 93) year old man in a nursing home. It was read in a gravely voice and conveyed all the indignities of the life in a nursing home. Jacob has one nurse who treats him with respect. Having worked with the elderly at one point in my life and having to take care of my dad at 94, I can relate. The narration alternates between the young and elderly Jacob - both of them telling the story very well, and it all comes together in a satisfying ending.

Monticello: A Guidebook (1997)

After touring Thomas Jefferson's house Monticello, I wanted to read more about him and the place, so I bought the requisite guidebook, which told the story of the house, the gardens, the plantation, and the people that lived there, including the slaves. Jefferson has been one of my favorite American historical figures, so it might be time to read up on him a bit more.

Summer Guest by Justin Cronin (2004)

I have to thank the literary criticism class I saw in the library for this one. I really enjoyed it. Tritely I could say it is about love and war and family and relationships and the beauty of nature, but it is very well written. Each chapter is told by one of the main characters, which can get a bit confusing as sometimes they are talking about the present, but much of it is flashbacks to different parts of their lives - and not in a sequential order. Somehow, it all comes together beautifully.

Joe sr. comes home from WW II having lost an eye, purchases a camp on an unspoiled lake in Maine, and moves his family there. Joe jr. comes of age during the Vietnam War and his father strongly encourages him to evade the draft; he returns to marry Lucy and run the camp. Their daughter Kate goes off to med school. Jordan is their employee, who takes people like Harry, the perennial guest, out on the lake to fish. The camp was an ideal place for all of these characters - on soothing water, within the healing beauty of nature, but still in contact with other people - providing the experience of nature for others. I see Joe sr. making the decision to not be in the public eye with his deformed face, I see the love Joe jr. had for the place, and Jordan, my favorite character, who has the deep pain that only a place like this can heal. They all live parts of their lives someplace else, but end up returning here.

Cronin does a wonderful job of getting into the hearts and minds of these people. I can relate to their concerns, hard life choices, disappointments. I relate very deeply to finding peace and comfort by the lake in Maine. I remember a phase in my life, when I felt that was my ideal - living away from it all. Now I wonder what it was that I wanted to get away from - civilization? cement? the rush and stress? people? I don't think that I felt as comfortable with people at that time, or I somehow thought I didn't need many people, but after living in the country for three years in the early 1980's I found myself wanting the city and a wider variety of people. I think I have found my ideal - on the water (OK, it's just a pond, but it has wonderful wildlife), in suburbia, small metropolitan area with plenty of cultural opportunities, enough diversity, and a job about which I am passionate.

House of Scorta by Laurent Gaude (2005)

As with The Last Song of Dusk, this book had its own feel and pace from another part of the world. The small southern Italian village of Montepuccio from 1870's to the recent past is the setting. The story begins with a man coming to this town for revenge after serving a prison sentence. He leaves behind a son, Rocco, who grows up to pillage and terrorize the area and when he dies, leaves Carmela and her brothers to fend for themselves. They open a tobacco shop, work at becoming respectable citizens, and have families of their own. The story is of ongoing generations struggling to survive, to find their place in the world, to find happiness and love. This just gave a glimpse into those struggles in one Italian family.

As a child of immigrants, the moment when Carmela is not let into America for health reasons was poignant. It reminded me that not everyone who tried to immigrate made it, and today the numbers of those wanting to immigrate, but being turned back are much greater.

I don't regret listening to this, it just wasn't my favorites. Something about the raw passions and despair that is also in a lot of Latvian literature just didn't provide the most satisfying read. I don't mind emotion and hard times, and the next book I'll describe - Summer Guest - has plenty of both, but the latter is presented in a way that speaks to me. Maybe it's an American - European thing. I later found out that this is an award winning French book in translation.