Iza's Ballad

 Iza's Ballad / Magda Szabo, trans. by George Szirtes, 327 pp.

I am a huge fan of Szabo's and I can't exactly explain why.  She published many novels in her native Hungarian in the middle of the last century, and I gather she was quite famous in her home country after a period in which her work was repressed for political reasons.  

Iza is the talented, ambitious, ultra-competent daughter of good, loving parents who spent their lives in a modest village.  When Iza's father dies, she decides to bring her beloved mother Ettie to live with her in Pest, where she has a sleek, modern apartment thanks to her successful medical career.  But Ettie is bewildered by the modernity of Iza's life, fearing to touch electrical appliances and easily bossed around by the paid housekeeper.  The tension between mother and daughter is beautifully rendered.  Iza herself remains a bit of a mystery, perhaps most of all to herself.  

February totals

Christa  12/2616

Jan  2/488

Kara  8/2856

Linda  3/985

TOTAL: 25/6945

The Miser of Mayfair

The Miser of Mayfair by Marion Chesney (M.C. Beaton), 167 pages

When Roderick Sinclair's wealthy older brother dies and the will is read, Sinclair is dismayed to learn that he's been left only the custody of Fiona, his brother's teenage ward. With only Fiona's good looks and only a bit of money to his name, Sinclair decides to take Fiona to London for the season, in the hopes of marrying her off to a wealthy aristocrat. But how to explain their outdated clothes and residence in a supposedly cursed rental home? Lovely Fiona, who is much smarter than she leads on, lets it slip that her "father" is a wretched miser, who wants to hide his wealth to avoid suitors who are only interested in the Sinclair money.

Again, Chesney/Beaton does a lovely job skewering the London society, while creating a playful and light tale. So much fun!

Lady Fortescue Steps Out

Lady Fortescue Steps Out by Marion Chesney (M.C. Beaton), 152 pages

At the ripe old age of 70, Lady Fortescue is one of the "genteel poor" of Regency-era London. She's an aristocrat, but by having outlived all ten of her children, as well as her husband, she has a stately London home but no money to her name, selling jewelry, trinkets, and even furniture to remain warm and fed. During a walk in Hyde Park one day (this fashionable occupation still available because there is no charge to take the air in the park), Lady Fortescue stumbles across a similarly poor and hungry aristocrat. As the two get to know each other, they contrive to meet with other "poor relations" to pool their resources and, eventually, run a hotel, with the hopes that their distant relatives will be so shocked to have a relative in trade (the scandal!) that someone will buy out the business and once again set them up for the lives of leisure they once enjoyed.

Having never read M.C. Beaton (or Marion Chesney, as she's referred to here), I expected either romance or mystery, and this was neither. But it was great fun, with plenty of humor at the expense of the high society marriage market. A perfect light read (or listen, as I did with the audiobook) for the weekend.

We Ride Upon Sticks

 

We ride upon sticks / Quan Barry, 366 pgs.

The Danvers High School field hockey team isn't great.  They have a history of losing seasons.  Now, they decide to take action.  Do they add workouts?  get a ringer?  No, they make a pact and maybe "sell their souls" and a now they are big time pre-season winners. To keep the wins coming, they commit a bunch of "evil" acts...ok, mostly just the kind of things well brought up teen girls don't do. This book takes us through the 1989 season, we meet the team and get inside their heads (oh yea, they are all in each other heads too).  

For me, perhaps it was the 80's time frame, the team dynamics, depictions of teen hilarity or just the absolutely fabulous writing...but this is certainly a favorite now.  Quan Barry knows a thing or two about writing a memorable set of characters.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers, 160 pages

Dex is a monk in the main city on the tiny moon on which they live. They appreciate being a monk, but feel a call for something more than the city-based work they do, and so become a tea monk — a nomadic monk that visits the small villages that dot the moon, providing tea, an empathetic ear, and a place to relax for an hour or two. But when Dex strikes out into the wilderness, they discover a robot, the first one any human has seen for millennia, since the robots were given autonomy and released from the service of humankind. While this is understandably surprising, the robot wants to learn more about humans, and as the pair spend some time together, they learn about one another.

That's pretty much the whole of this short novel, but it is SO MUCH MORE than that too. With Chambers' trademark kind writing style and plenty of meaningful conversations between the two characters, this is also a meditation on humanity and our place within the universe, the relationship between the descendants of oppressors and slaves, and the importance of taking time for oneself. I knew I'd love this book (based solely on the author's other work), but this was perfect.

*This book has not yet been published. It will be released July 13, 2021.

An almost zero waste life

 

An almost zero waste life: learning how to embrace less to live more / Megean Weldon, 176 pgs.

I don't know why I have a weakness for books like this.  I've read several and keep requesting them.  There really isn't anything new to hear about buying less stuff, recycling, avoiding packaging or choosing the easiest to recycle option.  Weldon encourages simplifying your diet to reduce waste.  That might make sense. For me, if nothing else, the pandemic taught me I have quite a dependence on paper products.  Weldon wants me to use rags and wash them but I can't see myself managing my cat's without paper towels…and lets not even talk about getting rid of toilet paper.  Still, several interesting alternatives here and why do we pay so much for cleaning chemicals that are dangerous to our health and the environment?

The Dark Archive

The Dark Archive by Genevieve Cogman, 338 pages

After an almost completely skippable sixth book in this series (which pains me, as that was the heist book and I generally love heists), Cogman has returned to form with The Dark Archive. And a bit part of that probably has to do with Irene working in her base world, with her regular allies (dragon prince Kai, detective extraordinaire Peregrine Vale) and the ally-ish Fae (Lord Silver, Sterrington). In this installment, Irene and the aforementioned allies have all been subject to a series of assassination attempts, likely due to the recent truce between the Fae and dragons, though none of them are sure who's behind the attempts. The return of some past foes — as well as Irene's new Fae apprentice, Catherine — serve to keep things fresh and interesting. Loved this one, and can't wait to read what's next for Irene!

Outer darkness

 Outer Darkness: Vol 1: Each Other's Throats / John Layman & Afu Chan, 152 pgs.

Captain Rigg is testing out his new crew and ship, learning who can be trusted and who is going to cause him problems.  A power struggle is inevitable and sure enough, there is one.  Now they are dealing with some sort of occult influence and being thrown off schedule for the mission that nobody knows the details of.  I really didn't think this was going to be my kind of thing but it was.  Fantastic art and a story that reminds me a bit of a Star Trek episode.

The case of the missing men

The case of the missing men / Kris Bertin & Alexander Forbes, 300 pages.

Fans of Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys will like the vibe of this odd graphic novel that tells the story of a small town with big issues.  People are going missing, others are being murdered but the cops don't seem to be on the case.  A high school detective club starts looking for one particular missing man and finds many others.  What is happening in Hobtown?  Only a group of crazy kids can solve this mystery but at the same time, they are dealing with their own teen-age and hormonal issues.  I had a hard time following this at times and I can't say the art elevated my experience. Maybe this one was just too odd for me.