March Mini-Reviews (in April)

The purple tweed sweater is finished!! As soon as I can get some photos, I'll post about it. Our weather has been so gray and dark the past few days.

In the meantime, my "On the Nightstand" column is too long, so I'd better write some book notes and catch up!

Dropped Dead Stitch and Skein of the Crime by Maggie Sefton

I've been following this knitting mystery series since the first book, and enjoy each visit to the House of Lambspun in Fort Connor (Collins), Colorado, with Kelly and her friends. Dropped Dead Stitch explores the serious topic of rape, when Kelly's friend Jennifer is attacked by someone she met briefly in a bar. The knitters attend a healing spring retreat at a mountain ranch, only to discover that the ranch owner is also the rapist. He is soon found dead, with Jennifer as the prime suspect. Kelly works tirelessly to prove her friend's innocence.

Skein of the Crime turns to the equally serious issue of prescription drug abuse, when a young woman on a drug trip is found in Kelly's back yard, and eventually murdered. I thought the plot unfolded to a believable ending, but I struggled with the characters confiding so much information to Kelly. She is a CPA, not a police officer or official investigator of any kind, and yet, she walks up to complete strangers who seem more willing to share personal information or opinions with her than we might see in the real world.

For me, the strength of these last two books lies more in the relationships between Kelly and her friends than the actual mysteries. In Skein of the Crime, we see the local economy tank, and Kelly's boyfriend Steve loses construction business. He must go to work for architectural companies in order to cover his business loans, is exhausted from working 24/7, and their relationship begins to suffer, just as it has for many in real life. Sefton left us with a cliffhanger, and so I can't wait to get my hands on Unraveled, due out in June, to see how things work out for them.

Death Lights a Candle by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

The second in this 1930s Cape Cod mystery series finds a group of acquaintances stranded in a mansion in Wellfleet, snowed in by a blizzard. Their missing host Adelbert Stires shows up the night of the storm, and is found dead in his bedroom the next morning, though no one can figure out why. Asey Mayo, local handyman and sheriff, begins to put the pieces together with the help of Prue, maiden aunt and narrator, as the friends and neighbors begin to shovel out from the storm.

Given the premise of the book -- a snowed-in house party -- we don't get to see much of Cape Cod. The previous book, however, did not seem to share much local flavor either, which was disappointing. Other than mentioning Cape towns like Yarmouth or Chatham, the author doesn't describe the history or scenery or culture unique to the Cape. I truly hope as I read more of the volumes that Cape Cod will become a character in her books as well.

Having said that, I love the eccentric characters in each of her mysteries, and their witty humor, which is missing in many mysteries today. If you like The Thin Man books or films, you'll enjoy the Asey Mayo mysteries.

A Novel in a Year: From First Page to Last in 52 Weeks by Louise Doughty

Doughty wrote weekly columns on novel writing for the UK's Daily Telegraph, which were compiled into this book. On alternate weeks, exercises were given to readers, and their responses were posted on a page of the newspaper's website, as a sort of online writers' group. The early exercises encompass things like remembering a time when you were lost, or had an accident, to spark your imagination. Later exercises focus on your characters, plot development, and other techniques to help smooth out places in your story where you may have been stuck in the past.

While I didn't actually write the exercises out, just reading through them generated some ideas for a story I've been considering writing. The author also helped me to see that you don't need to write your novel chronologically; start with the scenes or chapters you are most inspired to write, or have the most material for. I don't know that you will necessarily write your novel within a year simply by following this book, but I do believe that the practical advice given will be a useful motivation tool to get you started, or get you past a stumbling block. This is a great first book to read if you are thinking of writing, and other books seem overwhelming. One little chapter a week isn't so bad, is it?

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

This has been on my "to read" list forever, and I'm so glad I finally made time to read it. Written in 1929, it takes us back to a time when women were not as welcome on university campuses, and did not have all of the opportunities to write or earn a living as they do today. Mary Gordon, who wrote the forward, points out that

"Woolf is concerned with the fate of women of genius, not with that of ordinary women; her plea is that we create a world in which Shakespeare's sister might survive her gift, not one in which a miner's wife can have her rights to property; her passion is for literature, not for universal justice."

Still, addressing the needs of women who want to write allowed them to write, and to speak out for miner's wives and all women who would otherwise not have the opportunities to "better themselves" with education and things we take for granted today. These first female writers who were given a room of their own and the finances to support themselves helped to pave the way for the many female writers, professors, doctors, and other professionals of our times, and for that, I am grateful.

One of the most powerful sections of this book for me is Woolf's observation of the dichotomy between women in history and literature. Woolf explains

Indeed, if woman had no existence save in the fiction written by men, one would imagine her a person of the utmost importance; very various; heroic and mean; splendid and sordid; infinitely beautiful and hideous in the extreme; as great as a man, some think even greater. But this is woman in fiction. In fact, as Professor Trevelyan points out, [in history] she was locked up, beaten, and flung about the room.

A very queer, composite being thus emerges. Imaginatively, she is of the highest importance; practically she is completely insignificant. She pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history. She dominates the lives of kings and conquerors in fiction; in fact she was the slave of any boy whose parents forced a ring upon her finger. Some of the most inspired words, some of the most profound thoughts in literature fall from her lips; in real life she could hardly read, could scarcely spell, and was the property of her husband.

I am still processing these profound truths. There is so much to say about this book, but this post is already too long...I trust if you have not read this short yet powerful book that you'll make time someday to read it too. If you do, I'd love to hear what you think. I want to read more of Woolf, perhaps To the Lighthouse or Mrs. Dalloway next.

I've finished a few other books that will wait for a future post. What have you been reading and knitting? And if you garden, I'd love to hear about your progress. We're just starting to get outside and begin cleaning up!

Comments

[2paw]

I've started reading the Maggie Sefton novels, people do tell her an awful lot, don't they??

[Bubblesknits]

Thanks for the book reviews! I had started reading the knitting mystery series you talked about, but I also had a hard time with believing how easy her sleuthing was. I only got a couple books in, so I might give them another try. :)

[Dorothy W.]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the Woolf book. I love how clear and convincing her prose is, and how she makes a powerful argument while at the same time sounding so calm and reasonable. I'm very curious to see what you will think of her novels!