Thursday, November 24, 2011

Review of The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer

Author: Ellen Reardon, edited by Joyce Reardon
First published in 2001
Thickness: 272 pages
Read in Dutch
Personal rating: 3 stars

In short
At the turn of the twentieth century, Ellen Rimbauer became the young bride of Seattle industrialist John Rimbauer, and began keeping a remarkable diary. This diary became the secret place where Ellen could confess her fears of the new marriage, her confusion over her emerging sexuality, and the nightmare that her life would become. The diary not only follows the development of a girl into womanhood, it follows the construction of the Rimbauer mansioncalled Rose Redan enormous home that would be the site of so many horrific and inexplicable tragedies in the years ahead. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer: My Life at Rose Red is a rare document, one that gives us an unusual view of daily life among the aristocracy in the early 1900s, a window into one womans hidden emotional torment, and a record of the mysterious events at Rose Red that scandalized Seattle society at the timeevents that can only be fully understood now that the diary has come to light. Edited by Joyce Reardon, Ph.D. as part of her research, the diary is being published as preparations are being made by Dr. Reardon to enter Rose Red and fully investigate its disturbing history. (www.goodreads.com)

My two cents
This has been a bargain at the local library yard sale. I purchased it along with novels from Dean Koontz, Peter Straub, Justin Cronin,.. but wasn't entirely sure what to expect.
Not having seen the movie, and heard about the long long version Stephen King made with 'Rose Red', I thought I'd be in for a good oldfashioned horror story.

Not exactly what I was getting though. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer is a recollection of events, which happen during her stay in Rose Red, being married to an oil baron, in the early 20th century.
You see her going through the changes from a girl into a woman, and seeing her embrace the 'dark' side, which in my opinion is only her own sexuality. She sees her own behaviour as a result of her being a sinner and when her husband invites other women in her bed, she starts praying to have him punished. Not to God though.
This diary spans a time of multiple decades, and during that time many disappearances and murders/accidents happen. Of course a house with as many servants and guests as the vast Rose Red, things are bound to happen without it being of any supernatural meaning.
The recollections of Ellen are ambiguous to say the least, when she suffers from fevers she believes the house to have a soul of her own and wanting her to keep building it larger. In her sane moments, she doesn't believe her own words she's written down. When her daughter goes missing, she loses it completely and add to that the abuse her husband makes her go through in watching her perform sexual acts with her housemaid, Ellen's sanity is up to be questioned.

I'm not easily convinced of there being haunted houses, although I do believe there is more to this world than we can see with our own eyes, just the idea of brick and wood being haunted is a bit much for me. In the novel the idea of an Indian burial ground is given and that just brings memories of 'Poltergeist' back. I wonder if they got their bread in this novel, which is almost weird in a sense since the novel was published almost 20 years later.

Something else that annoyed me was the editing of Joyce Reardon. It seems that during the time that the intimate relations between her, her husband and her housemaid, she made recollections of it, but Miss Reardon didn't think it appropriate to include these in the book. I'm not looking for anything sensational, but just thought it a little childish. For being published early this century I would've thought a little more common sense.

Well, one of my more lenghty reviews. The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer isn't a bad novel, but it isn't remarkable either. Good to catch the rebound you sometimes experience after finishing a wonderful novel.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Review of The Serial Killers Club

Author: Jeff Povey
First published in 1990
Thickness: 320 pages
Read in dutch
Personal rating: 2 stars

In short

When our hero finds himself in the path of a serial killer, he somehow manages to defend himself, and give the blood-thirsty madman a taste of his own medicine. But when he goes through the dead man's wallet, he finds a mysterious personal ad inviting him to join a party hosted by Errol Flynn. What begins with passing curiosity soon becomes uncontrollable obsession, as our hero becomes acquainted with 18 killers. Their game: to share the thrill of the hunt and to make sure no two members choose the same two victims. To protect their identities, they have all chosen names of old Hollywood stars, and before long, our hero becomes Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. But he has no intention of following the rules. With a government special agent on his trail who will soon become his partner in crim, "Dougie" plans to knock off the killers one by one, from Carole Lombard to Chuck Norris, to Laurence Olivier and Cher. But what happens when the "stars" notice their numbers dropping? (www.goodreads.com)

My two cents

The Serial Killers Club has been finished in record time, although it wasn't because of its splendid content. More because it was an easy prose to read, especially after Pride & Prejudice. (And it was in Dutch, I truly read like a train in my native language, but I still prefer the original English text in most cases).

This book is like reading the gossip page in the news paper. No educational purpose or intellectual goal at all, but we all like to read those few glam pages.
Having been written so even 10y olds can read it without any problem, I kept on reading because I loved to know what kind of serial killings the members of the club have been doing. I'm intrigued by such things, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, if you see how many books, films, documentaries have been made on the subject. It is not biographical in any way.
It was sloppy, and in many cases major plot holes just got painted over and ignored. Not a novel I would invest time in if you ask me. I wouldn't if I had known beforehand, but what can you do?

Luckily it cost me only a day or three. The reason it got 2 stars. It got finished.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Review of Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen
First published in 1813.
Thickness: 480 pages
Personal rating: 4 stars

In Short

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited, while he struggles to remain indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life. (www.goodreads.com)

My two cents

I loved this novel. Pride & Prejudice has been standing on my TBR-shelf for a while now, and I was reluctant to pick it up.
Why?

Because I have been reading the so-called classics and have been disappointed with almost all of them. Of course, having been on a streak of novels I just couldn't finish, I initially thought P&P might be more of the same and I longed for a novel that could draw me in and give me the feeling I wanted to read it, instead of it turning into a task. 

Pride & Prejudice delivered me what I asked for. It is a wonderful novel, of such light humour and satire I was desperately trying to find time to continue reading, which isn't evident when I'm days away from going into labour and still have a living rooms that needs a bit of sprucing up after having been renovated recently. 
So late at night, in bed, I was reading of Lizzie Bennet and Mr Darcy and all the means of English society in the early 19th century. 

It has restored faith in me, in reading early 19th century novels. Early 20th century novels still have a long way to go, to earn my trust again, but of Jane Austen will be more read. 
Anyway, don't hesitate of picking it up. It's a true classic. More of a romantic story than any of those YA-novels circling the bookstores nowadays. 

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Review of Breaking Dawn


Author: Stephenie Meyer
First published in 2008.
Thickness: 756 pages
Personal rating: 4 stars

In short
The fourth and last installment of the Twilight Sage thus far, depicting what happens after Edward gets what he wants and can marry Bella, and what happens after Bella gets what she wants, a passionfilled night with Edward while she is still human.
Bella gets pregnant of a half human, half vampiric child and dies delivering the baby. Not exactly dies, but is restored to full immortality and all the benefits that come along with that. Although there are drawbacks, Bella adapts to the new way of life like she was born to be a vampire.

Happily living with Edward, their daughter and still having Jacob and Charlie in her life, her new life becomes threatened when the Volturi decide to stop by and kill their lot, because of the accusations of someone not knowing what she saw.

Facing ultimate destruction, the Cullen clan try their best finding a way out.

My two cents
My second read of this novel, I have to say that Breaking Dawn is my most favourite novel of the Twilight Saga. Many would disagree but I find it much more interesting having a Bella character that can decide and act for herself rather than having to depend on her 'superhero' boyfriend.
It makes for interesting debacles and situations, otherwise would have been much of what I've read in the previous novels. Bella always clumsy and always having her knight in shining armour helping her out, whether in Edward or Jacob form.

Also the addition of a child was a wonderful idea. Love is completed when a child comes from it, and Renesmee is surely an interesting little creature, more so because Jacob imprinted on her. Gives the whole Bella-Edward-Jacob triangle finally a reason and an ending.
The only one I feel sorry for is Leah, it seems like she is the only one left hanging, although she would snarl if you would ever put it like that when she was near. All of them having a purpose and she not truly belonging amongst the wolves nor vampires.
Before the imprinting, I could've seen something in the very far future between her and Jacob, but that's out of the question now.

In the end, the only thing I do regret is the anticlimatic battle with the Volturi. I'm not saying I'm not glad they won and because of Bella, but this novel could've been much better when the ending hadn't been so happy. At the moment, I know that the novel will be pushed back to the outer realms of my memory fairly quickly,  while with a slightly lesser happy ending it would have lingered a little longer. Maybe I'm just a sucker for drama, but just saying.

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