Monday 30 March 2009

Review – Victoria FINLAY – “Buried Treasure”

Publ: 2006 Hodder & Stoughton
Pensby Library
ISBN: 0 340 83012 3
Genre: Gemnology 553.8
Pages: 482p
Found by Serendipity
Rating: ***** *****


What led you to pick up this book?
I have always been interested in geology, crystals and gems. At school I wanted to do Geology O Level but it wasn’t available at my school.

Describe the book.
Subtitled ‘Travels through the Jewel Box’ this is an in-depth look at amber, jet, pearls, opals, peridots, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and diamonds. The detail is brilliant (if you’ll pardon the pun) and the book mixes legend and mythology, history, geology, geography, travel, philosophy, ethics, adventure, and humour. This is a treasure hunt across the world and through the ages with all the attendant excitement. Every page has a lovely story or piece of information – and sometimes an unlovely story as well.

I love the idea of amber being the tears of Phaeton’s sisters. I was delighted to learn that you could test amber by putting nail polish on it – real amber will be unaffected whilst plastic or copal will disintegrate and feel tacky. a more radical test is to burn it – amber smells subtly of a pine forest in the morning; copal of pine scented lavatory freshener and plastic simply fills the air with noxious fumes. I say ‘could’ because the fakers are getting better and better as they are in creating the whole range of gems. And did you know that amber was considered a cure for many ills and since workers in amber factories suffered less from respiratory there may have been some value in putting amber mouthpieces on pipes.

If you scratch jet against a piece of rough porcelain like a tile or the bottom of a cup it leaves a chocolate coloured streak. The early imitations were made of vulcanite which left a grey streak. The best test is to put a hot needle on the back of a piece of jet. If it is real there will be no effect but if it is vulcanite or other plastic it will bubble and give off an acrid smell. If you don’t mind losing the jet you can burn it! Jet burns with a green flame and smells of tar.

Even in Pliny’s day Opals were faked in large quantities. He wrote that you could tell the difference because the glass versions were the same colour throughout when you looked through them against the light whereas real Opals reflected lots of different hues.

And did you know sapphires can be any colour under the sun – except red because a red sapphire is effectively a ruby. Rubies have dichroism as result of which looking along two sides yields a crimson pink colour while looking along the other two shows an orange shade. Some sapphires have the same dichroism and show blue along three angles and violet along the fourth. Red Spinels which are found in a similar matrix to Rubies do not display dichroism and they are also more regularly cubed in their natural state whereas rubies look more like dollops of deep red sealing wax. Rubies and sapphires have high thermal conductivity and as a result feel cold to the tongue because they draw heat from your body – glass imitations do not do this.

What did you think about the style?
Victoria Finlay has a wonderful style and her descriptions of some of the aspects of the gems are positively poetic. Humour has its place throughout the book while the ethical issues of pearl culturing, faking and cruel mining labour are all tackled head on.

What did you like most about the book?
They way in which her personal travels and experiences are intermingled with the history of the gems.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?

I don’t like notes that require one to turn to the end of the book – in one case four times on one page. My view is either build the information into the text or simply drop it.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Average. It merits something better.

Totally irrelevant side notes:
Ennerdale – one of my favourite places – was once noted for its black pearls from the river mussels.
In 1967 a British pearl fisher, William Abernethy, found a pearl as big as Blackbird’s egg in the river Tay just north of Perth. He used to test pearls by putting them in his mouth – those made of plastic or paste were smooth whilst natural ones were bumpy.
Pearls need the warmth of human contact to remain in top condition – put in a bank vault they turn yellow and dry. At one time some English ladies used to get their maids to wear their pearls during the day so that they would be warm and luminescent when the time came for their mistress to wear them at night.
Sapphire is the only precious stone to have been found in Britain – a small but historic discovery having been made on the Isle of Lewis in the 1980s. The best specimen has been cut as the 9.7 carat Saltire Sapphire and can be seen in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.

Would I recommend it?
Absolutely – a fascinating read.

Quotations:

(Describing an amber washing and gathering festival in Poland)- “I arrived on the beach in Jantar just as four children, in school uniforms, were singing the Polish version of ‘Long Haired Lover from Liverpool’... The audience whistled and clapped – I was less enthusiastic, but then again I didn’t know that this would be the highlight of my day.... The amber pieces were no bigger than shirt buttons and the whole thing was as exhilarating as a grape-peeling competition.”

“People also were sentimental and liked to spell out their feelings in stones: a necklace of fire-opal, opal, ruby, emerald, vermeil beads, essonite and rubellite meant that they would remember their loved F-O-R-E-V-E-R. When I first found this out I checked my own necklace which was made of silver beads, amber and pearls. I realised I had been wearing the word S-A-P around my neck for years.”

“Today they (Kashmiri Sapphires) are the standard against which all others are measured. ‘Velvety’ is the word most often used of them although it is not adequate to describe the experience of looking at one. It is like swimming through a pool of tropical water, like the iridescence on a peacock’s neck, like the moment in the mountains, before a storm begins.”

“I tell the children that they must remember the difference between a ruby and an educated person. Because a ruby has an exact price, but as an educated person they can be priceless.” (Soe Win – a teacher in Burma)

“Pigeon’s Blood Rubies .... are said to be the precise colour of the drops of blood that burst from a pigeon’s beak iin the moments after it is strangled. Such an image is not the high point in a sales pitch to most Westerners planning to buy a good ruby.”

“...diamond was nothing more than graphite on a good day.”

“There was once a mandarin in China who was very proud of appearing with jewels on every part of his robe. One day an old man stopped him in the street, and thanked him for his jewels. ‘What do you mean, my friend?’ asked the bewildered civil servant. ‘I never gave you any jewels’. ‘No,’ said the old man. ‘But you have let me look at them and that is all the use you can make of them yourself. There is no difference between us, except that you have the trouble of guarding them.’



VICTORIA FINLAY was born in 1964 and partially brought up in India. She studied social anthropology at St Andrews and in Virginia before working for Reuters in London and Scandinavia. She spent twelve years as a journalist in Hong Kong. She now lives in England and divides her time between an environmental charity and writing. She has written a book on colour, another one on jewels (Jewels a secret history) and, with Martin Palmer, ‘Faith in Conservation – new approaches to religions and the environment’.

Wednesday 25 March 2009

Review – Barry UNSWORTH – “The Ruby in her Navel”

Publ: 2006 Penguin
Own copy
ISBN: 978 0 241 14221 2
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 328p
Found by Serendipity
Rating: ***** ***


What led you to pick up this book?
It was for sale in the library and Barry Unsworth was not an author I knew so I decided to give it a try.

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Thurstan is a young Norman would-be knight at the court of King Roger of Sicily in Palermo in the twelfth century. His post in the court requires a great deal of political nous. The machinations mainly revolve around the antagonism between the Christians and the followers of Islam. As the Saracens form his primary guards and other Arabs his advisers and artists the king’s fellow Franks are suitably jealous. Known for his loyalty but divided between the ideals of chivalry and the harsh political realities of his tumultuous times, Thurstan is dispatched abroad as a paymaster of spies and those intended to foment trouble in the countries of the king's enemies. . During his journeys, he encounters the woman he loved as a youth, Lady Alicia, now returned a widow from the Holy Land; at the same time, he is gripped by the earthy sensuality of the dancer, Nesrin, whose troupe he brings to the Court to dance for the king. In a compelling tale of love, passion, intrigue, and treachery, Thurstan finds himself caught in a tangle of plots, counter-plots, and deceptions, which force him to question the nature of his ambition and the folly of uncritical reverence for authority. The plot is complicated and cleverly done.

What did you think of the characters?
An excellent set of characters, wonderfully seen through the eyes of Thurstan - from King Roger who remains aloof from the novel - until the end – just as he would have done from his subjects to the master craftsmen working on the Royal chapel.

What did you think about the style?
The author has a great feel for his period and really makes it live. His prose is excellent. This is the first novel by Barry Unsworth that I can recall reading. I shall certainly seek more of his works.

What did you like most about the book?
The novel approach to the time of the Crusades.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
For some reason – which I find hard to identify – I found it hard to get into the first couple of chapters but once past that I loved it.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Most appropriate to the content, a neat piece of artwork by Bernard Blatch..

Would I recommend it?
Yes. Not just as a historical novel but also as a love story.


BARRY UNSWORTH
was born in 1930 in Durham. He has spent a number of years in the Eastern Mediterranean area and has taught English in Athens and Istanbul. He now lives in Italy. He is the author of many novels including Sacred Hunger, joint winner of the 1992 Booker Prize.

Tuesday 24 March 2009

Review – Bernard CORNWELL – “Sharpe’s Siege“

Publ: 1987
My Own
ISBN: 0 00 617524 4
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 319p
Continuing reading the series
Rating: ***** **


What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing reading the series

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Richard Sharpe and the Winter Campaign, 1814. Sharpe’s latest enemy, Pierre Ducos, is involved again as Sharpe is sent on a supposedly brief trip up the Biscay coast to attack the French on home soil. Sharpe makes an ideal scapegoat if things go wrong and, of course, they do... This is Cornwell’s favourite Sharpe novel. I enjoyed it but wouldn’t say it was my favourite.

What did you think of the characters?
I enjoyed the development of some new characters – bad guys on the allied side and good guys – Americans - on the French side.

What did you think about the style?
As in all my previous Sharpe reviews....

What did you like most about the book?
The introduction of Killick, an American privateer.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
No.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
I do like the set of covers that have old paintings on them. Much better than the later ones.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, another essential for Sharpe fans or anyone interested in the Napoleonic wars.

BERNARD CORNWELL – see ‘Sharpe’s Havoc’

Review – Bernard CORNWELL – “Sharpe’s Honour“

Publ: 1985
Pensby Library
ISBN: 0 00 617198 2
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 375p
Continuing reading the series
Rating: ***** ***


What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing reading the series

Describe the plot without giving anything away.

Richard Sharpe and the Vittoria Campaign, February to June 1813. Sharpe has developed a new enemy – Ducos – a Napoleonic intelligence officer with hints of the SS about him. Sharpe gets involved not just in battles but in politics – for which he is ill-designed to cope. Before too long Welington is faced with the prospect of hanging the man who once saved his life.

What did you think of the characters?
As in all my previous Sharpe reviews – there seems little point in repeating the comments....

What did you think about the style?
As in all my previous Sharpe reviews....

What did you like most about the book?
The development of the character of Ducos.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
No.


Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
I do like the set of covers that have old paintings on them. Much better than the later ones. Unfortunately I haven’t seen the ‘good cover for this one.

Would I recommend it?

Yes, another essential for Sharpe fans or anyone interested in the Napoleonic wars.

BERNARD CORNWELL – see ‘Sharpe’s Havoc’

Review – Bernard CORNWELL – “Sharpe’s Enemy“

Publ: 1984
Pensby Library
ISBN: 0 00 617013 7
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 350p
Continuing reading the series
Rating: ***** ***



What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing reading the series

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Richard Sharpe and the Defence of Portugal, Christmas 1812. Most Sharpe books deal with real battles and events with Sharpe slotted in as appropriate. This book is different. Cornwell invented an event though the principal opposition – a band of deserters from all the armies in the area, acting on their own simply for the loot and girls and booze that they could get, did exist. Also existing was William Congreve’s new rocket system which Sharpe, given the job of testing it, puts to good use.

What did you think of the characters?

As in all my previous Sharpe reviews – there seems little point in repeating the comments....

What did you think about the style?
As in all my previous Sharpe reviews....

What did you like most about the book?
The novelty of the use of the rockets.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
The ending. It’s not a happy one! Given a second chance, Cornwell himself would not have ended it the way he did.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
I do like the set of covers that have old paintings on them. Much better than the modern ones.

Would I recommend it?
Essential reading if you are working your way through the series. Some could be missed without affecting the general feel for Sharpe’s progress but not this one.

BERNARD CORNWELL – see ‘Sharpe’s Havoc’

Friday 13 March 2009

Review – Peter TREMAYNE – “The Council of the Cursed”

Publ: 2008
Pensby Library
ISBN: 978 0 7553 2840 6
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 308p
Found by Serendipity
Rating: ***** **


What led you to pick up this book?
It was on the ‘New Books’ shelf in the library. Being subtitled ‘a novel of Ancient Ireland it automatically caught my eye. However – it turned out not to be a novel of ancient Ireland – a case for the Trades Descriptions Act???

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Sister Fidelma – a lawgiver of ancient Ireland – and her partner, the Saxon Eadulf, are in France attending a council of church leaders set in AD670. When one of the delegates is murdered the Bishop of the segregated abbey suspends the rules to allow Fidelma into the men’s part to investigate. Not only do further murders follow but a number of the female members of the abbey also disappear.

What did you think of the characters?
The characters are well-delineated and there is an adequate mixture of villains and apparently good-guys to make the real villains not easy to spot.

What did you think about the style?
I loved the plentiful Latin tags but I suspect they might be a bit OTT to some people. Overall I found some of the narrative a bit stilted.

What did you like most about the book?
It was a good mystery.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
I would have rather it had been set in Ireland, as advertised, rather than in France.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Good art work. But it lied!

Would I recommend it?
Just about – not the nest book I have read from that era but I enjoyed the mystery. although it is set nearly a millennium later I prefer Cora Harrison’s Burren series with the Brehon Mara.

Quotations:
“Every wise man in courteous, every idiot is a bully.”
“Fidelma was able to identify the pungent smell of rosemary. She had encountered the unusual fragrance in Rome and had especially asked what it was, with its trailing green foliage and purple, pink or blue flowers. she had been told it was called ‘dew of the sea’ – rosmarinus – and had discovered that apothecaries used it to help improve the memory.”



PETER TREAMAYNE (b 1943) is a pseudonym of Peter Beresford Ellis, an authority on the ancient Celtic peoples.

Tuesday 10 March 2009

Hopes for Osmosis


There are times when I want to have read a book without devoting the time and trouble to reading it. Does that make sense? My current example is ‘Stephen Fry in America’. I would like to understand a little bit more about each of the States but instead of imbibing the whole book page by page I want to guzzle it down in one go and only take ten seconds doing so.

Often when I reach this stage with a book – usually about three chapters into it – the volume sits on my bedside table gradually working its way down the pile until it drops off and gets, metaphorically speaking, swept under the carpet. During that period I guess I am hoping that some sort of osmosis will allow the contents to slip into my brain as I sleep.

Another example that I have on the go at the moment is ‘Buried Treasure – Travels through the jewel box’ by Victoria Finlay. I would like to know all the facts it contains but am not sure I can summon up the will to read its 482 pages of small print. Escapist fiction seems a much easier and more sensible option to lull me to sleep so I think this may be another that works its way below Bernard Cornwell’s ‘Sharpe’s Enemy’ and Peter Tremayne’s ‘The Council of the Cursed’....

Monday 9 March 2009

Review – Simon SCARROW – “Fire and Sword”

Publ: 2009
Pensby Library
ISBN: 978 0 7553 2437 8
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 520p
Found by serendipity
Rating: ***** ***


What led you to pick up this book?
I like Simon Scarrow’s works and I also like the Napoleonic wars era. This combined both.

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
This is the third part of a quartet of novels about Napoleon and Wellington – preceded by Young Bloods and The Generals. This covers the period 1804 to 1809; moving back and forth between the activities of Napoleon and Arthur Wellesley as the latter helps to convince the British government to land troops in the Peninsula to attack Napoleon on the continent.

What did you think of the characters?

Well delineated and credible. In their own way both are made out as heroes, despite the overwhelming ambitions of Napoleon one sympathises with him every time he is let down by others. Wellington, meanwhile is not perfect and his ambition is no less great than that of his enemy.

What did you think about the style?
Easy to read with plenty of natural dialogue. I do enjoy a book that manages to go from narration to dialogue and back without causing a break in one’s thought pattern.

What did you like most about the book?
The way in which these two great men of history are made credible and human.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?

No.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Smart. A smart and attractive design by Tim Byrne.

Would I recommend it?
Yes.

SIMON SCARROW (b. UK 1962) was for many years a lecturer at a leading Sixth Form College. He has run a Roman History programme taking parties of students to a number of ruins and museums across Britain. He lives in Norfolk.

Review – Bernard CORNWELL – “Sharpe’s Regiment’

Publ: 1986
My own
ISBN: 0 00 617452 3
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 350p
Continuing the series
Rating: ***** ***


What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing the series. (Actually this is slightly out of sequence because I hadn’t got the next two – Sharpe’s Enemy and Sharpe’s Honour – to hand.)

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Sub-titled “Richard Sharpe and the Invasion of France, June to November 1813”, this takes Sharpe – now a Major of the Light Company of the South Essex into a fight against the bureaucrats and high profile politicians who are abusing the system to deprive his men in Spain of a relief battalion. Sharpe’s brings his battle across the marshes of Foulness and into Hyde Park in front of the Prince Regent.

What did you think of the characters?
Typical Cornwell characters...

What did you think about the style?
See all my previous reviews – One of Cornwell’s attractions is his easy to read style.

What did you like most about the book?
The novelty of Sharpe and Harper taking off their uniforms and allowing themselves to be recruited back into the army.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
No.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Typical wonderful artwork. This time it is from The Girl I Left Behind Me by Charles Green.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, to all Sharpe fans and readers of historical fiction or students of the Napoleonic Wars.

BERNARD CORNWELL
– see ‘Sharpe’s Havoc’

Review – Bernard CORNWELL – “Sharpe’s Sword’

Publ: 1983
Pensby Library
ISBN: 0 00 616834 5
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 318p
Continuing the series
Rating: ***** **


What led you to pick up this book?
Continuing the series.

Describe the plot without giving anything away.
Sub-titled “Richard Sharpe and the Salamanca Campaign Jun and July 1812”, this takes Sharpe – now a Captain of the Light Company of the South Essex into a personal fight against a vicious and devious Napoleonic Colonel Leroux. Sharpe’s job is to safeguard the British spy El Mirador and in so doing is entangled in the Spanish aristocratic world of La Marquesa, a woman with secrets.

What did you think of the characters?
Typical Cornwell characters...

What did you think about the style?
See all my previous reviews – One of Cornwell’s attractions is his easy to read style.

What did you like most about the book?
As always there is a hint of doubt as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys once Sharpe gets involved in politics.

Was there anything you didn't like about the book?
No.

Thoughts on the book jacket / cover.
Typical wonderful artwork from the Battle of Waterloo by Henri George Jacques Chartier.

Would I recommend it?
Yes, to all Sharpe fans and readers of historical fiction or students of the Napoleonic Wars.

BERNARD CORNWELL – see ‘Sharpe’s Havoc’