Beneath A Marble Sky by John Shors

Whenever I finish reading an exceptional book, as was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the book that comes next on my reading agenda usually suffers tremendously by comparison. Beneath A Marble Sky is historical fiction based on the building of the Taj Mahal: the Emperor who had it built in memory of his wife, his three children, Dara, who was his heir, Jahanara, the heroine of the story, and Amangjeb, who did become the next Emperor, plus the architect/Builder Prasad Isa, who becomes Jahanara's lover and the father of her daughter. There was certainly lots of historical detail in this book, lots of it interesting, but it was all a little too long, and I became bored.  It wasn't even poorly written, but I did begin to think that maybe historical fiction, like this one at least, is just a pumped-up romance novel: I felt the same about the book Marrying Mozart. I was also disappointed because I've been looking for this book for some time: as usual, I was attracted by the title and the subject, and ended up buying it at Borders when I finally found it this winter. I hate being disappointed by a book I've bought!

THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELLE by David Wroblewski

Well, well, well, here's a new addition to my all-time favorite list.  I LOVED this book!

Edgar is a mute, although not deaf, who speaks by signing.  His family breeds and raises an exceptional breed of dog named Sawtelles after the family name- and they are an exceptional dog, most especially Almondine, who has been Edgar's protector and mentor since before his birth.( The chapter relating how Almondine searched throughout the house for something she already knew was meaningful was beautiful, as was the chapter when she decides to search for Edgar after his long absence.)

Not only a beautiful story, but beautifully written as well- there were parts I read again just to savour them once more. As Stephen King says on the jacket, I envy the person who is presently reading this book- I didn't want it to end.  But end it did, and in a fitting way.  I must admit to some nervousness as I got to the end, because so often a good book just doesn't seem to make it through to the end, but this one did not disappoint me at all.

I purposely did not read any reviews of this book while I was reading it, although I had seen the title often on best-seller lists previously.  In the meantime, I've been singing its praises to everyone I know who loves a good book, and most especially those who love dogs.

AUDITION by Barbara Walters

This is a long book, or at least it seemed so to me, because I read a large-print edition.  But Barbara does repeat herself quite often, even though she has a lot to relate, for sure. I didn't realize her family situation: father the developer of the Latin Quarter revue, her autistic sister, etc.  She seems to carry a lot of guilt over her sister all throughout her life, and at times you really just want to say:"Get over it, Barbara".

She also seems to be a person who wants it all: she is close to her family, has many, many friends, and yet talks about being lonely quite often. She certainly was a flag-bearer for women in TV journalism, and I respect her for that, but I don't think she could have been all that easy to get along with.

I admit I skipped some parts of this: chapters that discussed things or people I wasn't interested in.  Of course, the most interesting chapter was"Monica". 

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

Historical fiction of the life of Lady Jane Grey, also known as the "nine-days queen".  She was queen in between Edward VI and Queen Mary, who ordered Jane's execution.  Jane was the innocent victim of Northumberland, who was trying to grasp power for himself, as well as her scheming parents, who saw advantage for themselves in promoting her accession.  She was 16 when she was executed.

Alison Weir has written over 10 books on this time period, all of them non-fiction: this is her first in the fiction genre.  It's not all that different, I guess, but as she explains, she could take a few more liberties.  

ONE GOOD TURN by Kate Atkinson

Jackson Brodie, the retired inspector, has followed his girlfriend to Edinburgh for the Fringe Festival, where she is appearing as an actress. He witnesses a man being brutally attacked in a traffic jam - the apparent victim of a case of road rage- which sets off a chain of events involving many other observers at the scene.

Atkinson is my newest favorite mystery writer- a master of the use of coincidence, in that she drops little comments along the route of her story to inform the reader, and to deepen the mystery.  She dovetails everyone's story together so cleverly, and with a gently amusing detachment.  

In this novel, I particularly enjoyed Martin Canning's character- himself a mystery writer who seems to bumble from one situation to another, living in a dream world of his own making, and nearly completely oblivious to the dangers around him.