Book Review: The Widow of Rose House by Diana Biller

 

Widow of Rose House

by Diana Biller

Once again I was searching our Overdrive catalog for anything with a “Gothic” theme to read for my book club in October when The Widow of Rose House caught my attention.

Alva Webster is planning to restore a Hyde Park mansion in 1875 New York. Unfortunately, her dilapidated mansion comes with a ghost, or so the people she hires to do the work believe. Professor Sam Moore also seems to believe it.

This seemed a like a light gothic romance, a ghost story when I picked it up, but as the story progressed I found something more. The story seemed deceptively simple at first. Outcast widow and brilliant scientist meet. There’s an attraction. Plus, she has a haunted house and he is very interested in those. He has created some of the first ghost hunting equipment that can sense electrical currents. (I have no idea whether what she wrote regarding the equipment is plausible in the least, but it seemed plausible enough for me to suspend disbelief.)

The writing was simple and quick moving. To be honest, the romance moved a little too quick for me, but that may be my only quibble with this story. I’m never exactly sure how much we writers end up applying modern sensibilities to older times and, vice versa, how much we cleanse the past of its’ grit and reality.

As I read, some deeper themes came to light. Alva left her first husband before he died, because he was abusive. Sometimes things like this are glossed over – the character is known to have left because of it but then they just soldier on, the worst over. In this story, though, that abusive past has had a deep and lasting impact on the character. It affects the character and her reactions to a good man, Professor Sam Moore, and the ghost in the house.

Sam is a little bit too good to be true, idealized hero, everything a woman could look for – gorgeous, a genius, and wants to fight for the woman he has fallen head over heels for, but also willing to step back and let her take the lead. He’s lovely but there’s not much reality there.

This is a solid romance with a fun but sad ghost story, that offers an interesting read, not too complicated. It has some very witty repartee between the characters. It is sexually explicit but that is confined to a couple episodes if you prefer to skip over them. It was a quick, easy read between heavier material for me.

I was impressed with this first book from Diana Biller and would definitely read future books from her.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

Her Fearful Symmetry
By Audrey Niffenegger

Elspeth has been sending letters to Edie, her twin, in America every two weeks.  Edie has a mailbox where she receives the letters and then reads and burns them.  Finally, a letter arrives which says good-bye.  Elspeth is dying of cancer.

“Elspeth turned her face towards the door.  She wanted to call out, Robert, but her throat was suddenly full.  She felt as though her soul were attempting to climb out by way of her oesophagus.”

Edie is raising two daughters, Valentina and Julia, twins themselves.  In her will, Elspeth leaves the twins her flat but the bequest comes with strings.  Their parents cannot visit the flat, and the girls must live there for a year before selling.

The other people in the building next to Highgate Cemetery are dealing with changes as well.  Elspeth’s lover, Robert, lives in one of the flats.  He has never had to deal with losing someone. 

The other tenant, Martin, has an obsessive compulsive disorder and is agoraphobic.  His wife of 23 years, Marijke, has just left him to go back to her native land.  She would welcome him coming too but doesn’t expect he ever will.  He is too bound by his own mind.

“Check the gas.  Wash my hands.  Wash them very thoroughly, so there can be no mistake.  Use stronger soap.  Use bleach.  The floor is dirty.  Wash it.  Walk around the dirty part without touching it.  Use as few steps as possible. Spread towels over the floor to keep the contamination from spreading.  Wash the towels.  Again.  Again.”

As the twins arrive from America, Robert and Martin are getting through the days, dealing with their respective losses, but Elspeth has not completely left.  In fact, she is getting stronger.

The writing is pensive, elegant, involved.  Even a simple description of Marijke’s apartment is rife with meaning and emotion even as it gambols. 

“It had pitched ceilings, heavy beams, whitewashed walls.  Her futon occupied one corner; her clothes hung in another corner behind a curtain.  She had a table with two chairs, a tiny kitchen, a window that overlooked the little crooked street, a vase of freesias on the windowsill.  She had a comfortable chair and a lamp.  For more than a year now this room had been her haven, fortress, retreat, her triumphant, undiscoverable gambit in her marital game of hide-and-seek.  Standing there, clasping the earrings in her hand, Marijke saw her snug room as a lonely place.  Apartment.  A place to be apart.  She shook her head to change her thoughts and opened Martin’s letter.”

It is an unusual novel with some very lovely writing and some truly horrific incidents.  I was intrigued, transported and entertained.  I would recommend it.

Ghost Story ~ Jim Butcher

Ghost Story
by Jim Butcher

Hell’s bells, it’s the return of my favorite smart ass wizard.  Okay, he’s dead, but that’s not going to stop Harry Dresden.  This is urban fantasy at its best.  

A quote comes to mind from The Princess Bride.  This book has it all – “Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles.”  Okay, maybe not giants, but if not, it’s got everything else.  I think it even has a quote from The Princess Bride.

Harry Dresden is a wise-cracking detective, a wizard in modern day Chicago.  Now, he’s also a ghost.  As such, Harry has a huge disadvantage in this book, no magic.  So many action adventures follow a typical pattern and give you little new to consider.  Though the last book was titled Changes, this book continues the changes and growth of characters.  This is definitely different from the others, but it just keeps getting better. 

Like a phoenix, Harry rises from the ashes, but he also evolves.  As one who can generally guess what is coming next in a plot, the unexpected is always a joy and Butcher does not disappoint.  This is not a regurgitation of past plots. The conclusions that Harry reaches, the truths found, and the realizations make for a very satisfying read.  What’s been done can’t be undone and Harry has to face the consequences.  As in real life, everything is not going to be okay, but life goes on and people have to deal with it.  There are still some people prepared to help Harry though. 

This is the 13^th book in the Harry Dresden series.  These don’t stand alone particularly well.  I definitely recommend starting at the beginning.  Relationships change and grow, people come and go, and events referred to in future books are crucial for understanding Harry and his world.

Harry Dresden is a hero for all times, with or without his magic, because he cares.  I will be eagerly anticipating the next book in the Harry Dresden series.