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writerrhiannon's Reviews (1.1k)
Title: Under the Wide and Starry Sky
Author: Nancy Horan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: January 21, 2104
ISBN: 9780345516534
Number of Pages: 496
How I Got It: NetGalley
NetGalley Description:
The much-anticipated second novel by the author of Loving Frank, the beloved New York Timesbestseller, this new work tells the incredible story of the passionate, turbulent relationship between Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and his wild-tempered American wife, Fanny.
In her masterful new novel, Nancy Horan has recreated a love story that is as unique, passionate, and overwhelmingly powerful as the one between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney depicted so memorably in Loving Frank. Under the Wide and Starry Sky chronicles the unconventional love affair of Scottish literary giant Robert Louis Stevenson, author of classics including Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and American divorcee Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne. They meet in rural France in 1875, when Fanny, having run away from her philandering husband back in California, takes refuge there with her children. Stevenson too is escaping from his life, running from family pressure to become a lawyer. And so begins a turbulent love affair that will last two decades and span the world.
My Review:
This book took a very long time for me to read. I waffled at the beginning. I wasn't loving it but I wasn't ready to toss it to the wayside just yet. Then somewhere in the middle I was about to give up again. But then! *dramatic pause* I fell in love with the story. As in wistful, sighing, love. Looking back on the story in its entirety, I see why I started, stopped, sputtered, and about gave up. Horan's story (and my struggle with getting in stride with the story) is exemplary of marriage itself! Fanny van de Grift and Robert Louis Stevenson's paths cross, become messily entangled, and eventually merge into a loving marriage.
The story, spanning almost 30 years, begins in France, where Fanny is studying art with her children in tow, but her philandering and drunkard husband has been left behind in America. She befriends fellow artists and falls in sync with their bohemian lifestyle. Here she meets Robert Louis Stevenson (Louis) when he makes a grand entrance...through a window! Their eventual pairing is slowed by another love interest and the unfortunate fact that Fanny is indeed still married.
The cast of characters is vast but not overwhelming. The story includes multiple friends and family members and spans so many years that characters pop in and out and re-emerge with entirely new sets of circumstances. Louis' health drives he and Fanny to destinations around the world from the coldest parts of Europe, to London, to New York, to Sydney and the South Seas. The entire second half of the novel takes place on islands full of natives, mostly on Samoa.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/01/under-wide-and-starry-sky.html
** I received this book in exchange for an honest review **
Medieval is usually not a big draw for me, but when author Ned Hayes contacted me with information about his newest release, I was intrigued. The story of a woman concealing herself as a man in a remote village is fascinating enough, then add in a child (and that child's death) and I believe you have got a story that really has some teeth. I must admit I was a little confused at the beginning of the novel with keeping track of the characters' names and I advise paying close attention to who's who when you begin reading this story. However, once a reader finds the rhythm, they will find it rolls smoothly and is difficult to put down.
The book is broken down into 47 chapters which makes for easy stopping points (but good luck with that.) I would reference this story as "The Road" meets "Game of Thrones" as it is a true journey story with multiple obstacles and the shock factor will have you gasping and flipping the page. The fact that this novel is an historical retelling of an actual event is fascinating and the author provides information about the original story at the end of the book.
Read my entire review here:http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/01/sinful-folk.html
The book is broken down into 47 chapters which makes for easy stopping points (but good luck with that.) I would reference this story as "The Road" meets "Game of Thrones" as it is a true journey story with multiple obstacles and the shock factor will have you gasping and flipping the page. The fact that this novel is an historical retelling of an actual event is fascinating and the author provides information about the original story at the end of the book.
Read my entire review here:http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2014/01/sinful-folk.html
I would like to say I was equally involved in each storyline but, in fact, I was more interested in Sophie's. I usually steer clear of German occupation stories and war stories in general. I respect the stories that are written to illuminate these topics but I usually can't handle them as a personal reading choice. However, Jojo Moyes created a novel with the perfect combination of hope and despair. This wonderfully complex story is a reminder of a dark chapter in history that obliterated masses of stories.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-girl-you-left-behind.html
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-girl-you-left-behind.html
I have never read such a heart-pounding, stomach-wrenching, nail-biting, edge of my seat, can't put down thriller! I had to force myself to slow down because I was tripping over every word to get to the next.
Just like the husbands we see in Sleeping with the Enemy or Enough, Gordon is a powerful man who is viewed as a pillar of the community. His expectation of perfection manipulates every situation to his advantage while putting up a perfect facade. His wife, Jillian, believes she can control his rage by being perfect, but as a working mother, things fall through the cracks. A forgotten lunch, a missed pick-up, a child's public tantrum are all chalked up to a bad day for a regular working mom. But Gordon's keeping a list, retaliating, and leaving no loose ends. The fact that he is a cop lends an extra layer of protection to his cruelty. He has created a perfect image of himself and a very tarnished image of his wife. His abuse knows no bounds whether they be physcial, emotional, financial, or reproductive.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/hush-little-baby.html
**I received this novel in exchange for an honest review**
Just like the husbands we see in Sleeping with the Enemy or Enough, Gordon is a powerful man who is viewed as a pillar of the community. His expectation of perfection manipulates every situation to his advantage while putting up a perfect facade. His wife, Jillian, believes she can control his rage by being perfect, but as a working mother, things fall through the cracks. A forgotten lunch, a missed pick-up, a child's public tantrum are all chalked up to a bad day for a regular working mom. But Gordon's keeping a list, retaliating, and leaving no loose ends. The fact that he is a cop lends an extra layer of protection to his cruelty. He has created a perfect image of himself and a very tarnished image of his wife. His abuse knows no bounds whether they be physcial, emotional, financial, or reproductive.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/10/hush-little-baby.html
**I received this novel in exchange for an honest review**
I usually stick to fiction but I'm always interested in overworked family non-fiction. I loved my Gender and Work class at college and find it so fascinating that there are so many problems facing today's working families and so few solutions. Katrina Alcorn provides readers with her own first person account of a growing career and family. Even after reading other similar accounts it is still always reassuring to read yet another woman's struggle. It validates most women's internal thoughts with the relief that "I'm not alone" and "Someone else feels this way?' or simply "Ok. So I'm not crazy."Alcorn quotes Arlie Hochschild and Anne Marie Slaughter and references many previous works that mothers have read in the hopes that there is a secret in there somewhere of how to make it all work. How to have it all. Alcorn provides several suggestions such as a "GI Bill" for parents wishing to reenter the workforce and list of ways each personal can individually work to bring about changes. So many mothers are struggling that they rarely have a free moment to pee alone, let alone bring about radical changes, but Alcorn provides small steps that can affect a big change.
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/maxed-out.html
Read my full review here: http://www.ivoryowlreviews.blogspot.com/2013/09/maxed-out.html
