Unfinished Portrait by Mary Westmacott

Unfinished Portrait
Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott
1934
4/5 stars

This semi-autobiographical novel follows the life of Celia, a lovely, shy woman, who finds herself with a broken soul in the midst of a life crisis.  These vignettes of Celia's life cover nursery days to coming out in Egypt, first suitors to a whirlwind courtship, and happy marriage to devastation.  It gives a round picture of  late Edwardian living and life during the years between the World Wars.

Those that have previously read Christie's Autobiography will recognize many of the stories, but the interest value of these tales is such that Unfinished Portrait doesn't suffer as a result of fore-knowledge.  Christie writes well enough that the reader is both entertained by Celia's life, as well as tense, waiting for the blow to fall.  Christie understands human nature, even if it is only her own she is writing about, and as a result, this novel presents as real and believable.  It's a good read, for many reasons, and I recommend it.

December 2017 Wrap Up

Books Read:
I cross stitched four and a half ornaments this month, and so I only read half a book.  Overall this year, I read 57 books and listened to 63 audio books.

Check out my year in books on Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2017/1154329

Audio Books Completed:
The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
Can't rate this series, due to emotional attachment.

The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken by Tarquin Hall 4/5 stars (my review here)

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis
see above

Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie  4/5 stars
A set of thirteen short stories featuring Miss Marple.  As is typical of Christie, most are clever and intriguing.

Dead in the Water by Carola Dunn   3/5 stars
Daisy and her fiance witness a rower collapse and die, and together they search for the reason and culprit.  It's an okay book; more of a time-pass than a serious read.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks   4/5 stars
This well-written novel follows the life of a book, the Hagada, through the stories of various people.   Brooks did a great job of writing distinctive voices for her characters, and I'm not sure why I'm not rating it 5 stars--I didn't fully emotionally connect to it, so I suppose that's why.  I do highly recommend it, though, for readers who love books about books.

Everything You Told Me by Lucy Dawson   4/5 stars
Sally wakes up in a taxi 300 miles from home with no idea how she got there.  The reader then follows her as she tries to determine if she's crazy or if someone planned to make her look that way.  I knew from very early on who and why, but the book was still quite good.

The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken

The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken
Tarquin Hall
4/5 stars

While at an important dinner, Puri witnesses a guest die after eating butter chicken.  As he investigates, he becomes embroiled in the world of professional cricket, and sports gambling.  Then, to his surprise, Mummy's past becomes the key to the solution.

At first, it seemed that this mystery would be bogged down with uninteresting gambling conspiracies, but then Hall added in modern history, giving the novel a different--and enthralling--turn.  Puri, Mummy, and the rest of the cast are appealing and alive, and Hall's prose is engaging. I was skeptical at first, but this turned out to be a worthy addition to the Vish Puri series.

November Wrap Up

Books Read:
The Many Conditions of Love by Farahad Zama   4/5 stars  (my review here)

Rhododendron Pie by Margery Sharp  3/5 stars
I'm ambivalent about this one; it was great at times and just okay at others.  I do want to read more of her adult books, though, after having read this one.

Marling Hall by Angela Thirkell  4/5 stars
In this witty, sometimes snarky, country house novel, Thirkell balances light romance with depictions of life during WWII.  It's charming, read-out-loud funny, and thoroughly entertaining.

Audio Books Completed:
Damsel in Distress by Carola Dunn  4/5 stars
Daisy's friend, Phillip, finds himself kidnapped along with the young heiress he wishes to marry.  Being set free, he enlists the aid of Daisy and their friends to locate and save his beloved.  This is a very improbable book, and the culprit is obvious from the start, but it's still lively and enjoyable as has been the series thus far.

The Horse and His Boy by C. S. Lewis
As I said last month, I'm too emotionally attached to these books to be critical of them.

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier   3/5 stars
I'm ambivalent about this one, too.  Du Maurier is a favorite author, and I somehow hadn't read this one.  Parts were brilliant, but it was too long in some places and didn't build up quite enough suspense.

Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis
See above.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake  5/5 stars  (my review here)
This is a reread.

The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" by C.S. Lewis

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake 3/5 stars (my review here)

One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

One Dark Throne
Kendare Blake
3/5 stars

On the island of Fennbrin, queens are always born as triplets.  These queens are endowed with magical gifts and are trained from children to use them.  Only one can be made THE queen, though, and at the age of 16 they begin a ritual that will end with only one survivor.  This second volume of a trilogy follows the three Queens during Ascension Year, as each attempts to kill the others to win the crown. 

The characters of the Queens develop further in this volume with distinct personalities, and some of the minor characters are also well-drawn. They are all three engaging in their way, and the reader will continue to be interested in their futures.  Blake writes engagingly, and moves easily from one character to the next, but overall this book is not as thrilling as it's prequel-- mainly because One Dark Throne is not as believable as Three Dark Crowns was.  It also moved slower and seemed longer than it needed to be.   The cliff-hanger, unlike in the first book, came as no surprise, and it's fairly easy to guess where the plot is going from here--again, unlike in Three Dark Crowns.  This is not necessarily a disappointing book, but it is certainly not as strong as the first.

Bollywood

Bollywood: The Films!  The Songs!  The Stars!
D.K. Publishing
5/5 stars

This fantastic book is over 300 pages of full-color photos, stills and reproductions of movie posters. It breaks down the history of Hindi Indian cinema into eras, and in these sections it expands on the important actors, directors, songs, and films of that era. For some of the films, it provides pages of information, including a time line of the plot. It also discusses the prevalent character types and themes of these various eras. This is not a book intended to be an introduction to Bollywood films, but rather an in depth guide for those deeply interested in the genre. It is an exceptional book that will take hours to peruse, and is entertaining and informative all the way through.

The Many Conditions of Love by Farahad Zama

The Many Conditions of Love
Farahad Zama
4/5 stars

In this novel, sequel to the Marriage Bureau for Rich People, Aruna is happily married and living in her husband's home.  When his sister returns there to await the birth of her baby, things begin to fall apart for Aruna and her marriage.  Meanwhile, Mr. and Mrs. Ali have reconciled with their son, Rehman, but he is secretly in a relationship of which they would not approve.  Both Rehman and Aruna have difficult times and tough decisions ahead of them.

While not as great as Zama's first novel (my review here), this is a delightful book that continues the stories of his characters.  There is not as much information on India and Indian traditions as in the Marriage Bureau, and it is not as charming, but, it is still a solidly good read.  Zama draws the reader into the relationships without being overly emotional, and writes well so that one is eager to see what will happen.  I'm looking forward to reading the next volume of this series.