Tag Archives: novel

Death Comes to Pemberley

Sometimes I think I’m the only book-lover in the world who has luke-warm feelings towards Pride and Prejudice. I know, I know, it’s a sin. Don’t shoot me, but I’ve always thought Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy were snotty, boring and terribly pretentious. I need a heroine with… excuse my expression… balls! I’d take Hester Prynne over Elizabeth Bennet any day.

I always feel guilty about my dislike of Pride and Prejudice, and I guilt myself into reading mash-up P and P novels in the hopes that Elizabeth will grow on me. She never does. My taste is appalling. I know.

When we got the audiobook of Death Comes to Pemberley at the library, I felt obliged to pop it into my car stereo. Alas, if I didn’t listen to this book in audio format, I don’t think I would have finished it. The best part for me about the experience was listening to the glorious accent of the narrator, Rosalyn Landor.

Ms. Landor had a fabulously matriarchal British accent. She might just be the real-life Mary Poppins. AND she had different voices for each one of the characters!

Unfortunately, Ms. Landor was the best part of the novel. The characters I found dull, and the plot, although it involved a murder, had me dozing off at the wheel.

Although this book was a total flop for me, I’ll definitely be on the lookout for audio books narrated by Rosalyn Landor in the future.

Did you read Death Comes to Pemberley? What did you think?

love,
melanie

The Magicians

Tell me a book is about young adults dappling in magic and I’ll read it. Tell me it’s about borderline alcoholic, young adults dappling in magic and I’m grabbing the book out of your hand and running for the door.

The book I just gracefully snatched out of your clutches is The Magicians by Lev Grossman.

The Magicians is easy to compare to the Harry Potter series. Both are about young magicians attending a school for magic. Both feature a young man as a protagonist and are written from a third-person perspective. But that is where the similarities end.

The Magicians was surprisingly fast-paced and modern unlike the Harry Potter series, which is timeless, but can be a bit slow. The Magicians was also very adult, so I wouldn’t recommend this one to the kiddos.

Quentin, the protagonist, is an unhappy young guy who stumbles through a garden in Brooklyn and ends up at a school for magic. Quentin, always dissatisfied with life, thinks this new school may be the key to happiness. He makes friends, he meets a girl, he studies diligently, but he still isn’t happy.He graduates and soon after, his childhood fantasy comes true, but will it lead him to happiness? Dun. Dun. Dun! You’ll have to read it to find out! (How very Reading Rainbow of me!)

My favorite part of the book? The reality of it all. Magic, if real, would exist in the world of Grossman’s novel.The characters have major flaws. They drink, they do drugs, they have sex with the wrong people. They don’t wave wands or wear capes. They truly seemed like real people with a talent.

I also enjoyed the peach-Schnapps-drinking bear. Just read it, you’ll understand.

Have you read The Magicians? What did you think?

I’m checking out the sequel today!

love,
melanie