Teaser Tuesday: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

It is inevitable that as soon as I say that I am possibly that last blogger alive to read this book, there will be a chorus of people saying 'I haven't read it yet", but I am going to say it anyway....

I am possibly one of the last bloggers to read this first book in the Flavia de Luce series written by Alan Bradley. I had borrowed the book a few times from the library, but returned it unread. Last night I was checking my list and realised that I was in danger of repeating that pattern, so so decided to read it once and far all. Now the question to be asked is ... what on earth was I waiting for?

For my teaser this week, I wanted to share a passage from the early part of the book (page 27). Flavia has already displayed the precociousness that she is infamous for, but the humour has also been on display as well. This is a lot longer than the two sentences that are normal for a Teaser Tuesday post, but more about that later. To put a little context around the section, Flavia has just discovered a body in the cucumber patch and she has just led Inspector Hewitt and his two policemen to the body:

I stepped forward eagerly, almost salivating, for a closer look.

"I wonder, Flavia," Inspector Hewitt said, stepping gingerly into the cucumbers, "if you might ask someone to organise some tea?"

He must have seen the look on my face.

"We've had rather an early start this morning. Do you think you could manage to rustle something up?"

So that was it. As at a birth, so at a death. Without so much as a kiss-me-quick-and-mind-the-marmalade, the only female in sight is enlisted to trot off and see that the water is boiled. Rustle something up, indeed! What did he take me for ... some kind of cowboy?

"I'll see what can be arranged, Inspector," I said. Coldly, I hoped.

"Thank you," Inspector Hewitt said. Then, as I stamped off towards the kitchen door, he called out, "Oh, and Flavia ..."

I turned, expectantly.

"We'll come in for it. No need for you to come out here again."

The nerve! The bloody nerve!

I have another couple of quotes to share at some point too. The book is actually chock full of gems!

I have been trying to decide what I wanted to do about Teaser Tuesday. I have been participating in the meme, which is hosted at Should Be Reading, for about two and a half years, and I do still enjoy doing so, but I don't seem to have as much time to be able to go and visit as many of the other participants. It hardly seems fair for me to put my link up expecting others to come and comment on my post when I know full well that I probably won't get to theirs!

The other thing is that often I want to provide a longer tease, like the one above, or I want to actually expand a little bit more on my thoughts about, post teasers from multiple books etc. I guess what I am saying is that I want to move away a little bit from the standard format!

Therefore, if I find a teaser which fits the standard format, then I will link up to the meme and make an effort to connect up with the other participants, but if not, then I will just post whatever, something completely different like a Top 10 Tuesday or maybe not even post anything on a Tuesday at all like last week! Wouldn't that be a shock to the system!

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson

Some times you read a book that makes you grateful that you live in this time and this place. Sure, in 50 years time our grandkids might look back and wonder how we put up with .... whatever, but for the most part here in Australia we have a pretty free and easy lifestyle. I do know though that some times that is not always the case. For example, when I was pregnant and having my ultrasound scans, there were signs everywhere which advised us not to ask to find out the sex of the child as we wouldn't be told. When asked why I was advised that it was to prevent people who didn't want a girl to do anything untoward. That was only 14 or so years ago. And, of course, there are millions of women around the world who have little or no freedom to make choices regarding their own lives.

This book is set in the late 1930s in Shanghai, where life was lived by very strict rules and traditions, especially for girls. Feng is a young, very naive girl who has grown up in the shadow of her elder sister, who in the novel goes only by the name Sister. Sister has been trained from a young age to be all that is desirable in the eyes of the richer families in Shanghai. She knows how to dress, how to perform ancient traditions like the tea ceremonies, how to catch a rich and influential husband for one reason and one reason only - to raise her family up the social ladder.

Feng on the other hand has been left to grow up under the much more relaxed rules of her grandfather; spending time in the gardens, learning the names of flowers etc. It is not expected that she will marry but rather that she will look after her parents when the time comes.

One of the most important things for a socially ambitious family is to never lose face or cause offense to those who are better than them. Therefore, when Sister is unable to fill her obligation to marry, Feng is forced to do so instead despite the fact that she has had barely any training and that she is very, very naive.

She marries into the wealthy Sang family, where traditions are expected to be maintained diligently and her sole reason for existence is to provide an heir. Her husband is initially understanding of her shyness when it comes to intimate matters but things change once the pressure builds from his family.

I found the initial parts of the book to be quite interesting. The author spent a lot of time drawing a picture of what it was like to be a young Chinese woman in those time with no choices over their future and by looking at both Feng and Sister we get to see the two different sides of that. We get details of the lavish efforts that went into attracting the right kind of suitors for a socially ambitious family include the beautiful wedding dress that must be made. For Feng there is also a nice friendship with Bi, the son of the seamstress.

It is after the marriage, and when Feng moves into the Sang home that the narrative started to falter. Part of that reflects the restrictions that were placed on Feng. She was barely allowed out of the home and so we no longer get to see anything of Shanghai through her eyes. In addition, Feng quickly transitions from an innocent young girl to a very bitter woman, from a naive young girl to a woman who knows how to titillate and humiliate her husband, who as a character is very one dimensional throughout the novel. In fact, most of the characters outside of Feng seem somewhat limited. Perhaps this is as a result of the fact that we only get to see these people from her view point, but perhaps there was not enough page time given to them to develop.

It was also difficult to empathise with Feng when she makes a decision in the middle of the book (to say anymore would be spoiling). Yes, we knew why she had made the decision that she had made, but it was not one that I could have made, and her initial actions and reactions were quite hard to believe. It was a relief when the book progressed a bit further and it was at last clear through her thoughts that she was haunted by the decisions that she had made. There were some plot holes in relation to this, particularly in terms of when the husband finds out what she has done, but before she can find out his reaction she fled so as not to have to face the consequences of her actions.

I came to this book as a reader of historical fiction, so I was a bit disappointed to see that after the initial set up, the historical details seemed to fade into black, especially given that there were pretty significant events taking place at the time. For example, the Japanese invasion of China was glossed over in just a couple of sentences and the lead up to the Cultural Revolution was pretty brief. By the end of the novel though, I was glad to see that Jepson did spend some time talking about the Cultural Revolution and the effect that those events had on Feng's life even if the mechanism to get her to that point was a little clunky. Feng looks back on her former life and it is clear that she comes to the realisation of how bitter and terrible she was to the people around her, which is very lucky because otherwise she would have been a completed unlikable narrator.

Whilst this book didn't completely work for me, there were glimpses of promise that included an interesting setting. If you are looking for historical fiction with a Chinese setting I would probably recommend Lisa See, or The Good Earth books by Pearl Buck before this one.

I read this book as part of a TLC book tour, and received the book from them in order to do so. Check out the thoughts of participated on the tour as there are others who appreciated different aspects of the book.

Here is the synopsis of the book:

In 1930's Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires for every young Chinese woman. For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household  - a place of public ceremony and private cruelty - she learns that fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir. Ruthless and embittered by a life that has been forced on her, Feng plots a terrible revenge. But as the years pass, she must come to a reckoning with the sacrifices and the terrible choices she has made to assure her place in family and society, before the entire country is engulfed in the fast-flowing tide of revolution.

Sunday Salon: Better Late Than Never

I suddenly realised this week that I still haven't managed to post my goals for 2012 in relation to blogging and reading, so this week my Sunday Salon post is going to be doing just that. After all, it would probably be best to do so while the month is still January!

To be honest, most of the goals that I will be setting this year will be very similar to the ones that I have had in the last couple of years, mainly because these seem to be working for me.

Read 150 books -  Last year I read more than 220 books which is the most I have read in a single year. Whilst it didn't feel that onerous getting to that mark last year I still thank that around 150 books is my natural level of reading.

Read 10 books that I owned as at 31 December 2011 - Every year I read less books that I own than come into my house. This is my attempt to try to make sure that I read at least a few that have been on my shelves for a while. I actually have done pretty well with this aim so far this year.

Reading Australian authors - Every year I look at my list of reads and think, gosh, I don't read enough Australian authors. This year I am aiming to read at least 12 books by Australian authors. I rejoined the Aussie Authors Challenge to try and help me meet this goal and I am also participating in the Australian Women Writers Challenge as well.

Read some Charles Dickens - A few years ago I aimed to read Dorothy Dunnett, and didn't manage to even crack open a book, and still haven't in fact. Last year I aimed to read a novel by Jane Austen which I did. This year is a big year as it is the 200th anniversary of Dickens birth, so it seems like a good time to revisit his works. I have only read Great Expectations so there are still a number of other books that I can choose from.

Perpetual Challenges - I am aiming to read at least one book for each of the perpetual challenges that I am signed up for like The Pulitzer Project, the Orange Prize Project, and the Complete Booker. 

Review more - This is what I have written for the last couple of years "Over the last couple of years I have allowed myself to get very lazy about writing reviews of the books I read. I still start a blog post for every book, but not enough of them see light of day! This year, I am going to try to write at least one review a week, preferably more. Need to get back into the habit. I know that that really isn't many, but I do also want to be a no guilt blogger as well, because at the end of the day blogging is supposed to enrich our lives and be fun and not something that we are slave to." All of that is still relevant for this year!

Deadline Reading - I want to back off a little from deadline reading whether it be for library due dates, tours, egalley expiry dates and try to be a little organic in my reading in terms of being able to look at my shelf, or the library shelf and have a little more room to just read what I feel like reading! I am not quite sure how to quantify this one, except in terms of how I am feeling, but I will try to!

Weekend Cooking: Coffee anyone?

After a couple of weeks off from Weekend Cooking, I am back with a quote pages 42 to 43 from Christine Blevins' The Tory Widow, mainly because it made me smile during my commute to work earlier this week.

Crisscrossing the room, Mrs. Merrick carried a tray and Sally handled the coffeepot. Together they visited each customer filling mugs and this day offering a selection of raisin scones and corn muffins. As usual, Jack's table was the last stop on their route.

"Good morning, Mr. Hampton!" The women greeted him unison and together dipped a silly, florid curtsy.

"Good morning, ladies," he answered, equally jovial.

"Coffee today, Mr. Hampton?" Sally asked with a grin.

"Please..." Jack offered up his mug, and as usual she poured him the dregs from the bottom of the pot -  a bitter  sludge of grounds mixed with eggshells - coffee so thick he could easily get his spoon to stand upright in it.

Widow Merrick tipped her tray, which was empty save for a lone raisin scone. "Can I tempt you today, Mr. Hampton?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Merrick - I think the scone."

"Good choice." Mrs. Merrick plucked up the scone and placed it on her plate. "Sally baked this one special for you."

Sally peered into his mug with some concern. "Och! The coffee seems a bit on the strong side this morning Shall I brang ye a lump of sugar and a wee bumper of cream, Mr. Hampton?"

"No need, Sally, this coffee is perfect." Jack pushed his spoon through the muck in his cup. No amount of cream would salvage this brew, and at any rate, as he knew from past experience, any cream brought to him would be curdled, and the lump of sugar would more than likely be a lump of salt.

"Well then" - Anne Merrick smiled - "enjoy!"

Jack was subjected once again to the ridiculous tandem curtsy before they left him to stand at the back of the shop, arms akimbo, watching his every move.

Jack eyed the scone on his plate. Sprinkled with a generous amount of brown sugar and baked to crusty golden perfection, it looked delicious. The regular customers always raved about the quality of the fare produced in the widow's kitchen. He broke the scone in two to expose a soft, crumbly interior, loaded with plump black beetle bugs. Jack pushed the tainted scone and coffee aside. Sally and Anne scampered back to the kitchenhouse, giggling.

Among the many dreadful things he'd been served since becoming a regular at the Liberty Coffeehouse were scones burnt to a charcoal crisp, muffins sprinkled with mouse droppings, cakes frosted with dung and puddings drenched in what smelled like horse piss. The clever women contrived to couple the friendliest, most charming service with the meanest, most rotten fare. The most insidious being the servings where the food seemed perfect and he could discern nothing amiss - steaming coffee, rich cream, sweet sugar, lovely baked goods. Suspecting the food might be laced or injected with some undetectable poison or emetic, Jack could do nothing other than pay for the wonderful fare left uneaten on his plate. Those were the days when the laughter coming from the kitchens was the loudest.

  
You have to wonder why Jack keeps on frequenting the Liberty Coffeehouse!

If you feel so inclined to share, let us know if you have ever found something untoward in a meal!

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads and is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, fabulous quotations, photographs

In the Reviewer Spotlight

Just a quick note to say that Jenny from It's All in the Details has invited me to answer her Reviewer Spotlight questions!

You can read my responses here.

Bookish Quotes: Wuthering Heights - a literary sensation

I don't intend that I will normally do multiple Bookish Quotes from the same book, but it was hard to go past this description which comes from page 225 of Olivia and Jai by Rebecca Ryman.

Olivia, tiring of her aunt's constant and tedious carping, took her book into the garden to read in peace, if that was the word that could be used considering the frantic impatience with which she awaited tomorrow night. The novel she was reading, Wuthering Heights, had been sent to her aunt from England by her Cousin Maude. It was, wrote Cousin Maude, creating a literary sensation in London. Although a poignant and daring love story, it had been written by an unknown spinster named Emily Bronte, the cloistered, unworldly daughter of an impecunious Yorkshire clergyman. Olivia's choice of reading was therefore fortunate: the book was so gripping, so moving and written with such beauty and passion that she could hardly bear to put it down.

Almost makes me think I should make the effort to read Wuthering Heights.

Australian Women's Writers Challenge reading list

Today it is Australia Day which means a day off work and the opportunity to spend time with friends. A bit later today I am heading off to a barbecue, and then coffee with some bookish pals but before that I thought it might be time to actually look at the books I have sitting around on my various bookshelves (both real and virtual) and see what books I have that would be eligible for the Australian Women's Writer Challenge that I am participating in this year.

I haven't actually gone through my whole shelf for the Books I Own, but rather concentrated on the books that I have acquired during the last year or so. I will therefore have other books that might qualify sitting around as well.

I fully expect this list to change before the challenge finishes but I wanted to at least start to get a list together.


Library Books

Black Juice by Margo Lanagan
The Briny Cafe by Susan Duncan
Blood Song by Rhiannon Hart
Ridiculous Expectations by Merridy Eastman
Flood Tide by Judy Nunn
Grace and Glory by Sofie Laguna
Duet by Kimberley Freeman


Books I Own

Liar Bird by Lisa Walker
Tree Speaker by Katie W Stewart
Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti
The Three Loves of Persimmon by Cassandra Golds
The Push by Julia Lawrinson
The Courier's New Bicycle by Kim Westwood
Golden Earrings by Belinda Alexandra
Lola's Secret by Monica McInerney
Shadow Kin by MJ Scott
Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe
Thief of Lives by Lucy Sussex
Viper's Kiss by Shannon Curtis
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
Power and Majesty by Tansy Roberts Rayner
Soul by Tobsha Learner
Tremble by Tobsha Learner
Yearn by Tobsha Learner
The Wedding Shroud by Elisabeth Storrs
My Reckless Surrender by Anna Campbell
The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie
Wings of Fear by Helene Young
Beneath the Shadows by Sarah Foster
The Company Articles of Edward Teach by Thoraiya Dyer

I guess you could say that I have enough to go on with then!

Library Loot: January 25 to February 1

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire from The Captive Reader and Marg from The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

I wanted to start this week by saying thanks to Claire for hosting Mr Linky for the last couple of weeks as a result of my unexpected time away!

Taking an unplanned week away does really bad things to your library queue! To be fair, so many books had come in at the same time I wasn't really going to be able to pick them all up, but there were a whole heap that had come in and were sitting there forlornly waiting to be picked up but had to go back to the shelves instead. I will rerequest them eventually (if I can remember what they all are!).

Here is the loot that I did get when I finally ventured to the library on Saturday:

Down by the River by Robyn Carr - the third book in the Grace Valley series.

Twice Tempted by the Rogue by Tessa Dare - Second book in the Stud Club series.

Decent Exposure by Philippa Ashley - Recently I read Carrie Goes off the Map by this author and thought that her brand of British chick lit was quite good. I seem to prefer British chick lit to American chick lit a lot of the time.

Duet by Kimberly Freeman - I have borrowed this before but returned it unread. At the end of last year I read her latest book, Wildflower Hill, and now I am determined to work through her backlist!

What loot did you get? Share your loot by adding your Library Loot post link to Mr Linky below: