Mrs Lincoln

Title: Mrs Lincoln
Author: Janice Cooke Newman
First Published: 2009




My Rating: 5/5


From Lovereading.co.uk:

May 20th. Mrs Mary Lincoln admitted today - from Chicago - Age 56 - Widow of ex-President Lincoln - declared insane by the Cook County Court May 19th - 1875. This is the Patient Progress Reports for Bellevue Place Sanatorium.Incarcerated in an insane asylum after committal proceedings instigated by her own son, Mary Lincoln resolves to tell her own story in order to preserve and to prove her own sanity. Mary Todd Lincoln the original 'First Lady' is a figure of some notoriety in the USA: British readers introduced to her for the first time will encounter a fascinating, complex and captivating heroine of history.

Now, I am a Brit girl with leanings towards being South African, and I know next to nothing about American history ... and must admit, have little desire to learn much more. My heart always sinks a little when one of the challenge in the GoodReads Seasonal Reading Challenge requires us to read a book about an American president, an American war, or some incident in American history. I have visited America, and loved it, and just about every American I have interacted with has been perfectly lovely. I admire their patriotism. I sometimes wish us Brits could be a bit more like our American cousins. But still, I'm not that keen on reading about American history. So when one of the Summer challenge tasks was to read a book about Abraham Lincoln or his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, my heart sank a little lower ...

I went to the library and was just browsing generally when I saw this book. It was set aside from the other books on its' shelf and looked a bit lonely. I looked closer and saw the title ... and it seemed like it was meant to be, so I checked it out. I started reading it the next day, and I was gripped from the first page!

The story is told from Mary's viewpoint as she looks back on her life from the lunatic asylum where her son has had her committed. Mary is a middle child, and although loved, somewhat neglected. Her beloved mother dies in childbirth, her father cannot give Mary the affection she needs, her younger siblings understandably require a lot of attention and her older sisters are disinterested and mean. Mary meets and falls in love with the poor, gangly and not very handsome Abraham Lincoln and they live in an environment of poverty and restrained passion until Abraham becomes President. Mary endures a difficult life full of sadness and loss which unsurprisingly causes her to fall into a depression. She overshops and overspends in an attempt to protect what she has left, attends seances to contact her beloved children and husband and is eventually committed to a lunatic asylum by her son who is a hard, dispassionate and cold creature.

Throughout the novel I felt huge sympathy for Mary, a warm and passionate character who was forced to deal with great losses and personal tragedy as well as the huge stresses of being the President's wife. Perhaps a woman born before her time. I found the portrayal of the other ladies in the lunatic asylum interesting and comparisons could be drawn with mental health issues that are prominent today. The ladies in the asylum were looked down upon by the rest of society, and not treated with the simple respect that was offered to "normal" ladies.

All in all, this is a very powerful and very readable novel of American history. I flew through the 500 or so pages and was engaged with the story and the characters from the beginning. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading historical fiction - I think Philippa Gregory fans would really enjoy this.

The Story of Forgetting

Title: The Story of Forgetting
Author: Stefan Merrill Block
First Published: 2008




My Rating: 3/5



"Fifteen-year-old Seth Waller is devastated when his mother is diagnosed with a rare, early-onset form of Alzheimer's. When he was growing up, his mother always brushed aside questions about her past and family, and Seth realises that soon he will lose his chance to find out any more. He decides to uncover the truth about her life, their family history and the condition, and what he discovers is more surprising than he ever could have imagined.

Inspired partly by the author's own family history, The Story of Forgetting is a moving and exhilarating novel of love, loss, hope and genetic destiny."

I have literally just finished reading this book, and it is perhaps too soon to write a review of it. My initial impression is disappointment. It's one of those hyped up books that I was expecting big things from, but in the end it just didn't deliver for me. I empathised with the characters, but did not really like any of them. It is a devastating illness, but I was not moved to tears (as I am usually very easily, it has to be said!). I found the "science" bits rather too clunky and didn't feel they integrated into the story very well. I did like the story of Isidora, however, which reminded me somewhat of Narnia, and the (too brief?) glimpses of Jamie's deterioration and Seth's sense of loss were touching.

Perhaps I'm missing something deeper in this novel, but it just did not live up to its' promise. Moving? Exhilirating? Not for me. A disappointing 3/5.

Review: A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute

Title: A Town Like Alice
Author: Nevil Shute
First Published: 1950

My Rating: 4/5








This is the story of Jean Paget and Joe Harman, Japanese prisoners of war, told through the eyes of Jean's trustee, Noel Strachan. Crossing the three countries of Malaya, England and Australia, we follow the characters through some tough times and harsh climates during and in the aftermath of the Second World War, where love endures.

It is an engrossing read, covering many fascinating facts and touching on several interesting themes that affected the people of this time. Most interesting to me was the contrast between the treatment of male prisoners and their children and female counterparts by the Japanese. I found the respect, care and attention (within their capabilities), shown to the women and children quite touching, and, I feel, still a true reflection of the Japanese culture of respect today. This also contrasted with the way in which the Australian cattle farmers treated the local "boongs" or Aborigines. Although they seemed to be well cared for within the story, they still had to be served in different shops and were not allowed to mix with the whites.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The characters were, for the most part, likeable and believable, although I did have one or two little niggles about Jean. I found her to be far too sensible for my liking and was willing her to some small frivolous thing with her new-found wealth. I also found the way she ended almost every sentence with "Joe" a little irritating! A small point, I know, but I am very tricky to please! These two small chinks stopped me from rating this a full 5/5.

I thought I had read this in my late teens, but none of it seemed at all familiar, so I think I must be thinking of a different book. I read this for the Spring Challenge on Goodreads - the task was to read a book written under a pseudonym. Nevil Shute's real name is Nevil Shute Norway.