Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I loved this Book. It explains so much about Pride and Prejudice that you always wondered about! Lizzy is a Nija warrior dedicated to ridding England of the Zombies that plague the countryside. Yet at the same time she is as attentive to Jane as ever, as confused by Darcy as ever.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies explains so much about the original Pride and Prejudice! Why, for instance, was Charlotte so keen to marry Mr Collins after Lizzy rejected him? (She had been secretly bitten by a Zombie and was turning into one! She needed to get away from her own family in order to save them.)

This book is quite true to its original (except for the Zombies and the fact that the five Bennet girls were ninja trained in China.) It is as thrilling a romance as ever (except that Lizzy does intend to behead Darcy when he insults her family.) It is true to the sensibilites and manners of the time (except for the fact that England is overrun with Zombies.)

Just like the original I sat up all night reading this one.

Gatty's Tale by Kevin Crossley-Holland

Kevin Crossley-Holland is no doubt a fine author with a very well detailed knowledge of many periods of English history, and a playful rendition of life and times of the people of the era. This tale is set in 1203, and follows a pilgrimage from the Welsh Marches to Jerusalem. I was entralled with the journey. I would like to go on it myself.

The story is told through Gatty's eyes. She is a 15 year old field girl who is given an opportunity to improve her life as a chamber servant - but also astoundingly -to learn to read and to sing. All of which she does with enthusiasm. We are enamoured with Gatty and her fellow pilgrims and come to care for them. The story is full of incidence as well as prehaps drawing us a possible picture of the meeting of Christians and Muslims throughout the journey. Gatty certainly tests her preconceived ideas of people and teaches us to do the same as she learns herself.

The adventure of the journey is well portrayed. My concern is that I felt no fear for my characters.

23 Things. Lifelong learning

Seven and a half habits of lifelong learners.

The hardest of the habits for me is number 3: View problems as challenges. Problems seem to just make me cross not curious. I see them as stopping me achieving / fnishing. I get frightened that I will just have to add another thing to the TO DO list, and long TO DO lists represent busy work - not achievments.

The second hardest habit is 7 1/2: Play. I am not a player. I want people to tell me things. But when I one day thought I should know what you tube was I messed about and learned lots of stuff. Mind you I didn't get home until 8pm!

The easiest of the habits for me is number 5: Create your own learning toolbox. I love reference books, I go to the library (sometimes) and we have a great set up at home that makes it easy to get to the internet (even in bed).

Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson

In planning my trip to England I picked up Bill Bryson. He does make you laugh out loud, but sometimes it feels as though you are laughing at another's expense.

Bryson says he loves Britain, but it is a bit of a funny relationship if this book is anything to go by. He seems to find great difficulty getting around the country and locates an awful succsesion of hotels and dreary towns. The thing he most seems to admire is the ability of the English to appreciate a simple cup of tea. No doubt this is a wonderful quality and I look forward to visiting many a tea shop on my trip, but in planning my trip I have identified more places to avoid than to visit.

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive by Alexander McCall Smith

How lovely to spend time with my friend, Precious Ramotswe. Every time a new title in the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series is released I feel like I have heard from an old friend. As wise as Solomon, as patient as a saint, as loving as a mother and as comfortable as a traditionally built African lady, it is a pleasure to spend time with her.

If you haven't started reading this series you have a wonderful time in store for you. Start now.

Macbeth and Son by Jackie French

My first book on the CBC (Aust) shortlist for 2007. I have always liked Jackie French's writing and this one is no exception. Set in the time of the real Macbeth, and also in modern day Australia, the story helps us undersatnd the lives of the people in ancient Scotland by comparing their life decisions with modern day ones.
I like the way the two characters Lulach (From Macbeths time and Luke from our time) have contrasting lives. Growing up has its own problems for each boy. Yet there is much to learn from the past.
At home we have been panning a trip to Britain and reading about and looking at pictures of villages from this period and so the story really resonated with me.

Balthasar's Odyssey by Amin Maalouf

Balthasar's Odyssey is my introduction to Amin Maalouf and I will certainly read more. It is most interesting that I pick up this title having just finished I, Coriander. The latter was set in 1650's, in London and is a book written for children. Balthasar's Odyssey which ends in London is set mainly in 1666 and is written for adults.

Maalouf's tale encompasses a huge map, taking us on a trek along the Mediterranean coast, overland to Constantinople, by sea to Genoa, and an even more perilous sea journey to Amsterdam and eventually London. Along the way Balthasar, a Christian, meets and talks with Jews, Moslems, smugglers, traders, scholars. He has long conversations and learns much about the world and how it works. He is honourable, yet naive. He has some insight into human nature, but often too late to benefit the people he loves most. His Odyssey is not just a journey but ( like Jason's) a wandering through unexpected places and frightening adventures.

Written as a journal, the book manages to convey a picture of the Levant (Middle East) and of 1666, a year when many people expected the world to end. It shows us the relationships between Christians, Jews and Muslims at that time. But it does all this from a very personal point of view, Balthasar's point of view. As we get to know Balthasar and his shortcomings, we understand the shortcomings of the view of the world we see through his eyes. It emphasizes that our view of history is always from a particular perspective, and it was a pleasure to have Balthasar show me around.

I, Coriander by Sally Gardner

Here it is! A strong story in an historical setting with action abounding. The setting is Oliver Cromwell's London and outlines the rise of the Puritans and the effect on one family, particularly our heroine Coriander.

The writing is rich in both description and action. I can open the book at any page for an example:

p73. My stepmother was like bindweed that grows where it is not wanted, slowly spreading its sticky tendrils over everything. She had been in our house for nine months and I had counted every moment, every hour, every day. Little by little she smothered all the joy out of my life, leaving only dullness and sore knees. For there was a lot of praying......

Written in the first person it allows the language of the time to give you the feeling of that time.

The cover and endpapers fill you with expectation and firmly place the book in time and show the River Thames and London Bridge being the main stage and Corinander herself firmly in the middle. In all this richness Sally Gardner has also added a fantasy element that blends almost seamlessly and provides another set of villians to overcome. This does not take away the strong sense of the historical setting, with Puritan London giving the chief flavour to the book.

Coriander is strong and resilient and fiesty, yet true to her time and place. Although she does not talk with a modern voice, we understand her feeling and desires because they are universal. other characters are three dimensonal and we come to care for Danes, Master Thankless, Hester, Gabriel and even understand the Bedwells, Thomas, Nell, Maud and Arise Fell.

A great story with a great characters and setting.