January 2012
Looking back at the monthly reviews I began posting last January. I am so glad I took the time to write them. In them, I have a record of the books, music, and poetry I enjoyed in 2011, complete with plot summaries and my personal opinions (which I do sometimes forget afterwards, I read so many books). I find I am also more attentive and discerning as I read, knowing that I will need to write about it. I hope these monthly review posts are helpful to you as well.
I plan to continue the custom this year, and every year. Here, then, are books and music for this month.
Books Read This Month
These are books that I read entirely for the first time this month.
Pocahontas is the Indian maiden remembered for saving the life of Captain John Smith. Here is the story of the native princess—her carefree childhood in the American forests, her love for the white people, her marriage to John Rolfe, and her visit to England. The boys enjoyed the story (especially the Indian brave who tried to count the men in England), and even I learned a few interesting new facts about Powhatan and Pocahontas. The story was moderately well-written, and there were some dated phrases: “It was the deuce how many men were in England.” Illustrations are in black and white as well as color; many of the figures are oddly stiff. The magic and spirits in which Indians believed are dealt almost as matters of fact—“She was full of stories and magic,” and “He knew secret ways to find answers to every question.” Strategic water ripples obscure the swimming Indian maidens. This book earns two and a half stars.
The tale of Saint George is one of the oldest and best-known of the dragon legends. This is a retelling for children of the story of the Red Cross Knight, as imagined by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queen. This is beautifully written and challenging for children, and incorporates a few of Spenser’s original lines: “Like a sailor long at sea, under stormy winds and fierce sun, who begins to whistle merrily when he sees land, so Una was thankful.” The Caldecott-winning illustrations are also beautiful, but constitute my greatest reservation for this book. The illustrations may be frightening to young or sensitive children, as they include battle wounds (including blood spurting from the dragon’s severed tail). A few of the illustrations contain undressed fairies (nothing explicit). One border illustration features a black-cloaked person gazing into a blue ball and handling plant roots. The story, of course, contains many mystical elements: the faerie queen, the dragon, and healing from water-springs and apple trees. This book earns two and a half stars.
In the title story, a man kidnaps his comatose father from the hospital so that he can have a dignified death on his own land. Berry speaks powerfully against a broken medical system where “the patient is hostage to his own cure. The beneficiary is the chattel of his benefactors.” There are excellent reviews of this story HERE and HERE.
The other stories contained in this collection are “Pray Without Ceasing,” “A Jonquil for Mary Penn,” “Making It Home,” and “Are You All Right?” The five stories share the setting (the fictional Port William), characters, and the common thread of faithfulness—faithfulness to one’s family, one’s community, and one’s land. This book is for adults only.
“She really knows how to tell a story!” Second Brother exclaimed as he paced excitedly up and down the porch as I read aloud. She really does! It has been a long while since I have been so excited about a “new” author.
This book takes two historical mysteries—the unexplained disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion in 117 A.D., and the modern-time recovery of a wingless Roman eagle in Silchester—and turns them into a thoroughly engaging tale of one son’s quest to recover his father’s honor and the honor of the Ninth legion. Read a good review of this book on Amazon HERE.
I highly recommend this book. Sutcliff is a consummate writer. Her historical settings are beautifully and skillfully drawn, her characters realistically complex, her plots engaging and tightly written. There is some mild language. The main characters worship false gods, particularly Mithras, and build altars to them. Several chapters contain many details about the religious beliefs and customs of the northern tribes.
(This book is the first in a trilogy about Roman Britain. The boys and I are so excited about soon beginning the next—The Silver Branch. You can read a review for the third book, The Lantern-Bearers, in my reviews for October 2011.) The 2011 film adaptation, The Eagle, by the by, is nothing like the book, as I can safely say after watching the film trailer. We won’t watch it.
“For in those days, so I’m told, beasts and birds could talk and sing.” Barbara Cooney has adapted for children the Nun’s tale from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. This retelling of the classic fable has the full, delicious taste of medieval English. Chanticleer is magnificent. “His comb was redder than fine coral and turreted like a castle wall, his bill was black and shone like jet, and his legs and toes were like azure. His nails were whiter than the lily, and his feathers were like burnished gold.”
Both the proud rooster and the flattering fox learn a valuable lesson from their encounter. “For he who closes his eyes when he should watch, God never let him prosper,” and “God bring misfortune to him who is so careless about his self-control as to prattle when he should hold his peace.”
The Caldecott-winning illustrations were created after study of rare illumined manuscripts, and are indeed “handsome as a medieval herbal.”
Chanticleer dreams of the impending danger.
Other Books
These are the books that I revisited or did not read completely.
When his father is called away to watch for an Indian raid in the north, young Edward is left to protect his mother and sister Trudy. Father has shown Edward how to use the huge matchlock gun that hangs over the fireplace, but when trouble comes, can Edward handle a gun that is twice as long as he is? This classic book that tells a true story is so exciting and well-written. It is a wonderful choice for a first chapter-book. Original illustrations by Paul Lantz are in black and white. The story—which involves shooting at hostile Indians, the mother being almost killed by an tomahawk, and the house burning down—might be too intense for young or sensitive children.
Third Brother (aged 9): (✩✩✩✩) The Matchlock Gun is a very good book; it tells about history. It has funny parts, and the names of the chapters are interesting.
Littlest Brother (aged 6): (✩✩✩✩✩) I like the book because it has such a cool gun in it. It’s a Spanish gun. It is a real story, so I think you’ll like it. [Because Littlest Brother loves stories to be “real.”]
Without taking it too seriously, we girls enjoyed reading the charts and seeing how we compared with the pattern for our birth order. It wasn’t perfectly accurate by a long shot (personality isn’t entirely shaped by your place in the birth order, of course), but it was uncanny how often it exactly described some of us.
I got this book to prepare for a picture study on the French Impressionist Renoir. The delivery was rather dry, but there were plenty of interesting tidbits and lots of paintings. I enjoyed especially the last chapters about Renoir’s family life. Littlest Sister got to this book before I did, and shrieked at the nudity. I tossed her a pad of sticky notes, and she used quite a few to cover inappropriate artwork. Less apparent are the multiple references to “mistresses,” etc.
Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). Jerome K. Jerome. ✩✩✩
While reading a medical book, J. discovers that he has the symptoms for every malady except housemaid’s knee. His friends George and Harris are feeling “seedy” too, so they decide to take a constitutional boat trip down the Thames, along with J.’s lively fox terrier Montmorency. (Imagine the Drones Club on a boating trip without Jeeves. This book reminded me of both Wodehouse and Twain without being as funny as either.) The many anecdotal digressions are part of the humor, but they were so frequent that I tired of them and ended by skimming most of the book. There is mild language (mostly, we are just told that they are “swearing”) and frequent mention of drinking and drunkenness. There are a few non-humorous paragraphs about a river suicide involving disgrace after a child is born out of wedlock.
Books About Henna Painting
I received for Christmas a henna-painting kit by Earth Henna™. Although the kit came with detailed instructions, I decided to supplement it with books from the library. Being a student of herbal medicine, I am pretty well-practiced in ignoring false spirituality while gleaning the good information. Such was the case with these books on henna painting, which contained many references to the Eastern religions.
I was interested to learn that henna is a cooling astringent, and henna painting began as a way to keep the body cool during the equatorial summer heat (or during fevers). The hands and feet were dipped in a henna solution that stained the skin and lowered the body temperature. The stained hands and feet were unsightly, however, and it was discovered that a simple circle painted on the palm of the hand had the same effect. From there, henna painting developed into complicated designs full of symbolism from the false Eastern religions. Today, most people associate henna painting with the bridal tradition of India.
I look forward to trying henna painting on my hands once summer comes around. It will be fun to attempt the different designs, and I am curious as to whether it will keep me appreciably cooler.
The first book that arrived from the library was actually written by the woman who developed the kit I am planning to use. This was the most helpful book, in terms of instructions and techniques. The many photographs and drawings were inspiring in their example of simple but beautiful designs, mostly for the hands and feet. There are multiple references to henna’s use in false spirituality. Some photos are immodest. (Pages for personal reference: 11, 19, 34, 47, 101.)
This was another useful book, especially for its simple, step-by-step techniques for creating complicated and symmetrical designs. There are many photographs of different styles, which I appreciated. There are multiple references to henna’s use in false spirituality; this one had the most of such. One photo is immodest. (Pages for personal reference: 21, 24, 29, 44, 47, 55, 61, 120.)
May I mention that exclamation points in a title are off-putting to me? This is a very basic beginner’s book outlining how to use henna to color the hair, condition the nails, relieve a headache, and decorate the skin. The bulk of the book suggests very easy designs for different parts of the body. The designs as well as the writing and photos were of inferior quality. There are multiple references to henna’s use in false spirituality.
This Dover publication is a collection of drawings of mehndi (Indian henna deigns) for the hands and feet. The designs were too difficult for me to consider as a beginner, and I found the Indian style not to my taste. (I prefer Arabic designs.) The introduction mentions the use of henna in false spirituality.
Added to My Personal Library
I received this book for Christmas along with a rosewood recorder, and have enjoyed it immensely (not withstanding the prevalence of exclamation points on the front cover ;-). I have never played an instrument or read music before, so I appreciated the simple explanations and the gentle transition to reading musical notes and notations. (I did skip to the twelfth exercise, though, which is the first tune.) Even though this is a beginner’s beginning, there are some beautiful, “real” tunes here. There are quite a few Christmas hymns.
Poetry
I really wanted to love this volume of Milne’s children’s poetry, because the deluxe edition is so beautiful, but I don’t like nonsense verse. (I jokingly told Next Sister that I only wanted to buy the cover, and she suggested that I turn a copy into a hollow book for the safekeeping of my ‘jewels.’) And though I do love Winnie the Pooh, I agree with Constant Reader’s assessment of the “speshal” dedication and the cutesy introduction by Milne.
Music
Merchant’s voice is lovely. On this, her latest album, she sings children’s verse—poems by such as Edward Lear, Rachel Field, Lawrence Alma Tadema, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Robert Lewis Stevenson, and e. e. cummings. The music has wonderful variety; there is a lot of folk flavor, and some are orchestral or big-band. Some of my own (many) favorites are “Calico Pie,” “If No One Ever Marries Me,” “The Walloping Window Blind,” and “I Saw a Ship A-Sailing.” You can listen to generously long samples of each track on her site. This is on my wish-list. It is children’s music that is not goofy or insipid.
This symphony has been on my iPod quite a long time, but it wasn’t until this month that I really heard it. It was playing on the radio one night, and I listened to it while breathing ylang ylang, and watching candlelight like golden butterflies against the wall and ceiling. The almost Oriental music was mysterious and restless, and full of Hovhannes’s atmospheric quality. It is impossible to play as background music; it demands attention before it will reveal its beauty.
White is the color of January, a time of new beginning.
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SUE STIRLING said...
Hi. I was surprised you were interested in henna and the techniques. You have such a God presence around your life? —Sue
Sunday, March 4, 2012 03:13 AM
HANDMAIDEN said...
I did think my interest in henna would raise concerned questions (which I appreciate), so I introduced my reviews with a few paragraphs to explain the original use of henna.As a student of herbal medicine, I have encountered all sorts of strange and “spiritual” ways to use herbs, But, as I wrote in a paper on the subject, “It is true of herbal medicine, as it is of all God’s gifts, that sinful man has made sinful use of it. This should not cause us to reject the gift, but to seek its proper use by study of the Scriptures.”
As a Christian who desires to glorify God in all purity, I explored the origins of henna painting to see whether it was appropriate for me to use (for me, not necessarily everyone). I found that henna painting was a way to cool the body during the summer and fevers, and to calm in times of stress and anxiety. (It is still used medicinally, and to condition the hair and nails.) The actual process was/ is a social event rather than a religious ritual. Hindus incorporated complex religious symbolism into their designs, but Muslims, Christians, and others have used henna painting to keep cool without giving it religious meaning.
Sorry! That was a long comment, but I hope it helped you understand my perspective.
Thank you for your question!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012 08:01 PM
Tuesday, January 31, 2012