Lord, give me strength! Starbucks Fall book accompaniment~"Salted Caramel Mocha"

What:  Salted Caramel Mocha

Where:  Starbucks

Why:  To Kill Your Choco/Coffee Cravings

When:  Reading Paranormal Fiction

Really Want To Know???  420 cals

Starbuck's Descriptions Follow:

Espresso and steamed milk, blended with mocha sauce and toffee nut flavored syrup. Topped with sweetened whipped cream, caramel sauce and a mixture of turbinado sugar and sea salt.

The Starbucks Blurb:

Fall is full of drizzles. Drizzles of rain as the air cools, students reluctantly drizzling back to school, emails drizzling into your inbox … but not all drizzles dampen our spirits.

Take for instance the drizzle of buttery caramel layered over sweetened whipped cream on our Salted Caramel Mocha. No rainy day could dampen sitting down with a good book and one of those. So why add the salt? Well, there’s no better way to excite your taste buds than with a little sprinkle of salt just before something sweet.

A tiny bit of our premium sea salt and sugar topping deepens the rich flavors in this luxurious combination specially made to warm up the rainy days of fall.

Did you know?

Salty and sweet flavors are called "appetitive" where bitter and sour flavors are called "aversive.”


The Dame Says :

It's not good to fool with Mother Nature's desires to ease our stress and give ourselves some happy moments of refreshment while reading.  I think it's imperative to have a great accompaniment with Fall reading, especially.  The weather just begs it.  I'm only suggesting this may be a good one.

I've heard rumors that a Pumpkin Spice something or other coffee is good, too.  Which one is that, exactly???

What's your favorite fall weather drink for reading?

Absolutely perfect drink for keeping up with this great Halloween Book Challenge!

Have a yummy week, weekend, month to come...

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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"Entralled: Paranormal Diversions" Anthology of 16 "Smart Chicks Kick It Tour" Authors like Melissa Marr!

Published by:  Harper Collins

Pages:  443 

Purchase price:  $9.99/ Nook & Kindle ebooks less

Contributors:  16 authors of the genre

Edited by:  Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong



Kirkus Review :

A solid collection of stories that prove that all any supernatural creature wants to do is date or eat teenage protagonists.
These short stories are loosely connected by a very openly interpreted journey motif.Psychics, genies, angels and gargoyles join fairies and vampires to terrorize and romance their fellow characters. The diversity in authors allows for the sometimes-neglected horror implied in paranormal stories to be spotlighted, as in Carrie Ryan's zombie thriller, "Scenic Route," and Jennifer Lynn Barnes's "The Third Kind," about sisters with unavoidable compulsions. Many of the authors base their stories in the existing worlds of their other novels—luckily, most of these standalones work, though not all shake off that teaser taste. Sarah Rees Brennan's "Let's Get This Undead Show on the Road" follows a vampire in a boy-band and stands out with its perfect blend of snark and sincerity. It's followed in a one-two punch by Jeri Smith-Ready's intense and earnest "Bridge." While not every story's as strong as those (some are downright forgettable), in a buffet of so many flavors readers can always skip to the next story with a good chance of finding something more to their liking.
This collection is ideal as a sampler tray for paranormal readers looking to pick up new authors to follow or to further explore the fictional worlds they already know.



Just in case you were wondering who Melissa Marr is!   



The Dame's Take :

Please click on the link for "Enthralled" on my side bar to get a very comprehensive look at this captivating new book.  Then, please come back to me!

This is a charmingly packaged anthology published by Harper Collins.  Whom, it must be said, is just outstanding in its choices of YA literature and authors.  Harper consistently publishes books of the highest quality and content, so with their novels you can almost guarantee a good read.  The cover of this (and most of Harper's books) is wonderful and appropriate for the content.  What I like about it is the nod to the sophistication of the young adult reader.  There's no scared little girl looking out at us here!

I've perused the book like a bandit.  Absolutely love the feel of paper they've used which reminds me of the old (maybe still used) paper of the short story mystery anthologies I used to get, small packaged as magazines.  Somehow, it makes me feel like this is a secret book I can hide and read in bed like a Halloween precursor; which it is in fact. Just love it for my bedside table this Fall.

After having read a couple of stories, my favorite is "Gargouille" by Mary E. Pearson.  I wasn't familiar with Ms Pearson's books or writing, so decided to try her story for that reason alone.  This is a wonderful story!  I enjoyed it from the first sentence.  Mary's descriptions are fascinating and made me smile with the anticipation I've always had when reading a fairytale.  I love her French names and hinted connections in the story.  Great writing and a really good short story.  This one makes me certain I'll be going out to find one of her novels to read very soon.

Here's one of her trailers:

"Miles Between" by Mary E. Pearson

Latest Book:  "The Adoration of Jenna Fox"

Available on Audio, as well.

The Dame is giving this darling Anthology "Entralled" an entralling 5 stars!

A must be on your shopping list for this Halloween.

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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Sexy, Intellectual Killer Makes: "In Syte" by Greg Kiser~ Horrifyingly Delicious!

Published by:  Amazon

Toured in Partnership with:  Nurture Your Books

Pages: 388

Paperback and ebook available

Genre:  Paranormal Thriller



 Book Summary :

It's Tampa Bay and the year is 2020. Ex-Navy SEAL Mitch "Double" Downing discovers how to tap into the internet with his mind. His new inSyte provides transparent access to the sum of all human knowledge recorded since hieroglyphics. More then mere information - Mitch can see into men's hearts  and be all places at all times (easy in an 'always on' surveillance society with fourth generation tweets). Sort of like God.

But inSyte has ideas of its own as the software discovers a politician's "divine" plan that will unwittingly slaughter millions of people. Is killing the man the only way to prevent Armageddon? The politician's daughter would probably disagree. And she happens to be the love of Mitch's life. Losing Kate would be to much collateral damage.
At the center of the conflict is a wolf-like killer who will stop at nothing to murder the Ex-Navy SEAL. And Mitch must come to grips with inSyte's dark side - a dominating addiction that soon controls his thoughts and places him on a steep slide to self destruction.

Author Bio.:

Greg Kiser graduated from Southern Polytechnic University in Atlanta with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.  Greg also earned his MBA from the University of South Florida.  He is currently a Technical Director at Cisco, a high tech firm that makes the equipment upon which the internet runs, lives, grows.
He has written extensively for Fortune 50 high tech firms in describing next generation networks and painting pictures of the true evolution of technology for the consumer.

Excerpt:

inSyte Chapter 51

 

Mitch could tell he was on the water.  He felt the boat sway in relatively small waves.  Every now and again, the boat rocked on a larger arc.  OK, he was in the lower hold of a moored boat.  Felt like a good sized boat.  Maybe two meter draft.  Maybe thirty thousand kilos displacement.

The space was dark.  So dark he would not have seen his hands in front of his face.  But he couldn’t move his hands.  His neck felt stiff and wooden.  He was restrained, laid out on a bed with his arms and legs tied securely to posts. 

His head ached.  Dull pain.  Chemically induced.  Probably methyl chloride or some derivative.  But there was something else.  He felt nauseous and cramped, beyond the chemical haze.  He felt… unplugged. 

In order to be this damn dark the port holes must be blocked.  Not just curtains or wooden blinds.  Something solid. 

The compartment’s unnatural quiet added to his profound feeling of emptiness.  Non-existence.  As though he had entered a dreamless sleep but he was still awake and---

OK, Downing.  Snap out of it!  Where am I and how do I get out of here?

He was in a lower cabin that was sealed tight.  This room had been specially constructed.  Reinforced with something to keep out light and sound.  Or keep it in. 

Sometimes compartments were reinforced in this fashion to act as freezers.  More common with commercial vessels, but he’d heard of personal craft that occasionally had this done. 

No signal.  He couldn’t believe it.  The metal reinforcement blocked communication with the outside world.

A cabin door opened and a bright light shone on his face.  Then the door shut and a small light was turned on.  It took a moment for his eyes to adjust. 

Then he looked into the dark face of the wolf. 

He recoiled and shut his eyes.  Whatever drug the Russian used was still affecting his nervous system.  He shook his head and opened his eyes and saw that it was just a man who sat on a stool beside his bed.  The man’s face was dark and his eyes were solid black.

“Hello, Mitch,”  the dark man’s voice was incredibly low. 

“Who are you?  How do you know my name?”  he needed time to think.

“I am Cheslov.  I know much about you.  And you know a lot about many things, I am told.”

He didn’t bother to ask about Wanda.  She was dead.  This man killed her.  That’s OK.  He’d return the favor. 

In conflict, direct confrontation lead to engagement and surprise lead to victory.  Sun Tzu’s Art of War.  He forced himself to relax.  Cheslov held all the cards at the moment.  Very frustrating.

“OK, I know a lot about a lot of things.  So why am I tied to a bed on the Chorny Volk?”

Momentary surprise flickered through Cheslov’s black eyes.  Stupid thing to say but he couldn’t help it.  Come on, Mitch!  Reign it in and calm it down.  He forced himself to abandon emotion and focus with the logical side of his brain. 

Cheslov smiled and, surprisingly, he had one of those smiles that consumed his entire face.  From across the Council Chamber the man looked evil with dark amusement.  Up close, his smile was harmless, charming.  Mitch didn’t have to try very hard to smile back. 

“You know my secrets,”  Cheslov said.  He gestured around, expansively.  “She is my pride and joy, young friend.  My pride and joy.  We did not have vessels like this in Rostov, I can assure you.”

“Why am I here?”  Mitch asked again.

“You are a most impressive young man.  Of course, they told me you have this ability.  Somehow you know things you are not supposed to know, yes?”  Cheslov’s eyes widened in reproach.  He reached beneath his coat and removed a long cigar. Snipped the tip using a guillotine cutter that looked like a worn, hungry mouth.  Lit it up with a battered, gunmetal Zippo.  Leaned back in his chair, took a deep drag.  Exhaled a thick, hot, blue stream of smoke.

“Which is why you find yourself here.  In my home.”  Cheslov’s face saddened. 

Then he continued, as if explaining to a child.  “I am sorry, young friend, to have to say this to you.  That this is not a place a man wishes to find himself.  This is not a room from which people live to see a new day.  No, my friend, this is a room in which people take their last breath, see their last light.  Hear their last sound.” 

Mitch remembered a long ago camping trip.

Cheslov smiled warmly down at him.  “Why were you meeting the Deter bitch?”

Mitch said nothing.

  Cheslov raised the cigar cutter to his face and a raven eye peered through the opening.  He smiled as he slid the blades together.  “What was your intention?”

Mitch started the process of extracting himself mentally from his surroundings.  He ran number patterns through his head to take his mind beyond the pain and the possibility of what the lunatic might do next.  There was only one place this was heading. 

Of course he wouldn’t answer any of the lunatic’s questions.  The best strategy to resisting interrogation is to simply not provide any information at all. 

“Where is the file?”

Once you start to give up information, even about minor unrelated topics, it’s hard to stop and easier to give up important information.  The answers to the current questions didn’t matter in the least.  The only thing that mattered was to protect Kate.  At any cost.

“With whom have you shared it?”

Mitch said nothing.

Cheslov walked to the head of the bed and slowly examined Mitch’s fingertips. 

“You wear your micro on your index finger.  Painted with green resin.  Quite the fashion statement.  To whom have you sent the file?”

Mitch said nothing.

Cheslov grasped Mitch’s left hand and held it the way a man might hold the hand of his son.  Mitch felt a softness to the giant’s touch.

“Why do you not answer?  Are you afraid?”  Cheslov gazed down at him with a not unkind expression.  The giant’s thick, dark eyebrows rose as if trying to coax Mitch to speak.

Mitch said nothing.

“I’ll ask you once more,”  Cheslov said and a note of sadness crept into his voice.  The hesitant father who does not wish to punish but is left no choice.  “You have nothing to gain by continuing your silence.  And quite a bit to lose.  Yes, quite a bit.”

Mitch stared at the overhead ceiling.  Focused on the intricate wood carving.

Cheslov spread Mitch’s fingers. 

Mitch said nothing.

“Tell me.  With whom have you shared the file?”

Mitch said nothing.

“Enough of these games,” Cheslov said.


The Dame's Review :


I've had in the back of my mind for some time that the evolution of computers has to be somewhat invasive.  In fact, we have been warned in a sense by the great numbers of movies and tv shows easily expanding their use going as far back as I can remember...light years back!  But, Greg Kiser's book gave me chills.  Why?  Because Greg knows computers professionally, and he has a particular "insight" into their capabilities today.


"Insyte" is a different perspective on that vision of computer capacity.  It makes the story Mr. Kiser poses so viable.  Chilling.  While it may seem a possible hopeful outlook for man and computers, I tend to think, as the Oppenheimer group found with the Manhattan Project, it carries the very real possibilities of terror and mayhem in the hands of the wrong people.


"Insyte" is a fascinating book on many fronts.  So well written.  The style is easy and fast-moving; just packed with action and drama.  I found myself reading intently and enjoying that James Bondish flow.  Kiser has an easy hand in creating that kind of thriller.


His character development is masterful. The "bad guy" is written so enticingly, it's hard not to be on his side!  Which isn't always a good thing, let me tell you! 


Through his obviously very thorough research and knowledge of weaponry, I learned a great deal about modern military combat and possiblities for it.  Very interesting, even for someone who doesn't ordinarily focus on that kind of thing.  And, I loved learning more about how Navy Seals think.


This is a book I was surprised to find I liked so much.  It was a great read, so absorbing, intelligent, masterfully written and timely. 


4 1/2 stars for a very good read.




*Please visit these other great sites for a continuation of Greg Kiser's Book Tour with Nurture Your Books:

   September 21st – Farrah K. @ The Book Faery Reviews

September 22nd – Beverly G. @ Everyone Loves A SiNner

September 23rd – Jaidis S. @ Juniper Grove

September 23rd – Deb H. @ Deb’s Book Reviews

Thanks for stopping by!

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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Beatrix Potter's Replacement? Emma Thompson writes a "Further Tale of Peter Rabbit"

An announcement this week from Penguin Press says they've acquired Ms Emma Thompson to write "The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit."  

As many a therapist would say, "How does that make you feel?"

The first book I ever remember loving and holding was a small volume of Beatrix Potter's "Peter Rabbit."  I adored Peter.  I laughed at his naughty ways and encouraged him to run from the farmer.  I begged his mother not to punish him and just knew he'd be a good rabbit until next time!  He was a rascal and I loved him for it.  Dear Peter...one of a kind, Peter. 

Now comes Penguin to add to that.  Some things cannot be extended.  Some perfect things have endings and the endings are as they should be.  I always thought "Gone With The Wind" had a crushing ending, but it's legendary.  The sequel left us flat-footed, didn't it?  I couldn't even get past the first 60 or so pages...it was so discouraging, like trying to drag Rhett and Scarlet's mummies around (I can't bear to say corpse).

There are other great books with perfect endings that allow us to graciously take our leave of magnificent characters who then live on in our hearts and minds.  Can Precious Peter Rabbit be revived in this way...hopping off to Scotland on another adventure?  Don't you think that may be too smooth and "modern" for our old pet?

And why Emma Thompson?  She's a fine actor, positively.  She's also from the British Isles.  But, really, what has that to do with our Peter?  What makes her more qualified than, say, Fergie?  At least Fergie has written children's books and knows how it feels to be reinvented after a timewarp.

As for me, my darling Peter will remain the same, old bunny, untarnished and just as I remember him.  I'm boycotting the new, extended Peter.  I just don't want the "facelifted" one on my mind...facelifts always make people look so not themselves anymore.

What are your thoughts on the matter?


Here's a copy of the article/announcement from GalleyCat by Maryann Yin, 9/15/11:

Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson has landed a deal with Penguin Young Readers Group to write The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit.

The book is slated for release in September 2012 to commemorate the 110th-year anniversary of Beatrix Potter‘s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The book will be released simultaneously in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Here’s more from the release: “In The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter’s adventures take him beyond the boundaries of Mr. McGregor’s garden, all the way to Scotland, where he meets the gentle giant Finlay McBurney, a distant Scottish relative. Emma was inspired to set the tale in Scotland by her knowledge of Beatrix’s childhood holidays there.

Among many other roles, Thompson played Harry Potter divination professor Sybill Trelawney. However, she is also a screenwriter. Her adaptation of Jane Austen‘s Sense and Sensibility won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 1996.

I'm waiting here to see how it all makes you feel.  You can even let me have it, if you want.  I may need input for another perspective!


Deborah/Your Bookish Dame

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Book Recommendation Services Make Me Hoppin' Mad!

This entry prompted by Goodreads email and an article by Allie Townsend for Techland Time called:

"Finally, Goodreads launches book recommendations service."



My nerves are on a frazzle today.  I just received the offer from Goodreads to set up my book "recommendations."  They will be happy to let me know which book I should read next if I'll just go through a couple of steps to let them know what I've read recently and liked.

Please!!  Amazon has this service, as I'm sure other book sites do, as well.  It really irks me.  I know you can't wait to hear why.  Am I right?

One of the last vestiges of our independence in this world of computerized, digitized and size-ized world is choice.  Our own choice for right or wrong.  It may seem like a small thing to give up choosing your own books, but it's not.  It's actually an intellectual exercise in personal interest, education, research and freedom of choice. Ever hear of intellectual license?  There's something to having a "market" on your own mind. 

To allow every choice you would make to be processed under a "recommendation" at a social or book site is to let go of some of your freedoms of individuality.  Put another way, the Big Brother out there has a bead on what you're reading, and that means they have a bead on who and what you are...what you may be thinking on a deeper level than just the social fluff you'd let anyone in on.

I personally get offended when Amazon assumes to make recommendations to me based on my browsings on their site.  I like to browse; I don't always purchase what I browse.  I don't like it when they "cubby hole" me.  It bothers me when people do that to me in real life when they can see me and hear me...so, you can imagine how I feel when a computer program intels me that way.  I actually get angry!

I don't want Goodreads to mess with my good feelings about them.  I like the way things are working right now.  I input what I'm reading and I review my books for others to read if they want to.  I bob around the website checking out what my friends are reading and what they thought about it...but noone is telling me what I'd be advised to read next. 

Don't be asking to pick out my books for me, Goodreads, I don't like it. I like you just the way you are.  And, I wish others who felt the same would speak out, too.

Please let me know how you feel, both pro and con.  I'm curious.

Read the article that prompted my ravings today at:

http://techland.time.com/2011/09/16/finally-goodreads-launches-book-recommendations-service/

One of the points Ms Townsend gives is that she's given up her choices due to lack of time.  I once had a very wise teacher who said, "You always have time to do what you want to do."

Deborah/TheBookishDame

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Off Broadway, Off Bestseller List~Often Best Book Gems! "My God, What Have We Done?" by Susan V. Weiss

Published by:  Fomite Press, Burlington, VT

Pages:  479

Courtesy of:  TLC Book Tours

Book Summary:

In a world afflicted with war, toxicity, and hunger, does what we do in our private lives really matter?

Fifty years after the creation of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos, newlyweds Pauline and Clifford visit that once-secret city on their honeymoon, compelled by Pauline’s fascination with Oppenheimer, the soulful scientist. The two stories emerging from this visit reverberate back and forth between the loneliness of a new mother at home in Boston and the isolation of an entire community dedicated to the development of the bomb. While Pauline struggles with unforeseen challenges of family life, Oppenheimer and his crew reckon with forces beyond all imagining.

Finally the years of frantic research on the bomb culminate in a stunning test explosion that echoes a rupture in the couple’s marriage. Against the backdrop of a civilization that’s out of control, Pauline begins to understand the complex, potentially explosive physics of personal relationships.

At once funny and dead serious, My God, What Have We Done? sifts through the ruins left by the bomb in search of a more worthy human achievement.

About the Author:

Susan Weiss is a writer and a teacher who lives in Burlington, Vermont. Her stories have appeared in literary magazines and anthologies. In addition to teaching adult literacy and expository and creative writing, she has initiated community-outreach writing projects for offenders, refugees, and homeless people.

Visit Susan at her website, susanvweiss.com.  And, for more information visit:  http://gallery.pleasantstreetweb.com/ for a live interview of Susan and a reading from the novel; as well as, reviews from other authors.

Now~The Dame's Review:

My entry title here expresses the Ayn Rand-based theory I have that not all of the best authors and books make it to the "Matinee'" of the Bestseller's List.  As Ms Rand tells us by way of "The Fountainhead," it's often the CRITICS (the "they's" whoever they are) who determine what that list means...who gets on it, which books are best, which authors are fabulous and approved, which art works are genius; well, you know exactly what I mean.  We all saw President Obama get the Peace Prize, didn't we?  :]

In the case of "My God, What Have We Done?" we've left this extraordinarily telling book and its author off the list of new voices in literature!  That is to say, some have; but I'm not going to. 

This is an odd-duck of a book, an unlikely storyline that makes one shake her head at first glance.  Let's face it, it's one of those books that may not engage anyone but the connoisseur of strange books.  It's one that begs the question, why not just two books on either subject?  Ha!  But there are those of us who are the scrappers and connoisseurs of excellent books not discovered by the ordinary readers.  Does this make us book snobs? Hmmm

This is one of those gems all bookish scavengers hope to find when they go hunting on Sundays at old and new bookstores.  This is the kind of book you ferret out at the old "Book Nook" on Main Street that's had hand-selected books for the past 92 years...chosen by Miss Alice who is still so bright she can make a grown man cringe for lack of knowledge of a book past or present!   This is The Book you gratefully take away with you to your reading retreat because she recommended it.  I think some of you understand what I'm saying.

Let me talk about the book as it pertained to me as an example of my generation post-WWII: 

I was born in 1950, just a whisper after the A-bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.  What I recall of my early days is not hearing at all about the Japanese and their sufferings, but about the fears of the hydrogen bomb and who might have it and who might use it...against us...and how we need to be prepared for survival. 

I certainly recall the clothing of that age, as described in this delicious, historically-painted book.  I can see the hat that Oppie (Dr. Oppenheimer) wore so clearly in my mind's eye.  Ms Weiss brings me back to my childhood with her descriptions of the scientists in their white shirts and skinny ties, the military brass, fat Sears catalogs, women's fashions and early uses of condoms(I had no idea it wasn't for birth control!).  Her descriptions of the glories of the desert in New Mexico, and Los Alamos in particular, create a sadness in me for those who loved it like Oppie and his brother.  Certainly what they did was a blasphemy to him, and forever marred it's beauty. 

I recall at the age of 8 yrs. old spending play time in my little friend's family bomb shelter because it was filled with toys, food and bunk beds.  When she asked me if my family had one, I said I didn't know what it was.  And, when she told me, I was still confused at first. What was the bomb? How could we live in a world our parents thought might kill us? Why didn't we have our own bomb shelter?  We didn't have one, so that meant we were going to die.  Simple deduction for an 8 yr. old, especially one living in FL in the 1950's.

When I was 13 years old, my military father told me if war was declared he would shoot each of us and then himself so we wouldn't have to suffer through it.  What?  We were living in Germany at the time.  He said we would make a run for the mountains, but if we couldn't get there, he would have to kill all of us to keep us from suffering, so he was going to shoot us in the head. He just wanted me to know. I believed him.  He meant it.  My dad was not an insane or vicious man. He was very protective of us, in fact. What it said to me was there were horrors of war we hadn't even imagined out there! Before he died a couple of years ago, I asked him about the state of the world and what he thought of the terrorists and the Middle East.  He just looked at me and shook his head, he said, "I have no idea anymore.  I don't know now what to expect. It's more frightening than I've ever seen it."

This is the world the Manhattan Project left for the children of my generation...its generation...to live with.  And, so, the legacy continues.  The legacy continues.  We are inundated with dystopian/post-apocalyptic novels mostly in the young adult genre.  Surprising?  What are we telling our children?

Susan Weiss gives a brilliantly gorgeous portrait of Robert Oppenheimer, the man, the scientist, the husband, and the military guardian of the Manhattan Project.

I found her story of him, his dedicated staff of scientists (fizzlers=physicists & stinkers=chemists), their wives, General Groves the military command officer, the security/concentration camp-like quarters and the deprivations they endured just absorbing. 

I was glued to my chair hour after hour, greedy for more information on Oppenheimer and his men; how the women survived without their husbands though they were on base, isolated, lonely, both men and women drinking too much alcohol and confined to their labs or houses....all sworn to secrecy and silence for years. I was appalled at what they all sacrificed because they believed in the effort. It was heartbreaking to have an inkling of how they may have felt when it dawned on them that their beautiful work, their dedication to truth and learning, to a higher good, would be used as a weapon of mass destruction; and soon!
That there would never again be a safe place on earth, but that the journey of life on earth itself was colored forever by death; and their devoted work had made it so.

Ms Weiss has much to say about the moral dilemmas of  creating the "gadget," as it was called for security purposes.  The men/scientists and Oppie started out earnestly believing that they were on a mission to create a weapon that would end the war with Hitler, and would end all wars forever. 

They believed it was a discovery that would be a valiant thing, something that would cause the world governments to stand down, to share and join in harmony.  Through their discovery, they thought to hand the world the greatest of moral blessings--the reality that this discovery could end the world, which meant no one would want to use it; which meant an end to all future wars. Because they all thought the same way, didn't they?  Well, not the President, not the military, not the Europeans, not the Japanese, not the Russians... 

Not until the war ended with Hitler, and as their work continued, did they actually realize that it would be more than they'd anticipated.  But, didn't they all want to continue the work?  Hadn't the work a life of it's own that was more than the sum of their individual parts?  Weren't they supposed to finish the race to be the first ones there?  People said Oppie was a pawn of the military and the government, that he was tricked--but was he, really? 

Oppenheimer became a shell of a man who fought with his own inner demons.  He was broken by what he had allowed to happen.  He ultimately felt he had "blood on his hands" and that he had committed a mortal sin.  This connection of the hydrogen bomb and its ultimate consequences drained the great scientist of his life's blood.  Though she doesn't mention it, I believe that Oppie spent a great deal of his last years in St. John's, Virgin Islands, walking the beaches.  I wonder if his spirit was ever the same.

That is one side, and now this is the other side of Ms. Weiss's novel: She juxtaposes the questions of the hydrogen bomb race and its affects on the humans involved, with the relationships of a young married couple 50 years after the bomb. 

The human condition; right and wrong, angst and an examination of why we engage in a commitment without really considering the far-reaching good and evil, is studied with her renderings of Pauline and Clifford.


 She has us consider the consequences of marrying someone when slightly in doubt of them, when there are serious differences in world views, and responses are nearly opposite to various circumstances. What happens when we "turn a blind eye" to something when it stands in the way of what we want to do more? Through the life of Pauline and Clifford, we see a microcosm of the struggles and moral consequences that took its toll on the Los Alamos "family" of Dr. Oppenheimer.

Pauline is a disbeliever.  She has a squinty-eyed perspective on life, sees the glass half empty, likes to accentuate the negative and grouse a bit.  After having considered various boyfriends and finding them lacking as marriage partners, she decides she finds Clifford the least offensive.  'though she's doubtful about whether his optimistic, kindly, accepting ways will wear well on her, ultimately.  She's hoping to learn to love him and that his ways will be melded with hers.

What occurs is the same sort of horrors that happen to the men and women who were at the Los Alamos encampment:
isolation in the move & job loss, a husband who's work is all-consuming, less than suitable living conditions, financial constraints, difficult pregnancy.  Lack of communication with each other, boredom, depression, loss of interest, lethargy and alcohol.  Like the women of Los Alamos, Pauline begins to drink just to get through the evening.  And, like Oppie, who is described as a manic chain-smoker, Clifford begins to reengage in smoking.  Self-destructive behaviors.   And, then the question of dissolving the marriage when there are children involved.  The legacy of destruction brought on by faulty decision-making?


 Weiss has written a book that is frankly one I would put on the Best New Author's list at any book store.  This is her first book, although when read it's apparent that she is a well-seasoned writer.  Her novel is a compelling read.  It's nearly 500 pages were worth every line and paragraph in interesting detail.  It's a book for full discussion over dinner with like-minded friends.

Her characters are lush and so fully developed I could almost identify them as people I've known.  The situations she places Pauline in that lead her into self-discovery are perfect!  Pauline's heartbreaking moments are so real.  Though Clifford is an unassuming guy, his character is strong and charming; his devotion, trust and love refreshing.  He's the man we want our daughters to marry because he'll always be good to them.  Won't he?  Or, is that unassuming charm hiding his passive aggressive tendencies? 

There are so many perfect and profound moments in this highly unlikely novel.  In this "find" of a novel, we have a lush and amazing story that has the ability to shake us someplace deep inside. 

There's a key here to the mystery we've been living.  There's some insight here to understanding.  Not that all is forgiven, but that if one looks at it from the perspective of one's own marriage or personal relationships...perhaps there's a glimmer of acknowledgement that our hidden agendas can become the undoing of us.  That not taking time to consider all the possibilities, and acting too hurriedly may ultimately cause a chain reaction of the deepest kind of regret. 

There are other epiphanies from this fine novel which I simply dare not disclose because you will want to find them yourself.  I urge you to go on the hunt, you lovers of a great book, you seekers and finders...

Deborah/TheBookishDame   gives this 5 shining stars!

I'm happy to have been a TLC Tour Host for this book.

Follow Susan's other Tours:

Tuesday, September 20th: “That’s Swell!”
Wednesday, September 21st: Lit Endeavors
Thursday, September 22nd: The Well-Read Wife
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Reading This Week for Review...

A brilliant novel about computers' capabilities gone over-the-top.

A Madoff-type character hangs himself and his family feels the repercussions--this is a powerful suspense thriller.

Conflicts in choices--are we swept along into marriage and were the scientists who created "the bomb" swept along in the same manner?  An interesting comparison.

What happens when a young girl is stranded on an island after the catastrophic 2nd Ice Age hits North America?

I have started a couple of these books, but I can't tell you more than my small blurbs--only to say that they are each good reads.  Come visit me to find out which you might like to read this coming Fall.

*Please share with us what you're reading in the next week or two!

Deborah/TheBookishDame





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