Silhouette of a Sparrow: YA Lesbian Historical Novel About Following Dreams

I don't know what led me to Silhouette of a Sparrow, the only YA novel by children's fiction writer, Molly Beth Griffin. It is a book that I needed to read.  So whatever the source was, I'm grateful to have discovered it.

                        

I must have been drawn to this book by the cover which is quite extraordinary resembling some prehistorical image of a bird woman rooted in nature.  Then I must have read the description which identified it as taking place in the Roaring 1920's, a favorite period of mine which began exactly a hundred years ago.  The fact that Garnet Richardson, the 16 year old female protagonist, loves birds and wants to become an ornithologist made the novel seem unusual and intriguing.  This aspect of the book also was appealing to me as someone who is concerned about the non-human species with which we share our planet.

It belongs on this blog because there are strong women who assist Garnet in recognizing that she has the right to claim a future for herself.

The most significant of these women is 18 year old Isabella, the courageous dance hall performer labeled as a "harlot".  Isabella knew that she had to dance, and that if she had to break society's rules to do that, so be it.

Other women who helped to change the way Garnet thought about her life were Miss Maple, her summer employer, and her unconventional Aunt Rachel who never actually appears in the narrative.  Both of them served as examples that caused Garnet to realize that a woman could choose not to marry.

This is also a lesbian romance, but not one with a traditional HEA ending. I felt that the relationship between Garnet and Isabella had emotional intensity despite its brevity.  Would they ever come back together?  It's a possibility.  The future of these fictional characters is unknown unless Molly Beth Griffin chooses to revisit their lives in another book. Without that sequel, Garnet and Isabella remain frozen for us at the point where the author left them behind in the summer of 1926.

The advantage of never advancing this narrative beyond 1926 is that Garnet can retain the optimism for which the Roaring Twenties are known in order to inspire other readers of Silhouette of a Sparrow as I have been. 

The Widows of Malabar Hill: A Pioneering Lawyer in 1920's India

The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey was nominated in the mystery category in the earliest phase of this year's Goodreads Choice Awards. Since I had a copy from the F2F mystery group that I attend, I decided to prioritize it.  I am reviewing it on Thanksgiving because I am thankful for this book.

                           

 I  read some of the books in Sujata Massey's  mystery series about Japanese American Rei Shimura and found them entertaining.  Yet I've always wondered if she could produce more riveting mysteries if they were more related to her own heritage.   I don't believe that authors should be forbidden from writing books that have nothing to do with their heritage. What I do think is that Own Voices work is important and should be encouraged. Sujata Massey is partly Indian.  So I rejoiced when I saw that she had written a mystery taking place in India.  Not only this, but her fictional protagonist was based on real women who were among the first to practice law in India.

I reviewed a mystery about the real woman who was the first to practice law in California here. I hoped that The Widows of Malabar Hill would be better written and more authentic. My expectations were definitely fulfilled. 

The main character of this novel, Perveen Mistry, belongs to a religious and ethnic minority in India.  She is a Parsi.  The Parsis originated in Persia, and continue to practice Zoroastrianism which is an ancient religion that influenced Judaism, the faith of my own ancestors.   I read about this influence in Rav Hisda's Daughter by Maggie Anton which I reviewed here.

Some very traditional Zoroastrians had customs that were abusive to women.  Perveen had some horrifying experiences that many readers will find very troubling. I feel that I have a duty to warn that some readers who are survivors of domestic abuse may find that this section about Perveen's past in The Widows of Malabar Hill triggers flashbacks for them.  So this isn't a book for everyone.

 Perveen had the strength to emerge from the shadow of abuse, but it's important for me to say that she couldn't have done this alone.  As I mentioned in the last review I posted to this blog here , class can be an important factor in women's lives. Without the support of her wealthy and influential lawyer father, Perveen would have had nowhere to go and couldn't have become a lawyer herself.

As a result of the British Raj, India had two types of lawyers--barristers and solicitors. Barristers argue cases in court.  Solicitors write documents and briefs.  They also give advice to clients.  Both types of lawyers are very necessary to the practice of  law. Since both the British and Indian traditionalists didn't believe that it was proper for women to have occupations that required high profile public appearances, it was initially very difficult for a woman to become a barrister.  So the first woman lawyers in India were solicitors.  Perveen became a solicitor at her father's law firm.

The case in The Widows of Malabar Hill illustrates an important role for woman solicitors.  There were devout Muslim women who needed to consult a lawyer and couldn't speak to a man.  So Perveen helps women with their legal difficulties.  The Parsi female lawyer who is the main basis for Perveen, Cornelia Sorabji also began as a solicitor for women.

Another wonderful woman character in this novel is Perveen's closest friend, Alice, an English feminist who Perveen met when she was studying law at Oxford.  I would like to see Alice continue to assist Perveen with her cases in future novels in this series.

I will be very surprised if The Widows of Malabar Hill doesn't turn out to be my favorite mystery of 2018.   I am very much looking forward to seeing more of Perveen in the future.

Island of the Mad by Laurie R. King

Island of the Mad is the second book in the Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series by Laurie R. King that I'm reviewing on this blog.  The first was Dreaming Spies whose review can be found here.  In Island of the Mad,  Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes conduct their investigations in Venice which is under the rule of Mussolini.   I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Net Galley and this is my honest review.

                             

The cover of this novel is lovely.  Some readers have mistaken the elegant woman on the cover for Mary Russell herself, but I've been reliably informed that the author denies that this is an image of her heroine.

For Mary Russell, this is a missing person case that begins in England.   She is searching for a college friend's aunt who had been consigned to Bedlam.  Holmes accompanies Russell, but he is on a mission for his brother, Mycroft.  Holmes' investigation brings an espionage element into the book.  The involvement of American musician Cole Porter adds extra interest.

Yet it was the disappeared Aunt Vivian who really held my attention.  She is an independent minded woman.  Desiring independence was still considered enough of a sin against convention that she might well be committed to an institution for that alone, but there are secrets motivating the missing woman that Mary Russell will uncover as part of the process of finding her. Aunt Vivian's sketches provide clues. I thought it was fascinating that Vivian used her sketchbook as a sort of diary.

Although there is a slow section, the dramatic resolution of  Island of the Mad more than makes up for it.  There are some feminist themes and the fascist environment provides relevant political commentary for our contemporary times.  I think that Island of the Mad should be considered one of the best books in Laurie R. King's Russell/Holmes series.






                                 

The Castlemaine Murders--An Untelevised Phryne Fisher Novel

Until I read The Castlemaine Murders  I had no reason to think about the Australian TV series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and how it might be different from the books.  I actually didn't know very much about the issue because I hadn't seen very many episodes of the TV series.  A few of them appeared on American public television, and it looked like it was a typical situation of adaptations needing to leave out sub-plots or other details due to the constraints of episodic television.  I understand that.  I try not to let it bother me unless what the TV series leaves out feels very important.

I have a friend on Goodreads whose first exposure to Phryne Fisher was the TV series. She is now reading the books in order,  and made a remark that she preferred the TV version because of the lovely relationship between Phryne and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson.  I was taken aback by this news because I knew that Jack Robinson was a happily married man in the book version, and that he was much too conventional for Phryne in any case.    Yet I still didn't think about how much such a change would matter to me.

I've been reading the Phryne Fisher books in no particular order based on whatever book happened to catch my interest.   Enter The Castlemaine Murders stage right.  I started reading it and saw that Phryne's lover, Lin Chung, was very prominent.

Then I wondered what they had done with this book on the TV series.  I looked at a list of episodes on IMDB and saw that it wasn't there. When I understood that the TV series had engaged in a deliberate de-emphasis of Lin Chung in order to make room for a potential relationship with Jack Robinson, I felt a rant coming on.  There really are some serious implications in this change, and for me The Castlemaine Murders represents why it's important.

                                                 

Phryne Fisher is controversial because she isn't monogamous, and is often considered promiscuous.  Yet she does have a primary relationship in Kerry Greenwood's books.  He is the man to whom she always returns because he's special, and that special individual is Lin Chung.  He is portrayed as not only attractive, but also competent, intelligent, resourceful,compassionate, courageous, loyal, generous and considerate.  He also has remarkably good taste.  He is rooted in his culture. He feels committed to his family and community.  Unlike many Asian characters in fiction who make their home in the West, identity isn't a troublesome question for him.  He knows who he is, and where he belongs.  He isn't lost and has no feelings of angst.   Yes, he's idealized.  Yet it does mean something that for Phryne Fisher the perfect man doesn't have the same background as she does.  Kerry Greenwood celebrates diversity through the relationship between Phryne Fisher and Lin Chung.

In The Castlemaine Murders Lin Chung comes into his own.  He has carried out important missions for his family before, but in this book he's shown as establishing diplomatic links with other Chinese families and taking a philanthropic role in giving assistance to elderly impoverished Chinese.

The significance of this novel goes beyond Lin Chung's metamorphosis into a family and community leader.  It also deals with race hatred directed at the Chinese in the Australian Gold Rush during the 19th century.  There is mention of an extraordinary individual, a white Australian constable named Thomas Cooke who risked his life to stop an anti-Chinese riot.  There is a commemorative plaque devoted to Thomas Cooke which can be found at the Monument Australia website. This history needs to be remembered.  Racism is a worldwide problem, but it's possible to make a stand against it.  It is the presence of Lin Chung in the book series that allowed Kerry Greenwood to address this theme.

My feeling is that the choice to make Lin Chung a minor background character in the TV series reflects a discomfort with the interracial relationship and with the potential of this character to raise issues that are equally disquieting.  Replacing him in Phryne's life with Detective Inspector Jack Robinson makes the TV series more like a conventional crime series.  It probably broadens the appeal of the TV series, but I consider it a disservice to a character that I love.

The Castlemaine Murders could have made a powerful episode in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries.  Fortunately, the novel still exists to show us that a Phryne with Lin Chung is far more interesting than a Phryne without him.


                                                

                                   

                                                 

Away With The Fairies: The Phryne Fisher Novel In Which Fairies Are Outclassed By Pirates

I am in my late fifties and I’m still saying that I want to be Phryne Fisher when I grow up.  She’s elegant, sexy, witty, generous, courageous, loyal to those she cares about, will help any woman in trouble and oh yes she’s a private investigator who solves mysteries. Since I am such a fan of this character created by Kerry Greenwood, it’s downright odd that I’ve never blogged about a Phryne Fisher mystery.  Well, that’s about to change.

                                             

 

I recently finished Away With The Fairies.  If you are a reader who despises fairies, I would like to reassure you that there is little on the subject of fairies in this book.  The murder victim was an author and artist who was obsessed with them, but the fairies weren’t available for an investigation.

 So Phryne decided to become a fashion columnist at the magazine where the victim worked, Women’s Choice.  She’s an excellent fashion columnist, by the way.  I loved her advice about buying a wardrobe on a budget.  Yet I liked the editor even more.  She reminded me of Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown.  Her motto was “any woman can”, not just exceptional women.  Any woman can achieve her dreams.  Her magazine was speaking to the “flappers” of 1920’s Australia who wanted to hear that message since they were already living it. 

Yet the murder investigation is upstaged by another plotline involving pirates. Phryne’s favorite lover, Lin Chung, had gone to China on a silk buying expedition, but hadn’t returned.  It turns out that he’s being held by South China Sea Pirates.  One of the most notorious was the pirate queen, Lai Choi San.  For more information about her, you should consult the Wikipedia article about her that I’ve linked above.

Phryne is not the sort of woman who would sit around and do nothing while someone she cares about is in danger.  Once she figures out what she needs to do, she takes action and it’s a far more daring adventure than the Phryne Fisher novel I read previous to this one called Dead Man’s Chest which contained no actual pirates.  This novel increased its coolness factor even further by including Phryne's women's club which is called The Adventuresses.

I consider Away With The Fairies one of the best Phryne Fisher novels I’ve read so far.    It had suspense, romance,heroism and feminism which are all characteristics I like to see in any novel.