The Accursed

by Joyce Carol Oates

I'm still not sure whether or not I actually liked this book. I think I did. It was certainly well-written. It just wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. Although I try not to buy books anymore (I get most of my reading material from the library, borrowing from friends and family, and when I do make a purchase, it's usually for my kindle), this one caught my eye when I was at the Book Table. I like the Book Table and enjoy supporting it, so rather than getting the book cheaper in a digital version or for free at the library, I went ahead and bought a hard copy. Part of the reason I bought it is because I had been hearing a lot of good things about the author lately and had not yet read any of her books, so I thought it was time I introduced myself to her material.

The other reason I bought it is because the description on the back cover said, "Vampires and ghosts haunt the dreams of the innocent and a powerful curse besets the families of the elite". This sounded to me like urban fantasy meets historical fiction, which is kind of accurate, but I was hoping, based on what I had heard of the author, that this would not be a typical urban fantasy novel, and it certainly wasn't. Not that I have any problems with urban fantasy, it's just that I think I've kind of ODed on them for now and it just wasn't what I was looking for.

It turns out that the urban fantasy meets historical fiction description is pretty accurate, but it's also not your typical urban fantasy novel. In modern urban fantasy, the paranormal has been made human, so I guess that's what I was expecting. You know, vampires are really humans who just happen to be nocturnal and drink blood, but they're very sexy and usually disgustingly wealthy, and ghosts are just misunderstood and all they really want is a way out of here so they can go into that bright white light.

This was not the case here. Vampires are scary. Demons come in all forms, including voices in your head that tell you to murder your spouse and ghosts entice you to try new things like jumping off of rooftops. It is implied that two different mysterious people are actually the same demon, but it's never confirmed. The demons in this novel retain an air of mystery that I'm just not used to seeing any more. While that took some getting used to, I think I really liked it. It reminded me of the truly scary ghost stories I used to read/watch as a kid.

I'm still not entirely sure how the curse worked. It was mostly explained in the epilogue (which was, hands down, the best part of the entire book), but that really only explained why four people were affected. It didn't really explain to me why the rest of the town was affected, and I'm still trying to figure out how Upton Sinclair fit into everything. Oates managed to tie him in with some of the main characters at the very end, and while I was gratified by that, I'm not sure it was necessary. It leaves me wondering if Oates was using the curse to make some sort of commentary on capitalism and the Gilded Age. I think she was, but I'm not sure.

Don't rely on my dense opinion, though. Read the book and decide for yourself, because I just wrote myself into it: I really liked this book.

The Civil War Diary of Clara Solomon

OK, you guys, last Civil War book for awhile, I promise. This one was actually really interesting. Not that I anticipated that it wouldn't be, it's just that I was oddly fascinated by it and I'm not quite sure why. The diary was written in New Orleans and only covers the first year or two of the war. At the beginning of the diary, Clara is fifteen and she is seventeen by the time the diary ends. Despite the fact that there is a war going on, which she does mention frequently, she is still a typical fifteen-year-old. She is shallow and self-absorbed and most of her concerns were related to things like who her best friend was that week.

I don't think that Clara and I would have gotten along if we had ever met in real life. And since I generally don't like fiction written from the POV of a teenage girl, I have a hard time explaining why I was so absorbed by this girl's diary. Most of her concerns were petty, every-day concerns, but I found myself wrapped up in them anyway. I wanted to know about the arguments at school and who insulted whom and who Clara was obsessed with that week.

Despite the fact that I found it entertaining, I obviously read the book because I was hoping it would give me an insight into what life for my characters was like during the first two years of the war, and that it certainly did. Although I knew about the rise in prices and all of the problems with Confederate currency, it really makes a difference to hear about how it affected a young girl's day-to-day life. It's also nice to know that, although it was clearly a major issue, the war was not the only thing that people were talking about. They still had their parties and their card games and went about visiting. Speaking of which, I think that's something we need to bring back as a society. Just dropping by each other's homes to pay a visit just for the hell of it. Sure they might be out, and they might not be expecting you, but who cares? We need more physical interaction.

This book also inspired me to start writing in my diary again. I have not done that yet, and I'm not sure I really have the time for it, especially given the fact that Clara kept complaining about how time consuming it was to write in her diary on a regular basis. Nonetheless, I think it's a good idea to write things down every now and again, if only to keep track of one's thoughts and feelings.

Dark Places

by Gillian Flynn

Having fallen in love with Gillian Flynn while reading "Gone Girl", it didn't take much to convince me to read this one. A coworker read it before I did and let me take her copy. I was so excited.

As soon as I started reading it, I was reminded of why I love Gillian Flynn so much. She is a superb writer and her attention to detail is simply astonishing. Part of this book takes place in 2009 from one character's perspective while the rest takes place in 1985 from the perspective of two other characters. There are so many little jokes and sayings that pass between two characters in one chapter and then show up in another character's thoughts in another chapter. It did a wonderful job of demonstrating how we're all connected, especially to our family and how things (including sayings, attitudes, etc.) get passed down from one generation to another.

The ending actually kind of disappointed me. I saw it coming from MILES away! And I'm not good at mysteries. I'm not supposed to be able to figure out who dunnit half way through the book. I want to feel like the author is more clever than I am, but I just didn't get that here (not to say that Gillian Flynn is less intelligent than I am. The woman has sold millions of copies of her books and I haven't even published one yet). My favorite part of "Gone Girl" was how utterly shocked I was when I started reading Part II (if you've read it, you know exactly what I'm talking about). That thrilled me and I was hoping to get that again here. Instead, I think Flynn showed her hand way too early in this book. On the other hand, it's only her second book, so I can forgive her for it.

The ending was also disappointing because two characters really let me down. One of them I was pissed at for taking what I think of as the easy way out. The other sat by and did nothing in an extreme situation. I just didn't believe it. He was portrayed as a passive person throughout the book and that was supposed to be his excuse, but I didn't buy it. I'm a pretty passive person, too, but in THAT situation, you'd better believe I'd do something!

Image taken from http://moondreamin.blogspot.com/2011/04/see-through-trees.html

When the Devil Came Down to Dixie

Ben Butler in New Orleans

by Chester G. Hearn

I warned you guys that there would be a lot of Civil War books on here. I'm reading one more now which I'm hoping will be the last one for awhile. Since I'm already pretty immersed in writing my novel, I'm hoping that I've gotten most of the research out of the way by now.

I really liked this one. It amused me in addition to teaching me a lot. I think Benjamin Butler was a fascinating person and I would love to read more about him. While the book left me applauding some of the things he did, I think it did a pretty fair job of providing an objective perspective. Butler did a lot of good things but he was also extremely corrupt. He amassed huge amounts of money which seem to have appeared out of thin air.

On the other hand, he was unusually aware of the needs of the poor. He was furious with the wealthy Southerners who were fighting this war at the expense of the poor and the slaves. Seems kind of hypocritical for a man who spent his life using illegal means to hoard disgusting amounts of money, if you ask me. But hey, he did act to help the poor, which is more than the rich plantation owners ever did, so I guess he wasn't all bad.

All in all, I think this was a great book to teach one about taking everything with a grain of salt. Having finished it, I don't feel comfortable labeling Benjamin Butler as a good guy or a bad guy. He falls pretty heavily into the gray area.