The Bombay Prince : A Mystery of Murder and Unrest In 1920's Bombay

 I've been blogging so minimally lately that I wonder if readers have given up on this blog.  I wish I could say that I'm going to do better in the future, but I can't promise that.   At this point, I don't think I'll be able to be any more reliable during the remainder of the year. 

                              

The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey is a Mistry mystery.  The protagonist is Perveen Mistry, and this book is the third in the series.   I reviewed the first book in the series, The Widows of Malabar Hill on Flying High Reviews here.   I received a digital copy of The Bombay Prince from Edelweiss, but I mainly read a print version of this book that I checked out from my local library.

One of the aspects of The Bombay Prince that drew my interest was that it deals with the actual historical unrest in India over the arrival of the British Prince of Wales in  Bombay, which is now called Mumbai, during November of 1921. 

In  The Bombay Prince, Perveen went to a protest over the Prince's visit. An American journalist was also there.  He was from The San Francisco Chronicle.  I consulted Wikipedia which informed me that this newspaper was founded in 1865.  Perveen commented to the journalist that no one read The San Francisco Chronicle in India.  I'd imagine that Indians who read foreign newspapers in 1921 would have been more likely to have been reading British newspapers.

 I think that this Mistry mystery felt much less distanced than the previous book in the series,  The Satapur Moonstone, which  I had considered skipping.  I was much more pleased with The Bombay Prince because it was rooted in real history. I also thought that  the inclusion of all the themes that are central concerns for Perveen made The Bombay Prince my favorite of the Perveen Mistry series.

There was the theme of prejudice against Parsis, the theme of English dominance of India, class snobbery and the suppression of women by men who don't respect them.

 I'm hoping that Perveen Mistry will continue to deal with significant issues in future Mistry mysteries.

                                

 

 

                           

Pyotr: A Biographical Book About Tchaikovsky

 When I end up reading two books in a row that take place in the same country in a similar period, I tend to feel less interested in the second one than I might have been otherwise. This was actually the first of two books taking place in pre-revolution Russia, but it's the second one I'm reviewing due to the deadline I had for the review I just posted.  I'm feeling disinclined to make the effort to write another review at this point. Tchaikovsky doesn't deserve that treatment.  So I'm going to read something completely different and come back to this review later.

6/4/21

I read a contemporary mystery with paranormal elements as a nice change of pace.  Ah, that's better!

 The book I reviewed before this one contained a Tchaikovsky memorial being planned and constructed during the reign of Nicholas II.   (It was not the Tchaikovsky State House-Museum in Klin that is the actual Russian Tchaikovsky memorial.  This was a complex that was designed by the architect who was that book's protagonist.  See The Fabergé Secret by Charles Belfoure which I reviewed here.)  So in some ways, it felt like a sequel to Pyotr by Steve Moretti and Paul van Geldrop.  I received an ARC of Pyotr from Steve Moretti and I'm reviewing it voluntarily.

                                    

   Pyotr contains elements of non-fiction biography and analysis as well as fictional scenes.  I remember reading a novel about the Russian aviator, Lilya Litvyak, that had considerable documentation included in the text.  So I called it a docunovel.  See my review of Call Sign: White Lily here.  It seems to me that Pyotr is another docunovel.  So perhaps docunovel can be considered a book category.

 I am  a lover of Russian classical music.  My favorite is the 20th century composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. (See his article on Wikipedia here.)Tchaikovsky would definitely be second for me, but I would still consider Tchaikovsky a great composer.  When I was a child his 1812 Overture was one of the pieces that I listened to constantly on my record player. (That was the musical technology that was available at the time.) 

Pyotr tells us that  Tchaikovsky met his lover Victor at what we would call a gay bar.  Victor said he was willing to support Tchaikovsky while he learned how to compose music. 

Tchaikovsky's instructor, Anton Rubenstein, told Tchaikovsky to "reincarnate" Beethoven's music.  Tchaikovsky didn't know what that meant or how he could do that. Reincarnation of people involves someone being reborn as a different individual.  Some religions believe that reincarnation happens in order to deal with issues that hadn't been dealt with in previous lives.  It seems to me that a composer might come to the realization that a piece of music composed by Beethoven hadn't completely addressed its theme.  There was more to say about that theme musically.  That composer could then write a new piece to deal with that theme more thoroughly.  It might then possibly be considered a reincarnation of what was originally a work by Beethoven. 

Later when Tchaikovsky had become a composer, he taught students of composition.  A student was sent to Tchaikovsky who was a violinist.  His name was Iosif.  He had started to compose a violin concerto.  Tchaikovsky was attracted to Iosif, and was interested in an unusual violin technique that Iosif used.  Tchaikovsky and Iosif collaborated on more than one violin concerto.  They quarreled and re-united much later.  So his feelings for Iosif weren't transient.

My perception is that Tchaikovsky's male lovers were supportive of his work and inspiring.  Yet Tchaikovsky struggled with internalized homophobia.  He wanted to be married to a woman and be cured of his homosexuality.  He did eventually marry, but the marriage didn't work.  Tchaikovsky did have a female patron whose financial contributions allowed him to maintain his career.

   The Tsar honored Tchaikovsky by making him a member of The Order of St. Vladimir.  I am linking to the Wikipedia article about this order.  Tchaikovsky is listed as one of the recipients in the article.  Andrew Carnegie also honored Tchaikovsky. His music was played at the very first concert at Carnegie Hall in New York.

This book humanized Tchaikovsky by showing us his struggles.  I wish that Tchaikovsky could have been born in a time when his homosexuality would have been more accepted.

 

                                     

 

 

The Fabergé Secret: A Novel From the Perspective of An Aristocratic Russian Architect

I wouldn't have known about the existence of The Fabergé Secret  by Charles Belfoure if  I hadn't encountered it on Book Sprout.  I had to prioritize this review over a book that I had finished previously because Book Sprout gave me a deadline for posting this review.

 

                                 

The Fabergé eggs that the Tsars of Russia cherished as art , were more than art in this novel.   They became a means of hidden communication.  While I was reading, it occurred to me that too many people had access to these eggs. I don't know why none of the characters seemed to realize this.  The Fabergé secret was too widely shared to really be a secret.  This was bound to get some people into huge trouble. That definitely wouldn't be a surprising development.  The element of suspense in the book was limited.The only question was when it would happen, not if it would happen. 

I did find the protagonist, Dmitri, very sympathetic.   Some readers might not find it credible that he didn't share so many of the prejudices of his class.  He did seem pretty modern in his outlook. Yet I felt that he was believably exposed to differing perspectives.  It was also believable to me that his friend, Tsar Nicholas II, was so hermetically sealed away from the general population that he couldn't transcend his limited way of looking at the world.  

I suspect that it's possible that author Charles Belfoure may not have always researched his portrayals of the Jewish characters.  The most notable example was the Jewish Baron inviting a non-Jewish character who liked challah to a Passover seder saying that there would be plenty of challah.  On Passover all leavened bread like challah would be forbidden.  They would have been eating the unleavened matzoh instead.

The high level conspiracy behind the anti-Jewish pogroms revealed in this novel seemed so similar to the current white supremacist conspiracy to attack Black communities.  Both conspiracies seem so culturally insidious, but neither are inevitable.  I'd like to think that over time there will be so many more people like Dmitri that racist conspiracies will no longer be viable.

                                      

                                 

 

The Anglophile's Notebook: The Life of a Woman Writer

 I haven't reviewed anything here in a long while because I was moving, and didn't have the time. 

 I was asked to review The Anglophile's Notebook, the first novel by Sunday Taylor.  I was expecting it to have more of a central focus on Charlotte Bronte, but it's primarily about fictional protagonist Claire Easton.  Claire intended to write a book about people fascinated with the Brontes and how this obsession impacts their lives. I would be interested in reading about that topic, but The Anglophile's Notebook isn't really about Claire's book.  It's predominately about her life, and the lives of other characters in her orbit.

                                       

 

Claire continued to hold my interest because I felt that we shared some traits and common concerns.  So I was willing to read about  Claire's marriage problems and her personal history even though I found these details unremarkable.

I discovered that Claire and I didn't share artistic tastes. I looked up her favorite painting and wasn't impressed with it.  It was "The Swing" by Jean-Honoré Fragonard which can be seen below.  I suspect it was considered very risqué when Fragonard painted it.

                               

There were characters that were presented as possible villains.  I prefer books without villains that have fully rounded characters who are more developed.  I imagine the intent was to place these individuals under suspicion when a terrible event occurred.  So readers could be less certain about who was responsible. 

I thought this book was competently written with the exception of one scene.   Claire and her sister had a long exchange about their mother.  Since they both knew all this information, they wouldn't have had such a conversation.   This was an awkward means of providing background to the reader.  It would have been more natural  for Claire to have discussed her mother with the man she was dating. I think  it would have been relatively easy to develop a pretext for telling him about things her mother had done.

I did wish that there had been more about the Brontes than about Claire. An old friend of mine used to say "us beggar types cannot be chooser types".  This is another way of saying that readers can't dictate to authors about what they will include in a novel.  Yet a reviewer can state a preference.

 

                                  

 

                                   

Dead on my Feet : A Mystery For A March Meeting

 I had almost reached the end of February.  It was at that point that I realized that I had read no mysteries in February so far. This rose to the top of my mind because the monthly meeting for a mystery discussion group that I attend was approaching.  So I started a mystery from the library and quickly abandoned it for lack of interest.  Then there was a mystery that I had recently downloaded for free from a multi-author mystery giveaway distributed via Book Funnel.  That one suffered the same fate as the library mystery.  

 I thought I had found a solution when I was approved that very day for a mystery from Edelweiss which distributes e-books for free in return for reviews.  This meant I was obligated to finish and review it, or I might not be approved for any books from Edelweiss in the future.  That book was Dead on my Feet by Patricia Broderick.   

                                  

 

Unfortunately, I hadn't finished this third novel in time for the mystery group meeting, but I had reached the milestone of 82% in the Kindle version.  At that point, I felt fairly certain about whodunit and had some conclusive opinions about the characters and plot.    Since finishing it my views haven't changed.

When I spoke to the book club I wasn't mistaken about whodunit, but I only knew who the person was in general.  I actually wasn't  aware that there was more about the individual that needed to be revealed.  The truth was that I didn't know what I didn't know. 

 I have to say that calling the protagonist Nellie Bly ,when the only thing she has in common with the real Nellie Bly was that she is a journalist, annoyed me. There was also a not very believable incident involving a character locked in a trunk, and another incident that I considered over the top.  Finally, since I pretty much knew whodunit at 80% , there wasn't much suspense afterward.  So I'm not a fan of this mystery.  

I have to admit that I'm in a poor mood because I need to move this month, and I never like moving.  Who does?  I might have been more inclined to like this book in other circumstances though I doubt it.

                                       

The Far Away Girl: Blog Tour and Review

This is my first blog tour of  2021.   I agreed to join the tour for The Far Away Girl by Sharon Maas and received a digital ARC for review from the publisher.  The description, cover, author's bio, photo and   associated links below were also provided by the publisher.  I personally checked all the links to make sure that they were valid.

 

                                               

 Description:

She dreamed of finding a new life…

Georgetown, Guyana 1970. Seven-year-old Rita is running wild in her ramshackle white wooden house by the sea, under the indulgent eye of her absent-minded father. Surrounded by her army of stray pets, free to play where she likes and climb the oleander trees, she couldn’t feel more alive.

But then her new stepmother Chandra arrives and the house empties of love and laughter. Rita’s pets are removed, her freedom curtailed, and before long, there’s a new baby sister on the way. There’s no room for Rita anymore.

With her father distracted by his new family, Rita spends more time alone in her bedroom. Desperate to fill up the hollow inside her, she begins to talk to the only photo she has of her mother Cassie, a woman she cannot remember.

Rita has never known what happened to Cassie, a poor farmer’s daughter from the remote Guyanese rainforest. Determined to find the truth, Rita travels to find her mother’s family in an unfamiliar land of shimmering creeks and towering vines. She finds comfort in the loving arms of her grandmother among the flowering shrubs and trees groaning with fruit. But when she discovers the terrible bruising secret that her father kept hidden from her, will she ever be able to feel happiness again?

A beautiful and inspiring story that will steal your heart and open your eyes. Fans of The Secret Life of Bees, The Vanishing Half and The Other Half of Augusta Hope will be captivated by The Far Away Girl.

Author Bio

Sharon Maas was born into a prominent political family in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1951. She was educated in England, Guyana, and, later, Germany. After leaving school, she worked as a trainee reporter with the Guyana Graphic in Georgetown and later wrote feature articles for the Sunday Chronicle as a staff journalist.

Her first novel, Of Marriageable Age, is set in Guyana and India and was published by Harper Collins in 1999. In 2014 she moved to Bookouture, and now has ten novels under her belt. Her books span continents, cultures, and eras. From the sugar plantations of colonial British Guiana in South America, to the French battlefields of World War Two, to the present-day brothels of Mumbai and the rice-fields and villages of South India, Sharon never runs out of stories for the armchair traveler.

                                               

                                                                                                       SHARON MAAS

 https://www.sharonmass.com

https://twitter.com/sharon_maas

 

 MY REVIEW

I  really identified with Rita, the protagonist, in this intense coming of age novel mainly taking place in Guyana. Sharon Maas's portrayal of Rita's persistent search for the truth about the death of the mother she never knew made me feel the sense of loss at the center of her life.

The Far Away Girl isn't all high drama.  I enjoyed finding out about Guyanese customs such as flying kites on Easter Sunday.  I found this 2017 article on the subject in The Guyana Chronicle in which President David Granger stated that kite flying on Easter wasn't done in other parts of the Caribbean. Yet I found another article about other Caribbean nations where there is also a custom of Easter kite flying here. 

There was another character in The Far Away Girl that I liked.  He was Rita's cousin who was nicknamed Dutch.  Dutch became a pilot and flew visitors on wildlife tours.  Once, while flying over an unspoiled landscape, he told the passengers that it was going to be kept that way.  I'm sure the Lenape would have said the same when they were the inhabitants of the island of Manhattan before settlers from Holland colonized it.  I did appreciate that Rita and Dutch both loved the land.  

Here's an image of Kaieteur Falls in Guyana which is mentioned in this novel.

                                             

                             Sorenrisse at English Wikipedia, CC By S.A 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
                

Knowing that the author was born in Guyana made a great deal of difference in the way I viewed The Far Away Girl.  I'd like to thank Sharon Maas for sharing her world with us.

                                                                         

Buy Links

Amazon:  

 http://bit.ly/37AT1r1 

Apple:  

 http://apple.co/3ogBN8d

Kobo: 

  http://bit.ly/3lxsVt9 

Google:  

 http://bit.ly/2JwgEYN

                                               

 

 

 

 

The Sum of Us: Racism Benefits No One

Author Heather McGhee wants us to know that racist policies don't benefit anyone.  That's why she wrote The Sum of Us.  I downloaded it from Net Galley.  I didn't have a chance to start this review until now.  I was way too absorbed by what was happening in politics.  Now let's get back to book reviewing which is what I do on this blog.

                                    

                                

 

This book covers a variety of topics and provides historical perspective on each one.  I considered it thorough and insightful.

McGhee argues that when  racist whites are opposed to public services, it's not because they want smaller government.  It's because of their racism.  They don't want blacks to benefit.

When President Truman proposed government health insurance, 90% of the senior beneficiaries would have been white, but McGhee claims that the idea that any blacks would get health insurance was considered unacceptable.  This caused the introduction of union health benefits which hadn't existed previously. Eventually Medicare came into being twenty years later.

I was fascinated with the history of labor unions included in this book.  The Knights of Labor, founded in 1886 included whites, blacks and women, but in the 1890's  the American Federation of Labor unions didn't allow blacks to join. 

There was also another disturbing development in the 1890's. The National Guard were called out to break strikes. McGhee says that employers were calling the National Guard, but as I suspected it was really governors.  Employers don't have the authority to do that.  They needed the support of their state's governor.

The Congress of Industrial Organizations ,which began in 1935, re-integrated their unions which allowed unions to become more powerful.  When blacks, immigrants or women are excluded from unions, employers can hire these excluded categories of workers as scabs.  Scabs disrupt strikes.  Unions were at their peak during the 1950's.  After the 1950's unions have continuously declined.  This wasn't because of unions excluding people.  It was because employers began to ignore the laws that protected workers.  They illegally fired workers who tried to organize unions, and even shut down entire factories rather than deal with unions that were already in existence.  

There were numerous other developments involving labor organizing that I knew very little about--such as the Fight for $15 which has been racially inclusive.  

I consider voter registration a standard part of the voting process, but Heather McGhee says it began as a voter suppression tactic intended to prevent blacks from voting.   Registration is most difficult for people who move often.  McGhee says this includes the poor who are inaccurately thought to be largely non-white.  Presumably, she's talking about involuntary moves.  As a poor person myself, I've noticed that moving is expensive and I try to move as little as possible.   

McGhee points out that whites say in surveys that they prefer to live in racially integrated neighborhoods, but the overwhelming majority of whites don't.  As a case in point, I grew up in a white suburban neighborhood that my civil rights activist father chose to live in.  As an adult, I've mainly lived in integrated neighborhoods, and no they are not  "bad" neighborhoods.

McGhee also points out that in many localities polluting enterprises were deliberately situated in black neighborhoods, but the white neighborhoods nearby are also polluted.  Pollution doesn't stop at the border of the black neighborhoods.

McGhee concludes that the strength of the United States is in its diversity.  If we capitalize on it, we can become the nation we were meant to be.  For me, this is self-evident.