780 (2018 #3). Enchantress of Numbers

by Jennifer Chiaverini

This is a biographical novel about Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, daughter of the poet Lord Byron and the woman many consider to be the first computer programmer.  Ada died at age 36, so much of the book focuses on her childhood.  That part of the story is set up by a prologue in third person, told from the viewpoint of Ada's mother, which helps explain why she (the mother) was such a control freak.  Ada never met her father, as her parents separated shortly after she was born, and he left the country not long after that, dying when she was only eight.  Ada's mother feared the "madness" of her father would manifest in her daughter, and thus forbade anything that smacked of poetry or other creativity.  She did encourage the study of math and science, however.

The rest of the book is first-person Ada, and is rather unbelievable when Ada recalls her early childhood in minute (and impossible) detail.  There are a few anachronisms as well, with references to Ada swimming in 1828 (page 118), when it was very uncommon for women in England, especially the upperclass, to swim, and to her use of an air mattress (page 128) in 1830, when it was not invented until 1889.

I think this book would have been much better if its 433 pages had run at least a hundred less.  Jennifer Chiaverini does not devote much attention to Ada's mathematical pursuits, and her chronicling of Ada's illnesses and studies and frustrations with her mother's restrictions gets rather tiresome. 

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This print book was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]

779 (2018 #2). Barkskins

by Annie Proulx,
read by Robert Petkoff

This is an epic (713 pages in print) novel tracing two families involved in different ways in the timber industry in North America (primarily - also a bit in New Zealand as well).  It starts in 1763 with two French immigrants to Canada, René Sel and Charles Duquet.  Both are indentured servants, but Duquet runs away and becomes a successful fur trader - and eventually a timber baron, changing his surname to Duke.  Sel marries a Native American woman, and their descendants work in the forest, but rarely own much.

The book then follows down each line about six generations, to 2013.  Along the way, the two families intersect.  Some characters are more memorable than others.  In particular, I liked René's great-great grandson Jinot Sel and his (mis-)adventures in New Zealand, as well as Lavinia Duke Breitsprecher, who is about as ruthless in business as her great-great-grandfather Charles.

The stories move all over the world too, from Nova Scotia and Maine to France, London, Amsterdam, New Zealand, China, and the Amazon, as well as to various American cities (Boston, Detroit, Chicago) as the Duke company enterprises move westward.  Lots of period details make the settings come alive.  It's obvious author Annie Proulx has done her research.

The book also has ecological themes, on the impacts of deforestation as well as the decimation of native populations.  The ecological message gets a little heavy-handed at the ending of the book, which is also rather abrupt and unsatisfyinng (at least to me).

Actor Robert Petkoff is an outstanding reader on the audiobook, creating appropriate accents and voices for each character that help to distinguish them.

A three-page PDF can be downloaded from the e-audiobook edition (in OverDrive) and viewed with Adobe Digital Editions.  Besides the cover image, it contains the family trees (which are hard to follow) that also found in the print edition.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[The e-audiobook, and a print copy for reference, were borrowed from and returned to my university library and local public library respectively.]

778 (2018 #1). Anne Boleyn, A King's Obsession

by Alison Weir

This is the second in noted Tudor historian Alison Weir's fictional series, "Six Tudor Queens," about the wives of Henry VIII.  At 541 pages, this one is a little shorter than the first in the series, but would still have benefitted from some trimming.  The long seven years when Henry was waiting for his first marriage to be annulled are quite tedious.

Much more interesting were the first and last parts of the book.  I knew Anne Boleyn had spent time in the French court, but was not aware that she had also spent time in the Netherlands under the regency of Margaret of Austria, who was a capable ruler.  Weir implies that these two experiences led to Anne's progressive attitudes, and she also supposes that Anne did not love Henry beyond his capability of putting her in a powerful position.

Once Anne and Henry do marry, the book gets interesting again.  Weir sets up various situations that could explain Anne's innocence of the charges later brought against her.  Her depiction of Anne's death is rather gruesome.  All her suppositions are explained in an eight-page author's note, but there are no references in this work of fiction.  Oh, and the family tree at the beginning of the hardbound edition I borrowed is very messed up in layout.

Weir sums up her purpose with this book in the author's note as follows:

In writing this novel from Anne's point of view, I have tried to reconcile conflicting views of her, and to portray her as a flawed but very human heroine, a woman of great ambition, idealism, and courage who found herself in an increasingly frightening situation.

I think Weir succeeded.  I will be reading the rest of the books in this series.

© Amanda Pape - 2018

[This book was borrowed from and returned to my local public library.]