On "The Book of Boy": A Book Review

February is at its end and I've failed to post anything at all save this book review, which I fail to provide an image for...

Title: The Book of Boy
Author: Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Genre: Children's/YA Historical Fiction

About the Book...
Boy, though disfigured with a large hump and lacking in a past that causes him to be viewed with suspicion by others, is relatively happy working as a goat boy for a manor in 1300's France. Then one day a strange and unnerving pilgrim named Secundus comes to the manor and requests he come with him on a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter. As he finds out, though, Secundus isn't all he seems and is in fact intending to use him as an accomplice to steal a list of St. Peter's relics to fulfill his own needs. And once he gives in, Boy starts a journey that reveals much more about himself than he would have imagined.
  
Selected as a Newbery Honor Book.  

What I Think...
I tend to favor the Newbery Honor Books over the actual winner and this book is yet another example of that. I really thoroughly enjoyed this book from all perspectives. 

I love that it takes place in 1300's Europe, which is a time period of interest to me. It's not overly bogged down in facts, but it's apparent that attention has been given to the details. It is well written in a way that was appealing and that read quickly. Medieval dialog was applied here and there, as well, which added to the historical nature of the text, but is very subtle.

Murdock keeps you wondering through much of the book exactly where the story is headed slowly feeding the reader details that cause your perspective to shift along with the characters. She does this in a way where you know you need to be questioning some of the details, though not that draws a lot of attention to them. I also liked how she reveals the inner thoughts of Boy without focusing too much on them to the extent that you are seeing everything from his perspective instead allowing the reader to think for themselves about what's happening.

To Sum it All Up...
An interesting story with some lovely twists and turns and a lot of adventure in between!♥️

On "Dark Passage": A Book Review

Title: Dark Passage
Author: David Goodis
Genre: Fiction/ Crime Noir

About the Book...
Vincent Parry was locked up in San Quentin after being falsely accused of his wife's death. It's not long before he hatches a plan to escape, though, and with the help of a woman named Irene Jansen he begins to attempt to integrate himself back into society without being caught. Little does he know that this bring him right back into the web that got him into trouble in the first place and lead him to discover what really happened to his wife. 

This book was made into a movie in 1947 staring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Agnes Moorehead.

What I Think...
If you've seen the movie and like it, then you won't be disappointed with the book as they did a fairly decent job adapting it for screen. 

Unlike a lot of other crime novels of the time, this one is pretty low key when it comes to content, which was a nice change of pace. I like that in this one how most of the focus is on Parry trying to figure out how to resume his life without being caught rather than trying to seek revenge. There are parts of it that are predictable (though this might just be me having seen the movie three times that makes it more so--it's my favorite Bogart and Bacall film).

One thing that stands out that isn't captured in the movie is Goodis's use of color to define the characters, in particular to the two primary female characters, with Irene always being described in relation to more subtle colors and Madge, whose testimony put him behind bars, being described in more fiery colors. This touch really adds to the novel as a whole, in my opinion, and helps set the scene for certain passages. 

To Sum It All Up...
A great book that will be a pleasure to read for fans of the movie and if you're in the mood for a look at the darker side of humanity. ♥️     

On Sewing Thoughts In Progress: A Photo Post

Rainy weather brings about thoughts of warmer weather and which pattern I want to use for this flamingo fabric. Currently leaning towards the Advance pattern that just arrived in the mail today.

Also gives me something to do until I buy more of the purple fabric I need (because I bought one yard less than I needed) to continue working on what I am starting to think of an my "ice cream parlor coat". 
 

 ♥️ ♥️ ♥️

On "The Annoted Classic Fairy Tales": A Book Review

Title: The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales
Editor: Maria Tatar
Genre: Fiction, Non-fiction, Reference

About the Book...
Translated by and with an introduction by Maria Tatar, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales includes annotated versions of 26 fairy tale, sections with biographical information about their authors/collectors and illustrators, several appendices with variations of the annotated tales and the work of several illustrators, and finishes with a bibliography.  

What I Think...
This is my go-to reference book when it comes to fairy tales. 

It's beautifully laid out and not too overwhelming in the way that the information is presented. As with most of the larger annotated Norton collections the annotations are in the margin and in a slightly lighter color than the text, which I find preferable to footnotes. Each story also begins with a short introduction that goes over a little bit of the history behind the particular tale and the version included adding a greater context to the story as a whole.

I like that Tatar covers a range of collectors and illustrators, including 7 different authors/collectors and 9 illustrators, as opposed to just the Brothers Grimm or Andersen, with the works of most of those included being fairly even in number (exceptions being those who are really only known for writing one tale, such as Jean-Marie Leprince de Beaumont).

Another aspect I love about this book is the variety of illustrations included with each story giving a look at how perceptions of some of the tales have changed over time. That each one comes with its own very short commentary makes it all the better, though I do wish that some of the illustrations were larger. 

To Sum it All Up...
A lovely fairy tale book that can be read for pure enjoyment or to gain insight into some of the best known fairy tales and those who collected or wrote them.♥️