Phoenix Rising

Hot Chicks Read Too...The Virgin's Lover

The Virgin's Lover - Philippa Gregory

In 1558, the bells toll the beginning of Elizabeth I's reign. In the household of the Dudley's, the emotions heralding in Elizabeth's reign are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Robert, a disgraced member of the peerage is elated as he is the new Queen's favorite. His wife, Amy, curses the queen because she knows her as the one true rival for her husband's love.

A young Queen Elizabeth, having lived most of her life in the Tower and fearing for her life really trusts only two men, Robert Dudley whom she has created Master of the Horse and William Cecil, her most faithful adviser. Gregory is masterful in her detail of Elizabeth's shaky ascension to the throne and the elements that threaten to topple her. What history doesn't allow us to see is Elizabeth, a woman ruler in her own right, really suffering under the weight of her crown. The male advisers of her Privy Council advise Elizabeth daily that she needs a strong man to govern by her side. Of course, England's new religion makes finding a husband hard. Dudley, heady with the power as her favorite, soon begins to see himself as the King of England.

There is just one problem...his wife.

Dudley, when deep in his disgrace, shared Amy's vision for a provincial life. Yet, once his star begins to rise in the Tudor Court, he abandons Amy. Dudley treats his wife Amy shamefully. It is hard not to sympathize with a young Amy Dudley so full of love for her husband. She is shunted from family member to family member while Robert gallivants at court. It is apparent that Robert sees Amy as detrimental to his success. Amy becomes an outcast in every village that she visits because she is so out of favor with her husband. He leaves it to family members and gossip-mongers to detail the state of their marriage. History portrays Elizabeth as the Virgin Queen, but in this novel Dudley beds her well...and often.

While we don't doubt Dudley's affection for Elizabeth, his thirst for power is obvious. Gregory portrays Elizabeth as needing Dudley in order to make decisions and rule effectively. Dudley begins dictating matters of state. Elizabeth, ever her father's daughter, knows this is a problem. Yet, she cannot tell her lover no. Elizabeth and the wily Cecil come up with a plan to taint Dudley so that he cannot think to become King. Gregory details the murder of Amy Dudley and the incrimination of Robert Dudley. Although history doesn't know how Amy Dudley died, Gregory's portrayal of a power mad Dudley can certainly been seen as the impetus.

The Virgin's Lover was an incredible and enjoyable read. Gregory is definitely a master story teller and I look forward to her other novels.

Hot Chicks Read Too...The Myth of You and Me

The Myth of You and Me - Leah Stewart

A guy friend once told me that short of another dude stealing his wallet, there wasn't too much that could end male friendships. As a woman, I know that we females sometimes have so many nuances and what seems like the smallest thing can cause irreparable damage.

The Myth of You and Me is the story of Cameron and Sonia. Cameron, a Navy brat and tall for her age, meets Sonia, daughter of the school's nutty French teacher and the numbers version of a dyslexic, form a bond of friendship so strong that when it cracks, Sonia is left wondering if she imagined all the things they did together.

Ten years after their break, Sonia writes Cameron a letter telling her of her upcoming wedding. True to her nature, Cameron refuses to respond to Sonia. When Cameron's meddlesome employer dies, he leaves a wedding gift that he requests Cameron deliver to Sonia. Knowing Cameron better than she knows herself, the gift to Sonia is really a letter to Cameron in which he says his goodbyes.

While the storyline may seem contrived, Stewart writes very believable characters and you can imagine the presumptuousness under which the story takes place. At its best, Myth is a bittersweet reminder of the friendships that we've all had that soured. I found myself with tears in my eyes remembering my best friend from the ninth grade how much fun we had, our final argument, and then running into her in the parking lot of Linens n Things and us both being caught so off guard that we rushed into each other's arms as if it were 1993 again.

The trade edition of Myth includes a reader's guide and stories from women all over America detailing their broken friendships.

Hot Chicks Read Too...Wicked

Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West - Gregory Maguire

       I was GEEKING to read this book. Clocking in at 406 pages, it was like approaching a Bible. But, I was up to the task.

      Maguire retells the story of the Wizard of Oz from Elphaba's, the Wicked Witch of the West, point of view. Elphaba is not a classically trained witch, but a poor green girl. The daughter of a fanatic minister and an alcoholic highborn whore, Elphaba is more than likely the get of an elf or the Wizard and a potion from his world which accounts for the green skin. A fierce child, who is scared of water, she never really calms down until the birth of her sister Nessarose, the Wicked Witch of the East. You know, the one Dorothy's house took out, who owned the ruby slippers. Nessarose, also born on the wrong side of the blanket and without arms, takes up most of Elphaba's childhood.

     Elphie goes off to Shiz the university, where her roommate is Galinda, who will become Glinda the Good Witch (Hail! Hail! The Gang's All Here!!) At Shiz, Elphie becomes entrenched in Animal rights. Animals, as opposed to animals, have souls and are just like humans. However, the coming of the Wizard ushers in a new world order where Animals are persecuted, villagers are set against each other and no one knows who is a spy for the wizard. Elphie meets her lover, Fiyero, a Vinkus prince. She's ultimately responsible for his death.

    What is amazing about this novel is how Maguire totally turns our preconceived notions about the characters in the Wizard of Oz and turns them on their ear. Elphaba has a droll sense of humor, she is blunt, but not  unkind and most of all misunderstood because of her green skin. What drives Elphaba is not wickedness, but moreso a knowledge that no one ever really loved her. Glinda is not a good witch. She is a snob who married up and dabbles in sorcery for the novelty of it all. And Nessarose, whose birth portends Elphie's death, is an armless despot who hides her tyranny in her belief of the Unnamed God.

    The action of the book pales in comparison to the complexity of Elphaba's character. At times both sympathetic and enpathetic, we want her story to not end with a bucket of water pitched on her. But Maguire is true to Baum's story.

    Maguire's book is often dark and grim. Issues of religion, race, class and politics He tackles the question of What is Evil with almost a stalker like obsession. At the least Wicked is an extremely clever fantasy, taken a step further than its predecessor and given a Tolkien like quality. Maguire's ambitious first novel deserves a place on the book shelf with all the other fantasies.

Hot Chicks Read Too...Prep

Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld

Looking at the cover, I wasn't sure this was a book for adults. But it is clear that at adult Lee is chronicling her four years at prep school. Lee is a girl from Indiana who manages to win a scholarship to a presitigious prep school in Massachusetts called Ault. As with all prep schools in literature, they are modeled after Philips Andover in Massachusetts. Of course, we are treated to an outsider's view of the privilged life of prep school students. Lee is awkward and annoying at times as she tries to shun the priviliged lifestyle and is even more disturbing when she tries to fit in with the lifestyle. Unlike most high school students, Lee never manages to find her niche and is never comfortable with herself. Despite receiving an academic scholarship, Lee flounders with her schoolwork and is almost kicked out of Ault because of poor math grades. Lee's roommate, Martha, a prefect and a paragon in Lee's eyes, finishes the math exam when Lee gives up. Yes, the students are allowed to take exams back to their room's to complete. Lee eventually tears her draws with the school when she is interviewed by the New York Times about prep schools. Lee gives the marginalized white person response and earns the emnity of the whole school. Lee graduates and heads to the University of Michigan, clearly a poor college for a prep school graduate.

Critics compare Sittenfeld's Lee with Saliger's Holden Caulfield which is utterly ridiculous. Holden had more personality, even in his craziness, than Lee did. I was concerned with Holden when Cather in the Rye ended. With Prep, I was just glad it had ended. Lee reminded me more of Gene Forrester from A Separate Peace. Her envy and her clear need to belong at no matter the price was uncomfortable. Lee and Martha's relationship mirrored that of Gene and Finny. One could speculate that Lee getting Martha to cheat for her is akin to Gene pushing Finny out of the tree. Both have devastating consequences.

Prep is a New York Times Bestseller and one of the NYT's Book Reviews best 10 books of the year. Despite all the praise this book has received, I just can't get behind it. Certainly, this has nothing to do with Sittenfeld's writing. It's obvious that she is talented and has managed to capture the angst of an adolescent girl as if she had just lived through the stage. But Prep's Lee Fiora is just a plain unlikeable character.