The Saturday Morning Post (No. 103)

 

Oh my! Here we go down another rabbit hole! Maybe it's a rabbit warden. In any event, the books I have for you today, and indeed, I have two, since they are novella length rather than novel length, where the suggestion of my daughter, after learning that I had read a Jane Austen book. She thought I would like them. She said I could read them on Kindle Unlimited. I didn't have Kindle Unlimited. But she assured me that I could get a couple of months for free if I looked around... and then read them for free. Well, the best deal on Amazon itself was one one month free, or two months for $.99. Good enough. And well, since you can't take it with you, or send it on ahead, I opted for the two month deal.

My reviewer criteria. I like light, entertaining novels. I like smaller scale stories rather than epics. I like character focused novels featuring pleasant characters, with a minimum number of unpleasant ones. I greatly value clever and witty writing. I like first person, or close third person narratives. I dislike a lot of "head jumping" between POVs and flashbacks. I want a story, not a puzzle. While I am not opposed to violence, I dislike gore for the sake of gore. I find long and elaborate fight, action, and battle sequences tedious. Plot holes and things that happen for the convenience of the author annoy me. And I fear I'm a born critic in that I don't mind pointing out what I don't like in a story. However, I lay no claim to be the final arbitrator of style and taste, you need to decide for yourself what you like or dislike in a book.

Your opinions are always welcome. Comment below. 

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 1  by Beth Brower  A

You might not think, judging from the cover, that this would not be a popular book, but trust me, it is. At the time I am writing this, it's Amazon's number 3673 on the best seller, which translates to selling something  like 66 copies a day. The thing about books is there's so many of them, so many types of books, with so many different types of readers, that you just can't imagine how wide a spectrum there is in reading. I bring that up as this book is an example of such an unexpected book and success.

Now, on to the book. 

As the title says, this is a fictional journal of Emma M Lion, an account of two months in the spring of 1883. It is set in London (ish?) England,  "ish" because this seems to be something of an alternative London fantasy. Not only do the street names do not match our London's St Crispin where this story is set.(This is common in historical fiction.) But there is a ghost, as well as the strange fact that the residents' personal items seem to turn up in other people's houses for no explicable reason. Oh, and the signs are either upside down or backwards. Otherwise it seems set in a fictional, but almost historical London of the period.

The journal begins when the twenty year old Emma arrives in London's, St Crispin's neighborhood, after having spent the last three years looking after an ancient and unpleasant cousin Matilda. She is the heir to Lapis Lazuli house in London's St Crispin neighborhood, once she turns 21. However her cousin (by marriage) Archibald Flat has been living there for many years; a favor granted by Miss Lion's father. Mr Flat is an unpleasant man with a deep grudge against Emma, and sets her up in the garrot of her own house. And so Emma sets out on her new life as a semi-independent woman - as independent as any woman could be in 1883, which is to say, hardly at all. Unless one is willing to break the rules. And pay the consequences.

The book is written as a series of journal entries describing the house, its neighborhood, her friends, as well as offering glimpses of her past. At the end, we are introduced to a mysterious new tenant of Lapis Lazuli minor, who is to take up residence in a portion of the house split off to rent out  And as we leave this entry we have Emma's engaged by her aunt as the "counterpart" to her daughter, Emma's lovely and nice, cousin Arabella Spencer, during her first "season" as she is introduction to London society to land a wealthy husband. Emma is expected to look dowdy enough to enhance the beauty of Arabella. 

The charm of this book is, for me, the writing, clever, witty, and as engaging as Emma who "writes" it. It is merely an introduction to the tale, which I believe currently numbers 8 volumes. I've been told that the pace picks up in volume 3, but I'm in no hurry. And well, you can read these slim volumes in a day.

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 2  by Beth Brower  A

Each of these volumes recount two months in the life of Emma M Lion. My daughter described these books as about this young woman who lives in London in the 1880's and goes about and does things. And so far, that about all that I can tell you. In these first volumes the reader is introduced to a lot of interesting characters who you know will play their parts in the series going forward, but just how... That is the question. Or rather questions. Lots of them.

As I may have hinted in the introduction to the volume 1, this is a wonderfully strange book, delightfully written. I don't know if there are more books like this, but I have to doubt it. Sometimes, reading these books, and some of the others I've read over the last several years, I find myself amazed at the pure and original creativity that books like this represent. Imagination is such a wonderful gift. And when it is paired with a gift of wit and a way with words, well, reading it makes you glad you're alive to be able to enjoy them.

I've read these first two books in two days. They are short, but it looks like the books get longer as the series goes on. If you have Kindle Unlimited, give them a try for yourself. You see my grade. Very highly recommended.