The Red Queen (**Bookring)
4 journalers for this copy...
(from book cover)
"On the cusp of a trip to Korea, Barbara Halliwell receives an unexpected package with no return address. Inside she finds a centuries-old memoir by a Korean crown princess that details the mysteries of the Korean court as well as the dramas that left the princess childless and her husband dead by his own hand. In Seoul, the intriguing Dr. Oo takes Barbara through the courts themselves, an experience that leaves her as enchanted by him as by the mysterious life of the princess. She returns to England spellbound, wondering whether her life can ever return to normal - and whether she truly wants to."
"On the cusp of a trip to Korea, Barbara Halliwell receives an unexpected package with no return address. Inside she finds a centuries-old memoir by a Korean crown princess that details the mysteries of the Korean court as well as the dramas that left the princess childless and her husband dead by his own hand. In Seoul, the intriguing Dr. Oo takes Barbara through the courts themselves, an experience that leaves her as enchanted by him as by the mysterious life of the princess. She returns to England spellbound, wondering whether her life can ever return to normal - and whether she truly wants to."
The Red Queen is starting on a journey.
Bookring participants are:
symphonica - Canada
eicuthbertson - Canada
dospescados - USA
amber - Australia
(someone else from Australia??)
...then back to LisaGriffith
Bookring participants are:
symphonica - Canada
eicuthbertson - Canada
dospescados - USA
amber - Australia
(someone else from Australia??)
...then back to LisaGriffith
I've mailed the book to symphonica today. Should take about a week to get there. Enjoy!
Journal Entry 4 by LisaGriffith at To the next participant in Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada on Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Released 17 yrs ago (5/10/2006 UTC) at To the next participant in Bookring/Bookray, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
RELEASE NOTES:
Caught! :) Just got this in the mail on a rainy tuesday. Am about 2/3 the way through my current read (which is a monutmental 1000 pages!) and then will be getting to this. The reviews and descriptions on the front and inside of this book are intriguing, and make me even more glad that I signed up for this bookring! Whoo hoo!
Will journal more once i have started reading it.
Will journal more once i have started reading it.
I read this book over 2 days as I travelled back and forth to Ottawa. So, somewhat ironically, i spent a lot of time reading this on a plane, much like Babs in the book, when she discovers and is captivated by the text about the Red Queen. And like Babs, I was also a little freaked out by some of the connections and overlaps and resonances that I encountered in this fairly intense reading session I had.
For me, the thing that I found a little freaky is the talk of doing the right thing for the wrong reason, or the wrong thing for the right reason. Didn't I just read about such things, with those exact words, in the other book I am reading, " Shantaram"? Very freaky, and I had a moment of wondering whether I was under the influence of Babs spirits and keepers... :)
So, to get to my review, I liked this book. It was indeed haunting, with moments of poignant pain and frantic energy. The first part in the voice of the Red Queen, for all of her incessant foreshadowing (okay... i get it... this will all end tragically....), was really good---- it really captured the inevitability of the situation, the causes and tragic effects, of being trapped and powerless, the moments of stolen joy, and subtly manipulating the situation and exerting the little power that she did have with grace and fortitude. I wish that she had not been so apologetic about her actions and reactions-- her confidence and smarts were apologized for, and she took a lot of time making sure we understood that she wasn't exactly sure if what she did was right (when honestly, i am sure at the time she did think it was right and owned the decisions she made). I hate it when strong women apologize for being strong. :) Also, the casual way she talked about the deaths of others in the story (particularly the underlings), and yet the poignant way she talked about the death of Sado was a somewhat weird contrast. Dozens of people died and lives were destroyed in tragic ways, but the culmination of the story was the death of Sado?? A bit myopic, non?
As for the part with Babs, it was good as well, though in my opinion, not as strong as the Red Queen's narrative (though this could just be about the setting--- I think it is easier for me to get caught up in unfamiliar worlds than modern day cityscapes). There were lots of subtle connections that were made between the two narratives, and i am glad that they weren't so explicitly spelled out. It is nice to have things nudge their way into interconnectedness, instead of tying things together too tightly and becoming obvious.
I also liked the theme of not believing in the fantastic and the superstitious and spiritual, but existing and interacting within those realms anyway. Both of these women didn't have much respect for the unexplainable, irrational parts of themselves, but like many of us, succumbed to them all the same.
In that vein, i wish that the magic and spiritual side of things had been played up more in the second half of the book. There was a touch of magic in the first part, but that was kind of lost in the second, and it would have been nice to have carried this feeling through the whole story. I also would have liked to see and know more about Dr. Oo--- what become of his friendship with Babs, how he felt about being dragged into all of this, etc... His significant role in this story was dropped, in my opinion. His role was magical, in a way, and i think if he had been fleshed out more, perhaps a little more of that magic would have been carried through. (or not--- who knows?)
But all in all, i did like this book, and am glad i read it. It was a great companion to have with me during my whirlwind 2 day trip, and i thank you for starting this bookray!
Have PMed the next in line, and will be sending it along next week!
____________________________
Update: Sent to BC May 30, 2006
For me, the thing that I found a little freaky is the talk of doing the right thing for the wrong reason, or the wrong thing for the right reason. Didn't I just read about such things, with those exact words, in the other book I am reading, " Shantaram"? Very freaky, and I had a moment of wondering whether I was under the influence of Babs spirits and keepers... :)
So, to get to my review, I liked this book. It was indeed haunting, with moments of poignant pain and frantic energy. The first part in the voice of the Red Queen, for all of her incessant foreshadowing (okay... i get it... this will all end tragically....), was really good---- it really captured the inevitability of the situation, the causes and tragic effects, of being trapped and powerless, the moments of stolen joy, and subtly manipulating the situation and exerting the little power that she did have with grace and fortitude. I wish that she had not been so apologetic about her actions and reactions-- her confidence and smarts were apologized for, and she took a lot of time making sure we understood that she wasn't exactly sure if what she did was right (when honestly, i am sure at the time she did think it was right and owned the decisions she made). I hate it when strong women apologize for being strong. :) Also, the casual way she talked about the deaths of others in the story (particularly the underlings), and yet the poignant way she talked about the death of Sado was a somewhat weird contrast. Dozens of people died and lives were destroyed in tragic ways, but the culmination of the story was the death of Sado?? A bit myopic, non?
As for the part with Babs, it was good as well, though in my opinion, not as strong as the Red Queen's narrative (though this could just be about the setting--- I think it is easier for me to get caught up in unfamiliar worlds than modern day cityscapes). There were lots of subtle connections that were made between the two narratives, and i am glad that they weren't so explicitly spelled out. It is nice to have things nudge their way into interconnectedness, instead of tying things together too tightly and becoming obvious.
I also liked the theme of not believing in the fantastic and the superstitious and spiritual, but existing and interacting within those realms anyway. Both of these women didn't have much respect for the unexplainable, irrational parts of themselves, but like many of us, succumbed to them all the same.
In that vein, i wish that the magic and spiritual side of things had been played up more in the second half of the book. There was a touch of magic in the first part, but that was kind of lost in the second, and it would have been nice to have carried this feeling through the whole story. I also would have liked to see and know more about Dr. Oo--- what become of his friendship with Babs, how he felt about being dragged into all of this, etc... His significant role in this story was dropped, in my opinion. His role was magical, in a way, and i think if he had been fleshed out more, perhaps a little more of that magic would have been carried through. (or not--- who knows?)
But all in all, i did like this book, and am glad i read it. It was a great companion to have with me during my whirlwind 2 day trip, and i thank you for starting this bookray!
Have PMed the next in line, and will be sending it along next week!
____________________________
Update: Sent to BC May 30, 2006
Thank you, LisaGriffith and symphonica.
I've been wanting to read this book for quite a while!
I've been wanting to read this book for quite a while!
A fascinating novel, I thought. Drabble is known for her well chosen words, and those are evident here.
This book is a bit more playful than most of hers, I felt, although it seems to end 'in a hurry'.
I loved thinking about the possible symbolism(s) of the tiny lacquered cabinet (womanly, perhaps), the screens-with-books & the Woodland Walk, and what of the meaning of kinship patterns in British Columbia (!) & the terrorist & the rapist under the 'Gallows' Bridge.
It seems to me this book's theme of survival includes an element of the need for exploration as well---whether intellectual or geographical---for both Barbara and the Crown Princess, and a little about the roles of fate, chance & determination in all our lives.
This book is a bit more playful than most of hers, I felt, although it seems to end 'in a hurry'.
I loved thinking about the possible symbolism(s) of the tiny lacquered cabinet (womanly, perhaps), the screens-with-books & the Woodland Walk, and what of the meaning of kinship patterns in British Columbia (!) & the terrorist & the rapist under the 'Gallows' Bridge.
It seems to me this book's theme of survival includes an element of the need for exploration as well---whether intellectual or geographical---for both Barbara and the Crown Princess, and a little about the roles of fate, chance & determination in all our lives.
This book will be off in the mail to Indiana, U.S.A. tomorrow.
