What I read, February 2013

I didn't read quite as many books in February as I did in January, but then I did start January with a substantial chunk of Christmas holidays...  We had a week off in February, but we did more going out and about, I think.  Also, the first book I read in February was really long, which didn't help!  Anyway, here's what I thought:

• The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff.  A novel about several Mormon women who have been wives of polygamists - a modern day, fictional woman who was a wife of a leader of a polygamist, breakaway sect and a fictionalised account of the experiences of a wife of Brigham Young, whose experiences were important (among other things) in leading to the banning of polygamy within the main body of the LDS church. I wasn't sure about this at first, but I found it well-written and interesting and not quite as vitriolic as it might have been given the issues involved. However, it was really long.  I mean, really, really long. Not in a bad way, exactly  - it almost never felt as though it were dragging, and the flipping between history and modern times helped with the pace, but it's sure not a quick read. 
• Guard Your Daughters, Diana Tutton.  A novel somewhat in the vein of Nancy Mitford, etc. Light and yet serious as well. Not, however, quite as witty as Mitford. Also been compared to I Capture the Castle, but I didn't like it as much as that. I can see it's a similar type of coming-of-age in that sort of family novel, though.
• The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman.  A book probably technically aimed at young adults but eminently readable by all.  As with all of Gaiman's work, the world he's created is interesting and compelling. I didn't like this quite as much as Neverwhere or Stardust, but it's darn close.
• The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey.  Not quite sure how to describe this one - on the one hand, it's quite a realistic depiction (though not so brutal as some) of settlers in Alaska, but on the other hand, it's almost a fairy tale.   I'm a fan of magical realism and books that combine the real world with other realms (in fact, thinking about all, almost all of my favourite fantasy novels do this - perhaps not quite all of them, but most), so this was definitely up my alley.  I also liked that the resolution was somewhat ambiguous, but not so much as to frustrate you - it just didn't answer all the questions in easy, obvious ways.
• Watership Down, Richard Adams. A re-read - not sure how many times I've read this - loads. Sarah had loaned our copy to a friend and I thought - Hey, I haven't read that in a while - so I did. Watership Down is a classic - if you haven't read it - do. No matter how many times I do, I still hold my breath during the tense bits - as though I didn't know how it was going to come out!  It's saying something when a book can do that even on re-reading...
• The Pirate King, Laurie R King.  The latest (or at least, the latest I'm up to) in Laurie King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. These are always clever and witty and this was no exception, though it had a few more flights of fancy than some of the Russell/Holmes books (which actually, was a bit of a relief as the last two were pretty heavy going in theme). Plus, I'm a sucker for Gilbert and Sullivan, so I enjoyed that aspect of it.  If you've not read the rest of the series, I think you'd feel a bit bemused by much of this - but I do love the series (first book: The Beekeeper's Apprentice) and am always happy to read another - I'd been saving this for a treat.
• Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck.  I'd read this ages ago - probably when I was about 15 or 16. Sarah is doing an essay on it as a large part of her English GCSE, so I offered to re-read it to better be able to read through her prep-essay and offer comments. (They know what the assessment question will be, so they can write to that theme in advance as much as they like, though of course they can't take any of that work into the assessment with them.)  Anyway, I knew it was a short book, so I didn't mind re-reading (and anyway, I like Steinbeck).  I had forgotten just how cheery the book was (not) but also, had forgotten the beauty of the sparsity of Steinbeck's prose and the poignancy of aspects of the novella, so it was lovely to revisit it.  There are reasons (usually - I could argue otherwise in a couple of cases) why the classics are classics.
• Cross Bones, Kathy Reichs. Number 8 or so in the Tempe Brennan series.  I enjoy this series for light reading - they are usually well constructed and the characters aren't too annoying.  This wasn't one of my favourites as the plot seemed a bit silly (for those of you who read the series - this is the one set in Israel), but it was a good way to unwind.
• The Distance Between Us, Maggie O'Farrell.  Technically, I still have about 20 pages of this to read, but I expect I'll finish it tonight or tomorrow at the latest, so it counts for February. I've read some of O'Farrell's other books - definitely After You'd Gone and The Hand that First Held Mine and also, I think, My Lover's Lover, though I can't quite remember it.  I remember finishing After You'd Gone and thinking it was really fantastic; this one is similarly good, though not quite as page-turningly tense - it's building up at the moment, though, so who knows.  Definitely worth reading, though.