Hi everyone. Welcome back to Bibliophilia Book Reviews. In this post, I will be talking about my most surprising books of 2022. Here goes:
1. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
This book is a fictional account of the last months in the life of Agnes Magnusdottir, the last person to be executed in Iceland. She was killed on January 12th, 1830, for the deaths of Natan Kettilson and Pétur Jónsson. Based on true events that happened in Northern Ireland more than a hundred years ago, this book relates the events leading up to the murders and how Agnes is housed with a family in a nearby farm to await her execution. The axe head and the chopping block used to carry out her sentence are currently on display at Iceland’s National Museum.
Two women and one man are charged for the deaths of Natan Kettilson and Pétur Jónsson, but only Agnes Magnusdottir and Fridrik Sigurdsson are arrested, imprisoned, and later sentenced to death by trial. The second woman, Sigrídur Gunmundsdóttir, is later sentenced to life imprisionment. The book is called Burial Rites because both Agnes and Fridrik were denied Christian burial rites at the time of their deaths. Today, their bodies are buried at the place of their execution, in the churchyard at Tjörn.
This book is a very atmospheric read. The author’s writing easily transported me to 1829 in Danish-ruled Iceland, and I felt the ice and cold of this place while I was reading this novel. The weather in this book, I think, is as much a character in this story as Agnes herself and the author describes it in such a way so as to not let us forget about Agnes’ impending execution. The melancholic and dreary atmosphere of the Icelandic winter is a reminder that Agnes too is barren, cold, and soon to be dead.
2. Empress Orchid and The Last Empress by Anchee Min
This book relates the story of Empress Orchid, a character based on the historical figure of Empress Dowager Cixi, romanized Empress Dowager T’zu hsi, the last empress of China. Empress Orchid, the first book of a duology, follows Orchid’s life as a young woman as she seeks to become one the Emperor’s concubines after she is promised to a man that disgusts her. Against all odds, she is chosen as the Emperor’s fourth concubine, and is now out of the hated man’s reach. Despite her newly acquired royal status, however, she is still beneath the Emperor’s notice, and it is several months before he calls her to his bedroom. And he only does so when she bribes the Emperor’s head eunuch to do so. Soon thereafter, however, she becomes the Emperor’s favorite concubine.
The story takes place over a course of several years, and we follow Orchid as she tries to survive in the Forbidden City knowing that her position as the Emperor’s favorite is not secure. Orchid finds herself constantly at odds with the Emperor’s wife, who antagonizes her at every turn. Later, when she gets pregnant, Orchid is set aside by the Emperor but her status within the Forbidden City is elevated to that of Empress as well, due to her being the biological mother of the Empire’s heir and the only one of the Emperor’s many concubines to give him a son. However, her struggles with the Emperor’s wife don’t end as she takes precedence over Orchid as head of the Emperor’s household, and it is she who is responsible for Orchid’s (and her) son’s education. Thus, Tung Chih grows up a spoiled and ill-suited heir to the throne. The book ends with the death of Emperor Hsieng Feng and Orchid’s fight to make sure her son inherits the throne.
The second book, The Last Empress, continues Orchid’s story, now as a co-regent of the Empire of China and it focuses more on the politics of the Empire as well as the wars it suffered during the reigns of the Empire’s last two emperors and dowager empresses, wars that eventually led to the dissolution of Empire, the ruin of the Imperial family, and the birth of the Republic of China. Like its predecessor, this books relates events that took place throughout several decades and there are a lot of characters that come and go throughout those years that took a prominent role in the politics of China. However, amongst all of those, the one constant is Empress Dowager Cixi (Orchid), who lived past her seventieth birthday and passed away after reaffirming her nephew Puyi as the new heir of the Empire. However, after her death, the Empire soon crumbled and Puyi, the last recognized Emperor of China, soon became a puppet of the Japanese. Eventually, these conflicts would lead to the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Rape of Nanking.
I really enjoyed these two books and I would recommend them to anyone interested in reading about this period of time in Chinese history. This duology, however, is a fictional account of Empress Dowager Cixi’s life but both Empress Orchid and The Last Empress roused my interest in reading more about the Sino-Japanese wars. These are also the wars on which the hugely popular series The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang is based on. So books like Empress Dowager Cixi by Jung Chang, Imperial Twilight: The Opium War And The End of China’s Last Golden Age by Stephen R. Platt, and Imperial Women: The Story of the Last Empress of China by Pearl S. Buck are now on my TBR.
3. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Homegoing is a literary fiction novel about slavery. It is the story of Effia and Esi, two half-sisters unaware of each other. Effia becomes the wife of an Englishman in Cape Coast Castle in Ghana while Esi is imprisoned in the same castle, sold into slavery, and shipped to America. The following chapters follow a descendant of each one of these sisters through eight generations until we reach present day and we are shown how each one of their lives is intrinsically shaped and formed by the circumstances of their birth and the times they live in. The one constant through it all is how each one of these lives are linked together by slavery; some of them knowingly, others unknowingly.
This book is an unusual (structure-wise) yet highly engaging and eye-opening look at the history of colonialism and slavery both in Ghana and America. It is also a look at the history of racism, an issue that is sadly still very latent and present in America and I think that for this very reason Homegoing will remain a book that resonates with current readers for a very long time. Others books that I want to read about slavery include South To Freedom: Runaway Slaves To Mexico And The Road To The Civil War by Alice L. Baumgartner and The Other Slavery: The Uncovered Story of Indian Enslavement in America by Andrés Reséndez.
4. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
This book is the story of Vianne and Isabelle, two sisters who lose their mother before the war and are practically abandoned by their father thereafter. Vianne, the eldest, finds refuge in Antoine and marries him, while Isabelle, much younger than her sister, is placed in school after school when her father and sister don’t know what to do with her. Isabelle, however, is rebellious by nature and isn’t too keen on being meek and quiet as the Germans invade France and joins the Resistance the first chance she gets.
I liked this book more than I had anticipated to be honest, given that it is probably the most popular book I read in 2022 and I was afraid that it wouldn’t be worth the hype. But now I see why it is so popular. When the war breaks out, Isabelle finds her way to Vianne’s house and stays with her and her daughter for a while. But Vianne and Isabelle don’t see eye to eye and are constantly at odds. When the Germans arrive to their hometown in Carriveau, Vianne thinks that the war won’t last that long and that everything will be fine if she, Sophie, and Isabelle obey the rules and don’t draw too much attention to themselves. But Isabelle soon finds herself distributing pamphlets for the Resistance and leaves Carriveau and her sister behind.
Personally, I found Vianne’s story the more difficult and harrowing of the two. When a German officer billets in Vianne’s house, she is quickly disabused of the notion that the war won’t touch her family, and soon she is forced to do things she thought she’d never do just to survive. Isabelle, for her part, sets out to save the lives of soldiers fighting for the Allies currently stranded in German occupied France. When the war ends and Isabelle returns to Carriveau, the ending of the book becomes predictable, and we finally know who is telling the story of The Nightingale. However, it was still a heart-warming story about two sisters who learn how to love each other because of the war and the experiences they had to go through because of it.
5. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Despite its popularity and my love of classics, this is the first time that I read Dracula. And what I liked the most about it is the writing. It is so rich in detail and vivid that you can’t help but experience all the horrors the author is relating and you become immersed, quite literally, in the story that you cannot put it down.
I do have a few negatives though. First, we hardly ever see Dracula and never get to be inside his head. Second, I was just struck at how utterly different Van Helsing is in the book from the Hollywood version of him that I had from watching the movie, though this is not in detriment to the book, and third, the ending was too sudden and unimpressive. I admit I expected more.
6. Doing Justice by Preet Bharara
The law does not do justice; people do justice, and in doing so they must always seek the truth. This is the most important message Preet Bharara is trying to convey in this book. People do justice; the law is just a tool to do so. But in doing so, people must also be mindful of several other things. For example, an investigator must always ask questions that will lead him to the truth; he must always begin an investigation with an open mind and acknowledge the possibility that he may be wrong. Once the investigation is over, you must be certain of all the facts before accusing someone of wrongdoing. An accusation is a serious matter, and an investigator must be aware of the consequences it can bring about to the people involved; most notably the person accused. If there is a trial, it is up to the jury to dispense justice, and sometimes the verdict is not what you would have liked. Sometimes those who should have been acquitted are convicted or vice versa. And finally, prisons are not only the places where convicted people serve out their sentences but also the places where they are mostly forgotten about by others.
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did, but it was a very interesting read.
7. A Taste for Poison: Eleven Deadly Molecules and the Killers Who Used Them by Neil Bradbury
The eleven deadly molecules this book talks about are: insulin, atropine, strychnine, aconite, ricin, digoxin, cyanide, potassium, polonium, arsenic, and chlorine. In each chapter the author explains how the poison works within the body and how it kills the victim. And then he gives an example of true crime in which the murderer used one of these poisons to kill their targets. What struck me most about this book is that poisoning is still a commonly used method for killing. I had not expected that, but poison is still readily available in plants and other natural substances. Plants are such a common thing of our daily lives though that most of us don’t think much about them. But look twice and you’ll notice that some plants, and/or the substances they produce, are quite efficient killers. Others still are just available at your local grocery store. Like bleach. But I think that the word of caution that the author gives us here is very important: It’s not the substance at fault; it’s the person who uses it. A disturbing thought about this book though is that most killers featured in this book were doctors.
8. The Once And Future King by T.H. White
This book is a classic for a reason, and I enjoyed it very much despite my utter dislike for Lancelot and his affair with Guinevere. The edition I read of The Once and Future King includes The Sword in the Stone, the novella on which Disney’s eponymous movie is based on, The Queen of Air and Darkness, previously titled The Witch in the Wood, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind. I enjoyed all four novellas very much, even though I read The Sword in the Stone at a much slower rate than the others and some parts of the physical printed novel were not included in the audiobook while some chapters of the audiobook were not in the physical book itself. This, I assume, is because the book has been revised and edited several times and not all editions are the same. However, it was a bit frustrating, and it made me read the first novella at a much slower pace than the others, still I enjoyed the story of Wart’s education very much. The last novella, The Book of Merlyn, is not included in my edition of The Once and Future King but I am still planning on reading it. Also, if there is a book that retells Arthur’s myth from the point of view of the Orkney brothers I would very much like to read it.
9. The Wolf In The Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky
This book is a coming-of-age story about a young Inuit girl, Omat, whose grandfather, a wise shaman, recognizes the gift in her and raises her as a boy to follow in his footsteps. He teaches her how to hunt and protect her people, as well as to commune with the spirits. But Omat is not a boy, and some in her group start to question her role as her grandfather’s successor because no new children are being born and they are slowly dying out. The spirits, they say, are angered that a woman is fulfilling a man’s role. So when Omat and her people come across another Inuit band on the ice, they think their prayers have been answered.
But no, and tragedy strikes. The leader of the newly arrived band kills Omat’s grandfather, forces himself on her, and makes her his newest wife. This shatters Omat’s sense of identity and she loses her way. Until she meets Brandr, an unlikely ally that will help her find her purpose and her connection to the spirits again. This book is a New Favorite, even though I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. But the romance between Omat and Brandr was not the main course of this story (even though he does come back). That was the war between the Inuit and Norse gods, and I really liked how the author wove it all together. I highly recommend this book.
10. Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did, honestly. Truth be told, I did not have the best of years with romance during 2022 and I hadn’t liked any romance novel I read last year until I read this one. I absolutely loved Beast and Sybella together. Dark Triumph is the second installment of the His Fair Assassin trilogy written by Robin LaFevers, and I’m really glad that I decided to push through this series despite not having liked the first installment of this series, Grave Mercy, as much as I had hoped. I was rewarded however with a strong protagonist who falls in love with a man who only makes her stronger when he wholeheartedly accepts who she is. And this, to be honest, is ultimately why we read romance novels. We all want someone to love us like Beast loves Sybella.
11. The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream by Dean Jobb
Dr. Cream was a man on a mission: To rid the world of the scum of the Earth, which, in his estimation and Jack The Ripper’s, was prostitutes. His poison of choice, strychnine. His victims, eleven women and one man. His hunting ground, Lambeth Steet in Victorian London. The Lambeth Killer, as he was also known, was a contemporary of Jack The Ripper and he was hanged on November 15th, 1892. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in true crime.
12. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
This book is the story of two nations divided by their religious beliefs. One of them worships dragons while the other despises them. One of them rides dragons and the other kills them. The impending threat of The Nameless One, however, will force both of them to unite and save the world. Told from the point of view of four main characters, Ead Duryan, Tané, Niclays Roos, and Arteloth Beck, I did think however that Ead’s story took precedence over that of the other three main characters, and that Tané and Loth’s storylines were not explored as well as they could have been. But all in all, I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would. I liked Ead and Sabran’s relationship, though I did not like that EVERY romantic relationship in this book, except one, was a gay or lesbian relationship. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t have anything against same-sex romantic relationships, and I get that the author advocates for LGBT relationships, it’s just that it’s harder for me to connect with the characters that way because I don’t identify as a lesbian. Does that make sense? However, I did like that both Ead and Sabran were very mature in their relationship, and both of them grew into the most powerful form of themselves once they accepted who they were.
Finally, I will say something about The Nameless One. He was rather disappointing. He is obviously based on Lord Voldemort or Sauron, but he fell rather short in his evilness and was defeated very quickly. His second in command was actually more memorable in my opinion.
13. Twelve Kings of Sharakhai by Bradley P. Beaulieu
The Song of the Shattered Sands series by Bradley P. Beaulieu had been on my radar for some time, but I didn’t pick it up until now and I enjoyed it a lot. This is a character-driven story, and ironically I found myself liking the twelve kings for now more than I liked the protagonists. I felt that the author still has to work on the main characters’ development a bit; both Çeda and Emre need more depth to them but given that this is the first book of the series, I understand that this is a work in progress. However, I am enjoying the story thus far. Also, I am liking Çeda’s storyline more than I am Emre’s but I’m curious to see where his storyline is heading. I will continue on with the series.
This is the end of my End of the Year Series. Thank you for reading. My next post will be my January Wrap Up.
