Tag: Historical Fiction

Review: The Headmaster’s Wager by Vincent Lam

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 7 Comments

Percival Chen is the headmaster of the most respected English academy in 1960s Saigon, and he is well accustomed to bribing a forever-changing list of government officials in order to maintain the elite status of his school. Fiercely proud of his Chinese heritage, he is quick to spot the business opportunities rife in a divided country, though he also harbors a weakness for gambling haunts and the women who frequent them. He devotedly ignores all news of the fighting that swirls around him, but when his only son gets in trouble with the Vietnamese authorities, Percival faces the limits of his connections and wealth and is forced to send him away. 

   In the loneliness that follows, Percival finds solace in Jacqueline, a beautiful woman of mixed French and Vietnamese heritage whom he is able to confide in. But Percival’s new-found happiness is precarious, and as the complexities of war encroach further into his world, he must confront the tragedy of all he has refused to see.

   Graced with intriguingly flawed but wonderfully human characters moving through a richly drawn historical landscape, The Headmaster’s Wager is an unforgettable story of love, betrayal and sacrifice.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book? The cover. Other than that it was a beautiful read in every way.

Percival Chen is a Chinese man teaching English in war time Vietnam.  At first this doesn’t seem to be much of a challenge for him. He’s been there a long time and he has a loyal ally who helps steer him through all of the channels of the government to get the certifications that his school needs. But, as happens in war time, nothing stays the same for long. The tides quickly change for Mr. Chen. Reading about how he deals with the  growing violence and the threat to his way of life was entertaining and educational and at times had me holding my breath.

I was very impressed with the characters, language, setting and pacing in this book. If you’ve read it I’d love to hear what you thought. If it wasn’t on your radar before it definitely should be.

Review: The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty

~ Jennifer @ The Relentless Reader ~ 10 Comments
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
The Chaperone is a captivating novel about the woman who chaperoned an irreverent Louise Brooks to New York City in 1922 and the summer that would change them both.
 
Only a few years before becoming a famous silent-film star and an icon of her generation, a fifteen-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita, Kansas, to study with the prestigious Denishawn School of Dancing in New York. Much to her annoyance, she is accompanied by a thirty-six-year-old chaperone, who is neither mother nor friend. Cora Carlisle, a complicated but traditional woman with her own reasons for making the trip, has no idea what she’s in for. Young Louise, already stunningly beautiful and sporting her famous black bob with blunt bangs, is known for her arrogance and her lack of respect for convention. Ultimately, the five weeks they spend together will transform their lives forever.
 
For Cora, the city holds the promise of discovery that might answer the question at the core of her being, and even as she does her best to watch over Louise in this strange and bustling place she embarks on a mission of her own. And while what she finds isn’t what she anticipated, she is liberated in a way she could not have imagined. Over the course of Cora’s relationship with Louise, her eyes are opened to the promise of the twentieth century and a new understanding of the possibilities for being fully alive.
 
Drawing on the rich history of the 1920s,’30s, and beyond—from the orphan trains to Prohibition, flappers,  and the onset of the Great Depression to the burgeoning movement for equal rights and new opportunities for women—Laura Moriarty’s The Chaperone illustrates how rapidly everything, from fashion and hemlines to values and attitudes, was changing at this time and what a vast difference it all made for Louise Brooks, Cora Carlisle, and others like them.

There are so many times I wonder what it would be like to live in a different time, a “simpler” time. Oh what I wouldn’t give to go back and live during the 20’s, the 30’s, the 40’s..and on and on. 
What I should consider during these time traveling daydreams are the very real issues facing women during those decades. Simpler time? Hardly.
When Cora Carlisle escorts a young girl to New York for a summer in the early 1920’s she is bound by more than just her corset. (aka: torture device) 
Ouch! 
In trying to keep her young charge in line Cora begins questioning her own beliefs and the societal rules that she has always followed. 
This book isn’t one to miss. Great history, great story, great characters. 
I’ve seen quite a few bloggers talking about this book. Are you one of them? What did you think? 
The very real Louise Brooks…read more about her here.