Ms. Hen reviews The White Castle

The White Castle

Orhan Pamuk

Vintage International

1985

Translated from Turkish by Victoria Holbrook 1990

Ms. Hen picked up this book at the Little Free Library near where she lives. She had never heard of the book or the author, but she liked the title and the cover so she took it home. It was free, so the price was right. She has learned in seminars about writing that publishing companies give attractive covers to books they think are worth it. So, a person can judge a book by its cover, contrary to popular belief.

Ms. Hen didn’t know what to make of this novel at first. The tone is quiet and unassuming. It takes place in what is supposed to be 17^th century Istanbul, but that is not explained in the novel. That was written on the back of the book. The setting of this novel reminded Ms. Hen of Dorne, the fictional country in GAME OF THRONES, which Ms. Hen learned is supposed to be based on Spain. Ms. Hen thinks that both Dorne and the Istanbul of this novel are places that have darkness hidden underneath them, but are bright, sunny, dry locations, which can be deceiving. She read that the description of Istanbul is not historically accurate.

Ms. Hen decided this novel is allegorical. It’s about a man meeting someone who looks just like him, and that tortures his soul. It’s about the dark side of us all that we don’t usually have to face. The protagonist does not like that he gets to know his double and that fact between them is not discussed.

A young scholar travels from Venice, and is captured by the Turkish, taken back to Istanbul and sold as a slave. He eventually comes in the possession of a man who looks just like him. No explanation is offered as to why they look exactly alike. They study together and Hoja, the master, asked the slave to teach him everything he knows about science. They sit at a table, which is not part of the Turkish culture, and write together. They also tell each other their life stories.

This novel reminded Ms. Hen of WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS by J. M. Coetzee, in the way that it’s slow, atmospheric, and can have multiple meanings. Ms. Hen had to read that novel twice when she was in college, and she didn’t love it, and she doesn’t remember it that well, but she remembers the feelings it gave her, of uncertainty and disgust.

There were a few mentions of chickens in THE WHITE CASTLE, which Ms. Hen appreciated. The plague hit the city, and people were dying, and, “A bricklayer who quarreled with all the neighbors about their chickens getting in through his wall, had died screaming with fever one week ago.” And also Hoja developed a weapon that he believed would destroy their enemies, “Hoja would describe to me the devastation his red rooster would wreak upon his enemies.” Hoja called his weapon the red rooster. Ms. Hen thinks it’s appropriate that a weapon would be called a rooster because they’re tough.

Ms. Hen liked this novel, but it wasn’t the best book she has read recently. She thinks that it was a little too slow for her taste, and too masculine. Few women appear in this novel, which Ms. Hen didn’t enjoy. Women are background characters and are not significant, which is historically accurate, but that doesn’t mean Ms. Hen has to like it. Ms. Hen is sure that there were interesting women in that era, though this novel doesn’t recognize that. This novel is about a man finding himself and losing himself and ultimately becoming someone else.

Ms. Hen reviews The Miniaturist

Ms. Hen with the doll's house at the Museum of Fine Arts

The Miniaturist

Jessie Burton

Harper Collins

2014

Ms. Hen first learned about this novel through the PBS miniseries. She didn’t watch the whole thing, she only watched a few minutes of it. She doesn’t have patience to watch a TV show when it’s on TV; she prefers to watch it on her own time. She went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston shortly after the show was aired, and in the Dutch 17^th century room, there was a doll’s house similar to the one on the show. The house is a perfect tiny piece of art, and it looks like everything inside is real: real dishes, real vases, tiny beds and chairs; it’s so adorable that Ms. Hen can gaze at it for a long time. She went back to the museum as she was reading the novel to inspect it further and take a picture with Ms. Hen.

She decided to read the novel because she wants to learn about that time period, which is the same as another novel she read recently, TULIP FEVER. But she thinks THE MINIATURIST is superior. It’s better written; it’s not written in a thriller type of style, and it’s full of surprises.

Petronella comes to live in her husband, Johaness’ house with his sister and his two servants. They were married in her town, and they did not consummate their marriage when they were wed. She wonders if he does not love her, or something is wrong because when she moves into his house, he continues to treat her with indifference. She married him because her family is poor, and she needs to survive. His sister, Marin, is domineering and cruel to her at first.  Johaness buys her a cabinet house as a wedding gift, which is expensive. It has tiny rooms that are an exact replica of their house.

At first, Nella hates the cabinet house. She would prefer his love rather than receive gifts from him. She does not know what to do. She hires a miniaturist to furnish the house, and she becomes frightened by the objects that are delivered. She becomes friends with Cornelia, the maid, and is fascinated by Otto, the manservant who is a black man. There are no people of color in Amsterdam at that time. People stop and stare at him in the street. Nella doesn’t like how they stare.

This novel shocked Ms. Hen, then it continued to shock her. She knew something creepy would happen, then creepier things kept happening. In this way, it reminded her a lot of a novel she read recently, FROG MUSIC, by Emma Donahue, which was also historical fiction, about San Francisco in the 1800s. Ms. Hen thinks the style in which THE MINIATURIST is written is admirable; the writing is excellent, the pacing is well done, and it did not cease to surprise her. She likes to be surprised by what she reads, because she prefers not knowing what is going to happen. The ending of the novel is not as exciting as the rest, but it is like life, it continues on. A quality novel shouldn’t have an ending; it should be realistic, a line which does not end. Ms. Hen doesn’t like to spoil things, and she doesn’t think this is a spoiler.

Ms. Hen adored THE MINIATURIST. It is a perfect winter novel, because it takes place in winter in Amsterdam, and the descriptions of the frozen canals are lovely. She enjoyed being taken away to a different time by a novel written in a way that would not have been written in the time it took place. But that doesn’t mean situations similar to this would not occur. Bizarre things have always taken place, in every point in history. Civilization can demented, and the more advanced we become the stranger the world gets.

Ms. Hen reviews Riding the Bus with My Sister

Riding the Bus with My Sister

Rachel Simon

Penguin Books

2002

Ms. Hen read this book because she found it at the Little Free Library right near where she lives. She had never heard of the book or the author, but she liked the title and the cover. She thought it might have been a young adult book, but it’s not. She decided to pick it up because it was free, and there was no loss if she did.

This memoir is the story of Rachel and her sister Beth, who has mental retardation. They are eleven months apart, and for one month a year, they are twins. The family has had a difficult time deciding what to do with Beth. She rides the busses in her small Pennsylvania town all day, and she knows all the drivers and routes and times the busses will arrive. Rachel decides to ride the busses with Beth for once a month for a year to discover what Beth is doing and also to write about it.

This book also goes back in time to tell the story of Rachel and Beth’s family life when they were young. They had a difficult time in childhood when their mother and father divorced and went separate ways. Rachel thought her mother suffered from depression, and their mother put Beth in danger. But Beth survived.

Ms. Hen found this book emotional. The stories of the bus drivers and how most of them try to help Beth by teaching her about life and telling her their own stories brought Ms. Hen to tears at times. She reads a lot in public, on the train, and at her break at lunch, and she found herself with tears running down her face as she read this book. She was embarrassed, but she didn’t think anyone noticed. This doesn’t happen often. Ms. Hen does cry sometimes at the end of a book, but not usually in the middle.

This is not the typical book that Ms. Hen would read. It’s a nice book. Ms. Hen doesn’t usually read nice things. She usually likes angst driven novels about people with dire problems, like mental illness, or she reads dystopian novels. But this is about a woman whose sister has mental retardation. It’s about learning to have patience, and learning to love someone she can’t completely understand. It’s also about the author changing her worldview, and her view of herself, and transforming her life.

One aspect of this memoir Ms. Hen enjoyed was the writing, which is high quality. Ms. Simon knows how to put words together, and Ms. Hen enjoys a well-written book. Ms. Hen thinks this might be considered a book club book, but she doesn’t hold that against it.

Ms. Hen recommends this memoir to anyone who wants to feel better about the world. The bus drivers help Beth and her sister to see the bigger picture. This book teaches the readers to appreciate what we have, and not take anything for granted. And also to not be afraid of change.

Ms. Hen reviews Tulip Fever

Tulip Fever

Deborah Moggach

Dell Publishing

1999

Ms. Hen read this novel because she is interested in the history of Dutch art in the 17^th century, and someone told her this is worth reading. Ms. Hen would like to go to Holland some day to see the tulips. She does not have any plans right now, but she is considering it.

This novel is told from different characters’ perspectives. One is Sophia, the wife of Cornelis, who is unhappy in her marriage. She meets Jan, the young, virile painter who steals her heart. The story also includes Maria, Sophia’s maid, and Willem, her paramour. The chapters are formed around the different characters and Ms. Hen gets to know their varying points of view.

Cornelis hires Jan to paint his and Sophia’s portrait. When Jan comes to the house, he is immediately entranced by Sophia. She feels the same, but she tells her husband not to let him back in the house. Cornelis is old and Sophia married him so she could save her family from impoverishment. She deals with him because she has no choice.

Maria carries on with Willem unbeknownst to Sophia and Cornelis. Willem, a fish seller, wants to marry Maria, but he tells her he wants to wait until he has enough money. He gambles his wages on tulip speculation, which is the tulip fever of the novel’s title. Tulip prices are through the roof, and investors can make a lot of money if they put their money on the right type. Willem does, but misfortune follows him.

Sophia, a crafty woman, comes up with a ludicrous plan for her and Jan to be together. Ms. Hen did not know what was going to happen, but when she found out, she was shocked. This novel is not written like typical literary novels, even though Ms. Hen thinks it is literary enough. It’s written like a thriller, though the prose is beautiful and the storyline is historical, this novel surprised Ms. Hen. She didn’t know what to expect from it, but she had an idea how the end would come about. The characters seemed destined to fail.

This is a well-paced novel. Ms. Hen found that she could read it quickly, and the chapters were different enough to paint a picture of the life in Amsterdam at that time from various perspectives. Ms. Hen could see the buildings reflected in the canals and she could smell the stench of the water. She thought it was curious that a horn rang at ten o’clock at night and everyone had to go home. She’s sure that doesn't happen in the city now.

Ms. Hen found some chickens in this novel. One example refers to the shopkeepers, “They dream that their fingers slide under a chicken’s skin, sliding the fingers into a glove.” Ms. Hen likes this because it is strange and perverse. Another is a quote from a contemporary play from that time, quoted in Z. Herbert, STILL LIFE WITH BRIDLE, which talks about investing in tulip bulbs and how to go about it, “Do exactly as I say. Go to the Inn at the Lion. Ask the innkeeper where the tulip vendors meet. You will enter the room he indicates. Then someone will say in a very thick voice, (but don’t you dare be put off by it.) ‘A stranger has come in.’ In answer to that, cluck like a chicken.” Ms. Hen thinks this is a strange passage, but she believes it is true because chickens are known to have secret knowledge, and clucking like a chicken can help people along the path to greatness.

Ms. Hen adored this novel, but she doesn’t know what to make of it. It’s campy and a little like a soap opera, and quite unrealistic, but it’s fun. She doesn’t want to be a spoiler, but she thought the ending was beautiful. Some things in life don’t turn out the way we want, but that's the way life is sometimes.

Ms. Hen reviews Boston Noir

Boston Noir

Edited by Dennis Lehane

Akashic Books

2009

Ms. Hen picked up this book last summer at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She had heard about the book because she had gone to a reading to celebrate its publication many years ago. She doesn’t remember the reading very well, but she remembers what Dennis Lahane said about the size of the audience. He said something to the effect that it was a large audience for a reading, and where he lived in Florida, you couldn’t get that many people to a reading, but you could get the same amount to a titty bar. Ms. Hen thought that was hilarious, but sad and true. She’s glad she doesn’t live in Florida, even in January when the temperature has been an average of 25 degrees.

After going to the reading a long time ago, Ms. Hen finally read this collection, a book of noir stories about Boston neighborhoods. Noir is categorized here as darkness, or coming change that brings about misunderstanding.

Ms. Hen read this book quickly. She thought a lot of the stories here were similar to exercises in beginning creative writing classes, the types of stories she used to write when she started writing. She thinks the first story, “Exit Interview,” by Lynn Heitman is unnecessarily violent and badly written. She also thinks that “The Collar,” by Itabari Njeri is offensive and a waste of time. Most of the stories in this book are not wonderful. But some are worth reading.

“Femme Sole,” by Dana Cameron is a period piece about a woman who owns a tavern in the North End circa the days of the American Revolution. Ms. Hen was surprised to read historical fiction here, but she enjoyed it. Another similar story is, “Dark Island,” by Brendan DuBois, which is about a detective helping a woman find a box her fiancé left on an island in Boston Harbor.

The best story in the book is the one by Dennis Lahane, “Animal Rescue,” about a depressed man who lives in Dorchester. He finds a dog and wants to help it, but problems arise. Ms. Hen believes there are people like him living in Boston, lost souls who never had a chance for anything, and never dream of a better life.

Ms. Hen has a hard time reading collections of short stories because she has to live in a new world each time, but it’s more difficult reading an anthology with different writers. Ms. Hen did not love this book, but she read the entire thing fast. Ms. Hen prefers stories written about how the world could be, not poorly written stories about darkness.

Ms. Hen reviews The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Ms. Hen at the library

The Yiddish Policemen’s Union

Michael Chabon

Harper Collins

2008

Ms. Hen came upon this book in a strange way. Many years ago, someone left it in the coffee shop where she used to work, and she took it home, but never read it. She thought it was part of a series, but she recently learned that it is not. She found out Michael Chabon is considered a San Francisco writer when she was researching writers before her vacation last year. She dove into this novel at the beginning of the year headfirst.

The first thing Ms. Hen noticed about this novel is that it is extremely descriptive, and it’s dense in the way that words burst from the pages. The descriptions are beautiful and appropriate, but it lends the book to slow reading, which at times is fine for Ms. Hen.

Ms. Hen also recognized that this is a book containing multiple genres. It is primarily a detective novel about a police officer, Meyer Landsman, trying to solve the murder of a man who lived in the same hotel that he does. It is also alternative history novel about a Jewish state called Sitka, which was created in Alaska after Israel failed in the 1940s, a story taken from a footnote in history. The story also has a touch of magical realism: people believe in the coming Messiah and the miracles he performs.

Meyer Landsman finds out Mendel Shpilman, a junkie, was murdered in the hotel where Landsman also lives. He investigates, and finds out that several people thought that Shpilman was the Messiah, because he would give people a blessing and their lives would become better. Shpilman was also a chess prodigy, and the son of a rebbe. Landman has to deal with the imminent ending of the Sitka state, as well as working with his ex-wife Bina as his new superior officer.

At first Ms. Hen didn’t like this book because she thought it was misogynistic and Landsman was a pig. Then she got used to his views and attitudes towards women, and she figured the novel could not be written any other way. Most of the books Ms. Hen have read recently have been written by female authors, so reading an intrinsically male book was a slight shock to her sensibilities.

The characters in THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION are all rough people, hardened by their place in the world. There are primarily tough cops, and drug addicts, and criminals. Ms. Hen thought that if some people read this, they would think it is Anti-Semitic, but she decided that if these characters were banished from the Holy Land to Alaska of course they would all be bitter and resentful and turn into criminals and low-lives waiting for the Messiah who will bring them to the promised land.  This book is complex, but some of the Jewish references might have been lost on Ms. Hen. Also, she thinks there may be chess symbolism that went over her head, since she does not play the game.

Ms. Hen liked that there was a mention of a magical chicken. The characters are superstitious waiting to be saved, “And just last week, amid the panic and feathers of a kosher slaughterhouse on Zhitolovsky Avenue, a chicken turned on the shochet as he raised his ritual knife and announced, in Aramaic, the imminent advent of Messiah.” Ms. Hen thinks that this proves that chickens are important, as she has always known.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel, even though it was dense and a much of it she might not have understood. She liked dwelling in this mystical, rough world for a while, even if it’s a place where she would not like to go. She admired the people with hope for a better life, waiting for a sign, even though they pay the price in many ways.

Ms. Hen's Top Ten

It's the beginning of the year again. Time for Ms. Hen's top ten books. These are her favorite books she read this year, not necessarily published this year. And there is no number one - they are in chronological order going backwards. Ms. Hen hopes you had a good year, and she hopes this one will be better, that you will read a lot of memorable books and eat some delicious food and live your life and be happy.

All the Best,
Ms. Hen
(Shannon)


Top Ten List

Household Saints by Francine Prose
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/12/ms-hen-reviews-household-saints.html

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/11/ms-hen-reviews-frog-music.html

In Country by Bobbie Ann Mason
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/11/ms-hen-reviews-in-country.html

Pride and Prometheus by John Kesel
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/10/ms-hen-reviews-pride-and-prometheus.html

Less by Andrew Sean Greer
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/08/

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/05/

Kindred by Octavia Butler
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/05/ms-hen-reviews-kindred.html

The Beginning Place by Ursula K. Le Guin
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/04/ms-hen-reviews-beginning-place.html

When Madeline Was Young by Jane Hamilton
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/03/ms-hen-reviews-when-madeline-was-young.html

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin
http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2018/01/ms-hen-reviews-we.html