Ms. Hen reviews Villa Incognito

 

Villa Incognito

Tom Robbins

Bantam Dell

2003

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she picked it up at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She has read several Tom Robbins books, but has not read one for a long time. She doesn't know why she hasn't read one for a while, but after reading this, she remembered how good his books are.

This novel is about several things: it's about tanukis, a type or raccoon dog found in Japan; it's also about the Vietnam War and some MIAs that got lost afterwards; it's about drug dealing, and it's about circus performers. A tanuki in Japan impregnates a woman, starting a chain of events that takes place over years. The woman who has the baby realizes she cannot keep it. Many years later one of the descendants is in Laos and is a tanuki trainer for different circuses. This novel is a fantasy, but it also talks about real issues.

There's something about the way Tom Robbins writes that Ms. Hen really enjoys. He has a spastic way of putting words together, with several pop culture references that might get lost on some people that are not well versed in that area. His books are strange, as is this one.

Also, his books are juicy. There is a lot of sex in this book, which a reader may or may not like, but if a reader is not prepared for it, like Ms. Hen she might become a shocked hen. But she got used to it.

A part in this book where the character Dickie reunites with his girlfriend Lisa Ko in Laos, and she brings him mayonnaise and white bread from her trip to the United States. A long description of how wonderful mayonnaise is follows, and even though Ms. Hen is not much of a fan, she liked reading this because it was so strange. The narrator extols the virtues of mayonnaise, and how it's the perfect condiment that goes with everything. Ms. Hen thought this section was hilarious.

There is always a profound message in Tom Robbins' books, and Ms. Hen feels like she walks away smarter than she was before she read the book. One of the messages in this novel is that life is fleeting and nothing is permanent, and there are no accidents. It seems like a Buddhist message to Ms. Hen, and since this novel takes place partially in Laos and Vietnam, it makes sense.

This novel is light and heavy at the same time. It's short, but it's not an easy read. Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel, and liked being shocked by it. Ms. Hen is not a hen that shocks easily, but when she is, it startles her. She has come to the point in her life when not much surprises her, because she has seen so many strange things, but she knows there are always stranger things around the corner or within the pages of an unread book.

Ms. Hen reviews Circe

Circe

Madeline Miller

Back Bay Books

2018

Ms. Hen decided to read this because her hen sister gave it to her for Christmas. She didn't know anything about the book before she read it, but she learned it was about the Greek goddess Circe. Ms. Hen thinks her sister bought this book because the title is the name of a character in GAME OF THRONES, Cercei.

This novel is about the minor goddess Circe, daughter of Helios, the Sun and Perse. She is not well liked as a young goddess because everyone thinks she has a terrible voice and is unattractive. She does not get along with her siblings Perses and Pasiphae and they like to mock her. She befriends her brother Aeetes, and they spend time together when they are young. The gods and goddess think that Circe is ugly and she does not attract men. She is desperate for love, and she falls for a mortal fisherman, who she turns into a god with magic. He decides he does not want her, and she transforms the object of his affection into a monster. She is banned to an island for these deeds, and perfects her magic there.

Circe is lonely on her island, but people come to her. She learns things from the god Hermes, and she turns sailors who come to the island into pigs. She is unhappy, but she manages things. She learns how to use the herbs that grow on her island to do spells. She becomes known as the witch of Aiaia. She faces one of the strongest gods and proves her worth.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel. It's a fast read, and she breezed through it, even though it's long. The characters are well developed and the writing is lovely and descriptive. Ms. Hen doesn't know a lot about the Greek gods and goddesses, because there's so much to learn; she only knows the tip of the iceberg. 

She thinks that the gods are rotten to each other, that they're not nice, and it seemed to her at the beginning of the novel when Circe was on Oceanos with her family, that the gods had too much time on their hands, they had all of eternity with nothing to do except have fun and act frivolously, and that could be why they were so horrible.

Ms. Hen read about Circe after she finished the book. There have been many books about Circe throughout the centuries, and all of them have been different. But most of the time, she is seen as a temptress and a person who could turn men into animals.

Ms. Hen loved this novel. She believes that the message clearly describes the story of Circe. She thinks this is a girl power novel, because Circe was a loser, but she fought against it, and prevailed. This novel proves that it's possible that anyone who is viewed as inferior can rise above and become as strong and powerful as anyone else.

 

Ms. Hen reviews Five Children and It

Five Children and It

E. Nesbit

T. Fisher Unwin

1902

Ms. Hen decided to read this book because she found it at a Little Free Library near where she lives. She doesn't usually read children's literature, but she wanted to read something light and refreshing after the pain of THE CORRECTIONS. She took a Children's Lit class when she was an undergrad hen, and she loved the class. She recently found out that the professor that taught that class, Mary Shaner, passed away, and it made her sad. This review is an homage to her.

This book is about a family of children who are sent to the country, and their mother leaves them there with the servants. The five children run off to play in a quarry and they find a Psammead, or a sand fairy, who can grant wishes. The Psammead grants one wish a day to one of the children and they get in trouble. Some of the wishes are pleasant, but they always turn out to be negative experiences in the end.

This novel is a classic story of a twist on the genie in the bottle. "Be careful what you wish for," is an expression that is used in stories like these. There are never stories in which people make wishes with a magical being and it makes them happy. This could be a lesson to teach children to be happy with what they have, and not to dream too much about what they don't have.

Some chickens appear in this book, which made Ms. Hen happy. The children acquire wings from the Psammead, and flying makes them hungry, and they take food from a church window that is meant for a clergyman and leave money in its place, "They had never happened to learn that a tongue, hardly cut into - a chicken and a half, a loaf of bread, and a siphon of soda water cannot be bought in shops for half-a- crown." (This was written a long time ago when money was quite different from the way it is now.)

Ms. Hen thinks that this novel is charming and a good diversion from the troubles of the world. She understands that children's books might not be for everyone, but sometimes it's good to read something very light. This book reminds her a little of ALICE IN WONDERLAND, which she loves. She likes to read things that will make her think of the possibilities of childhood, because children can imagine things that adults cannot. She thinks that adults should stretch their imaginations the way that children do, because if we did, we would be happier, and the our trials and tribulations would be easier to deal with... 

 

Ms. Hen reviews The Corrections

 

The Corrections

Jonathan Franzen

Picador

2001

Ms. Hen picked this book up a a Little Free Library near where she lives. She took it because she had heard of the book, and people thought it was good. She didn't remember exactly what she had heard except that it is considered an important book and it won awards.

This novel is about a dysfunctional family from the Midwest. The mother, Enid, wants her family to be reunited for one last Christmas. The father, Alfred, is losing his mind and developing dementia. The middle son, Chip, lives in New York, and has lost his job teaching at a college because he had an affair with a student. Gary, the oldest, lives outside of Philadelphia, is a bank vice president, is married and has three children, and is depressed. Denise, the youngest, works as a chef, and has affairs with married men.

Ms. Hen read 135 pages of this novel and she almost stopped reading it because she thought all the characters were assholes. The beginning section is about Chip, and Ms. Hen decided she hated him. She continued reading because the writing is good, and she wanted to see if the characters would redeem themselves. Parts of this novel are outright hilarious, but they are the type of humor that makes the reader cringe. The women in this novel are mostly castrating bitches, the mother, the sister, the girlfriends and wives, which Ms. Hen does not enjoy. She gets the feeling that the author doesn't like women much.

Ms. Hen understands this novel was famous when it came out. She had it hanging around, and her rooster brother told her that he and his friends had a joke that they copied from a comedy sketch with someone waking up with this book on them. He said he never read the book, and didn't know what it was about, but it was a joke. Ms. Hen's hen sister told her she bought the book because the author was the only person who turned down an appearance on Oprah Winfrey's book club, which people thought was outrageous at the time.

Some chickens appear, which Ms. Hen appreciates. Chip is talking to his girlfriend about his screenplay that has been rejected, " 'But for a woman reading it,' Julia said obstinately, 'It's sort of like the poultry department. Breast, breast, thigh, leg.' " Ms. Hen almost laughed out loud when she read this, but she was disgusted at the same time.

It took Ms. Hen two weeks to read this novel. It doesn't usually take her that long to read something, but she wasn't really into it, so it took longer. She doesn't understand what the big deal about this book could be. The writing is good, but the characters are so despicable, that it makes her wonder why people like it. She understand that it's supposed to be satire, but she doesn't find it satirical. It's about a bunch of assholes. Satire or assholes? You can decide for yourself if you want to spend the time.

Ms. Hen reviews The Pull of the Stars

 

The Pull of the Stars

Emma Donoghue

Little, Brown and Company

2020

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she has been interested in reading about plagues lately, since there is a pandemic going on, and she has been trying to read as much fiction as she can about this subject. There is not a lot written about the Spanish flu by the people who lived through it, but this novel was published last year. The author decided to write this for the one hundred year anniversary of the pandemic in 2018. She didn't realize that the book would be released during COVID, but it happened that way.

This novel is about a nurse in the maternity ward in a hospital in Dublin, during the flu outbreak of 1918. The Great War is still raging and Nurse Julia Power's brother came back from it so shellshocked that he could not speak. She takes care of the women in the flu maternity clinic, where expectant mothers have the flu. 

A volunteer comes in to help Julia named Bridie, who has never been around patients before. Julia explains what to do, and Bridie learns fast. She is an orphan who has been raised by nuns in a home, and was sent to Dublin to board with the nuns because she has nowhere to go. Those were different days, when it was shameful for a woman to be an unwed mother, and the nuns cursed the women who had conceived a child out of wedlock. Tragedy strikes the small ward, but Nurse Power perseveres, and she keeps working to help the women and their children.

This novel is well researched. The details about birthing children in that time are so intricate, that Ms. Hen knows the author must have done a lot of work to make it seem realistic. However, Ms. Hen is disgusted by the details of childbirth, and it is not her favorite thing to read. Ms. Hen knows having a baby is difficult, but she doesn't want to know about it.

But the whole novel is not about giving birth. It's also about struggling and poverty and trying to make a place in the world. It's about sudden friendship between two people who are different, Julia and Bridie, and finding out that they care about each other. This novel centers on a moment in history similar to the one we're living now, but the difference between now and then is that back then, those people had nothing and they knew nothing, and today most people have too much and we know too much. Julia was shocked that the only time Bridie saw a film was when she sneaked into a door of a theater. To people today, that would be unfathomable.

The only character in this novel that is based on a real person is Dr. Kathleen Lynn. She was a member in Sinn Fein and a doctor. She was released from prison to help treat patients during the flu epidemic. She is a hero in the novel, though some of the characters don't treat her well because she is a rebel and a woman doctor.

Ms. Hen enjoyed this novel. It's emotional, so be prepared. She was sitting in the cafeteria area at the hospital where she works when she finished the book, and she almost started to cry! She was too embarrassed to let her tears fall right before work while she was reading a book, but the hospital is a sad place anyway, and she thinks nobody would mind. A lot of people are crying these days, and she would not have been out of place. It's better for a book to make a person cry than real life.

Ms. Hen reviews The Chicken Sisters

 

The Chicken Sisters

KJ Dell'Antonia

Putnam

2020

Ms. Hen decided to read this novel because she read about it, and found out that it's about chickens! She doesn't think there's anything better than chickens, so she decided to give this book a chance.

This novel is about rival chicken establishments in rural Merinac Kansas. The original two owners were sisters, Mimi and Frannie, and a legend says that they became rivals and fought over their restaurants. Through the generations the families fought over the businesses. Amanda is the daughter of the owner of Mimi's, the smaller restaurant, which is just a shack, but she married Frank, the son of the owner of Frannie's, the larger sit down restaurant with a bar and an extensive menu. Amanda distanced herself from her mother. Mae, Amanda's sister, disdainful of Merinac and everything about her family, went to college and moved away to New York, and became a cleaning guru with her book LESS IS MOORE about how to clean your space.

Amanda writes an email to a show called FOOD WARS, a reality show in which neighboring restaurants battle it out. She writes to Mae, who is appearing in another reality show in New York, SPARKLING, about cleaning, from which she has just been fired. Mae goes back to Merinac with her two children and the nanny to help her mother with the show, which she thinks will help her career. The family feud begins, with each sisters trying to display how the other sister is a negative person. Amanda and Mae's mother's house is a mess, and always has been. Andy is the cook at Mimi's, which Mae thinks is strange at first because she never hired outside help before.

This book would be considered women's fiction, but it is not a romance novel. It's a novel about work and families. This is not great literature. This is a fluff novel, and Ms. Hen does not read books like this often, but once in a while it's good to read something light.

On the cover of this book it says that it is one of Reese's book club picks. Ms. Hen understands that Reese Witherspoon has a book club, but her choosing this does not say a lot about her taste in great books. Ms. Hen actually thinks that this novel would make a much better film, and she wonders if Ms. Witherspoon is planning on acting in the movie. Ms. Hen thinks that she would be fitting to play the part of Amanda, the sister who stays in Kansas, marries her high school sweetheart, and wants to be on a reality show.

There are so many chickens in this book it's too difficult to count them. Amanda likes to draw chickens, and she drew the sign on Mimi's years ago, which Mae paints over. Amanda also draws a comic about chickens; she creates one that a story similar to the book CARRIE by Stephen King. Amanda also keeps chickens in her yard.

Ms. Hen thinks this novel will not change anyone's life, or help people see the world through different eyes. But it could be a great movie someday. Ms. Hen loves chickens, and she cannot help but be charmed by a book that contains so many.

Ms. Hen's Top Ten

 

Ms. Hen says Happy New Year. This year has been difficult for a lot of people, but Ms. Hen wants to know that she's surviving well, and spending her time wisely. She's sad that she didn't get to go on a trip this year, but she has done a lot of writing, she has written stories and a novel, she started playing music again, and she has spent time enjoying nature. And of course, she has read a lot of books. The following books are the top ten books Ms. Hen has read this year. They are not in any particular order. (She decided to count THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER and THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS as one book, because they are essentially one continuous story.)

Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Anne Porter

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/11/ms-hen-reviews-pale-horse-pale-rider.html

Motherless Child by Marianne Langer Zeitlin

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/11/ms-hen-reviews-motherless-child.html

The Passion by Jeanette Winterson

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/11/ms-hen-reviews-passion.html

I am Madam X by Gioia Diliberto

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/08/ms-hen-reviews-i-am-madame-x.html

The Vampire Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/06/ms-hen-reviews-vampire-tapestry.html

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/06/ms-hen-reviews-year-of-wonders.html

Let Me In by John Ajvide Linqvist

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/04/ms-hen-reviews-let-me-in.html

Parable of the Sower / Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/01/ms-hen-reviews-parable-of-sower.html

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/04/ms-hen-reviews-parable-of-talents.html

War and Peace volume 2 by Leo Tolstoy

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/03/ms-hen-reviews-war-and-peace-volume-two.html

Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende

http://mshenreviewsthings.blogspot.com/2020/02/ms-hen-reviews-daughter-of-fortune.html

Ms. Hen is hoping next year will be a great year.

Thank you so much,

Ms. Hen and S.O.