{"id":166,"date":"2005-12-15T19:32:30","date_gmt":"2005-12-16T02:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=166"},"modified":"2021-05-30T21:31:07","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T01:31:07","slug":"a-great-and-terrible-beauty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/166","title":{"rendered":"A Great and Terrible Beauty"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Great and Terrible Beauty<\/em> (2003) Libba Bray<\/a><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

I picked this book up because the cover caught my eye. I think it’s the corset, which looks both authentic and terribly uncomfortable (or so says the eternal tomboy). Then I read the title and had to know more. Before the book starts, Libba Bray quotes part of the poem, The Lady of Shalott<\/em> by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, a poem that has interested me since I was younger, because it’s mentioned in the Agatha Christie book The Mirror Crack’d<\/em>. I figured that was pretty good grounds for getting a book–despite the fact that the main character is a teenager.<\/p>\n

Monday night I picked up the book and thought I’d read a few pages to see if it was any good. 130 pages later I realized that it was past my bedtime and that I really needed to go to sleep. Which was pretty good, as for the first several chapters I kept thinking, “oh no, this is going to be one of those angsty teenage books that goes off in this<\/em> direction” but then it went off in another direction entirely and I had to keep reading.<\/p>\n

Gemma Doyle has grown up in India, but dreams of going to London. Unfortunately for her, she gets her wish, and is sent to Spence Academy, a finishing school.<\/p>\n

I really liked this book, despite the fact that there was a good deal of talk about dresses and marriage and other dainty feminine subjects. Because those things were only the backdrop for the story, the time and the place in which the story was set, where that is how women were expected to behave. And of course the culture against which Gemma Doyle, as the hero of the story, is expected to rebel.<\/p>\n

And the reasons why such girls would rebel are given–the descriptions of the clothing are realistic, and not romantic, including how the corsets restrict their breathing, and how heavy the dresses are in the hot sun.<\/p>\n

This book is very well done. The characters–even when they are being utterly unappealing as only teenage girls can be–are still fascinating. The story is very good and drew me in almost immediately. I liked Gemma, despite the fact that she was a teenager. Probably because she was more self-aware than most teenager, and because her concerns were greater than gloves and manners and good husbands.<\/p>\n

I am not sure if this story would appeal to a guy, although I would certainly recommend it. Michael said it looked interesting, so I’ll have to get his opinion if he reads it.
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Great and Terrible Beauty (2003) Libba Bray I picked this book up because the cover caught my eye. I think it’s the corset, which looks both authentic and terribly uncomfortable (or so says the eternal tomboy). Then I read the title and had to know more. Before the book starts, Libba Bray quotes part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,2,291],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-fantasy","category-paper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-2G","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":230,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/230","url_meta":{"origin":166,"position":0},"title":"Sunshine","author":"Michelle","date":"April 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Sunshine (2003) Robin McKinley I picked this book up for two reasons. First, because I liked the cover, and second, because of the quote by Neil Gaiman. Yes, I know lots of people who love Robin McKinley's writing, and yes the blurb looked interesting, but the cover and the blurb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/04\/Sunshine.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1865,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1865","url_meta":{"origin":166,"position":1},"title":"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo","author":"Michelle","date":"July 27, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2008) Stieg Larsson translated by Reg Keeland Yes, yes, yes. I know I'm late to the game. But I had a large backlog of books to read through first. I started reading this soon after I broke my ankle. Since it was very difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/07\/girl_with_the_dragon_tattoo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":184,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/184","url_meta":{"origin":166,"position":2},"title":"A Stir of Bones","author":"Michelle","date":"February 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"A Stir of Bones (2003) Nina Kirki Hoffman I really liked A Fistful of Sky, as well as all of Nina Kiriki Hoffman's short stories that I have read in various anthologies, so I put A Stir of Bones on my Christmas wishlist. It's a very short book--only 211 pages\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/Stir-of-Bones.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4206,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/4206","url_meta":{"origin":166,"position":3},"title":"Jar City","author":"Michelle","date":"November 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Jar City (2000\/2004) Arnaldur Indridason translated by Bernard Scudder Inspector Erlendur is a detective inspector with the Reykjavik CID. He's a divorced loner with a terrible relationship with his two grown children, both of whom have issues with drugs. The body of an old man is discovered in his apartment.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mystery"","block_context":{"text":"Mystery","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/mystery"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Jar-City.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9356,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9356","url_meta":{"origin":166,"position":4},"title":"Child of a Rainless Year","author":"Michelle","date":"October 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Child of a Rainless Year (2005) Jane Lindskold Mira Fenn was nine when her mother disappeared, and she was sent away to Ohio to live with foster parents. The further she goes from her time in Las Vegas New Mexico, the stranger her early childhood seems. Especially her mother. 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