The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

From the book cover:
Nothing goes right for Eloise. The one day she wears her new suede boots, it rains cats and dogs. When the subway stops short, she's always the one thrown into some stranger's lap. Plus, she's had more than her share of misfortune in the way of love. In fact, after she realizes romantic heroes are a thing of the past, she decides it's time for a fresh start.

Setting off for England, Eloise is determined to finish her dissertation on that dashing pair of spies, the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian. But what she discovers is something the finest historians have missed: the secret history of the Pink Carnation - the most elusive spy of all time. As she works to unmask this obscure spy, Eloise stumbles across answers to all kinds of questions. How did the Pink Carnation save England from Napoleon? What became of the Scarlet Pimpernel and the Purple Gentian? And will Eloise Kelly escape her bad luck and find a living, breathing hero all her own?
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This novel was recommended to me by one of my lunchtime book club members. She said it's fluff - perfect for vacation reading, I concur. It's great for holiday reading because you'll have no problem putting it down to go swimming, hiking, skiing or any other activity that's on your getaway itinerary.

Reading this novel, I felt like I was reading a dollar bin reject. The romantic scenes are so over done. Some of the plot lines make absolutely no sense. Did masked men commonly roam the streets of Paris and take ferries in the middle of the night in the 18th and 19th century? Since when is it romantic to shove your hand down a women's top on a ferry? Checking for bruises is a cheesy excuse. How can two people roll around on a boat in the throws of passion, with one of them wearing a mask? I had a hard time buying a lot of the plot that Lauren Willig was trying to sell.

Would I recommend this novel? No. It's not worth the time and the tums you'll have to take to keep your lunch down after reading the cringe-worthy love scenes. Some people have said this novel contains bits of comedic relief, I found none - unless you count all of the 'harrumphs', 'cracks','thumps','whumps' and other sounds littered throughout the novel. This novel isn't even at the level of a Harlequin.

2/5

The Bastard of Istanbul

                                                           From the book cover:
As an Armenian American living in San Francisco, Armanoush feels like part of her identity is missing and that she must make a journey back to the past, to Turkey, in order to start living her life. Aysa is a nineteen-year-old woman living in an extended all-female household in Istanbul who loves Johnny Cash and the French existentialists. The Bastard of Istanbul tells the story of their two families - and a secret connection linking them to a violent event in the history of their homeland. Filled with humor and understanding, this exuberant, dramatic novel is about memory and forgetting, about the need to examine the past and the desire to erase it, and about Turkey itself.

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Elif Shafak is a storytelling and plot building genius. She jumps from continents and perspectives adding mystery and layers.

More than the characters, this novel is about Turkey. After this book was published, Elik Shafak was accused by the Turkish government of 'insulting Turkishness' and could have spent three years in prison, had the charges not been dropped.

Not knowing much about Turkey's history, this novel has awakened a desire to learn more. Jammed packed with characters and themes, it's easy to get distracted.

At the root of this novel is the question: How much does the past determine the future? Elif Shafak appears to answer this question in the closing pages of the novel.

Family stories intermingle in such ways that what happened generations ago can have an impact on seemingly irrelevant developments of the present day. The past is anything but bygone...If Levent Kazanci hadn't grown up to be such a bitter and abusive man, would his only son, Mustafa, have ended up being a different person? If generations ago in 1915 Shushan hadn't been left an orphan, would Aysa today still be a bastard? p. 356

The Bastard of Istanbul isn't for everyone. It took me two tries to get into it. At the close of the first quarter I was hooked despite having to spend a great deal of time trying to figure out how the characters were all connected. The 19-year jump didn't help matters. Nevertheless, I am glad that I made the effort to read this novel.

Novels like this are why I love to read. I've learned about a country and two cultures and hadn't previously given much thought to.

3.5/5