A Double Life by Karolina Pavlova

 

Karolina Pavlova

Karolina Pavlova, a Russian poet, was born in 1807. She moved to Dresden in 1858, abandoning her native country "not because of tsarist oppression but because of hostile criticism of her poetry and her personal life." Her art was everything to her. A Double Life was her first and only novel; it was published in 1848 when she was at the height of her fame as a poet and translator.

At 120 pages, A Double Life is not a long novel. Each of the ten chapters follows the same pattern: the first part is written in prose, the last few pages in verse. It centers around Cecily von Lindenborn, just eighteen, and her mother who desires to see her safely married. They live in the aristocratic world of  Moscow that Pavlova describes as decorous, indolent and prescribed. 

Cecily doesn't have much personality herself. She's young and beautiful, but "she didn't know how to attain the fulfillment of her wishes ... if she had been taught to look a truth in the face, if she could have guessed what it means to love ...But how was this possible when not only feeling itself, but the very word had always been kept remote from her... Everything strove to suppress all spiritual strength in her, to kill all inner life." Only at night, in her dreams, does the poetry of her soul come out.

She has two suitors: Dmitry Ivachinsky and Prince Victor. But the mother of her best friend, Olga, wants Prince Victor for her own daughter, so she manipulates Cecily into believing herself in love with Dmitry, then schemes to get the  two of them engaged and married. Dmitry, while good looking, is not wealthy, and not entirely sincere in his proclamations of love, but then he, too, is a product of his society. The book ends with their wedding. 

A Double Life is a quiet novel of morning visits, evening gatherings, and conversations. It also shows Pavlova's disdain for the aristocratic world in which she lived and their suppression of women, especially young, marriageable ones. I thought it was an interesting read, even though it wasn't very exciting and I never felt a real connection to any of the characters. Pavlova's poetry at the end of each chapter is lyrical, though at times the use of it to show Cecily's inner feelings felt a bit contrived. I didn't dislike this one, but I can't say I liked it either. But I am glad I read it. And it counts for my Classic by a Woman Author for Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge.

Happy Reading!

A great bookish question...

 on a fun bookish tote:

The world would be a much better place if we did!

Fallen Creed by Alex Kava

 

The plot:  Ryder Creed is a former marine and a K-9 handler. His best scent dog is a small Jack Russell terrier named Grace; she can find everything from drugs to missing persons to electronic devices. Ryder and Grace are in Nebraska helping the FBI on a human trafficking case. FBI agent Maggie O'Dell is there, too. Ryder is glad to see her even though they haven't exactly defined their relationship. Then Ryder is asked to help find a missing woman named Libby Homes. Only an early October snowstorm blows in, and when Ryder and Grace don't return from their search, Maggie doesn't know if it's because of the snow, or because of the young woman he was searching for. She just knows she has to find him.

My thoughts:  Ryder Creed is a favorite character of mine, as is his dog, Grace. I love how he works with her and all his other dogs; and that K-9 component adds a fun layer to these mysteries that I really like. The secondary characters, Maggie, Ryder's sister, Brodie, and Jason, another K-9 handler, are also great. I did think the mystery in this one was not quite as tightly plotted as in Alex Kava's other books, and the ending felt rushed, but I still enjoyed it. So this one isn't my favorite Ryder Creed novel, but it is a good one!

Happy Reading!

Other Ryder Creed books I've reviewed (and loved!):

Breaking Creed (#1)

Lost Creed (#4)

Desperate Creed (#5)

Hidden Creed (#6)

Haiku Reviews...

 

The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams

Bree is his best friend

but Nathan wants more. Can he

make Bree love him back?

Romantic comedy .... 292 pages .... 4/5 stars.

(I loved how Nathan's football friends tried to help him get out of the friend zone!)

Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby

Two ex-cons, one black,

one white, team up to avenge

their murdered sons.

Crime fiction .... 319 pages .... 3.5/5 stars.

(If this book was a movie, it would definitely be Rated R for language and violence.)

An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen

Leah's found her way

back to God, but will the ultraorthodox

of Boro Park welcome her in?

Contemporary fiction (with a touch of romance).... 322 pages .... 4.5/5 stars.

(A lovely and informative immersion into Jewish culture.)

Happy Reading!

A 5-star nonfiction read!

 Question:  How do you dig a tunnel into the most heavily guarded country in the world?  

I remember watching on TV as the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, but I wasn't even born when it went up in 1961. Still, I've always found accounts of it fascinating. And I have to say, this is the best book I've ever read about the lives of East Berliners and their desperate determination to be free. 

In Tunnel 29, Helena Merriman tells the story of Joachim Rudolph, whose family unsuccessfully tried to escape the Red Army in 1945. He grew up in East Berlin, but managed to escape East Germany in 1961, crossing a dark field on a moonless night with his friend. Then he got his mom and sister out. But his story doesn't end there. In May 1962, he and several other university students living in West Berlin began digging a tunnel under Bernauer Strasse that would end up being 135 meters long. They dug night and day for over four months. They dug through thick clay. They evaded Stasi spies and risked their lives. And on Sept. 14, 1962, they broke through the floor of a cellar in East Berlin and helped 29 people escape to freedom. 

I absolutely loved this book! It's eye-opening, informative, heartbreaking, compelling, extraordinary and life-affirming. And it will definitely be on my favorites list at the end of the year. 

Happy Reading!

Similar fiction read:

Something funny...

These novel crossovers by John Atkinson at Wrong Hands totally made me laugh. I hope they make you smile, too. 

Have a great day...

and happy reading! 

The Suite Spot by Trish Doller

 

I loved Float Plan by Trish Doller, so when I saw she had a new book out I was very excited to read it. And The Suite Spot does not disappoint.

The plot:  Rachel Beck is a single mom--her daughter, Maisie, is almost four. She works as the night manager at a luxury hotel in Miami and it's a job she really loves. Until the night she gets fired. And when she realizes that Maisie's father is never going to step up and be the man she wants him to be, she decides to accept a job at a new brewery/hotel on Kelley's Island in Ohio. Only the lodgings there haven't even been built! And her new boss, Mason Brown, isn't the most outgoing or friendly guy. (Although he's very handsome when he does smile.) Somehow he convinces Rachel to stay and help him get The Limestone up and running. And things slowly start to fall into place for all of them. 

My thoughts:  I really liked how Rachel takes a chance and creates a new life for herself and her daughter. And Mason's own journey, as he deals with his grief over the death of his daughter a year ago, felt very real; his interactions with Maisie were especially poignant and sweet. These two characters are both so easy to like and root for. I loved watching their relationship deepen first into friendship, then into love. This book is a charming and fun romance. And I liked it a lot. 

Happy Reading!