Book Review | Book Chatter

The Day The Falls Stood Still
By Cathy Marie Buchanan
Publisher: Voice
Pub. Date: August 2009
ISBN-13: 9781401340971
320pp

The blurb from the publisher:

Steeped in the intriguing history of Niagara Falls, this epic love story is as rich, spellbinding, and majestic as the falls themselves.

1915. The dawn of the hydroelectric power era in Niagara Falls. Seventeen-year-old Bess Heath has led a sheltered existence as the youngest daughter of the director of the Niagara Power Company. After graduation day at her boarding school, she is impatient to return to her picturesque family home near Niagara Falls. But when she arrives, nothing is as she had left it. Her father has lost his job at the power company, her mother is reduced to taking in sewing from the society ladies she once entertained, and Isabel, her vivacious older sister, is a shadow of her former self. She has shut herself in her bedroom, barely eating-and harboring a secret.

The night of her return, Bess meets Tom Cole by chance on a trolley platform. She finds herself inexplicably drawn to him-against her family’s strong objections. He is not from their world. Rough-hewn and fearless, he lives off what the river provides and has an uncanny ability to predict the whims of the falls. His daring river rescues render him a local hero and cast him as a threat to the power companies that seek to harness the power of the falls for themselves. As their lives become more fully entwined, Bess is forced to make a painful choice between what she wants and what is best for her family and her future.

The Short of It:

All of the elements are here…a sweeping love story, the struggle for acceptance, the challenges that family dynamics present…all amid the raging backdrop of the Niagara Falls. Lush and full of life. Fans of historical fiction will enjoy this one.

The Rest of It:

Every time I opened this book, I felt as if I were stepping off of the page, right into the Niagara. I could feel the mist upon my face, the powerful tug of the current and I could hear the roar of the water as it plunged over the falls. I love it when a novel can transport you to another time and place.

In addition to its glorious setting, this novel also deals with class struggle, the environmental impact of hydroelectric power upon the falls, and the effects of war. This novel is unique, well paced and well thought out. I appreciate the tenderness of the characters, and by that I mean that they are strong, yet vulnerable and I find that I can easily relate to them at different points of the story. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

To give you a taste of the novel, check out the book trailer:

The Day The Falls Stood Still was chosen as a Barnes & Noble Recommends pick and just made its debut on the New York Times Best Seller’s list!

If you’d like to read more about Cathy Marie Buchanan, click here to visit her website.

Check out the rest of Cathy’s tour stops here.

To purchase the book, please visit Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s or an independent bookseller of your choice!

Cathy Marie Buchanan will be stopping by Book Chatter and Other Stuff on Thursday, September 10th for a Q&A session. Come back for that, and there might be a little surprise to go along with it.

Thanks to Cathy and Diane for providing me with this review copy.

The Danish Girl
By David Ebershoff
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Pub. Date: February 2001
ISBN-13: 9780140298482
288pp

The blurb from the publisher:

It starts with a question, a simple favor asked of a husband by his wife on an afternoon chilled by the Baltic wind while both are painting in their studio. Her portrait model has canceled, and would he mind slipping into women’s shoes and stockings for a few moments so that she can finish the painting on time? “Of course,” he answers, “Anything at all.” With that, one of the most passionate and unusual love stories of the twentieth century begins.

The Short of It:

A non-traditional love story that will stay with you long after you put it down.

The Rest of It:

I absolutely loved this novel. The novel itself was inspired by the marriage of Einar and Gerda Wegener, both artists living in Copenhagen in 1925. As Einar realizes that he is indeed a woman, seemingly trapped in a man’s body, he becomes Lili and the three of them live together as a family of sorts. At first, he dresses as Lili in the privacy of the apartment that he shares with Greta but as the weeks pass and with the support of Greta, he begins to allow Lili to take short shopping trips. After several outings, Lili is introduced as Einar’s sister and even attends a few social gatherings. As her confidence grows, Greta sees less and less of Einar and she realizes that soon her husband may not exist at all.

Ebershoff paints Einar as a very delicate creature. Here is an example:

“Einar pressed the side of his face into the pillow. He fell asleep again. There he was, Greta’s huband. With his fine skin, and his small head with the temples that dented softly, almost like a baby’s. With his nose flaring with breath. With his smell of turpentine and talc. With the skin around his eyes, red and nearly on fire. “

The love that Greta has for her husband is what encourages her to support his transformation. As afraid as she is of losing Einar, she feels that his happiness means more to her than their marriage. Once she accepts this, she begins to seek medical advice which results in Einar’s permanent gender modification. The first of its kind.

There are some very tender moments and some very difficult decisions made. Lili is surrounded by supportive friends as she completes the transformation but where does this leave Greta? Greta misses Einar yet she loves Lili and realizes that at some point, she must let Lili live her own life.

I’m telling you, this story just broke my heart but in a wonderful, “ball up your hankie and shed a tear” kind of way. This is my book club’s pick for this month (selected by me) and the meeting is tomorrow so I have to wait a day to hear what they thought of it but I am hoping that they enjoyed it as much as I did.

The other item that I want to mention is that The Danish Girl is being made into a movie and will star Nicole Kidman as Einar/Lili and Charlize Theron as Greta. How’s that for casting?

David Ebershoff also wrote The 19th Wife, which I know a lot of you have read. The Danish Girl was his first novel.

I’ll leave you with this photo of Lili Elbe:

Chatting with friends about books and life…