Favorite Reads of Summer 2009: Part Two

The Tenth Gift: A Novel  by Jane Johnson 

Of course I'd heard of the pirates of the Barbary Coast, and I knew that they captured many European ships, but I had no idea of the extent of their raiding. It turns out that between 1530 and 1780 as many as 1.4 million men and women (and even some children) from Italy, Spain, Portugal, England, and Ireland were captured by Muslim raiders and sold into slavery.

To make this even clearer, in the three years from 1677 to 1680 approximately 8,700 British men and women were snatched and sold by the pirates.

Seems there's always more history than what we learn in school.

The Tenth Gift begins when Julia Lovat receives a 17th century book of sewing patterns from her married lover as a parting gift when he ends the affair. She's intrigued by the slim volume as her own art is embroidery.

But she becomes even more fascinated when she notices that the book was used as a journal  by Cat Treganna who scribbled the story of her abduction by pirates. Cat and the whole congregation at her Cornwall church were taken one Sunday in 1625 and sold into slavery in Morocco.

The novel weaves Julia's story and her obsession to discover what happened to Cat, and Cat's own story in an exciting and colorful tale full of twists and turns. Although a bit awkward at times--as when Julia dreams of events that happened to Cat--this is an interesting and engaging story that brings to life a little known bit of history.

A Couple of Quick Picks

Fifty Is Not a Four-Letter Word by Linda Kelsey--Rather annoying woman who "has it all" loses it completely as her 50th birthday approaches. Her teenage son is having an affair with a single mother, she is replaced by a younger, hipper editor at her glamorous magazine job, and her husband leaves her. After a period of wallowing, she flees to Paris, and eventually comes to grip with the fact that being female and 50 is not the end. This novel is better than it sounds due to the very clever, witty, and humorous writing, authenticity, and descriptions of Paris.

The Reincarnationist and The Memorist by M.J. Rose---Characters suffer from flashbacks from what seem to be fascinating and also horrifying previous lives. Secret societies. Suspense. Danger. Intrigue. These novels are fun to read and much much better than The DaVinci Code. Rose grounds everything in real possibility and has done extensive research into ancient and modern ideas about reincarnation. Fun to read and food for thought and speculation.