Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

SAVING CEECEE HONEYCUTT (2010) is the first novel by Beth Hoffman - let me say that first: I do so hope it is not her last one! I know this review is kind of late - for I read this book last year in March.. But still.. I like it that much that I want to share this with you..

Ohio, 1967. Cecilia "CeeCee" Honeycut is a twelve year old girl. Her mother still thinks she lives in 1951 - when she won a Beauty contest and became Vidalia Onion Queen. She is quite famous for wearing her ball gown or other fancy dresses  and of course her tiara allday long - and blowing kisses to each and everyone she meets in the streets. Not too easy to take for CeeCee - especially since her father is quite busy in his job and seldom in town with his family.

One day  CeeCee's mother is run over by an ice-cream van and dies. So CeeCee moves in at her aunt Tallulah's house in Savannah, Georgia. Aunt Tallulah (called "Tootie"), her cook Olette and several of Tootie's friends take care of CeeCee - who now for the first time spents an almost carefree summer. Just now and then there will be flashbacks of her mother - and that Oletta gets robbed adds some stir, too. 

~ German Cover - the title means: The women of Savannah ~

Actually there is not much to say about this book - besides: I love it!

It's filled with several wacky women, a purple couch (I want such a couch since forever!), a Buddhist - who at times will declare that karma is merely a question of interpretation, a car used as a greenhouse, a guardian angel called Delilah, a bathtub in the garden (another longtime dream of mine..), a traveling bra and lots and lots of flowers.

~ The Norwegian cover - the title means: CeeCee Honeycutt's saving angel ~

Well.. Yes.. There are countles clichées in this book - but these are loveable and friendly clichées. And: I simply adore those names!! 

A very warm-hearted book which will leave you very relaxed - though you will have a hard time making a break while reading it.. It is a little bit like FRIED GREEN TOMATOES AT THE WHISTLE STOP CAFE (1987).. And those of you who (like me..) loved THE MOONFLOWER VINE (1962) - will adore this book, too..

 ~ The Italian cover - the titel means: Flying lessons for beginners ~ 

For me it is one perfect Summer book - and I really want to re-read it soon..

Thank you very much for reading!

Yours 

Irene 

Duo and Le Toutounier by Colette

First things first: I like Colette. Not only her books but that what I know (or think to know) about her as a person - or is it personality? (When it comes to Colette I guess the second suits her best..) 

How could I not like her when she adored cats? well.. yes.. not really a reason - but a sidenote.. we all tend to like people for the silliest reasons - don't we? I sure do.. She also loved dogs - I am always liking people who are fond of animals..  

~ Colette & a little friend of hers.. ~

Then she was one of the most dazzling personalities of La Belle Époque (- and also of  the years afterwards, of course..)

~ Colette in 1907  - a ravishing woman causing scandals.. ~

Though married three times (one of her husbands was Jewish and she helped him while Nazi occupation in France - though she was bed-ridden because of arthrosis) she also had several (bisexual) affairs - and caused a scandal when she performed on stage of Moulin Rouge in Paris and kissed another woman with whom she had for many years a relationship. It was Mathiled "Missy" de Morny whose father was a halfbrother of Napoleon III. .. Just by the way: When she died in 1954 at age 81 she was the first female to ever receive a state funeral in France. (Though I don't think it mattered to her at that moment..)

~ Colette & "Missy" de Morny on stage ~ 

So.. yes.. Indeed material for a heroine in my book.. Speaking of books - here we go: I am reviewing DUO (1934) and LE TOUTOUNIER (1939) together because both have Alice as the leading lady - and I think these very narrow novels are widely selled in two volume editions.. 

In a nut-shell:

DUO (1934): 

Alice and her husband are spending some time on his cottage way out on the countryside - but they are having some troubles. It is not only with their stubborn servants and with the show they are working on - no: Michel found out that Alice had a (short-lived) affair - and he isn't feeling too well anyway..

LE TOUTOUNIER (1939): 

~ before going on to read: please be aware that this contains a spoiler because it is the follow-up to DUO.. ~

After Michel's death Alice returns to her sisters who are living a quite moderate life in Paris. While one of the sisters - Bizoute - now has found a husband and lives together with him, virginal Colombe and perky Hermine are still living in the same old flat the girls grew up in. Both are in love with married men - and Alice returns to a live full of meagre meals and wild turbulences..

~ this is how my 1962 German edition looks - don't you just love this, too? ~

For those who never read anything by Colette before: Please be aware that her style is something one has to get used to. She tends to throw her readers into her stories - and some of the information you have to find out on your own - she will give you hints but for sure not pamper you too much.. And she is for sure no romantic in a classic way - this is certainly no Jane Austen novel (of course I adore those, too..). No, Colette's characters are very "modern" when it comes to sex - they will have their affairs without being forced to marry afterwards and besides that at some points they are quite the cynics.. That is something which I enjoy - but not at all times to be true.. 

Anyway: These two novels a real fast reads. I especially loved LE TOUTOUNIER - maybe because of the involved persons and the setting: I am just more into the live of three not too young sisters who are living a bohemian life in Paris then in a married couple having some quarrels.. I am sure that is because I am not and never was married - and when it comes to long lasting relationships... Well.. I just know more about living a bohemian single girl's life.. 

How could I not identify with those girls when they're living mostly of coffee, cigarettes and wine? Well.. yes.. I skipped cigarettes three years ago when I started to live with my heart's delight: Lucy and Mina.. but still: before that my average breakfast was a big cup of coffee, half a grapefruit - and a cigarette.. Healthy, hm?

Oh and before I close this post I have to throw that in: I simply love those names like Bizoute and Colombe.. 

Thank you very much for reading!

yours

Irene

(living much more healthier now)

THE GRASS IS SINGING by Doris Lessing

THE GRASS IS SINGING by Doris Lessing caused a sensation when it was published in 1950 - it was Doris Lessing's first novel.

South Africa. The farmer’s wife Mary is killed. Her murderer, the black “boy” Moses, is very soon arrested while Mary’s husband Dick seems to have completely lost his mind.

In review the reader is told how this tragedy could happen.

As far as I remember I have not read any book about South Africa yet. (Northern Africa – yes. But not the southern part.)

I really, really enjoyed the first part in which Mary’s life in the town as a single girl is described – and how (because in the opinion of her friends it is not natural for a girl to stay unmarried) she changes her life and marries Dick – which will make both unhappy (and causes them to behave unfair) - this book teaches a lot about prejudices (sexism, racism…)

I liked the end very much, too – and I simply love the title. This book was able to depress me while I was reading it – just because the mood is captured so well.

The German title is AFRIKANISCHE TRAGÖDIE (=African Tragedy) - I love the original title - not that much the German one..

THE GRASS IS SINGING fits into my FORGOTTEN TREASURES CHALLENGE.

Read about my progress in this challenge here.

Andrea Levy: The Long Song

THE LONG SONG (2010) is Andrea Levy's fourth novel - and the second (after SMALL ISLAND) that is translated into German. (I think there are some problems to translate Jamaican slang into German..)

In a (veeery small) nutshell:

Kingston, Jamaica, 1889.
Formerly Miss July was a slave but now she is an old and a free woman. With help of her son, who made a career as a printer, she writes down her memoirs –and that’s what we read in this book.

Well, this might sound not very tempting – but it is quite exciting! It is a captivating read which makes you anxious to know what will happen next to Miss July and all the other characters.

There is no SONG OF THE SOUTH “plantation romance” (no “Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!” here – though I really like that song, because it is so merry..) with happy black people working for a noble white massa. Not so many noble people in this book at all.. I liked that.

To be honest I did not know much about the history of Jamaica – and how the abolition of slavery took place there. I found it quite interesting to find out more about what happened after the slaves were “free”. It surely wasn’t like: “Here, Miss July, take this horse and these juwels – and do you want to have all my dresses? It’s all yours. I am sorry what happened but now we’re friends and you’ll live in a little house on the hills with pink flowers all over the place. So, now let's go in and have some tea and cookies..”

Tough times - and tough people.

Here is the German cover:

The German title is DAS LANGE LIED EINES LEBENS (= a life's long song) and I like the colours of this book very, very much!
I like the English cover above very, very much, too. Somehow it makes me think of my childhood. (No, I did not grew up on a plantation - but there were some very savaged places where I spent a lot of my time..)

This book fits in one of my challenges:

Because this novel is setted into 19. century Jamaica it fits into the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge 2011.

Jane Austen: Mansfield Park

MANSFIELD PARK is a novel by Jane Austen from 1814 - it was translated into German in the second half of 20. (!) century. Yes! Unbelievable, isn't it??!? (I think it was in the 1970ies/1980ies - but I am not so sure about that.)

In a nutshell:

Fanny lives - as a poor relative - in her rich uncle‘s and aunt’s mansion: Mansfield Park. Fanny is a rather shy girl, who is secretly in love with her cousin Edmund. – But: Edmund is in love with Mary Crawford, a superficial young lady, whose brother Henry is courting Edmund’s sisters Maria and Julia – and eventually decides that Fanny is the woman of his dreams..

This is the plot of Jane Austen’s novel - in a really short version. There are complications/persons that I did not even mention.

Fanny is a quite invisible heroine – she is not at all like Elizabeth Bennet (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) or Marianne Dashwood (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY). I like her very much. And I feel a bit sorry for her, because she is always neglecting her wishes. Can you imagine the difference to young Jane Eyre? (As you probably know, I am reading JANE EYRE now.)

Of course Fanny is going to grow up, she won’t be a Rosa Parks or someone like that but she becomes a bit more mature – and of course she is the one to marry Edmund.

This is a not sooo romantic Jane Austen novel because the part of the story which could be the romantic climax is rather short and a bit too talkative.

~ Yes, Anne Bennet: you are completely right! ;”) ~

I like MANSFIELD PARK just because of its humor – I love Mr. Rushworth and I am a fan of Mrs. Norris and her sisters. I love that J.K. Rowling named the cat of the Hogwart’s caretaker “Mrs. Norris” after the Austen character – but now I cannot use the name for a cat myself – because I will not name a cat after a character from HARRY POTTER. Well.. Bellatrix Lestrange is a good name.. and Sirius, Lucius and Serverus.. well..

• Not only reading MANSFIELD PARK:
  There are – at least – three adaptations to the screen of this book - and two of them that I know: The BBC adaptation with Billie Piper as Fanny Price leaves out Fanny’s visit to her family in Pourtsmouth, while the adaptation with Frances O’Connor as Fanny and Johnny Lee Miller as Edmund adds Jane Austen’s letters to her sister Cassandra to the story, a bit about slavery in the colonies and – this is far more sensational: - sex!

Jacqueline Susann: Valley of the Dolls

THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS by Jacqueline Susann was a scandalous novel in 1966.

In a nutshell:

It's about the life of three girlfriends (and the death of one of them) from 1945 -1965:

Anne, the pretty New England lady, who works as a secretary for a theatrical lawyer and becomes the famous face for a cosmetic line - and whose love life has many letdowns.

Jennifer, the busty showgirl, who starts a career in films (rather nudies..) but finds her luck in a relationship - or doesn't she?

Neely, the impish girl with the magnificent voice, who becomes a famous singer and Hollywoodstar - but she has airs and graces -and a liability to dolls (which means pills.) and booze. But she is not the only of the three girls who is going to swallow these dolls...

This book hooked me immediately. It's kind of the classic read for trashy dames in Hollywood classics - and I love it. :") It's like a crossover between ALL ABOUT EVE, THE SNAKE PIT and PEYTON PLACE.

Here are some of the topics which are dealed with in this novel - in alphabetical order:

Abortion, addiction (to "dolls", booze and/or people - men, public, siblings, whatsoever..), breast cancer (so if you going on to do a breast cancer awareness challenge: this could be a book for you..), cosmetic sugery, mental illness, suicide attempts.. I could go on, you know.

• Living literally:
  Do Bust-exercises! - Yes, I do – and I use cacao-butter. My breasts are gorgeous. Just mentioning it. Someone should mention it – because I won’t post pictures. ;”)
  
• For Non-readers:
  There is a film from 1967 with Barabara Parkins as Anne, Patty Duke as Neely and Sharon Tate as Jennifer. The is somewhat different than the book. It's less cruel. There are not so lovely people in the book than they are in the film.. (-> read my film review here.)

This book fits in two of my challenges:

The LGBT Book Challenge, because one of the girls has a heavy lesbian affaire - and some of the mini-minor characters are gay. (They are mostly dubbed fags.)

The Forgotten Treasures Challenge, (See my progress here.) because this book was released in 1966.

P.G. Wodehouse: Piccadilly Jim

PICADILLY JIM by P.G. Wodehouse is one of my all-time favourite novels and I have troubles to believe that it was actually released in 1917 because it is so very timeless.

In a nutshell:
New York. Five years ago Ann Chester’s very mawkish love poems were published and torn to pieces in a news paper article by Jimmy Crocker. Since then Anne became a very matter-of-fact and modern young lady, who hates Jimmy Crocker with all her might – though she did not meet him since. Now she wants to help her uncle whose 14 year old plump stepson Ogden does what he likes with him. So, of course, Ogden has to be kidnapped – and brought to a dog nursing home, where overfed pet dogs are got into shape. (No question, isn’t it?)

Then Ann’s “accomplice” – her uncle’s personal trainer – is fired by Ann’s aunt. What now? But Ann talks a young man – a chance acquaintance – round into pose as her aunt’s long-time-no-see nephew. This nephew is no other than Jimmy Crocker, who because of his dissolute lifestyle in London, is by now dubbed “Piccadilly Jim”. But: this young man, who immediately fells for Ann, is not that strange:

It is (of course) Jimmy Crocker, who now has to dial with the kidnapping, the girl of his dreams, a fake butler and a spy..

This book is so enormous funny and very turbulent – there are some story parts which I did not even mention, and this book is full of marvelous characters - my favourite one is Miss Trimble – a female detective/ socialist/ suffragette- who adds even more confusion.

I like the German cover very much – it is using “The Gourmands” (1924) by George Barbier (1882 – 1932). ->

I did not (yet) watch the 2004 film with Sam Rockwell as Piccadilly Jim – did you?