Company of Liars by Karen Maitland

 

Company of Liars

by 

Karen Maitland

This novel sucked me in immediately and kept me reading.  After checking it out on my kindle less than two weeks ago, I stayed up late last night finishing it.  It is the story of nine people who are living  during the time of the plague in mid 1300s England.  They are traveling toward the north to leave the cities and coastal towns where the plague began, hoping to arrive in more rural towns with the cold weather which normally kills disease.  Although strangers,  nine travelers band together to make their journey safer and help each other along the way.  Each of the nine people have a secret from their past.  As their trip continues their secrets become known and they begin to be killed off one by one.  I found the beliefs and superstitions described in the novel about disease during medieval times very interesting.  Click  HERE  for  further content from the author's historical research.  Click on the book title and author's name above  for more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  I highly recommend this book.  I will definitely read more of Karen Maitland's work.  

Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon

Death at La Fenice

by 

Donna Leon

Normally I am a fan of historical fiction.  But sometimes I switch gears because I want a quick read.  At those times one of my go to authors is Donna Leon.  She writes mysteries in a Venetian setting.  Each of her novels addresses a social issue and her first novel, Death at La Fenice is no exception.  Written in the early 1990s, the issue chosen for this book, unfortunately remains an issue.  The mystery revolves around  a famous opera conductor who  is found dead in his dressing room between acts.  He was poisoned.  He was very talented and renown and in his early seventies.  During the investigation it is revealed that he is very strict with the conduct he allows in his singers and instrumentalists.  He is especially hard on homosexuals who he threatens to and sometimes does destroy their careers and their personal lives.  This comes out fairly early in the investigation and brings to the surface quite a few suspects.  But the police investigator continues to dig and finds out that this highly thought of man is a real creeper.  He has a taste for girls about age twelve who are usually sisters or daughters of women he establishes relationships with.  Therefore, over the course of his life, he has left a string of very angry and vengeful women.  This book has a good lesson for women to never let down one's guard where the safety of the girls around them are concerned.  This book also has a lesson for men who are sexual predators.  Sooner or later someone will likely make sure you get your just deserts.  The problem of our youth being victims of sexual violence continues. Today, one in nine girls are victims of sexual abuse or assault.    Click HERE for more information.  This novel is an easy read and a quick read.  I highly recommend it, or any of Donna Leon's books, for those that like a good mystery.  Please click on the book title or author's name above to follow the link. for more information.  And enjoy the video that follows.  

The Happiest Man On Earth by Eddie Jaku

 

The Happiest Man On Earth

by

Eddie Jaku

The year before his death in 202, one hundred year old Eddie Jaku wrote his memoir.  It is a quick read and outlines his life along with his formula for happiness.  Eddie was a Jewish man who survived the concentration camps during WWII.  After the allies took him to a hospital, near death, he was experiencing some anger and bitterness about all he experienced at the hands of the Nazis.  As his life progressed he was able to let go of hate and embrace love as a lifestyle.  He attributes his survival of the death camps to some important factors.  One is the relationships he had with friends and family.  Even though his parents were killed in the gas chambers,  his sister remained alive as did one of his best friends.  Relationships with them and other friendships he developed were an important ingredient of being able to continue living in the death camps.   Another thing he mentions that was important to his survival was hope.  Without hope people ran to the electric fence and grabbed on thereby electrocuting themselves.   Hope kept Eddie going.   A third thing that was important was helping others.  Eddie believes a life that includes service to others is necessary to survive in a community.  Those that survived the concentration camps did so by helping each other through it.  One hundred year old Eddie Jaku believed the secret to happiness is love, hope and cooperation.  Eddie volunteered at the Sydney Holocaust Museum and did a lot of speaking at schools and churches.  He was even invited to do a TED talk.  Eventually he wrote his book.  Please click on the author's name and book title above to learn more about Eddie.   And enjoy the video of his TED talk that follows.  We could all use a good dose of Eddie Jaku.