Maisie Dobbs

Maisie Dobbs  by Jacqueline Winspear

 

Soho Press 2003

Reviewed by Linnea Patrick

 

Maisie Dobbs is the first book in a series of seven books. The story begins with the adventures of a young London woman who was a nurse in World War I. When she returns she is at a loss and turns to an old mentor who encourages her to become a private investigator. The series provides a good look at life in England in the years between the two world wars. The characters are interesting and well developed.

 

Commencement by J.Courtney Sullivan is good "beach reading." The novel is about four girls who meet as dorm mates at Smith College. The book takes them to graduation and into the next decade of their lives in the 70's and 80's.

 

French Lessons by Ellen Sussman is a quartet of love stories featuring a single day in the lives of three French language tutors in Paris and their adult students.

Lost on Planet China

Lost on Planet China: One Man's Attempt to Understand the World's Most Mystifying Nation

By J. Maarten Troost

Broadway; Reprint edition 2009

Reviewed by Amy Christiansen

This book is a hilarious account of a travel writer's experiences when traveling in China in 2006. He describes his journey with accounts of meeting people and trying to understand a culture with which he is clearly not familiar. He found a nation which is spread between traditional culture at one end and unrestrained capitalism at the other end, sandwiching Maoism in between. He travels from megalopolises such as Beijing and Shanghai to rural villages and markets, and from environments such as Yunnan Province's rainforests to Xinjiang's deserts. The book covers the beauty and the warts to be found in this complex, evolving nation. The author also provides travel tips regarding food, haggling in a Chinese market, what to see, and the different rules of manners in China. This book is both educational and entertaining.