Perhaps it is a sign of the times, but I have been buying fewer books, and with less time to go to the library I have hit my own bookshelf to read old favorites once again. Both Intrusions by Ursula Hegi and The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. by Sandra Gulland are books I read quite a while ago, have moved with me several times and I thought deserved a re-read.
Intrusions did not hold up quite as well as I hoped, but was entertaining none the less. I love that the story is told from the perspective of an author writing a book and her characters intrude and try to influence the story. Apparent to no one else, there is the obvious line being walked between sanity and delusion. There is also the distinct dated feeling about parts of the book that were almost more humorous than the actual story events. The book was only written 11 years ago but the missed commuications and complications that occur (which would never happen now because most people have cell phones) feels odd.
I adore The Josephine Bonaparte Collection by Sandra Gulland. The Many Lives & Secret Sorrows of Josephine B. is the first of three books written in a journal/letter set up. Some how Gulland is able to almost immediately create a a bond (esp. for me) between reader and characters. This book is filled with vivid imagining of the time of the Revolution in France and Josephine's life prior to her life with Napolean. Gulland's research and attention to historical facts are artfully blended with fictional interpretation. It has been nearly 10 years since this book came out and I used to be so disappointed that Sandra Gulland had not published any further books...until today! I was on amazon.com looking up her name and I see that a new book came out in June 2008!!! It appears that Mistress of the Sun is a tale of Louis XIV's mistress, Louise de la Vallière. I did not blink twice before adding it to my wish list! There is also a much older book about Anne Boleyn that is most likely out of print that I will try to dig up as well.
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