Mrs. Poe

Mrs. Poe Lynn Cullen 4/5	First Sentence "When given bad news, most women of my station can afford to slump into their divans, their china cups slipping from their fingers to the carpet, their hair falling prettily from its pins, their fourteen starched petticoats compacting with a plush crunch."
Publisher's Description: A vivid and compelling novel about a woman who becomes entangled in an affair with Edgar Allan Poe—at the same time she becomes the unwilling confidante of his much-younger wife.   It is 1845, and Frances Osgood is desperately trying to make a living as a writer in New York; not an easy task for a woman—especially one with two children and a philandering portrait painter as her husband. As Frances tries to sell her work, she finds that editors are only interested in writing similar to that of the new renegade literary sensation Edgar Allan Poe, whose poem, “The Raven” has struck a public nerve.   She meets the handsome and mysterious Poe at a literary party, and the two have an immediate connection. Poe wants Frances to meet with his wife since she claims to be an admirer of her poems, and Frances is curious to see the woman whom Edgar married.  As Frances spends more and more time with the intriguing couple, her intense attraction for Edgar brings her into dangerous territory. And Mrs. Poe, who acts like an innocent child, is actually more manipulative and threatening than she appears. As Frances and Edgar’s passionate affair escalates, Frances must decide whether she can walk away before it’s too late...  Set amidst the fascinating world of New York’s literati, this smart and sexy novel offers a unique view into the life of one of history’s most unforgettable literary figures. (Published 2013)
Dear Reader, I find I love books which start off as if they are going to be romance novels, but then go so much further than that.  Probably that is because I'm not much of a he-swept-her-off-her-feet romance kind of girl.  I prefer the more realistic version of life, I think. That being said, that is exactly what Mrs. Poe was.  I know the story Cullen wove wasn't 100% true-to-life, but she did quite a bit of research for the background of her story, and it showed.  The book she wrote was a very plausible (at least, to me) version of how (now virtually unknown) poet Frances Osgood and Edgar Allen Poe's lives might have once intertwined.  A truly tragic story all around, and despite Mrs. Poe's bearing at times, you couldn't help but feel sorry for every single person in the novel - well, almost every one.  Certainly the main players.  Osgood led a very disappointing life, and the outlet she found in Poe was a beautiful, but heartbreaking one.  This wasn't a tale of forbidden love as much as it was a portrait of life, though.  The struggles and limitations that we all face. I was particularly enthralled by the caricatures that Cullen drew of New York's literati at the time - that was probably the most fun part of the book!  I enjoyed her sprinkling in of people (P.T. Barnum, Walt Whitman, Louisa May Alcott, Astor!) and events of the time (the "flattening" of NYC, the all-destroying fires, daguerreotypes, the treatment of writers as superstars) which really brought the time period alive for me.  Her connecting the story to the true history of New York, or at least a very close rendering of the city at that time, was fascinating. I was intrigued by the small mysteries which Cullen threw in, as well, certainly making this far less of a romance - although there were certainly the moments of passion! - and much more engaging.  While the story circled like a single-shot camera around Osgood in Poe's embrace, it also allowed for cut scenes into so many other smaller, related, and very engaging subplots. The title of the book particularly interests me - does it refer to the cousin who legally married Poe when she was just a girl?  Or does it allude to the role Osgood often played as "Mrs. Poe" when she and Edgar were together, playing parts?  It straddles that line so well, as did the story: you didn't always want to root for the woman who seemed to be tearing apart a marriage, but at the same time, her story and her character were so compelling.  It was difficult not to wish Frances Osgood all the best, in the end.  Whatever her true story was, I am glad this side was told. Yours, Arianna P.S. Be sure you read the Author's Note at the end of the story - Cullen discusses her inspiration, her process, and most importantly, the rest of the tragic history.

Invisible

Invisible Paul Auster 3.5/5	First Sentence (and a bit more) "I shook his hand for the first time in the spring of 1967. I was a second-year student at Columbia then, a know-nothing boy with an appetite for books and a belief (or delusion) that one day I would become good enough to call myself a poet, and because I read poetry, I had already met his namesake in Dante's hell, a dead man shuffling through the final verses of the twenty-eighth canto of the Inferno."
Publisher's Description: “One of America’s greatest novelists” dazzlingly reinvents the coming-of-age story in his most passionate and surprising book to date." Sinuously constructed in four interlocking parts, Paul Auster’s fifteenth novel opens in New York City in the spring of 1967, when twenty-year-old Adam Walker, an aspiring poet and student at Columbia University, meets the enigmatic Frenchman Rudolf Born and his silent and seductive girfriend, Margot. Before long, Walker finds himself caught in a perverse triangle that leads to a sudden, shocking act of violence that will alter the course of his life. Three different narrators tell the story of Invisible, a novel that travels in time from 1967 to 2007 and moves from Morningside Heights, to the Left Bank of Paris, to a remote island in the Caribbean. It is a book of youthful rage, unbridled sexual hunger, and a relentless quest for justice. With uncompromising insight, Auster takes us into the shadowy borderland between truth and memory, between authorship and identity, to produce a work of unforgettable power that confirms his reputation as “one of America’s most spectacularly inventive writers.”
Dear Reader, I selected to read this in Audio book format. Paul Auster reads his books beautifully (in my opinion) and I can never resist the chance to listen to his hypnotizing voice. I was under the impression that everyone would enjoy his narration just as much, however, I found out that not everyone feels the same as me. I listen to my audio books in my car and every now and then, my boyfriend gets to listen too (when we decide to take my car.) He was blessed one day to ride with me while I was just starting Invisible, I was actually quite excited thinking that he'd find Auster as wonderful as me. No, he did not. I didn't even have to ask him what he thought of Auster's glorious voice, he told me right away, "How can you STAND it? His voice is so monotone!" That's when I realized what he said was true! I still didn't care, monotone or not, I loved every syllable. I wanted to tell this story because I think it taught me a lesson and really needs to be said for readers asking if they should Audio this book or just read it. I would jump up and down and say you'd be crazy not to want to hear Auster sex up his own writing... but on the other hand, maybe you would be like my boyfriend and wonder why he doesn't use any inflection or change his voice for each character. To each their own! With that said, on to the book itself. This book is chock full of crazy stuff. If you know Auster, you'll know to expect this. If this is a first time Auster read? I would suggest picking up one of his earlier books first (or audio booking Winter Journal - my favorite). The story is told in seasons, each one a chapter of the book the main character has written of his life. I always love books about books, this one lacked a little of that charm though. The charm the story held was within the development of Adam and the whimsical characters he interacted with. Whimsical may be the wrong word for that if you start thinking of Disney characters but that was the first word that came to mind. You see Adam throughout his life; traveling, getting into trouble, struggling writer, wanting to know the meaning of everything. Auster always does this so well (again, in my opinion). The shocking moments of the book really took me for surprise, they come at times you don't expect them. I would recommend this book to anyone who has already experienced Auster and enjoyed his work. Happy Reading, AmberBug