Pulchritude: A Review

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Pulchritude is an archaic word meaning beauty.

We all know the story of Beauty and the Beast. With her novel, Pulchritude, Ana Mardoll recreates the fairy tale in novel form. She adds some twists and turns not found in the original. She tells the story from multiple perspectives, each character getting his or her own telling of events. Mardoll does a good job of creating vivid imagery and lively, believable dialogue. There is tension between the characters, especially between Bella and her father, whom she feels has betrayed her... because he has.

We all know the Disney version of the story. This isn't it. In this version of Beauty and the Beast, the father is a selfish person. He sacrifices his daughter to save his own life. He is despicably selfish. Bella feels resentful, betrayed and abandoned.

These are not feelings normally explored in fairy tale. The facts are laid out, but the feelings are not explored. The reader can see very clearly that a betrayal of some sort has occurred, but the characters of the story don't have room in the format of the short tale to develop fully, their thoughts and inner experiences.

Fairy tales are raw plot. The format doesn't lend itself to the complexity of the relationships, the introspection of each character, yet the plot of the fairy tale nearly screams for such a narrative. So kudos to Ana Mardoll for taking on the struggle of turning a fairy tale into a novel.

It is not an easy task. You must imagine details, and create worlds from the old timeless classics without being cliche. But it is a good idea to do an exercise like this. You don't have to create the tension, it is already there in the story. You don't have to invent the plot. This frees you up to examine other aspects of writing. It allows you to immerse yourself in solid, time tested examples of great story telling. It forces you to deal with the tension and discomfort that conflict creates, and should create, in a story.

Amateur writers shy away from tension. Fairy tales force you to deal with tension. Fairy tales are nothing but tension. No fairy tale drones on and on without a central conflict, usually a betrayal of some sort. I cannot think of a better way for a writer to improve than to do what Ana Mardoll has done, and done very well, than to take on the challenge of turning a fairy tale into a novel.

Ana Mardoll is one of the top reviewers on Amazon. As such, she has been deciphering good writing from bad and has obviously learned a great deal about what makes a story work, and what leaves the reader unsatisfied. What the average reader is looking for is high dramatic tension and conflict. And the fairy tale is a perfect place for a writer to get his training wheels. Of course you don't have to stick to the story either, nor the time frame.

You could take the story and tell it in a modern setting, disguising the fairy tale underneath. In fact if you look at many great and famous love stories you will find the Cinderella story, Beauty and the Beast, The Frog Prince or some other basic fairy tale structure at their core.

In some ways writing a story with the fairy tale structure beneath the surface might be easier than what Mardoll did in her book Pulchritude. She brought a timeless classic to life in something close to the original version (although there are usually many versions of a fairy tale) with some new twists. She played with the storyline and used creative license to give Beauty and the Beast a new look. A face lift, if you will.

Pulchritude is available for free if you want a pdf file, or you can get it for $2.99 on Amazon kindle. For the free PDF file find Ana Mardoll on Goodreads or Amazon and ask her to send you one.

Anthea Carson is the author of "How to Play Chess Like an Animal," an illustrated chess book for children, "Ainsworth," a YA fiction and "The Dark Lake," a novel of obsession and madness.

Anthea has been writing, coaching chess and playing tournament chess since the 1990's. She is in the top 100 chess females in the US, and one time winner of the US Game 60 female chess championship. She obtained her bachelor's degree in Philosophy from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She currently lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and two children.

http://www.thedarklake.com/

Dan Brown's Lost Symbol in the US Capitol

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When author Dan Brown spoke about the underlying messages encrypted in the architecture of the US Capitol building in his novel The Lost Symbol, he wasn't kidding. Many of his descriptions including the layout of the Capitol Building are accurate and more than a figment of Brown's imagination. Public and private tours of the US Capitol bring this to light and give Lost Symbols a sense of reality.

On private tours with a Congressman's aide, visitors are taken downstairs to the basement where George Washington's tomb is encased. It is not really where the first President of the United States is buried but the tomb is meant to be a symbol of the cornerstone of the nation's Capitol. References to the tomb are pertinent to Brown's story. From the outside, the Capitol building may seem like a rectangular structure with a cone on top of it, but it's actually built on a vertical line that runs from Washington's tomb in the basement straight up to the Statute of Freedom on the top of the Capitol's dome. This continuous line is reflective of a needle that threads through the center of the building. The invisible obelisk extends from Washington's tomb in the basement to the Rotunda on the main floor, which again has pertinence to Brown's story, and right up to the Statue of Freedom on the Capitol's dome.

Branching off from the obelisk are the four quadrants of the Capitol, which is significant to the plot in Brown's novel. Of course, before visitors can enter the Capitol building they must go through the metal detectors at the opening of the Visitor's Center, which Brown provides a terse description of in his novel. The novel's nemesis, Mal'akh, doesn't take off his jacket before going through the metal detectors. It's a minor flaw in the book, but Brown does accurately portray the roominess and lure of the Visitor's Center's atrium with its glass paneled skylight in Emancipation Hall allowing visitors a unique view of the Capitol building as they look up at the building. The Visitor's Center is heavily lit, which Brown is not remiss is detailing. Its d?cor pervades a subtle extravagance with museum-like statues and thick neoclassical columns. The atrium is flanked by Emancipation Hall and Exhibition Hall. The exhibits in these halls contain a wide breadth of documents signed by past presidents, in addition to glass-encased models displaying the construction of the US Capitol along its gradual stages.

In the novel, Brown quickly moves from the Visitor's Center to the National Statuary Hall, which is located on the main floor of the Capitol Building and separated from the Rotunda by a corridor that connects the two. The National Statuary Hall is where Brown's main character, Robert Langdon, is deceived into thinking that he is scheduled to speak at a lecture. The hall is structured like an amphitheatre that harks back to the 1800's. The chamber was once the meeting place for the members of the House of Representatives where they participated in deliberations. The dome-shaped ceiling affected the acoustics in the room so someone on one end of the chamber could hear the party on the corresponding side. Thus making the hearsay story about John Quincy Adams plausible as the dome ceiling enabled him to eavesdrop on the opposing party's conversations while sitting on the opposite side of the chamber. Where Adams' desk was situated is a plague that marks the spot where he listened in on his opponents conversations. Today, the chamber is no longer used by members of Congress but houses sculptures of important American figures, some of whom include Samuel Adams, Sequoyah, and Robert Fulton.

Following Brown's novel, he takes his character Robert Langdon from the National Statuary Hall to the most publicized part of the Capitol Building, the Rotunda. The mammoth sized dome ceiling is overwhelming as well as the humongous eight oil paintings that decorate the walls of the chamber. Brown briefly mentions the oil paintings which portray eight significant events that formed America. The earliest ones being: The Baptism Of Pocahontas by John Gadsby Chapman with Pocahontas garbed in a white gown and being the only woman visible in the eight paintings, Christopher Columbus' discovery of America in The Landing of Columbus by John Vanderlyn, The Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Walter Weir displaying the Pilgrims landing in Plymouth, and John Trumbull's representation of the Continental Congress in the Declaration of Independence. The figures in the paintings are all shown in action and dominated by earthy tones.

A significant aspect about the Rotunda which Brown doesn't mention in his novel are the 19 panels that adorn the middle rim of the dome entitled the Frieze of American History, and the parapet which allows people to walk along the perimeter of the dome. It's an arena that is only accessible by special invitation. The panels lead up to the gigantic fresco The Apotheosis of Washington made by Constantino Brumidi. It is situated at the apex of the dome in the Rotunda. This artwork is central to Brown's novel whose main character, Robert Langdon discovers his friend's severed hand in the Rotunda with the index finger positioned upward towards The Apotheosis of Washington. Langdon must decipher the riddles behind the fresco in order to figure out what his nemesis Mal'akh wants from him. The fresco is an allegory that depicts George Washington as a god-like figure flanked by the Roman goddesses of Victory and Liberty. From the floor of the Rotunda, the images on the fresco are very difficult to make out, but it still stimulates the mind nonetheless with its swirling colors and striking frame.

In The Lost Symbol, Brown broaches the secret chambers entombed in the basement of the US Capitol designated for the individual members of Congress. Although tours are not permitted into the subterranean level of the building, the history behind the upper floors are immortalized in Brown's book including the Old Supreme Court Chamber and the present-day chamber for the House of Representatives. Brown mentions the House of Representatives chamber where C-Span cameras are located on the upper tier to tape the convening committees. There are doors on both sides of the dais where representatives are interviewed by members of the media in an anteroom.

Brown's novel touches on the impressiveness of the US Capitol Building as every aspect of the structure reveals a historical fact about America, many of which have been buried over the years and have been exhumed in Dan Brown's book. Walking along the Capitol's invisible obelisk allows visitors to enter the mindset of the building's architects and make connections that can only be awakened by experiencing the US Capitol Building for oneself. Brown's The Lost Symbol inspires readers to find symbols that are right in front of them, displayed in the entails of the US Capitol.

What Is Fitzgerald Trying to Say About the American Dream in 'The Great Gatsby'?

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The American dream is such a major theme in The Great Gatsby that whether you are studying it was just reading it for fun you must be wondering what Fitzgerald is trying to say about. Some people argue the book of the criticism of the American dream, some people think Fitzgerald is trying to say the American dream is dead, others think the criticism is solely of Gatsby who paid the price of living too long with a single dream. Let's have a look at some quotes from the Great Gatsby.

Gaby's dream is the most prominent of the book. It is all encompassing, it has taken over his life completely. He thought he loved Daisy, but when he finally met her after all these years he found that he still wanted more. He wanted her to say that she never loved another man. He couldn't be happy with what he had, he has to be perfect. He is an example of people who abuse the American dream.

Character's like Myrtle and Wilson look up and Daisy and Tom. They want what they have, they think that they have achieved the American Dream. The reader knows different thought, we can see exactly how happy Daisy and Tom are. Behind the fa?ade of perfection they present, their perfect marriage, in their lovely house with their beautiful daughter, they are both bored and unhappy. With no job and no purpose in life they have grown 'restless.' Both of them have affairs and neither seems to care about there child. Fitzgerald is trying to say that life isn't what you imagine at the top.

It is obvious that, at least in the world of the Great Gatsby, money doesn't buy you happiness. Unfortunately it is just as clear that the lower classes are obsessed with money and view it as their ticket to living the dream. When you only look at their bank balances Gatsby and Tom are both wildly successful and that is all the lower classes see.

The photograph that Gatsby's father carries around with him becomes the symbol of this obsession of the lower classes. Instead of carrying a picture of his son he carries a a picture of his house, a symbol of his wealth, and what proves he is a success. Just as Gatsby was lured by Dan Cody's expensive yacht, so the next generation will look at this photo and think that if they work hard enough they can come from nothing like Gatsby and be as happy as him. The sad fact is we know Gatsby was never happy and when he died no one came to his funeral.

What can we draw from this then, does Fitzgerald think the American dream is dead. On the contrary I believe that he thinks it will continue perpetually, the people always look at the rich and wish they could be like them. And so the book is not telling you the American dream is dead is telling you that it will always live on and be wary of its promises.

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Mayor of the Dog Park, By: Anne Gilbert

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Intelligently written and as fast as a Greyhound chasing Rusty, the electronic pace-rabbit at the Kennel Club Dog Track, author Anne Gilbert takes her readers by the collar and pulls them quickly into a story of retribution, revenge and reprisal in her novelette, Mayor of the Dog Park.

A vacant lot reclaimed by a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, the dog park named "Faux Paws" became a daily routine for designer dogs, pedigrees, hounds, mutts and their owners of various "human-breeds" as well. Animally bonded, the K-9s and their respective 401K owners all seem to be appropriately matched in temperament, personality and intelligence. With names like Moe & Lucky, Gimp & Muffle, Ramon & Lolita, and of course the mayor Eddie, and his dog won from a church prize, Bingo, these duos split each afternoon to go to their separate respective areas within Faux Paws; some go to the big dog area, others to the small dog section, while the owners pack in to a gazebo to talk.

I must admit, as a disclaimer, I am a dog lover extraordinaire, so reading this book was like rolling on my back having my tummy scratched. As much as I have come to love and understand the wonders of "Man's best friend," I too become emotionally outraged when hearing about animal cruelty; especially when intentionally done. Therefore I could relate to the emotions and motivations of the human characters in Mayor of the Dog Park; to me the events seem as logical as a border collie retrieving a tennis ball. However for the sake of maintaining the impact of this story, I shall not tell any more about the circumstances that reveal themselves in Chapter 3.

There is a clever foreshadowing with respect to Eddie's house, being a lavishly designed home built by one of South Florida's prominent architects. "The three story great room was dominated by a massive Gothic style fireplace and walnut paneling. Probably its most interesting aspect was the ceiling with a myriad of stars painted on the ceiling," author Anne Gilbert wrote. The room was specified by Eddie's recollection of, when on a trip to London, he saw a drawing of the actual "Star Chamber" used in 15th Century England.

The Mayor of the Dog Park is a mature reading escape, enabling for quick character development of the "Snow-bird" community of transplants from Chicago and other Northern cities of the US, as they conspire to do what every dog lover thinks of doing regarding animal abuse. Anne Gilbert is obviously a dog owner and judging by her writing quickness, agility, discombobulated machinations at times, and sense of humor, I'd bet she owns a type of terrier, like maybe a Jack Russell. Whatever breed she owns, her dog has found a human that can be trained, that's for sure, trained to write.

Reviewed by: Gary Sorkin, Pacific Book Review

http://www.pacificbookreview.com/

Sexual Relations Fifty Years On - Girl With Green Eyes by Edna O'Brien

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It has been fifty years since Edna O'Brien published Girl With Green Eyes. It is conventional nowadays to regard the late 1950s and early 1960s as an era when sexual liberation was beginning. This may be accurate. Certainly the men in Edna O'Brien's novel seem to bear no little responsibility for any of their sexual activity, whilst the women, who are usually willing partners, take all the risks and bear all the responsibilities.

The girl with green eyes uses several versions of her name. They appear to be applied randomly. She is whoever circumstance demands. She is Cait, Caithleen, or even Kate, depending on who is speaking, or where and when the action happens. Cait was previously one of the girls who were Country Girls and the Girl With Green Eyes forms the second part of a trilogy following these young women's progress from rural assumptions to urban freedom, of sorts. In Girl With Green Eyes the young women have moved to Dublin. Events take Cait, just twenty-one, and a mere student in today's paradigm, back home to the country and then back to town again.

She has taken up with Eugene. He is older than her and, God forbid, married - even with a child. The wife lives in America - where else for the separated? - but she always seems close at hand and something of a threat. Cait has completely fallen for her male elect and news gets out. A rescue party from the country arrives to whisk her off back to the protection of home in the west, where alcoholism and threats of violence keep the peace. Her father drinks all day, but then he's a provincial sort. He may be excused, since he rules his fiefdom. He will hit anyone to protect what needs protecting and daughters are usually top of the list.

Cait describes most of her experiences in the first person. Her friend gets pregnant and has to deal with the consequences. Despite all such practices being utterly illegal at the time, everyone seems to know where to go, how to secure the service and what it costs. In general, the women involved seem utterly dependent on securing a man to provide for them, and seem to live at least half in fear of the urges that propel them. There is this ambivalence within all the relationships. The men are keen to go where they want, but generally do not negotiate on the destinations. The women seem keen to explore, but never journey on their own terms, apparently preferring to be taken along with the ride.

By the end of the book, there have been changes in Cait's life. It seems that these changes anticipate the changes that will begin for women in wider society, but in Girl With Green Eyes such progress has achieved only limited changes in women's expectations of life. The novel thus subtly mirrors what we must assume prevailed in wider society at the time. It thus presents a contemporary reader with a historical perspective that its author perhaps did not consciously consider at the time. It is surely a richer experience for this added dimension.

Philip Spires

Author of Mission and A Fool's Knot, African novels set in Kenya

http://www.philipspires.co.uk/

Migwani is a small town in Kitui District, eastern Kenya. My books examine how social and economic change impact on the lives of ordinary people. They portray characters whose identity is bound up with their home area, but whose futures are determined by the globalized world in which they live.

Book Review: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

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The year is 1931. The Great Depression is in full swing. Jacob Jankowski is twenty-three and finishing up his last semester at Cornell Veterinary School when the tragedy strikes: both of his parents are killed in an automobile accident and on top of that he loses the family house because his parents had mortgaged it to pay for his tuition. Left without anyone and anything, he fails to take his final exam and simply wanders off. As fate would have it, he winds up on a rickety train that is home to the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth -- a second rate traveling circus.

Second rate or not, a circus is still a circus and there are always animals in need of professional veterinary care, so Jacob is hired to tend to the outfit's menagerie. His very first task is to examine a lame horse -- and that's how he meets Marlena, the beautiful equestrian star. To say that Jacob is enchanted by Marlena would be a gross understatement, but any thoughts of romantic nature he might be entertaining are squashed right off: she is married, and not to just anyone; her husband August is the animal trainer -- pardon, equestrian director and superintendent of animals -- essentially the circus' number two man.

August is all charm and friendliness on the surface, however, as Jacob finds out soon enough, he is also prone to unpredictable lapses into madness which inevitably end up in outbursts of violence directed against anything that happens to stand in his path. Be that animals, his subordinates, or his own wife. Jacob finds himself at the receiving end of it on more than one occasion himself as he tries to protect the animals from abuse -- especially when it comes to Rosie.

Rosie, a fifty-three-year-old elephant, is the latest addition to the circus' menagerie and everyone is pinning their hopes on her and this new act that is supposed to lift the show to new heights, to bring in the crowds. But even though Rosie is said to be properly trained, August is not able to do anything with her. She doesn't seem to understand even the simplest commands, which unavoidably sends the animal trainer into a fit of rage as he lets her experience the end of his cane, declaring her stupid.

But Jacob is not so sure about that. In fact, observing the elephant when not under duress, he has noticed signs of superb intelligence. He knows Rosie can deliver. He knows there has to be a reason why she isn't performing. And he has to find out what it is before the mad man kills her in one of his bouts of fury.

At the same time he needs to be very careful. His growing affection for Marlena seems not to be a one way affair after all, and, while August may be crazy, he is certainly not blind...

Visit JustGoodFiction.com for more best seller reviews.

The Winter War by Jason Garrett Will Take You on a Journey of Good Versus Evil

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Get ready for a wild, bumpy and sometimes chilling ride through the unknown with The Winter War, by Jason Garrett. The latest in a long running saga of Bishop's Island, this work chronicles some of the events of demon-hunter turned preacher, Eric Kade.

The fictitious world of Bishop's Island draws you in and holds fast with a cold, iron grip. Although not clear where geographically on the earth it may reside, you'll be reminded of perhaps a Northeastern and historically rich state like Maine. It may also make you think of quaint and rural towns in England that adorn the rocky coasts near the frigid ocean waters where fishermen risk their lives to make a living. The place has its own and unique culture as well as a complicated history of both the men and supernatural forces that have fought to control the lives of those who choose to live there.

It is on this island where readers sometimes feel a bit trapped--especially at night, when the snow is falling and you're on the edge of a forest. In the distance, one hears the waves crash hard against the rocky cliffs and danger is somewhere near. As potential peril lurks around every corner, we follow seasoned hunters as they seek to confront that which most of us would flee from. Using sight, smell, tracking skills, medieval-type weaponry, some supernatural powers, but mostly instinct, our hunters and huntresses confront the worst in both the seen and unseen realms.

The hunters, trained to kill while mere children, are at the top of their game and already have much experience in their late twenties and early thirties. But their objectives and motives are fueled by so much more than just the need to eliminate evil from the world. Weaving a complex storyline of love, family, and betrayal, Garrett pulls from his imagination plots that cut deep into the hearts and souls of his both human and inhuman characters.

Our main character, Eric Kade, is a man who has made tough decisions and commitments, and he clings ruthlessly to them, and his faith, against everything trying to stop him. In the face of total abandonment and treachery by people he used to love and was loyal to, he trusts in his God and moves forward. To further escalate the difficulty of his situation, he also finds himself in the position of protecting innocents who are being used and manipulated by evil that seeks revenge and ultimately the destruction of our hero. To avoid further mistakes as well as make amends, Kade must make some of the most difficult choices of his life.

Alongside Kade in this war are a diverse group of individuals. One of his best friends, a hunter who is a superior tracker and fighter in some ways, betrays himself and succumbs to retaliation and evil. A huntress turned witch joins our group and bravely confronts evil to help her friend. Also against Kade, among many others, is a highly skilled huntress who has sold her soul to the obsession of revenge as well as the worst kind of malicious evil.

The Winter War is a continuing account of many intertwined lives and the challenges they face. And unlike some other novels of Jason Garrett, it has a highly mysterious and cliffhanger ending. If you get absorbed into the story as much as I was, you'll look forward to the continuing plight of our characters and the ever shadowy and surreptitious events of a place called Bishop's Island.

Kelly Libatique is a professional speaker, technical trainer, and author. He holds a Master's in Education and a Bachelor's in Psychology. He resides in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife Anne and two sons.

Visit http://www.libatique.com/ or Contact Kelly at: Kelly.Libatique@gmail.com