Len Boswell

The book, "Barnum’s Angel," promises a story of the struggle of a beautiful albino girl named Lily who has strange powers and has the “power to destroy—or save—our world. I wish I could have read the book, “Lily, Interview with the Dragon” mentioned in "Barnum’s Angel" instead. Those snippets found at the beginning of several chapters had much more intrigue than the events in this book. I found "Barnum’s Angel" did not live up to that promise.

"Barnum’s Angel" spends much of its time after Lily escapes P.T. Barnum and is being hunted down like some prized animal. After all, it is all about the money. There is mention of the mysterious man with the same powers as Lily who desires her. He was instrumental in helping Lily escape P.T. Barnum, but alas, they never get together. Lily finally finds Charles Darwin, the only one who protects her as she grows up and comes into womanhood. A plan is set in place for her to marry, but events take a nasty turn with the arrival of hunters. Lily is forced to kill to protect herself. She realizes she can no longer stay with the Darwins and is gone with a flap of the wing. Many years pass before she reunites with Charles Darwin on his deathbed.

The author does excellent work with world-building, especially in establishing the Victorian timeframe through the choice of language and settings. Descriptions are plentiful and rich. However, for me, a clear voice that leads the reader through the story is lacking. The chapters which are laid out like a diary with a title defining the date, time, and place, feel somewhat disjointed. Some chapters seem to have nothing to do with the main storyline except to name-drop famous people in this world as shown in the chapters when Detective Chief Inspector Field would have a nightly stroll with Charles Dickens to discuss Mr. Dickens’ latest book.

There will be those readers who enjoy this book’s style. For this reader, I had no connection to any of the characters and the ending does not do much to entice me to read a sequel. However, I might give "Lily, Interview with the Dragon" a look-see.

Please note I was given "Barnum’s Angel" without cost in exchange for an honest review.… (plus d'informations)

When I received Simon Graves and the School of Casual Invisibility from LibraryThing Early Reviewers, I had no idea what to expect but I gotta say, this has to be the most fun I’vve had reading a whodunnit in, well, forever. Set in a not-too-distant non-dystopian future, where androids called simdroids are built to look like famous people like Morgan Freeman, the police have a very unusual case of murder to deal with. Both the victims and the murderer are invisible, not that murder or invisibility are unusual in this future but they don’t usually happen together. Now, you’re probably asking how can one murder someone who is invisible. Well, all I can say, you’ll have to read the book to find out.… (plus d'informations)

Unboxing Raymond by Len Boswell is a memoir of the author as much as it is a biography of his father, and it works very well.

Using the box of treasures as the central device we learn about Raymond in much the same way we remember our own deceased friends and family: through memories. Even when an item in the box was unknown to Boswell it still triggered a memory. In fact, just like one might do when talking to someone about your father, a memory also brings back what were technically Raymond's memories as passed down to Boswell (or in one case to his mother then to him). By not being a linear account of Raymond's (or Boswell's) life we are given the opportunity to engage with each memory episodically.

The episodic nature probably helps us to also give room for us not to judge his negative qualities too harshly before we learn how Boswell himself has learned, largely through this process, to better understand his father and himself.

In addition to being a moving account of their lives, it also is organized such that the reader can easily reflect on their own memories of their loved ones. Since I spent many of my school years living in the DC area (Laurel and Greenbelt, mid 60s to early 70s) I found myself going back to memories of my father. Not exactly parallel events to what is in the book but sparked by some of the feelings they conveyed.

While we may not all have actual physical treasure boxes from our parents, we probably have many items from them. Yet even if we don't, we do still have a mental treasure box. I remembered things my father had, things he did. While unboxing Raymond I also spent some time unboxing my own father, and it was a wonderful experience.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (plus d'informations)

I was able to read this ebook for free with the Early Reviewer program from LibraryThing.

Simon Grave was a pleasant surprise. Small chapters, concise story, well paced and some suspense.
Only after a few pages did I notice that this was the 5th book in a series. However, it was very easy to get involved in the 2054 universe with drones and invisible schools and murdered people.
I really loved the final explanation and the story in general is very clear and well written.

I'm off to read the rest of the series.… (plus d'informations)