I’ve put off writing this review for a couple of weeks. Partly because I’ve been a bit busy and wanted to take the time to do it justice, and partly because it’s such an emotionally complex story that I felt a bit drained after listening to it and needed to have all my braincell (!) in gear in order to be able to think straight!Even now, I’m not sure that’s the case, but here goes.As with my reviews for The Prince of Midnight and Midsummer Moon, the short version of this review is “It’s absolutely fantastic, so go and buy it immediately!”As for the the longer version. Well. It’s long.The story opens with Christian Langland, Duke of Jervaulx in the bed of his current lover, Eydie, Lady Sutherland. It’s immediately clear that he’s rather a dissolute young man who has no scruples about taking his pleasure where he finds it. But there’s more to him than the face of the rakehell he presents to the world. He is a mathematical genius who runs his estates with an iron hand and who has done much to increase his wealth by a somewhat unorthodox approach to his business ventures and investments, all of which are dependent on his skill and incredible mind as he manipulates and pulls the necessary strings, often on a knife-edge between success and disaster.His mathematical bent also led him to strike up a correspondence with Mr John Timms, a renowned mathematician with whom Christian eventually collaborates on a treatise. Timms and his daughter Archimedia (Maddy) are members of the Society of Friends and Maddy cannot but disapprove of Christian’s dissolute lifestyle.Shortly after the presentation of the mathematical paper, Christian – although only thirty-two – suffers what we would recognise today as a kind of stroke. He is left partially disabled on his right side and completely unable to communicate; and his family – resentful of the fact that they are being kept on a tight financial rein and eager to gain control of the Langland purse-strings –are all too ready to believe him to have been reduced to a state of idiocy. They have him committed to an asylum in Buckinghamshire which is run by one Edward Timms, a cousin of Maddy’s and her father’s.Some months later, Maddy and her father arrive at the asylum in order to assist Edward in his undertaking, and it is there that Maddy is horrified to see Christian again, chained, almost wild and considered extremely dangerous. He cannot speak and it appears he cannot understand what is said to him; and the overwhelming feeling transmitted to the listener is one of Christian’s utter and hopeless frustration - with himself as much as with the inability of his ‘keepers’ to see that there is still a man inside the patient. Even though the Quaker-run asylum seems to be rather more enlightened than other, similar establishments of the time in terms of the way the inmates were cared for, some of the so-called treatments were nonetheless quite horrific. The scene that describes Christian’s ice-bath makes for really uncomfortable listening, as do those in which his “minder” beats him when Christian’s desperation over his inability to express himself boils over into physical outbursts. And Edward Timms’ insistence that Christian not be “over stimulated” by the use of writing implements, while good-intentioned, appears cruel given that written communication seems to be the one way in which Christian might be able show that his sanity is not in question.When Maddy arrives, Christian risks a punishment in order to try to communicate with her. I’m no expert, but I believe it happens sometimes with a brain injury that victims are able to retain certain functions while losing others. In Christian’s case, he can think and speak perfectly well in mathematical terms and by using mathematical equations. His mind has retained that particular skill, and he manages to convince Maddy that he is not mad by drawing an arithmetical symbol.All the years of working alongside her father enable Maddy to recognise Christian’s scrawl for what it is – even though she can’t identify it herself – and she realises – “He isn’t mad. He is maddened.”Believing she has had an “opening”, a truth given to her by God, Maddy requests she be entrusted with his care, and with her help and support, Christian embarks upon the slow road to recovery. There are many obstacles to overcome along the way. Not only is Christian deeply frustrated by his own inadequacies, his family wants him declared non compos mentis, labelled insane and shut away forever. Then there is Maddy’s anguish at her inability to reconcile her conscience with the feelings Christian – this wildly “improper” man - evokes in her. His terror at the thought of being re-committed, his desperation to thwart his family’s intent and Maddy’s heart-felt struggles – all of those things and so many more come vividly, brilliantly to life in Ms Kinsale’s gorgeous, economical prose, and now, even more splendidly in Nicholas Boulton’s awe-inspiring narration.The romance at the heart of the book is beautiful. The protagonists are both misfits in different ways – Maddy because her stubborn streak is not looked upon as an asset by her peers and Christian because of his incredible mind – and yet the dissolute duke and his drab Quakeress are a perfect fit. I adore the way Christian teases Maddy, his wit and risqué sense of humour; and although sometimes the jokes go over her head, I love how she takes her cue from him and allows herself to laugh and even to go so far as to tease him in return. There are times when you could cut the romantic tension with a knife, and the love scenes are gloriously sensual.I especially like the way Ms Kinsale writes Christian’s disjointed, stream-of-consciousness thoughts in such a thoroughly convincing and completely understandable manner. Not only has the stroke left him unable to speak, it has caused aphasia, which is a condition in which it is difficult (or impossible) for the sufferer to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language. So it’s not as though Christian is trapped in a world where his brain is functioning normally, but he cannot express himself. It’s far more than that – he simply can’t find the words he wants half the time, and the way she has the words firing around his brain as he searches feels realistic and is often quite amusing. For example, when he’s trying to think of the word to describe Edward Timms (which I assume is “doctor”) his thought processes go like this: The other, medical blood master bone… blood—the other—only stood there, looking learned and paternal. Or when he’s trying to think of the word for what Maddy wears on her head:he’d never seen anything as beautiful as Maddy in her starched— thing— white—head— sugar?—than Maddy in this prison cell.(It’s a sugar-scoop bonnet.)Christian’s recovery is by depicted in the text through Ms Kinsale’s skilful manipulation of the language; she makes changes to Christian’s understanding and his articulation by such slow degrees that it’s almost unnoticeable until suddenly, he’s speaking in almost complete sentences and you start to wonder when that happened. As a piece of writing it’s beautiful in its subtlety. But actually hearing it brings an entirely new dimension to Christian’s situation and his struggles.I’ve already banged on and on in other reviews about how bloody good a narrator/performer Nicholas Boulton is, but – incredibly – in this, he has somehow taken things up a gear because his performance as Christian is even better than I’d hoped for. I imagine that voicing this particular character presented numerous challenges – which I hope were also enjoyable ones – yet Mr Boulton keeps his performance from becoming A Performance (I’m thinking Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man here!). Christian’s struggles in thought and speech are delivered in a completely naturalistic manner, and there was never a point at which I felt that anything was exaggerated or unrealistic.Christian is – deservedly – a hero beloved in the genre, and that, I think, partly accounts for the dislike of the heroine I’ve come across in so many of the book reviews I’ve read and, to be completely honest, must be a factor in the problems I have with Maddy, too. Despite a past as a louche womaniser, the Christian we come to know throughout the course of the story is a changed man. He does still have some less than laudable impulses, it’s true - like his determination to make Maddy love him and then abandon her - but that one is short-lived and more a product of Christian’s bitterness and frustration than of any real dislike for Maddy herself. But she can be a very difficult heroine to like or empathise with. She has been brought up a Quaker and that way of life is incredibly important to her. She frequently comes across as overly prim, but I have no problem with that; indeed, it would be odd if she were not, given her background. It is quite clear however, that Maddy is not perhaps completely suited to life as a Quaker. She is a little too independent of mind and spirit, things she knows she should squash in order to fulfil her commitment to God and to the Society, and yet she cannot find it in herself to submit completely. As a result she is neither fish nor fowl, and is continually fighting to reconcile her personal desires with her conscience.Maddy does have her own demons to face – her growing desire for Christian, her belief that her feelings for him make her wanton and unworthy of the Society – and she certainly goes through the emotional wringer throughout the course of the story. But her trials don’t serve to make her as sympathetic a character as Christian, and certainly it’s difficult for the modern reader to sympathise with her struggles. The biggest problem for me, and I imagine, for many readers, is what Maddy does to Christian in the latter stages of the book. He is making a last-ditch, all-or-nothing attempt to save his fortune, his name and his freedom by that age-old trick of acting as if nothing is wrong, spending money like water and preserving his appearance as an incredibly wealthy member of the aristocracy while he waits for his plans to reach fruition. But Maddy sees only that their finances are in a poor state and nags him at every opportunity about his excessive spending. She has done so much for him – she was the only one who could see the truth about him when he was incarcerated, she saved him from a life of painful treatments, helped to protect him from his grasping family, helped him to learn to speak, write and understand… loved him - and yet at the time he needs her the most, she begins to withdraw from him.I can understand why she did it. She had just discovered that her marriage to Christian had been contrived by his friends; she could have just miscarried a baby and then discovers that Christian has an illegitimate daughter; she is bemused and somewhat intimidated by a lifestyle so completely contrary to the one she is used to; she is beginning to think that she did a terrible thing in consenting to marry without the consent of the Elders or her father and outside her faith. She is beginning to think she does not know Christian at a time when she is also being threatened with repudiation by the Society and she does not know which way to turn. Christian starts to believe that she is turning from him because she has a fondness for the young Quaker Richard Gill - but he cannot afford to take the time out in order to attend to the state of his marriage, because so much is riding on the massive gamble he is taking in order to restore his finances and secure his – and Maddy’s – future.But although I can understand the reasons behind Maddy’s actions, I still wanted to slap her into the middle of next week. For one who has been so perceptive, especially where Christian is concerned, to deny her support at time of great need seems self-centred and cruel. It’s true that Maddy suffers greatly as a result of her actions – she loves him deeply and is so torn between what she is beginning to see as an unholy love and the teachings she has ahered to for her entire life, that it’s tearing her apart. But instead of turning to him, she gives him the cold shoulder.It’s almost unforgiveable in print. And despite the fact that you can hear Maddy’s heartache and sheer exhaustion in Nicholas Boulton’s amazing performance, and can really feel for her dilemma – it’s still unforgiveable.Part of me thinks that it’s because he has brought Christian so wonderfully to life and made him so real, that my reaction to anyone trying to hurt him would be to look for the nearest blunt instrument. But another part tells me it’s because Laura Kinsale is trying to be true to Maddy as well as to Christian. She’s not an author to shy away from the challenges presented by her characters; and having them react in a way that is true to the character rather than in a way that will make the story more palatable might make for a less comfortable read/listen - but at the same time, it imparts a grittiness and a greater sense of reality overall. I’ll end by saying that if you like the book, you certainly won’t be disappointed in the audio version. I can’t, in all honesty, say that Maddy is completely redeemed in my eyes by what is a truly articulate and perceptive performance – but that is nobody’s fault but mine.In short, as I said at the beginning. Flowers from the Storm in audio is fantastic. Go and listen to it immediately.
Laura Kinsale’s “Flowers From the Storm”(From my thread discussion topic post “ on Amazon’s “Historical Romance Forum” sometime around Feb. ‘09 (unchanged))I recently finished reading "Flowers from the Storm" by Laura Kinsale. This is a well-loved book by many and remains high on the "keeper" shelves out there. So how come I can't figure out why so many people fell in love with this couple? I just don't get it. I found the book to be "all suffering, all the time" (i.e. an over-abundance of serious issues and long drawn out angst). A brief synop.: [SPOILER - BUT IT'S THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE NOVEL!:] The hero begins the story (literally the first few pages of the Prologue) in bed with another man's wife (in the other man's home no less), discussing the fact that he has impregnated her and she needs to make an effort to sleep with her husband again soon in order to pass the baby off as her husband's. (Already questioning the hero's integrity in a dire way here.) Very shortly thereafter he experiences (what is presumed to be) a stroke, which lands him in a mental hospital, employing methods of the times which are cruel and in no way reflect current modes of medicine. There he encounters the heroine (a Quaker woman) whom he previously briefly crossed paths with while jointly working on mathematical theories with her father (our hero is a mathematical genius). She is there to volunteer time with the patients at the facility, and there is where they begin a journey together to help him recover his cognitive speech abilities (the primary disability he suffered) and regain his social standard in life (he's a duke). The hero is not bedridden or physically disabled to any great impairment other than signals of the brain connecting with his right hand to operate effectively (and his ability to talk). In that day and age, there was little known of the effects of strokes, and basically victims of same were treated as mentally unstable. The two go on, in my opinion, as classically dysfunctional and co-dependent peple trying to make a stab as a couple. The heroine extremely frustrated me, as she went on for 32 chapters struggling against who she was as she was rasied (her Quaker sociatal obligations) and berating who she reallywanted to become, as she was drawn to the hero. Consequently, she made him suffer for her indecision the entire journey. Mind you, there are only 36 chapters in this book. The final chapter is widely loved and admired (and it was quite captivating, even for me), but I just did not believe it for these two people, and it certainly wasn't enough to save the story. Some people do go for "all emotional self-torture, all the time" when it comes to what they consider a good story, but that's just not me I guess. Apparently the "balance of happiness" in any given novel when compared to human suffering, can't be considered "serious" reading for a lot of people, I suppose. I don't agree. Like real life, it's more the progress achieved in points of the journey that deserve the most attention and ultimate recognition to my way of thinking. Afterall, it doesn't take much work to remain "miserable and undecided," and that's exactly how I interpreted this read the entire way for the heroine. The hero does come to some self-improvements, but I flucuated between truly caring for his character or just feeling sorry for the way the heroine constantly demonized him and his way of life (ton society). Basically Kinsale failed to slowly "transition" both the characters' self-enlightenment in general, and their journey to establish justifiable romantic feelings for one another IMO, therefore, the ending for me was jarring in effect, and just unbelieveable. I never really connected with either H/H and I believe they never truly understood their own connection.UPDATE FOR GOODREADS (8/6/09): Wow -- Looks like I'm the only one who one-stared it here to actually "tag" it . . . "I didn't like it!" (Maybe because My "stars" here are judged by the "verbage" when you roll over them with your mouse, rather than my "usual" star rating (I like my half stars in that instance). It might be a 2* on that scale, based on Kinsale's writing abilities and potential. I've actually committed myself to read at least one more book of her's to perhaps find the "good one" for me. ;)
What do You think about Flowers From The Storm (2003)?
Overall rating: 4.5 "Maddygirl" starsTriggers:Cheating: (view spoiler)[ Not between the hero and the heroine once they meet each other. However, the hero has a very scandalous past that you are clued in on in the very beginning. He is having an affair with a married woman just because he can. He doesn't love her either. (hide spoiler)]
—Rachel Regina
OK I admit, I have not finished reading the book. I am about 70% done. I stopped reading it a few months ago. But let's face it: I am not going back to this book. I started reading this book with high hopes. All the great reviews, the seemingly intriguing plots, one tortured hero and one kind heroine. I must say that this book is written very well. The writing quality is not to be slighted. What puts me off in the story are the following 4 things: 1. Not enough romance: this is a romance novel, no? By romance I do not mean sex. I mean tender moments that remind you of the feelings of falling in love. Their interactions are very much those of a patient and his/her primary caregiver. While I can see how love could grow in such a relationship, I do not find it particularly romantic in this story. 2. The hero would not have given the heroine a second look if he was not sick: While the hero is not a gigantic ass, he is of noble birth and used to all the special treatments that afforded him. He is not snobish but he most definitely is privileged. I cannot imagine him ever ever ever spare the heroine a thought, had he not be mentally cripped by his accident. I feel that he is only dependant on the heroine because she is the only person who appeared to believe him. This type of relationship does not exactly spell out LOVE for me. 3. The heroine's "plain speech": I was never bothered by how a character talks in a book. The Scottish brogue for example, I have become almost "fluent" in reading it. But Maddie's Quaker background and speech bother me to no end. First of all I do not care for religious touches in my books unless I am reading a book that has a religious theme. Secondly the Quaker speech made it difficult for me to feel close to her. I am half afraid most of the time that she would start preaching to me, telling me that I should believe in God in the exact way that she does. 4. The heroine likes the hero more: despite her reservation, I feel that Maddie is a lot more emotionally invested in the hero whose name I do not recall. His affection for Maddie is rooted in dependency. He depends on Maddie for survival. Of course he wants her beside him. That is not love. But Maddie believed in him, even when she had no reasons to. She believed in him, supported him and was always there for him. I fail to see how he deserves such dedication. I tried so hard to like this book. As I have said, it is a beautifully written story. But the story does not speak to me. It has things that I cannot abide and does not have things that I look for in an engaging book. The book and I are just not meant to be.
—Zoe
Slowly the realization came to her. "He isn't mad. He is maddened." 4.5 stars. The Saint and the Sinner. The Pilgrim's Progress. Paradise Lost and Found. This one is DEFINITELY on my favorites shelf, despite some quibbles. I've read it numerous times. I've considered keeping a copy stashed in the bathroom. More recently, I listened to Nicholas Boulton's wondrous narration.Try my quiz! https://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/res...Contents: Several sex scenes. Some are mildly explicit with mention of specific hot spots (sexy scenes in his mind, plus in reality in the bedroom, in the salon, in the study). Some swearing and profanity. Some violence, including abuse at the asylum. Some scripture quotes, but the book doesn't feel like it's evangelizing.Christian Langland, Duke of Jervaulx (sher-voh) is a rogue, humorous and mathematically brilliant. His mother annoys him with her endless preachy piety, which puts him firmly in the rakehell camp, but other than that, life is good. Then he suffers what must have been a stroke on his right side. Pronounced dead, then diagnosed manic, his family locks him away at Blithedale Hall, in Buckinghamshire. Bedlamites surround him. He knows only violently enraged and confused fear, until an angel pays a visitation. (Angels could be Quakers, right?) Archimedea (Maddy) Timms is a Quaker who records her blind father's geometry analysis. Her father John collaborates on geometry with Christian, the Duke of Jervaulx. That's when Maddy first meets the duke. Soon afterwards, the duke suffers a stroke. Time passes. Maddy helps her cousin, Dr. Edward Timms, volunteering at his "health retreat" (asylum). Here, she sees Christian suffering, and her presence calms him, but sometimes he gets enraged with her. He is not an easy patient, but Maddy prevails, because he often responds to her. At first he cannot speak, but Maddy listens closely to his body language. Over time, he gradually learns to communicate, especially with her. This madhouse setting goes on for a long stretch, until they escape. Then things start turning around. Christian has to protect his ducal inheritance. Also, he wants to keep Maddy, but his sins are coming back to haunt his marriage. Her Quaker "friends" become a big obstacle. (A pox on all controlling churches!)Secondary characters: I loved his two friends, the Colonel Fane and Mr. Kit Durham. Loved her blind father, John Timms. Vivid scenes with Larkin "the ape" and Calvin (both butlers) are named Calvin, his Aunt Vesta (Lady DeMarly), his nasty brothers-in-law, and Quaker, Richard Gill (the mule). They all seemed credible.Epilogue: Set 11 months later, celebrating Christmas at the castle. Revelry, babies, dogs, and fireside spirits.Quibbles: I really felt cheated -- wanted to see all his tormentors suffer. Insufficient and vague punishment got just a passing reference. Why was his family invited to Christmas? Bah humbug! Maddy got annoyingly stubborn at times, and I really wish it had a longer HEA epilogue, to offset all the challenges Maddy and Christian had to overcome. As for the Quaker meeting, great "truth" scene, yet I wanted Maddy to show more decisiveness at the end. But she had several bricks dropped on her head, smashing trust. And -- ugh -- congregations can be so scary.
—Kathleen
