All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

Title: All the Horses of Iceland

Series: n/a
Author: Sarah Tolmie
Source/Format: Netgalley; eARC
More Details: Historical-Fiction; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: TorDotcom; March 1, 2022

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

A hypnotic historical fantasy with gorgeous and unusual literary prose, from the captivating author of The Fourth Island.

Everyone knows of the horses of Iceland, wild, and small, and free, but few have heard their story. Sarah Tolmie’s All the Horses of Iceland weaves their mystical origin into a saga for the modern age. Filled with the magic and darkened whispers of a people on the cusp of major cultural change, All the Horses of Iceland tells the tale of a Norse trader, his travels through Central Asia, and the ghostly magic that followed him home to the land of fire, stone, and ice. His search for riches will take him from Helmgard, through Khazaria, to the steppes of Mongolia, where he will barter for horses and return with much, much more.

All the Horses of Iceland is a delve into the secret, imagined history of Iceland's unusual horses, brought to life by an expert storyteller.

One of my most anticipated books of 2022 was All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie. When I first heard about it last year, I was instantly intrigued by it.

The narrative style of All the Horses of Iceland reminded me of a nonfiction book I read earlier this year called Daughters of Chivalry by Kelcey Wilson-Lee. That book followed the lives of Edward I’s five daughters. In this book, there was a clear narrator, and it was basically written as an autobiography of a fictional historical figure. The story followed a man during his travels and chronicled the people he met, the places he went, the magic he encountered, and ultimately the horses that would give context to the title of the story.

I’m not very familiar with the sources Tolmie used for some aspects of the story. So, I found the author’s note in the back helpful for clarifying a few details I was unsure about after I finished reading.

All that to say:  All the Horses of Iceland was a slow and contemplative story, but I enjoyed reading it.

 

About the author....

Sarah Tolmie is the author of the 120-sonnet sequence Trio, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press (release date 1 April 2015) and the chapbook Sonnet in a Blue Dress and Other Poems (Baseline Press, 2014). She has also published a novel, The Stone Boatmen, and a short fiction collection, NoFood, with Aqueduct Press (both 2014). She is a medievalist trained at the University of Toronto and Cambridge and is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Waterloo.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (TorDotCom) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Short Stories I Read in January

It’s the twenty-eighth of February. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in January.

The Tinder Box by Kate Elliott (Tor.com, December 1, 2021)

One of my all-time favorite fantasy novels is Cold Magic. I read it some years ago, and it might be time for a reread. So, of course, I had to read The Tinder Box. Kate Elliott has a way with words, and that was abundantly clear with this retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale. It adequately captured the substance of the story while also turning it on its head by reframing the narrative from the perspective of the witch instead of the soldier. What a way to start the year!

An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words by Vanessa Fogg (Lightspeed Magazine; Jan. 2022, Issue 140)

From Kate Elliott’s Tender Box, my next short fiction read was An Address to the Newest Disciples of the Lost Words by Vanessa Fogg. I adored this story. I appreciated the way Fogg put the titular “Lost Words” (and a play on language) to use in a story that was essentially a graduation speech. The narrator details the way the words shaped his course in life to others. Fogg’s lyrical prose detailed the wonder, ambition, joy, disappointment, and everything else in between. It was fantastic.

From around the web…

• Finding Comfort in the (Fictional) Apocalypse (Rachel Ayers; Tor.com, January 4, 2022)
• The Nature of Imagination in Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story (Margaret Fortune; Tor.com, January 6, 2022)
• Author Spotlight: Vanessa Fogg (Laurel Amberdine, Jan. 2022 (Issue 140); Lightspeed Magazine)
• Solving the Mystery of Turkish Delight (and Other Fantasy Anomalies) (James Davis Nicoll; Tor.com, January 6, 2022)
• Reading Is Time Travel (Molly Templeton; Tor.com, January 6, 2022)
• Writing Horses: Sketching “The Mind Horse” (Judith Tarr; Tor.com, January 10, 2022)

Washington Square by Henry James

Title: Washington Square 
Series: n/a
Author: Henry James
Source/Format: Purchased; Paperback
More Details: Classic; Fiction
Publisher/Publication Date: first published in 1880

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Back when New York was still young, so was heiress Catherine Sloper. A simple, plain girl, she grew up in opulence with a disappointed father and a fluttery aunt in a grand house on Washington Square. Enter Morris Townsend, a handsome charmer who assures Catherine he loves her for herself and not for her money. But Catherine’s revered father sees in Townsend what she cannot. Now, with her tearful aunt Penniman as his amusingly melodramatic ally, Townsend will present Catherine with the hardest choice of her young life.…

With a New Introduction and an Afterword by Michael Cunningham, Author of The Hours

A while ago, I watched a movie called the Heiress, and since then I was interested in the classic that the stage play (and eventually the film) were adapted from. Washington Square was like an exercise in bad decisions and willfully missed red flags, but it was a thoroughly engrossing character study set in a contemporary (for the time) setting.

With the varied motivations of the characters, the situation was headed in the direction of a tragically bitter end. Several factors compounded to ensure that end: from Mrs. Penniman’s ill-fated meddling and willingness to seek entertainment at her niece’s expense, to Catherine’s naivety (and later her love and devotion for Morris Townsend), and to Townsend’s obvious fortune hunting. There’s an irony to the story of how right Catharine Sloper’s father was. But even he wasn't a likable character. His methods were careless, and he was no more thoughtful toward Catherine than her aunt Mrs. Penniman. The two were terrible, but it was for different reasons.

The mechanics of how the story unfolded is one of the leading factors of what made Washington Square so good. It was a tale largely about greed, specifically for money, and the ultimate collateral damage that came from it. The ending was bitter—and no one was really that happy or anything—but it was a great story.

Music Monday (189): Aurora, David Morales, Ultra Naté, Lea-Lorian, Gerald Levert, Eddie Levert & Tony Terry

 Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I'm still listening to The Gods We Can Touch by Aurora. Another one of my favorite songs is Blood in the Wine.

Adri: I'm back with some house music. This time I'm sharing music by David Morales. I'm currently listening to Never Looking Back featuring Lea-Lorian, and I Can Dream featuring Ultra Naté.

Andrea: Hi all. I hope everyone is doing well. Whew! After listening to Adri's high energy selections, it's time to slow it down with a couple of songs from my playlist. I'm currently listening to Baby Hold On To Me by Gerald Levert featuring Eddie Levert and With You by Tony Terry.

Have an amazing week!

What are you listening to this week?

 

The Friday 56 (212) & Book Beginnings: Washington Square by Henry James

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Back when New York was still young, so was heiress Catherine Sloper. A simple, plain girl, she grew up in opulence with a disappointed father and a fluttery aunt in a grand house on Washington Square. Enter Morris Townsend, a handsome charmer who assures Catherine he loves her for herself and not for her money. But Catherine’s revered father sees in Townsend what she cannot. Now, with her tearful aunt Penniman as his amusingly melodramatic ally, Townsend will present Catherine with the hardest choice of her young life.…

With a New Introduction and an Afterword by Michael Cunningham, Author of The Hours

Beginning: "During a portion of the first half of the present century, and more particularly during the latter part of it, there flourished and practiced in the city of New York a physician who enjoyed perhaps an exceptional share of consideration which, in the United States, has always been bestowed upon distinguished members of the medical profession."

56: "It will probably seem to the reader, however, that the doctor's vigilance was by no means excessive, and that these two young people had an open field."

Comments: I read Washington Square by Henry James. I enjoyed this one. Note: It wasn't until I was picking the quotes that I realized how long the first sentence of chapter one actually was. What are you reading this week?