Thursday, October 05, 2006

#21: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation, Lauren Willig

So good, I couldn't put it down! The Pink Carnation is certainly the best book I've read all summer, if not all year. While the plot itself - a combination love/spy story set in Napolean's court - was captivating, it was really Willig's writing style that vaulted this novel above ordinary chick lit.

Une example, mes amis...

"Amy managed the difficult feat of looking at him askance with her nose only inches from his. 'It would be much easier for me to answer that question if I knew who you were.'
'What's in a name? A Gentian by any other name would-'
'Be an entirely different flower,' interjected Amy, swatting him on the arm. 'I refuse to be fobbed off with poor imitations of Shakespeare.'
'If you don't like Romeo and Juliet, how about a sonnet?' Richard suggested. 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art-'
'Not that easily deterred.'"

Tres clever, non? Making matters worse is author Lauren Willig's biography. Get this: While she wrote this fabulous novel, she was at Harvard writing her history dissertation AND going to law school. It makes me wonder what the hell I've been doing with myself.

Oh, and as an aside, who knew that a gentian was a flower? Boy, am I getting smarter every day!

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