The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory

The third novel in Philippa Gregory's series on the Cousins War should probably have been read first. However, Ms. Gregory did not write it first so we are left to backtrack to learn the source of Jacquetta's gifts, how she influenced her life, her many children and the lives of others during the time prior to the beginning of War of the Roses and during the end of the Hundred Years War. We learn of Mesulina and the reason for the connection to the river that was such a part of The White Queen. I found that I liked this book as much as the other two and have adjusted much of my thinking about Elizabeth as well.

Jacquetta was a strong, royal woman who was restricted by the position women held in society during the 15th century. She was intelligent, personable, strong of character and loyal, almost to a fault. Married to an older Duke when she was still quite young, she set about being a good wife, even after he told her she was his wife for her special gifts, not for love, sex or anything related to the typical marriage of that or any time. She was loyal to Duke Bedford even though she had probably fallen for Richard Woodville long before the Duke died and they became lovers. The fairytale aspect of meeting her one true "prince" adds to the story and the love affair of Jacquetta and Richard is enduring and I believe one not readily found in that time period. I think she is somewhat more favorably dealt with in this book than in The White Queen where she was seen to be just a tad manipulative! Here I found her resourceful, using all her abilities to survive and to carve out a place for herself and her children in society.

Much of this book deals with the varied role of women in the 15th century. Our two main characters are Jacquetta and Margaret. Jacquetta has been taught by her great-aunt to be careful how one uses the gifts you have and to be very careful when cursing as it might have unintended consequences. Margaret on the other hand, is married to the King, thinks of no one but herself most of the time and uses whatever means she can to carry out revenge, murder, mayhem and all around spitefulness. Yet, Jacquetta is there for her. My own thought was to give Margaret the proverbial kick in the pants and be done with her but that did not happen. Then I wished that she would get her comeuppance.

Once I get beyond my feelings about each character I try to look at the book from a perspective I think Ms. Gregory is trying to convey. Women had to do what they had to do--to survive in a man's world where they were often nothing more than chattel. When Margaret took control of the realm while Henry "slept" she was considered harsh, cruel, and I am sure a few other words not so kind. She is accused of having become pregnant by Edmund Beaufort (probably) and that the heir to the throne was not the king's son. She still played that very close to the vest and would have done well to not be so public with the fondness she had for Beaufort. She most definitely should not have waged a war of revenge against the people who were responsible for his death at the expense of losing the country. Margaret had too been well trained but she was the opposite of Jacquetta--brash, vindictive, manipulative and responsible for the deaths of many English as a result of her action. If I wanted to be equally harsh I would say she almost single handedly caused the War of the Roses.

I enjoyed the book. I love the characters, their humanness and their greatness as well as their weaknesses. I cannot imagine giving birth to a dozen children and having all but one live.  As much as Jacquetta loved Richard, she did not challenge him on anything. He was the ruler of the house.  He did love her and respect her but there was no discussion about much that impacted her life.  He was away too much.  But then I can't imagine being away from my family while I was a lady-in-waiting for a self-centered, conniving queen either!  Thankfully, times have changed and I don't have to!

The Shack by William P Young

When I read the jacket information about this book I first thought, ”Oh, Right!”  It was not a book I would have picked up on my own but like with so many of the books we have read together it was one I was willing to try. I am so glad I did.  This book is spiritual without being preachy, religious without being denominational, and inspiring beyond what I thought was possible in a book.  Reading this book makes me want to be a better person.  The only other book that has inspired me to want to be better is Freedom Writers.  I wanted to be an even better teacher after reading that one!

But, back to The Shack!  I cannot imagine the horror of losing a small child to a serial killer, knowing that she was brutalized and murdered.  The helplessness that Mack called The Great Sadness seemed so real.  It was like he could not catch a break—horrible father, leaving home so early, finally having a great family that he had missed as a child—then losing his youngest daughter to murder nearly losing his second daughter to grief is more than enough to make a person yell and scream at God for not doing something.  Mack did not yell but he did not deal with his own grief as well as he thought he was doing.  SOOOO, when he receives a typed note from Papa asking him to meet at the very shack where his life had fallen apart was a stretch for him.  I am amazed he went but then I think he went hoping it was the killer and he could possibly get some revenge.

How do you imagine your relationship with God?  We are all involved in our own relationships and our own religions.  Do we actually visualize the Trinity? Is Jesus the Jewish man Mack meets or the rather buff man hanging from the crucifix? Do we ever think of God as a robust African woman who loves to cook and laugh?  Is the Holy Spirit a lady from the Asian continent who never sits still and shows beauty in everything?  I do not.  I am not sure I ever put a face to the Trinity.  So, the question is how would I react meeting them as Mack did? I think I would be a lot more skeptical than he was and he had plenty of skepticism to go around! 

While I will not go into a long listing of my relationship with God, I will tell you what I liked about the book!  I liked the way Mack was led gently into his relationship with God. I liked that there was no judgment but unconditional love. I liked that Mack was able to forgive his father and to know that Missy was truly ok.  I liked the concept that God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit liked one another and worked in unison—truly a Trinity.  I loved when Mack was informed that religion as an institution was how others seemed to control those who follow its version of what is a relationship with God.  I loved that God points out that all humanity is part of his love—Muslim, Buddhists, Jews and Christians among those he holds dear.  I also liked that he was able to take the police back to the cave and gathered the remains of his daughter. Even more I liked that evidence collected led to the arrest and apparent conviction of the Ladybug Killer.  God had promised him that the killer would be punished if only Mack could forgive him. I liked that God said forgiveness did not mean forgetting or even a lack of anger.  I wish the leaders of our country would read this book and take it to heart.  Heck, I wish everyone would read it and then the world might actually become a better place!

What did I dislike?  Can’t really think of anything! Thanks for the suggestion and for sharing the book among ourselves.  I must admit that I try to look at the world with different eyes having read this.  It is difficult to look around and always see the good in life where those I love are dealing with health problems, lack of employment, the inability to care for themselves and their loved ones, cancer, depression and so much else.  I have to remind myself that God is there assisting each to deal with what they must regardless of how I think it should be handled.  It is not the easiest thing to do. I am one of God’s people who fight to maintain in relationship, opting for the nouns instead of the verbs!  This book makes me want to let go of the control and enjoy what there is to be enjoyed in living in a relationship with God and with my fellow humans!!!