The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov has not arrived yet

I’m crying for the lost Master just like Margarita on the cover. The Master and Margarita eloped, possibly to Moscow, to recreate havoc and disorder yet again in that place. Book Depository kindly promised to send me a replacement so I’m patiently waiting for that awesomeness to finally reach my place.

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar

That’s the only book from the ordered ones that I’ve finished so far. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock turned out to be as gorgeous as its cover. Here’s my review and more photos of the book.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Of course, I’ve already peeked inside, and of course it is amazing. I’m starting to think that Sarah Perry will become my next favourite female author. (So far this title has been kept by Margaret Atwood only).

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

I really liked the sample of My Cousin Rachel. The writing is deep and beautiful. The book starts with boys observing a corpse of a hanged man swinging on the rope. What can be a better story for November? This book led me to discover more books by du Maurier, and as a result I learned some curious facts about her works. I’ll talk about them soon.

The Birds And Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier

The Birds is a novelette by Daphne du Maurier. I loved it so much I was amazed! My first reaction was one of a surprise. Why didn’t I know more about du Maurier?! I felt like I found an author to fall head over heels in love with! I went to explore more about her and found a few unexpected interesting stories. I’m still in the middle of my research so I can’t tell you my final conclusion yet, but it looks like Daphne du Maurier was outstandingly good at retelling other authors’ stories. I’m currently reading a novel called The Birds, written by Frank Baker and published 16 years prior to The Birds by du Maurier. The ideas behind both books are identical. I’ll tell you more about it in future posts. (So don’t forget to subscribe if you are not subscribed yet. )

That will be it for now. I’ll post the photos of Bitter Orange and Spinning Silver later. I’m also expecting a few more books with beautiful covers, which I haven’t told you about yet, so stay tuned!

General information about The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock is not a fantasy book. There’s an element of magical realism but it is not the focus of the plot. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock is first of all about people, their fates and their lives. It’s about emotions, relationships, personalities and society. Although the novel is set in the 18th century England, its topics are not at all foreign to current days. In fact, if you peel away the surface layer of a very entertaining story, you will see that the setting serves as a lush frame for a modern picture.

The book is as beautiful and intricate as its cover. That’s actually how I discovered the book. I was looking for books that would be beautiful both inside and out. The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock is exactly what I was looking for.

I loved the book so much I was initially at a loss for words, which is a challenging situation for a reviewer. I took the book for a photo shoot, collected my thoughts and did eventually write the review. So here it is, together with the photos.

How good is The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock?

Do you remember the time when you were just entering the world of books, when every plot was an unpredictable story and characters were so real you imagined them to be your actual friends? The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock is that good. If you thought some magic of the books has been forever lost to you because you grew up, read The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock and rediscover the feeling. This doesn’t mean, though, that it’s a kid book. Even though there’s a mermaid in the title, the protagonist is a courtesan so it’s definitely not a bedtime fairy tale for kids.

Reading The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock feels like watching underwater life through a snorkelling mask. You dive deep where you can no longer breathe so you have to hold your breath in exchange for the chance to see the beautiful world below. Sooner or later the real life will pull you back in but for the meantime you will be completely immersed into another reality.

The writing in The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

The writing is an undebatable treasure of this book. It’s hard to really illustrate how beautiful it is as it’s a part of a solid construction. It’s almost impossible to pull out a single feather in order to demonstrate it to you. You have to see the whole creation to really appreciate these details. Still, I managed to find some examples. Here they are:

In the landau, amongst a clutch of young ladies in white muslin, rides Mrs Chappell herself, the abbess of King’s Place. She is built like an armchair, more upholstered than clothed, her bolster of bosom heaving beneath cream taffeta and gold frogging.

All social gatherings have a riptide moving through them – some revellers joining the party as others melt away, some retiring to a quiet room, others emerging refreshed – and it is this unseen, unsought tide that nudges Angelica and the lieutenant closer and closer together without their even trying.

A loss is a presence all its own; a loss takes up space; a loss is born just as any other thing that lives.

Bawds are not, after all, the only mothers to profit by their daughters.

The characters in The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

First of all, the characters outgrow their sole form of mere characters. They are completely real. They change, grow and develop together with the story. It’s mesmerising to watch them, and to imagine what is going through their minds, what makes them take their decisions and how they react to the situations they find themselves in. On a few occasions I expected them to act differently, exactly because I was expecting them to act like characters in a book, but they had their own plans. They rarely act according to your expectations.

The plot in The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock

The plot is another beautiful construction of the book. Where one part ends, another one starts. There are several storylines. Even if you don’t want to be distracted from one, you are given another one to follow. This way you are never bored and always have something to look forward to. The story is completely unpredictable. As soon as you think you know where it’s going, it takes another turn, which you didn’t imagine existed.

The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock will haunt me

The decisions that characters take will stay with me for some time. They are so human and believable even though their situations are so dramatic and often impossible.

I will not forget one of the final scenes. It shows what happens to one of the characters. It’s deep and horrible even though it doesn’t give you any horrid details. It’s the highest level of skills when an author is able to achieve such an effect without rubbing graphic details into a reader’s face.

I will also keep thinking about one character. It’s perfectly clear what happens to her but I wish I could stay with her longer. I hope she will find her warm milk for breakfast, one day. Even though I know she is trapped within the covers of the book, I keep imagining her getting out of her situation, somewhere else in another dimension.

Would I recommend The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock?

Of course, definitely. I would only warn those who hunt for fantasy plots. This is not a fantasy book. In any other case, I’m sure you will like The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock.

1. The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar.
I ordered it because Umut said it’s good. More than that she said Ova thinks it’s good. If they both think it’s good, it’s going to be fantastic!

2. Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller.

First of all, look at the cover !

Again, Ova said it’s good so the book is travelling my way.

3. A 50th-anniversary Deluxe Edition of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.

I saw this edition in the video blog of Helene Jeppesen (which Umut recommended. That’s how much valuable info you can get from good bloggers!)

Isn’t it gorgeous?!

That’s the right cover for the amazing book, the book about magic born in a place where mere thinking of such manner could cause you big troubles. The friends were telling him to stop writing it, they were scared for him. But he went on. As a result he wrote a book about the devil paying a visit to Soviet Moscow, and a misunderstood philosopher we all heard about but call a different name. Is it already obvious that The Master and Margarita is my book of books? I’ve never read it in English though. That will be my first time.

4. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik.

This book marks an important step for me. The cover, the description and the writing  are so beautiful that I decided to purchase my first fantasy book in decades. I’m planning to rent a cabin in winter mountains and to read it near a fireplace while watching snow behind the window and breathing in crispy air from the outside. It sounds so idyllic it’s almost a cliche but it is actually quite organisable and I hope I’ll be able to do it.

5. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry.

Again, the cover is what first attracted me but the reviews are also great so hopefully it will be another beautiful book in my collection.

6.My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.

I haven’t ordered this one yet because I first need to consult NS Ford, Daphne du Maurier expert, to find out if the book is worth reading. Is it?

And look what I’ve found (and instantly ordered) while googling the previous book:
7.  The Birds And Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier.
Oh my god!  Do you see what I see on the cover?!  Isn’t it awesome?!

The waiting for Santa a.k.a. postman has started. When I finally have all the books, I lay them around in a circle, sit in the middle, admire them and take tons of photos!