Lana Reviews: Julia - Peter Straub

First time I came across Peter Straub - that I knew of - was during a Stephen King spree I had some years back, which eventually led me to read The Talisman and Black House, two The Dark Tower-related novels that he and King wrote together. Only in November last year, did I realize that a horror movie I had watched at the tender age of 11-ish was in fact based on another of his books, Julia. What exactly made me look the movie up that random evening in November, I do not remember anymore, but I know I had exactly two clues to go on; Mia Farrow was in it, and it was about a creepy evil ghost girl. When I subsequently discovered that the movie was based on one of Straub's earlier novels, I knew I'd rather want to read that, than look at the movie again. So I hinted at this before Christmas, and soon after, it was to be one of the presents resting under the Christmas tree.

After the death of her young daughter during a tracheotomy gone wrong, Julia Lofting - trying hard to break out of her old life and the memories it holds - leaves her husband and old home behind, and starts looking for a new place to live. The first house she is shown, seems to beckon to her, and what's more, she glimpses a young girl about her daughter's age, and with the same color hair, roaming about in the neighborhood. After that first visit at Twenty-five Ilchester Place she never goes to look at any of the other places for rent or for sale, - she knows that this large, old-fashioned house in Kensington, London was meant for her, and impulsively makes the purchase.

What seemingly starts out as a positive change and a new clean start for Julia, however, soon turns bitter, as she realizes that the past will not stay in the past. Not only will her husband not leave her be, but something in the house wants her there, needs her to be there, but also hates her, half egging her on to figure out its secrets, half discouraging her from finding out anything by threatening her with death. But Julia won't stop her search into the past. And as she struggles to figure out exactly what happened at Twenty-five Ilchester Place and its near surroundings 24 years earlier, Julia herself falls apart, slowly descending into the darkness of her damaged psyche.

Julia is a haunted house story. Or is it, really? Straub has put it together in such a clever way that one frequently wonders what exactly is going on. From the first page of the story, it is obvious that something isn't quite right with Julia. And throughout the novel, the reader can never be sure if what Julia experiences is real, or whether it's just whatever is wrong with her making her perceive things in a way a person without her mental baggage wouldn't, making her one of the most unreliable narrators I've ever come across. Several times, it is hinted at that some of the things she thinks the ghost did, were in fact done by the people in her life: her husband, his sister, and their adoptive brother. Then again, a few bits of the story is told from these other peoples' points of view, and some of the things they see and experience do indeed match the things Julia herself has seen and felt, making it even harder to figure out what exactly is happening in this novel.

Threatening ghost or not, Julia works hard at solving the riddle of Twenty-five Ilchester Place, and whether or not it was just chance leading her to this old house in Kensington, it turns out that there is a connection of sorts between her and the house. Her hunt for clues, and her slow unearthing of events in the past, lends the novel an air of mystery - and it's a pretty good one at that. But Julia soon looses herself in a really bad way during her search, and doesn't seem to realize or care that what she is doing is slowly destroying her. While she claims several times that she doesn't want to die, all her actions point toward a wish for self-destruction, whether the character herself is aware of it or not. Had she really wanted to break with her old life, for example, she could have moved back to her country of birth and started anew over there, - she certainly had the means to do so. Instead she chose to live in a place where her 'family' could continue to use, abuse and manipulate her.

In a way, Julia is very much a product of the life she chose for herself and the people she chose to have in her life, all poor choices in my opinion. Her husband, Magnus, does not come off as a very sympathetic man. He needs to be in control of every aspect of his life, it seems, including the people in it. As such, he does not take it well when Julia decides to leave and live alone. Apparently, his personality and habits match those of Julia's father, down to how they both had plenty of mistresses and thought this to be only fair. (If Julia had taken a lover, however, there might have been murder.) Magnus' sister Lily comes off as more sympathetic than her brother, but she is manipulative in her own way, and has her own agenda when it comes to Julia. I'm not entirely sure what was going on with Mark, their adopted brother, but he seemed to be having mental issues of his own, making his bits of the story as unreliable as Julia's. Continuing to allow these people to be a part of her life (or be close enough to force their way into it, in her husband's case) is as self-destructive as the hunt Julia cannot abandon.

Julia is not a very complicated book to read, not at first sight, but as it turns out once you sit down and think about it, it has layers and layers of things happening where nothing is what it seems, and where everything can be questioned or looked at from at least two sides. Which in turn makes me wonder whether I've ignored some big things I should have talked about here, in favor of driveling on about the things I thought were interesting, or strange, or worthy of notice and so on. Basically though, it is a chilling story, and if you want laughs and giggles, this is not the right book for you. I have read better ghost stories, and I have read worse, but if you like novels where you have to figure out for yourself what is happening, and don't mind still not being quite sure as you turn the last page, I really do recommend this book as it's pretty clever like that.

Book Details
Title: Julia
Author: Peter Straub
Publisher: Anchor Books
Pages: 291
Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-8041-7283-7
First published: 1975

Pride of Carthage - David Anthony Durham

I'm a little behind on my reading again so I moved an older piece to this blog. This review was written in October 2008, a period in which I read more historical fiction than I do at the moment. I did some minor editing as usual, it needed less than most of the stuff I wrote back then I'll be back next week with a fresh review of Black Hills by Dan Simmons.

David Anthony Durham recently ventured into fantasy with his book Acacia: The War with the Mien and its sequel Other Lands. Before that he wrote a number of historical novels, making him a very interesting writer for a reader likes me,who likes both fantasy and historical fiction (and hybrids thereof). Pride of Carthage tells the story of the Second Punic War (218 – 201 BC) and Hannibal’s campaign against the Roman republic. A decisive moment in the history of Rome. I haven’t read any of Durham’s other books but after reading this one I may have to put one or two on my to read list.

After Carthage’s defeat in the fist Punic war it takes the Carthaginians several decades to rebuild their strength. The loss of their fleet in particular is a severe blow to their pride and power. Wealth keeps flowing into the city however and soon Cathage expands its influence again. Under the leadership of Hamilcar Barca the empire expands into Iberia, where its sphere on influence brushes with Rome’s once again. The tension mounts and when Rome declares the city of Saguntum, well within Carthage’s sphere of influence, a protectorate. War is beginning to look more likely by the day. Hannibal, by that time in control of the Iberian possessions of Carthage, decides not to wait for the Roman invasion. Still lacking a fleet of decent size he sets out on an epic march across the Alps into the Roman republic itself.

The book follows Hannibal’s exploits in Italy, his victories at Trebia and Lake Trasimene and of course his most famous victory and Cannae in 216 BC. A battle during which Hannibal’s smaller force managed to encircle and butcher a large Roman army. It is one of Rome’s greatest defeats and a tactical masterpiece that is still studied by soldiers and historians alike. The road to Rome lies open, the republic is in a state of panic, visions of the sack of Rome at the hands of Brennus in 387 BC haunt the Roman citizens. Lacking reinforcements from Carthage, the leaders of the city appear displeased with Hannibal’s initiative to start a war with Rome, he decides not to besiege the city but continue to fight his war of attrition on Italian soil. The wisdom of this decision is still debated but it did mark the turning point in the second Punic war. From then on Rome would gain the upper hand until Hannibal’s ultimate defeat by one of Rome’s greatest generals, Scipio Africanus, at the battle of Zama in 202 BC.

Durham tells the story of Hannibal’s war from a number of different points of view. From the great general himself to his brothers and wife, but also from several Roman points of view and those of ordinary soldiers and camp followers. In doing so Durham ensures the readers gets a detailed look at what ancient warfare entailed. The author describes it in harsh detail in fact. Although Hanibal himself does not come across as a brutal or cruel man in the book, he orders the destruction of complete Saguntum and he accepts the fact that a large portion of his army will not survive journey to meet the Romans in battle on their own soil. The battle scenes are plentiful and detailed and a lot of blood was spilled even for the standards of the time in Hannibal’s war. Durham captures the frantic, often desperate action of these battles very well.

Despite all this action I thought the book was a bit slow in the beginning. The first part of the book deals mostly with the situation in Iberia and the rising tension between Rome and Carthage. The author takes his time setting the stage. Once Hannibal starts moving the pace rapidly increases though. Durham has divides the book in 5 parts, each about 100 pages long and dealing with a specific phase in the conflict. I prefer shorter chapters or parts, whatever you want to call them, simply because I don’t like to stop reading in the middle of one. I’m not always in the position where I can sit down and read a hundred pages in one go. Durham doesn’t provide many points where you can put the book down easily. Of course this became harder as the book progressed anyway.

The author follows history closely as far as I can tell. Historical material on Carthage is pretty scarce. Decades after the Second Punic War, Roman senator Cato the Elder spoke the famous words “Carthago delenda est” and, after repeating them in the senate every chance he got, Rome agreed. In 146 BC the city was completely destroyed, it’s citizens sold into slavery or killed and the historical record destroyed. Oddly enough there seems to be a lack of material from the Roman side as well. Most of it dates from well after the events themselves. And Romans had the tendency to make much of their enemies after they had defeated them (see Micheal Curtis Ford's The Last King for an other example of that). The picture the author paints of Hannibal is one of a sympathetic man in a way. One who is slowly worn down by the responsibility he carries. Probably not the way a Roman would have described him but I found it plausible enough. Durham has certainly put in a lot of effort in getting the details on life in ancient times right. The details of life in the various places the novel is set and those of the campaigns in particular give his book a very realistic feel.

One could say the ending of the books is a bit abrupt I suppose. Hannibal’s career doesn’t end after Zama. He will be an important factor in Carthage’s political scene for several years after than until he is eventually exiled in 195 BC. His military brilliance seems to have ended after Zama though. He faces Roman armies in battle as a mercenary general during his exile but never with much success. I that light it certainly makes sense to end the book there. Pride of Carthage is an interesting retelling of Hannibal’s tale. I enjoyed reading it a great deal but if you consider reading this book keep in mind that it is pretty heavy on military action.

Book Details
Title: Pride of Carthage
Author: David Anthony Durham
Publisher: Anchor Books
Pages: 568
Year: 2006
Language: English
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0-385-72249-4
First published: 2005