Nominations: October 2010 Book of the Month

[boswellbaxter]

Nominations are open for all historical novels except for those set in Europe, those that are set primarily in the European portion of Russia, and those that are set in the United States. Nominations will close on August 20.

[Divia]

The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (Paperback)


Well, it could be considered European, but not ...Russia that is. If you think it falls under the Europe blanket let me know and I'll pick something different. :)

[boswellbaxter]

Let's exclude novels that take place primarily in the European portion of Russia, so please nominate something else. I'll clarify my post. Thanks!

[Divia]

OK

The Concubine's Daughter: A Novel by Pai Kit Fai

[Vanessa]

The Painter of Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein

In 1913 an orphan girl boards a steamship bound for Wuhu in South East China. Left in the hands of her soft-hearted but opium-addicted uncle she is delivered to The Hall of Eternal Splendour which, with its painted faces and troubling cries in the night, seems destined to break her spirit. And yet the girl survives and one day hope appears in the unlikely form of a customs inspector, a modest man resistant to the charms of the corrupt world that surrounds him but not to the innocent girl who stands before him. From the crowded rooms of a small-town brothel, heavy with the smoke of opium pipes and the breath of drunken merchants, to the Bohemian hedonism of Paris and the 1930s studios of Shanghai, Jennifer Epstein's first novel, based on a true story, is an exquisite evocation of a fascinating time and place, with a breathtaking heroine at its heart.

Hope this one is OK - reading the blurb, although most of it is set in China, there is mention of Paris. It's been on my TBR pile for yonks.

[Misfit]

I know its OOP but plenty of used copies for a penny.

Shadow of the Moon by MM Kaye

[MLE]

I had a book to nominate, but decided it would be counterproductive with Shadow of the Moon getting my vote.

[Leo62]

I hesitate to nominate this cos it's such a doorstop...

OK, I've hesitated. Here it is. :D

Shogun by James Clavell

[SonjaMarie]

I hesitate to nominate this cos it's such a doorstop...

OK, I've hesitated. Here it is. :D

Shogun by James Clavell

Is that of Russian extraction though? I saw the movie when it was in the theatre a few decades ago and I don't recall it being set in Russia, but I could be wrong.

SM

[Leo62]

Is that of Russian extraction though? I saw the movie when it was in the theatre a few decades ago and I don't recall it being set in Russia, but I could be wrong.

SM

Eh??? Am I missing something?

[SonjaMarie]

Eh??? Am I missing something?

Maybe I'm reading Boswell's restriction wrong, my bad, just ignore me :)

SM

[Vanessa]

I think SM thinks the theme is a Russian based book. I think she may have misread it.

[Michy]

Isn't Shogun set in Japan? Not Russia?

[boswellbaxter]

Sorry for any confusion, folks. Books set primarily in the European portion of Russia should NOT be nominated. So Shogun and the rest are fine.

[Vanessa]

Isn't Shogun set in Japan? Not Russia?

Yes. Nothing to do with Russia.

[Leo62]

just ignore me :)


Absolutely not! :D

I wondered if I'd got the wrong end of the stick too...

So to choose from I guess we have: Central and South America, Africa, the Near, Middle and Far East, Russia east of the Volga, India, Australia...hope I haven't missed a continent somewhere... :D

[boswellbaxter]

Canada and Mexico are fine too.

[Misfit]

I've already nominated, but does the Crimea qualify? There might be some interesting options there.

[Ludmilla]

I don't know if a book written in the 50s that takes place in the 20s qualifies, but since I know it's somewhere in the hidden recesses of my home, I'll nominate John Hersey's "A Single Pebble" about an engineer traveling the Yangtze looking for a suitable dam site. Last I checked it was still in print.

If that doesn't qualify, I'll nominate one of those niggling classics I haven't read: Thornton Wilder's "The Bridge of San Luis Rey".

[boswellbaxter]

Geography wasn't my strong point in school, folks. If it's here, it qualifies unless someone protests.

[Kasthu]

I nominate Green Dragon, White Tiger, by Annette Motley.

[annis]

I really like Shadow of the Moon, Shogun and Green Dragon, White Tiger, but for variety I'll nominate The Secret Mandarin (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Mandarin-Sara-Sheridan/dp/1847561896), by Sara Sheridan, which is currently on my TBR pile. Not sure if it's available in the States yet, though.

[Catherine Delors]

Shogun takes place in Japan, right?
I would like to nominate an old-time favourite, Aztec, by Gary Jennings. Set in Mexico.

[Brenna]

I am relatively new to this forum, so these may have been nominated before, but here goes.

Any of Michelle Moran's books on Egypt
Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge

[boswellbaxter]

I am relatively new to this forum, so these may have been nominated before, but here goes.

Any of Michelle Moran's books on Egypt
Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George
Child of the Morning by Pauline Gedge

Good nominations, Brenna, but you need to pick just one!

[Ash]

Shogun takes place in Japan, right?
I would like to nominate an old-time favourite, Aztec, by Gary Jennings. Set in Mexico.

Thats funny, I was going to nominate his Journeyers, about Marco Polo! But thats probably out because a significant part takes place in Venice

All the books I can think of are travel narratives or non fiction...Anything out there that takes place in Africa, the Middle East, Australia, the poles? Canada or South America? Must be thousands.

[Brenna]

Good nominations, Brenna, but you need to pick just one!

But that's no fun!!! Because I DNF it the first time I tried to read it, I will vote for Pauline Gedge's The Child of the Morning. I hope Michelle doesn't mind.

[Misfit]

But that's no fun!!! Because I DNF it the first time I tried to read it, I will vote for Pauline Gedge's The Child of the Morning. I hope Michelle doesn't mind.

I think she's had at least one BOTM here.

[Divia]

I think she's had at least one BOTM here.

I think all of her books have made it in because I know I nominated two :D and then someone else did the third.

[4ever Queen]

I want to nominate The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (Paperback)

[boswellbaxter]

I want to nominate The Jewel of St. Petersburg by Kate Furnivall (Paperback)

That would fall within the European portion of Russia, so it isn't eligible, sorry! You can nominate something else for October and then nominate that one when we do our next open nomination.

[Leyland]

I would like to nominate an old-time favourite, Aztec, by Gary Jennings. Set in Mexico.
I'd like to second Aztec. My copy has been patiently sitting on a shelf for almost a year now :)