Faith and Treason

Faith and Treason: The Story of the Gunpowder Plot by Antonia Fraser, 295 pages

In the early morning hours of November 5th, 1605, a man going by the name of John Johnson was arrested in a rented cellar filled with gunpowder beneath the House of Lords.  Johnson, whose real name was Guido "Guy" Fawkes, was a devout Catholic and a soldier who had fought for the Spanish in Flanders.  Under torture, he confessed to being part of a small conspiracy of English Catholic gentlemen who, angered by King James' refusal to grant toleration to Catholics and despairing of help from Catholic monarchs abroad, had concocted a plot to blow up Parliament with the King and most of the royal family inside, then abduct the princess Elizabeth and, by marrying her off to a suitable continental prince, reestablish the Catholic monarchy.  In the hands of the British government, the Gunpowder Plot was recast as a wide-ranging conspiracy hatched by the Jesuits and implicating virtually every recusant family in England.  As such, it not only became the excuse for immediate renewed persecution, but its legend became a vital part of English identity, justifying future anti-Catholic pogroms like the Popish Plot and the Gordon riots, with the result that it would not be until the nineteenth century that Catholics in England would enjoy the same rights granted to Protestants in France in the sixteenth.

At least, such is the story as Antonia Fraser convincingly tells it.  The story of the Powder Treason, befitting its place in the English psyche, has been told and retold from perspectives ranging from that of King James himself in the immediate aftermath to latter day conspiracy theorists who believe that the entire plot was nothing more than a government invention.  Fraser's narrative (which in the author's native land bore the subtitle "Terror and Faith in 1605") aligns with more recent experiences, notably the Reichstag fire, another seemingly real terroristic act by a desperate individual seized upon by opportunists in positions of power.  Her compelling account focuses attention on the lives and motivations of the conspirators as well as the innocents caught in their web, and ends by, as the prosecutors of the conspirators boasted they had done, bringing to light deeds done in darkness, with the awareness that some of those dark deeds were done by those who fancied themselves lightbringers.

The Travelers

The Travelers by Chris Pavone 464  pages

One of the things that drew me to The Travelers is right there on the cover: “Hitchcockian.” This was the first Chris Pavone novel that I tried to read. However, instead of the master of suspense director, I say that the story is more William Faulknerish. With its long, convoluted sentences that meander through from subject to subject, I found this novel less than enthralling.  

The other thing that enticed me to this book where the different locales in which the action (or lack thereof, depending on your point of view) takes places: Argentina, Dublin, New York City, Paris, Barcelona, the North Atlantic Ocean, and other exotic areas. It jumped around a lot, switching characters constantly until I had to re-read sections to figure out what was going happening.

I like books that make me think, but not books that cause me to struggle trying to figure out what was happening. When I think spy novel, I think edge-of-my-seat read. Unfortunately, this was a slow, tedious read for me.  The Travelers receives 1 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for this review.

The Doubt Factory

The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi, 484 pages

Alix’s dad is the head of a PR company.  Alix isn’t really sure what her dad does, but there are other kids out there who know exactly what he does.  They have been pulling multiple stunts, trying to get the public’s attention and finally resort to kidnapping Alix to enlist her help.  They tell her that her father is helping to mask information about various drugs that are harmful to people.  He does this by helping to cause doubt about whether or not it is the drug that is the problem.  Alix isn’t sure what she believes.  If the kids are right it means that her father is partially responsible for the deaths of several people but if she believes that, which is difficult for her anyway, and she helps them to reveal the truth it will also mean the end to the way of life she has known for so long.  I really liked this book.  I’ve always enjoyed Bacigalupi and I thought this was even better than some of his other work.  Because of the length, it would probably be a hard sell to reluctant readers but I think a lot of teens would enjoy it.