Peony in Love

Hello there! So I thought I would do a blog post on something unrelated to art. Why? Because its my blog and I want to. Ha ha. But first a couple of updates!

Bracelets, Chokers and Anklets! I've been working diligently at making these this summer. And they've really been a success! I've already sold 19. I still don't have the etsy shop set up yet, but don't worry it'll be up soon enough. I have an image of the anklet shown on this blog post but if you would like to see more of my bracelets go to http://www.facebook.com/allysonartwork. If you are interested in getting a custom item done please go to my contact page on this site. Link above.

Anklet

Also I'm pretty excited because I'm going out on a lunch date with a friend tomorrow after work. Why is this exciting? Because I get to go out as me like an adult and have adult conversation. I won't be mom for a little bit. Ha ha.

Ok, now on to the review of the book I just finished. I know what you're thinking. She's a mom, she's an artist, she works, she goes to school when on earth does she have time to read a book? Well in truth I don't have time. I listen to the audio version in my car. I do this for two reasons. I get to enjoy a fiction book, and two it helps keep me awake on my way to work and on my way home from work. Because you're right, I don't get much sleep.

Peony in Love is a novel written by Lisa See. I was skeptical about getting this book for a couple of reasons. I had previously attempted to get her book Shanghai Girls to listen to in the car but I just was not impressed by it. I couldn't get past the first few minutes. And usually any story about chinese people or history I have no problem learning about or listening to. However this particular one just seemed so old hat that I couldn't get past it.

Peony in Love however I found much more interesting. Please be aware that I'm going to have some spoilers in here. I won't reveal the whole book but I am going to tell something pivotal because it involves the entire second half of the book. So the story takes place in China, 17 or 1800s if I remember correctly. The main character is a girl by the name of Peony. She is her father's only child. Because of that he allowed her to learn things like reading and writing. Her parents arrange a marriage for her but the week before she is to be married she meets a young man who happens to visit her compound and she falls in love with him the first night.

At this she decides she is going to rebel at getting married and she stops eating. Her mother watches her waste away as does her father. She is so starved that even with food she is too weak and she dies. Let me repeat that. The main character of the book dies. Did it sink in? Ok good. Here's the part I did not tell you. The boy she fell in love with happened to be the man she was to marry the next week. She found this out a couple days before her death. She becomes a ghost. And then you follow her around in her ghost form. Where it gets really interesting is that she eventually decides to hang out at her would be husband's house. He later decides to get married to her cousin whom she hates, and from that point on she decides to haunt her cousin. Pretty good huh? I do have to say I was really really REALLY angry with the author for killing the main character of the book! It nearly made me stop listening. But I decided that I needed to know what on earth she was going to do with the story line now that Peony was dead. I was not disappointed.

Because of this I thought I should try to give Shanghai Girls another try. I still have been unsuccessful at actually wanting to listen to it though.

I'm now in the process of listening to a book called Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. I'm nearly done with it, so I will do a review of this one as well.

I hope you guys don't mind that I did a review. But I'm not just an artist, I have interests in many things and sometimes I feel like blogging about them darn it!

Have a great weekend, please remember to check out the pics of my bracelets on facebook! And please ask to buy some or get a custom one. The prices range from $1.00 to $5.75. And shipping depends on where you are. But I'll let you know ahead of time before you purchase.

~Always Allyson :)

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