Lady of the Snakes | Rachel Pastan | What a wonderful find!     books:     Lady of the Snakes   Lady of the Snakes Rachel Pastan Harcourt, 2008 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image  for more information click here        highly recommended Jane Levitsky is a bright light in the field of nineteenth-century Russian literature, making her name as an expert on the novels of Grigory Karkov and the diaries of his wife, the long-suffering Masha Karkova. Jane is also wife to sweet, reasonable Billy and mother to lovable (if demanding) Maisie, roles she?s finding surprisingly challenging to juggle along with her ambitions. But when Jane uncovers evidence that Masha may have been more than muse and helpmeet to her famous husband, she seizes her ticket to academic superstardom. Little does she know that she has set in motion a chain of events that will come perilously close to unraveling both her marriage and her career. Lady of the Snakes will be instantly familiar?and instantly unforgettable?to any woman who has ever aspired to have it all.  for more information click here Terrific Read Rachel Pastan's Lady of the Snakes is a really terrific read, just a delightful way to spend a few hours. The novel opens as Jane Levitsky, a Russian literature Ph.D. candidate is about to give birth and is focused on the life of another woman, Masha Karkova, the wife of a fictional Russian novelist. Her thoughts lead to comment to a friend, which in turn send her in search of the truth about Masha, her husband, his novels and her journals. Jane has to balance the life of a (working) scholar with that of a wife and mother. The truth she seeks manages to disrupt both her professional and her personal life and she struggles for the balance that most working mom's grapple with. Jane is a sympathetic protagonist, not perfect. One of her experiences that was spot on was her search for child care for her daughter. Pastan captures that dilemma and the hypocricies surrounding it perfectly. I really enjoyed this novel--a sort of Possession-lite. I've seen it referred to as "literary chick lit", but I think the "chick lit" tag is a bit demeaning. The Lady of the Snakes is much more substantive than that genre. This is a really terrific read that I highly recommend. Enjoy!  for more information click here What a wonderful find! Thank you to NPR for putting this book on its summer reading list! Lady of the Snakes aptly portrayed the daily struggles of life for a young mother and wife, Jane, struggling to find balance in a world that provides little support for working women. Jane is an assistant professor with a young daughter, her husband in law school full time. Throughout the book, Jane is on a constant mission to make a name for herself within her department, find quality childcare for her young child, be a good wife, mother and friend, and some how find happiness with her chosen path in life. One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "Too many things that were supposed to be indications of success feeling like burdens," spoken by a secondary character, a woman who after three children decided to leave tenure at a university when it was clear she would never find balance in her life. Pastan created a realistic scenario where no one is the winner, a genuine world where any one of us could easily play the main character. Well done - a great read!  for more information click here This story will hook you in and captive you Jane dated Billy for six years then married him. After a 24-hour labor their daughter Maisie is born. Maisie can be very demanding at times of her mother. At times Jane finds herself overwhelmed with being a mother, wife, working and trying to go after her ambitions. Jane is a professor of the nineteenth century Russian literature by Grigory Karkov and the diaries by his wife Masha Karkov. Grigory has written 5 novels including Lady of the Snakes. She sometimes wonders if Masha is the character in Lady of the Snakes just interpreted differently than in the other novels. Jane spends all of her extra time making herself an expert at these writings. She even hires a babysitter to give her more time to work on the novels and diaries She often finds herself comparing the world now to the nineteenth century. Some things are different and others have not changed at all. The source of heat and light has changed as well as childbirth but other things like infidelity have not changed. She finds herself being somewhat like Masha. Masha was a wife for 19 years, a mother, and taking care of the traditional household chores. Someone has asked Jane how Masha died? It is believed that she died giving birth to her seventh child. Even though there are a few passages, which lead us to believe she may have been depressed. Jane decides to find out the truth. Jane stumbles across evidence about Masha and her husband Grigory Karkov. She decides to take a chance for academic stardom. She makes a mistake along the way and is dangerously close to losing her marriage and career. She wanted it all her career, marriage and to go after her ambitions. Does she have what it takes to keep it all? This is a book of a woman who wants it all. There is a lot of literature in it. But it seems like the more you read the more you get hooked on this book. Read and see how the world has changed over the years and what is still the same.  for more information click here Academic texture and time. I enjoyed the story and writing. As an academic I've advised, consoled and probably frustrated students trying "to have it all." This novel meanders in that seemingly hopeless process quite successfully; and I admit on average, the pressures are of different degree on women students. I had two minor problems with the book that bring the score down abit. First, there is a confused sense of time through the first half of the book. I don't mean the flash backs to 1800s but the time of Janie in the now. This maybe related to the second problem, the vagueness of the academic process. I would have thought the academic calendar would have provided a background grid for author and reader but it doesn't. Also, the competition for long missing letters and documents is more Indiana Jones than academic author. The tersely outlined implications of discovery might have been expanded to reinforce the academic side of Jane's struggles. How many articles could have come of the discoveries? Who could Janie get to review her outlines or drafts? Perhaps a book would be best, but written for whom? Finally, a very little thing, where are the computers, the internet and emails? There is a technological hole in the book!  for more information click here reviews: page 1, 2 products you might be interested in search for books lady of the, lady, snakes      toavi.com    web randomly chosen DVD: The Prince of Egypt