Here is a review of books I read in October 2009
Excellent:
Half Broke Horses (2009) is a novel biography by Jeannette Smith Walls. The author calls this a "true life novel," because she wrote the biography of her grandmother's life based on the stories her mother, Rosemary, spoke to her about her grandmother. The story is told in the voice of her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Lily says, "I was born in a dugout on the banks of Salt Draw in 1901." Salt Draw is a town in New Mexico, and Lily informs us she was born on the banks of the Salt River.
I first learned of people living in dugouts when reading Willa Cather's wonderful book, My Antonia. In the old days, on lands where there was very little lumber, folks dug a big hole in the side of a hill to be their home. They used lumber to board up the front of the cave, with a door, and perhaps a window too. Ceiling, walls, and the floor of the abode were dirt. It is difficult for me to imagine living in such a home.
In this case, Lily's father, who was born on a ranch in Hondo Valley, New Mexico, in 1868, dug out a hole in the side of the river bank. "The dugout had one room, a packed earth floor, a wooden door, a waxed-paper window, and a cast-iron stove with a flue that jutted up through the sod roof." We're further informed, "The worst thing about it was that, from time to time, scorpions, lizards, snakes, gophers, centipedes, and moles wormed their way out of our walls and ceilings. Once, in the middle of an Easter dinner, a rattler dropped onto the table. Dad, who was carving the ham, brought the knife right down behind that snakes head!" What a beginning, but the rest of the story provides a great adventure about what it was like to be raised in the Southwest in the early years of our country. (As a point of reference, William McKinley took office in March, 1898, was assassinated in September, 1901, and Theodore Roosevelt took office.)
The family farmed and in addition to their garden raised cattle and horses. They broke wild horses and sold them to farmers. Lily became the family expert at breaking horses, including her horse, Patches. Lily rode her horse to her teaching jobs throughout Arizona. Years later, Lily would buy and drive a car, then learn to fly and become a free-lance pilot.
The Smith's moved to Arizona early in her life. Lily grows up with less than a high school education, but at that time with just enough schooling to get positions teaching in one-room school houses in little Arizona towns. She eventually moved to Chicago.
Lily completed her high school and college education as she moved to new destinations. She married a two-timing bum in Chicago. She thought him to have work out of town, but in reality he was alternating stays with two wives. Lily ends up divorcing him and going back to the Southwest where she marries a good man. He is a mechanic that operates a garage. She teaches and for a time sold boot leg whiskey out the back door of their house to help make ends meet. When the time came to run, they had saved enough money to buy a ranch and they become successful ranchers. The adventures of the ups and downs of ranch life continue, including the beginning of the story about her mother, Lily's daughter, Rosemary. Rosemary is the author's mother.
This story is meaningful to me as my father was born in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1914. Grandpa and Grandma moved back to Indiana shortly after dad was born, when grandma crawled into bed one night and discovered she was in the company of a rattlesnake that was coiled under the sheets.
Half Broke Horses is a marvelous story of the old Southwest. If you haven't already read the previously written biography of the author, it is a great time to read Half Broke Horse before reading the author's New York Times best-selling memoir, The Glass Castle. I'm reading it now.
Very Good
Benjamin Franklin, An American Life (2003) is a biography written by Walter Isaacson. This is another of the 500 plus page biographies you'll find about our founding fathers and presidents in your local bookshop. This book is well-written, however, while it is often engaging, it is at times tiresome reading. I had to work to stick with it, taking frequent rest breaks as I read. I confess near the end I was thinking, "I'll be glad when I have finished reading this book". Overall it is a very good book and I encourage you to read it, because Franklin is a fascinating and a very important character. He was "America's best scientist, inventor, diplomat, writer, and business strategist. He alone was a contributing writer, shaper, editor, and signer of all of the four of our founding papers including The Declaration of Independence, the treaty with France, the peace accord with Britain, and the Constitution."
Franklin "proved by flying a kite that lightening was electricity, and he invented a rod to prove it. He devised bifocal glasses and clean burning stoves, charts of the Gulf Stream, and theories about the contagious nature of the common cold." He was a great experimenter. I especially enjoyed reading about his experiments that prove that oil smooths rough waters. He also "launched various improvement schemes, such as the lending library, college, volunteer fire corps, insurance association, and matching grant fund-raiser." He proposed plans for uniting the colonies, helped to develop the model for a national government, and was steadfast in politicking leaders of the colonies to join together to become a union.
Franklin was a middle class guy who was a leather-apron tradesman. As he progressed into politics he became a world traveler and diplomat (and was eventually awarded a number of honorary doctors degrees for his achievements). Franklin was often very cheerful and self-depreciating. With a big smile and twinkling eyes he reached out to all he met. He didn't bear grudges to his enemies, reaching out to all but his son, William, a British loyalist who fought American independence and in doing so fought his father.
Old Ben was a ladies man who seemingly couldn't chase too many women at one time. He was married to Deborah, but he had convenience partners nearly everywhere he traveled. He was a live in partner to two women and their families in Paris (which was clearly his favorite place to be). Ben was big on having a big time, making sure that he had all of the pleasures that were important to him. However, he was also generous in giving to others, including significant care for his children and his partners children. On the other hand, Franklin was not without faults (in addition to womanizing). He owned two slaves and didn't support the abolition of slavery until he had a change of heart late in life. He finally authored an important paper that promoted the abolition of slavery.
It is interesting to me how biographers treat their subjects. In his book, John Adams, David McCullough, who has been criticized for making his books too readable at the expense of reality, left me with a bad feelings about Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. To the contrary, Walter Isaacson opened my mind to the faults of John Adams, portraying him to be self-centered and often a whining and nasty man, while trumpeting the qualities of Franklin. He also elevated my opinion of Jefferson, writing about the cordiality and goodness of his interactions with Adams and Franklin. However, the fault of Jefferson that to me is unforgivable, was his use of a slave woman who bore his child. He used her as his wife after his wife died and when he died, although bankrupt, he left her and the child nothing (when he could have left her with much to sustain her and the child). Adams is the only one of the three men who never owned a slave and he was against slavery throughout his life.
The Gift of the Magi (1906) and other short stories by O. Henry. This book also includes The Cop and the Anthem, Springtime a' la Carte, The Green Door, After Twenty Years, The Furnished Room, The Pimienta Pancakes, The Last Leaf, The Voice of the City, While Auto Waits, A Retrieved Reformation, A Municipal Report, A Newspaper Story, The Ransom of Red Chief, A Ghost of a Chance, and Makes the Whole World Kin.
These are great stories from a gifted writer who is well-known for injecting his "twists in the tale." My Grandson, John Curran, loves the tale, The Ransome of Red Chief. My favorite is The Gift of the Magi.
Who do you think O. Henry is? Where do you think he came from? I had heard of him, but I don't know what I thought, except I thought of him as a mystery (and perhaps a European who lived in the middle ages).
Born William Sidney Porter in 1862, in Greensboro, North Carolina, O. Henry migrated to Texas and where he worked on a ranch. He then became a bank teller in Austin, Texas, and later a reporter for the Houston Post. In 1896 he was indicted for the embezzlement of bank funds and sentenced to prison. He started writing stories in prison. When he was released, he moved to New York and wrote many stories for the newspaper, The New York World. He died a pauper but left a legacy through his stories. After reading these stories I bought the Modern Library book which contains all of his short stories. I'll provide a review of this collection at a later date.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
October 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in September 2009
Excellent:
True Compass (2009) by Edward (a.k.a. Ted and Teddy) Kennedy. This book is well written and reveals much about the life of Ted Kennedy. The book doesn't answer the questions that people have about the Chappaquiddick tradgedy.
The history is presented in four parts. Part One is about family and the details of Ted's life from childhood to his early years at Harvard. It was interesting to learn what it was like for him to be the little Teddy, the youngest child of the Kennedy clan. His older brothers, John and Bobby, and his father, Joesph P. Kennedy, took a real interest in teaching Teddy. For example, John spent a lot of time teaching Teddy how to sail. And he learned a lot about politics and serving his country from both John and Bobby. His father was articulate in teaching the kids moral values.
Teddy was a cheerful little fellow even as he worked to overcome what I perceived to be a learning disability. The letters he wrote to his father when he was the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, were typical of kids who have difficulty reading, writing, and spelling. It’s obvious that his dad loved getting his notes and encouraged him to write often.
My memory of earlier reading is that Winston Churchill described Ted’s father as a man who spent every night in London bars and cheated on his wife, Rose. Ted provides enough specifics about his father's character that I am skeptical of the image Churchill portrayed. Kennedy resisted the U.S. becoming involved in World War II until it was necessary and Churchill blamed him for it.
Part Two, Brotherhood, details Ted's experiences helping brother, John, in his presidential race, and his involvement in his brother's administration. He also detailed his efforts in campaigning for brother, Bobby, in his run to become president. As you would expect, this part provides a lot of detail about the assassinations of his brothers and how he and his family coped with the tragedies. Part of this history brought back memories of my youth, especially of the Cuba “Bay of Pigs Invasion,” when President Kennedy called up 16,000 Air Force Reservists to active duty. I was one of the 16,000. His action worked. After I was inoculated against world diseases and stood at the ready to fly into all sorts of interesting hot spots, I in fact never left Indiana's Bakalar Air Force Base. In fact, we were released the day before Thanksgiving, serving only two months of active duty. This part of the book revealed the details to help me better understand the call up.
My favorite reading in this part was of the time the new senator, Ted Kennedy, called on the old powerhouse Senator James O. Eastland, of Mississippi, to ask him for his preferred committee assignments. Ted didn't have to ask. Old Eastland was ahead of the curve. Kennedy describes the humor and way in which Eastland gave him exactly what he wanted, but with a demand for each assignment that Ted had difficulty swallowing. I won't tell you about Eastland's demand because it would spoil the fun of reading about it.
Part Three, On My Own, provides details about Senator Kennedy's peer relationships, as well as his experiences working with the presidents he served. It’s interesting history but not as lively as other parts. His reporting of the Nixon years was very interesting. For example, we learn that Nixon was ruthless in authorizing spies whom he ordered to find dirt on the people on his infamous “enemies list.” Kennedy was one of Nixon's biggest enemies. From other reading I learned the Secret Service didn’t find the dirt Nixon hoped for. It's in this part that Kennedy gives us his account of the accident at Chappaquiddick.
Part Four documents Ted Kennedy's renewal which includes writing about his wife, Vicki, the woman he says changed his life. He also accounts his fighting for political survival as the mood of the country began to change during the Regan years, as well as his experiences during the Clinton and Bush years and being a part in President Barack Obama’s successful campaign. And in the end, Kennedy details his perseverance in living well as he waited to die of cancer.
The best writing about his final days comes to us in the book Prologue. It’s clear that he wrote of the end of this life's journey with the faith about the journey after life.
Across the Endless River (2009) is a novel by Thad Carhart. This is an excellent historical novel set in places and in a time that is unique to what some of us have read. The subject is the Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, son of the Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea (a.k.a. the bird-woman) and her French Canadian husband and fur trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau. With her knowledge of a number of Indian languages she was able to translate to Toussaint in the Indian language he knew and in turn, he served as the translator for Lewis & Clark in their expedition. Afterward, the boy’s parents asked Captain William Clark to assume responsibility for getting their son properly educated. As a result Jean-Baptiste leaves the frontier at an early age to live with the Clark's in St. Louis and receive much of his schooling there. However, he travels with his parents when he is not in school. On the frontier he learns the ways of the Indians, the beauty as well as the hardships of the wilderness, and about animals, hunting, and trading fur and skins. He learns French from his father and a number of Indian languages from his mother.
As Jean-Baptiste journeys in the wilderness, along comes a European Duke from the country of Wiirttemburg (now part of Germany) who has come to the American frontier to gather samples of flora and fauna, learn the ways of the native Americans, and while doing so acquire Indian memorabilia. Jean-Baptiste becomes his guide and teacher. When the Duke is ready to return to Europe he asks Jean-Baptiste to accompany him to help him document his collection and establish a museum. This affords the Jean-Baptiste the opportunity to learn the ways of Europeans, more languages, and to enjoy romance with women in Wiirttemburg and Paris.
This well-researched story offers the reader the excitement of the wilderness, including an incredible buffalo hunt, as well as a marvelous look at 1800's Europe. This is a fascinating historical novel which stands apart from what we usually find in bookshops.
This first novel establishes Thad Carhart, the writer of his bestselling memoir, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, as a first-rate novelist.
Strength in What Remains (2009) is the incredible story of Deogratias Niyizonkiz (a.k.a. Deo) by Tracy Kidder. Kidder is the author of many best-selling non-fiction books, including Mountains Beyond Mountains, the inspiring story of Dr. Paul Farmer.
Deo is an African who miraculously escapes a war in his native Burundi and eventually ends up in New York with only $200 in his pocket. He had been a medical student in Burundi when he found himself on the run in the war between the Hutu's and Tutsis in both Burundi and Rwanda. His escape from certain death was a miracle in itself, but surviving on the streets of New York without money, necessary language skills, and in a world so vastly different than Africa, was nearly as bewildering and terrifying as his escape from Africa. After living as a homeless person who slept in Central Park, Deo meets and even tries to dodge a well-meaning ex-nun who never gave up in her determination to help this poor man. She proves that dedicated caregivers make a difference! She ultimately finds a home for Deo and with a lot of help from her friends he ends up enrolling at Columbia University. Following his undergraduate work, Deo is once again enrolled in medical school. You'll never guess where he ends up! I'm not telling and revealing the surprising development that is likely to result in your leaning back in your recliner and saying, “What a wonderful coincidence.” You're about to become a believer in miracles!
Good
The Optimist's Daughter (1969) is a novel by Eurdora Welty. It's a classic written by a highly esteemed and much loved writer. It is a good yarn, and about an all too believable relationship between a step-daughter and step-mother as they are forced to work together to bury dear old dad. Some will find this book to be a heart breaking but at the same time humorous conclusion to the splendid life of Judge McKelva of Mount Salus, Mississippi. Some might even think, as I do, that this is an all too believable old time, small-town Mississippi scenario. How in the world did the judge ever get mixed up with the likes of his second wife, Fay? The poor old boy was lonesome after the death of his first and treasured wife and he ends up getting hooked by a real carpetbagger! That's my say.
Excellent:
True Compass (2009) by Edward (a.k.a. Ted and Teddy) Kennedy. This book is well written and reveals much about the life of Ted Kennedy. The book doesn't answer the questions that people have about the Chappaquiddick tradgedy.
The history is presented in four parts. Part One is about family and the details of Ted's life from childhood to his early years at Harvard. It was interesting to learn what it was like for him to be the little Teddy, the youngest child of the Kennedy clan. His older brothers, John and Bobby, and his father, Joesph P. Kennedy, took a real interest in teaching Teddy. For example, John spent a lot of time teaching Teddy how to sail. And he learned a lot about politics and serving his country from both John and Bobby. His father was articulate in teaching the kids moral values.
Teddy was a cheerful little fellow even as he worked to overcome what I perceived to be a learning disability. The letters he wrote to his father when he was the U.S. Ambassador to Great Britain, were typical of kids who have difficulty reading, writing, and spelling. It’s obvious that his dad loved getting his notes and encouraged him to write often.
My memory of earlier reading is that Winston Churchill described Ted’s father as a man who spent every night in London bars and cheated on his wife, Rose. Ted provides enough specifics about his father's character that I am skeptical of the image Churchill portrayed. Kennedy resisted the U.S. becoming involved in World War II until it was necessary and Churchill blamed him for it.
Part Two, Brotherhood, details Ted's experiences helping brother, John, in his presidential race, and his involvement in his brother's administration. He also detailed his efforts in campaigning for brother, Bobby, in his run to become president. As you would expect, this part provides a lot of detail about the assassinations of his brothers and how he and his family coped with the tragedies. Part of this history brought back memories of my youth, especially of the Cuba “Bay of Pigs Invasion,” when President Kennedy called up 16,000 Air Force Reservists to active duty. I was one of the 16,000. His action worked. After I was inoculated against world diseases and stood at the ready to fly into all sorts of interesting hot spots, I in fact never left Indiana's Bakalar Air Force Base. In fact, we were released the day before Thanksgiving, serving only two months of active duty. This part of the book revealed the details to help me better understand the call up.
My favorite reading in this part was of the time the new senator, Ted Kennedy, called on the old powerhouse Senator James O. Eastland, of Mississippi, to ask him for his preferred committee assignments. Ted didn't have to ask. Old Eastland was ahead of the curve. Kennedy describes the humor and way in which Eastland gave him exactly what he wanted, but with a demand for each assignment that Ted had difficulty swallowing. I won't tell you about Eastland's demand because it would spoil the fun of reading about it.
Part Three, On My Own, provides details about Senator Kennedy's peer relationships, as well as his experiences working with the presidents he served. It’s interesting history but not as lively as other parts. His reporting of the Nixon years was very interesting. For example, we learn that Nixon was ruthless in authorizing spies whom he ordered to find dirt on the people on his infamous “enemies list.” Kennedy was one of Nixon's biggest enemies. From other reading I learned the Secret Service didn’t find the dirt Nixon hoped for. It's in this part that Kennedy gives us his account of the accident at Chappaquiddick.
Part Four documents Ted Kennedy's renewal which includes writing about his wife, Vicki, the woman he says changed his life. He also accounts his fighting for political survival as the mood of the country began to change during the Regan years, as well as his experiences during the Clinton and Bush years and being a part in President Barack Obama’s successful campaign. And in the end, Kennedy details his perseverance in living well as he waited to die of cancer.
The best writing about his final days comes to us in the book Prologue. It’s clear that he wrote of the end of this life's journey with the faith about the journey after life.
Across the Endless River (2009) is a novel by Thad Carhart. This is an excellent historical novel set in places and in a time that is unique to what some of us have read. The subject is the Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, son of the Shoshone Indian woman Sacagawea (a.k.a. the bird-woman) and her French Canadian husband and fur trapper, Toussaint Charbonneau. With her knowledge of a number of Indian languages she was able to translate to Toussaint in the Indian language he knew and in turn, he served as the translator for Lewis & Clark in their expedition. Afterward, the boy’s parents asked Captain William Clark to assume responsibility for getting their son properly educated. As a result Jean-Baptiste leaves the frontier at an early age to live with the Clark's in St. Louis and receive much of his schooling there. However, he travels with his parents when he is not in school. On the frontier he learns the ways of the Indians, the beauty as well as the hardships of the wilderness, and about animals, hunting, and trading fur and skins. He learns French from his father and a number of Indian languages from his mother.
As Jean-Baptiste journeys in the wilderness, along comes a European Duke from the country of Wiirttemburg (now part of Germany) who has come to the American frontier to gather samples of flora and fauna, learn the ways of the native Americans, and while doing so acquire Indian memorabilia. Jean-Baptiste becomes his guide and teacher. When the Duke is ready to return to Europe he asks Jean-Baptiste to accompany him to help him document his collection and establish a museum. This affords the Jean-Baptiste the opportunity to learn the ways of Europeans, more languages, and to enjoy romance with women in Wiirttemburg and Paris.
This well-researched story offers the reader the excitement of the wilderness, including an incredible buffalo hunt, as well as a marvelous look at 1800's Europe. This is a fascinating historical novel which stands apart from what we usually find in bookshops.
This first novel establishes Thad Carhart, the writer of his bestselling memoir, The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, as a first-rate novelist.
Strength in What Remains (2009) is the incredible story of Deogratias Niyizonkiz (a.k.a. Deo) by Tracy Kidder. Kidder is the author of many best-selling non-fiction books, including Mountains Beyond Mountains, the inspiring story of Dr. Paul Farmer.
Deo is an African who miraculously escapes a war in his native Burundi and eventually ends up in New York with only $200 in his pocket. He had been a medical student in Burundi when he found himself on the run in the war between the Hutu's and Tutsis in both Burundi and Rwanda. His escape from certain death was a miracle in itself, but surviving on the streets of New York without money, necessary language skills, and in a world so vastly different than Africa, was nearly as bewildering and terrifying as his escape from Africa. After living as a homeless person who slept in Central Park, Deo meets and even tries to dodge a well-meaning ex-nun who never gave up in her determination to help this poor man. She proves that dedicated caregivers make a difference! She ultimately finds a home for Deo and with a lot of help from her friends he ends up enrolling at Columbia University. Following his undergraduate work, Deo is once again enrolled in medical school. You'll never guess where he ends up! I'm not telling and revealing the surprising development that is likely to result in your leaning back in your recliner and saying, “What a wonderful coincidence.” You're about to become a believer in miracles!
Good
The Optimist's Daughter (1969) is a novel by Eurdora Welty. It's a classic written by a highly esteemed and much loved writer. It is a good yarn, and about an all too believable relationship between a step-daughter and step-mother as they are forced to work together to bury dear old dad. Some will find this book to be a heart breaking but at the same time humorous conclusion to the splendid life of Judge McKelva of Mount Salus, Mississippi. Some might even think, as I do, that this is an all too believable old time, small-town Mississippi scenario. How in the world did the judge ever get mixed up with the likes of his second wife, Fay? The poor old boy was lonesome after the death of his first and treasured wife and he ends up getting hooked by a real carpetbagger! That's my say.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
September 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in August 2009.
Excellent
South of Broad (2009) is a novel by Pat Conroy. As far as I am concerned, this book is a fine work of art. The art begins with the prologue, in which the author uses words as brilliant brush strokes of luminous color to describe Charleston (SC), or as he calls it, “The Mansion on the River.” I immediately wanted to become part of the soul of this city. I did, and you will too, because Conroy makes the reader part of the city he loves.
This big book is delivered in five parts.
Part One: (June 16, 1969). Conroy introduces the main character and narrator, Leopold Bloom King, and each member of his family. His mother, Dr. King, is a former Roman Catholic nun who is tougher than nails. Leopold is usually called Leo unless he is in trouble with Dr. King. Then he is called “Leopold Bloom King!” His mother is intellectually devoted to James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, which Leo describes as being perhaps the worst novel ever written. She is a Joyce scholar and also Leo’s high school principal. Leo’s super father, Jasper, is a science teacher who reports to his mother at school and at home. Father and son are often in trouble, generally hang together, and they are the best of friends.
The author also introduces Leo’s many school friends in this chapter. There are a lot of characters, but it wasn’t a problem for me to keep track of them. Conroy brings together a diverse set of characters that are young and old, rich and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful, black and white, straight and gay. They include the sons and daughters of Charleston aristocrats, orphans, African Americans, and the school bully. All are equally special.
The remaining chapters of Part One take us through Leo’s high school years. I especially love his description of his newspaper route as he makes his way on his bicycle through historic Charleston.
Part Two: We move forward to the characters’ adult lives and careers. Leo is a famous and highly respected newspaper columnist for the paper he used to deliver. Most of his friends are doing well, and Leo continues to be involved with them. When they learn that one of their high school friends has disappeared and is dying of AIDS, the friends come together to try to find him with the hope of helping him. In the process, they become part of a mystery involving the father of the dying man and his sister.
Part Three: Some of the friends travel west and find themselves in a run-down San Francisco neighborhood where people dying of AIDS go to a silent death. As they look for their dying friend, they become deeply involved in a mystery that will keep you riveted to the plot until you finish the book.
Part IV: Conroy gives us a rude awakening when he shifts the story back in time to high school events that cemented the relationships between Leo and his friends. It is hard for the reader to accept getting yanked away from the great mystery that is unfolding in their adult lives, but this part well worth reading. It includes an exceptionally exciting high school football season, along with other events that ultimately strengthen the characters resolve when the going gets tough in San Francisco.
Part V: Fasten your safety belts and get ready to live through the chase in San Francisco, returning home to live through Charleston’s great hurricane and the thrilling climax to the mystery.
I love this book. I read it while on vacation in the North Carolina mountains. Family members that shared a quaint mountain cottage with us will tell you they heard me chuckling and sometimes laughing loudly as I read this book. They also noticed me wiping a few tears from my eyes. This novel is so good it’s worth the price of the hardback edition. I know I’ll read it again.
Bean Blossom Dreams (1994) is an excellent memoir by Sally J. Murphey. It was interesting for a guy like me to read this book about Chicagoans who moved to Indiana, as I was born in Indiana and moved to Chicago. The ten years or so that that we lived in Chicago’s near north side were so wonderful that I’ll always consider myself to be a Chicagoan.
Although the Murpheys don’t pinpoint the Chicago neighborhood they lived in, I’d gather it to have been the near north and near my favorite haunts. After their daughter Charley was born, the Murpheys wanted her to be raised in the country. They dreamed the dream of so many people—to buy and live on a farm where they could live off the land. Unlike most dreamers, they actually did buy a farm in beautiful Brown County, Indiana. This book is a very special rendering of what it was like to make that leap and the joy this family experienced in learning to be first class organic farmers (before organic became cool).
Nashville and Brown County State Park have a special place in my heart. My Dad and Mom took my brother and I there often, especially in the fall to see the colorful autumn leaves in hills ‘o Brown. We loved to go to the Nashville House Restaurant on Sundays to eat baked ham, sweet taters, green beans, and hot biscuits with lots of melted butter and big dollops of Nashville House homemade apple butter.
Sally’s farm recipes and instructions for making homemade Christmas gifts are included in the appendix. I was thrilled to discover that she was able to get and print the recipe for the Nashville House apple butter. I can’t wait for the fall apples to start arriving at the market. My daughter, Stephanie, and I are going to make and put up a couple dozen jars of apple butter!
Good
Keep Going (2006), The Art of Perseverance, by Lakota Indian James M. Marshall III. This book documents powerful native American wisdom that the author learned from his grandfather. Reading the great truths contained in this book is not to be rushed. Every paragraph is chock full of wisdom that must be reflected on before moving on. (You might want to install a book rack in your bathroom and have this volume at the ready for reading and silent meditation.) When you’re finished reading this book, you’ll need to start again at the beginning. I dare say you might end up reading it over and over again, maybe for the rest of your life, until all of the great truths sink in.
Far Appalachia (2001) is a memoir by Noah Adams, of National Public Radio. Mr. Adams travels by canoes, raft, and on foot along the New River, from its source in the North Carolina Mountains, through Virginia, and on to its West Virginia mouth. Adams is a native of Kentucky, and he ponders his heritage as he meets the people in Appalachia and listens to their stories.
Excellent
South of Broad (2009) is a novel by Pat Conroy. As far as I am concerned, this book is a fine work of art. The art begins with the prologue, in which the author uses words as brilliant brush strokes of luminous color to describe Charleston (SC), or as he calls it, “The Mansion on the River.” I immediately wanted to become part of the soul of this city. I did, and you will too, because Conroy makes the reader part of the city he loves.
This big book is delivered in five parts.
Part One: (June 16, 1969). Conroy introduces the main character and narrator, Leopold Bloom King, and each member of his family. His mother, Dr. King, is a former Roman Catholic nun who is tougher than nails. Leopold is usually called Leo unless he is in trouble with Dr. King. Then he is called “Leopold Bloom King!” His mother is intellectually devoted to James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, which Leo describes as being perhaps the worst novel ever written. She is a Joyce scholar and also Leo’s high school principal. Leo’s super father, Jasper, is a science teacher who reports to his mother at school and at home. Father and son are often in trouble, generally hang together, and they are the best of friends.
The author also introduces Leo’s many school friends in this chapter. There are a lot of characters, but it wasn’t a problem for me to keep track of them. Conroy brings together a diverse set of characters that are young and old, rich and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful, black and white, straight and gay. They include the sons and daughters of Charleston aristocrats, orphans, African Americans, and the school bully. All are equally special.
The remaining chapters of Part One take us through Leo’s high school years. I especially love his description of his newspaper route as he makes his way on his bicycle through historic Charleston.
Part Two: We move forward to the characters’ adult lives and careers. Leo is a famous and highly respected newspaper columnist for the paper he used to deliver. Most of his friends are doing well, and Leo continues to be involved with them. When they learn that one of their high school friends has disappeared and is dying of AIDS, the friends come together to try to find him with the hope of helping him. In the process, they become part of a mystery involving the father of the dying man and his sister.
Part Three: Some of the friends travel west and find themselves in a run-down San Francisco neighborhood where people dying of AIDS go to a silent death. As they look for their dying friend, they become deeply involved in a mystery that will keep you riveted to the plot until you finish the book.
Part IV: Conroy gives us a rude awakening when he shifts the story back in time to high school events that cemented the relationships between Leo and his friends. It is hard for the reader to accept getting yanked away from the great mystery that is unfolding in their adult lives, but this part well worth reading. It includes an exceptionally exciting high school football season, along with other events that ultimately strengthen the characters resolve when the going gets tough in San Francisco.
Part V: Fasten your safety belts and get ready to live through the chase in San Francisco, returning home to live through Charleston’s great hurricane and the thrilling climax to the mystery.
I love this book. I read it while on vacation in the North Carolina mountains. Family members that shared a quaint mountain cottage with us will tell you they heard me chuckling and sometimes laughing loudly as I read this book. They also noticed me wiping a few tears from my eyes. This novel is so good it’s worth the price of the hardback edition. I know I’ll read it again.
Bean Blossom Dreams (1994) is an excellent memoir by Sally J. Murphey. It was interesting for a guy like me to read this book about Chicagoans who moved to Indiana, as I was born in Indiana and moved to Chicago. The ten years or so that that we lived in Chicago’s near north side were so wonderful that I’ll always consider myself to be a Chicagoan.
Although the Murpheys don’t pinpoint the Chicago neighborhood they lived in, I’d gather it to have been the near north and near my favorite haunts. After their daughter Charley was born, the Murpheys wanted her to be raised in the country. They dreamed the dream of so many people—to buy and live on a farm where they could live off the land. Unlike most dreamers, they actually did buy a farm in beautiful Brown County, Indiana. This book is a very special rendering of what it was like to make that leap and the joy this family experienced in learning to be first class organic farmers (before organic became cool).
Nashville and Brown County State Park have a special place in my heart. My Dad and Mom took my brother and I there often, especially in the fall to see the colorful autumn leaves in hills ‘o Brown. We loved to go to the Nashville House Restaurant on Sundays to eat baked ham, sweet taters, green beans, and hot biscuits with lots of melted butter and big dollops of Nashville House homemade apple butter.
Sally’s farm recipes and instructions for making homemade Christmas gifts are included in the appendix. I was thrilled to discover that she was able to get and print the recipe for the Nashville House apple butter. I can’t wait for the fall apples to start arriving at the market. My daughter, Stephanie, and I are going to make and put up a couple dozen jars of apple butter!
Good
Keep Going (2006), The Art of Perseverance, by Lakota Indian James M. Marshall III. This book documents powerful native American wisdom that the author learned from his grandfather. Reading the great truths contained in this book is not to be rushed. Every paragraph is chock full of wisdom that must be reflected on before moving on. (You might want to install a book rack in your bathroom and have this volume at the ready for reading and silent meditation.) When you’re finished reading this book, you’ll need to start again at the beginning. I dare say you might end up reading it over and over again, maybe for the rest of your life, until all of the great truths sink in.
Far Appalachia (2001) is a memoir by Noah Adams, of National Public Radio. Mr. Adams travels by canoes, raft, and on foot along the New River, from its source in the North Carolina Mountains, through Virginia, and on to its West Virginia mouth. Adams is a native of Kentucky, and he ponders his heritage as he meets the people in Appalachia and listens to their stories.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
August 2009
Here is a review of books I read in July 2009:
Exceptional
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (2001), Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, is a memoir by Thad Carhart. When we become part of his story, the author is following up on his childhood passion of playing the piano. In the process he discovers a wonderful piano shop in his Paris neighborhood. When he first walks in, there is just a small room with piano tools and piano parts. When someone opens a door from another room to speak to him, he learns that the business is not set up for casual walk-in trade. To get beyond the entryway and into the guts of the building where used pianos are meticulously restored, one must get a referral from an existing customer. When he finally succeeds in getting a referral, Carhart discovers the private door leads to a sunny, glass-roofed cement courtyard where, Luc, the owner, restores and sells pianos. Behind this space is yet another room full of pianos. The pianos come to Luc through his network of friends and often come with a remarkable history.
After numerous visits to find a special piano that would fit into his small Paris apartment, Thad agrees to buy a piano recommended by Luc. This becomes the beginning of a wonderful friendship with Luc and with Luc’s friends, who are primarily other customers. Thad visits the shop often to chat, have a bite to eat and lift a glass of wine at impromptu parties in the shop. Luc is always keen to show off his new acquisitions and generally offers Thad the chance to sit down to play them. Readers are also treated to the author’s experiences in learning to play the piano well after many years of not playing, as well as his descriptions of the intricacies of getting his piano tuned.
I don’t play the piano, but I love pianos. We have a wonderful 1924 baby grand piano, and I love to be my wife’s audience as she treats me to her music. This is my second reading of this book, and I’m quite sure I’ll read it again. I have read other books about pianos including Grand Obsession by Perri Knize (see my review below) and Piano Lessons, by Noah Adams, which I’ll read for the second time in August and post a review next month.
Carhart does not reveal the location of the shop. He promised Luc he would not reveal the location because the owner does not want to have to deal with tourists or walk-ins. I believe that I may have been in the shop on several occasions before the book was published. I thought it strange there were no pianos in the small room that is accessible through a sidewalk door. See my photo in the left column.
The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951) is a memoir by John Steinbeck. This book details the author’s 4,000 mile voyage around the Baja peninsula into the Sea of Cortez. The purpose of the voyage was to collect, identify, categorize, and preserve samples of sea animals. What you get, in addition to fascinating descriptions of the sea animals, is great reporting about the adventures and good times shared by Steinbeck and the other 6 persons in the crew. You might imagine him to be the crew chief, but in reality, I believe Steinbeck’s friend, the marine biologist Edward F. Ricketts, was the expert. He would later use the knowledge and specimens at his Monterrey Beach California laboratory. This often amusing man was previously written about as the character ‘Doc’ in Steinbeck’s great novel Cannery Row.
I suggest you read both the introduction and the appendix of The Log from the Sea of Sea of Cortez before you start reading Chapter 1. The memoir itself is only 224 pages, but it is so packed with information and insights that it requires a long time to read. It’s well worth the time, though, for a great learning experience. I found myself running to my computer to look up words, maps, and color photographs of the sea animals.The publisher classifies this memoir in the genres of Literature and Science. I’d add Philosophy and Religion, for the reader will get plenty of Steinbeck’s thinking on both.
The Voice at the Back Door (1956) is a novel by the accomplished Chapel Hill, NC author Elizabeth Spencer. Set in the fictional town of Lacey, Mississippi in the 1950s, this mystery reveals how the lives of blacks and whites are intertwined as they live and work in a rural community. In this story, the town grocer becomes the interim sheriff and then runs for election against some tough customers. The result makes this book a thriller that’s hard to put down. A reviewer describes this novel as technically brilliant. I agree.
Good
The Places in Between (2004) is a memoir by Rory Stewart. Stewart writes about his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002, soon after the U.S. invasion. What a harrowing and dangerous journey he had walking through mountains covered with up to 9 feet of snow and through hamlets which had been burned and emptied by the Taliban. He picks up a canine companion, Babur, during his walk, which adds to the enjoyment of his struggle to survive. He beds down on the floor of villager’s huts, even in places where he was told it would be much too dangerous to travel. He had to be willing to eat what he could find or what was offered by villagers. He also had to be willing to live without hot showers and clean clothes. The story is interesting and well written, but you might wish the presentation to be livelier.
Exceptional
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank (2001), Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier, is a memoir by Thad Carhart. When we become part of his story, the author is following up on his childhood passion of playing the piano. In the process he discovers a wonderful piano shop in his Paris neighborhood. When he first walks in, there is just a small room with piano tools and piano parts. When someone opens a door from another room to speak to him, he learns that the business is not set up for casual walk-in trade. To get beyond the entryway and into the guts of the building where used pianos are meticulously restored, one must get a referral from an existing customer. When he finally succeeds in getting a referral, Carhart discovers the private door leads to a sunny, glass-roofed cement courtyard where, Luc, the owner, restores and sells pianos. Behind this space is yet another room full of pianos. The pianos come to Luc through his network of friends and often come with a remarkable history.
After numerous visits to find a special piano that would fit into his small Paris apartment, Thad agrees to buy a piano recommended by Luc. This becomes the beginning of a wonderful friendship with Luc and with Luc’s friends, who are primarily other customers. Thad visits the shop often to chat, have a bite to eat and lift a glass of wine at impromptu parties in the shop. Luc is always keen to show off his new acquisitions and generally offers Thad the chance to sit down to play them. Readers are also treated to the author’s experiences in learning to play the piano well after many years of not playing, as well as his descriptions of the intricacies of getting his piano tuned.
I don’t play the piano, but I love pianos. We have a wonderful 1924 baby grand piano, and I love to be my wife’s audience as she treats me to her music. This is my second reading of this book, and I’m quite sure I’ll read it again. I have read other books about pianos including Grand Obsession by Perri Knize (see my review below) and Piano Lessons, by Noah Adams, which I’ll read for the second time in August and post a review next month.
Carhart does not reveal the location of the shop. He promised Luc he would not reveal the location because the owner does not want to have to deal with tourists or walk-ins. I believe that I may have been in the shop on several occasions before the book was published. I thought it strange there were no pianos in the small room that is accessible through a sidewalk door. See my photo in the left column.
The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951) is a memoir by John Steinbeck. This book details the author’s 4,000 mile voyage around the Baja peninsula into the Sea of Cortez. The purpose of the voyage was to collect, identify, categorize, and preserve samples of sea animals. What you get, in addition to fascinating descriptions of the sea animals, is great reporting about the adventures and good times shared by Steinbeck and the other 6 persons in the crew. You might imagine him to be the crew chief, but in reality, I believe Steinbeck’s friend, the marine biologist Edward F. Ricketts, was the expert. He would later use the knowledge and specimens at his Monterrey Beach California laboratory. This often amusing man was previously written about as the character ‘Doc’ in Steinbeck’s great novel Cannery Row.
I suggest you read both the introduction and the appendix of The Log from the Sea of Sea of Cortez before you start reading Chapter 1. The memoir itself is only 224 pages, but it is so packed with information and insights that it requires a long time to read. It’s well worth the time, though, for a great learning experience. I found myself running to my computer to look up words, maps, and color photographs of the sea animals.The publisher classifies this memoir in the genres of Literature and Science. I’d add Philosophy and Religion, for the reader will get plenty of Steinbeck’s thinking on both.
The Voice at the Back Door (1956) is a novel by the accomplished Chapel Hill, NC author Elizabeth Spencer. Set in the fictional town of Lacey, Mississippi in the 1950s, this mystery reveals how the lives of blacks and whites are intertwined as they live and work in a rural community. In this story, the town grocer becomes the interim sheriff and then runs for election against some tough customers. The result makes this book a thriller that’s hard to put down. A reviewer describes this novel as technically brilliant. I agree.
Good
The Places in Between (2004) is a memoir by Rory Stewart. Stewart writes about his walk across Afghanistan in January 2002, soon after the U.S. invasion. What a harrowing and dangerous journey he had walking through mountains covered with up to 9 feet of snow and through hamlets which had been burned and emptied by the Taliban. He picks up a canine companion, Babur, during his walk, which adds to the enjoyment of his struggle to survive. He beds down on the floor of villager’s huts, even in places where he was told it would be much too dangerous to travel. He had to be willing to eat what he could find or what was offered by villagers. He also had to be willing to live without hot showers and clean clothes. The story is interesting and well written, but you might wish the presentation to be livelier.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
July 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in June 2009
Exceptional
The Girl of the Sea of Cortez (1982) is a wonderful novel by the late Peter Benchley. Before I tell you what a fabulous beach read this is, I should tell you the book is out of print. The good news is that you can buy used copies on the Internet. I just bought two to give away, for I’ll not surrender mine. I bought my hard copy edition at Kroch’s and Brentano's in Chicago’s Water Tower Place when the book was first published in 1982.
It was appropriate that I read this book just before Father’s Day, for this story details the very special relationship between a daughter and her father. Unfortunately, the good father’s son is one of the story’s villains.
The father initially pairs his daughter with his wife so that she can to learn how to cook and clean house, while he pairs himself with his son to teach him everything he knows about the sea, its great beauty, and how to respect sea life. But the son isn’t interested in learning. The father returns him to the house to learn from his mother and takes the daughter to the sea instead. The daughter is a willing pupil. She learns as much as she can from her father before he is killed in a violent chubasco storm (look it up on http://www.wikipedia.com/). These storms occur suddenly and without warning. Anyone caught in a chubasco at sea stands no chance of surviving.
This story then becomes the beach story of all beach stories. Bury the point of your umbrella deep within the sand, open your chair, and then relax and read this book until you’ve turned the last page. If you love the book as much as I, you might want to read it every year.
The story is set at and within the depths of the beautiful Sea of Cortez (refer to the map in the left column). An experienced diver, Benchley seduces the reader with his vivid descriptions of sea life. You’ll note that he was an environmentalist long before it was cool to be one (read his biography on Wikipedia). He said he regretted writing Jaws in a way that villainized sharks, which he later appreciated as beautiful animals that more often than not swim away from humans.
Mudbound (2008) is an award winning novel by Hillary Jordan. Thanks to Wanda Jewell, the Director of the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA) for suggesting I read this book and the other two finalists for the SIBA 2009 award for fiction (http://www.sibaweb.com/). I’ll consider reading the other two finalists in July.
Mudbound tells the story of a white farm family and a black sharecropper family whose lives are brought together on a cotton farm in Mississippi. Get ready to put your foot in the wet soil and become mudbound. The sons of the farmer and the sharecropper return to the farm after serving in World War II, only to face the war of hatred going on at home. The parents are living out the distrust and hatred created by prejudice. The sons are there, but not really there, as they slip off to drink themselves to oblivion to ward off their traumatic nightmares of the terror and killing they experienced in the war. You’ll get sick from all the violent war memories that are described.
At first, the families work together as well as can be expected, as each family strives to respect the standards for racial prejudice as set down by their Mississippi community. But as the story moves forward, the families move further apart as their relationship is tested again and again. As you’d expect, it gets mean, and then violent. While continuing to try to protect each other, the sons are drawn in and eventually become the objects of the violence.
This is a good read, but having said that, I’ll say I’d have preferred to see the characters come to love and help each other, rather than the reverse. But perhaps we do need to be reminded of the hateful past.
The author succeeds in showing the reader how bad it was and makes you glad you’re not living the life of the characters. Loving is a whole lot better!
Very Good
Trail of Crumbs (2008) Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home. This is a memoir by Kim Sunée. Okay. Where do I start on this one? On one hand, you’ll get sick and tired of Kim’s whining and self pity. It’s “poor me” over and over again. On the other hand, most of us were not abandoned in a Korean marketplace with a couple of biscuits mashed in our hands and left to wander about trailing crumbs for three days before we were carted off to an orphanage … and then adopted by Americans and dragged off to “New Awlins.” Add to this the fact that she apparently felt like she truly bonded with only one of her parents. (I’ve read that her adoptive mother has not spoken to Kim since she wrote this book.)
I hasten to add that I find her life to be fascinating (except for the part where she throws good fortune to the wind). I’ll tell you what, if I was her, I’d still be ensconced in the fabulous mansion in Provence where she eventually ends up, with its luxurious kitchen and the bountiful supply of food that is available at the village markets. I’ve been there, so I know what those markets offer! I also loved the local characters. I think I’d be glad to cook for a big table every night, but who knows, maybe I’d tire of it in the same way she did. I guess I can’t blame her for leaving the boyfriend who owned the place if she didn’t love him.
If you love to cook as I do, I think you’ll love this book and all of its recipes. The New York Times calls it “a compelling, confessional memoir.” They got that right. It is compelling and way too confessional. Man-o-day, this lady lets it all hang out!
Good
Olive Kitteridge (2008) is a novel by Elizabeth Strout. Actually the book is a collection of 13 short stories that come together as a novel. Each story reveals the eccentricities of one or more characters in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. Olive is the main character and she surfaces in all of the stories. Some might excuse her by saying, “Oh, you know, Olive is just a real character.” For most of the book she is a real grouch. In the end, Olive becomes sort of nice. You’ll love her husband, Henry, and in the end, I’m guessing you’ll sort of love Olive too.
This book is a winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. As I have said before, the fact that it won a Pulitzer doesn’t necessarily make it a prize. I could have picked many other works of fiction that I’ve liked much better than this book. However, it remains that the Pulitzer board of 77 journalists and academics picked this book as the best work of fiction in 2009. So what can I say? Well, there are two very funny chapters (stories) that make this book, so I guess I can recommend it to you.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
June 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in May 2009:
Exceptional ('My Rating' is explained in a left column text box.)
The Blue Sweater (2009) is an inspiring memoir by Jacqueline Novogratz. This book is a great read because the author shares 1) lessons learned in starting and building her career; 2) the ways she integrated herself into the culture and life of the countries where she was working and living; and 3) details about making friends and traveling in the countries to enjoy their natural wonders.
When Novogratz was a child in the 1970’s, her Uncle Ed gave her a soft blue sweater with an African motif printed across the front. The sweater made her dream of places far away. Little did she realize then how that sweater would become a part of her life story. She loved that sweater and wore it all through middle school and into her freshman year in high school until it hugged her curves. When a boy pointed and commented on the picture of the mountain—Kilimanjaro—she promptly donated the sweater to the local Goodwill store. Years later, when she was 25 and jogging in Kigali, Rwanda, a little boy appeared out of nowhere—and he was wearing her sweater. She was sure of it. She ran to him, hugged him, and while at it turned down the collar. Sure enough, there was her name as she had printed it on the tag. Somehow, the sweater had traveled thousands of miles over a decade from Alexandria, VA to Kigali, Rwanda. She must have known at that moment that God was in her journey.
Novogratz was in Rwanda to help establish a micro finance institution for poor women. While doing this and other projects to help lift people out of poverty, she learned that one needed to do more than hand money to someone who had an idea and asked for a loan. She learned to ask questions to determine if the idea was viable, if the person had the experience and skills to ensure the project would be successful, and whether the person had a workable plan. There is much to be learned from this book, especially if you’re involved in charitable projects.
Novogratz tutored both grantors and grantees on the fine points of making and paying back loans. She helped women start their businesses. Some were successful enough to employ other poor people who needed work. I loved her story about The Blue Bakery. She taught a group of women about baking, management, sales, accounting, and leadership skills. At the same time, she learned the necessity of letting the women make their own decisions, and when she needed to pull back and leave them to run their business—and when and how often to pass back through to see how the women were doing and offer advice if they needed and wanted it. While living in the countries where she was working, she lived in neighborhoods, often walked to shop, and made friends where she lived.
I loved reading about her adventure of climbing Mount Nyiragongo, one of Central Africa’s tallest volcanoes in Zaire. She and a male friend from Canada set off on this journey because of their love of hiking and climbing. They had quite a time getting across country borders and through military checkpoints. On one occasion a couple of soldiers jumped into the back seat of their car at a border. With AK-47 rifles across their laps, the soldiers demanded the couple to take them to a place and buy them beer and salty peanuts. There is plenty of armchair travel as the author describes the her adventures, especially the beauty of Africa.
The book takes you through her more than 30 years experience in helping lift significant numbers of people out of poverty in Rwanda, Pakistan, and India. Her experience includes starting a development bank that was then managed by poor women. Later she moved along to demonstrate that no project is too complicated or too big when you build brick by brick—including building clusters of homes for families that desperately needed them.
Novogratz is the founder and a director of the Acumen Fund, which loans money to people who have the ideas and the skills to lift themselves and others out of poverty (http://www.acumenfund.org/).
As a book cover flap promises, the book is a call to action that proves that everyday people can change the world—which is what Jacqueline Novogratz insisted she wanted to do when she graduated from college. This is such a fascinating book. I urge you to read it. This will be among the best books I’ve read in 2009.
Very Good
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009), is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. This is part of the Ladies #1 Detective Agency series, which is one series I don’t avoid. The books are light and bright and especially nice to read between heavy reads. These novels are set in Botswana. Smith was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he taught law in Botswana. He is now the professor emeritus of law at the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Scotland and likely makes a lot of money in retirement from this and several other serial novel series. His books are gentle renderings which speak to lessons many of us learned in life (but ones we sometimes forget).
It occurs to me that the respectful language and way the Botswanians interact with each other is one of the reasons these books are so appealing. The main character, Precious Ramotswe, is the owner of the detective agency which is located in a building adjacent to her husband’s garage. He is none other than Mr. J.L B. Matekoni, the upstanding owner of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and one of Botswana’s most talented mechanics.
In this volume, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni determines that Mma Ramotswe’s wee old White van is no longer repairable and she is going to have to give it up for a newer car. Fortunately so much is happening that she is eased over the trauma of giving up her beloved van. For one thing, she is helping her assistant, Mma Matkutsi, loose her fiancé from the grip of her notorious arch enemy, the beautiful but wicked Violet Sepotho. However, the two of them are presented with the major detective challenge of finding out why their Gaborone, previous league leading football (soccer) team, is suddenly losing games to the weakest of African teams. Might there be a traitor within the team who is fixing the matches so her client’s team will lose? Mma Ramotswe has never been to a football match in her life, so she and her assistant have much to learn. They have learned, however, there are few cases they can’t solve by using their tried and true techniques (not to mention women’s intuition). As always, taking a time out for cups of African Red Bush tea is a sure remedy to come up with answers. I’ve come to like a cup of Tazo African Red Bush Tea myself now and then, especially when reading the Ladies #1 Detective Agency books.
Good
A Homemade Life (2009) is a memoir by Molly Wizenburg and one which captures rich family memories, especially those related to food. She serves the food up with recipes she has found and modified to her taste. The reader will be struck by Ms. Wizenburg’s deep love for her father, the late Dr. Morris J. Wizenburg, M.D.
I was pulled into this book because of my love of Paris, where the book jacket says she left graduate school to develop cooking skills before returning to her apartment in Seattle. Thus far, I’ve only had enough time to try one of her recipes; one for slo-roasted Roma tomatoes. They were very tasty when roasted for four hours, rather than the suggested 4 to 6 hours. (I made them twice and roasted them on one occasion for four hours and another time for 6 hours.)
The truth is that I’ve already written some of my family memories, which include my favorite recipes. However, I am not a regular contributor, like Molly, to Bon Appétit, nor has my writing been featured on NPR.org, PBS.org, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and the Seattle Times. Therefore, I suspect I’ll have a difficult time snaring Simon & Schuster to publish my book as she did. My oldest daughter and I have decided to write such a book together, so we’ll give it a shot to pick up Workman, Simon & Schuster, or similar nationally recognized publisher.
I was a bit surprised at about how forthright Molly is in writing about her former lovers, just before she writes about her husband, Brandon. I am quite sure that my wife would not permit me to write in detail about my escapades prior to our marriage.
All the Living (2009) is a novel by C.E. Morgan. This book contains beautiful writing to describe Kentucky people, farms, tobacco farming, country church life, and Kentucky weather, including drought, cloud formations, storm fronts, and a tornado. However, the narrow focus of the story is the abysmal union of the characters, Aloma and Orren. He spends from sunup to sundown working in the fields and has little to say when he comes home to dinner before heading to bed. She spends her days alone, endlessly cleaning his late parents old farmhouse and dreaming about how life could be if she were a thousand miles away in a normal marriage and an up-to-date house in a big city with a husband who isn’t a farmer. She eventually gets a job playing the piano for a country church, but the book flap-promised scenario of her falling in love with the preacher and vice versa really never develops into a serious attachment. The story line is a true-to-life situation involving some backwood folk. But the well-written story is pretty much of a downer.
Exceptional ('My Rating' is explained in a left column text box.)
The Blue Sweater (2009) is an inspiring memoir by Jacqueline Novogratz. This book is a great read because the author shares 1) lessons learned in starting and building her career; 2) the ways she integrated herself into the culture and life of the countries where she was working and living; and 3) details about making friends and traveling in the countries to enjoy their natural wonders.
When Novogratz was a child in the 1970’s, her Uncle Ed gave her a soft blue sweater with an African motif printed across the front. The sweater made her dream of places far away. Little did she realize then how that sweater would become a part of her life story. She loved that sweater and wore it all through middle school and into her freshman year in high school until it hugged her curves. When a boy pointed and commented on the picture of the mountain—Kilimanjaro—she promptly donated the sweater to the local Goodwill store. Years later, when she was 25 and jogging in Kigali, Rwanda, a little boy appeared out of nowhere—and he was wearing her sweater. She was sure of it. She ran to him, hugged him, and while at it turned down the collar. Sure enough, there was her name as she had printed it on the tag. Somehow, the sweater had traveled thousands of miles over a decade from Alexandria, VA to Kigali, Rwanda. She must have known at that moment that God was in her journey.
Novogratz was in Rwanda to help establish a micro finance institution for poor women. While doing this and other projects to help lift people out of poverty, she learned that one needed to do more than hand money to someone who had an idea and asked for a loan. She learned to ask questions to determine if the idea was viable, if the person had the experience and skills to ensure the project would be successful, and whether the person had a workable plan. There is much to be learned from this book, especially if you’re involved in charitable projects.
Novogratz tutored both grantors and grantees on the fine points of making and paying back loans. She helped women start their businesses. Some were successful enough to employ other poor people who needed work. I loved her story about The Blue Bakery. She taught a group of women about baking, management, sales, accounting, and leadership skills. At the same time, she learned the necessity of letting the women make their own decisions, and when she needed to pull back and leave them to run their business—and when and how often to pass back through to see how the women were doing and offer advice if they needed and wanted it. While living in the countries where she was working, she lived in neighborhoods, often walked to shop, and made friends where she lived.
I loved reading about her adventure of climbing Mount Nyiragongo, one of Central Africa’s tallest volcanoes in Zaire. She and a male friend from Canada set off on this journey because of their love of hiking and climbing. They had quite a time getting across country borders and through military checkpoints. On one occasion a couple of soldiers jumped into the back seat of their car at a border. With AK-47 rifles across their laps, the soldiers demanded the couple to take them to a place and buy them beer and salty peanuts. There is plenty of armchair travel as the author describes the her adventures, especially the beauty of Africa.
The book takes you through her more than 30 years experience in helping lift significant numbers of people out of poverty in Rwanda, Pakistan, and India. Her experience includes starting a development bank that was then managed by poor women. Later she moved along to demonstrate that no project is too complicated or too big when you build brick by brick—including building clusters of homes for families that desperately needed them.
Novogratz is the founder and a director of the Acumen Fund, which loans money to people who have the ideas and the skills to lift themselves and others out of poverty (http://www.acumenfund.org/).
As a book cover flap promises, the book is a call to action that proves that everyday people can change the world—which is what Jacqueline Novogratz insisted she wanted to do when she graduated from college. This is such a fascinating book. I urge you to read it. This will be among the best books I’ve read in 2009.
Very Good
Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (2009), is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. This is part of the Ladies #1 Detective Agency series, which is one series I don’t avoid. The books are light and bright and especially nice to read between heavy reads. These novels are set in Botswana. Smith was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he taught law in Botswana. He is now the professor emeritus of law at the University of Edinburgh. He lives in Scotland and likely makes a lot of money in retirement from this and several other serial novel series. His books are gentle renderings which speak to lessons many of us learned in life (but ones we sometimes forget).
It occurs to me that the respectful language and way the Botswanians interact with each other is one of the reasons these books are so appealing. The main character, Precious Ramotswe, is the owner of the detective agency which is located in a building adjacent to her husband’s garage. He is none other than Mr. J.L B. Matekoni, the upstanding owner of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and one of Botswana’s most talented mechanics.
In this volume, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni determines that Mma Ramotswe’s wee old White van is no longer repairable and she is going to have to give it up for a newer car. Fortunately so much is happening that she is eased over the trauma of giving up her beloved van. For one thing, she is helping her assistant, Mma Matkutsi, loose her fiancé from the grip of her notorious arch enemy, the beautiful but wicked Violet Sepotho. However, the two of them are presented with the major detective challenge of finding out why their Gaborone, previous league leading football (soccer) team, is suddenly losing games to the weakest of African teams. Might there be a traitor within the team who is fixing the matches so her client’s team will lose? Mma Ramotswe has never been to a football match in her life, so she and her assistant have much to learn. They have learned, however, there are few cases they can’t solve by using their tried and true techniques (not to mention women’s intuition). As always, taking a time out for cups of African Red Bush tea is a sure remedy to come up with answers. I’ve come to like a cup of Tazo African Red Bush Tea myself now and then, especially when reading the Ladies #1 Detective Agency books.
Good
A Homemade Life (2009) is a memoir by Molly Wizenburg and one which captures rich family memories, especially those related to food. She serves the food up with recipes she has found and modified to her taste. The reader will be struck by Ms. Wizenburg’s deep love for her father, the late Dr. Morris J. Wizenburg, M.D.
I was pulled into this book because of my love of Paris, where the book jacket says she left graduate school to develop cooking skills before returning to her apartment in Seattle. Thus far, I’ve only had enough time to try one of her recipes; one for slo-roasted Roma tomatoes. They were very tasty when roasted for four hours, rather than the suggested 4 to 6 hours. (I made them twice and roasted them on one occasion for four hours and another time for 6 hours.)
The truth is that I’ve already written some of my family memories, which include my favorite recipes. However, I am not a regular contributor, like Molly, to Bon Appétit, nor has my writing been featured on NPR.org, PBS.org, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Globe, and the Seattle Times. Therefore, I suspect I’ll have a difficult time snaring Simon & Schuster to publish my book as she did. My oldest daughter and I have decided to write such a book together, so we’ll give it a shot to pick up Workman, Simon & Schuster, or similar nationally recognized publisher.
I was a bit surprised at about how forthright Molly is in writing about her former lovers, just before she writes about her husband, Brandon. I am quite sure that my wife would not permit me to write in detail about my escapades prior to our marriage.
All the Living (2009) is a novel by C.E. Morgan. This book contains beautiful writing to describe Kentucky people, farms, tobacco farming, country church life, and Kentucky weather, including drought, cloud formations, storm fronts, and a tornado. However, the narrow focus of the story is the abysmal union of the characters, Aloma and Orren. He spends from sunup to sundown working in the fields and has little to say when he comes home to dinner before heading to bed. She spends her days alone, endlessly cleaning his late parents old farmhouse and dreaming about how life could be if she were a thousand miles away in a normal marriage and an up-to-date house in a big city with a husband who isn’t a farmer. She eventually gets a job playing the piano for a country church, but the book flap-promised scenario of her falling in love with the preacher and vice versa really never develops into a serious attachment. The story line is a true-to-life situation involving some backwood folk. But the well-written story is pretty much of a downer.
Monday, May 4, 2009
May 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in April 2009:
Exceptional
The Well and the Mine (2007) is a wonderful first novel by Gin Phillips. Warmly endorsed by Fannie Flagg, author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, it’s my view that this book would be a sensation without Fannie’s endorsement. I want also to add my compliments to the small publisher, Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts, of Portland, Oregon, for this book is exquisitely designed and beautifully bound. I understand the rights have been sold to Penguin. I’m not surprised, because, this book is so good it deserves a big publisher’s distribution and marketing efforts to make it a bestseller.
This is an inspiring story of a coal miner’s family living in a small company town in Alabama during the Great Depression. Surely Gin Phillips has written a biography of her family and added enough mystery to the story to call the work a novel; I don’t know how one could write about these family interactions without having lived them. I like the author’s approach of making every member of the Moore family a narrator. The first speaker, Tess, is the youngest daughter. In my mind, Tess is Gin Phillips. Follow the margins of the book carefully so you’ll recognize changes in speakers when they occur. The other speakers include Tess’ sister Virgie, brother Jack, the extraordinary mother, Leta, and the father, Albert.
The book begins with a mysterious death. Tess is tucked away in a corner of the back porch of their house, a place she loves to sit after dark on a hot summer night. While sitting there listening to the crickets, she sees a woman approach the far corner of the porch with a bundle in her arms. There is enough moonlight for Tess to see what is happening. The woman looks one way and then another, but doesn’t see Tess. Then she unwraps the bundle. Tess sees that it’s a baby and she watches in horror as the woman drops the baby down the Moore’s well. How, she wonders, could a woman throw her very own baby down a well? Tess hears the splash, but she is too scared to make a sound.
From there, you’ll follow the mystery and become engaged in the close knit Moore family life in rural Alabama. The Moores are dirt poor, albeit a little better fixed than some town folk because their place is a small farm where they grow crops and keep animals. Still, food is scarce, and the Moores have to make what food they grow stretch. Their cow provides milk and cream for churning butter, and they have chickens that provide eggs. Potatoes are abundant. Imagine getting a biscuit from your mother’s morning baking and a cold baked potato in your lunch box just about every day. I guess it’s not too hard for me to imagine, for when I was a boy, I carried leftover food or a cold bologna sandwich to school.
The mother, Leta, often gives up some of her food to make sure the family gets what they need. The father makes sacrifices too, like working long days and extra shifts in the mine. After being below ground for 12 hours, he comes home to work in their field. The family works together to take care of the animals.
Albert is extraordinary in being both a labor leader, an excellent father, and a man who reaches out to be a respected friend to fellow miners, including his working partner in the hole, Jonah, an African American. Considering this is the 1930s and in Alabama, Albert takes some heat for being a friend to Jonah.
In one of their conversations, Jonah tells Albert his feelings about the kind of person who might have dropped her baby in the Moore’s well. Albert thinks Jonah has rare insight in to the minds of people. In the end, Tess and Virgie set out to study what happened and who did it. The baby in the well is not the only worry of the Moore family. There are the dangers of the mine to be considered. When an accident occurs, the resulting search and outcome bring a lot of people together. There is also a hit-and-run accident that hurts a member of the family and upsets just about everyone in town. The book contains enough suspense to keep the reader a bit tense, but I found myself not wanting the story to end.
Second Person Rural (1980) is a book of 28 essays by Noel Perrin. This completes my reading of Noel Perrin’s books. The volume is chock full of rich farm stories by the former city dweller.
I especially liked ‘Cow Highway #3’, ‘The Birds, Bees, and Cows’, and ‘Vermont Silences'; in which you’ll learn the subtle communication of non-verbal glances, and short answers. As I look through the contents, I confess there are many other essays I could label as my favorites. For example, ‘The Natives are Restless’ and ‘Maple Recipes for Simpletons’ will bring you closer to Vermont culture. I’ve lived in suburbs and in the heart of one of the best big cities in the world (Chicago). But I confess to wishing I could now live on a small farm to round out my life experience.
Very Good
This Child Will Be Great (2009) is a memoir of the remarkable life of Africa’s first woman president, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
You’ll not only learn about Ms Sirleaf’s amazing life and rise to power but also a great deal about the history of her country, Liberia.
The first thing you’ll learn, I’ll bet is that some of America’s early leaders, including Thomas Jefferson, and their American Colonization Society (ACS) were responsible for Liberia becoming a country. They contributed the money necessary to deport freed blacks to what is now Liberia, which was not a country at that time. The indigenous tribal leaders gave up the land in return for money, trinkets, and alcohol (not really understanding the magnitude of what they gave up forever and the impact on their children).
The truth is that Mr. Jefferson and his friends, including Bushrod Washington (George’s nephew), Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, James Madison, James Monroe, Stephen Douglas, John Randolph, William Seward, Frances Scott Key, General Winfield Scott, John Marshall, and Roger Taney were members and leaders of this organization whose goal it was to return all freed slaves to Africa (because they were afraid of blacks being integrated into American society). Ms. Sirleaf provides some of the names, and I have expanded the list based on subsequent research. Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner and prominent in the founding of the organization.
When they gave up the land, the indigenous people gave up the leadership to the new settlers. The settlers had originally come from other countries in Africa when they were sold into slavery. That the new settlers would hold the leadership and much of the wealth of the country for many years resulted in a cleavage between people that fostered many civil wars. Ms. Sirleaf is the first descendent of an indigenous family to become president of the country. However, her skin is a bit lighter than most of the indigenous people, a result which she had to explain to indigenous supporters during her election campaign. Her maternal grandfather was German. Germany was one of Liberia’s trading partners and a number of German expatriates came to Liberia in the twentieth century to become involved in exporting. There is a cleavage between the indigenous blacks and settler blacks which has amounted to racism, a problem that the country is trying to overcome.
Much of the book is a history of the many civil wars fought in Liberia. These wars resulted in long-term dictatorships that heaped much misery on the people. The future now looks bright. It appears that democracy will survive.
The Poet and the Donkey (1969) is a tale by May Sarton. The book is, according to the New Yorker, “a small sophisticated, elegantly sentimental journey though a New Hampshire Summer.” This in fine print on the cover is what grabbed my attention when I picked up the book at a used book shop. I’m very big on reading New England farm tales, having just read all of Noel Perrin’s essays.
However, when I sat down to read this book and learned it was about a poet who had lost his muse (his inspiration), I found the first few pages not to my liking. I tossed the book aside and ultimately gave it to my daughter, Stephanie, who was also attracted to it being a New England tale. Stephanie called me a week later and said, “Dad, you need to read this book beyond the first 20 pages. It’s excellent.” So Stephanie brought the book back to me, and I’ll be doggoned, I suddenly started liking the book on page 24. And from there the book got better and better.
This is an engaging tale about an old poet who lives alone on a small farm. You discover he needs a muse not just for writing, but for companionship. His spirits are up or down depending on whether or not he has a muse to lighten his life. In desperation for a muse, he remembers a fine donkey that belongs to a neighbor and he pictures the donkey gracing his meadow and living in his barn. Eventually he is struck by the idea of asking his neighbor if he can borrow the donkey for the summer. His neighbors are very poor and he thinks it might be an advantage to them for him to care for and feed the animal for a spell. This is where the tale becomes splendid. The old poet and the donkey become an inseparable pair that enjoys each other’s company. And, indeed the donkey becomes his muse for writing poetry. This turns out to be a wonderful book. The book looked brand new when I picked it off the shelf at the used book shop. I wonder if the original buyer gave up to soon.
Exceptional
The Well and the Mine (2007) is a wonderful first novel by Gin Phillips. Warmly endorsed by Fannie Flagg, author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, it’s my view that this book would be a sensation without Fannie’s endorsement. I want also to add my compliments to the small publisher, Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts, of Portland, Oregon, for this book is exquisitely designed and beautifully bound. I understand the rights have been sold to Penguin. I’m not surprised, because, this book is so good it deserves a big publisher’s distribution and marketing efforts to make it a bestseller.
This is an inspiring story of a coal miner’s family living in a small company town in Alabama during the Great Depression. Surely Gin Phillips has written a biography of her family and added enough mystery to the story to call the work a novel; I don’t know how one could write about these family interactions without having lived them. I like the author’s approach of making every member of the Moore family a narrator. The first speaker, Tess, is the youngest daughter. In my mind, Tess is Gin Phillips. Follow the margins of the book carefully so you’ll recognize changes in speakers when they occur. The other speakers include Tess’ sister Virgie, brother Jack, the extraordinary mother, Leta, and the father, Albert.
The book begins with a mysterious death. Tess is tucked away in a corner of the back porch of their house, a place she loves to sit after dark on a hot summer night. While sitting there listening to the crickets, she sees a woman approach the far corner of the porch with a bundle in her arms. There is enough moonlight for Tess to see what is happening. The woman looks one way and then another, but doesn’t see Tess. Then she unwraps the bundle. Tess sees that it’s a baby and she watches in horror as the woman drops the baby down the Moore’s well. How, she wonders, could a woman throw her very own baby down a well? Tess hears the splash, but she is too scared to make a sound.
From there, you’ll follow the mystery and become engaged in the close knit Moore family life in rural Alabama. The Moores are dirt poor, albeit a little better fixed than some town folk because their place is a small farm where they grow crops and keep animals. Still, food is scarce, and the Moores have to make what food they grow stretch. Their cow provides milk and cream for churning butter, and they have chickens that provide eggs. Potatoes are abundant. Imagine getting a biscuit from your mother’s morning baking and a cold baked potato in your lunch box just about every day. I guess it’s not too hard for me to imagine, for when I was a boy, I carried leftover food or a cold bologna sandwich to school.
The mother, Leta, often gives up some of her food to make sure the family gets what they need. The father makes sacrifices too, like working long days and extra shifts in the mine. After being below ground for 12 hours, he comes home to work in their field. The family works together to take care of the animals.
Albert is extraordinary in being both a labor leader, an excellent father, and a man who reaches out to be a respected friend to fellow miners, including his working partner in the hole, Jonah, an African American. Considering this is the 1930s and in Alabama, Albert takes some heat for being a friend to Jonah.
In one of their conversations, Jonah tells Albert his feelings about the kind of person who might have dropped her baby in the Moore’s well. Albert thinks Jonah has rare insight in to the minds of people. In the end, Tess and Virgie set out to study what happened and who did it. The baby in the well is not the only worry of the Moore family. There are the dangers of the mine to be considered. When an accident occurs, the resulting search and outcome bring a lot of people together. There is also a hit-and-run accident that hurts a member of the family and upsets just about everyone in town. The book contains enough suspense to keep the reader a bit tense, but I found myself not wanting the story to end.
Second Person Rural (1980) is a book of 28 essays by Noel Perrin. This completes my reading of Noel Perrin’s books. The volume is chock full of rich farm stories by the former city dweller.
I especially liked ‘Cow Highway #3’, ‘The Birds, Bees, and Cows’, and ‘Vermont Silences'; in which you’ll learn the subtle communication of non-verbal glances, and short answers. As I look through the contents, I confess there are many other essays I could label as my favorites. For example, ‘The Natives are Restless’ and ‘Maple Recipes for Simpletons’ will bring you closer to Vermont culture. I’ve lived in suburbs and in the heart of one of the best big cities in the world (Chicago). But I confess to wishing I could now live on a small farm to round out my life experience.
Very Good
This Child Will Be Great (2009) is a memoir of the remarkable life of Africa’s first woman president, by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
You’ll not only learn about Ms Sirleaf’s amazing life and rise to power but also a great deal about the history of her country, Liberia.
The first thing you’ll learn, I’ll bet is that some of America’s early leaders, including Thomas Jefferson, and their American Colonization Society (ACS) were responsible for Liberia becoming a country. They contributed the money necessary to deport freed blacks to what is now Liberia, which was not a country at that time. The indigenous tribal leaders gave up the land in return for money, trinkets, and alcohol (not really understanding the magnitude of what they gave up forever and the impact on their children).
The truth is that Mr. Jefferson and his friends, including Bushrod Washington (George’s nephew), Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, James Madison, James Monroe, Stephen Douglas, John Randolph, William Seward, Frances Scott Key, General Winfield Scott, John Marshall, and Roger Taney were members and leaders of this organization whose goal it was to return all freed slaves to Africa (because they were afraid of blacks being integrated into American society). Ms. Sirleaf provides some of the names, and I have expanded the list based on subsequent research. Thomas Jefferson was a slave owner and prominent in the founding of the organization.
When they gave up the land, the indigenous people gave up the leadership to the new settlers. The settlers had originally come from other countries in Africa when they were sold into slavery. That the new settlers would hold the leadership and much of the wealth of the country for many years resulted in a cleavage between people that fostered many civil wars. Ms. Sirleaf is the first descendent of an indigenous family to become president of the country. However, her skin is a bit lighter than most of the indigenous people, a result which she had to explain to indigenous supporters during her election campaign. Her maternal grandfather was German. Germany was one of Liberia’s trading partners and a number of German expatriates came to Liberia in the twentieth century to become involved in exporting. There is a cleavage between the indigenous blacks and settler blacks which has amounted to racism, a problem that the country is trying to overcome.
Much of the book is a history of the many civil wars fought in Liberia. These wars resulted in long-term dictatorships that heaped much misery on the people. The future now looks bright. It appears that democracy will survive.
The Poet and the Donkey (1969) is a tale by May Sarton. The book is, according to the New Yorker, “a small sophisticated, elegantly sentimental journey though a New Hampshire Summer.” This in fine print on the cover is what grabbed my attention when I picked up the book at a used book shop. I’m very big on reading New England farm tales, having just read all of Noel Perrin’s essays.
However, when I sat down to read this book and learned it was about a poet who had lost his muse (his inspiration), I found the first few pages not to my liking. I tossed the book aside and ultimately gave it to my daughter, Stephanie, who was also attracted to it being a New England tale. Stephanie called me a week later and said, “Dad, you need to read this book beyond the first 20 pages. It’s excellent.” So Stephanie brought the book back to me, and I’ll be doggoned, I suddenly started liking the book on page 24. And from there the book got better and better.
This is an engaging tale about an old poet who lives alone on a small farm. You discover he needs a muse not just for writing, but for companionship. His spirits are up or down depending on whether or not he has a muse to lighten his life. In desperation for a muse, he remembers a fine donkey that belongs to a neighbor and he pictures the donkey gracing his meadow and living in his barn. Eventually he is struck by the idea of asking his neighbor if he can borrow the donkey for the summer. His neighbors are very poor and he thinks it might be an advantage to them for him to care for and feed the animal for a spell. This is where the tale becomes splendid. The old poet and the donkey become an inseparable pair that enjoys each other’s company. And, indeed the donkey becomes his muse for writing poetry. This turns out to be a wonderful book. The book looked brand new when I picked it off the shelf at the used book shop. I wonder if the original buyer gave up to soon.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
April 2009 Report
Here is a review of the books I read in March, 2009
Exceptional
To Kill a Mockingbird (1961) by Harper Lee, is a classic and in every way a beautiful story. If the author was set on describing a moral character, she succeeded by telling the story of Atticus Finch. Finch is a small town lawyer who practices his trade in the 1930s from a poorly equipped office next to the courthouse in the fictional town of Macomb, Alabama. Atticus is middle-age, widowed, and the exceptional father of two children, Jean Louise (aka Scout) and her older brother Jem. Scout is the book's narrator, and her heart and personality make this a sweet read.
Together with his motherly black housekeeper, Culpurnia, Atticus provides teachings and examples to help the children learn about honesty, fairness, and faith. Of course the kids don’t always practice their father’s preaching. Now and then they cover their tracks to keep from getting caught doing something they know to be wrong. But when it counts, these kids demonstrate their father’s goodness.
The focal point of the story is a significant trial concerning race and racial justice. Atticus is selected by the lone judge in Maycomb County to be the public defender of a black man accused of raping a white girl. The judge is heroic in trying to protect the rights of African American defendants. Atticus is a state legislator, lawyer, and an honorable man. The judge knows he can effectively represent the defendant, Tom Robinson. Many of the town folk who know otherwise and respect Atticus resent his participation. The trial is sensational. The reader is given good reason to believe in Tom’s innocence, and the reader clearly wishes for a fair outcome. But the reader is equally drawn in by the poverty and poor living conditions endured by the victim. You wish for her to be considered and healed. That both characters have been mistreated would render either verdict, innocent or guilty, to be a gut wrenching decision.
Oh, but there is so much more to be gained in reading this masterpiece! You’ll love the Finch's small-town neighborhood. Their neighbors include genteel characters, places for a nice visit, and a home away from home for the kids. A next door neighbor delights in giving Scout and Jem slices of her famous Lane Cake. Across the way is a dilapidated house which is thought by the kids to be haunted. Bo Radley lives there but is never seen to leave the house, although the kids do everything they can think of to lure him out. At the same time, they’re scared of what he might do. Then there are the hillbilly villains who live in shacks in the country.
You’ll come to love Atticus’ housekeeper, Culpurnia, and the beautiful people in her church, folk who practice what they preach. You’ll get to know Atticus’ sister and brother, who are called on to help raise Scout and Jem. The kids also have a special playmate, Dill, who shows up every summer. This adventurous little leader keeps Jem and Scout always on the edge of getting into big trouble, but he is loved and sorely missed when he’s not around.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a brilliant work!
My 14 year-old grandson, John Phillip Curran, also read this book in March. He wrote an essay about it for a contest and won first prize ─ $ 250.00! John’s essay compared the fairness of his father, Phillip, to that of the character Atticus; and he compared his own pride to that of Jem and Scout.
Third Person Rural (1983), Further Essays of a Sometime Farmer, by Noel Perrin. This is smooth-as-silk writing by the late Dartmouth College professor of environmental studies, writer, and sometimes farmer. Perrin lures you into life on his Vermont farm, stepping you through the country calendar. He makes you an eyewitness to birth in the pasture, tells all about farm flowers, and describes low technology in the maple sugarbush. I felt like I was there as I read his essays. Perrin also makes his confessions about how to farm badly (and why you should), challenges your thinking with a beef cow’s plea to vegetarians, and describes his approach to nuclear disobedience.
You’ll have to do a used book search on the Internet to find a copy of this book, but I assure you it’s worth the effort! If you’ve even had occasional dreams about living in Vermont to experience America’s best throwback to the good ol’ days of nature, skiing, covered bridges, and simple farm life, you’ll dream again. But if you go, don’t look under the covered bridges, for what you might discover is that they are now held up by steel girders instead of timber.
I want to be there in his old farmhouse and to sit in the front of his wood stove and sip wine, wiggle my toes in my stocking feet, and listen to his farm stories. In my fantasy, I can smell and see a blueberry pie his wife is pulling from the oven and smell the coffee brewing for our after dinner desert, and as I prefer to imagine it, just before Nancy and I retreat to our farmhouse across the road.
Perrin was successful in converting his beautiful Vermont farm into a protective trust so that it will never be developed. If you check him out on Wikipedia, you’ll learn that Perrin received a masters degree from Duke University and then served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict, where he earned a Bronze Star as a forward observer in a field artillery unit.
First Person Rural (1978) is the first of Noel Perrin’s essays of a sometime farmer. You’ll need this book if you have any notion of becoming a small farmer in Vermont, or even Indiana, for that matter. In this volume we first learn about the grades of maple syrup and later how to do sugaring on $15 a year (although this amount may have changed a tad since 1978). It is notable that Perrin does not start above his means in relationship to the size of his endeavor (as some of us have been known to do).
There are 20 essays in First Person Rural. You’ll learn, among other practical matters, about how to barter, how to buy a chainsaw, how to find perfect fence posts, and how to make fresh butter in your kitchen. You might need to know the particulars of things you should be aware of before you buy a pickup truck, and Perrin covers this subject in detail. There is much attention to the need for good horse sense and plenty of humor for your reading enjoyment. Finally, you will savor his descriptions of the beautiful state of Vermont.
John Pipes may be interested in knowing Perrin’s view of why its best to start farming with sheep instead of a goat (in fact, two sheep as opposed to sheeps). And to my friend DeeJay, I’ll add … baa, baa, sheep, sheep, bah!
You might prefer to start with First Person Rural, move along to Second Person Rural, and then read Third Person Rural. There is also a Last Person Rural and a Best Person Rural, as well a host of other titles. I just received Second Person Rural in my mailbox, so I’ll be reporting on it next month.
Very Good
Madame Bovary (1857), by Gustave Flaubert. Here we have the story of a farmer’s daughter who is suddenly taken as a wife by a country doctor who comes to the house to care for her father. No, she is not kidnapped, nor wooed. The doctor is swept away the first time he sees her. He approaches her father who is immediately interested in getting his daughter married to a doctor, and they make a gentlemen's agreement. Afterward, the doctor asks the girl to marry him and she says yes.
She wants off the farm and my goodness, she thinks, how can I go wrong by marrying a doctor? It doesn't take long though, before the beautiful farmer’s daughter becomes bored with the good man she married.
This book could be called the adventures of a selfish and unfaithful wife, but this would ignore the fact that the doctor is dull, too good for his own good, and horribly naïve in encouraging his wife to have adventures that result in her suffering the effects of adultery again and again. She has affairs with two men that I believe most women would agree are complete jerks. She also comes to this conclusion, but after it’s too late.
The writing is superb, but dense to the point that it takes much longer to read than most books of its size. It is said that to be a great writer, once must be a great observer. I will say that this writer is the best observer I have ever read.
Pick up a copy of the 1992 translation published by Penguin. While in the bookshop, open the book to page 182. Read the paragraph that begins “Behind four galloping horses …“ (and know that you are riding in an open carriage). I think you will agree that this is beautiful writing.
The Lost City of Z (2009) is both history and a memoir by David Grann. This is the compelling true story of pioneer explorers who tried to find the illusive lost city of ‘Z’ deep in the Amazon jungle. The book is primarily about the history and writings of the notable British Explorer, Percy Fawcett, who was obsessed with finding the Lost City of Z. Grann also provides a history of other explorers who competed with Fawcett in trying to find the treasure.
Z is the kingdom of El Dorado, supposed site of an ancient and so-called advanced civilization. The early explorers sought to find the mythical city with the hope of finding gold and historical treasures in the wilderness. One by one they braved on, one after the other, for years and years, through a jungle infested with deadly insects, wild animals, and wild indigenous Indian tribes, some of which practiced cannibalism.
Now many years after the early explorers efforts failed to achieve the result, the author decides to try to find the lost city. Aided by all of his research, including Fawcett diaries made available to him by Fawcett relatives, he replicates Fawcett's journey through the Amazon and then presses on to see what he can find.
It’s a great adventure book, but I had expected the writing to be less scholarly considering that the author is a well-published reporter and writer. At times he digresses from the story of the exploration to, for example, provide a history of the Royal Geographic Society and the war experiences of the major explorer, Percy Fawcett. These diversions illustrate the tenacity and drive of the explorer, but I still found myself wanting to get back into the jungle. I also wish the author had provided much more information about his personal journey through the Amazon.
I think that most readers will be absorbed in the adventure and that this is a book well worth reading. You might discover it useful and intriguing to use Google Earth to search for the villages and rivers in the Amazon as you read the book. Some of the views are excellent (albeit dense tree cover sometimes prevents close examination).
Good
A Girl Named Zippy (2001) is a memoir by Haven Kimmel. I’ve had more than a few people tell me “You have to read this book,” I guess, because I was born and raised in central Indiana. I will say that it is a fun read that brought back a lot of memories. After all, before reading this book, I didn’t know anyone other than my great grandfather who used the slang expression, “That’s slicker than snot on a door knob.” So, if I add my assessment of this book, “its Hoosier goods, ” I hope you’ll not think I am a snoot (for I do not want you to think this of me).
The writer captures the innocence of a very smart little girl who is raised in the very small town of Moreland, Indiana. I thought I had travelled through every hamlet and town in Indiana on my job in my early years (before moving from Indianapolis to Chicago and then on to North Carolina). I confess I had to do a Google search to find Moreland. I discovered that, lo and behold, I must have passed through there a number of times while Haven was a little girl. As you will discover, Moreland is not a town that is likely to be remembered. It is, in fact, “Just a stone’s throw … as the crow flies,” from where my maternal great-grandmother was born in Peru, Indiana (which was formerly the winter home of a number of circuses).
You should encourage your sons and daughters to read this book, so that they will defy your parenting, learn a lot, and grow up to be successful and live in Chicago, New York, or even Paris.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
March 2009 Report
Here is a review of the books I read in February, 2009
Exceptional
The Help (2009) is a remarkable novel by Kathryn Stockett. As you read this book, you’ll soon come to understand that you are reading a story about the writing of a book that contains the story of the book you are reading. Way cool. Miss Skeeter, the main character, is a young idealistic white woman who has graduated from Ole Miss. She goes home to the cotton plantation to live, and gets harassed by her well-intentioned mother, while she figures out what she is going to do with her life. She wants to be a writer. Skeeter gets the idea to write a book that reveals startling truths about the time, the 1960’s, when blacks are struggling to become free from segregation and are being treated as inferior. Skeeter decides to write a story about how black maids are treated by the white women who are living out their cultural roots of believing they are superior. Skeeter has been a good and thoughtful observer of her white friends, especially her white friend Elizabeth Leefolt.
Aware that each of the young mothers has to have a black maid and seeing how they interact with their maids gives Skeeter the idea for her book. She understands the women are not totally bad people, but they say and do mean things in their relationships with their maids. The women are also totally oblivious of the fact that their maids hear them talk to each other about them, and how their remarks and deeds hurt their maids. In their rush to do all of the things they perceive to be their civic duty, these women also sometimes fail to provide attention, care, and love to their children. Meanwhile, the white children grow to love their black maids who do actually care for them and truly love them.
Skeeter decides the best way to get the story is to interview the maids. She decides to expose the treatment of the maids to help people see and understand their actions, and at the same time, establish herself as a serious writer.
Skeeter must first convince Aibileen, the maid of her white friend Miss Leefolt, to a tell-all interview. Then she has to get Aibileen to convince other maids to be interviewed and to tell the truth. Aibileen is a smart, spiritual, and a well-read maid who is herself a darn good writer. After a lot of comisseratin,’ Aibileen says, “I reckon I on to do it.” She then becomes an important partner in the writing of the book. Soon we begin to see another important impact of this story. As the two women begin to work on this project and get to know each others heart, they develop a warm and loving friendship. Sometimes Skeeter comes to Aibileen’s house just to sit at her table to have tea and talk.
The story is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s. Medgar Evers, a great civil rights leader of the time, was assassinated in Jackson Mississippi on June 12, 1963; Martin Luther King gave his I have a Dream Speech on August 28, 1963; and John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. All of these events take place within the heart of this book’s story. These events reinforced the maid’s courage to write a book to expose the nation to the treatment by their white employers.
When they get going good, Miss Skeeter and Abilene convince the angry, and the most likely to upset maid, Minny, to sign on to the scheme. The first thing you know, Skeeter and Aibileen have all of the Jackson, Mississippi maids talkin’ plenty, with the promise their names will be changed and a fictional city will be used for their place of employment.
While the maids are working on the book, Medgar Evers gets shot dead in Jackson, just a few blocks from where Aibileen lives. While working up their courage, this event also scares the maids, for they understand what might happen to them if they get caught. They fear if their real identities are discovered, they will all get fired and not be able to get another job. They also fear physical harm by white men, who will see the book as a way to make whites look bad. As they tell their stories and then look at the pages of copy that have been written, they begin to realize their stories are so well-defined that there is a serious danger of being discovered when the book is published. The women are especially fearful of Miss Hilly, who is the President (read dictator) of the Women’s league and the worst old bag Southern Belle of the bunch.
The first time author of this book, Kathryn Stockett, is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, who moved to New York, and now resides in Atlanta. Even in this day, it is understood the author has taken a risk in writing this book. This book is brilliant and the odds are it will be the best book you read this year. I got in on the front end of what will be its success, because I acted on a tip and preordered the book before it was published. The New York Times reviewed the book the day after I finished it, and the reviewer said this book is a “soon to be wildly popular novel.” I promise you will cry, smile a lot, and at times just about fall out of your chair laughing.
Very Good
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) is a novel by Mark Twain. I would have loved reading this book when I was a boy. As an old boy, I’ll have to say I loved most of it.
If you have read the book, Tom Sawyer, also by Mark Twain, you might have seen Huckleberry Finn as a rag-tag loser and Tom is as the boy who’s with it. In this book, I discovered Huck to be enthusiastic and carefree, as well as a thoughtful, caring, and loving friend.
This story finds Huckleberry off on a long river raft journey with the black slave, Jim, who is running off to become a free man. Huck is intent on helping Jim escape. Together they start out on a whimsical raft journey on the river to their intended destination, Cairo (pronounced “Kay-ro”), Illinois. Cairo is safely within the slave-free territory. The original plan is for Jim to get off the raft and settle there. Huckleberry and Jim travel at night and sleep during the day so that Jim will not be seen as a runaway slave and returned to his owner. However, night travel on the dark river makes it very difficult to see Cairo, and the adventurers become lost. When they discover they have passed Cairo, they decide to ride the raft all the way down to “New Awlins.” Before you know it, Huck and Jim are having such a fine time fishin’ and talkin’ to one another that they become serious friends. They also have a lot of adventures as they look for food, cook up feasts, run into obstacles, and glide on down the river under the cover of darkness. They have so much time to get acquainted that they grow to love each other as if they were born brothers. Old Jim even starts calling Huck ‘Honey.’
Along the way they pick up a couple of strays, the “Duke” and the “King,” a couple of no-count con men who start pulling Huck and Jim along in their schemes to defraud folk in towns along the way. Jim has to stay hidden in the willows and cottonwoods, but Huck finds himself being the gopher as the two mean act out their theatrical schemes to earn big bucks. Unfortunately the hucksters eventually steal Jim and sell him off, and he finds himself chained up in a cabin and held for ransom as a runaway slave.
Very near the end of the story, Huck is desperately trying to find and rescue Jim. When he finds Jim, Tom Sawyer shows up to visit his Aunt Sally. There he finds Huck, posing to be her nephew (Tom Sawyer). Jim is locked up in one of Aunt Sally’s out cabins. This is where the author, Mark Twain, pulls out all of the stops and in doing so makes the story one that kids will love. Huck draws Tom into the scheme to free Jim . Unfortunately Tom takes charge and over does the rescue. At my old boy age, I would have much preferred for Huck and Jim to work out the end without the interference of Tom. Instead, the climax seems to me to be an overcooked farce. The book is an amazing writing by a great author, especially when you consider the book was written in 1885.
The Savior (2007) is a novel by Eugene Drucker. As a musician and member of the Emerson String Quartet, Drucker has won eight Grammy’s, the Avery Fisher Prize, and three Gramophone awards. He is also a good writer. This story is set in the last days of World War II. The main character, Gottfried Keller, is a German concert violinist. He escapes becoming a soldier in Hitler’s war by getting a medical deferment. Keller is then forced by the Nazis to travel to prison camps to play his violin to lift the spirits of the prisoners. Ultimately, the head of a concentration camp requests his services to play the violin to Jews who will soon die. The performances are a part of the German General’s experiment to see if beautiful violin music can get a rise out of the condemned, to make them feel better about their fate. It is a gruesome experiment. It is obvious that the author wishes the reader to understand both the classical music he is playing and the horror experienced by the Jews, and to feel the Jews pain as they move from the concentration camp to the fiery furnace.
Good
The Girl at the Lion D’or (1989) is a novel by Sebastian Faulks. This is the second book in Faulk’s war trilogy, set in the period between World War I and World War II. In this book the author aims to show the reader how much WW I hurt people’s lives and the fear they experienced knowing that Hitler’s war would return. The story is about a girl alone and adrift in life after the first war. The orphaned girl is trying to make ends meet and to find a life for herself, but she falls victim to people who use her as a poorly paid laborer and to men who wish to use her as a lover. It’s a well-written but sad tale. As a result, this book falls below the expectations set for it by Faulks’ other great and exceptional novels, Birdsong and Charlotte Grey.
Winter in Madrid (2006) is another novel about the period between World War I and World War II. Set in Spain, the novel highlights the poverty of Spaniards as the country struggled to free itself of the ravages of war and to find a government that the people could support. During this time, some Spaniards wanted Communists, others wanted a fascist state under the authority of the King Franco, and others wanted Hitler to invade to make Spain part of the Nazi regime. Great Britain tried to influence the outcome by carefully controlling the shipment of food and supplies that had been promised to help stabilize the country. The British ulterior motive is was to keep Spain from entering another war. The main character, Harry, is a British spy. Winter in Madrid a big book (530 pages) and you may find it to be a bigger story than you want. It is well-written and interesting, but it does not compare to the work of Earnest Hemingway and Sebastian Faulks, as some reviewers claim. All in all, it is a sad tale of the struggle to survive. I am glad I read the book though, for it made me conscious of the impact of the wars on Spain and on the lives of those who survived the war.
Exceptional
The Help (2009) is a remarkable novel by Kathryn Stockett. As you read this book, you’ll soon come to understand that you are reading a story about the writing of a book that contains the story of the book you are reading. Way cool. Miss Skeeter, the main character, is a young idealistic white woman who has graduated from Ole Miss. She goes home to the cotton plantation to live, and gets harassed by her well-intentioned mother, while she figures out what she is going to do with her life. She wants to be a writer. Skeeter gets the idea to write a book that reveals startling truths about the time, the 1960’s, when blacks are struggling to become free from segregation and are being treated as inferior. Skeeter decides to write a story about how black maids are treated by the white women who are living out their cultural roots of believing they are superior. Skeeter has been a good and thoughtful observer of her white friends, especially her white friend Elizabeth Leefolt.
Aware that each of the young mothers has to have a black maid and seeing how they interact with their maids gives Skeeter the idea for her book. She understands the women are not totally bad people, but they say and do mean things in their relationships with their maids. The women are also totally oblivious of the fact that their maids hear them talk to each other about them, and how their remarks and deeds hurt their maids. In their rush to do all of the things they perceive to be their civic duty, these women also sometimes fail to provide attention, care, and love to their children. Meanwhile, the white children grow to love their black maids who do actually care for them and truly love them.
Skeeter decides the best way to get the story is to interview the maids. She decides to expose the treatment of the maids to help people see and understand their actions, and at the same time, establish herself as a serious writer.
Skeeter must first convince Aibileen, the maid of her white friend Miss Leefolt, to a tell-all interview. Then she has to get Aibileen to convince other maids to be interviewed and to tell the truth. Aibileen is a smart, spiritual, and a well-read maid who is herself a darn good writer. After a lot of comisseratin,’ Aibileen says, “I reckon I on to do it.” She then becomes an important partner in the writing of the book. Soon we begin to see another important impact of this story. As the two women begin to work on this project and get to know each others heart, they develop a warm and loving friendship. Sometimes Skeeter comes to Aibileen’s house just to sit at her table to have tea and talk.
The story is set in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960’s. Medgar Evers, a great civil rights leader of the time, was assassinated in Jackson Mississippi on June 12, 1963; Martin Luther King gave his I have a Dream Speech on August 28, 1963; and John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. All of these events take place within the heart of this book’s story. These events reinforced the maid’s courage to write a book to expose the nation to the treatment by their white employers.
When they get going good, Miss Skeeter and Abilene convince the angry, and the most likely to upset maid, Minny, to sign on to the scheme. The first thing you know, Skeeter and Aibileen have all of the Jackson, Mississippi maids talkin’ plenty, with the promise their names will be changed and a fictional city will be used for their place of employment.
While the maids are working on the book, Medgar Evers gets shot dead in Jackson, just a few blocks from where Aibileen lives. While working up their courage, this event also scares the maids, for they understand what might happen to them if they get caught. They fear if their real identities are discovered, they will all get fired and not be able to get another job. They also fear physical harm by white men, who will see the book as a way to make whites look bad. As they tell their stories and then look at the pages of copy that have been written, they begin to realize their stories are so well-defined that there is a serious danger of being discovered when the book is published. The women are especially fearful of Miss Hilly, who is the President (read dictator) of the Women’s league and the worst old bag Southern Belle of the bunch.
The first time author of this book, Kathryn Stockett, is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, who moved to New York, and now resides in Atlanta. Even in this day, it is understood the author has taken a risk in writing this book. This book is brilliant and the odds are it will be the best book you read this year. I got in on the front end of what will be its success, because I acted on a tip and preordered the book before it was published. The New York Times reviewed the book the day after I finished it, and the reviewer said this book is a “soon to be wildly popular novel.” I promise you will cry, smile a lot, and at times just about fall out of your chair laughing.
Very Good
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885) is a novel by Mark Twain. I would have loved reading this book when I was a boy. As an old boy, I’ll have to say I loved most of it.
If you have read the book, Tom Sawyer, also by Mark Twain, you might have seen Huckleberry Finn as a rag-tag loser and Tom is as the boy who’s with it. In this book, I discovered Huck to be enthusiastic and carefree, as well as a thoughtful, caring, and loving friend.
This story finds Huckleberry off on a long river raft journey with the black slave, Jim, who is running off to become a free man. Huck is intent on helping Jim escape. Together they start out on a whimsical raft journey on the river to their intended destination, Cairo (pronounced “Kay-ro”), Illinois. Cairo is safely within the slave-free territory. The original plan is for Jim to get off the raft and settle there. Huckleberry and Jim travel at night and sleep during the day so that Jim will not be seen as a runaway slave and returned to his owner. However, night travel on the dark river makes it very difficult to see Cairo, and the adventurers become lost. When they discover they have passed Cairo, they decide to ride the raft all the way down to “New Awlins.” Before you know it, Huck and Jim are having such a fine time fishin’ and talkin’ to one another that they become serious friends. They also have a lot of adventures as they look for food, cook up feasts, run into obstacles, and glide on down the river under the cover of darkness. They have so much time to get acquainted that they grow to love each other as if they were born brothers. Old Jim even starts calling Huck ‘Honey.’
Along the way they pick up a couple of strays, the “Duke” and the “King,” a couple of no-count con men who start pulling Huck and Jim along in their schemes to defraud folk in towns along the way. Jim has to stay hidden in the willows and cottonwoods, but Huck finds himself being the gopher as the two mean act out their theatrical schemes to earn big bucks. Unfortunately the hucksters eventually steal Jim and sell him off, and he finds himself chained up in a cabin and held for ransom as a runaway slave.
Very near the end of the story, Huck is desperately trying to find and rescue Jim. When he finds Jim, Tom Sawyer shows up to visit his Aunt Sally. There he finds Huck, posing to be her nephew (Tom Sawyer). Jim is locked up in one of Aunt Sally’s out cabins. This is where the author, Mark Twain, pulls out all of the stops and in doing so makes the story one that kids will love. Huck draws Tom into the scheme to free Jim . Unfortunately Tom takes charge and over does the rescue. At my old boy age, I would have much preferred for Huck and Jim to work out the end without the interference of Tom. Instead, the climax seems to me to be an overcooked farce. The book is an amazing writing by a great author, especially when you consider the book was written in 1885.
The Savior (2007) is a novel by Eugene Drucker. As a musician and member of the Emerson String Quartet, Drucker has won eight Grammy’s, the Avery Fisher Prize, and three Gramophone awards. He is also a good writer. This story is set in the last days of World War II. The main character, Gottfried Keller, is a German concert violinist. He escapes becoming a soldier in Hitler’s war by getting a medical deferment. Keller is then forced by the Nazis to travel to prison camps to play his violin to lift the spirits of the prisoners. Ultimately, the head of a concentration camp requests his services to play the violin to Jews who will soon die. The performances are a part of the German General’s experiment to see if beautiful violin music can get a rise out of the condemned, to make them feel better about their fate. It is a gruesome experiment. It is obvious that the author wishes the reader to understand both the classical music he is playing and the horror experienced by the Jews, and to feel the Jews pain as they move from the concentration camp to the fiery furnace.
Good
The Girl at the Lion D’or (1989) is a novel by Sebastian Faulks. This is the second book in Faulk’s war trilogy, set in the period between World War I and World War II. In this book the author aims to show the reader how much WW I hurt people’s lives and the fear they experienced knowing that Hitler’s war would return. The story is about a girl alone and adrift in life after the first war. The orphaned girl is trying to make ends meet and to find a life for herself, but she falls victim to people who use her as a poorly paid laborer and to men who wish to use her as a lover. It’s a well-written but sad tale. As a result, this book falls below the expectations set for it by Faulks’ other great and exceptional novels, Birdsong and Charlotte Grey.
Winter in Madrid (2006) is another novel about the period between World War I and World War II. Set in Spain, the novel highlights the poverty of Spaniards as the country struggled to free itself of the ravages of war and to find a government that the people could support. During this time, some Spaniards wanted Communists, others wanted a fascist state under the authority of the King Franco, and others wanted Hitler to invade to make Spain part of the Nazi regime. Great Britain tried to influence the outcome by carefully controlling the shipment of food and supplies that had been promised to help stabilize the country. The British ulterior motive is was to keep Spain from entering another war. The main character, Harry, is a British spy. Winter in Madrid a big book (530 pages) and you may find it to be a bigger story than you want. It is well-written and interesting, but it does not compare to the work of Earnest Hemingway and Sebastian Faulks, as some reviewers claim. All in all, it is a sad tale of the struggle to survive. I am glad I read the book though, for it made me conscious of the impact of the wars on Spain and on the lives of those who survived the war.
Monday, February 2, 2009
February 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in January 2009:
Exceptional
Charlotte Gray (1998) is a novel by Sebastian Faulks. This is brilliant writing. The author has reported his characters’ personalities, desires, and actions to a depth readers seldom get. This is the third work in Faulk’s war trilogy. The first, Birdsong, takes place during World War I, which I know precious little about. The Girl at the Lion d’Or, is the second book in the trilogy, about life and times in Europe between the World Wars. Charlotte Gray, the final work in the trilogy, is about World War II. The stories follow the lineage of some of the characters included in the previous volumes.
Charlotte Gray is a Scottish lass who moves away from her mother and dad, and immigrates to London during the war (dad, by the way, is the character Captain Gray in Birdsong). A new friend discovers Charlotte to be highly educated and fluent in French. He works to recruit her to move to Nazi occupied France to aid in the resistance. When Charlotte discovers that the man she loves, a British pilot, has been downed and lost in France, she accepts the offer to go undercover to aide in the resistance, but also with her own agenda to search for her lover. You will learn that many French people were glad for their country to be occupied and helped Nazis gather up French Jews, put them in prison, and send them off to Germany to be executed. The author reports details that we need to know but that some may resist knowing. I felt a strong need to keep reading every word of this book, one of the best books I have ever read.
Birdsong (1993) is about World War I and may be the most widely known of Faulks’ books. It is also brilliant. I appreciated the way Faulks reports in depth on what is mostly a ground war. There is a wide variety of characters who you come to know and understand. In this book, as in others, he reports primarily on action within France. I must admit I was previously unaware of the horrible details of the ground fighting and the severity of the casualties. It would be easy to resist the temptation not to know, but we need to know the extent of the human sacrifices that were made so that we might be free. Also, I had not been aware that the allies and the Germans dug reinforced tunnels (similar to coal mines) deep beneath the front lines to blow up unsuspecting ground troops above ground. It is shocking to learn how suddenly these soldiers were separated from their bodies and their families. I hope that faint hearts do not shy away from reading this book, for this is a great book.
The second book in Faulks’ trilogy, The Girl at the Lion d’Or is in my stack of books to be read. I’ll cover it in my March report.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, (1994) by the late Henri J. M. Nouwen, is a book about art and religion. Nouwen, a priest and Biblical scholar, relates how he became illuminated by God’s truths as revealed by Rembrandt in his painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. Mr. Nouwen spent considerable time studying this painting and reading about the artist’s life. On closer look, he saw Rembrandt’s self portrait in the face of the prodigal son, in the elder son, and even in the face of the father. As Nouwen learned about the artist’s troubled life, he came to understood why the artist depicted himself in each of the three. Nouwen went on to see how his own life, and Christ’s life, and all of our lives might be alternately be reflected in the faces and bodies of the three figures in the painting. (He provides notes at the end of the book which include a chapter by chapter Bible references for his observations.) In his study of the painting and the parable, Nouwen also reached a particular understanding of what he perceives as the burdens of being the oldest child. I guess that every eldest child who reads this book will gain the satisfaction of finally feeling understood.
This book of fewer than 150 pages revealed more truth of the love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit than anything I’ve read, because so many Biblical truths are revealed in this single painting and interpreted in the book’s pages. Listening to the book’s message within the framework of your own life can lead to a feeling of inner peace and a greater understanding of life’s purpose, and more focused feeling of inner peace in the joys of life.
If you buy this book, I recommend the Image paperbound edition because its glossy cover provides a beautiful image of the Rembrandt painting and the same image on an overleaf which is folded inside the book. As you open the book, fold out the overleaf, and then open the pages of the book. The image, held in your left hand, remains constantly visible as you turn the pages to read the text panels. Very cool. If your lighting is good, you will be further rewarded by fine details of the painting as seen by the author.
Nouwen was born in the Netherlands and was ordained there into the priesthood. He taught at Notre Dame University, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. He left Harvard to become the pastor of students at a school for the mentally handicapped in Canada (the L’Arche Daybreak Community. He has written many books which have been widely read by both Protestants and Catholics.
Many thanks to my ‘old’ college friend Ron Clark, who teaches in the English Department at a university in Indiana, for suggesting this book, as well as the Sebastian Faulks novels reviewed above.
The River of Lost Voices (1998) is a collection of short stories by Mark Brazaitis. This book won the Iowa Short Fiction Award for 1998, juried by the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Thanks to my daughter, Stephanie Curran, for finding and buying this book for me for a Christmas present.
All of the stories are set in Guatemala and are about Guatemalans that I believe he came to know well. It is obvious that this author is a an expert observer and a highly skilled writer. Having some knowledge of Guatemalans, I can tell you that he understands and captures the spirit of at least the Spanish and Ladino Guatemalans. There are a variety of stories in this book which all speak to the challenge of living and surviving in this developing country. Brazaitis did not write stories about any of the millions of aboriginal people in Guatemala who belong to 22 Mayan Indian Language Groups (he probably would not understand the many dialects). I would love to read some stories about the very poor and deeply spiritual Mayans who live in the western highlands. (Bill Peck, you could do this for at least the Mam dialect.) One story takes place in Santa Cruz, a place near the beautiful Lake Atitlan (there would be Mayans who live within this community). I’ll never forget the day that I sat with a group of fellow travelers at the edge of this lake and experienced a solar eclipse, while listening to the drums of the Indians reverberating in the mountains above the lake. The deeply religious Indians were at once afraid and certain that God was speaking to them through this natural wonder. We experienced a sunset, total darkness, and a sunrise in the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful clear day.
When you consider the author has provided his stories primarily for your entertainment, you must appreciate his great talent in telling stories. You will love some of the stories more than others, but this is a first rate reporting of interesting people in an interesting land.
Good
American Lion (2008) by Jon Meacham, is a history of the life and presidency of Andrew Jackson. My rating of “good” will no doubt ruffle some feathers. Mr. Meacham is the editor of Newsweek and a highly skilled writer. But remember, my ratings are assigned on the basis of what a book means to me.
Now that I know the man better through the reading this book, I must say I do not think highly of President, Andrew Jackson. I appreciate that his leadership kept the fragile Union together at a time when it was in grave danger of being irreparably broken up by states that wished to secede. However, Andrew Jackson owned many slaves and he had no desire to end slavery. Mr. Jackson was also responsible for moving the American aboriginals off of their lands and for containing them to Indian reservations.
Exceptional
Charlotte Gray (1998) is a novel by Sebastian Faulks. This is brilliant writing. The author has reported his characters’ personalities, desires, and actions to a depth readers seldom get. This is the third work in Faulk’s war trilogy. The first, Birdsong, takes place during World War I, which I know precious little about. The Girl at the Lion d’Or, is the second book in the trilogy, about life and times in Europe between the World Wars. Charlotte Gray, the final work in the trilogy, is about World War II. The stories follow the lineage of some of the characters included in the previous volumes.
Charlotte Gray is a Scottish lass who moves away from her mother and dad, and immigrates to London during the war (dad, by the way, is the character Captain Gray in Birdsong). A new friend discovers Charlotte to be highly educated and fluent in French. He works to recruit her to move to Nazi occupied France to aid in the resistance. When Charlotte discovers that the man she loves, a British pilot, has been downed and lost in France, she accepts the offer to go undercover to aide in the resistance, but also with her own agenda to search for her lover. You will learn that many French people were glad for their country to be occupied and helped Nazis gather up French Jews, put them in prison, and send them off to Germany to be executed. The author reports details that we need to know but that some may resist knowing. I felt a strong need to keep reading every word of this book, one of the best books I have ever read.
Birdsong (1993) is about World War I and may be the most widely known of Faulks’ books. It is also brilliant. I appreciated the way Faulks reports in depth on what is mostly a ground war. There is a wide variety of characters who you come to know and understand. In this book, as in others, he reports primarily on action within France. I must admit I was previously unaware of the horrible details of the ground fighting and the severity of the casualties. It would be easy to resist the temptation not to know, but we need to know the extent of the human sacrifices that were made so that we might be free. Also, I had not been aware that the allies and the Germans dug reinforced tunnels (similar to coal mines) deep beneath the front lines to blow up unsuspecting ground troops above ground. It is shocking to learn how suddenly these soldiers were separated from their bodies and their families. I hope that faint hearts do not shy away from reading this book, for this is a great book.
The second book in Faulks’ trilogy, The Girl at the Lion d’Or is in my stack of books to be read. I’ll cover it in my March report.
The Return of the Prodigal Son, (1994) by the late Henri J. M. Nouwen, is a book about art and religion. Nouwen, a priest and Biblical scholar, relates how he became illuminated by God’s truths as revealed by Rembrandt in his painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son. Mr. Nouwen spent considerable time studying this painting and reading about the artist’s life. On closer look, he saw Rembrandt’s self portrait in the face of the prodigal son, in the elder son, and even in the face of the father. As Nouwen learned about the artist’s troubled life, he came to understood why the artist depicted himself in each of the three. Nouwen went on to see how his own life, and Christ’s life, and all of our lives might be alternately be reflected in the faces and bodies of the three figures in the painting. (He provides notes at the end of the book which include a chapter by chapter Bible references for his observations.) In his study of the painting and the parable, Nouwen also reached a particular understanding of what he perceives as the burdens of being the oldest child. I guess that every eldest child who reads this book will gain the satisfaction of finally feeling understood.
This book of fewer than 150 pages revealed more truth of the love of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit than anything I’ve read, because so many Biblical truths are revealed in this single painting and interpreted in the book’s pages. Listening to the book’s message within the framework of your own life can lead to a feeling of inner peace and a greater understanding of life’s purpose, and more focused feeling of inner peace in the joys of life.
If you buy this book, I recommend the Image paperbound edition because its glossy cover provides a beautiful image of the Rembrandt painting and the same image on an overleaf which is folded inside the book. As you open the book, fold out the overleaf, and then open the pages of the book. The image, held in your left hand, remains constantly visible as you turn the pages to read the text panels. Very cool. If your lighting is good, you will be further rewarded by fine details of the painting as seen by the author.
Nouwen was born in the Netherlands and was ordained there into the priesthood. He taught at Notre Dame University, Yale Divinity School, and Harvard Divinity School. He left Harvard to become the pastor of students at a school for the mentally handicapped in Canada (the L’Arche Daybreak Community. He has written many books which have been widely read by both Protestants and Catholics.
Many thanks to my ‘old’ college friend Ron Clark, who teaches in the English Department at a university in Indiana, for suggesting this book, as well as the Sebastian Faulks novels reviewed above.
The River of Lost Voices (1998) is a collection of short stories by Mark Brazaitis. This book won the Iowa Short Fiction Award for 1998, juried by the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Thanks to my daughter, Stephanie Curran, for finding and buying this book for me for a Christmas present.
All of the stories are set in Guatemala and are about Guatemalans that I believe he came to know well. It is obvious that this author is a an expert observer and a highly skilled writer. Having some knowledge of Guatemalans, I can tell you that he understands and captures the spirit of at least the Spanish and Ladino Guatemalans. There are a variety of stories in this book which all speak to the challenge of living and surviving in this developing country. Brazaitis did not write stories about any of the millions of aboriginal people in Guatemala who belong to 22 Mayan Indian Language Groups (he probably would not understand the many dialects). I would love to read some stories about the very poor and deeply spiritual Mayans who live in the western highlands. (Bill Peck, you could do this for at least the Mam dialect.) One story takes place in Santa Cruz, a place near the beautiful Lake Atitlan (there would be Mayans who live within this community). I’ll never forget the day that I sat with a group of fellow travelers at the edge of this lake and experienced a solar eclipse, while listening to the drums of the Indians reverberating in the mountains above the lake. The deeply religious Indians were at once afraid and certain that God was speaking to them through this natural wonder. We experienced a sunset, total darkness, and a sunrise in the middle of the afternoon on a beautiful clear day.
When you consider the author has provided his stories primarily for your entertainment, you must appreciate his great talent in telling stories. You will love some of the stories more than others, but this is a first rate reporting of interesting people in an interesting land.
Good
American Lion (2008) by Jon Meacham, is a history of the life and presidency of Andrew Jackson. My rating of “good” will no doubt ruffle some feathers. Mr. Meacham is the editor of Newsweek and a highly skilled writer. But remember, my ratings are assigned on the basis of what a book means to me.
Now that I know the man better through the reading this book, I must say I do not think highly of President, Andrew Jackson. I appreciate that his leadership kept the fragile Union together at a time when it was in grave danger of being irreparably broken up by states that wished to secede. However, Andrew Jackson owned many slaves and he had no desire to end slavery. Mr. Jackson was also responsible for moving the American aboriginals off of their lands and for containing them to Indian reservations.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
January 2009
Here is a review of the books I read in December 2008:
Exceptional
The Cup of Wrath (1996) is a historical novel by Mary Glazener. The story is about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s resistance to Hitler. Dr. Bonhoeffer was a great German theologian and pastor who rose to prominence in the Confessing Church of Germany at the same time that Adolph Hitler rose to power as the Fuhrer of Germany. When the German church hierarchy allowed the government to take control, establish policy, and direct the work of the church, Dietrich refused to accept Hitler’s intervention. Bonhoeffer was absolutely committed to following Jesus Christ. He withdrew from the German church to start a small seminary in a rural setting. Already a well-known author and respected theologian, he found the backing to establish the seminary which he directed outside of the control of the church and the government.
Dietrich’s father, Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer, was a prominent Berlin psychiatrist. He headed a large family that ultimately played a significant role in a movement to overthrow Hitler. Dietrich’s brother-in-law, Hans, was part of a powerful group of government officials and military officers inside the government who worked undercover as members of the resistance. As the SS and the Gestapo tracked down Bonhoeffer and tried to shut down his seminary, Dietrich’s brother-in-law recruited him to participate in the movement to overthrow Hitler.
Hitler was examined and diagnosed by a psychiatrist to be severely mentally ill. Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer confirmed his peer’s diagnosis. Many people within the government and the military considered Hitler a lunatic. There were numerous unsuccessful coups as well as assassination attempts. As you may know, Hitler ultimately committed suicide, but not until after thousands of resisters were tried, convicted, imprisoned, and ultimately murdered.
The author provides a chart of the Bonhoeffer family tree which helps readers keep the family characters straight. I wish every book would provide a glossary of characters.
This is an absolutely incredible story. If you are a person of faith, regardless of your church affiliation, this story is likely to deepen your faith. I want to know more about Bonhoeffer and expect to find and read some of the books he authored. This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2008.
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories (1976) is a novella and two short stories by Norman Maclean. At seventy-three, Maclean was the William Rainey Harper Professor of English at the University of Chicago when he published this book. In his youth, he had worked for the U.S. Forest Service, and it’s a good bet that these stories are based on his actual experience. The stories describe marvelous outdoor adventures in the Montana wilderness.
The first of the three stories is the well-known A River Runs Through It, which was made into a movie. This is a superb fishing tale, but I think all who love wilderness stories will like it even if they are not fishing persons. The second story, Logging and Pimping and Your Pal Jim, details the rugged life of foresters who live and work together in the wilderness. Jim was Maclean’s cross-cut saw partner as they cut great trees. I especially liked the third story, USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky. This is a wild west story complete with forest adventure, card sharks, and a bar room brawl. These were lonely adventures, but ones that brought man and nature together in ways not known today.
Hope Was Here (2000) is a young adult novel by Joan Bauer. I read this book by accident, as it was not in my stack of books to be read. I had just suffered reading nearly a third of the way through three books that I tossed aside as “junk” (and therefore did not review) and was desperate to read something good. I needed something light-hearted and uplifting. I pawed through the shelves of our library and found this book, which my wife had bought at a used book shop.
I highly recommend this book to the young adults in your family and yes, even to you. It’s a wonderful story of a teenage girl who is being raised by an aunt. The father was unknown and the mother asks her sister, the aunt, to raise her daughter because she does not feel capable of being a parent. The aunt, who supported herself by working as a cook in a restaurant, raises the girl in a way you’ll find refreshing. The story moves into high gear as the aunt and the girl move from New York City to run a diner in rural Wisconsin. The resulting adventures build on a strong work ethic to give the girl the example she needs to become a good adult. There is hard work, mystery, and romance aplenty, not to mention a character who believes in healing and works his cancer into remission. I believe you older children will love this story.
Very Good
1776 (2006) is a history book by David McCullough. It’s good writing and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, although I did not find the story to be as rich in detail as McCullough’s marvelous biographies John Adams and Truman (which I reviewed in September and October). This book chronicles the very beginning of the Revolutionary War, during which George Washington suffered a lot of defeats and few victories. You will admire the General and his too few, untrained, and under-equipped troops as they suffer through a freezing winter of sickness and defeat. In spite of all they endured, they ultimately managed to hold their own against thousands more well-trained and better equipped British troops. The story takes place before the U.S. Army and Navy were formed and at a time when Congress was learning how to be a Congress and did not provide the funding needed to support Washington’s troops. This is where the strength of our nation began. This story ought to be read along with the biography John Adams.
Good
The Old Neighborhood (1980) is a novel by Avery Corman. You may remember Corman as the author of Kramer vs. Kramer, which was made into a successful movie. This is the story of a young New Yorker who achieves success in advertising and when he gets it, wonders if it is worth having. This is a somewhat typical real-life story of the 1970s when a lot of mothers entered the work force and families suddenly found themselves divided in trying to manage two careers. The book is full of lively writing with a lot of humor and yet, when I was halfway through the book, I wondered if I wanted to finish it. I pressed on and discovered the story to be well worth reading. When the father finally decides to chuck his career, he suddenly finds happiness when he returns to his old neighborhood and becomes the person he wants to be.
Every Tongue Got to Confess (2008) is an amazing collection of African American folk tales by Zora Neale Hurston. These warm, sometimes bittersweet, and often hilarious stories were gathered from folks living in the Gulf States in the 1920’s. They include God tales, preacher tales, devil tales, witch and haunt tales, tall tales, and more. This is fun reading. Keep this book handy for occasional light reading while commuting or to read between other books that you read from start to finish.
Exceptional
The Cup of Wrath (1996) is a historical novel by Mary Glazener. The story is about Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s resistance to Hitler. Dr. Bonhoeffer was a great German theologian and pastor who rose to prominence in the Confessing Church of Germany at the same time that Adolph Hitler rose to power as the Fuhrer of Germany. When the German church hierarchy allowed the government to take control, establish policy, and direct the work of the church, Dietrich refused to accept Hitler’s intervention. Bonhoeffer was absolutely committed to following Jesus Christ. He withdrew from the German church to start a small seminary in a rural setting. Already a well-known author and respected theologian, he found the backing to establish the seminary which he directed outside of the control of the church and the government.
Dietrich’s father, Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer, was a prominent Berlin psychiatrist. He headed a large family that ultimately played a significant role in a movement to overthrow Hitler. Dietrich’s brother-in-law, Hans, was part of a powerful group of government officials and military officers inside the government who worked undercover as members of the resistance. As the SS and the Gestapo tracked down Bonhoeffer and tried to shut down his seminary, Dietrich’s brother-in-law recruited him to participate in the movement to overthrow Hitler.
Hitler was examined and diagnosed by a psychiatrist to be severely mentally ill. Dr. Karl Bonhoeffer confirmed his peer’s diagnosis. Many people within the government and the military considered Hitler a lunatic. There were numerous unsuccessful coups as well as assassination attempts. As you may know, Hitler ultimately committed suicide, but not until after thousands of resisters were tried, convicted, imprisoned, and ultimately murdered.
The author provides a chart of the Bonhoeffer family tree which helps readers keep the family characters straight. I wish every book would provide a glossary of characters.
This is an absolutely incredible story. If you are a person of faith, regardless of your church affiliation, this story is likely to deepen your faith. I want to know more about Bonhoeffer and expect to find and read some of the books he authored. This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2008.
A River Runs Through It and Other Stories (1976) is a novella and two short stories by Norman Maclean. At seventy-three, Maclean was the William Rainey Harper Professor of English at the University of Chicago when he published this book. In his youth, he had worked for the U.S. Forest Service, and it’s a good bet that these stories are based on his actual experience. The stories describe marvelous outdoor adventures in the Montana wilderness.
The first of the three stories is the well-known A River Runs Through It, which was made into a movie. This is a superb fishing tale, but I think all who love wilderness stories will like it even if they are not fishing persons. The second story, Logging and Pimping and Your Pal Jim, details the rugged life of foresters who live and work together in the wilderness. Jim was Maclean’s cross-cut saw partner as they cut great trees. I especially liked the third story, USFS 1919: The Ranger, the Cook, and a Hole in the Sky. This is a wild west story complete with forest adventure, card sharks, and a bar room brawl. These were lonely adventures, but ones that brought man and nature together in ways not known today.
Hope Was Here (2000) is a young adult novel by Joan Bauer. I read this book by accident, as it was not in my stack of books to be read. I had just suffered reading nearly a third of the way through three books that I tossed aside as “junk” (and therefore did not review) and was desperate to read something good. I needed something light-hearted and uplifting. I pawed through the shelves of our library and found this book, which my wife had bought at a used book shop.
I highly recommend this book to the young adults in your family and yes, even to you. It’s a wonderful story of a teenage girl who is being raised by an aunt. The father was unknown and the mother asks her sister, the aunt, to raise her daughter because she does not feel capable of being a parent. The aunt, who supported herself by working as a cook in a restaurant, raises the girl in a way you’ll find refreshing. The story moves into high gear as the aunt and the girl move from New York City to run a diner in rural Wisconsin. The resulting adventures build on a strong work ethic to give the girl the example she needs to become a good adult. There is hard work, mystery, and romance aplenty, not to mention a character who believes in healing and works his cancer into remission. I believe you older children will love this story.
Very Good
1776 (2006) is a history book by David McCullough. It’s good writing and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, although I did not find the story to be as rich in detail as McCullough’s marvelous biographies John Adams and Truman (which I reviewed in September and October). This book chronicles the very beginning of the Revolutionary War, during which George Washington suffered a lot of defeats and few victories. You will admire the General and his too few, untrained, and under-equipped troops as they suffer through a freezing winter of sickness and defeat. In spite of all they endured, they ultimately managed to hold their own against thousands more well-trained and better equipped British troops. The story takes place before the U.S. Army and Navy were formed and at a time when Congress was learning how to be a Congress and did not provide the funding needed to support Washington’s troops. This is where the strength of our nation began. This story ought to be read along with the biography John Adams.
Good
The Old Neighborhood (1980) is a novel by Avery Corman. You may remember Corman as the author of Kramer vs. Kramer, which was made into a successful movie. This is the story of a young New Yorker who achieves success in advertising and when he gets it, wonders if it is worth having. This is a somewhat typical real-life story of the 1970s when a lot of mothers entered the work force and families suddenly found themselves divided in trying to manage two careers. The book is full of lively writing with a lot of humor and yet, when I was halfway through the book, I wondered if I wanted to finish it. I pressed on and discovered the story to be well worth reading. When the father finally decides to chuck his career, he suddenly finds happiness when he returns to his old neighborhood and becomes the person he wants to be.
Every Tongue Got to Confess (2008) is an amazing collection of African American folk tales by Zora Neale Hurston. These warm, sometimes bittersweet, and often hilarious stories were gathered from folks living in the Gulf States in the 1920’s. They include God tales, preacher tales, devil tales, witch and haunt tales, tall tales, and more. This is fun reading. Keep this book handy for occasional light reading while commuting or to read between other books that you read from start to finish.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
December 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in November 2008:
Exceptional
An Irish Country Christmas (2008) is a novel by Patrick Taylor, M.D., who was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. For a number of years Dr. Taylor practiced medicine as a rural general practitioner in Northern Ireland, where he lived the experiences that he writes about in his novels through the character Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Rielly. The first book in his series is An Irish Country Doctor. The second is An Irish Country Village, and his new release is An Irish Country Christmas. Yet another book, An Irish Country Girl, is to be released in February 2010.
Dr. Taylor has created a delightful cast of country characters including his housekeeper and cook, Mrs. Kinky Kincaid, and his associate, Dr. Barry Laverty, M.B. The three live in a wonderful old house at 1 Main Street in the fictional town of Ballybucklebo, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. At the moment, the widower, Dr. O’Rielly, and his young assistant, Barry, have set their Irish eyes upon two dear lassies, Miss Kitty O’Hallorhan and Miss Patricia Spence. At this point in the continuing drama, Miss O’Hallorhan has a firm grip on Dr. O’Rielly. But as for Barry, well, his Miss Spence has been away studying engineering at Cambridge. Meanwhile some country lassies have their eyes on young Dr. Laverty.
Throughout the story, a whole host of delightful village characters regularly visit “the surgery” for their medical attention. (We would call the surgery “the doctor’s office”). Some patients only need a bit of the tonic (a shot of B-12 in the rear), but others have injuries and a variety of ills and diseases. We lay folk learn a great deal about the diagnosis and treatment of these ailments. Some patients lay their private lives upon the doctor as they’re being treated. Often, one or both of the doctors takes the problems to heart and arranges solutions.
You’ll get hungry for the many special Irish dishes prepared by Mrs. Kincaid. The author shares some of her recipes in the back of each book. He also provides a glossary to help you translate the special language of the Irish. For example, an ‘eejit’ is an idiot and a ‘guttersnipe’ is a ruffian. Sometimes Fingal lovingly calls his dog, Arthur Guinness, ‘a big lummox,’ which is slang for ‘a stupid creature.’ I love the language, but I especially like the humorous and loving way the slang is delivered. I love the fact that Dr. Taylor delivers us from the history of the fighting that occurred in a few places of Northern Ireland to reveal Presbyterians and Catholics who live and work together in harmony. This is a great series of books that I highly recommend. Light a log in your fireplace, pour yourself a “Hot Irish,” lean back in your recliner, and read these happy books.
Churchill’s Triumph (2008) is a historical novel by Michael Dobbs. This is the third book in Dobbs’ series about Winston Churchill. The total focus of this book is the 5-day meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in Yalta (on the Black Sea in Russia) in February 1945. The novel provides significant factual details to support the Indianapolis Star story with the headline, “The Booze Flowed, FDR Glowed, and Uncle Joe Made Hay,” which I read some years later when I was a boy in Indiana. Dobbs calls his book “A Novel of Betrayal,” and the betrayed were the Eastern bloc nations that were handed to Stalin on a silver platter, principally by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in exchange for his getting the promised United Nations. Churchill didn’t trust Stalin, but it appears that Roosevelt did. Churchill made a strong effort to save Poland, but in the end he signed the documents that gave Stalin everything he demanded. As a result, the people of a number of nations ended up living under the grip of Communist dictators appointed by Russia.
The U.S. and British lodgings at Yalta were bugged by the Russians, so “Uncle Joe” was always one up on the Americans and British in developing a strategy for getting what he wanted. In the beginning of this book you’ll also learn a bit about the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who transported Churchill on the famous Onassis yacht, the Cristina. For example, Onassis always got all of the women he ever wanted for wives, including Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Road Home (2007) is novel by Rose Tremain. It is a powerful and irresistible story about immigrants and the huge challenges they face to provide for their families. (I would have preferred, however, that the author not use so much slang (gutter language) and descriptive sexual situations, which I believe are not required to tell a compelling story.)
This is the story of a poor and uneducated man, Lev, who lives in an isolated village near the town of Baryn in the Ukraine. His young wife dies. Soon after, he loses his job at the village sawmill because all the trees in the area have been cut down and the mill has closed. He is left with the responsibility of supporting his daughter and his mother, but no jobs are available in his village, in Baryn, or anywhere close by. Even if there were, wages paid for his level of skill are so low that he has little chance of earning enough to support the family. Lev pockets a small amount of money, puts a few clothes in a cloth bag, and begins a bus journey that takes him to London. He believes the city will provide him the opportunity to earn enough money to support a family, but harsh reality replaces dreams upon his arrival.
Lev only speaks Russian, and without a job, he doesn’t have enough money to find a place to sleep, eat, or sustain life for his family. Like others, he sleeps outdoors wherever he can find cover; otherwise, he faces the alternative of being picked up and jailed by the London police. He eats whatever he can find on the street. From this perilous beginning, Lev finally gets a job, finds a place to live, makes friends, and begins his journey back to Russia to support his family and make a new life for himself. This is a courageous story and one that illustrates what can happen when a person works hard to survive and grow. We need to know these stories, for when folk complain about immigrants, they ought to know the other side. There must be a way for all people to turn their situations around and integrate themselves into a place that is big enough to offer hope, opportunity, and work. Perhaps we, like others, should befriend those who need a little help.
Very Good
A Broom of One’s Own (2008) is a memoir by Nancy Peacock. This is a wonderful story of a woman who only wanted to write for her life’s vocation, and who did what she had to do to survive as a writer. Nancy has proved that you can live your dream if you put your mind to it and, for the most part, be happy while doing it. Nancy has sustained herself by working as a baker, bartender, and maid, to name a few of many the jobs she tackled to survive. For a complete list of the jobs Nancy has held, go to her website http://www.nancypeacockbooks.com/.
While doing the tasks necessary to earn a living, Nancy reserved enough free time to write. Her first novel, Life Without Water, was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Nancy does not have a college degree. See what you can do if you believe in yourself and try. What a leap!
In her memoir, we learn what it is like to be a maid. Being a maid is back-breaking work. Nancy’s back ultimately forced her to find another way to survive. Those of us who have written books or sold them in bookshops know there is little money to be made unless you become one of the very few privileged authors, such as J. K. Rowling, who have many best sellers. However, Nancy Peacock is an exceptional writer, and she ought to be read. And the bottom line is this: writers really want to be read more than they want fame or fortune.
So what did Nancy do to replace the income she formerly earned being a maid? She started teaching others to write. If you go to one of her free seminars, as I have, you’ll appreciate how she writes beautiful and flawless pages of words in just 15 minutes, while the rest of us struggle to write just one page. Then you may want to go to her fee-for-service writing workshops, or maybe you’ll want to hire her to do a line–by-line critique of your writing. In the process, Nancy will earn income and you’ll learn to be a better writer. The challenge is to learn from her suggestions and her liberal words of encouragement. Way to go, Nancy!
Step By Step (2008) is an autobiography by Bertie Bowman. This is an incredible life story. Bertie Bowman was born black in South Carolina in 1931. Son of a sharecropper, Bertie walked off the family farm in 1944, bought a train ticket, and at 13 years old rode that train all the way to Washington, D.C. When he got off the train, he walked to the U.S. Capitol and looked up his state’s senator, Burnet R. Maybank. Bertie had stood behind a crowd at a political gathering at home and heard the senator say, “Drop by to see me if y’all come to Washington.” While standing in front of the senator, he had asked, “Does this include me?” Senator Maybank had answered “Yes it does.”
When Bertie showed up at the senator’s office in Washington, the senator shook his hand, welcomed him to Washington, and then gave him a job sweeping the Capitol steps for $2 a week. From there, Bertie got hired as a Capitol janitor, and over many years he worked his way up to head up the staff serving the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He even became a friend and respected worker on the staff of arch segregationists such as Strom Thurmond and Jessie Helms. One continues to wonder how these men could on one hand be good to Bertie but then turn around and be so mean-spirited to blacks in general. I’m still scratching my head to understand. But I’ll tell you what: Bertie Bowman is a great man. You ought to read his incredible life story.
Good
Dubliners (1914) is a book of short stories by James Joyce. It’s one thing to read modern Irish country novels like by Patrick Taylor and quite another to read short stories about people living in Dublin before 1905. The stories in the Dubliners offer a glimpse of life on the streets of Dublin in that time and a fascinating study of the people of that day. You need two bookmarks: one to mark your place in your reading and another to mark your place in the story notes at the back of the book, for the notes explain words in the text that you would otherwise not understand. I could not have enjoyed the stories without those notes. And I did enjoy them.
Exceptional
An Irish Country Christmas (2008) is a novel by Patrick Taylor, M.D., who was born and raised in Bangor County Down in Northern Ireland. For a number of years Dr. Taylor practiced medicine as a rural general practitioner in Northern Ireland, where he lived the experiences that he writes about in his novels through the character Doctor Fingal Flahertie O’Rielly. The first book in his series is An Irish Country Doctor. The second is An Irish Country Village, and his new release is An Irish Country Christmas. Yet another book, An Irish Country Girl, is to be released in February 2010.
Dr. Taylor has created a delightful cast of country characters including his housekeeper and cook, Mrs. Kinky Kincaid, and his associate, Dr. Barry Laverty, M.B. The three live in a wonderful old house at 1 Main Street in the fictional town of Ballybucklebo, located in County Down, Northern Ireland. At the moment, the widower, Dr. O’Rielly, and his young assistant, Barry, have set their Irish eyes upon two dear lassies, Miss Kitty O’Hallorhan and Miss Patricia Spence. At this point in the continuing drama, Miss O’Hallorhan has a firm grip on Dr. O’Rielly. But as for Barry, well, his Miss Spence has been away studying engineering at Cambridge. Meanwhile some country lassies have their eyes on young Dr. Laverty.
Throughout the story, a whole host of delightful village characters regularly visit “the surgery” for their medical attention. (We would call the surgery “the doctor’s office”). Some patients only need a bit of the tonic (a shot of B-12 in the rear), but others have injuries and a variety of ills and diseases. We lay folk learn a great deal about the diagnosis and treatment of these ailments. Some patients lay their private lives upon the doctor as they’re being treated. Often, one or both of the doctors takes the problems to heart and arranges solutions.
You’ll get hungry for the many special Irish dishes prepared by Mrs. Kincaid. The author shares some of her recipes in the back of each book. He also provides a glossary to help you translate the special language of the Irish. For example, an ‘eejit’ is an idiot and a ‘guttersnipe’ is a ruffian. Sometimes Fingal lovingly calls his dog, Arthur Guinness, ‘a big lummox,’ which is slang for ‘a stupid creature.’ I love the language, but I especially like the humorous and loving way the slang is delivered. I love the fact that Dr. Taylor delivers us from the history of the fighting that occurred in a few places of Northern Ireland to reveal Presbyterians and Catholics who live and work together in harmony. This is a great series of books that I highly recommend. Light a log in your fireplace, pour yourself a “Hot Irish,” lean back in your recliner, and read these happy books.
Churchill’s Triumph (2008) is a historical novel by Michael Dobbs. This is the third book in Dobbs’ series about Winston Churchill. The total focus of this book is the 5-day meeting between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin in Yalta (on the Black Sea in Russia) in February 1945. The novel provides significant factual details to support the Indianapolis Star story with the headline, “The Booze Flowed, FDR Glowed, and Uncle Joe Made Hay,” which I read some years later when I was a boy in Indiana. Dobbs calls his book “A Novel of Betrayal,” and the betrayed were the Eastern bloc nations that were handed to Stalin on a silver platter, principally by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in exchange for his getting the promised United Nations. Churchill didn’t trust Stalin, but it appears that Roosevelt did. Churchill made a strong effort to save Poland, but in the end he signed the documents that gave Stalin everything he demanded. As a result, the people of a number of nations ended up living under the grip of Communist dictators appointed by Russia.
The U.S. and British lodgings at Yalta were bugged by the Russians, so “Uncle Joe” was always one up on the Americans and British in developing a strategy for getting what he wanted. In the beginning of this book you’ll also learn a bit about the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, who transported Churchill on the famous Onassis yacht, the Cristina. For example, Onassis always got all of the women he ever wanted for wives, including Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Road Home (2007) is novel by Rose Tremain. It is a powerful and irresistible story about immigrants and the huge challenges they face to provide for their families. (I would have preferred, however, that the author not use so much slang (gutter language) and descriptive sexual situations, which I believe are not required to tell a compelling story.)
This is the story of a poor and uneducated man, Lev, who lives in an isolated village near the town of Baryn in the Ukraine. His young wife dies. Soon after, he loses his job at the village sawmill because all the trees in the area have been cut down and the mill has closed. He is left with the responsibility of supporting his daughter and his mother, but no jobs are available in his village, in Baryn, or anywhere close by. Even if there were, wages paid for his level of skill are so low that he has little chance of earning enough to support the family. Lev pockets a small amount of money, puts a few clothes in a cloth bag, and begins a bus journey that takes him to London. He believes the city will provide him the opportunity to earn enough money to support a family, but harsh reality replaces dreams upon his arrival.
Lev only speaks Russian, and without a job, he doesn’t have enough money to find a place to sleep, eat, or sustain life for his family. Like others, he sleeps outdoors wherever he can find cover; otherwise, he faces the alternative of being picked up and jailed by the London police. He eats whatever he can find on the street. From this perilous beginning, Lev finally gets a job, finds a place to live, makes friends, and begins his journey back to Russia to support his family and make a new life for himself. This is a courageous story and one that illustrates what can happen when a person works hard to survive and grow. We need to know these stories, for when folk complain about immigrants, they ought to know the other side. There must be a way for all people to turn their situations around and integrate themselves into a place that is big enough to offer hope, opportunity, and work. Perhaps we, like others, should befriend those who need a little help.
Very Good
A Broom of One’s Own (2008) is a memoir by Nancy Peacock. This is a wonderful story of a woman who only wanted to write for her life’s vocation, and who did what she had to do to survive as a writer. Nancy has proved that you can live your dream if you put your mind to it and, for the most part, be happy while doing it. Nancy has sustained herself by working as a baker, bartender, and maid, to name a few of many the jobs she tackled to survive. For a complete list of the jobs Nancy has held, go to her website http://www.nancypeacockbooks.com/.
While doing the tasks necessary to earn a living, Nancy reserved enough free time to write. Her first novel, Life Without Water, was selected as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Nancy does not have a college degree. See what you can do if you believe in yourself and try. What a leap!
In her memoir, we learn what it is like to be a maid. Being a maid is back-breaking work. Nancy’s back ultimately forced her to find another way to survive. Those of us who have written books or sold them in bookshops know there is little money to be made unless you become one of the very few privileged authors, such as J. K. Rowling, who have many best sellers. However, Nancy Peacock is an exceptional writer, and she ought to be read. And the bottom line is this: writers really want to be read more than they want fame or fortune.
So what did Nancy do to replace the income she formerly earned being a maid? She started teaching others to write. If you go to one of her free seminars, as I have, you’ll appreciate how she writes beautiful and flawless pages of words in just 15 minutes, while the rest of us struggle to write just one page. Then you may want to go to her fee-for-service writing workshops, or maybe you’ll want to hire her to do a line–by-line critique of your writing. In the process, Nancy will earn income and you’ll learn to be a better writer. The challenge is to learn from her suggestions and her liberal words of encouragement. Way to go, Nancy!
Step By Step (2008) is an autobiography by Bertie Bowman. This is an incredible life story. Bertie Bowman was born black in South Carolina in 1931. Son of a sharecropper, Bertie walked off the family farm in 1944, bought a train ticket, and at 13 years old rode that train all the way to Washington, D.C. When he got off the train, he walked to the U.S. Capitol and looked up his state’s senator, Burnet R. Maybank. Bertie had stood behind a crowd at a political gathering at home and heard the senator say, “Drop by to see me if y’all come to Washington.” While standing in front of the senator, he had asked, “Does this include me?” Senator Maybank had answered “Yes it does.”
When Bertie showed up at the senator’s office in Washington, the senator shook his hand, welcomed him to Washington, and then gave him a job sweeping the Capitol steps for $2 a week. From there, Bertie got hired as a Capitol janitor, and over many years he worked his way up to head up the staff serving the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He even became a friend and respected worker on the staff of arch segregationists such as Strom Thurmond and Jessie Helms. One continues to wonder how these men could on one hand be good to Bertie but then turn around and be so mean-spirited to blacks in general. I’m still scratching my head to understand. But I’ll tell you what: Bertie Bowman is a great man. You ought to read his incredible life story.
Good
Dubliners (1914) is a book of short stories by James Joyce. It’s one thing to read modern Irish country novels like by Patrick Taylor and quite another to read short stories about people living in Dublin before 1905. The stories in the Dubliners offer a glimpse of life on the streets of Dublin in that time and a fascinating study of the people of that day. You need two bookmarks: one to mark your place in your reading and another to mark your place in the story notes at the back of the book, for the notes explain words in the text that you would otherwise not understand. I could not have enjoyed the stories without those notes. And I did enjoy them.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
November 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in October 2008:
Exceptional ('My Rating' is explained in a left column text box.)
Child Rhymes (1890) contains poetry by James Whitcomb Riley. I read Riley’s Child Rhymes every October to celebrate home, harvest, and Halloween. In this volume, we are treated to the classics “Little Orphant Annie,” “The Raggedy Man,” and other treasured poems for children. “The Circus-Day Parade” always reminds me of Peru, Indiana, which was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers’ Barnum, and Bailey Circus. It was also the home town of the composer Cole Porter and my great grandmother, Margaret See. You also have to love the poem “The Bear Story,” which will surely scare the pants off all the kids. In all, this volume has 188 pages of poetry. I own and treasure each of Riley’s hardcover editions of poems. The volumes are beautifully illustrated with the drawings of Hoosier artist Will Vawter. If you can’t scare up copies of the old illustrated editions on the Internet, bookstores offer a huge paperback book that contains all of Riley’s poems (The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley).
Churchill’s Hour (2004) is a historical novel by Michael Dobbs. This book is bloody marvelous! I learned a lot of history I didn’t know and was mesmerized by the feeling of being in London during World War II. Who did I like the best, Winston Churchill or his humble servant, Sawyer? Of course it would be Winnie, but one surely has to love ol’ Sawyer, who slaves away for what seems to be 24 hours a day to provide his master with much care and a bit of wisdom as well. One wonders though, how Winston functioned so brilliantly considering the amount of whiskey he consumed morning, noon, and night (not to mention Champagne, wine, and brandy). You might also be surprised by our U.S. diplomat Averill Harriman’s dalliances with Pamela Churchill (Randolph Churchill’s wife) which eventually resulted in their marriage. Winston knew of what was going on, but counted on Pamela as a friend and adviser.
Based on this and other books about the war, I am amazed that our Congress and Mr. Roosevelt waited so long to come to aid of Britain. We were painfully aware of the genocide of the Jews and that nearly all of Europe was lost. Although a number of our merchant and military ships had been attacked and quite a few sunk, our leaders continued to look the other way until Pearl Harbor was attacked. If the Japanese were to have attacked the British colonies in Asia instead of Pearl Harbor, as was expected, the U.S. probably would not have become involved in the war. Britain could not have defended itself against both Germany and Japan and as a result, Germany would likely have ruled all of Europe and the Japanese all of Asia.
The author says in the epilogue that it appears that either Roosevelt or Churchill had prior intelligence that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor, but did not notify the other. In the novel, the author writes about his belief that Churchill decoded an intelligence message and determined it would happen, but sat on the presumption because he needed the U.S. to become involved in the war. I wouldn’t doubt it, for from everything I’ve read, Churchill was a brilliant strategist.
Mirror to America (2005) is the autobiography the great historian, John Hope Franklin. Franklin was born into poverty in 1915 in rural Oklahoma. You’ll feel what it was like to be an African American then and throughout the years to come. Mr. Franklin was one of the first blacks to earn a PhD from Harvard. He had a stunning career as a distinguished professor of history at numerous universities. He was a frequent lecturer at Cambridge and Oxford, he headed the history department at the University of Chicago, and he served presidents of both parties as an emissary and diplomat to numerous foreign countries. How badly was he treated through the years because of his color? Badly. When he was in his 80s, a rich white woman approached him as he was leaving a dinner where he was being honored, handed him her coat check, and instructed him to get her coat! Here we are, 147 years after slavery was abolished and some still react from learned bias. Dr. Franklin is now in his 90’s and lives near our home in Durham, NC. He may well experience a real miracle in his great life on November 4, 2008. Every American should know about the goodness and accomplishments of John Hope Franklin. I highly recommend this exceptional book.
The Work of Wolves (2004) is a novel by Kent Meyers. One reviewer called it “the best western-based fiction I’ve read since Lonesome Dove and Plainsong.” I’d go one step farther and say that Kent Meyers is one of the best storytellers in America. This story, like The River Warren (see my July 2008 Report), is set in South Dakota. It’s about Carson Fielding, a boy who is an expert in training horses. His family lives and works on the land owned by his grandfather. He and his father struggle to continue to operate the farm and make ends meet when grandfather dies. His father agrees to provide Carson’s services to train wild horses for a rich rancher, who has been buying up land from poor farmers and in the process dominates everyone he can. Carson doesn’t want to do it, but finally agrees because he knows they need the money. Carson resists the rancher’s control from the first day on the job. He also demonstrates his skill in training horses. The rancher then asks Carson to teach his beautiful wife how to ride. Carson is not anxious to get involved but eventually agrees and is the process they fall in love with each other. The story moves into high gear when the rancher’s cruelty gets out of control and friends from the nearby Indian reservation help him go after the scheming and mean-spirited villain. There is no doubt that Kent Meyers’ specialty is writing about the great northwest. He is a great writer with a clear, distinctive, and energetic voice. What else must he do to get the recognition he deserves, work out of New York, Paris, or London? This book and The River Warren should be best sellers.
Very Good
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (2008) is a novel by David Wroblewski. As I read the first 459 pages, I was thinking “this is a magnificent book; it ought to become a classic.” The story is set in rural Wisconsin, a place I love to visit. It’s about a farmer who loves dogs and decides to operate a breeding kennel on his farm. The farmer, John Sawtelle, his wife, and their son Edgar work together to birth and train dogs and carefully place them with owners who will treat them well. The son can hear, but he cannot speak, and this adds an interesting dimension to the story. Early on, Edgar learns to communicate with his family using sign language. He teaches and dogs to understand and use sign language to communicate with him. Do you believe that dogs can use sign language? My daughter, Jennifer, who works with dogs, tells me they can. This story is magical because the writer brings you into the loving heart and soul of the trainer and, in turn, the dogs. I was astonished to learn so much about the birthing (whelping) of dogs. I couldn’t put the book down; it is a great story. So you may be wondering why I don’t rate it “exceptional.” I have to be honest; I would have preferred the story to end at or not much beyond page 459, rather than continuing for another 103 pages. I was troubled about my strong feeling, so I looked at other reviews of the book on the Internet, where I discovered that a number of other people felt the story should have ended sooner.
Angels & Demons (2000) is a novel by Dan Brown. I bought the illustrated paperback edition and the beautiful color plates of the art, cathedrals, and history of Rome are a fabulous addition to the text. The cost difference is small compared to what you get. The story focuses on bringing together the biblical creation story and the science of evolution. I learned a lot about the cutting edge of science and in particular the important discoveries being made by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). http://public.web.cern.ch/public/. I also learned much about art, history, and the Catholic Church. This was the aspect of the book that I really loved.
The novel has a classic end-all sort of plot. If evil wins, the Vatican and all of its history, art, and legendary rituals will be destroyed. As in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the ending was over-embellished and the end of the story was stretched a good deal beyond where I wished it to end.
There are some similarities in this novel to another of Brown's novels, The Da Vinci Code (see the October 2008 book report).
By the way, the World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee for the CERN. In 1992 a friend took me to a lab at the University of North Carolina Cancer Center to show me the early Internet when it was available only to scientists and educators. Not long after, the same friend created one of the first public web sites, which he operated from the Sun computer network at his business. Most people did not see the Internet until the late 1990’s when it was made widely available to the public. Notice the CERN Internet address listed above is for “public.” This leads me to believe that they have another or other sites which are secret and available only to scientists.
Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001) is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. It is the third book in the series, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency. All of the stories are set in Botswana. Why do I love them? The stories and language of the Africans are both fresh and respectable. They are light-hearted easy reads that impart morality and wisdom. I enjoy reading them between heavier books that greatly exercise my brain. In this story, the attention of the detective, Mma Ramotswe, is pulled in different directions as her fiancé Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the proprietor of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors becomes ill and needs care while she also has an important case to solve. Meanwhile, her assistant detective, Mma Makutsi, lands a case to investigate and identify which of the finalists in the Gaborone beauty contest can be counted on to be of high moral character. From this, one learns a great deal about the “morality of beautiful girls.” This a good read. Now I’m ready to get the fourth book in the series for November reading.
Good
Miracle at St. Anna (2002) is a novel by James McBride. Mr. McBride is the author of The Color of Water, a brilliant biography of his mother and his family (see the August 2008 Book Report. The Miracle at St. Anna is a good WWII novel about the Army’s segregated 92nd Division, which was an undermanned and under-equipped division of black soldiers sent to Italy to face an overpowering number of well-equipped Germans. The brave men were well received by the Italians. Miraculous happenings occurred even as the Americans endured many hardships and deaths. This book was the basis for the movie of the same title which is appearing now in theaters across the country.
Down the Nile (2007) Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney. This is a good travel story about the author’s short rowing trip up the Nile in Egypt. It was interesting to learn that the Nile flows north, up the continent of Africa. Ms. Mahoney was determined to have an adventure, no matter how small, even though the local men did everything they could to prevent her from doing it. She finally pulled it off, but this reader wonders if it was worth the effort. However, the author adds interest by recounting trips up the Nile by Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale. The trips were made separately without the others knowledge. I learned a good deal about both Flaubert and especially Nightingale. She was a much more dimensional character than most people realize.
To Siberia (1996) is a novel by Per Patterson (translated by Ann Born). Here is yet another tale of WWII. What makes this recently translated book interesting is that it is set in the farthest northern tip of Denmark. The story concerns a relatively poor family that includes a carpenter father, his very religious wife, and a son and a daughter who are close to each other in age and spirit. The brother and sister do not identify much with either of their parents. The author brings you into the depths of their lives in this remote and frozen place. You learn about their dreams for their adult lives and a good deal about them as young people who are about to come of age. Then the war and Hitler’s troops ultimately come all the way north into their little town, to interfere with the outcome of their dreams.
Exceptional ('My Rating' is explained in a left column text box.)
Child Rhymes (1890) contains poetry by James Whitcomb Riley. I read Riley’s Child Rhymes every October to celebrate home, harvest, and Halloween. In this volume, we are treated to the classics “Little Orphant Annie,” “The Raggedy Man,” and other treasured poems for children. “The Circus-Day Parade” always reminds me of Peru, Indiana, which was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers’ Barnum, and Bailey Circus. It was also the home town of the composer Cole Porter and my great grandmother, Margaret See. You also have to love the poem “The Bear Story,” which will surely scare the pants off all the kids. In all, this volume has 188 pages of poetry. I own and treasure each of Riley’s hardcover editions of poems. The volumes are beautifully illustrated with the drawings of Hoosier artist Will Vawter. If you can’t scare up copies of the old illustrated editions on the Internet, bookstores offer a huge paperback book that contains all of Riley’s poems (The Complete Poetical Works of James Whitcomb Riley).
Churchill’s Hour (2004) is a historical novel by Michael Dobbs. This book is bloody marvelous! I learned a lot of history I didn’t know and was mesmerized by the feeling of being in London during World War II. Who did I like the best, Winston Churchill or his humble servant, Sawyer? Of course it would be Winnie, but one surely has to love ol’ Sawyer, who slaves away for what seems to be 24 hours a day to provide his master with much care and a bit of wisdom as well. One wonders though, how Winston functioned so brilliantly considering the amount of whiskey he consumed morning, noon, and night (not to mention Champagne, wine, and brandy). You might also be surprised by our U.S. diplomat Averill Harriman’s dalliances with Pamela Churchill (Randolph Churchill’s wife) which eventually resulted in their marriage. Winston knew of what was going on, but counted on Pamela as a friend and adviser.
Based on this and other books about the war, I am amazed that our Congress and Mr. Roosevelt waited so long to come to aid of Britain. We were painfully aware of the genocide of the Jews and that nearly all of Europe was lost. Although a number of our merchant and military ships had been attacked and quite a few sunk, our leaders continued to look the other way until Pearl Harbor was attacked. If the Japanese were to have attacked the British colonies in Asia instead of Pearl Harbor, as was expected, the U.S. probably would not have become involved in the war. Britain could not have defended itself against both Germany and Japan and as a result, Germany would likely have ruled all of Europe and the Japanese all of Asia.
The author says in the epilogue that it appears that either Roosevelt or Churchill had prior intelligence that the Japanese would attack Pearl Harbor, but did not notify the other. In the novel, the author writes about his belief that Churchill decoded an intelligence message and determined it would happen, but sat on the presumption because he needed the U.S. to become involved in the war. I wouldn’t doubt it, for from everything I’ve read, Churchill was a brilliant strategist.
Mirror to America (2005) is the autobiography the great historian, John Hope Franklin. Franklin was born into poverty in 1915 in rural Oklahoma. You’ll feel what it was like to be an African American then and throughout the years to come. Mr. Franklin was one of the first blacks to earn a PhD from Harvard. He had a stunning career as a distinguished professor of history at numerous universities. He was a frequent lecturer at Cambridge and Oxford, he headed the history department at the University of Chicago, and he served presidents of both parties as an emissary and diplomat to numerous foreign countries. How badly was he treated through the years because of his color? Badly. When he was in his 80s, a rich white woman approached him as he was leaving a dinner where he was being honored, handed him her coat check, and instructed him to get her coat! Here we are, 147 years after slavery was abolished and some still react from learned bias. Dr. Franklin is now in his 90’s and lives near our home in Durham, NC. He may well experience a real miracle in his great life on November 4, 2008. Every American should know about the goodness and accomplishments of John Hope Franklin. I highly recommend this exceptional book.
The Work of Wolves (2004) is a novel by Kent Meyers. One reviewer called it “the best western-based fiction I’ve read since Lonesome Dove and Plainsong.” I’d go one step farther and say that Kent Meyers is one of the best storytellers in America. This story, like The River Warren (see my July 2008 Report), is set in South Dakota. It’s about Carson Fielding, a boy who is an expert in training horses. His family lives and works on the land owned by his grandfather. He and his father struggle to continue to operate the farm and make ends meet when grandfather dies. His father agrees to provide Carson’s services to train wild horses for a rich rancher, who has been buying up land from poor farmers and in the process dominates everyone he can. Carson doesn’t want to do it, but finally agrees because he knows they need the money. Carson resists the rancher’s control from the first day on the job. He also demonstrates his skill in training horses. The rancher then asks Carson to teach his beautiful wife how to ride. Carson is not anxious to get involved but eventually agrees and is the process they fall in love with each other. The story moves into high gear when the rancher’s cruelty gets out of control and friends from the nearby Indian reservation help him go after the scheming and mean-spirited villain. There is no doubt that Kent Meyers’ specialty is writing about the great northwest. He is a great writer with a clear, distinctive, and energetic voice. What else must he do to get the recognition he deserves, work out of New York, Paris, or London? This book and The River Warren should be best sellers.
Very Good
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (2008) is a novel by David Wroblewski. As I read the first 459 pages, I was thinking “this is a magnificent book; it ought to become a classic.” The story is set in rural Wisconsin, a place I love to visit. It’s about a farmer who loves dogs and decides to operate a breeding kennel on his farm. The farmer, John Sawtelle, his wife, and their son Edgar work together to birth and train dogs and carefully place them with owners who will treat them well. The son can hear, but he cannot speak, and this adds an interesting dimension to the story. Early on, Edgar learns to communicate with his family using sign language. He teaches and dogs to understand and use sign language to communicate with him. Do you believe that dogs can use sign language? My daughter, Jennifer, who works with dogs, tells me they can. This story is magical because the writer brings you into the loving heart and soul of the trainer and, in turn, the dogs. I was astonished to learn so much about the birthing (whelping) of dogs. I couldn’t put the book down; it is a great story. So you may be wondering why I don’t rate it “exceptional.” I have to be honest; I would have preferred the story to end at or not much beyond page 459, rather than continuing for another 103 pages. I was troubled about my strong feeling, so I looked at other reviews of the book on the Internet, where I discovered that a number of other people felt the story should have ended sooner.
Angels & Demons (2000) is a novel by Dan Brown. I bought the illustrated paperback edition and the beautiful color plates of the art, cathedrals, and history of Rome are a fabulous addition to the text. The cost difference is small compared to what you get. The story focuses on bringing together the biblical creation story and the science of evolution. I learned a lot about the cutting edge of science and in particular the important discoveries being made by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). http://public.web.cern.ch/public/. I also learned much about art, history, and the Catholic Church. This was the aspect of the book that I really loved.
The novel has a classic end-all sort of plot. If evil wins, the Vatican and all of its history, art, and legendary rituals will be destroyed. As in The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the ending was over-embellished and the end of the story was stretched a good deal beyond where I wished it to end.
There are some similarities in this novel to another of Brown's novels, The Da Vinci Code (see the October 2008 book report).
By the way, the World Wide Web was developed in 1989 by English computer scientist Timothy Berners-Lee for the CERN. In 1992 a friend took me to a lab at the University of North Carolina Cancer Center to show me the early Internet when it was available only to scientists and educators. Not long after, the same friend created one of the first public web sites, which he operated from the Sun computer network at his business. Most people did not see the Internet until the late 1990’s when it was made widely available to the public. Notice the CERN Internet address listed above is for “public.” This leads me to believe that they have another or other sites which are secret and available only to scientists.
Morality for Beautiful Girls (2001) is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. It is the third book in the series, The #1 Ladies Detective Agency. All of the stories are set in Botswana. Why do I love them? The stories and language of the Africans are both fresh and respectable. They are light-hearted easy reads that impart morality and wisdom. I enjoy reading them between heavier books that greatly exercise my brain. In this story, the attention of the detective, Mma Ramotswe, is pulled in different directions as her fiancé Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, the proprietor of the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors becomes ill and needs care while she also has an important case to solve. Meanwhile, her assistant detective, Mma Makutsi, lands a case to investigate and identify which of the finalists in the Gaborone beauty contest can be counted on to be of high moral character. From this, one learns a great deal about the “morality of beautiful girls.” This a good read. Now I’m ready to get the fourth book in the series for November reading.
Good
Miracle at St. Anna (2002) is a novel by James McBride. Mr. McBride is the author of The Color of Water, a brilliant biography of his mother and his family (see the August 2008 Book Report. The Miracle at St. Anna is a good WWII novel about the Army’s segregated 92nd Division, which was an undermanned and under-equipped division of black soldiers sent to Italy to face an overpowering number of well-equipped Germans. The brave men were well received by the Italians. Miraculous happenings occurred even as the Americans endured many hardships and deaths. This book was the basis for the movie of the same title which is appearing now in theaters across the country.
Down the Nile (2007) Alone in a Fisherman’s Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney. This is a good travel story about the author’s short rowing trip up the Nile in Egypt. It was interesting to learn that the Nile flows north, up the continent of Africa. Ms. Mahoney was determined to have an adventure, no matter how small, even though the local men did everything they could to prevent her from doing it. She finally pulled it off, but this reader wonders if it was worth the effort. However, the author adds interest by recounting trips up the Nile by Gustave Flaubert and Florence Nightingale. The trips were made separately without the others knowledge. I learned a good deal about both Flaubert and especially Nightingale. She was a much more dimensional character than most people realize.
To Siberia (1996) is a novel by Per Patterson (translated by Ann Born). Here is yet another tale of WWII. What makes this recently translated book interesting is that it is set in the farthest northern tip of Denmark. The story concerns a relatively poor family that includes a carpenter father, his very religious wife, and a son and a daughter who are close to each other in age and spirit. The brother and sister do not identify much with either of their parents. The author brings you into the depths of their lives in this remote and frozen place. You learn about their dreams for their adult lives and a good deal about them as young people who are about to come of age. Then the war and Hitler’s troops ultimately come all the way north into their little town, to interfere with the outcome of their dreams.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
October 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in September 2008:
Exceptional
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008), a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This book is already on my short list of the best books I’ve read in 2008. It’s even worth shelling out $22.00 for the thin hardback. It is a warm and lovely story set on Guernsey Island, one of Britain’s Channel Islands during the German Occupation in WWII. The novel includes letters written between island residents and London author, Julia Ashton, who is looking for a subject for her next novel. The islanders, feeling the stress of the German occupation of their beautiful island, have formed a book club and called it the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The action starts when island resident and farmer Dawsey Adams writes a letter to Julia Ashton (whose book he had just read) to ask for the address of a good used bookshop in London. Well here we go. Perhaps you’re already thinking about the wonderful book and movie, “84 Charing Cross Road.” This book is similar, but it’s an altogether different story. Dawsey, and don’t you love that name, also introduces the literary society and in doing so captures the heart and interest of Julia. Other residents start writing to Julia, and before you know it, Julia has traveled to the island to meet the people who have been writing to her. Together they have wonderful discussions about books, the war, and much more. The romantic adventure that follows may stir your heart enough to make you climb on a Condor ferry boat at Weymouth, England or St. Malo, France, and go see Guernsey Island for yourself. I mustn’t say more. You need to read this book. It might lead you to discover some old books to add to your reading list. For example, it caused me to seek and find a copy of the complete writings and poems of Charles Lamb.
Thanks to Stephanie Curran for recommending this book to me! And thanks to Janie Freeman for her recommendation. I’ve bought the book and it is in my to-be-read stack of books.
84 Charing Cross Road (1970), Correspondence by Helene Hanff. This was my third reading of this book, encouraged by my reading of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” If you do not have this book, do a Google search and find a used hardback edition. This is a true story which is also set in WWII. Helene Hanff is the New York writer of letters which begin in 1949. She initially corresponds with Frank Doel, a London bookshop manager, to buy used books which are better in quality (beautiful vellum paper and leather-bound editions) and lower in price than those in New York. Soon Hellene is also corresponding with other staff in the bookshop. Helene sends her new friends care parcels of food, hosiery, and other items not readily available in war-torn London. It is a rich and lovely story that has encouraged me to pick up paper, put pen in hand, and write thoughtful letters which can and perhaps will be read year after year. Email is too fast and sometimes written when one is in a state of emotion.
Anne Bancroft stars in the movie 84 Charing Cross Road. You might want to find a used VHS copy of this movie, for it might not be available in years to come. The movie has a different ending, but book and movie are both good.
Truman (1992), a biography by David McCullough. Absolutely marvelous! Don’t let the size of the book scare you. I read the 992 pages of text in 8 days (with reference material, there are 1,117 pages). In addition to reading about good ol’ Harry, Bess, and Margaret, you will read about some of the greatest characters of that time (and of my lifetime) including Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson. I was only three years old when Harry Truman was the Vice President and sworn in to become the president on the day Roosevelt died, April 12, 1945. Harry Truman was immediately faced with making some of the most difficult decisions about war and our economy that a new president could face, and all of them had to be made in a very short period of time. Harry was up to the task when those around him had differing ideas and demands.
Then there was the election of 1948. At that time, Dad, mother, and my brother, Jerry, and I lived in one side of a double house and on the other side lived my great grandmother, grandmother, and my aunts, Barbara and Janet (who were the same age as my brother and I). At that time, Janet, and I (both 7 years old) stood up for Thomas Dewey and my brother Jerry and Aunt Barbara (both age 11) stood for President Truman. See the photo inset of the characters in the left column of this review. Given our ages, none of us really knew what was going on and what was at stake, although I am sure that Jerry and Barbara would dispute this. I remember listening to the election results on our old radios. Dewey supporters listened at my house and Truman supporters listened at grandmother’s house. Every time the lead changed, we would jump over the rail that separated our front porches to torment the two who were now on the losing side. In the wee hours of the morning Truman won what was supposed to be a Dewey landslide.
Well, people change over the years and I have changed a good deal. I would now have supported Harry Truman. And after reading this book, I understand so much more about that time in my life and about the greatness of Truman. I’m amazed at the living conditions, pay, and security for the president then as compared with today. Did you know there was an assassination attempt on Truman on November 1, 1950? Did you know that he and Bess were living in the Blair House then, because floors of the White House buckled and the entire interior of the house had to be gutted?
The book contains a rich amount of detail about both World wars, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, the Korean conflict, and life in our country during those times. As I read about characters such as Dean Acheson I could picture their faces even before their photograph appeared in the book.
Robert McCullough writes great history books. Now that I’ve read “John Adams” (see the September 2008 report) and “Truman,” I am ready to move on to read “1776.”
The Da Vinci Code (2003), by Dan Brown. This is a fast paced and heart stopping murder mystery set in Paris in and about the Museé Louvre. This book must have been sold by everyone imaginable; my Toyota dealer had a floor display of the book in the parts section of his service department a couple of years ago, next to his displays of tires, hats, racing jackets, and gizmo wrenches. Since this was the only book he was selling, I presumed it had captivated him enough to order a slew of them to sell to his customers. But alas, I still didn’t read it. Recently, my wife found a brand new hardback copy at a library book sale for 45 cents!
This book is so captivating that I found my eyes racing over the words to find out what would happen next. I had to deliberately slow my pace so as not to miss anything and in fact reread pages where I thought I had moved too quickly. I’m sure some folks will find the biblical history provided in this book of fiction to be controversial. Fear not, if you are well-grounded in your faith. There is some well-documented truth in this book that scholars have learned about Bible history and other ideas that are disputed by some scholars. Noted scholar, Bart D. Erhman, the distinguished James A. Gray Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, covers some of the issues in his books “Misquoting Jesus” and “Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene.”
My Antonia (1918), a novel by Willa Cather. This is a wonderful romantic novel. With its clean, clear, and beautiful prose, it is and will always be a classic. The book is set in the newly occupied Nebraska plains way back in 1918, when people lived in dug-out’s and sod house’s and worked like dogs with little money, heavy debt, mules, horses, and rough tools to break the sod and plow new crops. I never realized these prairie lands were originally occupied by Swedes, Bohemians, Russians, Norwegians, French, Italians, Irish, and all manner of immigrants who traveled west to claim land and make a home. Do you know what a dug-out looks like? I did a Google search and found a pen-and-ink drawing of one. Amazing! Wood was so scarce in the plains that folks dug out caves in hillocks; then boarded up the front to include a window and a door. Those primitive houses had dirt floors, dirt walls, hand-made furniture, and oil lamps. Some folk that had more funds to work with put down wood floors and used lathing and plaster to make interior walls. The book will fill you in on the details, but suffice it to say, these folks lived in ways we wouldn’t dream of. Luxuries and eventually better housing came about through the hard work of this generation and the generations that followed. As the story continues, conditions improve dramatically with each generation to the point that the reader begins to feel right comfortable in the Wild West. This is a gem which I know I will read again.
O Pioneers! (1918), a novel by Willa Cather. This is another classic novel of the opening of the Nebraska prairie, and also a great love story. While the setting is similar, this is a completely different story. The book moves you quickly from the original farm to better days. It would be hard for me to say which of the two novels I liked best. I will say that Alexandra in this story would be easy for a man to love, for she is an amazing woman who civilized the men in her life. When her daddy died, she was the oldest and had to take charge of her three brothers. The two grown brothers were not up to her level of skills and, to be sure, her mother needed someone to make the farm work. Having now read two of her books, I’d say you can’t go wrong with any of the books written by Willa Cather.
Taft, (1994), a novel by Ann Patchett. This is a thoroughly modern story about extraordinarily complex characters written in clear prose that is a joy to read. Ann Patchett writes about people who are often overlooked and not understood. She reveals them to you as people whom you would like to know, even if you have avoided such folk in the past. In this novel, Patchett writes about an African American jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. He quits the band and takes a regular job as bartender and manager of a Memphis bar. His wife leaves him and takes his son to Miami, but John keeps working and continues to support his family. His life changes dramatically when he hires a young white woman. She and her brother have been through hard times, and together they greatly complicate his life. If you think the story is in high gear, wait until his son and ex-wife return to Memphis from Florida. The novel turns into a heart-stopping mystery that keeps you turning pages even when you know it’s time to call it a night and go to bed. You can depend on anything written by Ann Patchett to be good.
And finally, Very Good (Something must be in a category besides “Exceptional”)
Never Surrender (2003) a historical novel of Winston Churchill by Michael Dobbs. This volume (Volume I) is about the start of WWII, when Germany had quickly marched through Belgium and advanced with little resistance through France. England had its back to the wall and thus far, Roosevelt had yet to provide any assistance to England. The king threw old Winnie into the job of Prime Minister at a time when King Edward and most of the parliament didn’t like Churchill. The King made the difficult choice because Neville Chamberlain couldn’t deal with the war and the king couldn’t think of anyone else who might be able to rise to the occasion. Winnie was in deep do-doo and had to fight like a tiger, against great odds. Surprisingly Joseph P. Kennedy acted like a real scoundrel and did everything he could do to ruin Winnie. But Winnie failed to remove “bugs” that his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, had planted in the telephones and habitats of some of his colleagues and people he didn’t trust, Kennedy included. So Michael Dobbs had some rich documented history to work with in writing this novel, and it is quite good.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) is a novel by Mark Twain. This was my second reading of this book, the first being so many years ago that I had forgotten most of the story. You can’t beat these adventures. The book ought to be read over and over in our second childhood to remember how much fun we had in the first.
A note about reading:
I was born in 1941 and progressed through school with great difficulty because of a learning disability. When I finished a chapter of a book, or even an entire book, I couldn’t tell you what I had just read. I read books in school, but none more than necessary. Even today, when teachers and parents alike know about dyslexia and other childhood learning difficulties such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), most teachers and schools are not equipped to give these children the help they need. I could write a book about what I went through and how I finally overcame the difficulty. A friend recently told me he was a little surprised that I am now reading some books that he had read in high school. Well, now you know why. If you would like to help millions of children who have learning challenges, contact the Hill Center, 3200 Pickett Rd, Durham, NC 27705. They expect to break ground on a World-Wide Teacher Training Center to train public school teachers in how to teach kids who are dyslectic and/or suffer from ADD or ADHD. The Hill Center is currently seeking pledges to raise $12 million to build a center for “Sharing The Solution.” Our daughter, Marta Maria is a student at the Hill Center and she is making wonderful progress. We live in a great time.
Exceptional
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008), a novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This book is already on my short list of the best books I’ve read in 2008. It’s even worth shelling out $22.00 for the thin hardback. It is a warm and lovely story set on Guernsey Island, one of Britain’s Channel Islands during the German Occupation in WWII. The novel includes letters written between island residents and London author, Julia Ashton, who is looking for a subject for her next novel. The islanders, feeling the stress of the German occupation of their beautiful island, have formed a book club and called it the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The action starts when island resident and farmer Dawsey Adams writes a letter to Julia Ashton (whose book he had just read) to ask for the address of a good used bookshop in London. Well here we go. Perhaps you’re already thinking about the wonderful book and movie, “84 Charing Cross Road.” This book is similar, but it’s an altogether different story. Dawsey, and don’t you love that name, also introduces the literary society and in doing so captures the heart and interest of Julia. Other residents start writing to Julia, and before you know it, Julia has traveled to the island to meet the people who have been writing to her. Together they have wonderful discussions about books, the war, and much more. The romantic adventure that follows may stir your heart enough to make you climb on a Condor ferry boat at Weymouth, England or St. Malo, France, and go see Guernsey Island for yourself. I mustn’t say more. You need to read this book. It might lead you to discover some old books to add to your reading list. For example, it caused me to seek and find a copy of the complete writings and poems of Charles Lamb.
Thanks to Stephanie Curran for recommending this book to me! And thanks to Janie Freeman for her recommendation. I’ve bought the book and it is in my to-be-read stack of books.
84 Charing Cross Road (1970), Correspondence by Helene Hanff. This was my third reading of this book, encouraged by my reading of “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” If you do not have this book, do a Google search and find a used hardback edition. This is a true story which is also set in WWII. Helene Hanff is the New York writer of letters which begin in 1949. She initially corresponds with Frank Doel, a London bookshop manager, to buy used books which are better in quality (beautiful vellum paper and leather-bound editions) and lower in price than those in New York. Soon Hellene is also corresponding with other staff in the bookshop. Helene sends her new friends care parcels of food, hosiery, and other items not readily available in war-torn London. It is a rich and lovely story that has encouraged me to pick up paper, put pen in hand, and write thoughtful letters which can and perhaps will be read year after year. Email is too fast and sometimes written when one is in a state of emotion.
Anne Bancroft stars in the movie 84 Charing Cross Road. You might want to find a used VHS copy of this movie, for it might not be available in years to come. The movie has a different ending, but book and movie are both good.
Truman (1992), a biography by David McCullough. Absolutely marvelous! Don’t let the size of the book scare you. I read the 992 pages of text in 8 days (with reference material, there are 1,117 pages). In addition to reading about good ol’ Harry, Bess, and Margaret, you will read about some of the greatest characters of that time (and of my lifetime) including Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Joe McCarthy, and Dean Acheson. I was only three years old when Harry Truman was the Vice President and sworn in to become the president on the day Roosevelt died, April 12, 1945. Harry Truman was immediately faced with making some of the most difficult decisions about war and our economy that a new president could face, and all of them had to be made in a very short period of time. Harry was up to the task when those around him had differing ideas and demands.
Then there was the election of 1948. At that time, Dad, mother, and my brother, Jerry, and I lived in one side of a double house and on the other side lived my great grandmother, grandmother, and my aunts, Barbara and Janet (who were the same age as my brother and I). At that time, Janet, and I (both 7 years old) stood up for Thomas Dewey and my brother Jerry and Aunt Barbara (both age 11) stood for President Truman. See the photo inset of the characters in the left column of this review. Given our ages, none of us really knew what was going on and what was at stake, although I am sure that Jerry and Barbara would dispute this. I remember listening to the election results on our old radios. Dewey supporters listened at my house and Truman supporters listened at grandmother’s house. Every time the lead changed, we would jump over the rail that separated our front porches to torment the two who were now on the losing side. In the wee hours of the morning Truman won what was supposed to be a Dewey landslide.
Well, people change over the years and I have changed a good deal. I would now have supported Harry Truman. And after reading this book, I understand so much more about that time in my life and about the greatness of Truman. I’m amazed at the living conditions, pay, and security for the president then as compared with today. Did you know there was an assassination attempt on Truman on November 1, 1950? Did you know that he and Bess were living in the Blair House then, because floors of the White House buckled and the entire interior of the house had to be gutted?
The book contains a rich amount of detail about both World wars, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, the Korean conflict, and life in our country during those times. As I read about characters such as Dean Acheson I could picture their faces even before their photograph appeared in the book.
Robert McCullough writes great history books. Now that I’ve read “John Adams” (see the September 2008 report) and “Truman,” I am ready to move on to read “1776.”
The Da Vinci Code (2003), by Dan Brown. This is a fast paced and heart stopping murder mystery set in Paris in and about the Museé Louvre. This book must have been sold by everyone imaginable; my Toyota dealer had a floor display of the book in the parts section of his service department a couple of years ago, next to his displays of tires, hats, racing jackets, and gizmo wrenches. Since this was the only book he was selling, I presumed it had captivated him enough to order a slew of them to sell to his customers. But alas, I still didn’t read it. Recently, my wife found a brand new hardback copy at a library book sale for 45 cents!
This book is so captivating that I found my eyes racing over the words to find out what would happen next. I had to deliberately slow my pace so as not to miss anything and in fact reread pages where I thought I had moved too quickly. I’m sure some folks will find the biblical history provided in this book of fiction to be controversial. Fear not, if you are well-grounded in your faith. There is some well-documented truth in this book that scholars have learned about Bible history and other ideas that are disputed by some scholars. Noted scholar, Bart D. Erhman, the distinguished James A. Gray Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, covers some of the issues in his books “Misquoting Jesus” and “Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene.”
My Antonia (1918), a novel by Willa Cather. This is a wonderful romantic novel. With its clean, clear, and beautiful prose, it is and will always be a classic. The book is set in the newly occupied Nebraska plains way back in 1918, when people lived in dug-out’s and sod house’s and worked like dogs with little money, heavy debt, mules, horses, and rough tools to break the sod and plow new crops. I never realized these prairie lands were originally occupied by Swedes, Bohemians, Russians, Norwegians, French, Italians, Irish, and all manner of immigrants who traveled west to claim land and make a home. Do you know what a dug-out looks like? I did a Google search and found a pen-and-ink drawing of one. Amazing! Wood was so scarce in the plains that folks dug out caves in hillocks; then boarded up the front to include a window and a door. Those primitive houses had dirt floors, dirt walls, hand-made furniture, and oil lamps. Some folk that had more funds to work with put down wood floors and used lathing and plaster to make interior walls. The book will fill you in on the details, but suffice it to say, these folks lived in ways we wouldn’t dream of. Luxuries and eventually better housing came about through the hard work of this generation and the generations that followed. As the story continues, conditions improve dramatically with each generation to the point that the reader begins to feel right comfortable in the Wild West. This is a gem which I know I will read again.
O Pioneers! (1918), a novel by Willa Cather. This is another classic novel of the opening of the Nebraska prairie, and also a great love story. While the setting is similar, this is a completely different story. The book moves you quickly from the original farm to better days. It would be hard for me to say which of the two novels I liked best. I will say that Alexandra in this story would be easy for a man to love, for she is an amazing woman who civilized the men in her life. When her daddy died, she was the oldest and had to take charge of her three brothers. The two grown brothers were not up to her level of skills and, to be sure, her mother needed someone to make the farm work. Having now read two of her books, I’d say you can’t go wrong with any of the books written by Willa Cather.
Taft, (1994), a novel by Ann Patchett. This is a thoroughly modern story about extraordinarily complex characters written in clear prose that is a joy to read. Ann Patchett writes about people who are often overlooked and not understood. She reveals them to you as people whom you would like to know, even if you have avoided such folk in the past. In this novel, Patchett writes about an African American jazz musician who only wants to be a good father. He quits the band and takes a regular job as bartender and manager of a Memphis bar. His wife leaves him and takes his son to Miami, but John keeps working and continues to support his family. His life changes dramatically when he hires a young white woman. She and her brother have been through hard times, and together they greatly complicate his life. If you think the story is in high gear, wait until his son and ex-wife return to Memphis from Florida. The novel turns into a heart-stopping mystery that keeps you turning pages even when you know it’s time to call it a night and go to bed. You can depend on anything written by Ann Patchett to be good.
And finally, Very Good (Something must be in a category besides “Exceptional”)
Never Surrender (2003) a historical novel of Winston Churchill by Michael Dobbs. This volume (Volume I) is about the start of WWII, when Germany had quickly marched through Belgium and advanced with little resistance through France. England had its back to the wall and thus far, Roosevelt had yet to provide any assistance to England. The king threw old Winnie into the job of Prime Minister at a time when King Edward and most of the parliament didn’t like Churchill. The King made the difficult choice because Neville Chamberlain couldn’t deal with the war and the king couldn’t think of anyone else who might be able to rise to the occasion. Winnie was in deep do-doo and had to fight like a tiger, against great odds. Surprisingly Joseph P. Kennedy acted like a real scoundrel and did everything he could do to ruin Winnie. But Winnie failed to remove “bugs” that his predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, had planted in the telephones and habitats of some of his colleagues and people he didn’t trust, Kennedy included. So Michael Dobbs had some rich documented history to work with in writing this novel, and it is quite good.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) is a novel by Mark Twain. This was my second reading of this book, the first being so many years ago that I had forgotten most of the story. You can’t beat these adventures. The book ought to be read over and over in our second childhood to remember how much fun we had in the first.
A note about reading:
I was born in 1941 and progressed through school with great difficulty because of a learning disability. When I finished a chapter of a book, or even an entire book, I couldn’t tell you what I had just read. I read books in school, but none more than necessary. Even today, when teachers and parents alike know about dyslexia and other childhood learning difficulties such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), most teachers and schools are not equipped to give these children the help they need. I could write a book about what I went through and how I finally overcame the difficulty. A friend recently told me he was a little surprised that I am now reading some books that he had read in high school. Well, now you know why. If you would like to help millions of children who have learning challenges, contact the Hill Center, 3200 Pickett Rd, Durham, NC 27705. They expect to break ground on a World-Wide Teacher Training Center to train public school teachers in how to teach kids who are dyslectic and/or suffer from ADD or ADHD. The Hill Center is currently seeking pledges to raise $12 million to build a center for “Sharing The Solution.” Our daughter, Marta Maria is a student at the Hill Center and she is making wonderful progress. We live in a great time.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
September 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in August 2008:
Exceptional
Grand Obsession (2008), a memoir by Perri Knize. Exquisite! The author writes about her search for a piano that touches her soul. When the piano is delivered, Ms. Knize discovers the instrument no longer has the soul she heard in the piano showroom. Disheartened, but not defeated, Perri begins a journey here and abroad to restore her piano to greatness. The book’s “prelude” lures you into the journey as she beautifully describes a forest in the Alps where expert foresters cultivate, care for, and select trees that are of the right age and quality to make soulful piano boards. Then in chapter 1, we begin Perri’s quest to find a piano that fits her limited budget and one that will fit in the small living room of the Knize’s two bedroom bungalow in Missoula, Montana. This book is rich in detail and offers the reader an education in the making of pianos, the tuning of these instruments which can produce the sound of an orchestra, and the advanced art of voicing that some require to establish a signature sound. Perri wants her piano voiced to glorify the richness of the compositions of Shubert. We’re treated to a rich travelogue that ultimately takes us to storybook villages in Europe. Never mind that I do not play an instrument or read music, or have knowledge in physics or metaphysics. I was able to understand much of the material and it advanced my understanding of such things.
In her everyday world, Ms. Knize writes for such diverse publications as The Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. I hope my friend, John Hartwell, will read this book. He will especially enjoy reading the very cool chapter on physics and metaphysics, including an explanation of how vibrations are heard and translated by the brain. My audiologist, Dr. Winslow, will cherish Ms. Knize’s description of the complex design and working of the human ear. Those interested in management and human relations will want to read about how workers in Germany excel in building the Grotrian piano; for the excellence of production management and the development of the work family that results in advancing their achievements to become master artisans. Those who love violins will also want to travel to a village in the Austrian Alps to visit one of the world’s greatest violin craftsmen and learn how he puts love into the instruments he makes.
I love books about pianos and this book is now on my list of favorite piano memoirs, which include Piano Lessons by Noah Adams (of NPR) and The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart. (I believe I know the ‘secret’ location of the shop.)
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1939), literature by Victor Hugo. (You’ll find the best edition of this book in the Modern Library section in your local bookshop.) Some of you may curse this glorious review until the author begins to move you to the story’s conclusion. Soon after the book begins, you’ll discover this book is not the easiest of reads. Don’t give up! At some point, you’ll realize this book is a masterpiece. You may conclude that God spoke through Victor Hugo to teach us to love.
You need to know there is a book within this book. (There are two chapters without dialog.) You’ll be temporarily pulled away from the story. Book III provides a detailed description of the Notre Dame Cathedral and its art and a phenomenal written description of the geographical layout of Paris. Pull out your Michelin pocket map of Paris and follow along with the writing. Book IV brings the reader back into the story. However, the author occasionally detours from the story to give you a better understanding of life in the middle ages. Hugo seems to enjoy stopping a heart-throbbing scene to, for example, take you to another location in Paris to warble on and on about something that you wish him not to write so much about (such as his detailed description of a clerk going over expenses with the King). Just relax and read this great book. (It is easy for me to say this now that I have finished the book.)
When you’re finished, you may think this story should have been made into an opera. It was. It is The Phantom of the Opera!
John Adams (2001), a biography by David McCullough. Don’t let the size of the book scare you. This is a nice and easy read. This is a Pulitzer that is worth the prize. The story begins in 1776. John Adams and his friend, the shoemaker John Bass, are riding horses through the snowy woods. They have just begun a 400-mile journey from Braintree, Massachusetts to Philadelphia. There John will begin serving his first term in the U.S. Continental Congress. Within the time frame of this story you’ll learn more about U.S History than you did in school.
As I read this book, I began to question that the great soldier George Washington was the father of our country. Might this notion have resulted from the romance of war and from our winning the war? I argue that if we won the battles of the day but did not have the framework for governing a union, there would not be the country we know today. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but this document does not provide the structure for governance. Therefore, one must consider the accomplishments of others who provided leadership.
John Adams was a plain living but industrious man of great integrity (even if he was a bit pompous). He was a great reader. His study of the great leaders inspired him to determine the best structure to govern a free country, and one that would provide equality and freedom for all. His wife, Abigail Adams, inspired him with her brilliance of understanding and ideas. John thought out and began selling their ideas to his fellow congressmen. He provided the input to document the structure, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. His writing of the Massachusetts Constitution later established him as a writer. This document became the standard for the writing of other constitutions in this country and abroad.
Adams input to the U.S. Constitution included John and Abigail Adams desire to abolish slavery. But the Congress chose to side step the issue because most of them owned slaves. The Adams did not own slaves. Thomas Jefferson talked to Adams like he was against slavery, but he owned more than 200 slaves. He never gave up his slaves and it is reported that one slave replaced his late wife’s comfort and bore some of Jefferson’s children.
In addition to being our 2nd President, Adams served our country in many other capacities in the years leading up to his presidency. For example, he represented our infant union in Europe as the U.S. representative to Britain, France, and Holland. He also was responsible for negotiating crucial loans from Holland; money that was necessary for us to continue and eventually win the Revolutionary War. Adams was the leader to recognize we could not win the war and preserve our independence without a Navy. He was the founder of the U.S. Navy. Meanwhile, for most of these years, Abigail was left to run the farm and raise the children.
There is so much history in this book apart from Adams. The book includes significant detail about his parents, Abigail and their family (including John Quincy Adams), Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the leaders of foreign countries of the day. McCullough’s descriptions of housing, moving the centers of government, and conducting the business of the Congress and the President, are essential to a fuller understanding of the history. Then too, the book’s detail about the travel of the day by horse, carriage, and ship, is enlightening.
It’s a great time to read this book as our election process plays out. Dirty politics was rampant then as now. The book reports that Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, and others were guilty of dirty politics and were not supportive of Adams when he became the president. Thomas Jefferson was an on and off friend to Adams, but I question his ever being a true friend of anyone but himself. When Jefferson died he left a negative net worth, and did not will any his prize posessions to the slave that comforted him and bore some of his children.
Now that I have read this book, I consider John and Abigail Adams to be worthy of being called the father and mother of our country.
Run (2007) a novel by Ann Patchett. Like Bel Canto (see the August report), Run is a fast moving and beautifully written story. This novel is all about adoption. The former white mayor of Boston and his wife, who have a grown son, adopt two black boys (brothers) from a local agency. The family live in a big old home in an established Boston neighborhood. From stories that appeared in a newspaper soon after the adoption, the boy’s mother determines that it was the former mayor and his wife who adopted her sons. She also discovers she lives within walking distance of the mayor’s home. As her sons grow up, while not overtly trying to see or spy on them, the mother and her daughter often see the boys walking to school and in a neighborhood park.
The story is focused on real life issues that adoptees and parents must come to terms with. A time comes when adopted kids want to know, “Who am I”? The birth parent revisit their decision to give the child up, “Did I do the right thing”? They wonder and fret about where their child is and how they are being raised. Adoptees want to know why a parent gave them up. The birth parent fears the child will not understand why they were given up. Adoptive parents worry what about the result of the birth parent or the child finding each other. The birth parent and the adoptee wonder if they should try to find the other. What will happen if they meet each other? The questions, worries, and fears are many, but such people who do someday meet under sesirable circumstances, discover there is much to be learned about who they are and how similar they are to the one who gave them up. You’ll be amazed at the twists and turns in this story and of the result. This book is terrific whether or not you’ve been involved the adoption process.
Very Good
Dog Day (1997) is mystery novel by Alicia Gimenéz-Bartlett. This is a way cool mystery book that I received in the mail from my brother, as a result of an Internet book swap among book friends. In fact, my brother, Jerry, has a literary agent and may soon be a published writer of a mystery book series. I loved reading Dog Day and now I want to get more books written by Alicia Gimenéz-Bartlett. This book is full of mystery thrills, twists, turns, romance, and very interesting details about the nature of the animals, as well as the work of the police, those who raise and care for dogs, and the perpetrators of the crime. It is a wonderfully entertaining read. The story is set in Barcelona. The author was born in Almansa, Spain, and now lives in Barcelona.
Baker Towers (2005) a novel by Jennifer Haigh. This story is set in the 1940’s. It is about coal miners who work and live in Bakerton, a company mining town located in Western Pennsylvania. It’s about immigrants from the old country who live in neighborhoods that include Little Italy, Swedetown, and Polish Hill. It’s all about the struggles of being poor and living in company houses, and struggling to live. It’s about black lung disease, mining accidents, and management and union squabbles. It is also about how some children of miners end up working in the mines, about those who leave to live and work in other places, and about some of those who leave, but return to work in other jobs because they can’t give up the town and its people. This is the story of what really happens a little towns and generations of its people that we only briefly learn about from television news, in the aftermath of a coal mining accident. This is a well told story of love and sorrow and one that I think many readers will enjoy.
Good
Tears of the Giraffe (2002) a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. This very nice read is another of the series, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I love these stories. They are pleasant reads to enjoy between heavy works like John Adams and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. These comfort books call for a recliner, a fleece throw to cover your body, a cup of Irish tea, and a plate of cookies. Cuddle up with the Tears of the Giraffe or Dog Day and you've got pleasure! In this episode, Precious Ramotswe, who is the “cunning and sensible proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana”, demonstrates her skill in revealing the truth and/or catching the guilty, developing her first assistant detective, and discovering love. What comes next? I’ve got to immediately buy the next book in series to find out and to have another comfort book to read while reclining in my comfortable old chair.
Sweet Mandarin (2007) a memoir by Helen Tse. The author and her sisters own the Sweet Mandarin restaurant in Manchester, England. Cousin Pipes, have you been there? This is the story of three generations of Chinese women and their family who lived in a farming village near Guangzhou China in the early 1900’s and migrated from there to Hong Kong, and finally on to Manchester, England. Cooking has been the lifeblood of this family from the making of soy sauce in the first generation, when the father travelled to Hong Kong and sold the sauce on the street to food stalls. Eventually he opened a food stall. Years later a daughter migrated from Hong Kong to a village in England (near Manchester) and opened neighborhood "take aways" and restaurants. It is an interesting story of how women survived in a family that had no sons, in China, a country that places value on sons and little to no value on women. When the second generation daughter moves to England, she initially endures the prejudice of the village where she was the first of Chinese ancestry to live. After opening, she ultimately earned the respect of locals with her good food, reasonable process, and generous service. Helen, one of three third generation daughters, studied law at Cambridge University and went on to work as a finance lawyer in London, Hong Kong, and Manchester. But she couldn’t get the family joy of cooking out of her system, so she quit practicing law and recently joined her sisters in opening the restaurant Sweet Mandarin.
Read!
Who needs television, especially the addiction of tabloid cable news with their talking heads, breathless analyzers, nabobs, and nincompoops? I’d rather read! When there is a need to view the ‘telly’ during this election year, do not forget C-Span. There you will see all of the event and hear only what the participants have to say, without the constant interruption and the interference of the nincompoops. These people may have a lot to do with why we are such a divided people in this nation. I think the telly is best kept in the back room where does not become the focus of the family.
Exceptional
Grand Obsession (2008), a memoir by Perri Knize. Exquisite! The author writes about her search for a piano that touches her soul. When the piano is delivered, Ms. Knize discovers the instrument no longer has the soul she heard in the piano showroom. Disheartened, but not defeated, Perri begins a journey here and abroad to restore her piano to greatness. The book’s “prelude” lures you into the journey as she beautifully describes a forest in the Alps where expert foresters cultivate, care for, and select trees that are of the right age and quality to make soulful piano boards. Then in chapter 1, we begin Perri’s quest to find a piano that fits her limited budget and one that will fit in the small living room of the Knize’s two bedroom bungalow in Missoula, Montana. This book is rich in detail and offers the reader an education in the making of pianos, the tuning of these instruments which can produce the sound of an orchestra, and the advanced art of voicing that some require to establish a signature sound. Perri wants her piano voiced to glorify the richness of the compositions of Shubert. We’re treated to a rich travelogue that ultimately takes us to storybook villages in Europe. Never mind that I do not play an instrument or read music, or have knowledge in physics or metaphysics. I was able to understand much of the material and it advanced my understanding of such things.
In her everyday world, Ms. Knize writes for such diverse publications as The Atlantic Monthly, Audubon, Sports Illustrated, Condé Nast Traveler, and Outside. I hope my friend, John Hartwell, will read this book. He will especially enjoy reading the very cool chapter on physics and metaphysics, including an explanation of how vibrations are heard and translated by the brain. My audiologist, Dr. Winslow, will cherish Ms. Knize’s description of the complex design and working of the human ear. Those interested in management and human relations will want to read about how workers in Germany excel in building the Grotrian piano; for the excellence of production management and the development of the work family that results in advancing their achievements to become master artisans. Those who love violins will also want to travel to a village in the Austrian Alps to visit one of the world’s greatest violin craftsmen and learn how he puts love into the instruments he makes.
I love books about pianos and this book is now on my list of favorite piano memoirs, which include Piano Lessons by Noah Adams (of NPR) and The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by Thad Carhart. (I believe I know the ‘secret’ location of the shop.)
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1939), literature by Victor Hugo. (You’ll find the best edition of this book in the Modern Library section in your local bookshop.) Some of you may curse this glorious review until the author begins to move you to the story’s conclusion. Soon after the book begins, you’ll discover this book is not the easiest of reads. Don’t give up! At some point, you’ll realize this book is a masterpiece. You may conclude that God spoke through Victor Hugo to teach us to love.
You need to know there is a book within this book. (There are two chapters without dialog.) You’ll be temporarily pulled away from the story. Book III provides a detailed description of the Notre Dame Cathedral and its art and a phenomenal written description of the geographical layout of Paris. Pull out your Michelin pocket map of Paris and follow along with the writing. Book IV brings the reader back into the story. However, the author occasionally detours from the story to give you a better understanding of life in the middle ages. Hugo seems to enjoy stopping a heart-throbbing scene to, for example, take you to another location in Paris to warble on and on about something that you wish him not to write so much about (such as his detailed description of a clerk going over expenses with the King). Just relax and read this great book. (It is easy for me to say this now that I have finished the book.)
When you’re finished, you may think this story should have been made into an opera. It was. It is The Phantom of the Opera!
John Adams (2001), a biography by David McCullough. Don’t let the size of the book scare you. This is a nice and easy read. This is a Pulitzer that is worth the prize. The story begins in 1776. John Adams and his friend, the shoemaker John Bass, are riding horses through the snowy woods. They have just begun a 400-mile journey from Braintree, Massachusetts to Philadelphia. There John will begin serving his first term in the U.S. Continental Congress. Within the time frame of this story you’ll learn more about U.S History than you did in school.
As I read this book, I began to question that the great soldier George Washington was the father of our country. Might this notion have resulted from the romance of war and from our winning the war? I argue that if we won the battles of the day but did not have the framework for governing a union, there would not be the country we know today. Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, but this document does not provide the structure for governance. Therefore, one must consider the accomplishments of others who provided leadership.
John Adams was a plain living but industrious man of great integrity (even if he was a bit pompous). He was a great reader. His study of the great leaders inspired him to determine the best structure to govern a free country, and one that would provide equality and freedom for all. His wife, Abigail Adams, inspired him with her brilliance of understanding and ideas. John thought out and began selling their ideas to his fellow congressmen. He provided the input to document the structure, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. His writing of the Massachusetts Constitution later established him as a writer. This document became the standard for the writing of other constitutions in this country and abroad.
Adams input to the U.S. Constitution included John and Abigail Adams desire to abolish slavery. But the Congress chose to side step the issue because most of them owned slaves. The Adams did not own slaves. Thomas Jefferson talked to Adams like he was against slavery, but he owned more than 200 slaves. He never gave up his slaves and it is reported that one slave replaced his late wife’s comfort and bore some of Jefferson’s children.
In addition to being our 2nd President, Adams served our country in many other capacities in the years leading up to his presidency. For example, he represented our infant union in Europe as the U.S. representative to Britain, France, and Holland. He also was responsible for negotiating crucial loans from Holland; money that was necessary for us to continue and eventually win the Revolutionary War. Adams was the leader to recognize we could not win the war and preserve our independence without a Navy. He was the founder of the U.S. Navy. Meanwhile, for most of these years, Abigail was left to run the farm and raise the children.
There is so much history in this book apart from Adams. The book includes significant detail about his parents, Abigail and their family (including John Quincy Adams), Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the leaders of foreign countries of the day. McCullough’s descriptions of housing, moving the centers of government, and conducting the business of the Congress and the President, are essential to a fuller understanding of the history. Then too, the book’s detail about the travel of the day by horse, carriage, and ship, is enlightening.
It’s a great time to read this book as our election process plays out. Dirty politics was rampant then as now. The book reports that Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Ben Franklin, and others were guilty of dirty politics and were not supportive of Adams when he became the president. Thomas Jefferson was an on and off friend to Adams, but I question his ever being a true friend of anyone but himself. When Jefferson died he left a negative net worth, and did not will any his prize posessions to the slave that comforted him and bore some of his children.
Now that I have read this book, I consider John and Abigail Adams to be worthy of being called the father and mother of our country.
Run (2007) a novel by Ann Patchett. Like Bel Canto (see the August report), Run is a fast moving and beautifully written story. This novel is all about adoption. The former white mayor of Boston and his wife, who have a grown son, adopt two black boys (brothers) from a local agency. The family live in a big old home in an established Boston neighborhood. From stories that appeared in a newspaper soon after the adoption, the boy’s mother determines that it was the former mayor and his wife who adopted her sons. She also discovers she lives within walking distance of the mayor’s home. As her sons grow up, while not overtly trying to see or spy on them, the mother and her daughter often see the boys walking to school and in a neighborhood park.
The story is focused on real life issues that adoptees and parents must come to terms with. A time comes when adopted kids want to know, “Who am I”? The birth parent revisit their decision to give the child up, “Did I do the right thing”? They wonder and fret about where their child is and how they are being raised. Adoptees want to know why a parent gave them up. The birth parent fears the child will not understand why they were given up. Adoptive parents worry what about the result of the birth parent or the child finding each other. The birth parent and the adoptee wonder if they should try to find the other. What will happen if they meet each other? The questions, worries, and fears are many, but such people who do someday meet under sesirable circumstances, discover there is much to be learned about who they are and how similar they are to the one who gave them up. You’ll be amazed at the twists and turns in this story and of the result. This book is terrific whether or not you’ve been involved the adoption process.
Very Good
Dog Day (1997) is mystery novel by Alicia Gimenéz-Bartlett. This is a way cool mystery book that I received in the mail from my brother, as a result of an Internet book swap among book friends. In fact, my brother, Jerry, has a literary agent and may soon be a published writer of a mystery book series. I loved reading Dog Day and now I want to get more books written by Alicia Gimenéz-Bartlett. This book is full of mystery thrills, twists, turns, romance, and very interesting details about the nature of the animals, as well as the work of the police, those who raise and care for dogs, and the perpetrators of the crime. It is a wonderfully entertaining read. The story is set in Barcelona. The author was born in Almansa, Spain, and now lives in Barcelona.
Baker Towers (2005) a novel by Jennifer Haigh. This story is set in the 1940’s. It is about coal miners who work and live in Bakerton, a company mining town located in Western Pennsylvania. It’s about immigrants from the old country who live in neighborhoods that include Little Italy, Swedetown, and Polish Hill. It’s all about the struggles of being poor and living in company houses, and struggling to live. It’s about black lung disease, mining accidents, and management and union squabbles. It is also about how some children of miners end up working in the mines, about those who leave to live and work in other places, and about some of those who leave, but return to work in other jobs because they can’t give up the town and its people. This is the story of what really happens a little towns and generations of its people that we only briefly learn about from television news, in the aftermath of a coal mining accident. This is a well told story of love and sorrow and one that I think many readers will enjoy.
Good
Tears of the Giraffe (2002) a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. This very nice read is another of the series, The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency. I love these stories. They are pleasant reads to enjoy between heavy works like John Adams and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. These comfort books call for a recliner, a fleece throw to cover your body, a cup of Irish tea, and a plate of cookies. Cuddle up with the Tears of the Giraffe or Dog Day and you've got pleasure! In this episode, Precious Ramotswe, who is the “cunning and sensible proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana”, demonstrates her skill in revealing the truth and/or catching the guilty, developing her first assistant detective, and discovering love. What comes next? I’ve got to immediately buy the next book in series to find out and to have another comfort book to read while reclining in my comfortable old chair.
Sweet Mandarin (2007) a memoir by Helen Tse. The author and her sisters own the Sweet Mandarin restaurant in Manchester, England. Cousin Pipes, have you been there? This is the story of three generations of Chinese women and their family who lived in a farming village near Guangzhou China in the early 1900’s and migrated from there to Hong Kong, and finally on to Manchester, England. Cooking has been the lifeblood of this family from the making of soy sauce in the first generation, when the father travelled to Hong Kong and sold the sauce on the street to food stalls. Eventually he opened a food stall. Years later a daughter migrated from Hong Kong to a village in England (near Manchester) and opened neighborhood "take aways" and restaurants. It is an interesting story of how women survived in a family that had no sons, in China, a country that places value on sons and little to no value on women. When the second generation daughter moves to England, she initially endures the prejudice of the village where she was the first of Chinese ancestry to live. After opening, she ultimately earned the respect of locals with her good food, reasonable process, and generous service. Helen, one of three third generation daughters, studied law at Cambridge University and went on to work as a finance lawyer in London, Hong Kong, and Manchester. But she couldn’t get the family joy of cooking out of her system, so she quit practicing law and recently joined her sisters in opening the restaurant Sweet Mandarin.
Read!
Who needs television, especially the addiction of tabloid cable news with their talking heads, breathless analyzers, nabobs, and nincompoops? I’d rather read! When there is a need to view the ‘telly’ during this election year, do not forget C-Span. There you will see all of the event and hear only what the participants have to say, without the constant interruption and the interference of the nincompoops. These people may have a lot to do with why we are such a divided people in this nation. I think the telly is best kept in the back room where does not become the focus of the family.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
August 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in July 2008:
Exceptional
The Color of Water (1996), a memoir by James McBride. This is a black man’s tribute to his white mother. If you haven’t read this book, go at once to your local bookshop, buy it, and read it before the week is out. This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2008 and one of the most inspiring memoirs I’ve ever read. It’s about the abused daughter of a Jewish rabbi who emigrated with his family from Poland to Virginia in 1921. The father ultimately opened a grocery in a black neighborhood in Suffolk, Virginia. Those of you who are my age must have an idea of what it was like for Jews and blacks to be living in Suffolk, Virginia in the 1920’s and 1930’s. When life was at its worst for this teenager, her brave and abused mother arranged for Ruth to move to New York. At first, she worked for a barber in Harlem who hired women to do nails and then used flattery and monetary incentives to get them to work in his other business, prostitution. But before it was too late, she met a black man who counseled her to quit her job. She married her counselor, became a Christian, and the two started a church in their tiny apartment in the Brooklyn Red Hook housing project. Ruth and Andrew McBride had 8 children. He passed away. Ruth’s struggle to raise her kids was intolerable until she met and married another black man, Hunter Jordan. This man used his life savings to buy the family a house in New Jersey, which the family moved into in 1957. Ruth had 4 more children with Hunter. When he died in 1972, she had 12 kids to raise. Both husbands had given Ruth wonderful love and care. As a result, Ruth McBride never wavered from her faith. Despite great poverty and turbulent events in her life, she successfully parented the 12 children, moving them from difficult life choices through college. Some of them continued their education to earn graduate degrees. All 12 have had successful careers. Always trying to come to grips with his identity, the author once asked his mother what color God was, and she said, “God is the color of water.”
Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. When I finished reading The Color of Water, Moses Man of the Mountain was the next book on my stack. For me, this reading experience was like living on ice cream and cake for nearly a week. All I can say is that you would be blessed to do it yourself! Zora Hurston opened my eyes to the importance of Moses to African Americans, as he led Hebrew slaves out of Egypt to the River Jordan, which was the entrance to the Promised Land. I didn’t say he led them into the Promised Land, because God called him home to the top of the mountain. Before he climbed the mountain to meet God, Moses directed his sidekick, Joshua, to complete the journey, by leading the Jews across the Jordan River into Canaan. Zora took the story of Moses from the Old Testament and carefully stayed with the scripture to expand the story into a great novel. Now I have a clearer understanding of Moses and his life. I hope you’ll buy this book while you’re at your local bookshop buying The Color of Water, and that you enjoy both as much as I did.
Bel Canto (2001), a novel by Ann Patchett. Reading this was like having more ice cream and cake. Gifted, talented, and rich folk (the hostages) live for an extended period of time with the poorest of poor (their Indian captors). We soon discover that the “terrorists,” including gun-toting children, have gifts and talents that would never have been discovered and nurtured were it not for the relationships developed during the siege. As might be expected, people fall in love in captivity without regard to their status in the outside world. The resounding moral of this story is that within impoverished communities far and near, love denied and gifts never to be discovered oft times result in revolution. Although the Indians in this book were native to South America, I was reminded of the Indians living in the Lacodan rainforest in Chiapas, Mexico. These Indians (Zapatistas) who are led by the former college professor, Subcomandante Marcos, are also considered “terrorists.” Some of them surely have the potential to be great singers, writers, or leaders. The gap between the rich and poor in this world is too great.
The House on Mango Street (1984) by Sandra Cisneros is a wee book of sweet, joyous, and sad vignettes that popped up in my to read stack right after Bel Canto. The vignettes are from the heart and in the rich street language of Latino children, expressing and amplifying hopes and dreams which far exceed what is expected of them. Unfortunately, the desired outcome is often not within their grasp. Here again we see the opportunity to provide for needs and nurture kids who are full of joyous notions waiting to be fulfilled. The words of these kids leap into your life to be heard and to be remembered. What could I do? I asked myself. I answered my question by sending a copy of this book to a woman in Chicago, who upon getting her counseling degree wishes to help kids like those on Mango Street to realize their dreams. Books are a huge blessing to be shared. What else might we do?
Imperial Life in the Emerald City (2006) is a reporting of news by Rajiv Chandrasekartan. Fasten your safety belts, because you’ll learn more than you want to know about the mistakes our government has made in our occupation of Iraq and our efforts at reconstruction. In the process, our government has wasted billions of dollars. The book is a National Book Award Finalist and was recognized by the New Times Book Review as the best book of the year (2006). The book was praised by every book review I could find, up to and including the Wall Street Journal review, which said, “A daring reporter with an eye for detail, Mr. Chandrasekaran has written a lively account of American ordeals in Baghdad after Saddam's fall. It would be an entertaining read if it weren't so depressing.” Sometimes books are not fun to read, but “the truth shall set us free”…right? You really do need to read this book.
Very Good
A Long Way Gone (2007), is a memoir by Ishmael Beah. Once again, books are not always fun to read, but they are sometimes necessary to enlighten us about horrible things that are happening in our world. In this book, we learn about, and try to understand, the horrors of children who are forced by their captors to fight in wars. This is a memoir of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, Africa. Ishmael was one of many African children who have been traumatized, hopped up on drugs, and given and expected to use AK-47’s to kill people. That Ishmael lived through the terror he experienced, was then forced to participate in the terror, and was finally rehabilitated is a miracle. Another miracle occurred when a well-to-do sponsor selected him to travel to New York to become part of her family. Truthfully, it was often hard for me to continue reading the detailed descriptions of violence in this book, but I sensed that I must continue to know the truth. You might have heard about some nit-picking by literary types in regard the data contained in the book, but remember that this is a boy’s recollection of the events of his life and not a history book. I learned about the book when one of our ministers described the story, and I immediately went to a bookshop to buy it.
Telex From Cuba (2008), a novel by Rachel Kushner. When I see novels that are set in Cuba, I nearly always buy them. This is a historical novel. The author’s mother grew up in Oriente Province, Cuba, in the village of Nicaro. The author’s grandfather was the chief executive of the U.S. government operated nickel mining operation located in that village. Her mother also spent much of her time in the nearby village of Preston, where the U.S. United Fruit Company operated a 300,000 acre sugar plantation. In writing this novel, the author draws from extensive interviews with her mother, relatives, and others who worked for the companies. After reading the book, I think the story is more truth than fiction. It’s an excellent read. This seems to me another case in which the oppressed (the Cuban natives) come together to revolt with the hope of getting fair treatment and compensation for their labor. I hope that I can someday travel to Cuba to see this beautiful land and to visually experience the Havana haunts of Ernest Hemingway.
Good
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (2002), by Alexander McCall Smith. This happy little book is set in Africa. After reading a couple of horror stories (Imperial Life in the Emerald City and A Long Way Gone) I noticed this book on the top of my wife’s stack of books to be read. I needed to something light-hearted and fun to read. Since my wife was deep into reading the voluminous George Eliot classic, Daniel Deronda, I offered, “Might I temporarily borrow 'The No. 1 Ladies’? and she replied with a smile, “Sure, I’ve heard it is enjoyable and there are several more books in this series." It was fun and exactly what I needed. I’m now looking for volume 2, 3, and 4, but so far have not been able to find them. I’ll do an Internet search and there they are sure to be found.
Our living room is our music center and reading room. Most evenings my wife and I find pleasure in listening to music on the stereo, enjoying music from our baby grand piano, which she plays beautifully, and by reading books which are housed in bookcases that line the walls of the room. Our TV is tucked away in the back of our house and, thankfully, seldom watched.
Exceptional
The Color of Water (1996), a memoir by James McBride. This is a black man’s tribute to his white mother. If you haven’t read this book, go at once to your local bookshop, buy it, and read it before the week is out. This is one of the best books I’ve read in 2008 and one of the most inspiring memoirs I’ve ever read. It’s about the abused daughter of a Jewish rabbi who emigrated with his family from Poland to Virginia in 1921. The father ultimately opened a grocery in a black neighborhood in Suffolk, Virginia. Those of you who are my age must have an idea of what it was like for Jews and blacks to be living in Suffolk, Virginia in the 1920’s and 1930’s. When life was at its worst for this teenager, her brave and abused mother arranged for Ruth to move to New York. At first, she worked for a barber in Harlem who hired women to do nails and then used flattery and monetary incentives to get them to work in his other business, prostitution. But before it was too late, she met a black man who counseled her to quit her job. She married her counselor, became a Christian, and the two started a church in their tiny apartment in the Brooklyn Red Hook housing project. Ruth and Andrew McBride had 8 children. He passed away. Ruth’s struggle to raise her kids was intolerable until she met and married another black man, Hunter Jordan. This man used his life savings to buy the family a house in New Jersey, which the family moved into in 1957. Ruth had 4 more children with Hunter. When he died in 1972, she had 12 kids to raise. Both husbands had given Ruth wonderful love and care. As a result, Ruth McBride never wavered from her faith. Despite great poverty and turbulent events in her life, she successfully parented the 12 children, moving them from difficult life choices through college. Some of them continued their education to earn graduate degrees. All 12 have had successful careers. Always trying to come to grips with his identity, the author once asked his mother what color God was, and she said, “God is the color of water.”
Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. When I finished reading The Color of Water, Moses Man of the Mountain was the next book on my stack. For me, this reading experience was like living on ice cream and cake for nearly a week. All I can say is that you would be blessed to do it yourself! Zora Hurston opened my eyes to the importance of Moses to African Americans, as he led Hebrew slaves out of Egypt to the River Jordan, which was the entrance to the Promised Land. I didn’t say he led them into the Promised Land, because God called him home to the top of the mountain. Before he climbed the mountain to meet God, Moses directed his sidekick, Joshua, to complete the journey, by leading the Jews across the Jordan River into Canaan. Zora took the story of Moses from the Old Testament and carefully stayed with the scripture to expand the story into a great novel. Now I have a clearer understanding of Moses and his life. I hope you’ll buy this book while you’re at your local bookshop buying The Color of Water, and that you enjoy both as much as I did.
Bel Canto (2001), a novel by Ann Patchett. Reading this was like having more ice cream and cake. Gifted, talented, and rich folk (the hostages) live for an extended period of time with the poorest of poor (their Indian captors). We soon discover that the “terrorists,” including gun-toting children, have gifts and talents that would never have been discovered and nurtured were it not for the relationships developed during the siege. As might be expected, people fall in love in captivity without regard to their status in the outside world. The resounding moral of this story is that within impoverished communities far and near, love denied and gifts never to be discovered oft times result in revolution. Although the Indians in this book were native to South America, I was reminded of the Indians living in the Lacodan rainforest in Chiapas, Mexico. These Indians (Zapatistas) who are led by the former college professor, Subcomandante Marcos, are also considered “terrorists.” Some of them surely have the potential to be great singers, writers, or leaders. The gap between the rich and poor in this world is too great.
The House on Mango Street (1984) by Sandra Cisneros is a wee book of sweet, joyous, and sad vignettes that popped up in my to read stack right after Bel Canto. The vignettes are from the heart and in the rich street language of Latino children, expressing and amplifying hopes and dreams which far exceed what is expected of them. Unfortunately, the desired outcome is often not within their grasp. Here again we see the opportunity to provide for needs and nurture kids who are full of joyous notions waiting to be fulfilled. The words of these kids leap into your life to be heard and to be remembered. What could I do? I asked myself. I answered my question by sending a copy of this book to a woman in Chicago, who upon getting her counseling degree wishes to help kids like those on Mango Street to realize their dreams. Books are a huge blessing to be shared. What else might we do?
Imperial Life in the Emerald City (2006) is a reporting of news by Rajiv Chandrasekartan. Fasten your safety belts, because you’ll learn more than you want to know about the mistakes our government has made in our occupation of Iraq and our efforts at reconstruction. In the process, our government has wasted billions of dollars. The book is a National Book Award Finalist and was recognized by the New Times Book Review as the best book of the year (2006). The book was praised by every book review I could find, up to and including the Wall Street Journal review, which said, “A daring reporter with an eye for detail, Mr. Chandrasekaran has written a lively account of American ordeals in Baghdad after Saddam's fall. It would be an entertaining read if it weren't so depressing.” Sometimes books are not fun to read, but “the truth shall set us free”…right? You really do need to read this book.
Very Good
A Long Way Gone (2007), is a memoir by Ishmael Beah. Once again, books are not always fun to read, but they are sometimes necessary to enlighten us about horrible things that are happening in our world. In this book, we learn about, and try to understand, the horrors of children who are forced by their captors to fight in wars. This is a memoir of a boy soldier in Sierra Leone, Africa. Ishmael was one of many African children who have been traumatized, hopped up on drugs, and given and expected to use AK-47’s to kill people. That Ishmael lived through the terror he experienced, was then forced to participate in the terror, and was finally rehabilitated is a miracle. Another miracle occurred when a well-to-do sponsor selected him to travel to New York to become part of her family. Truthfully, it was often hard for me to continue reading the detailed descriptions of violence in this book, but I sensed that I must continue to know the truth. You might have heard about some nit-picking by literary types in regard the data contained in the book, but remember that this is a boy’s recollection of the events of his life and not a history book. I learned about the book when one of our ministers described the story, and I immediately went to a bookshop to buy it.
Telex From Cuba (2008), a novel by Rachel Kushner. When I see novels that are set in Cuba, I nearly always buy them. This is a historical novel. The author’s mother grew up in Oriente Province, Cuba, in the village of Nicaro. The author’s grandfather was the chief executive of the U.S. government operated nickel mining operation located in that village. Her mother also spent much of her time in the nearby village of Preston, where the U.S. United Fruit Company operated a 300,000 acre sugar plantation. In writing this novel, the author draws from extensive interviews with her mother, relatives, and others who worked for the companies. After reading the book, I think the story is more truth than fiction. It’s an excellent read. This seems to me another case in which the oppressed (the Cuban natives) come together to revolt with the hope of getting fair treatment and compensation for their labor. I hope that I can someday travel to Cuba to see this beautiful land and to visually experience the Havana haunts of Ernest Hemingway.
Good
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (2002), by Alexander McCall Smith. This happy little book is set in Africa. After reading a couple of horror stories (Imperial Life in the Emerald City and A Long Way Gone) I noticed this book on the top of my wife’s stack of books to be read. I needed to something light-hearted and fun to read. Since my wife was deep into reading the voluminous George Eliot classic, Daniel Deronda, I offered, “Might I temporarily borrow 'The No. 1 Ladies’? and she replied with a smile, “Sure, I’ve heard it is enjoyable and there are several more books in this series." It was fun and exactly what I needed. I’m now looking for volume 2, 3, and 4, but so far have not been able to find them. I’ll do an Internet search and there they are sure to be found.
Our living room is our music center and reading room. Most evenings my wife and I find pleasure in listening to music on the stereo, enjoying music from our baby grand piano, which she plays beautifully, and by reading books which are housed in bookcases that line the walls of the room. Our TV is tucked away in the back of our house and, thankfully, seldom watched.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
July 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in June 2008:
Exceptional
A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), a novel by Khaled Hosseini. A Thousand Splendid Suns reveals much about the sordid treatment of women in Afghanistan, from the collapse of the monarchy in 1973 through the governance of the Taliban and on into the U.S. invasion following 9/11. The author, who is also a physician, was born in Kabul (where this story begins), and he lived in Afghanistan for much of his childhood. His family moved to the United States in 1980. The novel tells the story of two women who were brought together when both were forced to become the wives of an old shoemaker in Kabul. The man beats the women anytime they fail to obey an unreasonable order. Their lives become worse during the reign of the Taliban when women were closely monitored. This is a must read for all people who are concerned about human rights. There were times I thought I couldn't continue to read this story, but I'm glad I did. It is a beautifully written and important work. Hosseini also wrote the Kite Runner, which I reviewed last month.
Pray to God that the Taliban never again rises to power, for their ignorance and brutality to people, especially to women and children is beyond comprehension.
News Update, June 28, 2008 (From the NC News & Observer) Afghanistan Report Is Grim: "The Taliban have regrouped after their initial fall from power in Afghanistan, and the pace of their attacks is likely to increase this year, according to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly seven-year-old war."
Exceptional
A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007), a novel by Khaled Hosseini. A Thousand Splendid Suns reveals much about the sordid treatment of women in Afghanistan, from the collapse of the monarchy in 1973 through the governance of the Taliban and on into the U.S. invasion following 9/11. The author, who is also a physician, was born in Kabul (where this story begins), and he lived in Afghanistan for much of his childhood. His family moved to the United States in 1980. The novel tells the story of two women who were brought together when both were forced to become the wives of an old shoemaker in Kabul. The man beats the women anytime they fail to obey an unreasonable order. Their lives become worse during the reign of the Taliban when women were closely monitored. This is a must read for all people who are concerned about human rights. There were times I thought I couldn't continue to read this story, but I'm glad I did. It is a beautifully written and important work. Hosseini also wrote the Kite Runner, which I reviewed last month.
Pray to God that the Taliban never again rises to power, for their ignorance and brutality to people, especially to women and children is beyond comprehension.
News Update, June 28, 2008 (From the NC News & Observer) Afghanistan Report Is Grim: "The Taliban have regrouped after their initial fall from power in Afghanistan, and the pace of their attacks is likely to increase this year, according to a Pentagon report that offers a dim view of progress in the nearly seven-year-old war."
The Good Earth (1931), a novel by Pearl S. Buck. I was 14 years old the first time I read this book. This was my second reading of this wonderful classic. This epic novel is set in China and speaks to every Chinese proverb one can think of. The Good Earth ought to be read at least twice, for in reading it you relearn life lessons you forgot. We are reminded of what often happens to dirt poor people who work themselves until they achieve great wealth only to die poor in spirit. Pearl Buck was born in Hillsboro, West Virginia. The daughter of Southern Presbyterian missionaries, Pearl lived much of her amazing life in China. It will enhance your reading experience to read about her life on Wikipedia.com. We've often driven by her childhood home in West Virginia, while on our way through the Monongahela National Forest in route to our favorite ramp harvesting spot on a partular hill by the Little Williams River. You ever dig ramps? Near Easter and for several weeks thereafter, you'll find these spring greens by the bushel.
The River Warren (1998), a novel by Kent Myers. The author is the Associate Professor of English and Writer-in-Residence at Black Hills State University in South Dakota. This is a way cool story and on my short list of the best books I've read this year. The story begins with a semi truck driver wheeling his rig recklessly down a great hill and on to Main Street in a small South Dakota town, crashing the rig against several buildings and ultimately driving through the plate glass window of the town's barber shop. In the process he kills himself and his wife and a bunch of Leo Gruber's hogs, hogs he was supposed to be hauling to market. Did he do this on purpose? Now as you would expect in a small town, folks have different ideas about what happened and what's going on in town in general. The revealing of each character's notions and actions is the genius of this story. Every chapter is in the voice of one of the town characters. They speak from their mouths to tell it straight...or at least what they believe to be true. You howl in laughter if you react as I did to Luke Crandell's intellectually stimulating dissertation about "b--- s---." This reminded me of several characters in my life who would say, "Now, don't you ever try to b--- s---- the b--- s----er!" There's a whole lot of truth in this and all of the other chapters of this book about humans and human relations! In the end you might smile real big and agree with me that this is one of the most interesting novels you've read in a while. It's one of those books that should have made it big, but didn't. It appears the book is out of print, but if you hurry, there are at least 17 used copies available on the Internet.
Evensong (1999), a novel by NC author Gail Godwin. This book literally fell into my hands from a grocery bag of books my wife bought at the Durham (NC) Public Library Annual Book Sale. It's exceptional! The book tells the story of Margaret Bonner, the priest of the fictional High Balsam, NC, Episcopal Church. Margaret's husband is Father Adrian Bonner, an Episcopal priest who is the headmaster of a school for troubled children. Don't put aside this book because you think it is only about religion, for it is a lively and interesting tale. This story is rich in so many ways, including mysteries and the skillful rendering by the author of a priest's daily work, Margaret's priestly interactions with family, friends, and town folk, some cool homilies and confessions, and even some scholarly reporting of Bible passages. I thought the author must be a priest until I saw the detail of her research in her acknowledgments at the end of the book. In addition, you will love the old monk, Tony, and Chase, a troubled boy from Adrian's school. You may even come to love Grace Munger, the overbearing daughter of a former High Balsam Free Will Baptist church minister who returns to town to lead a Millennium Birthday March for Jesus.
For me there is the additional benefit of continuing to learn that there are many more wonderful churches than the one I was raised in and the one I currently belong to. The Episcopal church comes across as one that is rich in history, form, and substance. Perhaps it would please God if we might learn that regardless of the name on the door, that we are truly all one in the Spirit.
The Shipping News (1993) a novel by E. Annie Proulx. Quick! Before you look it up, where is Newfoundland? Yeah, it's just below Labrador. Know where that is? You'll learn a lot about this cold land by reading The Shipping News, which is the fictional newspaper of the fictional town of Killick-Claw. The first time I picked up this book, I read the first few chapters and tossed it aside. That was a mistake. Early in June, my wife retrieved the book from our library, handed it to me, and said, "You really ought to try reading this book again and stay with it, for I think you'll love it once the real adventure begins. I did. And this is an exceptional book. In fact, this is one of those stories that you wish wouldn't end. Get used to the short, clipped sentences. Once you get into the rhythm of the way these folks talk, the story flows with a fun cadence. Now I'd like to visit Newfoundland.
Very Good
Saving Grace (1995), a novel by Lee Smith. This is a realistic and detailed telling of the life of snake handling religious folk in Appalachia. The story is set in North Carolina and Tennessee. In beautifully written prose, Lee Smith takes us on a journey with the family of a preacher who moved from place to place, "wherever God tells me to go." You feel the passion of the preacher who apparently believes (or he wouldn't do the things he does) but you also come to understand that his backward ways and earthly desires also lead him to back slide! Both traits become a way of life that brings much suffering to his family and others and leads many into his way of worship, "as told in the scriptures."
This story closely parallels the memoir Salvation on Sand Mountain, Snake Handling and Redemption in Southern Appalachia, (1995) a true story by Dennis Covington, a former New York Times reporter. Covington covers the trial of a minister who was convicted for trying to kill his wife with poisonous snakes. He visits some of the churches to get a broader perspective of these religious groups, and he and his wife become members. There is a part in this book that I'll never forget, a time when Covington is invited to preach. He is cautious in his delivery, pausing again and again to ask the pastors who share the stage, "Am I in the Word?" He then continues only after they respond, "You are in the Word, brother!" This works until he preaches one of their favorite scriptures, in which Jesus returns from death and tells Mary to "Go spread the good news," for this is seen by Covington (and others) as the occasion when Jesus ordains a woman to be the first minister! But literalists sometimes choose not to accept the literal, and this was clearly the case when the preacher's answered, "You are NOT in the Word!" Covington walked away from the pulpit and soon after left the fold.
Good
Summer Crossing (thought to be lost for over 50 years, the book was first published in 2005): a novel by Truman Capote. This is a nice breezy read about a rich teenage girl who lives on New York's Fifth Avenue with her family. The parents go to Europe for a summer and leave the daughter home. As is sometimes the case, she despises living up to the expectations of her family and desires to do as she pleases. She is driven to be different. Soon after the folks leave on the ship, she falls into the back seat of her convertible with a parking lot attendant, a Jewish boy from the Brooklyn. They soon find their way into the parent's penthouse to have a party, the streets and bars, and even into the Jewish mother's home in Brooklyn. You can about imagine what you are going to be reading, including the result of this relationship.
Fugitive Pieces (1996), a novel by Anne Michaels. This is her first novel which has been highly praised and was an international best seller. The story begins during the Holocaust. A little boy hides in the mud to keep from being captured by German soldiers. He is presumed to be dead. When overlooked by the soldiers, he is subsequently found and raised by a Greek geology scholar, Athos. The story didn't move smoothly for me until the adoptive father and his son, Jakob, move to Toronto where Athos becomes a revered professor. Truthfully, I struggled with the reading of this book to the end, for the mysteries contained in the story were sometimes difficult for me to unlock and understand. The final mystery and the most difficult for me was the introduction of a new character, Ben, very near the end of the book. We're not told who he is. You must know before you start reading this book that this character, Ben, is not related to Jakob. He is a new professor at the university where Jakob teaches and is a revered writer. Ben and his wife meet Jakob and his wife and become enthralled by Jakob's life and writings. In the end, Ben travels to Greece to see if he can find some of Jakob's notebooks. I do not like to read book introductions because they far too often give away the end of the story. An introduction was not provided in this book, but when I became totally lost and was about to toss the book aside, quite close to the end of the story, I went online and found an introduction that unlocked the mystery. I would have enjoyed the book more if I had read the introduction before reading the book. Anne Michaels is a poet, and her poetic wording in this novel is quite beautiful. This was not an easy read for me, but it is a good story.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
June 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in May 2008:
Exceptional
The Kite Runner (2003) a novel by Khaled Hosseini. This is a beautifully written story of an Afghan family, with the focus on the life of two boys, Imir the son of a prominent family of Kabul and Hassan, the son of their servant, as told from the final days of the monarchy through the wars that followed. I was so overcome with grief after an attack in the beginning of the book that I nearly put the book aside. As I went to bed, I wondered how I would sleep, but I was rescued from my restlessness by what I had learned from reading two other books this month, Amish Grace and The Shack. Then I slept well. The next day, at the first opportunity I picked up The Kite Runner and continued reading. It would have been a mistake not to finish reading this masterpiece. The reader comes face to face with ethnic prejudice, religious hate, living in a war area, and the resulting violence. Now I can’t wait to read Hosseini’s newest novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), a novel by Truman Capote. The surprise includes more than the enjoyment of this story as the Vintage Publishing edition also includes three Capote short stories. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a New York apartment house story, and the characters who live in this building unite for fun and adventure. The tale brings back to mind my adventures living on the north side of Chicago in the Lincoln Park neighborhood where I eventually met my wife, the adventure culminating with our eloping in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. I have so many memories of that time I’m moved to write a string of short stories, but I’m afraid my wife would not approve. A real bonus to this book is that the reader also gets the short stories House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and the fabulous heartrending story, A Christmas Memory! I want to read this masterpiece to my daughter, Marta, and to my grandchildren every Christmas.
The Shack (2007), a novel by William P. Young. You’ll discover this to be a controversial book with some people applauding it and others (literalists) condemning it. I applaud it and I believe there is much truth to be gained from reading this story. If you can't understand why God allows cyclones in Burma, earthquakes in China, or endless wars to kill and maim tens of thousands of innocent people, you might benefit from reading The Shack. If you are overcome with grief about evil acts or suffering and death from sickness or an accident, surely you’ll find comfort in reading and believing the truths contained in The Shack.
This is another book that requires you to first read about a horrific death before you discover the healing. The story begins when a child is abducted on a family camping trip in Oregon near Multnomah Falls (a very beautiful place). The writing is so frighteningly real that tears may flow. It is terrifying to read about the search for the child, especially when the truth of the child’s death is revealed. After the tragedy, the main character is lured back to the shack of death where he meets Papa, Yeshua, Sarayu (the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Oh yes, the author also weaves in the wisdom of Sophia, who plays her role beautifully. William Young wrote this story as a gift to his six children, never intending it to be published and never dreaming that he would become a published author. If you want to understand the controversy, read this USA Today story which explains it http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-05-28-the-shack_N.htm.
I encourage you to read The Shack and decide for yourself what you believe to be true. That I read The Shack, Amish Grace, and The Kite Runner in the same month seems pretty amazing to me, given how the stories connect with one another.
Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. This is Hurston’s first novel. In it, we read of John, the child of a slave and the birth son of a plantation owner. Ol’ John grows up to be an excellent and powerful Baptist preacher… and uh…a lover of many women. Oh yeah…this is a classic tale of the man who wants it all. Of course there is the faithful wife, Lucy, who bears his burdens and saves his tail until it can no longer be saved. But in the end ol’ John is saved again, and after all of his ups and downs he returns to the pulpit and we ‘gits’ the sermon of a lifetime…the entire way cool sermon of nearly 7 pages. It’s great! You gotta read this and Hurston’s other books. I’ve got yet another in my stack for next month’s reading. I consider Zora Neale Hurston to be the most brilliant author I’ve read … yes I do! See also my May 2008 reviews of Seraph on the Suwannee and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Very Good
Islands in the Stream (1970), a novel by Ernest Hemingway. Originally written as four acts, with each act being a period of the character’s life. The fourth act, which was written in 1951, was removed and published in 1952 as the novella, The Old Man and the Sea. The remaining three acts were held and published posthumously in 1970 as Islands in the Stream, by the author’s widow, Mary Hemingway. The first act, Bimini, is a story of a painter, assumed to be the author Hemingway, whose three sons come to visit him in Bimini. Here we read the greatest fishing tale I’ve ever read. I made notes on my bookmark of Hemingway’s references to neighborhoods, restaurants, and painters who were part of their lives in Paris. Then I did internet searches on each and got even more enjoyment in learning from my reading. The second act, Cuba, describes the character’s darkest years of drinking. Then the character emerges in act three, At Sea, as an intelligence agent for the U.S. military during the great war.
Old Man and the Sea (1952), a novella by Ernest Hemingway. This was my second reading of this book. I still have the hardback copy I bought and read in 1952 when I was 13. I had forgotten much of the story and it was a pleasure to read it again.
Amish Grace (2007), a work of non-fiction by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher. This is an excellent account of how the Amish were moved to forgive the killer of the Amish children at a schoolhouse near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. You must read this book to believe the quickness of forgiveness, the gifts of forgiveness, and the reasons why forgiveness is at the very heart of Amish religion. You will be amazed at how much you will learn from the Lord’s Prayer, Christ’s last words on the cross, and the Sermon on the Mount. I’m glad to better understand the Amish, but more than anything else to understand why I must forgive before I can be forgiven. You’ll also want to read After the Fire, The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish (1992) by Randy-Michael Testa, which I reviewed in May 2008.
Good
Murder on the Orient Express (1934) a novel by Agatha Christie. It’s a good yarn with an intricate over the top plot. You’ll never guess who done it and when you find out, you’ll shake your head in wonder.
Exceptional
The Kite Runner (2003) a novel by Khaled Hosseini. This is a beautifully written story of an Afghan family, with the focus on the life of two boys, Imir the son of a prominent family of Kabul and Hassan, the son of their servant, as told from the final days of the monarchy through the wars that followed. I was so overcome with grief after an attack in the beginning of the book that I nearly put the book aside. As I went to bed, I wondered how I would sleep, but I was rescued from my restlessness by what I had learned from reading two other books this month, Amish Grace and The Shack. Then I slept well. The next day, at the first opportunity I picked up The Kite Runner and continued reading. It would have been a mistake not to finish reading this masterpiece. The reader comes face to face with ethnic prejudice, religious hate, living in a war area, and the resulting violence. Now I can’t wait to read Hosseini’s newest novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1958), a novel by Truman Capote. The surprise includes more than the enjoyment of this story as the Vintage Publishing edition also includes three Capote short stories. Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a New York apartment house story, and the characters who live in this building unite for fun and adventure. The tale brings back to mind my adventures living on the north side of Chicago in the Lincoln Park neighborhood where I eventually met my wife, the adventure culminating with our eloping in Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii. I have so many memories of that time I’m moved to write a string of short stories, but I’m afraid my wife would not approve. A real bonus to this book is that the reader also gets the short stories House of Flowers, A Diamond Guitar, and the fabulous heartrending story, A Christmas Memory! I want to read this masterpiece to my daughter, Marta, and to my grandchildren every Christmas.
The Shack (2007), a novel by William P. Young. You’ll discover this to be a controversial book with some people applauding it and others (literalists) condemning it. I applaud it and I believe there is much truth to be gained from reading this story. If you can't understand why God allows cyclones in Burma, earthquakes in China, or endless wars to kill and maim tens of thousands of innocent people, you might benefit from reading The Shack. If you are overcome with grief about evil acts or suffering and death from sickness or an accident, surely you’ll find comfort in reading and believing the truths contained in The Shack.
This is another book that requires you to first read about a horrific death before you discover the healing. The story begins when a child is abducted on a family camping trip in Oregon near Multnomah Falls (a very beautiful place). The writing is so frighteningly real that tears may flow. It is terrifying to read about the search for the child, especially when the truth of the child’s death is revealed. After the tragedy, the main character is lured back to the shack of death where he meets Papa, Yeshua, Sarayu (the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost). Oh yes, the author also weaves in the wisdom of Sophia, who plays her role beautifully. William Young wrote this story as a gift to his six children, never intending it to be published and never dreaming that he would become a published author. If you want to understand the controversy, read this USA Today story which explains it http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-05-28-the-shack_N.htm.
I encourage you to read The Shack and decide for yourself what you believe to be true. That I read The Shack, Amish Grace, and The Kite Runner in the same month seems pretty amazing to me, given how the stories connect with one another.
Jonah's Gourd Vine (1934), a novel by Zora Neale Hurston. This is Hurston’s first novel. In it, we read of John, the child of a slave and the birth son of a plantation owner. Ol’ John grows up to be an excellent and powerful Baptist preacher… and uh…a lover of many women. Oh yeah…this is a classic tale of the man who wants it all. Of course there is the faithful wife, Lucy, who bears his burdens and saves his tail until it can no longer be saved. But in the end ol’ John is saved again, and after all of his ups and downs he returns to the pulpit and we ‘gits’ the sermon of a lifetime…the entire way cool sermon of nearly 7 pages. It’s great! You gotta read this and Hurston’s other books. I’ve got yet another in my stack for next month’s reading. I consider Zora Neale Hurston to be the most brilliant author I’ve read … yes I do! See also my May 2008 reviews of Seraph on the Suwannee and Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Very Good
Islands in the Stream (1970), a novel by Ernest Hemingway. Originally written as four acts, with each act being a period of the character’s life. The fourth act, which was written in 1951, was removed and published in 1952 as the novella, The Old Man and the Sea. The remaining three acts were held and published posthumously in 1970 as Islands in the Stream, by the author’s widow, Mary Hemingway. The first act, Bimini, is a story of a painter, assumed to be the author Hemingway, whose three sons come to visit him in Bimini. Here we read the greatest fishing tale I’ve ever read. I made notes on my bookmark of Hemingway’s references to neighborhoods, restaurants, and painters who were part of their lives in Paris. Then I did internet searches on each and got even more enjoyment in learning from my reading. The second act, Cuba, describes the character’s darkest years of drinking. Then the character emerges in act three, At Sea, as an intelligence agent for the U.S. military during the great war.
Old Man and the Sea (1952), a novella by Ernest Hemingway. This was my second reading of this book. I still have the hardback copy I bought and read in 1952 when I was 13. I had forgotten much of the story and it was a pleasure to read it again.
Amish Grace (2007), a work of non-fiction by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, and David L. Weaver-Zercher. This is an excellent account of how the Amish were moved to forgive the killer of the Amish children at a schoolhouse near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. You must read this book to believe the quickness of forgiveness, the gifts of forgiveness, and the reasons why forgiveness is at the very heart of Amish religion. You will be amazed at how much you will learn from the Lord’s Prayer, Christ’s last words on the cross, and the Sermon on the Mount. I’m glad to better understand the Amish, but more than anything else to understand why I must forgive before I can be forgiven. You’ll also want to read After the Fire, The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish (1992) by Randy-Michael Testa, which I reviewed in May 2008.
Good
Murder on the Orient Express (1934) a novel by Agatha Christie. It’s a good yarn with an intricate over the top plot. You’ll never guess who done it and when you find out, you’ll shake your head in wonder.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
May 2008
Here is a review of the books I read in April 2008:
Brilliant
Seraph On The Suwanee (1948) by Zora Neale Hurston. Which is better, Their Eyes Were Watching God or Seraph On The Suwanee? You tell me! I think they’re both brilliant gut bustin’ life stories equal to what God gives a body to work with. They’re love stories on the grand scale.
In Seraph On The Suwanee, Arvay has but one husband. What more could she want but Jim Meserve? None more than Zora Neale Hurston gives her and you between the covers of this book. You ought to read this book in long stretches sittin’ in a padded wicker chair on a bright sunny day out under your mulberry tree, or whatever tree suits where you live. You’ll read this book in a couple o’ days, for you won’t want to put it down. It's an energetic tale that keeps buildin’ right on up to the finishing kiss. You should buy this book so that you’ll have it in your bookcase to read again, for if you agree with me, Hurston’s books will be among the best you’ve ever read.
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston. Janie Crawford’s got three husbands in this book, but fortunately Zora Neale Hurston disposes of the first one as quick as he deserves. The second husband is an ambitious wonder with a plan; he aims to rise to the top in short order, and does, and in the process gives Janie everything he promised. The third husband, Tea Cake, offers her more livin’ and lovin' rather than fancy digs and sittin,’ and when you gits to him, L’awd have mercy, the energy and adventure will envelop you. I was very much taken by the live theatre played out on the porches of the Eatonville, Florida shacks, for in those days there weren’t anything to do but to visit and talk. And when each of the folks speak to their belief in “Whut is dat keeps uh man from getting’ burn’t on uh red-hot stove—caution or nature?” … you’re goin’ to love the brilliance of the arguments in this marvelous drama. I picture an ol’ man standing and leaning on a porch post, a couple of gals swinging on the porch swing, while others are sitting on the edge of the porch with their legs dangling over the side. Then too, you ain’t heard nothin’ til you’ve heard the front porch theatre about the village ‘ol yeller mule,’ for it is a joyous drama of folks connecting on a summer’s eve. But if it is action you want…whoa…you jus’ wait until you read the hair razing end of this book!
Exceptional
An Irish Country Doctor (2004) by Patrick Taylor. Well here we go again with the Ulster Irish, and it’s a bloomin’ fine read. This is the first of Patrick Taylor’s novels, and the Irish Country Village is the second. I read them in reverse order, but for the ultimate in enjoyment, I suggest reading An Irish Country Doctor first. This book introduces a lively cast of characters and details Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly's love for the village Ballybucklebo and it's folk in providing care for their physical well being and, when the spirit moves him, helping folk solve their problems which impact the their health and oft times the community. The story is full of cheer, which includes the spirited Irish language and the humor of the situations that connect the folk of the village. In the end, I felt like I had been to a good dance. I can’t wait for Patrick Taylor’s upcoming book, An Irish Country Christmas, to be released in November 2008. After that we will look forward to An Irish Country Ghost Story as told by Mrs. Grania “Kinky” Kincaid, which is in advanced preparation for release near Christmas 2009. Keep on truckin’ Patrick, for your books are great.
After the Fire, The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish (1992) by Randy-Michael Testa. This is a memoir in the category of Sociology/Religion. The author lived with an Amish family through three seasons to better understand their life, faith, and work and how this influences the education of their children. In the process, he becomes part of the family by participating in their work and community. He comes to appreciate their lovely lifestyle, but also comes face to face with the obstacles they must deal with to be true to their promise of living apart from the world. Testa provides a fine and pleasant view into their lives and faith as well as shocking revelations of how gawking, meddlesome tourists take away from their peace, and about how government has disrupted their lives by approving commercial development that eliminated rich farmland needed for their families. As a result, the Amish have began to leave Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and move to available land in other states including Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. You’ll need to find this book at your library or buy it from a used book shop. You can easily find copies by surfing the Internet.
Very Good
The Cry of the Dove (2007 ) by Fadia Faqur. Men as well as women should read this remarkable book to understand the sufferings of some groups of Muslim women who have sex and become pregnant out of wedlock. Facing execution by the hand of the father or brother, a Bedouin woman escapes to imprisonment for protective custody. She then leaves the world of a desert and tent to encounter the wonders of civilization, where she must then transform herself; squaring up to life with a new language, immigration authorities, and then moving right along to find a place to lay her head, get some degree of education, and find a job to survive. But then she comes face to face with prejudice, injustice, and the necessity of meeting desirable friends after experiencing the total loss of family and everyone she ever knew. Is this a true story? My guess is that this novel is either autobiographical or very close to it. The author, Fadia Faqur, lives in Devon, England, but was raised in Hima, Jordan, and the story begins in Hima (although the author doesn’t identify it as being in Jordan). The telling is detailed and much too realistic to be totally fictional. Having told the essence of the story I must also comment on the telling of the story, which is provided in a way that may be new to a reader. One must orient oneself to alternatively read a few paragraphs of present thought followed by paragraphs of recollected past, which form a seamless picture of the main character’s life now and then. You’ll be rewarded by a fantastic story and you'll wish with all your heart for justice for women wherever they struggle.
Good
Cannery Row (1945) by John Steinbeck. A Steinbeck specialty is bringing the down and out up and alive to illuminate their goodness. It’s amazing that we accept how they can live brilliantly without, for we have no experience in such matters. Mack and the boys are always thinking of ways they can throw a party for ol doc, just because he is so good. Then too, John Steinbeck is deft at bringing immigrants alive; in this case we can feel how Lee Chong runs his grocery and the boys’ soft touch in gettin’ him to supply their needs jus’ to please ol’ doc with the best party he’s ever had.
The American (1876) by Henry James. This is a story about European aristocracy coming face to face with their superiority when compared to Americans, even a very rich American, who has the audacity to say that he desires the hand of the Madame’s daughter. It is a good tale. Your literature professor may have assigned this to you to read years ago. No doubt it might be better to read now than then, if you have a hand-held electronic dictionary at the ready and if your eyes can withstand a number of full page paragraphs. This book contains possibly the longest single sentence ever constructed by an author (page 143 of the Penguin Classics edition). It contains (if I counted correctly) 138 words, 8 commas, and 4 semi-colons. Come on now, this is worth a read for the challenge. I also recommend having a wide bookmark and that on it, you record the names of the characters and their relationship to the hero and/or heroine. This ready-reference will help you stay afloat as you work your way through this gem of a book. This is not a beach book. But I think you’ll be glad you read it just to say you did.
Desert Solitaire (1968) by Edward Abbey. This is a memoir in the category of Nature, but I think after you’ve read it you might also think it belongs in the categories of Anthropology, Sociology, and Religion. You get it all in this volume, which includes Abbey’s stories and reflections of his service as the only national park ranger stationed at the Arches National Park in the canyonlands of southeastern Utah. Abbey served there before the roads were paved and before the Colorado River's Glen Canyon Dam was built there in 1994. He was a real outdoorsman who thrived on isolation and adventure, and who passed away in 1989 at age 62. An excellent writer, Abbey brings to life the flora and fauna of the desert and canyonlands, shares old stories about the prospectors search for uranium in this area during the Cold War, and writes about his adventures in herding cattle, hiking, and camping in his spare time. And all the while he weaves his strong feelings about culture, civilization, and the development and paving of America. Full of wit, poetry, and religious references, this is a good read. However, unless you are a real outdoors person, you might find this to be a good book to read in small doses, reading and reflecting on a chapter or two at a time. Each chapter contains a complete story, so take your time to get the full benefit of Abbey's writing.
Brilliant
Seraph On The Suwanee (1948) by Zora Neale Hurston. Which is better, Their Eyes Were Watching God or Seraph On The Suwanee? You tell me! I think they’re both brilliant gut bustin’ life stories equal to what God gives a body to work with. They’re love stories on the grand scale.
In Seraph On The Suwanee, Arvay has but one husband. What more could she want but Jim Meserve? None more than Zora Neale Hurston gives her and you between the covers of this book. You ought to read this book in long stretches sittin’ in a padded wicker chair on a bright sunny day out under your mulberry tree, or whatever tree suits where you live. You’ll read this book in a couple o’ days, for you won’t want to put it down. It's an energetic tale that keeps buildin’ right on up to the finishing kiss. You should buy this book so that you’ll have it in your bookcase to read again, for if you agree with me, Hurston’s books will be among the best you’ve ever read.
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) by Zora Neale Hurston. Janie Crawford’s got three husbands in this book, but fortunately Zora Neale Hurston disposes of the first one as quick as he deserves. The second husband is an ambitious wonder with a plan; he aims to rise to the top in short order, and does, and in the process gives Janie everything he promised. The third husband, Tea Cake, offers her more livin’ and lovin' rather than fancy digs and sittin,’ and when you gits to him, L’awd have mercy, the energy and adventure will envelop you. I was very much taken by the live theatre played out on the porches of the Eatonville, Florida shacks, for in those days there weren’t anything to do but to visit and talk. And when each of the folks speak to their belief in “Whut is dat keeps uh man from getting’ burn’t on uh red-hot stove—caution or nature?” … you’re goin’ to love the brilliance of the arguments in this marvelous drama. I picture an ol’ man standing and leaning on a porch post, a couple of gals swinging on the porch swing, while others are sitting on the edge of the porch with their legs dangling over the side. Then too, you ain’t heard nothin’ til you’ve heard the front porch theatre about the village ‘ol yeller mule,’ for it is a joyous drama of folks connecting on a summer’s eve. But if it is action you want…whoa…you jus’ wait until you read the hair razing end of this book!
Exceptional
An Irish Country Doctor (2004) by Patrick Taylor. Well here we go again with the Ulster Irish, and it’s a bloomin’ fine read. This is the first of Patrick Taylor’s novels, and the Irish Country Village is the second. I read them in reverse order, but for the ultimate in enjoyment, I suggest reading An Irish Country Doctor first. This book introduces a lively cast of characters and details Doctor Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly's love for the village Ballybucklebo and it's folk in providing care for their physical well being and, when the spirit moves him, helping folk solve their problems which impact the their health and oft times the community. The story is full of cheer, which includes the spirited Irish language and the humor of the situations that connect the folk of the village. In the end, I felt like I had been to a good dance. I can’t wait for Patrick Taylor’s upcoming book, An Irish Country Christmas, to be released in November 2008. After that we will look forward to An Irish Country Ghost Story as told by Mrs. Grania “Kinky” Kincaid, which is in advanced preparation for release near Christmas 2009. Keep on truckin’ Patrick, for your books are great.
After the Fire, The Destruction of the Lancaster County Amish (1992) by Randy-Michael Testa. This is a memoir in the category of Sociology/Religion. The author lived with an Amish family through three seasons to better understand their life, faith, and work and how this influences the education of their children. In the process, he becomes part of the family by participating in their work and community. He comes to appreciate their lovely lifestyle, but also comes face to face with the obstacles they must deal with to be true to their promise of living apart from the world. Testa provides a fine and pleasant view into their lives and faith as well as shocking revelations of how gawking, meddlesome tourists take away from their peace, and about how government has disrupted their lives by approving commercial development that eliminated rich farmland needed for their families. As a result, the Amish have began to leave Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and move to available land in other states including Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. You’ll need to find this book at your library or buy it from a used book shop. You can easily find copies by surfing the Internet.
Very Good
The Cry of the Dove (2007 ) by Fadia Faqur. Men as well as women should read this remarkable book to understand the sufferings of some groups of Muslim women who have sex and become pregnant out of wedlock. Facing execution by the hand of the father or brother, a Bedouin woman escapes to imprisonment for protective custody. She then leaves the world of a desert and tent to encounter the wonders of civilization, where she must then transform herself; squaring up to life with a new language, immigration authorities, and then moving right along to find a place to lay her head, get some degree of education, and find a job to survive. But then she comes face to face with prejudice, injustice, and the necessity of meeting desirable friends after experiencing the total loss of family and everyone she ever knew. Is this a true story? My guess is that this novel is either autobiographical or very close to it. The author, Fadia Faqur, lives in Devon, England, but was raised in Hima, Jordan, and the story begins in Hima (although the author doesn’t identify it as being in Jordan). The telling is detailed and much too realistic to be totally fictional. Having told the essence of the story I must also comment on the telling of the story, which is provided in a way that may be new to a reader. One must orient oneself to alternatively read a few paragraphs of present thought followed by paragraphs of recollected past, which form a seamless picture of the main character’s life now and then. You’ll be rewarded by a fantastic story and you'll wish with all your heart for justice for women wherever they struggle.
Good
Cannery Row (1945) by John Steinbeck. A Steinbeck specialty is bringing the down and out up and alive to illuminate their goodness. It’s amazing that we accept how they can live brilliantly without, for we have no experience in such matters. Mack and the boys are always thinking of ways they can throw a party for ol doc, just because he is so good. Then too, John Steinbeck is deft at bringing immigrants alive; in this case we can feel how Lee Chong runs his grocery and the boys’ soft touch in gettin’ him to supply their needs jus’ to please ol’ doc with the best party he’s ever had.
The American (1876) by Henry James. This is a story about European aristocracy coming face to face with their superiority when compared to Americans, even a very rich American, who has the audacity to say that he desires the hand of the Madame’s daughter. It is a good tale. Your literature professor may have assigned this to you to read years ago. No doubt it might be better to read now than then, if you have a hand-held electronic dictionary at the ready and if your eyes can withstand a number of full page paragraphs. This book contains possibly the longest single sentence ever constructed by an author (page 143 of the Penguin Classics edition). It contains (if I counted correctly) 138 words, 8 commas, and 4 semi-colons. Come on now, this is worth a read for the challenge. I also recommend having a wide bookmark and that on it, you record the names of the characters and their relationship to the hero and/or heroine. This ready-reference will help you stay afloat as you work your way through this gem of a book. This is not a beach book. But I think you’ll be glad you read it just to say you did.
Desert Solitaire (1968) by Edward Abbey. This is a memoir in the category of Nature, but I think after you’ve read it you might also think it belongs in the categories of Anthropology, Sociology, and Religion. You get it all in this volume, which includes Abbey’s stories and reflections of his service as the only national park ranger stationed at the Arches National Park in the canyonlands of southeastern Utah. Abbey served there before the roads were paved and before the Colorado River's Glen Canyon Dam was built there in 1994. He was a real outdoorsman who thrived on isolation and adventure, and who passed away in 1989 at age 62. An excellent writer, Abbey brings to life the flora and fauna of the desert and canyonlands, shares old stories about the prospectors search for uranium in this area during the Cold War, and writes about his adventures in herding cattle, hiking, and camping in his spare time. And all the while he weaves his strong feelings about culture, civilization, and the development and paving of America. Full of wit, poetry, and religious references, this is a good read. However, unless you are a real outdoors person, you might find this to be a good book to read in small doses, reading and reflecting on a chapter or two at a time. Each chapter contains a complete story, so take your time to get the full benefit of Abbey's writing.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
April 2008
Here are the latest joys in reading:
Exceptional:
An Irish Country Village (2008) by Patrick Taylor. This is pure and lovely entertainment! This is Patrick Taylor’s second book about Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Rilley. He and his assistant, Dr. Barry Laverty, practice medicine in the fictional village Ballybucklebo, Northern Ireland. The housekeeper, Mrs. “Kinky” Kincaid, takes patient appointments, cleans house, and prepares delicious meals for the doctors (a few of 'er recipes are provided at the end of the book). You’ll love the Ulster Irish and the brogue you’ll "hear" as you read, and there's a glossary in the back of the book for ye "eejit’s" that don’t quite understand words at first glance (and laugh when the glossary reveals the truth). With medical treatment detail provided, along with the doctors shenanigans with village folk, this is perfect read for John Pipes, Steve Tope, and me great “Irish” friend, Jim Verdick (set aside your single malt for a bit of Jameson’s).
I fear people may overlook this novel, thinking it's Taylor’s New York Times best selling first novel, An Irish Country Doctor, because the cover art is the same and the title is similar (the first novel is in my stack of books to read in April).
The Magnificent Ambersons (1918), by Booth Tarkington. Here, here. How could one born in Indianapolis wait until he’s 66 to read native Hoosier (“Hows yur”) Booth Tarkington’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Set in Indianapolis in the 1800's, it reads a bit slow at first as you read about “Georgie’s” coming of age. You have to read the entire book to stroke your whiskers and know that you’ve just read a well-crafted treasure. But don't read the Introduction until you’ve read the book, because it reveals the story ending.
You'll get a picture of Indianapolis in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s (including its early history in automobile manufacturing). I wish I'd read the book in the 1950’s, before spending fine summer nights sitting in a web chair with Walter Simon, as he told me stories about Indianapolis in the early years. I would have had more questions. As it was, I heard about his riding the train to Detroit to pick up new cars to deliver to folks in Indianapolis. He’d drive home on the old National Road (Route 40 or Washington St). In those days it was a mud road and washed out in spots. The road markings were rags tied to trees (which young boys liked to remove for excitement).
Now I want to read more of Booth Tarkington’s work, including his other Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Alice Adams. Another well-known book is The Gentleman from Indiana.
Very Good:
Tender is the Night (1933), by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some rate this book to be exceptional. However, by the author’s own confession, he could have done a better job crafting the details of the ending, were it not for his heavy drinking when he wrote the end of the story. It’s still a great work by an exceptional writer and well worth reading. This story is to some extent, autobiographical. It is stimulating to consider the conditions people thought to be mentally ill in the '30's as compared to now, and especially interesting to consider the treatment rendered then versus now. And, if you love Europe as I do, you’ll treasure the settings and lavish lifestyle as described in this novel. I’ll not say more for fear of giving away part of the story, except to say that the ending is “interesting.”
This Side of Paradise (1920) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ah yes. Princeton. How interesting it is that many great writers attended Princeton two years and were editors of Princeton literary publications (they dropped out and did not graduate). Oh yes, this includes Booth Tarkington and F. Scott Fitzgerald among others. These writers and their characters, as do many college folk today, struggle to find themselves and to try to come to grips with the age old question, “Why are we here”? I still don’t know. Do you? There were times when I wished the story would move along a bit faster, but I liked the writing and the book. It’s my view, however, that Tender is the Night is the better of the two books, but I’d hate for you to miss this book.
The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is another splendid yarn about the young of the 1920’s whose struggles included coming to grips with love and life. It’s another exquisitely-crafted Jazz-Age novel from ol’ F. Scott. I liked this easy read, but I wonder if Tender is the Night shouldn’t be considered his crowning achievement rather than The Great Gatsby? Well, “old sport,” I’ll let you decide now or "to-morrow." As for me, I think they’re both “rather enchanting.” I really did get a little bit carried away reading so many of F. Scott’s books in a month, didn’t I?
To Have or Have Not (1937) by Earnest Hemingway. I’ll be. I thought I’d read every book he’s written, but I’ve discovered there are a few I haven’t. This is a gem of a book and a quick read. It's set in Cuba (I want to go there), but this book will get you there a number of years back (but I hear its pretty much the same now as then). I’ve been to Key West, so I can identify with the way it was described in this book, for it was still a somewhat old timey place in the 1980’s. Get yur Cap’n’s hat on, sit back, and enjoy this caper. It get’s a little bloody at times. It is classic Hemmingway.
Too Late Phalarope (1953) by Alan Paton. After reading two of his books, I don’t think one can go wrong reading any book written by Alan Paton. I’ll defer to using something similar to the blurb printed on the back of this book to give you and idea of its contents. This story is about a local police lieutenant struggling with South Africa’s iron clad law governing relationships between the races.
Do not miss reading, Cry the Beloved Country which I reviewed in February.
Next month: I’m sure I’ll read a number of Zora Neale Hurston’s classics…“Ah ain’t never seen mah papa. And Ah don’t know ‘im if Ah did.” Practice reading this a few times until you gets the full sway and meaning. Try reading this immediately after reading Ulster Irish, as I did. Wow. This African American writer (1891-1960) is awesome and she ought to be well known to everyone. I’m already well into my April stack of books….I’m reading Zola Neale Hurston’s, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” And there’ll be more of her, Tarkington, Taylor, and others. Stay tuned.
From January and February 2008
Exceptional:
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. You’ll receive a spiritual blessing as you come to understand what it was like to live as a black in South Africans before the end of Apartheid. This book is beautifully written and amazing in the depth it provides for understanding the people and place.
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama. Barack started writing this book before running for state office, so this isn’t the usual political fluff. Honest in detailing the anger and frustration of his youth and growing up as a man of color, Barack did not know where he fit in, as he was born from the marriage of a white mother and black father. He was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia, New York, and Chicago during these years, and visited family in Africa. I lived in Chicago when he was there working with the poor, but those of us living within the confines of the near north did not know the depths of despair in the south and west sides, as we lived in the fantasy world of young singles around and about the lakefront, Lincoln Park, while we focused on enjoying life in the old neighborhood that had become trendy as it was rising from the past.
If you wish to better understand and reconcile with blacks, you’ll be well-served to read both of the above books and in a larger context consider life in America and what we need do improve the lives of all who live in our land.
Books, Baguettes, & Bedbugs, Jeremy Mercer. Well I have to say that I’m very partial to this book because it reveals the inside story of life within the walls of Paris’ English language bookshop, Shakespeare & Company, as well as providing a deep understanding of the American, George Whitman, who has owned and operated the shop since the 1950’s. I’ve met George, attended the tea parties in his 3rd floor apartment (which was actually a part of his bookshop and where folks were free to shop in most, but not all of the rooms of his apartment). George is now 94 and his 29-year old daughter and heir, Sylvia, is running the shop. George was actually 69 when he met and married her mother, who not long after became pregnant with Sylvia. George is a communist and a self-described atheist, but he has a spectacular view of the great Notre Dame Cathedral from the 3rd floor bedroom of his apartment, and appears to be inspired by the Cathedral, for he has provided beds, food, books, and activities to inspire the homeless writers and others for more than 50 years. What a character! He comes from a deeply religious background in Massachusetts and I suspect he will acknowledge his latent belief in his maker before his passing. The author of this book lived in the bookshop for many months and he is an exceptionally gifted writer.
Excellent:
Suite Françoise and Fire in the Blood, both by Irene Nemirovsky. These novels were written over 60 years ago, and were hidden when the author was arrested in Paris and deported to Auschwitz where she died.
SuiteFrancoise begins on the eve of the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940 and details the shock, and horror of people rushing to flee Paris before the arrival of the Germans. When you read this book, you’ll get a sense of what it is like to flee from war and the enemy you fear. It is a heart stopper. Ultimately the people still had to co-exist with the enemy in the small towns and villages of southern France, where they had hoped to escape contact with the Germans. It is most interesting how many of people came to live together in harmony until the war ended. Having also found the notes of the author with the manuscript, an editor worked to prepare the work before for publishing it in 2007. While vacationing in Aveyron, France, years before writing Suite Françoise, Irene Nemirovsky saw the perfect location for the setting of Fire In The Blood, which came to her in outline form years earlier and she wrote and hid the manuscript during the war. She actually wrote this before writing Suite Francoise. The manuscripts were found about the same time and both were edited and published in 2007.
Fire In The Blood is a short novel about the rise and fall of love in the intertwining lives of an insular French Village before the war. The plot is deep and so fascinating that it is in some ways a better read than the much larger war novel (although I think folk will like both works which are quite different).
Aveyron, a Bridge to Arcadia, by Thirza Vallois. This is travel writing by my dear friend Thirza Vallois (who introduced me to Shakespeare & Co. owner George Whitman). The guide is about the last undiscovered region in France. Thirza is a ‘Brit’ and her writing is very British, so it will be a bit different of a read for some Americans. Thirza’s intelligence, knowledge, and wit come through as she meets and gets to know locals while discovering Aveyron. This is not a guide to hotels, restaurants, and such, although Thirza refers to her favorites. Now I’d really like to visit the out of the way beauty of Aveyron. Actually, we did stay with an aupair’s (Leia’s) family a number of years ago in St. Matthew de Traviers, France, which borders on Aveyron. So it is time to visit the south of France again!
The Razors Edge and Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham. Both are classics and both are listed in “1001 books you should read before you die.” Both are good, but of the two, I liked The Razors Edge the best. I got a bit bored with Of Human Bondage, especially Phillip’s passion and undying love for Mildred. I reached the point of not being able to tolerate her ignorance and selfishness, but I trudged on and finished the book, which thankfully has a wonderful ending.■
Exceptional:
An Irish Country Village (2008) by Patrick Taylor. This is pure and lovely entertainment! This is Patrick Taylor’s second book about Dr. Fingal Flahertie O’Rilley. He and his assistant, Dr. Barry Laverty, practice medicine in the fictional village Ballybucklebo, Northern Ireland. The housekeeper, Mrs. “Kinky” Kincaid, takes patient appointments, cleans house, and prepares delicious meals for the doctors (a few of 'er recipes are provided at the end of the book). You’ll love the Ulster Irish and the brogue you’ll "hear" as you read, and there's a glossary in the back of the book for ye "eejit’s" that don’t quite understand words at first glance (and laugh when the glossary reveals the truth). With medical treatment detail provided, along with the doctors shenanigans with village folk, this is perfect read for John Pipes, Steve Tope, and me great “Irish” friend, Jim Verdick (set aside your single malt for a bit of Jameson’s).
I fear people may overlook this novel, thinking it's Taylor’s New York Times best selling first novel, An Irish Country Doctor, because the cover art is the same and the title is similar (the first novel is in my stack of books to read in April).
The Magnificent Ambersons (1918), by Booth Tarkington. Here, here. How could one born in Indianapolis wait until he’s 66 to read native Hoosier (“Hows yur”) Booth Tarkington’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel. Set in Indianapolis in the 1800's, it reads a bit slow at first as you read about “Georgie’s” coming of age. You have to read the entire book to stroke your whiskers and know that you’ve just read a well-crafted treasure. But don't read the Introduction until you’ve read the book, because it reveals the story ending.
You'll get a picture of Indianapolis in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s (including its early history in automobile manufacturing). I wish I'd read the book in the 1950’s, before spending fine summer nights sitting in a web chair with Walter Simon, as he told me stories about Indianapolis in the early years. I would have had more questions. As it was, I heard about his riding the train to Detroit to pick up new cars to deliver to folks in Indianapolis. He’d drive home on the old National Road (Route 40 or Washington St). In those days it was a mud road and washed out in spots. The road markings were rags tied to trees (which young boys liked to remove for excitement).
Now I want to read more of Booth Tarkington’s work, including his other Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Alice Adams. Another well-known book is The Gentleman from Indiana.
Very Good:
Tender is the Night (1933), by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Some rate this book to be exceptional. However, by the author’s own confession, he could have done a better job crafting the details of the ending, were it not for his heavy drinking when he wrote the end of the story. It’s still a great work by an exceptional writer and well worth reading. This story is to some extent, autobiographical. It is stimulating to consider the conditions people thought to be mentally ill in the '30's as compared to now, and especially interesting to consider the treatment rendered then versus now. And, if you love Europe as I do, you’ll treasure the settings and lavish lifestyle as described in this novel. I’ll not say more for fear of giving away part of the story, except to say that the ending is “interesting.”
This Side of Paradise (1920) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Ah yes. Princeton. How interesting it is that many great writers attended Princeton two years and were editors of Princeton literary publications (they dropped out and did not graduate). Oh yes, this includes Booth Tarkington and F. Scott Fitzgerald among others. These writers and their characters, as do many college folk today, struggle to find themselves and to try to come to grips with the age old question, “Why are we here”? I still don’t know. Do you? There were times when I wished the story would move along a bit faster, but I liked the writing and the book. It’s my view, however, that Tender is the Night is the better of the two books, but I’d hate for you to miss this book.
The Great Gatsby (1925) by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is another splendid yarn about the young of the 1920’s whose struggles included coming to grips with love and life. It’s another exquisitely-crafted Jazz-Age novel from ol’ F. Scott. I liked this easy read, but I wonder if Tender is the Night shouldn’t be considered his crowning achievement rather than The Great Gatsby? Well, “old sport,” I’ll let you decide now or "to-morrow." As for me, I think they’re both “rather enchanting.” I really did get a little bit carried away reading so many of F. Scott’s books in a month, didn’t I?
To Have or Have Not (1937) by Earnest Hemingway. I’ll be. I thought I’d read every book he’s written, but I’ve discovered there are a few I haven’t. This is a gem of a book and a quick read. It's set in Cuba (I want to go there), but this book will get you there a number of years back (but I hear its pretty much the same now as then). I’ve been to Key West, so I can identify with the way it was described in this book, for it was still a somewhat old timey place in the 1980’s. Get yur Cap’n’s hat on, sit back, and enjoy this caper. It get’s a little bloody at times. It is classic Hemmingway.
Too Late Phalarope (1953) by Alan Paton. After reading two of his books, I don’t think one can go wrong reading any book written by Alan Paton. I’ll defer to using something similar to the blurb printed on the back of this book to give you and idea of its contents. This story is about a local police lieutenant struggling with South Africa’s iron clad law governing relationships between the races.
Do not miss reading, Cry the Beloved Country which I reviewed in February.
Next month: I’m sure I’ll read a number of Zora Neale Hurston’s classics…“Ah ain’t never seen mah papa. And Ah don’t know ‘im if Ah did.” Practice reading this a few times until you gets the full sway and meaning. Try reading this immediately after reading Ulster Irish, as I did. Wow. This African American writer (1891-1960) is awesome and she ought to be well known to everyone. I’m already well into my April stack of books….I’m reading Zola Neale Hurston’s, “Their Eyes Were Watching God.” And there’ll be more of her, Tarkington, Taylor, and others. Stay tuned.
From January and February 2008
Exceptional:
Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. You’ll receive a spiritual blessing as you come to understand what it was like to live as a black in South Africans before the end of Apartheid. This book is beautifully written and amazing in the depth it provides for understanding the people and place.
Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama. Barack started writing this book before running for state office, so this isn’t the usual political fluff. Honest in detailing the anger and frustration of his youth and growing up as a man of color, Barack did not know where he fit in, as he was born from the marriage of a white mother and black father. He was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia, New York, and Chicago during these years, and visited family in Africa. I lived in Chicago when he was there working with the poor, but those of us living within the confines of the near north did not know the depths of despair in the south and west sides, as we lived in the fantasy world of young singles around and about the lakefront, Lincoln Park, while we focused on enjoying life in the old neighborhood that had become trendy as it was rising from the past.
If you wish to better understand and reconcile with blacks, you’ll be well-served to read both of the above books and in a larger context consider life in America and what we need do improve the lives of all who live in our land.
Books, Baguettes, & Bedbugs, Jeremy Mercer. Well I have to say that I’m very partial to this book because it reveals the inside story of life within the walls of Paris’ English language bookshop, Shakespeare & Company, as well as providing a deep understanding of the American, George Whitman, who has owned and operated the shop since the 1950’s. I’ve met George, attended the tea parties in his 3rd floor apartment (which was actually a part of his bookshop and where folks were free to shop in most, but not all of the rooms of his apartment). George is now 94 and his 29-year old daughter and heir, Sylvia, is running the shop. George was actually 69 when he met and married her mother, who not long after became pregnant with Sylvia. George is a communist and a self-described atheist, but he has a spectacular view of the great Notre Dame Cathedral from the 3rd floor bedroom of his apartment, and appears to be inspired by the Cathedral, for he has provided beds, food, books, and activities to inspire the homeless writers and others for more than 50 years. What a character! He comes from a deeply religious background in Massachusetts and I suspect he will acknowledge his latent belief in his maker before his passing. The author of this book lived in the bookshop for many months and he is an exceptionally gifted writer.
Excellent:
Suite Françoise and Fire in the Blood, both by Irene Nemirovsky. These novels were written over 60 years ago, and were hidden when the author was arrested in Paris and deported to Auschwitz where she died.
SuiteFrancoise begins on the eve of the Nazi occupation of Paris in 1940 and details the shock, and horror of people rushing to flee Paris before the arrival of the Germans. When you read this book, you’ll get a sense of what it is like to flee from war and the enemy you fear. It is a heart stopper. Ultimately the people still had to co-exist with the enemy in the small towns and villages of southern France, where they had hoped to escape contact with the Germans. It is most interesting how many of people came to live together in harmony until the war ended. Having also found the notes of the author with the manuscript, an editor worked to prepare the work before for publishing it in 2007. While vacationing in Aveyron, France, years before writing Suite Françoise, Irene Nemirovsky saw the perfect location for the setting of Fire In The Blood, which came to her in outline form years earlier and she wrote and hid the manuscript during the war. She actually wrote this before writing Suite Francoise. The manuscripts were found about the same time and both were edited and published in 2007.
Fire In The Blood is a short novel about the rise and fall of love in the intertwining lives of an insular French Village before the war. The plot is deep and so fascinating that it is in some ways a better read than the much larger war novel (although I think folk will like both works which are quite different).
Aveyron, a Bridge to Arcadia, by Thirza Vallois. This is travel writing by my dear friend Thirza Vallois (who introduced me to Shakespeare & Co. owner George Whitman). The guide is about the last undiscovered region in France. Thirza is a ‘Brit’ and her writing is very British, so it will be a bit different of a read for some Americans. Thirza’s intelligence, knowledge, and wit come through as she meets and gets to know locals while discovering Aveyron. This is not a guide to hotels, restaurants, and such, although Thirza refers to her favorites. Now I’d really like to visit the out of the way beauty of Aveyron. Actually, we did stay with an aupair’s (Leia’s) family a number of years ago in St. Matthew de Traviers, France, which borders on Aveyron. So it is time to visit the south of France again!
The Razors Edge and Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham. Both are classics and both are listed in “1001 books you should read before you die.” Both are good, but of the two, I liked The Razors Edge the best. I got a bit bored with Of Human Bondage, especially Phillip’s passion and undying love for Mildred. I reached the point of not being able to tolerate her ignorance and selfishness, but I trudged on and finished the book, which thankfully has a wonderful ending.■
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