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CONNIE'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2019
68.
by
Joe BidenFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Memoir
Rating: B
Review: Former Vice President Joe Biden has written a touching memoir about the difficult decisions faced by his family during his second term of office. His oldest son, Beau, had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. Beau, the Attorney General of Delaware, was only in his mid-40s when he faced a poor prognosis for the glioblastoma, an aggressive cancer. Biden writes about his close family rallying around Beau during his medical treatments.
Biden was a very involved Vice President who had previously been the Chairman of the Foreign Relations committee in the Senate. He especially dealt with issues in Central America, Iraq, and Ukraine. Biden had been considering a run for the Presidency in 2016 before Beau's heartbreaking death. He realized that he needed time to grieve, something that would not be possible while putting all his energy into a campaign.
Biden comes across as a very warm, compassionate man who treasures his family. He also writes about the close relationship that developed between him and President Obama. This moving memoir show Biden as a caring individual both in his public service career and as a devoted family man.
Mod
by Joe BidenFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Memoir
Rating: B
Review: Fo..."
Wonderful review, Connie. It sounds like a very moving and powerful book. Joe Biden has always been one of my favorite people.
69.
by
Helene TurstenFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Humor, Mystery
Rating: B
Review: Maud is an elderly Swedish woman with a benign exterior. She has no tolerance for anyone who crosses her, and deals out her brand of justice to those taking advantage of older people. Maud is responsible for a sizable body count in this small collection of five witty short stories. I enjoyed the humor in the stories, but I wouldn't want to meet Maud on a dark staircase.
70.
by
Elizabeth LettsFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B
Review: "Finding Dorothy" tells about the filming of the popular movie "The Wizard of Oz", and the lives of Maud Gage Baum and author L. Frank Baum. The book opens with the story of the widowed Maud trying to be sure that the film stayed true to Frank's book. She was protective of the young actress Judy Garland who was put on a strict diet by the movie studio, required to use diet pills, and told to smoke cigarettes to keep her from gaining weight. Judy was supposed to look like a little girl in a gingham dress instead of a fifteen-year-old teenager. Maud also gave Judy advice about fending off the advances of men in the studio. The book also tells how producer Louis B. Mayer almost cut the wonderful song, "Over the Rainbow", from the movie because the running time was too long.
The other thread of the book is about Maud's life, growing up as the daughter of one of the most famous American suffragettes. In the early 1880s, Maud Gage left Cornell University when she fell in love with Frank Baum. Frank was an actor and a dreamer full of creative ideas. He had a difficult time supporting his family of four sons until the success of his book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". He incorporated events from their family's life into the imaginative story. Frank and Maud had a loving and supportive marriage.
While this book is fiction, the author based it on historical events. I enjoyed reading about how the studio created the magic we see in the film. Although the story of Maud's life occasionally bogged down, it did show her strength, the challenges of living in the Midwest around the turn of the century, the perils of childbirth, and the difficult fight for women's rights. I've probably seen "The Wizard of Oz" more than any other film so I enjoyed this trip down the Yellow Brick Road with author Elizabeth Letts.
71.
by
Rainer Maria RilkeFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Poetry
Rating: B
Review: This volume includes seventy-nine original German poems of Rainer Maria Rilke with the English versions translated by Robert Bly. Bly also wrote helpful commentary introducing the five parts of the book. Some of Rilke's earlier poems seem mystical or introspective. His "New Poems" are influenced by deep observation. Listening and praise are themes in his beautiful "Sonnets to Orpheus". I don't speak German so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the translations.
One of my favorites was his poem about a panther. Rilke was working as a secretary for the sculptor Rodin, and had not been writing lately. Rodin encouraged Rilke to go to the zoo, and look at an animal over several weeks until he could really see it.
The Panther
In the Jardin des Plantes, Paris
From seeing the bars, his seeing is so exhausted
that it no longer holds anything anymore.
To him the world is bars, a hundred thousand
bars, and behind the bars, nothing.
The lithe swinging of that rhythmical easy stride
which circles down to the tiniest hub
is like a dance of energy around a point
in which a great will stands stunned and numb.
Only at times the curtains of the pupil rise
without a sound . . . then a shape enters,
slips through the tightened silence of the shoulders,
reaches the heart, and dies.
72.
by
David SheffFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Nonfiction, Health, Addiction
Rating: B
Review: Journalist David Sheff wrote a heartbreaking memoir about the roller coaster ride of his son's meth addiction, rehab, periods of recovery, and relapses. Nic Sheff was in high school when he first tried marijuana, but he soon moved on to alcohol and hard drugs. The intelligent, talented boy turned into a shell of his former self.
As a father David asked questions of himself, wondering if he was partly to blame for his son's addiction. David had experimented with drugs in college. He felt responsible for the divorce from Nic's mother which left them with a custody arrangement with lots of air travel between homes.
Addiction is not just a disease of the drug user. It touches every member of the family with fear that their loved one has died of an overdose or has met up with some dangerous users. Addicts lie and steal to get money for their next fix. David would tense up every time the phone rang, wondering if Nic was in trouble. He had his own health crisis after living with years of stress and fear. He, his second wife, and their two children were helped by therapy.
The author discusses the changes in the brain of meth users including cognitive impairment and dopamine depletion. The statistics of relapse are grim. He also writes about how more research is needed into the disease of addiction, and treatment methods. More financial support is needed for rehabilitation. "Beautiful Boy" helps the reader understand addiction, and closes on a hopeful note.
73.
by
Anthony PowellFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B
Review: "The Soldier's Art" is the eighth book in the series, set in 1941 during the war. Nick Jenkins is serving in the British military under Kenneth Widmerpool, his old school acquaintance, in the Divisional Headquarters. Nick hopes to transfer to a better situation more suited to his talents. Widmerpool is self-centered, playing politics to hurt others, and hoping for a promotion. Widmerpool showed up in all the previous books of the series, the character we love to hate.
When Nick goes to London on leave he meets up with some old friends. Bombs fall in London, injuring or killing people known to Nick. Fate determines who is a victim of the blitz.
Author Anthony Powell has fun as he depicts army life--stacks of forms, endless regulations, rivalries, petty arguments, and terrible food. At the close of the book, Nick learns that Germany has just invaded Russia. A friend reads verses from Robert Browning's "Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came" which gave this book its title:
"I shut my eyes and turned them on my heart.
As a man calls for wine before he fights,
I asked one draught of earlier, happier sights
Ere fitly I could hope to play my part.
Think first, fight afterwards--the soldier's art;
One taste of the old time sets all to rights."
74.
by
Elizabeth WarrenFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Nonfiction, Politics
Rating: A-
Review: Elizabeth Warren, a current Senator from Massachusetts and a former Harvard Law professor, is concerned about policies that are hurting the middle class. She tells about the experiences of her working class family in Oklahoma. After her father suffered a heart attack, her mother took a job answering phones at Sears that kept them afloat financially while he recovered. Today, someone working a minimum wage job would probably lose their home.
Adjusted for inflation, the federal minimum wage in 2017 was about 24% lower than it was in 1965. Although the stock market is up, it is mostly the top 10% that have benefited from income growth in the last 35 years. Expenses are higher, including housing expenses and college tuition. Students are graduating from college with enormous debts. Trickle down economics, started in the Reagan administration, has only benefited the wealthy. There are also too many tax loopholes for corporations and the wealthy.
Warren is concerned about the corporate lobbyists who invest heavily to influence politicians with large campaign contributions, especially since the "Citizens United" ruling from the Supreme Court. The smart, feisty Senator, a watchdog on the Senate Banking Committee, was devastated when part of the Dodd-Frank Act was gutted in 2014. The new Republican provision was actually written by Citibank lobbyist lawyers because the Dodd-Frank Act cut into the bank's profits--and that was the problem that caused the recession of 2008. Warren worries that lobbyists, corporate CEOs (many in Cabinet positions), and Wall Street bankers are influencing the government so much that the United States could become an oligarchy. She encourages citizens to elect people to government that will look out for the ordinary American. Labor unions, farmers, environmentalists, and nonprofits also need a voice.
Warren discusses corporations, especially energy corporations, that have been recently allowed to roll back environmental rules and pollute the water and air. She is also disgusted by President Trump's remarks and tweets that demean women, minorities, and others.
Warren's book was fascinating with lots of examples of how the country is changing. This is a book that would benefit people of both political parties to read with an open mind since Warren knows so much about banking and economics. The more we know about the problems facing the United States, the better we can evaluate the Presidential hopefuls and their plans for the future. Since this book was published in 2017, it does not go into some of Warren's plans that have evolved over the past two years.
75.
by
Samanta SchweblinFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Horror, Magical Realism
Rating: B
Review: "Fever Dream" is a short horror novel full of tension. Once you start it, you won't want to put it down. Amanda, bedridden and fighting a high fever, is in a dreamlike conversation with David, the young son of a friend. Amanda and her daughter had traveled from Buenos Aires to a rural farm town where they had rented a house for a vacation. David's mother told Amanda some creepy stories about the water in the stream poisoning her son and some animals, and a magical healer.
Amanda does not know what is causing her illness, but terrifying things that she noticed run through her mind--toxic water, dead animals, strange deformed children, and barrels of chemicals on the farm. David keeps asking about finding the exact moment when the worms come into being, and Amanda doesn't know what he means.
Amanda is too sick to move and is terrified for her daughter. She had always tried to be a good mother by keeping her child within "the rescue distance". But how does a mother protect her child if she can't see or hear the danger? Everything in this town is part of a nightmare that Amanda cannot escape. "Fever Dream" is well-written, suspenseful, creepy, and unforgettable.
76.
by
Kamala HarrisFinish date: July 2019
Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Politics, Law
Rating: B +
Review: The unfolding of Kamala Harris' early life illustrates how she was shaped into a tough but compassionate person. Her parents were immigrants that came to the United States for educational opportunities and both graduated with PhDs. Her father was an economist from Jamaica, and her mother was a cancer researcher from India. She and her sister were raised in a working class African-American neighborhood in Oakland by their mother after their parents divorced. After Harris attended Howard University and UC Hastings College of Law, she became a prosecutor. She eventually became San Francisco's District Attorney, the Attorney General of California, and a United States Senator from California. Harris is married to Doug Emhoff, an entertainment attorney.
Harris was very proud of "Back on Track", a boot camp program she helped develop when she was San Francisco's DA. Non-violent first-time offenders could receive job-training, GED courses, perform community service, and receive drug counseling. After successful completion of the program, their records were erased. 90% of the participates did not commit more crimes. Harris was also disturbed by the bail system that keeps the poor in jail for months awaiting trial. She thinks that danger to society and flight risk should determine who is detained in jail awaiting trial, not the size of a person's bank account. She also noted that minorities were charged much more often with drug possession than whites, and received longer sentences for the same crime. As Attorney General, she put lots of time and effort into fighting the banks to get much more relief for California homeowners after the mortgage crisis of 2008.
Harris was appointed to four Senate committees: Intelligence, Homeland Security, Budget, and Environment and Public Works. She feels that more attention should be given to cybersecurity. Everything from voting machines to electric grids is potentially vulnerable. Climate change and rejoining the Paris Accord are also important to Harris. She's concerned about the shortage of care for people with mental health problems, including addiction. More money should be allocated to the opioid crisis. She feels the country should consider Medicare for all. As a Senator she has drawn attention to the children who were separated from their parents at the Mexican border. She also thinks legislation is needed to help the Dreamers.
There are more ideas and interesting anecdotes from her life's journey in the book. Warm stories about her mother, her neighborhood, and especially Emhoff and his children break up the discussions about policy. Kamala Harris came across as a woman who cares about people and justice, and who will call attention to the oppressed in this country. She did not address many international problems in the book other than immigration and cybersecurity, which is probably the smart thing to do since the international situation is always in flux. This interesting book will draw people's attention to her as one of the candidates to watch in a large field of Presidential contenders.
AUGUST77.
by
Evelyn WaughFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Fiction, Humor
Rating: B
Review: "Decline and Fall" is an entertaining satire of British society in the 1920s. A quiet Oxford Divinity student, Paul Pennyfeather, is set upon by some alcohol-fueled members of the Bollinger Club and loses his trousers. Pennyfeather is expelled for indecent conduct. As he is leaving the university the porter says to him, "I expect you'll be becoming a schoolmaster, sir. That's what most of the gentlemen does, sir, that gets sent down for indecent behaviour."
Evelyn Waugh satirizes the public schools and the good old boy network of helping each other out of "the soup". Humorous situations poke fun at the lifestyles of the rich and titled, inept government officials, modern architecture, and more. I enjoyed Waugh's deadpan black humor as we see Pennyfeather involved in a year of improbable situations to come full circle in his life.
Mod
Vicki wrote: "Connie, you forgot to number your entry for Decline and Fall (probably 77?). Thanks for all your very interesting reviews."Thanks, Vicki. I added the number.
78.
by
Michael ChabonFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Fiction, Faux Memoir
Rating: B
Review: During his last days of life, the narrator's grandfather tells his life story to his grandson. He had not been forthcoming earlier about his adventures, disappointments, secrets, and love, but his inhibitions were lowered under the influence of pain medication. His grandfather was an engineer with a love of rockets in the space program as well as scale models. From his military service in the war, he also has memories of the liberation of the German concentration camp at Nordhausen where the V2 rocket bombs were made by the prisoners. His grandfather's other love was his wife, a Jewish woman who had been psychologically damaged by World War II. There was an underlying current through the book that the World War II experiences of the Jewish grandparents had repercussions that lasted several generations.
Chabon created a multi-generational faux memoir from his family's history and his imagination. It's woven together so well that we really don't know what's true, what's slightly embellished, and what has been totally imagined to make a good story. Memories are different even among close family members in all families, so we all have some fluidity in our family history.
Many parts of the book were beautifully written with much emotional sensitivity and family love. But the book was sometimes weighed down when Chabon got sidetracked from the main story. The grandfather's fascination with the space program, including the lunar landing, makes "Moonglow" an interesting read as we celebrate the anniversary of the astronaut's first steps on the moon this summer.
Mod
Lorna wrote: "Connie, what a beautiful review. I loved this book whether it be fiction or not, it will be one of my favorite books."Thank you, Lorna. I read it for a book club, and I'm sure we will be speculating on what is fiction. I have a feeling that some of the embellishments made for a better story, but still kept the grandfather's personality intact.
79.
by
Ann WeisgarberFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: B+
Review: In 1888 a small settlement of Mormons were living in Junction, Utah. These isolated families were not quite as organized and devout as most in their church, but still kept the Faith. Deborah was alone on a frigid January evening, and feeling worried because her husband had not returned yet from his long journey working as a wheelwright. There was a knock on the door from a stranger needing help. Although Deborah and her husband did not practice polygamy, they had provided shelter on other occasions to polygamist men running from the Federal Marshals. She felt that their wives and children would suffer if the men were jailed and the families lost their homes. But it was very dangerous for Deborah to harbor a criminal with the lawmen on the chase. Offering food and shelter to the stranger set off a series of events that changed many lives in Junction. The book is told in alternating points of view of Deborah and her brother-in-law, Nels. They and the other townspeople have to make ethical choices where there is not a clear right and wrong.
This was a wonderful story with a deep sense of history, a harsh rocky setting, and likable main characters facing tough decisions. Everyone was trying to protect their families in their own way, but that brought conflict between their beliefs and the law. "The Glovemaker" is a quiet book, but I liked it so much that I read it in one evening.
80.
by
Kim Michele RichardsonFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B +
Review: Cussy Mary was one of the librarians working for the Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky, part of the WPA program during the Great Depression. She traveled by mule bringing books, newspapers, and scrapbooks to the poor, isolated families in the mountains. She and her father lived in the coal mining town of Troublesome Creek. Her father was determined to see her married soon since he wondered how long his health would hold up in the mines.
Cussy Mary experienced prejudice due to the color of her skin. The Book Woman had pale blue skin which would become a darker blue when she was upset. This is a real genetic condition that was present in some people in Kentucky.
This was a wonderful book with a warm main character who was caring and helpful to the hill folks on her route. The Book Women, the blue-skinned people of Kentucky, the plight of the mine workers, and the hunger of the hill families for both food and reading material combined to make an exceptionally interesting historical story. Cussy Mary, the compassionate Book Woman, is a character that I will remember.
Mod
Bentley wrote: "Excellent Progress."Thanks, Bentley. It's great to see that you're back.
Mod
81.
by
Howard Frank MosherFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: C +
Review: Frank Bennett returns to the Vermont village of Kingdom Common along the Canadian border. The recent college graduate is spending time helping out his ailing adoptive father, the unorthodox priest Father George Le Coeur. Father George sends him on a series of tasks involving recent immigrants as well as some of the more eccentric longtime residents. Frank was considering the seminary, but other doors may be opening for him.
There is a love of nature and a wonderful sense of place in the descriptions of 1950s northern Vermont. The novel reads like interconnected short stories. Some of the stories were humorous, others were tall tales, some had a touch of the supernatural, and the ones at the end showed love in many forms. Although the stories in "The Fall of the Year" are a bit uneven, Mosher's warmth and charm is visible throughout the book.
82.
by
Christina SchwarzFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Psychological mystery, Historical fiction
Rating: C+
Review: "Ruth remembered drowning. . . . Ruth maintained that she had drowned, insisted on it for years, even after she should have known better."
This psychological mystery features complicated characters living on a family farm in Wisconsin during World War I and the Depression years. We find out family secrets, connections, misunderstandings, tragedy, and psychological problems layer by layer as the story is told from multiple points of view. The lake is almost another character and a source of danger. Readers who like complex characters in a slow-moving story will enjoy "Drowning Ruth".
Mod
83.
by
Amor TowlesFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Historical fiction, Literary fiction
Rating: A-
Review: "To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course--that's by the grace of God alone. And it shouldn't come without a price."
Katey Kontent looks back at 1938 as the defining year of her life. She and her roommate, Eve, met Tinker Grey as they celebrated New Year's Eve in a Greenwich Village jazz bar. This was their introduction to New York high society, a distance from the Russian immigrant roots of Katey's family and Eve's Midwestern childhood. From a 1966 point of view, Katey thought about the important people who had influenced the choices in her personal life and her career that she had made when she was 25. The biggest influence, Tinker Grey, was special. His brother explained to Katey, "What he's got they can't teach in schools. They can squash it, maybe, but they sure can't teach it. . . . Wonder."
Manhattan in 1938 acts like a character in the story. The Great Depression would soon be ending. Prohibition had already ended in 1933. New York City was home to exciting clubs, bars, and restaurants. The young people in the upper echelons of society were seeking fun, friends, and love. But the book also cuts away to Katey's cramped apartment, Tinker's impoverished artist brother, the dockworkers unloading the boats, and the downtrodden hoping to win a buck at the horse track as a contrast in circumstances. Katey sometimes needed to have some quiet time in this city that never sleeps, and she would disappear for a few minutes into a church just to think and keep grounded. Katey was also a reader, and literary references ran through the book showing life as a journey.
I loved the smart, humorous dialogue in the book. With lots of details from the 1930s, we're immersed in the lives of the young rich and famous who have attended the right schools, know the right people, have large trusts funds, and spend Daddy's money freely. I kept thinking about Gatsby with the conspicuous consumption, and the superficial games people play. However, Katey also has a brilliant, creative mind so she's going to make choices using her own rules--she moves from a secretarial position to working at an upscale magazine.
The title of the engaging book comes from young George Washington's "Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation", a book owned by Tinker Grey. The last of the 110 rules is probably the most important: "Labour to keep alive in your breast that Little Spark of Celestial Fire Called Conscience."
Mod
84.
by
Elizabeth Berg Finish date: August 2019
Genre: Contemporary fiction, Women's fiction
Rating: B-
Review: The world would be a better place if there were more kind people like Arthur. The elderly man takes the bus to the cemetery each day to eat his lunch as he visits his deceased wife's grave. Arthur often sees Maddy, a quiet teenager, who comes to the cemetery from her nearby high school to avoid the bullies. A friendship develops between Arthur and Maddy who both feel lonely. She nicknames him Truluv because of his devotion to his wife.
Arthur's neighbor, Lucille, is also grieving for someone she loved. Lucille, Arthur, and Maddy offer each other emotional support, and the help that each needs at this point in their lives. They care for each other like a family. "The Story of Arthur Truluv" is a delightful story about kindness, compassion, and the importance of making connections with others.
85.
by
Brad WatsonFinish date: August 2019
Genre: Southern Gothic, Literary Fiction
Rating: B
Review: At the heart of this atmospheric Southern Gothic story is the love that Finus Bates feels for Birdie Wells ever since he saw her turn a cartwheel naked in the woods. They made some bad decisions later that affected the path of their lives with both involved in unhappy marriages.
The story is set in Mercury, a small town with stores lining the main street, a diner, and a newspaper office where Finus writes the obituaries. There is still a lot of racism present in mid-20th Century Mississippi, and Creasie, a black maid, feels that she is spending her life unseen, always at the service of Birdie's white family. Author Brad Watson writes beautiful descriptions of the hot, humid area with its abundant natural life. The reader can see the foliage and birds, hear the buzz of the insects, and feel the power of a hurricane.
Mercury has lots of quirky characters including Birdie's horrible in-laws, the black medicine woman Aunt Vish, and the mortician Parnell Grimes. There is a nod to Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" at Parnell's funeral home. Aging and death have a strong presence in the book, as does that liminal state of the recently deceased before they depart to another world. Even the title of the book reflects the afterlife since Dante's Second Sphere of Heaven in "Paradiso" is Mercury.
"The Heaven of Mercury" is literary fiction with a slow-moving, non-linear plot, unusual characters, and some dark Southern humor. This is a book for a reader who appreciates quality writing, and is willing to take the time to see the story unfold.
SEPTEMBER86.
by
Barbara DemickFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Non-fiction, History, Politics
Rating: A
Review: North Korea is so closed off to the rest of the world that Barbara Demick had to interview defectors who escaped to South Korea to learn what conditions were like in the North. She concentrated on six individuals from Chongjin, a northwestern city, who crossed a river into China and eventually reached South Korea.
They told the author about the famine under Kim Il-sung and Kim Song-il when thousands died. Industry stopped due to lack of power, workers were not paid, and monthly allotments of food were greatly reduced. People scavanged for food in the woods, and ate grass, bark, and corn husks boiled into a thin soup. There is a constant fear in the country of saying or doing the wrong thing, and being sent away to a hard labor camp. There is no contact with the rest of the world. Both adults and children are constantly fed propaganda about the Great Leader who provides everything for them so "they have nothing to envy".
The book is well-written narrative non-fiction that's very readable. Knowing that these are the compelling stories of real people, and not just statistics, makes the book even more poignant. Some parts of the book will break your heart, and other parts will leave you marveling at the courage, intelligence and resilience of both the defectors and the people they left behind. Highly recommended.
Mod
Lorna wrote: "Nice review, Connie. This is a book that I hope to read soon, very timely."Thanks, Lorna. I was very impressed with the book.
87.
by
Diane ChamberlainFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Fiction, Time travel
Rating: B
Review: Sometimes I love to curl up with a tear-at-your-heart novel that I can't put down. In "The Dream Daughter" Carly Sears received the distressing information in 1970 that her soldier husband died in Vietnam. Then the pregnant mother was told more upsetting news--her baby's ultrasound showed a fatal heart defect.
Her brother-in-law, Hunter, reveals to Carly that he is a time-traveler from the 21st Century, and his mother is the head of a research group devoted to time travel. He convinces Carly to travel to 2001, when neonatal medicine was more advanced, so her daughter could be saved. Carly is willing to risk everything so her baby will live. But the baby is still hospitalized when it's time for Carly to make a trip back through time to 1970.
The reader does have to suspend disbelief with the time travel device, but this is not mainly a science fiction book. It's a story about relationships--a mother's love for her child, and Carly's love for her deceased husband. Carly's sister, Patti, and her husband, Hunter, provide emotional support for Carly. They also feel very anxious as they await her return to 1970.
The story also had humorous parts when Carly had to adjust to technology thirty years in the future. Everything does not go exactly as planned, but the characters are so likable that I enjoyed the journey to its heartwarming conclusion.
88.
by
Toni MorrisonFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Historical fiction, Magical realism
Rating: A
Review: "And if she thought anything, it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. She just flew. Collected every bit of life she had made, all the parts of her that were precious and fine and beautiful, and carried, pushed, dragged them through the veil, out, away, over there where no one could hurt them. Over there. Outside this place, where they would be safe."
Sethe, a runaway slave, would rather see her precious children pushed into the afterlife than to experience her brutal life on the plantation. "Beloved" is a powerful novel haunted by ghosts and by memories. It alternates between life in the present 1870s, and Sethe's traumatic past on the plantation, and her difficult escape and journey to her free mother-in-law's home. When her friend, former slave Paul D comes to visit, he keeps his past in a "....tobacco tin buried in his chest where a red heart used to be, its lid rusted shut" so his painful memories don't overwhelm him. Slaves were treated as commodities to be traded, not as human beings, which destroys a person's identity and sense of self-worth.
Author Toni Morrison uses magical realism to show how trauma and guilt haunt Sethe's mind, especially as it concerns her daughter Beloved. Morrison was inspired by an 1856 newspaper article about Margaret Garner, an escaped slave mother who killed her child rather than sentence her child to a life of slavery. As I read "Beloved", I had no doubts that every horror of slavery and its psychological aftermath in the book actually described some slave's reality.
Mod
Lorna wrote: "Connie, what a beautiful review of this treasure of a book."Thank you, Lorna. It's a book that I'll remember for a long time.
89.
by Denis Belliveau (no photo)Finish date: September 2019
Genre: Travel, History, Adventure
Rating: B+
Review: In the 13th Century Marco Polo, the Venetian explorer and merchant, dictated his memoir, "Book of the Marvels of the World", also called "The Travels of Marco Polo". It told of his wonderful adventures along the Silk Road from Venice to China, as well as the sea route back to Venice. Denis Belliveau, a photographer, and Francis O'Donnell, an artist and ex-Marine, decided to pay homage to Polo by journeying to 200 places mentioned in Polo's book using no air travel. They prepared for a year, studying the Turkish language, getting sponsorship from Kodak and other groups, obtaining visas, and getting letters from regional warlords.
This book tells about Belliveau's and O'Donnell's 25,000 mile journey, accompanied by stunning photographs. Belliveau shot 3,000 rolls of film, kept journals, and made drawings. They were held at gunpoint in Afghanistan, crossed the Wakhan Corridor, got caught in a dangerous sandstorm in the Taklamakan Desert, saw the Monlam festival in Tibet, stayed in a yurt and ate homemade cheeses in Mongolia, walked through the jungles of Sumatra, and saw carved Buddhas in Sri Lanka. Quotations from Marco Polo are highlighted in gold italics next to their experiences at the same location. In some locations there had not been much change in the way of life in 700 years. The duo completed their journey in Venice in 1995, the 700th anniversary of Marco Polo's travels.
The explorers were good storytellers, and the writing felt like they were talking to a group of friends. The photographs by award-winning Belliveau were magnificent. They have also made a documentary about their expedition.
90.
by
Marjan KamaliFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Historical fiction, Romance
Rating: B
Review: "The Stationery Shop" opens with 77 year old Roya seeing Bahman, her former fiance who did not show up at their meeting place in Tehran on the day they were going to elope sixty years ago. This was the first time she had seen the politically active Bahman (who had supported Prime Minister Mosaddegh) since the fateful day of Mosaddegh's violent overthrow by the Shah in the 1953 Iranian coup d'etat. Roya went on to attend a small college in California, and live a totally different life in the United States. But she never forgot her first love.
The book has a wonderful sense of place weaving in Iranian culture, customs, history, and family traditions. There were also lots of descriptions of Iranian food with its delicious layering of spices. It was a story of love and loss in several ways. I enjoyed the interesting characters, the intense romantic story, and the immersion in another time and culture.
91.
by
Sigrid NunezFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: B
Review: When I looked at the colorful cover with the beautiful Great Dane, I thought I would be reading a cute dog story. Instead I was treated to a wonderful, contemplative book of literary fiction. The narrator is a woman who is grieving after the suicide of her best friend and mentor. He was a charming writer, professor, and womanizer. She inherited his huge Great Dane, Apollo, who was also very much in mourning for the friend. Her tiny rent-controlled apartment did not allow dogs, and she needed to convince her landlord to let Apollo stay.
The book is about friendship, loss, and grief. The grief gets so much more complicated emotionally when the person you loved is a suicide. There are also many interesting thoughts about teaching, literature, writing, and bonds with pets. Both Apollo and the narrator were heartbroken, and I'm not sure who provided the most tender comfort to each other in their time of need. The writing is spare, and the plot is minimal so it's not a book for everyone. It's partially a thoughtful group of observations that speak of the mystery of life and death.
92.
by
Margaret AtwoodFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Speculative fiction, Thriller
Rating: B
Review: Margaret Atwood introduced us to Gilead, a totalitarian theocracy controlled by men, in "The Handmaid's Tale". Her sequel, "The Testaments", starts 15 years later. It features the testimony or journals of three women. Aunt Lydia is the leader of the Aunts who mold young girls into the women needed to produce babies in the polluted world where many are sterile. Aunt Lydia is smart and cunning. Her backstory gives us reasons for her devious behavior. Aunt Lydia has the political instincts needed to manipulate people to facilitate change. The other two narrators are teenagers--Agnes who has grown up in Gilead, and Daisy who has lived in Canada.
"The Testaments" shows Gilead, with its Puritanical roots, in relation to the rest of North America after the United States had broken up. Canada is a lifeline for Handmaids who want to escape their fate with an Underground Femaleroad helping them travel north. Some dark humor from Aunt Lydia, and some teenage humor from Daisy are a welcome contrast to some of the dystopian scenes. The book is speculative fiction, a thriller, and a page turner. The story's thought-provoking ideas are important since variations of Gilead's methods for controlling women are already being used in parts of the world.
Mod
Vicki wrote: "Connie, you are a reading machine! 92 books so far! Thanks for your very interesting reviews."Reading is one of the perks of retirement, Vicki. When I was working and raising a family, I was lucky if I had time to read the newspaper!
93.
by
Aarti Namdev ShahaniFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Memoir, Immigrant Experience
Rating: B
Review: Aarti Nandev Shahani, a compelling storyteller and a correspondent for NPR, tells about the difficulties and opportunities experienced by her immigrant family. The family traveled from India to Casablanca where she and her siblings were born. They moved to the United States, and soon received their green cards. Aarti was a talented student who received scholarships to a prestigious prep school and university. The Shahani family was full of hope that they were on the way to living the American dream.
Unfortunately, her father and uncle sold watches in their shop to people who were members of the Cali drug cartel. The cartel used them and other immigrant shopkeepers in a money laundering scheme. Her father was a pawn in the illegal scheme and had poor advice from his lawyer. He was imprisoned and the immigration officials threatened to deport him. Aarti tells how she became a community activist for immigrant families who were caught in the gray areas of immigrant law. These families usually did not have the language skills or the money for good legal representation. Outcomes depended partly on the luck of getting a stay while the legal wheels were grinding.
Aarti compares the experiences of her father--who had to work menial jobs at first, and deal with frightening legal and medical issues--with her own opportunities and success. So many immigrant families have stories that are not completely positive or completely negative, but fall into that confusing gray area legally. The author wrote a heartfelt and enlightening memoir that had times of love and laughter as well as times of despair. The Shahanis were pillars of support to each other and the immigrant community on their way to citizenship.
94.
by
Blaine HardenFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Biography, History
Rating: B+
Review: "Escape from Camp 14" is a disturbing account of the life of Shin Dong-hyuk, a North Korean who was born in a political prison camp and knew nothing about the outside world. Every day brought hours of constant labor with the hope that he managed to find enough food to survive and avoided beatings by the guards. The children had no idea that love or morality existed, and were taught by the guards to snitch on everyone, including their families. People had been imprisoned for three generations for the crimes of their relatives.
When Shin met an older prisoner who had once been part of the elite, conversations with him opened up Shin's world. At first Shin could only think of the good food available if he escaped from Camp 14, but eventually he recognized that there was an opportunity for a better life. The book tells about Shin's escape, and his travels through North Korea to China. He journeyed to South Korea where he spent months trying to adjust to a highly competitive, highly educated country. He also was nurtured by a non-profit group in the United States that arranged for him to give talks to human rights groups. Psychologically Shin's journey was still continuing since he was haunted with feelings of guilt from some of his actions in the camp, as well as nightmares from the torture during his captivity.
"Escape from Camp 14" is a brutal story full of violence. But it's important that the world knows about the atrocities in North Korea. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people are slaves in North Korea's political prison camps. This book is a remarkable story of endurance and survival.
95.
by
RumiFinish date: September 2019
Genre: Poetry, Spirituality
Rating: B-
Review: Rumi was a 13th Century Persian poet and Sufi who composed mystical poetry. Sufism is a mystical Islamic practice where union with God, the Beloved, is achieved through poetry, music, and dance (whirling dervishes). Rumi writes about divine intoxication, the ecstasy of union with the Beloved.
I had not read Rumi's poetry previously, although I liked his wise quotations that we often see on posters. I enjoyed Runi's shorter works more than the odes, and would be curious how a different translator would present his poems. The introductory material by the translator and the glossary of terms were very informative.
#629 Kulliyat-e Shams, University of Tehran edition
Your dance just took me today
and suddenly I began to whirl.
All the realms spun around me
in endless celebration.
My soul lost its grip,
My body shed its fatigue.
Hearing your hands clap and your drums beat,
I floated
up to the heavens!
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The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
A Well-Behaved Woman (other topics)The Military Philosophers (other topics)
The House Girl (other topics)
The Music Lesson (other topics)
The Red Address Book (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Therese Anne Fowler (other topics)Anthony Powell (other topics)
Tara Conklin (other topics)
Katharine Weber (other topics)
Sofia Lundberg (other topics)
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Finish date: July 2019
Genre: Historical fiction, Literary fiction
Rating: A
Review: Thomas McNulty saw his parents and sister die in the Great Famine in Ireland. The orphaned boy traveled to America by way of Quebec, and ended up in Missouri as a teenager. Jobs were scarce for the Irish and he ends up fighting as a soldier clearing the Indians off the American Great Plains in the 1850s. He and his fellow soldier and lover, John Cole, take care of an orphaned Sioux girl and form a family. The two men later fight for the Union in the Civil War.
In addition to the Irish Famine, a theme of hunger runs through the book. The soldiers, the Indians, and their horses all suffer from hunger riding in the winter across the Plains. Hunger drives the young men to take jobs in entertainment dressing up in women's clothes. Thomas and John sign up as soldiers so they have food in their bellies, not for any ideological reasons.
There are parallel ideas between the British driving out the Irish, and the Americans removing the Indians from the Great Plains. Many Irish were conscripted into the Union and Confederate armies when they stepped off the boat. There were situations where Irish lads carrying similar green banners decorated with shamrocks were fighting each other--without much knowledge of the causes of the war in their adopted country.
Sebastian Barry writes beautifully, and uses irony and humor in situations where one has to either laugh or cry. "Days Without End" is a fast paced book with good storytelling. It was a difficult time in the history of the United States--the hardships of the pioneers and immigrants, the removal of the native tribes, brother fighting brother in the Civil War, and the harsh treatment of the black former slaves. Barry offers a new look at that era from an Irish perspective.