"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life....She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."
-Proverbs 31:10-12, 27-31 (KJV)
I bought this book months ago as a follow-up to A Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs, a Page Turners' selection. It had hidden itself on a shelf until it was discovered recently. It is a 5---I loved it! I could tell it would be amusing by the subtitle "How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband 'Master.'" Indeed it made me smile often and laugh out loud at times. What surprised me was the depth of knowledge and thoroughness of research the author demonstrated. It seemed to me she had some profound insights into scripture as it relates to our modern society.
Ms. Evans focuses on Proverbs 31 as her guide to living as a Biblical woman for a year. I have quoted a part of it above but there is so much more. For each month, starting with October she concentrates on one quality of the Jewish eshet chayil, the woman of valor: gentleness, domesticity, obedience, valor, beauty, modesty, purity, fertility, submission, justice, silence and grace. The results are sometimes hilarious and often enlightening, thought-provoking and even inspiring. I especially loved the "Submission" chapter which was funny, but poignant, as she ends with an explanation of why she respects her husband. Another part I especially enjoyed was "Justice." On her "To Do This Month" list in July was: Read Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I read it a couple of years ago and it moved me greatly. It seemed to make a huge impression on her, as well. At the end of each chapter and especially instructive were the descriptions of actual women of the Bible who seemed to embody the qualities the author was trying to emulate.
I was impressed with the author's consultation and growing cyber friendship with Ahava, a Jewish woman. I believe this social networking helped Ms. Evans stay grounded and true to her purpose. Her husband was a saint to support her efforts in this year-long project, it seems to me.
Jacobs' book, A Year of Living Biblically, was possibly funnier but I enjoyed this one so much more. Perhaps it was the concentration on women or the educational aspect or the obvious fact that Rachel Held Evans is a Christian, while one is never sure if that is true of Jacobs. I recommend this one highly to all women but especially those of the Christian faith. Now that I think about it, most men would enjoy it, as well. The author's husband, Dan, even chimes in from time to time.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Saturday, December 13, 2014
Us by David Nicholls
"Well I can tell you now that married life is not a plateau, not at all. There are ravines and great jagged peaks and hidden crevasses that send the both of you scrabbling into darkness. Then there are dull, parched stretches that you feel will never end, and much of the journey is in fraught silence, and sometimes you can't see the other person at all, sometimes they drift off very far away from you, quite out of sight, and the journey is hard. It is just very, very, very hard."
-Douglas Petersen, from the novel
This was an interesting book, but I didn't love it and I certainly couldn't call it a "page turner." It actually took me about 2 weeks to finish it. I will rate it a 3 since I did want to finish it and because Nicholls is an able writer.
The Petersen family is somewhat dysfunctional but seemingly loving at the same time. Husband/father, Douglas, is a biochemist, a driven man lacking in ability to show emotions. Connie is the wife of over 20 years, who suddenly reveals near the beginning of the novel that she wants to end the marriage. Their only son is Albie, seventeen and wanting some independence. Albie and Connie are very close but Douglas has never really bonded with his son. So this is a very brief look at the family who decides to go on a Grand Tour abroad anyway.
The author separates the novel into parts geographically (Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, etc.) and numbered episodes that go back and forth to the time when Douglas and Connie's relationship first began to the present time. I was not confused by the flashbacks at all and the characters were well-developed, even some of the minor ones. What I found very puzzling was why Connie wanted to go on a month-long trip with the husband she has said she wants to leave. At times she seems very affectionate with Douglas so I just didn't get her desire to be free of him. Albie seems to be very resentful of his father and it takes a near-catastrophe for that to change.
I could describe Us as the portrait of a marriage but don't expect a "happily ever after" ending!
-Douglas Petersen, from the novel
This was an interesting book, but I didn't love it and I certainly couldn't call it a "page turner." It actually took me about 2 weeks to finish it. I will rate it a 3 since I did want to finish it and because Nicholls is an able writer.
The Petersen family is somewhat dysfunctional but seemingly loving at the same time. Husband/father, Douglas, is a biochemist, a driven man lacking in ability to show emotions. Connie is the wife of over 20 years, who suddenly reveals near the beginning of the novel that she wants to end the marriage. Their only son is Albie, seventeen and wanting some independence. Albie and Connie are very close but Douglas has never really bonded with his son. So this is a very brief look at the family who decides to go on a Grand Tour abroad anyway.
The author separates the novel into parts geographically (Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona, etc.) and numbered episodes that go back and forth to the time when Douglas and Connie's relationship first began to the present time. I was not confused by the flashbacks at all and the characters were well-developed, even some of the minor ones. What I found very puzzling was why Connie wanted to go on a month-long trip with the husband she has said she wants to leave. At times she seems very affectionate with Douglas so I just didn't get her desire to be free of him. Albie seems to be very resentful of his father and it takes a near-catastrophe for that to change.
I could describe Us as the portrait of a marriage but don't expect a "happily ever after" ending!
Friday, November 21, 2014
Reading List 2014
Here are the books that Park Lake Page Turners have read in 2014, the ratings we assigned to them and how they ranked.
1 (4.7) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak January
2 (4.6) The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin July
3 (4.4) I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou August
4 (4.3) Hiding in the Spotlight by Greg Dawson April
(4.3) The Healing by Jonathan O'Dell September
5 (4.0) The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein February
(4.0) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens March
6 (3.9) Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline October
(3.9) Defending Jacob by William Landay November
7 (3.6) The Paris Wife by Paula McLain May
8 (2.7) Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff June
Defending Jacob by William Landay
"I thought it was more important to be---at least to seem---a tower of strength and to encourage her [Laurie] to be strong as well. It was the only sensible approach: tough it out, get through the trial, do whatever it takes to keep Jacob safe, then repair the emotional damage later. After. It was as if there was a place called After, and if I could just push my family across to that shore, then everything would be all right. There would be time for all these 'soft' problems in the land of After. I was wrong."
-Andy Barber, from the novel
Defending Jacob was chosen as the November book for our Page Turners group because it was recommended by a couple of members and it was a library Book Bundle (multiple copies available). Normally, I love suspense novels but this one, not so much. Perhaps the plot, involving the killing of a teenager allegedly by another youth was very unsettling to me. Or perhaps my having read it in spurts kept me from getting the most out of it. At any rate I didn't love the book though I liked it and surely didn't want to put it down toward the end. I started out thinking a rating of 3 but ended up giving it a 4.
The story was intriguing---about a family suffering through tragic circumstances. Andy Barber, a former county ADA in Massachusetts and the father who is "defending Jacob," exemplifies the saying "love is blind" to a degree. It seems he would go to any lengths to clear his son Jacob of the murder with which he has been charged. The emotions of the Barber family run the gamut---from hope and optimism to doubt and depression. The writer intersperses court testimony with narration of the story---an interesting technique though somewhat confusing. (After finding out the author is a former district attorney, this seemed very natural.)
There are at least two BIG surprises at the end of the book, events I surely did not see coming! So if you start the novel, don't stop until the end.
-----------------------------------
When the group met, the average rating was 3.9. I think we all found the book interesting if not enjoyable. Most of us agreed we weren't sure about the outcome of the trial and would have definitely liked a more satisfying ending. A couple of us compared Defending Jacob to House Rules by Jodi Piccoult. Most of us felt sympathy for Laurie, Jacob's mother, but couldn't muster much affection for the other characters.
The plot brings up the age old argument of "nature vs. nurture," whether there is such a thing as a "bad seed" and a totally new concept to most of us in the group, the "murder gene" with the scientific name MAOA Knockout. We wondered, "Is there really such a thing?" The novel did give us plenty of meat for discussion, including the issues of bullying and non-vigilant parents.
-Andy Barber, from the novel
Defending Jacob was chosen as the November book for our Page Turners group because it was recommended by a couple of members and it was a library Book Bundle (multiple copies available). Normally, I love suspense novels but this one, not so much. Perhaps the plot, involving the killing of a teenager allegedly by another youth was very unsettling to me. Or perhaps my having read it in spurts kept me from getting the most out of it. At any rate I didn't love the book though I liked it and surely didn't want to put it down toward the end. I started out thinking a rating of 3 but ended up giving it a 4.
The story was intriguing---about a family suffering through tragic circumstances. Andy Barber, a former county ADA in Massachusetts and the father who is "defending Jacob," exemplifies the saying "love is blind" to a degree. It seems he would go to any lengths to clear his son Jacob of the murder with which he has been charged. The emotions of the Barber family run the gamut---from hope and optimism to doubt and depression. The writer intersperses court testimony with narration of the story---an interesting technique though somewhat confusing. (After finding out the author is a former district attorney, this seemed very natural.)
There are at least two BIG surprises at the end of the book, events I surely did not see coming! So if you start the novel, don't stop until the end.
-----------------------------------
When the group met, the average rating was 3.9. I think we all found the book interesting if not enjoyable. Most of us agreed we weren't sure about the outcome of the trial and would have definitely liked a more satisfying ending. A couple of us compared Defending Jacob to House Rules by Jodi Piccoult. Most of us felt sympathy for Laurie, Jacob's mother, but couldn't muster much affection for the other characters.
The plot brings up the age old argument of "nature vs. nurture," whether there is such a thing as a "bad seed" and a totally new concept to most of us in the group, the "murder gene" with the scientific name MAOA Knockout. We wondered, "Is there really such a thing?" The novel did give us plenty of meat for discussion, including the issues of bullying and non-vigilant parents.
Saturday, November 15, 2014
The Mephisto Club by Tess Gerritsen
"Maybe they are [a separate species]. Throwbacks to an ancient era. All I know is, they are not like us. And the only way to identify them is to track what they do. Follow the bloody trail, listen for screams. Search for what most police departments are too overwhelmed to notice: the patterns. We look beyond the background noise of everyday crimes, of routine bloodshed, to see the hot spots. We watch for the footprints of monsters."
-Anthony Sansone, from the novel
My third Rizzoli and Isles novel, I would rate it a 3. I liked it but didn't love it. It was definitely a page turner because I wanted to know how it would all turn out but I didn't find the plot as believable as the other two I've read.
The story has a few sub plots running, most of which will mesh in the end. Rizzoli is after a serial killer who just may be subhuman while dealing with the breakup of her parents; Maura is fighting both her feelings for an unavailable man and the attempts of the Mephisto Club to recruit her, and the "Watcher" shares his evil thoughts at intervals while his next victim is on the lam. The mysterious Anthony Sansone, quoted above, is the leader of this demon-hunting club and becomes involved in the search for the maniacal killer.
I didn't really like the premise of a killer being part human, part fallen angel and the killings were awfully gruesome. Other than that, The Mephisto Club was a suspenseful, easy read.
-Anthony Sansone, from the novel
My third Rizzoli and Isles novel, I would rate it a 3. I liked it but didn't love it. It was definitely a page turner because I wanted to know how it would all turn out but I didn't find the plot as believable as the other two I've read.
The story has a few sub plots running, most of which will mesh in the end. Rizzoli is after a serial killer who just may be subhuman while dealing with the breakup of her parents; Maura is fighting both her feelings for an unavailable man and the attempts of the Mephisto Club to recruit her, and the "Watcher" shares his evil thoughts at intervals while his next victim is on the lam. The mysterious Anthony Sansone, quoted above, is the leader of this demon-hunting club and becomes involved in the search for the maniacal killer.
I didn't really like the premise of a killer being part human, part fallen angel and the killings were awfully gruesome. Other than that, The Mephisto Club was a suspenseful, easy read.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Ice Cold by Tess Gerritsen
"Since her days as a medical student, it was the autopsy room, and not the patient's bedside, where she'd felt most comfortable. The dead don't expect you to make small talk or listen to their endless complaints or watch while they writhe in pain. The dead are beyond pain, and they don't expect you to perform miracles you are incapable of. They wait patiently and uncomplainingly as long as it takes for you to finish your job."
-from the novel
After plodding through Deadly Heat by Richard Castle, I whipped through this one in less than 3 days! What a difference in the pace and clarity of the story and the writing skill! Isn't it ironic though, that these two titles are so similar but almost opposites? I just realized that as I began this entry.
The story focuses on Boston Medical Examiner Maura Isles in the beginning, as she attends a conference in Wyoming and on the spur-of-the-moment decides to go skiing with an old acquaintance she meets there. When the party of five gets lost and then stuck in a heavy snow and with no cell phone service, they are forced to look for shelter. They discover an abandoned village with many hints of a mysterious past. When one of the traveling companions is horribly injured, the situation is even direr.
When Maura starts out to try to find help, she is apprehended by a mysterious man. When Maura's friend, Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli, hears that she is missing she, her husband and Maura's lover, all rush to Maura's last known location to begin a search. There are many twists and turns in the plot as the story goes back and forth between Maura's situation and Rizzoli's search efforts. After a while both Maura and Rizzoli's team discover separately that the abandoned village had been recently inhabited by a religious sect called The Gathering led by a charismatic, but seemingly evil "prophet," Jeremiah Goode. Clues begin to shed light on a possible mass suicide eerily reminiscent of Jonestown in Guyana, the Branch Davidians in Waco and Heaven's Gate in San Diego. It's an intriguing plot with very unsettling revelations. As I indicated, your mind will get jerked around as you try to predict what will happen next. It makes Ice Cold a page turner in the first degree! It rates a 5 from me.
-from the novel
After plodding through Deadly Heat by Richard Castle, I whipped through this one in less than 3 days! What a difference in the pace and clarity of the story and the writing skill! Isn't it ironic though, that these two titles are so similar but almost opposites? I just realized that as I began this entry.
The story focuses on Boston Medical Examiner Maura Isles in the beginning, as she attends a conference in Wyoming and on the spur-of-the-moment decides to go skiing with an old acquaintance she meets there. When the party of five gets lost and then stuck in a heavy snow and with no cell phone service, they are forced to look for shelter. They discover an abandoned village with many hints of a mysterious past. When one of the traveling companions is horribly injured, the situation is even direr.
When Maura starts out to try to find help, she is apprehended by a mysterious man. When Maura's friend, Boston Detective Jane Rizzoli, hears that she is missing she, her husband and Maura's lover, all rush to Maura's last known location to begin a search. There are many twists and turns in the plot as the story goes back and forth between Maura's situation and Rizzoli's search efforts. After a while both Maura and Rizzoli's team discover separately that the abandoned village had been recently inhabited by a religious sect called The Gathering led by a charismatic, but seemingly evil "prophet," Jeremiah Goode. Clues begin to shed light on a possible mass suicide eerily reminiscent of Jonestown in Guyana, the Branch Davidians in Waco and Heaven's Gate in San Diego. It's an intriguing plot with very unsettling revelations. As I indicated, your mind will get jerked around as you try to predict what will happen next. It makes Ice Cold a page turner in the first degree! It rates a 5 from me.
Deadly Heat by Richard Castle
"Lately, working routine homicides had become a distraction that kept her from focusing fully on her bigger case. Of course she couldn't share that with anyone on her squad, but she did complain to Rook how hard it was to try to close a chapter when people kept opening others. He reminded her of the words of John Lennon: 'Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.'"
-from the novel
As a fan of the TV series "Castle" I had planned for a while to read one of the Castle novels. This was the first and I must say I plodded through it. I'm not sure what the problem was---perhaps my failure to read the first in the series or maybe just inferior writing. Through the first half of the book I was confused and wondered if I even wanted to finish, pretty unusual for a favorite genre of mine. Once I reached the climax, the reading went a bit faster but I'll rate Deadly Heat only a 2.5. I doubt I'll bother to look for others in the series.
In this novel, Detective Nikki Heat is juggling two cases, a personal one---the murder of her CIA agent mother some years past---and several current serial killings with seemingly no connection and with Detective Heat possibly slated to be the next victim. In the course of the plot there is the potential of bioterrorism which reminded me too much of the ebola problem now.
I was surprised I learned some new detective slang---expressions like POI (person of interest), eyewits, "belt and suspenders" (everything covered) and odd sock (something out of place). Many obscenities did not seem necessary since they're not used in the TV show and many suspense novels use them sparingly.
I had assumed the novels by Richard Castle, the name of the author character on TV, was a pen name but when I saw the author's photo on the book jacket, it was the actor's photo. So I googled Richard Castle and learned the name is a pseudonym for the anonymous writer(s) but they use the photo of actor Nathan Fillion and he even does book signings. Interesting!
-from the novel
As a fan of the TV series "Castle" I had planned for a while to read one of the Castle novels. This was the first and I must say I plodded through it. I'm not sure what the problem was---perhaps my failure to read the first in the series or maybe just inferior writing. Through the first half of the book I was confused and wondered if I even wanted to finish, pretty unusual for a favorite genre of mine. Once I reached the climax, the reading went a bit faster but I'll rate Deadly Heat only a 2.5. I doubt I'll bother to look for others in the series.
In this novel, Detective Nikki Heat is juggling two cases, a personal one---the murder of her CIA agent mother some years past---and several current serial killings with seemingly no connection and with Detective Heat possibly slated to be the next victim. In the course of the plot there is the potential of bioterrorism which reminded me too much of the ebola problem now.
I was surprised I learned some new detective slang---expressions like POI (person of interest), eyewits, "belt and suspenders" (everything covered) and odd sock (something out of place). Many obscenities did not seem necessary since they're not used in the TV show and many suspense novels use them sparingly.
I had assumed the novels by Richard Castle, the name of the author character on TV, was a pen name but when I saw the author's photo on the book jacket, it was the actor's photo. So I googled Richard Castle and learned the name is a pseudonym for the anonymous writer(s) but they use the photo of actor Nathan Fillion and he even does book signings. Interesting!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
"I believe in ghosts. They're the ones who haunt us, the ones who have left us behind. Many times in my life I have felt them around me, observing, witnessing, when no one in the living world knew or cared what happened....I've come to think that's what heaven is---a place in the memory of others where our best selves live on."
-Vivian, from the prologue of the novel
When a couple of friends recommended Orphan Train I decided it would be our October book club selection. In teaching 5th grade (and American history) I had read a few of Joan Lowery Nixon's Orphan Train Adventures series so I was familiar with the topic and found it intriguing. I love historical fiction and this was a good one. I am rating it a 4; not quite a page-turner but an excellent read, nonetheless.
Similar to The Healing, our group's September book, Orphan Train contains a story within a story. The settings are Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, and New York to Minnesota, 1929-1939. The two stories intersect as Molly, a foster youth in trouble with the law does community service with Vivian, an elderly orphan train rider. Molly is supposed to help Vivian clean out her attic and in the process they learn not only what they have in common but how they can help each other. As they work together, Vivian relives much of her past by sharing experiences with Molly. Molly gains maturity as she learns she is not the only young person to have trials to overcome. In the end their relationship is mutually beneficial as Molly finally feels loved and is able to help Vivian to realize a dream---quite a poignant ending.
My favorite minor character was Ms. Larsen, the teacher in Vivian's past. She was so kind to a child badly in need of TLC. I can only hope I was like her in the eyes of many of my former students.
Below is a claddagh ring, similar to the necklace worn by Niamh/Dorothy/Vivian throughout the story. It symbolizes love (heart), loyalty (crown) and friendship (hands).
---------------------------------------------------------------
Our Page Turners group met on the regular day, a smaller group this time. Our group rating for Orphan Train was 3.9 with almost everyone voting a 4. We could pretty much agree that we hold onto things for far too long, as Vivian had, but the reorganizing of the boxes was an interesting way for her to share her past with Molly. Some members thought the main characters were unrealistically optimistic in light of their situations. The alternating of past with present, we felt, was refreshing and kept us engaged. Our discussion was lively and at one point turned to foster children and adoption. Surprisingly it turned out 4 of the 10 of us have adopted children! Good book, great meeting, as always!
-Vivian, from the prologue of the novel
When a couple of friends recommended Orphan Train I decided it would be our October book club selection. In teaching 5th grade (and American history) I had read a few of Joan Lowery Nixon's Orphan Train Adventures series so I was familiar with the topic and found it intriguing. I love historical fiction and this was a good one. I am rating it a 4; not quite a page-turner but an excellent read, nonetheless.
Similar to The Healing, our group's September book, Orphan Train contains a story within a story. The settings are Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, and New York to Minnesota, 1929-1939. The two stories intersect as Molly, a foster youth in trouble with the law does community service with Vivian, an elderly orphan train rider. Molly is supposed to help Vivian clean out her attic and in the process they learn not only what they have in common but how they can help each other. As they work together, Vivian relives much of her past by sharing experiences with Molly. Molly gains maturity as she learns she is not the only young person to have trials to overcome. In the end their relationship is mutually beneficial as Molly finally feels loved and is able to help Vivian to realize a dream---quite a poignant ending.
My favorite minor character was Ms. Larsen, the teacher in Vivian's past. She was so kind to a child badly in need of TLC. I can only hope I was like her in the eyes of many of my former students.
Below is a claddagh ring, similar to the necklace worn by Niamh/Dorothy/Vivian throughout the story. It symbolizes love (heart), loyalty (crown) and friendship (hands).
---------------------------------------------------------------
Our Page Turners group met on the regular day, a smaller group this time. Our group rating for Orphan Train was 3.9 with almost everyone voting a 4. We could pretty much agree that we hold onto things for far too long, as Vivian had, but the reorganizing of the boxes was an interesting way for her to share her past with Molly. Some members thought the main characters were unrealistically optimistic in light of their situations. The alternating of past with present, we felt, was refreshing and kept us engaged. Our discussion was lively and at one point turned to foster children and adoption. Surprisingly it turned out 4 of the 10 of us have adopted children! Good book, great meeting, as always!
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Tibetan Peach Pie by Tom Robbins
" 'Be careful what goes into your mouth and what comes out of it.' The advice [from the I Ching] was so good--so simple, wise, and encompassing--that I've never felt the need to consult the I Ching again. It was quite likely the best advice I've ever received. I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if I'd actually followed it."
-Tom Robbins, from Tibetan Peach Pie
My husband describes some of the books I read as "chick lit." What do you call one more suited to guys? This seemed to be one of those, although I did enjoy most of it and found myself giggling pretty often, even laughing out loud at times. Tibetan Peach Pie is a memoir/biography/personal narrative with the subtitle A True Account of an Imaginative Life might be an understatement. Ricky Martin's song "Living la Vida Loca" might be very appropriate. It was actually hard to believe one man lived so many unusual, exciting, even dangerous, life episodes---until he confesses he is now in his eighties!
Apparently Mr. Robbins is a prolific writer of considerable note, although I had never come across his work before. I saw a review of this book in the newspaper which piqued my curiosity. The author uses something of a stream of consciousness style to recount his amazing life from his childhood, when he knew he had a passion for words at age 5, to the writing of this book, his latest endeavor. He relates fascinating and amusing stories about his school days, moves, travels, his career as an art critic and journalist, his process of becoming a novelist AND a series of girlfriends and/or wives. A few highlights were his experiences with cannibals, hippos and elephants. Even descriptions of plane trips and book signings were entertaining.
As a wannabe wordsmith myself I was so impressed with the writing. This man surely knows how to turn a phrase! Robbins has a voluminous vocabulary and great felicity of expression. As I hinted at the beginning I would recommend this book to the guys in my circle of friends more than the gals. Such things as the 5th grade "peeing contest," the mention of "penis envy" and numerous notations about female anatomy helped form that opinion. Fortunately he used only a smattering of obscenities, usually in quoting someone else, and any sexual encounters were suggestive, not graphic. Robbins writes that his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is his best-known book and has been highly acclaimed by women. Perhaps I'll read it one of these days.
I am still curious about the significance of the title. I also wondered about his self-given nickname, Tommy Rotten. Could it have come partly from the expression tommyrot or just a derivative of his first name with an adjective sounding similar to his last?
If you are looking for some light reading with lots of laughs, by all means give this one a go! My rating is a 4.
-Tom Robbins, from Tibetan Peach Pie
My husband describes some of the books I read as "chick lit." What do you call one more suited to guys? This seemed to be one of those, although I did enjoy most of it and found myself giggling pretty often, even laughing out loud at times. Tibetan Peach Pie is a memoir/biography/personal narrative with the subtitle A True Account of an Imaginative Life might be an understatement. Ricky Martin's song "Living la Vida Loca" might be very appropriate. It was actually hard to believe one man lived so many unusual, exciting, even dangerous, life episodes---until he confesses he is now in his eighties!
Apparently Mr. Robbins is a prolific writer of considerable note, although I had never come across his work before. I saw a review of this book in the newspaper which piqued my curiosity. The author uses something of a stream of consciousness style to recount his amazing life from his childhood, when he knew he had a passion for words at age 5, to the writing of this book, his latest endeavor. He relates fascinating and amusing stories about his school days, moves, travels, his career as an art critic and journalist, his process of becoming a novelist AND a series of girlfriends and/or wives. A few highlights were his experiences with cannibals, hippos and elephants. Even descriptions of plane trips and book signings were entertaining.
As a wannabe wordsmith myself I was so impressed with the writing. This man surely knows how to turn a phrase! Robbins has a voluminous vocabulary and great felicity of expression. As I hinted at the beginning I would recommend this book to the guys in my circle of friends more than the gals. Such things as the 5th grade "peeing contest," the mention of "penis envy" and numerous notations about female anatomy helped form that opinion. Fortunately he used only a smattering of obscenities, usually in quoting someone else, and any sexual encounters were suggestive, not graphic. Robbins writes that his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is his best-known book and has been highly acclaimed by women. Perhaps I'll read it one of these days.
I am still curious about the significance of the title. I also wondered about his self-given nickname, Tommy Rotten. Could it have come partly from the expression tommyrot or just a derivative of his first name with an adjective sounding similar to his last?
If you are looking for some light reading with lots of laughs, by all means give this one a go! My rating is a 4.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
The Healing by Jonathan Odell
"In the beginning God birthed these watchful stars and a quickening moon,
In the beginning God laid open this earth like a mother's womb,
In the beginning God gave his breath to the baby's borning cry.
In the beginning God gave his breath to the old one's last gasping sigh.
In the beginning is the home we are coming from,
In the beginning is the home we are going to."
-Polly Shine, from the novel
I certainly enjoy a good historical fiction, particularly from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Healing is an excellent one from pre-Civil War era and beyond, since it is a story within a story. It begins in 1933 Mississippi with Gran Gran, a former slave, being given responsibility for Violet a newly-orphaned young girl. Violet is intentionally mute, perhaps from the shock of losing her mother. In the process of caring for Violet, Gran Gran begins to tell the girl her own story---of 1847 slavery on the plantation and the coming of Polly Shine.
Polly Shine was a slave with the gift of healing. The master of the plantation paid a large sum of money for her because of his problems keeping his slaves healthy and working. Polly is met by skepticism and rumors and some resentment but later becomes a heroine to her people as they begin to see her working her "magic." Called "Mother Polly" she treats each person, not just the physical problem. I compared her methods to the holistic medicine of today. Polly was able to make a personal connection to her patients and thus treat them much more successfully than even the educated white doctors. She explained to young Granada, chosen by Polly as her apprentice much to the girl's chagrin, and who later is called Gran Gran, "The magic weren't in the food. It was in the seeing."
I tend to enjoy books while I am reading them, only to forget so much about the plots and characters within weeks. (That is one reason I keep this blog!) I will not soon forget Polly Shine! She is such a bigger-than-life character, charismatic and spiritual and wise. She expressed so many profound thoughts, it was very difficult choosing a quote to begin this post. Parts of the one I selected were often repeated and very significant to the story.
One of the surprising things to me is how this author, a white male, is able to tell a story so adeptly from the points of view of two black women. In his "A Note to the Reader" he shares that his first book was reviewed by someone who described him as an African-American author, which he took as a compliment. Be sure to read the Note to find out about the inspiration for this book.
--------------------------
I gave the book a rating of 5. I found it a bit confusing at the beginning but a true page turner by the middle. When the group met to discuss the novel, the average was 4.3. Some members who gave 3's or 4's did so because they felt that some parts of the story were not fleshed out enough, for example the Gran Gran-Violet portion; they just wanted to know more about what happened to the characters from the earlier time in the intervening 75 years. How about a sequel, Mr. Odell?
In the beginning God laid open this earth like a mother's womb,
In the beginning God gave his breath to the baby's borning cry.
In the beginning God gave his breath to the old one's last gasping sigh.
In the beginning is the home we are coming from,
In the beginning is the home we are going to."
-Polly Shine, from the novel
I certainly enjoy a good historical fiction, particularly from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Healing is an excellent one from pre-Civil War era and beyond, since it is a story within a story. It begins in 1933 Mississippi with Gran Gran, a former slave, being given responsibility for Violet a newly-orphaned young girl. Violet is intentionally mute, perhaps from the shock of losing her mother. In the process of caring for Violet, Gran Gran begins to tell the girl her own story---of 1847 slavery on the plantation and the coming of Polly Shine.
Polly Shine was a slave with the gift of healing. The master of the plantation paid a large sum of money for her because of his problems keeping his slaves healthy and working. Polly is met by skepticism and rumors and some resentment but later becomes a heroine to her people as they begin to see her working her "magic." Called "Mother Polly" she treats each person, not just the physical problem. I compared her methods to the holistic medicine of today. Polly was able to make a personal connection to her patients and thus treat them much more successfully than even the educated white doctors. She explained to young Granada, chosen by Polly as her apprentice much to the girl's chagrin, and who later is called Gran Gran, "The magic weren't in the food. It was in the seeing."
I tend to enjoy books while I am reading them, only to forget so much about the plots and characters within weeks. (That is one reason I keep this blog!) I will not soon forget Polly Shine! She is such a bigger-than-life character, charismatic and spiritual and wise. She expressed so many profound thoughts, it was very difficult choosing a quote to begin this post. Parts of the one I selected were often repeated and very significant to the story.
One of the surprising things to me is how this author, a white male, is able to tell a story so adeptly from the points of view of two black women. In his "A Note to the Reader" he shares that his first book was reviewed by someone who described him as an African-American author, which he took as a compliment. Be sure to read the Note to find out about the inspiration for this book.
--------------------------
I gave the book a rating of 5. I found it a bit confusing at the beginning but a true page turner by the middle. When the group met to discuss the novel, the average was 4.3. Some members who gave 3's or 4's did so because they felt that some parts of the story were not fleshed out enough, for example the Gran Gran-Violet portion; they just wanted to know more about what happened to the characters from the earlier time in the intervening 75 years. How about a sequel, Mr. Odell?
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
-Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863
A friend loaned me this book some time ago, so long that I can only guess who it was. It was someone who knew I was a fan of American history and very interested in both Revolutionary times and the Civil War. With my first trip to Gettysburg coming up in October, I decided it was high time I brushed up on the battle. The Killer Angels was not an easy read but it was transformative for me, giving me a real sense of what that fight meant to the actual people involved.
The story of the 4-day engagement at Gettysburg, arguably the most important battle of the Civil War, is told mostly by Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and Lewis Armistead on the Confederate side and General John Buford and Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union, in alternating chapters. I would not profess to understand all the military strategies and maneuvers outlined in the book but I feel I came to know some of the characters intimately. Historic figures I had read about in history books became very human and very REAL. I found myself almost feeling Lee's chest pains and Longstreet's agony over the loss of his children. And though I am a GRITS (Girl Raised In The South) I was sympathetic to Buford and Chamberlain, as well.
The novel seems VERY well-researched, with many maps showing placements of regiments/units/brigades (I have no idea what the differences are!) at the various stages of the battle. I found the maps difficult to figure out but I think I will take the book along on my trip and see if they mean more after a visit to that hallowed ground. The writer's style is very descriptive, even poetic at times. Much of what the characters thought and said was so profound I couldn't choose just one to quote, so I went with Lincoln's famous speech of dedication.
There were some humorous parts, mostly provided by Fremantle, a British volunteer among the Confederates, who thinks the Southern fellows are so like the English and predicts eminent victory for the South. I was surprised when Armistead welcomed Fremantle to "Lee's Miserables," named by an officer who read Hugo's novel by a similar name. I had never heard that before.
Needless to say, the last part of the book was very intense. One did not have to understand all the military aspects to be emotionally involved in the action and horrified by the results. I will give this one a 5, not because I really enjoyed it but because I am so glad I read it!
-Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863
A friend loaned me this book some time ago, so long that I can only guess who it was. It was someone who knew I was a fan of American history and very interested in both Revolutionary times and the Civil War. With my first trip to Gettysburg coming up in October, I decided it was high time I brushed up on the battle. The Killer Angels was not an easy read but it was transformative for me, giving me a real sense of what that fight meant to the actual people involved.
The story of the 4-day engagement at Gettysburg, arguably the most important battle of the Civil War, is told mostly by Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and Lewis Armistead on the Confederate side and General John Buford and Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union, in alternating chapters. I would not profess to understand all the military strategies and maneuvers outlined in the book but I feel I came to know some of the characters intimately. Historic figures I had read about in history books became very human and very REAL. I found myself almost feeling Lee's chest pains and Longstreet's agony over the loss of his children. And though I am a GRITS (Girl Raised In The South) I was sympathetic to Buford and Chamberlain, as well.
The novel seems VERY well-researched, with many maps showing placements of regiments/units/brigades (I have no idea what the differences are!) at the various stages of the battle. I found the maps difficult to figure out but I think I will take the book along on my trip and see if they mean more after a visit to that hallowed ground. The writer's style is very descriptive, even poetic at times. Much of what the characters thought and said was so profound I couldn't choose just one to quote, so I went with Lincoln's famous speech of dedication.
There were some humorous parts, mostly provided by Fremantle, a British volunteer among the Confederates, who thinks the Southern fellows are so like the English and predicts eminent victory for the South. I was surprised when Armistead welcomed Fremantle to "Lee's Miserables," named by an officer who read Hugo's novel by a similar name. I had never heard that before.
Needless to say, the last part of the book was very intense. One did not have to understand all the military aspects to be emotionally involved in the action and horrified by the results. I will give this one a 5, not because I really enjoyed it but because I am so glad I read it!
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen
"Before going to bed, she took a last peek out the front window. The street was quiet, so perhaps tonight was not the night. Perhaps she had been granted another reprieve. If so, it was only a temporary one, much like waking up every morning in a death row cell, not knowing if today was the day they would walk you to the scaffold. The uncertainty of one's appointment with doom is what can drive a condemned prisoner insane."
-from the novel
I have been an avid fan of the TV series "Rizzoli and Isles" since it began in 2010. Recently I actually paid attention to the credit I'd long ignored: "based on a series of novels by Tess Gerritsen." I decided on my next trip to the library I would check the shelves. I found several by the author, including this one. The Keepsake was a real page turner, in fact, for the first time in quite a while I was up an hour past my bedtime to finish it!
In this one Detective Jane Rizzoli is involved in a case that is stranger than strange! Boston PD is looking for a serial killer of women who seems fixated on Egyptology, to the point of preserving the corpses as mummies, tsantsas (shrunken heads) and bog bodies. The perp earns the nickname "the archaeology killer" as more and more of his "keepsakes" are found. Josephine Pulcillo is an archaeologist working in the Crispen Museum in Boston when the first victim is discovered there. It becomes clear very quickly that she has a secret past and before long the reader assumes she is a potential victim.
As the plot thickens there are a number of surprises along with fast-paced action, making this a quick, exciting read! I rate it a 5.
I couldn't help but compare the novel to the TV series. In the book Jane is married and has a young daughter while she and Maura Isles are both single in the show. Jane's partner, Detective Barry Frost. is married in the novel, as well, but I don't remember the mention of a wife on the show. The author describes Frost with blond hair but he was Afro-American on TV. There were some other differences but none quite as striking as these. I do love the humorous repartee among the TV characters but in the novel there was much less of that.
The word "confabulations" was a new one to me. I looked it up: a spontaneous production of false memories caused by brain trauma.
I found the mention of the Windover Burial Site (p.152) especially interesting because the Orange County Regional History Center where I am a docent has an exhibit and I have heard an archaeologist speak about that ancient burial site where bodies were preserved in a bog. The story also mentions a trash midden which I was familiar with since the term relates to native Floridians (ei. shell middens).
I was surprised when I realized that the final chapter was written in first person. Interestingly, the first chapter was, too, while the rest of the book is in third person. Read it and you will see why.
I will definitely read others in the Rizzoli and Isles series by this author. Ice Cold is in the queue.
-from the novel
I have been an avid fan of the TV series "Rizzoli and Isles" since it began in 2010. Recently I actually paid attention to the credit I'd long ignored: "based on a series of novels by Tess Gerritsen." I decided on my next trip to the library I would check the shelves. I found several by the author, including this one. The Keepsake was a real page turner, in fact, for the first time in quite a while I was up an hour past my bedtime to finish it!
In this one Detective Jane Rizzoli is involved in a case that is stranger than strange! Boston PD is looking for a serial killer of women who seems fixated on Egyptology, to the point of preserving the corpses as mummies, tsantsas (shrunken heads) and bog bodies. The perp earns the nickname "the archaeology killer" as more and more of his "keepsakes" are found. Josephine Pulcillo is an archaeologist working in the Crispen Museum in Boston when the first victim is discovered there. It becomes clear very quickly that she has a secret past and before long the reader assumes she is a potential victim.
As the plot thickens there are a number of surprises along with fast-paced action, making this a quick, exciting read! I rate it a 5.
I couldn't help but compare the novel to the TV series. In the book Jane is married and has a young daughter while she and Maura Isles are both single in the show. Jane's partner, Detective Barry Frost. is married in the novel, as well, but I don't remember the mention of a wife on the show. The author describes Frost with blond hair but he was Afro-American on TV. There were some other differences but none quite as striking as these. I do love the humorous repartee among the TV characters but in the novel there was much less of that.
The word "confabulations" was a new one to me. I looked it up: a spontaneous production of false memories caused by brain trauma.
I found the mention of the Windover Burial Site (p.152) especially interesting because the Orange County Regional History Center where I am a docent has an exhibit and I have heard an archaeologist speak about that ancient burial site where bodies were preserved in a bog. The story also mentions a trash midden which I was familiar with since the term relates to native Floridians (ei. shell middens).
I was surprised when I realized that the final chapter was written in first person. Interestingly, the first chapter was, too, while the rest of the book is in third person. Read it and you will see why.
I will definitely read others in the Rizzoli and Isles series by this author. Ice Cold is in the queue.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Etta Mae's Worst Bad-Luck Day by Ann B. Ross
"Why, you just lose your temper if you want to, honey. All the Bible says is don't let the sun go down on your wrath. It don't say nothing about when it's shining. Sometimes you have to let folks know you're not gonna take whatever they want to throw at you. You just cut loose if you need to. Put your foot down, and remember who you are...."
-Granny, from the novel
Well, I absolutely love Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia series! This was the author's first novel featuring another character in the series, Etta Mae Wiggins, and I enjoyed it, although not quite as much. (My rating: 4) Etta Mae is the home health nurse for Howard Connard, Sr., a wealthy man suffering from a stroke, almost immobile with greatly impaired speech. He lets Etta Mae know that he wants to marry her and she is perfectly agreeable since she thinks it will gain her some respect in the small town that loves to gossip about her and her multiple husbands.
The plot involves Etta Mae's efforts to bring this wedding about even over the protests of Howard, Jr. and his snooty wife, Valerie. Add in an ex-husband, Skip, who is being stalked by the vengeful Puckett brothers and expects Etta Mae's help, and you get a "worst bad-luck day"!
I enjoyed the humor in this book and also several mentions of country music artists I know and like. There is a quote about tourists I found hilarious: "All I could do was hope that going-home traffic in Abbotsville (N.C.) wouldn't slow us down. I swear it got worse every year, what with tourists and Northern summer visitors. And Floridians! You wouldn't believe the way they drove. They were about to push us natives out and take over the whole county..." We Floridians complain often about tourists' driving and I have had several Florida friends who have retired to North Carolina so it rang pretty true.
I did miss Lillian, one of my favorite characters in the Miss Julia stories and also Sam and Hazel Marie. Miss Julia and Hazel Marie were involved toward the end of the story---a brief episode but VERY funny! Luckily Miss Julia Lays Down the Law comes out in April, 2015!
-Granny, from the novel
Well, I absolutely love Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia series! This was the author's first novel featuring another character in the series, Etta Mae Wiggins, and I enjoyed it, although not quite as much. (My rating: 4) Etta Mae is the home health nurse for Howard Connard, Sr., a wealthy man suffering from a stroke, almost immobile with greatly impaired speech. He lets Etta Mae know that he wants to marry her and she is perfectly agreeable since she thinks it will gain her some respect in the small town that loves to gossip about her and her multiple husbands.
The plot involves Etta Mae's efforts to bring this wedding about even over the protests of Howard, Jr. and his snooty wife, Valerie. Add in an ex-husband, Skip, who is being stalked by the vengeful Puckett brothers and expects Etta Mae's help, and you get a "worst bad-luck day"!
I enjoyed the humor in this book and also several mentions of country music artists I know and like. There is a quote about tourists I found hilarious: "All I could do was hope that going-home traffic in Abbotsville (N.C.) wouldn't slow us down. I swear it got worse every year, what with tourists and Northern summer visitors. And Floridians! You wouldn't believe the way they drove. They were about to push us natives out and take over the whole county..." We Floridians complain often about tourists' driving and I have had several Florida friends who have retired to North Carolina so it rang pretty true.
I did miss Lillian, one of my favorite characters in the Miss Julia stories and also Sam and Hazel Marie. Miss Julia and Hazel Marie were involved toward the end of the story---a brief episode but VERY funny! Luckily Miss Julia Lays Down the Law comes out in April, 2015!
Friday, August 15, 2014
Run to Ground by D.P. Lyle
"What if a good, God-fearing couple are threatened by the man that killed their only son, forcing them to plan the man's murder and their own disappearance? That's the question that drives this story."
-D.P. Lyle from the Author's Note
This is the third novel I have read by D.P. Lyle, a high school classmate. I have enjoyed each of them. The writing style is easy to read, the plots are intriguing, the characters are interesting, but one of my favorite things is the setting of these thrillers. The stories take place in Huntsville, Alabama, my hometown, a place where I spent my high school years. In many places I can picture the locations Lyle mentions---streets, churches, businesses, restaurants, landmarks. One of our high school reunion events took place at The Ledges, a beautiful country club in an upscale neighborhood, which he uses as a meeting place in this story. I rate Run to Ground a 5 for those reasons and because it was a page-turner!
Lead character, Dub Walker, has become a favorite of mine. I especially love the repartee between he and ex-wife reporter Claire McBride. As well as being a forensic expert and consultant with the Huntsville police, Dub plays the guitar. At one point in the story he was jamming with John Lee Hooker tunes which really took me back to my teens when Hooker's music was a favorite of mine.
Often when I read I catch mistakes in editing---typos, etc. This time I caught a glaring one in the mention of Civil War General Braxton Bragg (written Briggs on page 245). Guess the publisher should hire me as an editor!
I had never come across the expression "run to ground" before. The first time I saw it was the title, of course, but then in the story context: "With a wad of cash they could run to ground and stay low for a long time." That confirmed the meaning I had in mind.
I am sorry I have now read the 3 novels in the Dub Walker series by Lyle. I will look for other fiction, perhaps his Samantha Cody series.
-D.P. Lyle from the Author's Note
This is the third novel I have read by D.P. Lyle, a high school classmate. I have enjoyed each of them. The writing style is easy to read, the plots are intriguing, the characters are interesting, but one of my favorite things is the setting of these thrillers. The stories take place in Huntsville, Alabama, my hometown, a place where I spent my high school years. In many places I can picture the locations Lyle mentions---streets, churches, businesses, restaurants, landmarks. One of our high school reunion events took place at The Ledges, a beautiful country club in an upscale neighborhood, which he uses as a meeting place in this story. I rate Run to Ground a 5 for those reasons and because it was a page-turner!
Lead character, Dub Walker, has become a favorite of mine. I especially love the repartee between he and ex-wife reporter Claire McBride. As well as being a forensic expert and consultant with the Huntsville police, Dub plays the guitar. At one point in the story he was jamming with John Lee Hooker tunes which really took me back to my teens when Hooker's music was a favorite of mine.
Often when I read I catch mistakes in editing---typos, etc. This time I caught a glaring one in the mention of Civil War General Braxton Bragg (written Briggs on page 245). Guess the publisher should hire me as an editor!
I had never come across the expression "run to ground" before. The first time I saw it was the title, of course, but then in the story context: "With a wad of cash they could run to ground and stay low for a long time." That confirmed the meaning I had in mind.
I am sorry I have now read the 3 novels in the Dub Walker series by Lyle. I will look for other fiction, perhaps his Samantha Cody series.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
"I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wind is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea that upward to Heaven he flings---
I know why the caged bird sings!"
-from "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
When Maya Angelou passed away a few months ago I saw several tributes to her on TV and in the newspaper. Someone was quoted as having said that Maya Angelou never had an insignificant thought. That made me say Wow! And I realized I had never read any of her work. When we were looking for summer selections for the book club, someone suggested we read something of Angelou's in honor of her amazing life. I am not sure how this title came up but it turns out I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first, and probably best-known, of her series of autobiographical works. It will certainly not be the last one I read. I loved it! My rating is a 5.
Our group does not meet to discuss the book until the end of this month and I generally do not read so far ahead but I wanted to be able to pass my copy on and there is always sparknotes.com for a thorough review.
Maya was born Margarite Anne Johnson and was called Ritie by many in her family. Her older brother, Bailey, gave her the nickname Maya and it was interesting how that happened.
This book is so readable. It has a lot of humor but much pathos, as well. Racism and gender bias raise their ugly heads quite often. Family relationships are explored in very touching but sometimes maddening ways. Some of the very surprising and memorable parts of Maya's story are when she stopped talking, her driving "lesson" in Mexico and her time of living in a junkyard.
I don't want to give away too much of the story. I highly recommend you read it for yourself!
And speaking of Sparknotes, I took the quiz online and got 21/25 correct. I figure that's about a B+. If you remember details well, you will probably be able to top that score.
http://gsearch.sparknotes.com/search?q=I+Know+Why+the+Caged+Bird+Sings&searchbg=&template=default&output=xml_no_dtd&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=SparkNotes
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Our group met to discuss the book this past week and gave a rating of 4.4. Some thought parts of the story, especially the end, were not fleshed out enough. Most enjoyed Maya's writing style. We had a very lively discussion, much of it centering around race, both in Maya's early years and NOW. As we were talking, I found myself comparing this autobiography with Mildred Taylor's Logan family series, including award-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, probably still my favorite book of all time. The setting is similar, rural South in the '30s. Of course, Taylor's works are fiction but my understanding is that she based much of her series on personal stories she heard from her father. I don't know why that didn't occur to me sooner. My recommendation: Read them both!
When his wind is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and he would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,
But a plea that upward to Heaven he flings---
I know why the caged bird sings!"
-from "Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
When Maya Angelou passed away a few months ago I saw several tributes to her on TV and in the newspaper. Someone was quoted as having said that Maya Angelou never had an insignificant thought. That made me say Wow! And I realized I had never read any of her work. When we were looking for summer selections for the book club, someone suggested we read something of Angelou's in honor of her amazing life. I am not sure how this title came up but it turns out I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is the first, and probably best-known, of her series of autobiographical works. It will certainly not be the last one I read. I loved it! My rating is a 5.
Our group does not meet to discuss the book until the end of this month and I generally do not read so far ahead but I wanted to be able to pass my copy on and there is always sparknotes.com for a thorough review.
Maya was born Margarite Anne Johnson and was called Ritie by many in her family. Her older brother, Bailey, gave her the nickname Maya and it was interesting how that happened.
This book is so readable. It has a lot of humor but much pathos, as well. Racism and gender bias raise their ugly heads quite often. Family relationships are explored in very touching but sometimes maddening ways. Some of the very surprising and memorable parts of Maya's story are when she stopped talking, her driving "lesson" in Mexico and her time of living in a junkyard.
I don't want to give away too much of the story. I highly recommend you read it for yourself!
And speaking of Sparknotes, I took the quiz online and got 21/25 correct. I figure that's about a B+. If you remember details well, you will probably be able to top that score.
http://gsearch.sparknotes.com/search?q=I+Know+Why+the+Caged+Bird+Sings&searchbg=&template=default&output=xml_no_dtd&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&client=default_frontend&proxystylesheet=default_frontend&site=SparkNotes
-----------------
Our group met to discuss the book this past week and gave a rating of 4.4. Some thought parts of the story, especially the end, were not fleshed out enough. Most enjoyed Maya's writing style. We had a very lively discussion, much of it centering around race, both in Maya's early years and NOW. As we were talking, I found myself comparing this autobiography with Mildred Taylor's Logan family series, including award-winning Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, probably still my favorite book of all time. The setting is similar, rural South in the '30s. Of course, Taylor's works are fiction but my understanding is that she based much of her series on personal stories she heard from her father. I don't know why that didn't occur to me sooner. My recommendation: Read them both!
Saturday, July 26, 2014
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
"Bookstores attract the right kind of folk. Good people like A.J. and Amelia. And I like talking about books with people who like talking about books. I like paper. I like how it feels, and I like the feel of a book in my back pocket. I like how a new book smells, too."
-Police Chief Lambiase, from the novel
This is a beautiful story of love and its transformative power. It included humor, romance and mystery. Somewhere I had read that it was a love story for book lovers and I have to agree. There were dozens of references to books, many of which I had never heard of but some that I have read. The story centers around a bookstore and there is even mention of Chief's Choice Book Club, reminding me of our Page Turners' Book Club.
Main character and owner of Island Books, A.J. Fikry is a very unhappy man at the beginning of the novel. Still mourning the accidental death of his wife almost two years earlier, he is drinking too much and has become quite a curmudgeon. When a valuable book goes missing from his collection, he is even more distraught. But suddenly he receives a gift with no idea how it will change his life.
I was intrigued by A.J.'s reviews of short stories interspersed throughout the novel. Near the beginning of the book when he is telling Amelia what he doesn't like to read, the list is humorously long. She asks him what he does like and he answers, "Everything else."
I loved the part where Mrs. Cumberbatch "complained" about The Book Thief, a novel our club really liked when we read it several months ago. We had also read The Paris Wife very recently. (We didn't like it so much.) Some of the children's books mentioned were very familiar to me: The Monster at the End of This Book, Caps for Sale, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil T. Frankweiler, and the Narnia tales. I must find out if The Late Bloomer by Leon Friedman exists. If so it will go on my list since it had a significant role in the plot.
The characters were well-developed for such a short novel, each with some good qualities and some with past secrets. One of those secrets led to a surprise ending. At least it caught me unaware.
I look forward to seeing what the Page Turners have to say tomorrow at our meeting. I am rating it a 5. I think it is one I will remember for a long time and probably want to reread.
-----------------------------
Only 6 ladies attended our meeting. Many regular members were out of town and otherwise engaged. That's pretty typical of summer meetings. We happily welcomed two new members and had a stimulating discussion of The Storied Life....
The average rating was 4.6 with votes of only 5's and 4's. One member found Maya's precocity hard to believe and another reader was a bit upset with the cavalier way that Marian was treated and that Ismay got off scot-free with her indiscretion. I can't say too much more---don't want to be a spoiler! We agreed that Alice Island was a perfect setting with its isolation accentuating small town life. The sign above the porch of Island Books reads "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World," very significant to the setting, theme and plot of the novel.
We spent some time discussing the increasing popularity of e-readers and the disappearance of independent bookstores, a subject introduced in the story. We all see advantages of e-books but miss browsing through favorite bookstores of the past. Ironically, I first spotted The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry in a small bookstore in Mendocino, California, where one of the employees had written a glowing recommendation.
Oh, best I can figure there is no such book as The Late Bloomer by Leon Friedman. If someone out there knows different please clue me in!
-Police Chief Lambiase, from the novel
This is a beautiful story of love and its transformative power. It included humor, romance and mystery. Somewhere I had read that it was a love story for book lovers and I have to agree. There were dozens of references to books, many of which I had never heard of but some that I have read. The story centers around a bookstore and there is even mention of Chief's Choice Book Club, reminding me of our Page Turners' Book Club.
Main character and owner of Island Books, A.J. Fikry is a very unhappy man at the beginning of the novel. Still mourning the accidental death of his wife almost two years earlier, he is drinking too much and has become quite a curmudgeon. When a valuable book goes missing from his collection, he is even more distraught. But suddenly he receives a gift with no idea how it will change his life.
I was intrigued by A.J.'s reviews of short stories interspersed throughout the novel. Near the beginning of the book when he is telling Amelia what he doesn't like to read, the list is humorously long. She asks him what he does like and he answers, "Everything else."
I loved the part where Mrs. Cumberbatch "complained" about The Book Thief, a novel our club really liked when we read it several months ago. We had also read The Paris Wife very recently. (We didn't like it so much.) Some of the children's books mentioned were very familiar to me: The Monster at the End of This Book, Caps for Sale, The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil T. Frankweiler, and the Narnia tales. I must find out if The Late Bloomer by Leon Friedman exists. If so it will go on my list since it had a significant role in the plot.
The characters were well-developed for such a short novel, each with some good qualities and some with past secrets. One of those secrets led to a surprise ending. At least it caught me unaware.
I look forward to seeing what the Page Turners have to say tomorrow at our meeting. I am rating it a 5. I think it is one I will remember for a long time and probably want to reread.
-----------------------------
Only 6 ladies attended our meeting. Many regular members were out of town and otherwise engaged. That's pretty typical of summer meetings. We happily welcomed two new members and had a stimulating discussion of The Storied Life....
The average rating was 4.6 with votes of only 5's and 4's. One member found Maya's precocity hard to believe and another reader was a bit upset with the cavalier way that Marian was treated and that Ismay got off scot-free with her indiscretion. I can't say too much more---don't want to be a spoiler! We agreed that Alice Island was a perfect setting with its isolation accentuating small town life. The sign above the porch of Island Books reads "No Man Is an Island; Every Book Is a World," very significant to the setting, theme and plot of the novel.
We spent some time discussing the increasing popularity of e-readers and the disappearance of independent bookstores, a subject introduced in the story. We all see advantages of e-books but miss browsing through favorite bookstores of the past. Ironically, I first spotted The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry in a small bookstore in Mendocino, California, where one of the employees had written a glowing recommendation.
Oh, best I can figure there is no such book as The Late Bloomer by Leon Friedman. If someone out there knows different please clue me in!
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Stress Fracture by D.P. Lyle
"The sad truth is that a high body count helps solve these cases. One scene, even two or three, rarely offers enough evidence to identify the perpetrator. But as the horrors pile up, each scene and each victim adds another sliver of evidence that later rather than sooner sticks together enough to close the loop. When the loop does close, when the killer is captured or killed, when hindsight kicks in full force, you always...always...ask yourself why you didn't close it sooner. Why the final one, two, three, pick a number victims weren't saved. Seems like it's always that way. I hate it, but what are you going to do? It is what it is."
-Dub Walker, from the novel
This is the second novel I've read by D. P. Lyle, a Huntsville High School class of '64 classmate of mine. The first was Hot Lights, Cold Steel which I enjoyed several months ago. With a 50th reunion coming up I remembered I had wanted to read another so I grabbed a copy of this one at the library and started in, with hopes of meeting the author at one of the get-togethers. Stress Fracture did not disappoint, in fact it turned out to be a page turner; I finished in just a few days.
Main character, Dub Walker, forensic expert and police consultant has his hands full in this thriller. He is baffled by a series of murders, more violent than any he has encountered. And one of the victims was a former sheriff and close friend, making it quite personal. At times the perpetrator seems cold and rational, at other times, madly out of control. The investigation led by Walker and his friend, Tommy Tortelli of the Huntsville Police Department, seems to lead eventually to an experimental drug being tested in cases of PTSD. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice it to say you may be more respectful to telemarketers on the phone after reading this one!
I will give this novel a rating of 5 and will look for more by this author, especially featuring Dub Walker, as I've come to know and like this character. I have gotten such a kick out of Lyle's setting of Huntsville, AL, my hometown, with his frequent mentions of streets, restaurants and other landmarks so familiar to me. In Stress Fracture there's a mass shooting in Parkway Place Mall where we have browsed and shopped many times.
I did get to meet author Doug Lyle at the reunion. I spoke with him briefly; his attention seemed much in demand. I didn't have a chance to ask him why the pages of the two books have what looks like ink splotches. I've wondered if that is to represent blood spatter. I had planned to buy one of Lyle's books and have him autograph it but neither of the large local bookstores had any available. It seemed a shame to me that a local author's work would be so hard to find.
-Dub Walker, from the novel
This is the second novel I've read by D. P. Lyle, a Huntsville High School class of '64 classmate of mine. The first was Hot Lights, Cold Steel which I enjoyed several months ago. With a 50th reunion coming up I remembered I had wanted to read another so I grabbed a copy of this one at the library and started in, with hopes of meeting the author at one of the get-togethers. Stress Fracture did not disappoint, in fact it turned out to be a page turner; I finished in just a few days.
Main character, Dub Walker, forensic expert and police consultant has his hands full in this thriller. He is baffled by a series of murders, more violent than any he has encountered. And one of the victims was a former sheriff and close friend, making it quite personal. At times the perpetrator seems cold and rational, at other times, madly out of control. The investigation led by Walker and his friend, Tommy Tortelli of the Huntsville Police Department, seems to lead eventually to an experimental drug being tested in cases of PTSD. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice it to say you may be more respectful to telemarketers on the phone after reading this one!
I will give this novel a rating of 5 and will look for more by this author, especially featuring Dub Walker, as I've come to know and like this character. I have gotten such a kick out of Lyle's setting of Huntsville, AL, my hometown, with his frequent mentions of streets, restaurants and other landmarks so familiar to me. In Stress Fracture there's a mass shooting in Parkway Place Mall where we have browsed and shopped many times.
I did get to meet author Doug Lyle at the reunion. I spoke with him briefly; his attention seemed much in demand. I didn't have a chance to ask him why the pages of the two books have what looks like ink splotches. I've wondered if that is to represent blood spatter. I had planned to buy one of Lyle's books and have him autograph it but neither of the large local bookstores had any available. It seemed a shame to me that a local author's work would be so hard to find.
Joshua by Joseph F. Girzone
"Each person looks at life through a different vision. Three men can look at a tree. One man will see so many board feet of valuable lumber worth so much money. The second man will see it as so much firewood to be burned, to keep his family warm in winter. The third man will see it as a masterpiece of God's creative art, given to man as an expression of God's love and enduring strength, with a value far beyond its worth in money or firewood. What we live for determines what we see in life and gives clear focus to our inner vision."
-Joshua, from the novel
I am not sure of the genre of this book but I would call it Christian fiction. At first I thought I wouldn't like it because it seemed simplistic and a bit schmaltzy but the plot engaged me after all. I would rate it a 4. The subtitle is "A Parable for Today" and it is an apt description. The story reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows, "Joan of Arcadia," which sadly ended a too-short run years ago. The premise of the series was the appearance of God in many different forms to a high school girl, named Joan, who became a prophet of sorts in her town of Arcadia. The theme song contained the lyrics, "What if God was one of us? Just a stranger on the bus?" It made me wonder about where, when and how God appears to folks like me. Joshua did the same, only the book more than hinted at Jesus returning as a simple, loving man to a modern-day small town. You certainly know the story of Jesus' life from the Bible. How would it look if it happened today? Read to see the author's vision!
My followers know I begin every post with a quote. I jotted down ten possibilities before I settled on one. Any of them would have been just as poignant. Some were from scripture but many were Joshua's opinions shared with the town folk. For example, after I read, "Take the Christian denominations. It is not their following of Jesus that makes them different from one another. It is the denominational practices that you (religious leaders) have created that make them different from one another and keep them apart. This has brought ridicule on Christianity and destroyed the united influence you could have on the world." Amen, to that, I say!
I would recommend this to Christian readers, particularly, but I would hope others might read it and find it life-changing. I think the author may have had hopes of just such an impact.
-Joshua, from the novel
I am not sure of the genre of this book but I would call it Christian fiction. At first I thought I wouldn't like it because it seemed simplistic and a bit schmaltzy but the plot engaged me after all. I would rate it a 4. The subtitle is "A Parable for Today" and it is an apt description. The story reminded me of one of my favorite TV shows, "Joan of Arcadia," which sadly ended a too-short run years ago. The premise of the series was the appearance of God in many different forms to a high school girl, named Joan, who became a prophet of sorts in her town of Arcadia. The theme song contained the lyrics, "What if God was one of us? Just a stranger on the bus?" It made me wonder about where, when and how God appears to folks like me. Joshua did the same, only the book more than hinted at Jesus returning as a simple, loving man to a modern-day small town. You certainly know the story of Jesus' life from the Bible. How would it look if it happened today? Read to see the author's vision!
My followers know I begin every post with a quote. I jotted down ten possibilities before I settled on one. Any of them would have been just as poignant. Some were from scripture but many were Joshua's opinions shared with the town folk. For example, after I read, "Take the Christian denominations. It is not their following of Jesus that makes them different from one another. It is the denominational practices that you (religious leaders) have created that make them different from one another and keep them apart. This has brought ridicule on Christianity and destroyed the united influence you could have on the world." Amen, to that, I say!
I would recommend this to Christian readers, particularly, but I would hope others might read it and find it life-changing. I think the author may have had hopes of just such an impact.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Cleopatra, A Life by Stacy Schiff
"Whether or not Caesar had considered annexing Egypt he had clearly discovered that Cleopatra was in many respects similar to her country: a shame to lose, a risk to conquer, a headache to govern."
-from the book
Well, they say there is a first time for everything and this is the first Page Turners book selection I did not finish in the 6 years I have led the group! I COULD have finished it but decided there are SO many books out there to enjoy and I was NOT enjoying this one. In fact I found it pretty boring. I forced myself to read three chapters, 81 pages, and that was all could take.
One must give credit to the author for her amazing research into an intriguing woman but one whose background is pretty obscure in places. She quoted historians like Plutarch and Dio and really knew the history and geography but that was the problem. The book read more like a history textbook than any other biography I have ever read. I would give the book a 2 because of the thorough preparation and what must have been a time-consuming task.
I did learn some things such as the common practice of incest in the aristocracy of this culture. Cleopatra was married to at least one brother and this was apparently quite acceptable, even encouraged. There was also a great deal of violence within families. I was surprised to learn the term "pharaoh" meant "the greatest household" in ancient Egypt. This helps a bit in the study of the Bible.
I would recommend this one to academic types, especially those who teach ancient history. I guess I just read too much historical fiction and was hoping to see Cleopatra as a bit more human.
-from the book
Well, they say there is a first time for everything and this is the first Page Turners book selection I did not finish in the 6 years I have led the group! I COULD have finished it but decided there are SO many books out there to enjoy and I was NOT enjoying this one. In fact I found it pretty boring. I forced myself to read three chapters, 81 pages, and that was all could take.
One must give credit to the author for her amazing research into an intriguing woman but one whose background is pretty obscure in places. She quoted historians like Plutarch and Dio and really knew the history and geography but that was the problem. The book read more like a history textbook than any other biography I have ever read. I would give the book a 2 because of the thorough preparation and what must have been a time-consuming task.
I did learn some things such as the common practice of incest in the aristocracy of this culture. Cleopatra was married to at least one brother and this was apparently quite acceptable, even encouraged. There was also a great deal of violence within families. I was surprised to learn the term "pharaoh" meant "the greatest household" in ancient Egypt. This helps a bit in the study of the Bible.
I would recommend this one to academic types, especially those who teach ancient history. I guess I just read too much historical fiction and was hoping to see Cleopatra as a bit more human.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Roses Are Red by James Patterson
"Was it part of what kept me on the job? The adrenaline spike that wasn't like anything else I'd ever experienced? The uncertainty of each new case? The thrill of the hunt? A dark side of myself? What? Good occasionally triumphing over evil? Evil often triumphing over good?"
-Alex Cross, from the novel
I read this one in right around 24 hours! Does that tell you anything? Of course, most of that time I was on and off airplanes getting home from the west coast. I can't think of a better way to make the time pass more quickly than engaging in a real page turner! This one gets a rating of 4 from me. It's a good murder mystery if you can stand some very graphic violence.
I had not read a James Patterson in quite a while. Most of his books would not give our book club much meat for discussion. He writes well enough to keep the reader involved but the plots are pretty forgettable. There is not a lot of literary value, in my humble opinion.
I REALLY like Alex Cross, the main character in a great many of Patterson's novels. He seems very heroic to me, but very human, as well. In Roses Are Red, he is dealing with some serious personal trials when he gets caught up in trying to solve a series of bank robberies and cold-blooded murders. A villain who calls himself the Mastermind is orchestrating these crimes and seems to be uncatchable. Along with FBI agent Betsey Cavaliere, Alex is taken on a long and winding road of clues and false alarms until he is led to a home for the mentally ill. Many a time when I thought I knew what was going to happen....bang! Another twist! The surprise ending was one of those; a perfect example of dramatic irony!
-Alex Cross, from the novel
I read this one in right around 24 hours! Does that tell you anything? Of course, most of that time I was on and off airplanes getting home from the west coast. I can't think of a better way to make the time pass more quickly than engaging in a real page turner! This one gets a rating of 4 from me. It's a good murder mystery if you can stand some very graphic violence.
I had not read a James Patterson in quite a while. Most of his books would not give our book club much meat for discussion. He writes well enough to keep the reader involved but the plots are pretty forgettable. There is not a lot of literary value, in my humble opinion.
I REALLY like Alex Cross, the main character in a great many of Patterson's novels. He seems very heroic to me, but very human, as well. In Roses Are Red, he is dealing with some serious personal trials when he gets caught up in trying to solve a series of bank robberies and cold-blooded murders. A villain who calls himself the Mastermind is orchestrating these crimes and seems to be uncatchable. Along with FBI agent Betsey Cavaliere, Alex is taken on a long and winding road of clues and false alarms until he is led to a home for the mentally ill. Many a time when I thought I knew what was going to happen....bang! Another twist! The surprise ending was one of those; a perfect example of dramatic irony!
Monday, June 30, 2014
The Innocent by David Baldacci
"Nearly three months had passed since Tangier and the death of Khalid bin Talal. The weather was cooler, the sky a little grayer. Robie had not killed anyone during that time. It was an unusually long period for him to be inactive, but he did not mind. He took walks, he read books, he ate out, he did some traveling that did not involve the death of someone. In other words, he acted normal."
-from the novel
I believe the only book I've read by this author was The Christmas Train, which I really enjoyed. This one was quite different and I have a feeling it is more typical of Baldacci. I would call it a political thriller but it qualifies as a murder mystery, as well.
Main character Will Robie is a hired assassin working for the U.S. government. (That was more than a little shocking to me. Am I just naïve?) Near the beginning of the novel he fails to complete an assigned hit and while on the lam, he meets up with a fourteen-year-old girl, Julie, who is also on the run. After both of them are nearly killed in a bus explosion, Robie takes on the role of Julie's protector. As her story unfolds and several people are found murdered, Robie, with the help of FBI agent Nicole Vance, tries to find a connection among the victims and the answer to why HE is being targeted. All this makes for a pretty exciting plot with a surprise ending. I did figure out one of the perpetrators before it was revealed but there were a couple of other twists and turns that made the novel a page turner for me. I'd give it a 4 and I'll definitely read another of Baldacci's books one of these days.
-from the novel
I believe the only book I've read by this author was The Christmas Train, which I really enjoyed. This one was quite different and I have a feeling it is more typical of Baldacci. I would call it a political thriller but it qualifies as a murder mystery, as well.
Main character Will Robie is a hired assassin working for the U.S. government. (That was more than a little shocking to me. Am I just naïve?) Near the beginning of the novel he fails to complete an assigned hit and while on the lam, he meets up with a fourteen-year-old girl, Julie, who is also on the run. After both of them are nearly killed in a bus explosion, Robie takes on the role of Julie's protector. As her story unfolds and several people are found murdered, Robie, with the help of FBI agent Nicole Vance, tries to find a connection among the victims and the answer to why HE is being targeted. All this makes for a pretty exciting plot with a surprise ending. I did figure out one of the perpetrators before it was revealed but there were a couple of other twists and turns that made the novel a page turner for me. I'd give it a 4 and I'll definitely read another of Baldacci's books one of these days.
No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark
"Lizzie Borden took an axe
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one."
-from a skipping rope rhyme, author unknown
Known as the Queen of Suspense, Mary Higgins Clark is a prolific mystery writer. I have read several of her novels, finding all to be page turners. Many of her titles refer to popular songs. This one was no exception but the positive message of the song "There's No Place Like Home" is somewhat reversed in this plot. As you might guess from the quote, the book is a modernized version of the old Lizzie Borden story in which Lizzie is accused of the axe murders of her father and stepmother in 1892.
In this version, we learn early on that Liza Barton had been acquitted of the shooting of her mother and stepfather when she was 10 years old. After the trial, she had been adopted by distant family members who changed her name to Celia. At the beginning of the novel Celia, now an adult, returns to her hometown where her new husband, Alex, buys a house for her 34th birthday. It just happens to be the house where her mother was killed. See what I mean about there's no place like home taking on a new connotation? Obviously Celia, nee Liza, suffers a great deal of angst over her past and whether the townsfolk will recognize her and, if that weren't enough, there is a series of murders and it looks to some as if Celia could be involved.
The author kept me guessing through most of the story before the final surprise was revealed. I would give the book a 4 since it was an entertaining read, if not a memorable one. It even made me curious to know more about Lizzie Borden as I knew only what I'd heard in the rhyme and had not been aware there was history behind the verse. If you enjoy a good murder mystery, I think you'll enjoy this one.
And gave her mother forty whacks.
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one."
-from a skipping rope rhyme, author unknown
Known as the Queen of Suspense, Mary Higgins Clark is a prolific mystery writer. I have read several of her novels, finding all to be page turners. Many of her titles refer to popular songs. This one was no exception but the positive message of the song "There's No Place Like Home" is somewhat reversed in this plot. As you might guess from the quote, the book is a modernized version of the old Lizzie Borden story in which Lizzie is accused of the axe murders of her father and stepmother in 1892.
In this version, we learn early on that Liza Barton had been acquitted of the shooting of her mother and stepfather when she was 10 years old. After the trial, she had been adopted by distant family members who changed her name to Celia. At the beginning of the novel Celia, now an adult, returns to her hometown where her new husband, Alex, buys a house for her 34th birthday. It just happens to be the house where her mother was killed. See what I mean about there's no place like home taking on a new connotation? Obviously Celia, nee Liza, suffers a great deal of angst over her past and whether the townsfolk will recognize her and, if that weren't enough, there is a series of murders and it looks to some as if Celia could be involved.
The author kept me guessing through most of the story before the final surprise was revealed. I would give the book a 4 since it was an entertaining read, if not a memorable one. It even made me curious to know more about Lizzie Borden as I knew only what I'd heard in the rhyme and had not been aware there was history behind the verse. If you enjoy a good murder mystery, I think you'll enjoy this one.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Under the Wide and Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
"Under the wide and starry sky,
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill."
-Robert Louis Stevenson
This is the second novel by Nancy Horan. I read her first, Loving Frank, last month. It's rather strange that the last three novels I have read have been biographical, each one about a woman who loved a famous man. It wasn't intentional to read them almost back to back. Frank Lloyd Wright was Mamah Cheney's lover in Loving Frank. Our Page Turners group read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain in May, about the first wife of Ernest Hemingway, Hadley. And this one, as you can tell from the quote, has Robert Louis Stevenson as the love interest and second husband of Fanny Van de Grift Osborne Stevenson.
I knew very little about Robert Louis Stevenson. I was familiar with Treasure Island and A Child's Garden of Verses but didn't even realize that he was a Scotsman, educated as a lawyer, or that he wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I remembered quite fondly one of his poems in a textbook I used years ago, called "The Block City." Stevenson was troubled by serious respiratory problems all his life and died quite young. He apparently gave Fanny a lot of credit for extending his life by being his health advocate in many ways, one of which was agreeing to live aboard ship for months at a time, even though she suffered terribly from seasickness while his illness was much improved by sea air. She gave up her aspirations to study art when she met Robert and found difficulty being accepted as the writer she felt she could be. They lived in many places, trying to find the perfect place for Robert to thrive and ended up in Samoa, a place he greatly loved.
I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. I would give it a 3+ since I appreciate Ms. Horan's writing. Maybe by the time I got to this novel, I was just tired of reading about women in the shadows of great men! On to a mindless mystery, perhaps!
Dig the grave and let me lie.
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me:
Here he lies where he longed to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill."
-Robert Louis Stevenson
This is the second novel by Nancy Horan. I read her first, Loving Frank, last month. It's rather strange that the last three novels I have read have been biographical, each one about a woman who loved a famous man. It wasn't intentional to read them almost back to back. Frank Lloyd Wright was Mamah Cheney's lover in Loving Frank. Our Page Turners group read The Paris Wife by Paula McLain in May, about the first wife of Ernest Hemingway, Hadley. And this one, as you can tell from the quote, has Robert Louis Stevenson as the love interest and second husband of Fanny Van de Grift Osborne Stevenson.
I knew very little about Robert Louis Stevenson. I was familiar with Treasure Island and A Child's Garden of Verses but didn't even realize that he was a Scotsman, educated as a lawyer, or that he wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I remembered quite fondly one of his poems in a textbook I used years ago, called "The Block City." Stevenson was troubled by serious respiratory problems all his life and died quite young. He apparently gave Fanny a lot of credit for extending his life by being his health advocate in many ways, one of which was agreeing to live aboard ship for months at a time, even though she suffered terribly from seasickness while his illness was much improved by sea air. She gave up her aspirations to study art when she met Robert and found difficulty being accepted as the writer she felt she could be. They lived in many places, trying to find the perfect place for Robert to thrive and ended up in Samoa, a place he greatly loved.
I enjoyed this book but I didn't love it. I would give it a 3+ since I appreciate Ms. Horan's writing. Maybe by the time I got to this novel, I was just tired of reading about women in the shadows of great men! On to a mindless mystery, perhaps!
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Zealot The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan
"If one knew nothing else about Jesus of Nazareth save that he was crucified by Rome, one would know practically all that was needed to uncover who he was, what he was, and why he ended up nailed to a cross. His offense, in the eyes of Rome, is self-evident. It was etched upon a plaque and placed above his head for all to see: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. His crime was daring to assume kingly ambitions."
-from the book
I really didn't know what I was getting into selecting this book! I thought it was historical fiction but it reads like nonfiction (and has a 232 call number) and the book jacket calls it a biography. Whatever it is, it is unique!
The author's main theme is presenting Jesus of Nazareth in contrast to the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Now I am not one who takes the whole Bible literally and in fact, am pretty open-minded, but I was truly shocked by much of what Mr. Aslan brings out in this book! He reminds the reader that the gospel writers told their stories well after Jesus death and resurrection and strongly hints at how they probably "embellished" their narratives to fit both Old Testament prophecies and expectations of their readers. I wasn't expecting that! For example, at the time of Jesus' birth people would not have had to travel to their birthplaces to register for the tax roles so it is more likely Jesus was born in Nazareth. However the Hebrew Bible prophesied the messiah would be born in the same city as David, so the story had to "relocate" the nativity scene. There were many other events in the NT which I have always accepted as "gospel" but in this book their historicity is questioned. The author also brings up many inconsistencies in the stories of Jesus' trials and crucifixion.
Mr. Aslan's point is that to the writers of these accounts Christology mattered more than history.
One very surprising thing to me is the conflict, even animosity, between Paul and other important leaders of the early church such as James the Just, brother of Jesus, Peter and John. I did not realize that James was the accepted head of the movement begun by his brother. It seems odd, even to the author, that he has one book in the NT attributed to him while Paul has so many.
I have to admit I did not read the 50+ pages of notes where the author explained some of his research and described some other expert opinions; I scanned them and read bits and pieces. It is an impressive amount of research---the author says two decades worth! I am in awe of that much dedication! I did not love the book, however. I am rating it a 3. It gave me a lot of food for thought but I am not sure I like having so many of my bubbles burst! And when I finished reading, I still couldn't tell if this author is a Christian or not. That bothered me.
-from the book
I really didn't know what I was getting into selecting this book! I thought it was historical fiction but it reads like nonfiction (and has a 232 call number) and the book jacket calls it a biography. Whatever it is, it is unique!
The author's main theme is presenting Jesus of Nazareth in contrast to the Jesus Christ of the New Testament. Now I am not one who takes the whole Bible literally and in fact, am pretty open-minded, but I was truly shocked by much of what Mr. Aslan brings out in this book! He reminds the reader that the gospel writers told their stories well after Jesus death and resurrection and strongly hints at how they probably "embellished" their narratives to fit both Old Testament prophecies and expectations of their readers. I wasn't expecting that! For example, at the time of Jesus' birth people would not have had to travel to their birthplaces to register for the tax roles so it is more likely Jesus was born in Nazareth. However the Hebrew Bible prophesied the messiah would be born in the same city as David, so the story had to "relocate" the nativity scene. There were many other events in the NT which I have always accepted as "gospel" but in this book their historicity is questioned. The author also brings up many inconsistencies in the stories of Jesus' trials and crucifixion.
Mr. Aslan's point is that to the writers of these accounts Christology mattered more than history.
One very surprising thing to me is the conflict, even animosity, between Paul and other important leaders of the early church such as James the Just, brother of Jesus, Peter and John. I did not realize that James was the accepted head of the movement begun by his brother. It seems odd, even to the author, that he has one book in the NT attributed to him while Paul has so many.
I have to admit I did not read the 50+ pages of notes where the author explained some of his research and described some other expert opinions; I scanned them and read bits and pieces. It is an impressive amount of research---the author says two decades worth! I am in awe of that much dedication! I did not love the book, however. I am rating it a 3. It gave me a lot of food for thought but I am not sure I like having so many of my bubbles burst! And when I finished reading, I still couldn't tell if this author is a Christian or not. That bothered me.
Friday, May 23, 2014
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
"He was such an enigma, really---fine and strong and weak and cruel. An incomparable friend and a son of a bitch. In the end, there wasn't one thing about him that was truer than the rest. It was all true."
-Hadley, describing Ernest, from the novel
I chose this title for our book club with some input from members and because we could get multiple copies from our public library. Though I don't really like Hemingway's work, I did enjoy this work of fiction about him and his first wife, Hadley. And for the record, after reading it I not only don't like his writing, I don't have much respect for him as a man either! I gave the book a rating of 4 and the group average was 3.7.
When Hadley meets Ernest Hemingway in 1920, even after being warned by her friend, Kate, she falls madly in love. She had not had the best of family life and when Ernest was obviously crazy about her and so young and energetic, she was quite susceptible to his charms. She agrees to marry him and they go to Paris, where he feels he can take off with his writing. As it turns out, Jazz-Age Paris was probably the wrong place to build a lasting marriage. Their Paris life might remind one of The Great Gatsby with the drinking and self-indulgence and conflicting egos. In fact, Ernest and Hadley meet many others of the so-called "Lost Generation" including F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, John Dos Passos, and Archibald McLeish.
Ernest becomes somewhat obsessed by bullfighting and begins the novel which will become The Sun Also Rises. Truly I have never understood the attraction for that sport, if it can be called that. Being excited over seeing an animal taunted and killed----really? Of course, Ernest loved boxing and fishing, too, so some would call him a man's man.
Some in our group thought Hadley was a bit shallow and should have been stronger but I think we all liked her MUCH more than Hem. And I would venture to say all the women had strong empathy for Hadley. Pauline...well, let's just say she wouldn't want to meet us in a dark alley!
I just noticed there is a quote on the cover of The Paris Wife from Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank, the last novel I read. What a coincidence! I did find myself thinking of that story and comparing the two, such things as homes in Oak Park and working abroad. Nancy Horan says, "This remarkable novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage is mesmerizing. I loved this book."
-Hadley, describing Ernest, from the novel
I chose this title for our book club with some input from members and because we could get multiple copies from our public library. Though I don't really like Hemingway's work, I did enjoy this work of fiction about him and his first wife, Hadley. And for the record, after reading it I not only don't like his writing, I don't have much respect for him as a man either! I gave the book a rating of 4 and the group average was 3.7.
When Hadley meets Ernest Hemingway in 1920, even after being warned by her friend, Kate, she falls madly in love. She had not had the best of family life and when Ernest was obviously crazy about her and so young and energetic, she was quite susceptible to his charms. She agrees to marry him and they go to Paris, where he feels he can take off with his writing. As it turns out, Jazz-Age Paris was probably the wrong place to build a lasting marriage. Their Paris life might remind one of The Great Gatsby with the drinking and self-indulgence and conflicting egos. In fact, Ernest and Hadley meet many others of the so-called "Lost Generation" including F.Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, John Dos Passos, and Archibald McLeish.
Ernest becomes somewhat obsessed by bullfighting and begins the novel which will become The Sun Also Rises. Truly I have never understood the attraction for that sport, if it can be called that. Being excited over seeing an animal taunted and killed----really? Of course, Ernest loved boxing and fishing, too, so some would call him a man's man.
Some in our group thought Hadley was a bit shallow and should have been stronger but I think we all liked her MUCH more than Hem. And I would venture to say all the women had strong empathy for Hadley. Pauline...well, let's just say she wouldn't want to meet us in a dark alley!
I just noticed there is a quote on the cover of The Paris Wife from Nancy Horan, author of Loving Frank, the last novel I read. What a coincidence! I did find myself thinking of that story and comparing the two, such things as homes in Oak Park and working abroad. Nancy Horan says, "This remarkable novel about Ernest Hemingway's first marriage is mesmerizing. I loved this book."
Marjorie Harris Carr Defender of Florida's Environment by Peggy Macdonald
"Please allow me to eat humble pie...with all the others who thought that trying to stop the Cross Florida Barge Canal was akin to one of Don Quixote's impossible dreams."
-Herbert Kale II, a noted ecologist in a commendation of Marjorie Harris Carr
My readers know I'm not much on biographies. So how did I come to select this one? The simple answer is the subject's name is Marjorie and she is an environmental hero of mine. Now for the more complete answer:
Several years ago I took on a cameo acting role of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of the Pulitzer-winning The Yearling. Through this portrayal I became very interested in Rawlings, who did her best work while living in Florida and using it as a setting for many short stories and novels. At some point during this time I became interested in Marjory Stoneman Douglas, known as the "Guardian of the Glades," probably due to my fondness for Florida history and curiosity about environmental issues. The more I read about Douglas (The Everglades, River of Grass and Voice of the River, her autobiography) the more I found myself drawing comparisons to Rawlings, the other Florida Marjorie. More recently I came across another Marjorie---Marjorie Harris Carr, who led the fight to stop the Cross Florida Barge Canal, a huge environmental fiasco. I read Ditch of Dreams, subtitled The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida's Future by Steven Noll and David Tegeder, a year or so ago and although credit was given to Carr for being a real force in the anti-canal movement, it left me wanting to know more of her story. So when I saw this biography at the Marjorie Rawlings Society conference I happily purchased it.
Marjorie Harris Carr became a scientist at a time when she had to fight for the right to study the "hard sciences" which were thought to be too intellectual for a female mind! Her story is inspiring as she struggles to succeed in a male-dominated world. She would even use that prevailing chauvinism to her advantage by calling herself a "poor little housewife from Micanopy" in something of sneak attack on the proponents of the canal.
Her early activism consisted of fighting to stop highways that would harm the environment in North Central Florida and in efforts to preserve Paines Prairie, now a state park. Some of this work she led through her membership in the Gainesville Garden Club and the Alachua Audubon Society. She believed there was strength in numbers and inspired groups like these to help in the fight. Later she would co found Florida Defenders of the Environment and also appeal to local and national media to fire up more citizens. Of course, it helped that she had married Archie Carr, a University of Florida professor, sea turtle expert and a renowned environmental activist in his own right. The Carrs came to be called the "dynamic duo" in ecology circles.
Marjorie first got into the Barge Canal battle in just trying to save the Ocklawaha River which was near her home and involved in the route of the canal. She worked for 35 years to save the river and stop the canal, even being called "Our Lady of the Rivers." She lived to see the deauthorization of the canal but not the restoration of the Ocklawaha. She died in 1997 but efforts to restore the river are ongoing. After her death the Cross Florida Greenway which had been built along the proposed canal right-of-way was renamed the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.
A couple of things I learned that surprised me were that Nixon was quite the environmental president in his first years in office. He signed the Endangered Species Conservation Act and established the Environmental Protection Agency, and was the one to stop the building of the Cross Florida Barge Canal by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1971. Also, it was interesting that in the 1950's the conservation movement meant saving nature pretty much for man's use. By the next decade, environmentalism came to the forefront and focused on saving nature for its own beauty and value.
I would give this book a 5. It definitely is not for everyone but if you like knowing more about Florida history and strong female leaders, you may enjoy it. Marjorie Harris Carr was smart, persistent, determined, creative and optimistic about her mission. An article about her in Christian Science Monitor was titled "The Housewife Who Roared."
Now I can get started on my Three Marjories of Florida project!
-Herbert Kale II, a noted ecologist in a commendation of Marjorie Harris Carr
My readers know I'm not much on biographies. So how did I come to select this one? The simple answer is the subject's name is Marjorie and she is an environmental hero of mine. Now for the more complete answer:
Several years ago I took on a cameo acting role of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of the Pulitzer-winning The Yearling. Through this portrayal I became very interested in Rawlings, who did her best work while living in Florida and using it as a setting for many short stories and novels. At some point during this time I became interested in Marjory Stoneman Douglas, known as the "Guardian of the Glades," probably due to my fondness for Florida history and curiosity about environmental issues. The more I read about Douglas (The Everglades, River of Grass and Voice of the River, her autobiography) the more I found myself drawing comparisons to Rawlings, the other Florida Marjorie. More recently I came across another Marjorie---Marjorie Harris Carr, who led the fight to stop the Cross Florida Barge Canal, a huge environmental fiasco. I read Ditch of Dreams, subtitled The Cross Florida Barge Canal and the Struggle for Florida's Future by Steven Noll and David Tegeder, a year or so ago and although credit was given to Carr for being a real force in the anti-canal movement, it left me wanting to know more of her story. So when I saw this biography at the Marjorie Rawlings Society conference I happily purchased it.
Marjorie Harris Carr became a scientist at a time when she had to fight for the right to study the "hard sciences" which were thought to be too intellectual for a female mind! Her story is inspiring as she struggles to succeed in a male-dominated world. She would even use that prevailing chauvinism to her advantage by calling herself a "poor little housewife from Micanopy" in something of sneak attack on the proponents of the canal.
Her early activism consisted of fighting to stop highways that would harm the environment in North Central Florida and in efforts to preserve Paines Prairie, now a state park. Some of this work she led through her membership in the Gainesville Garden Club and the Alachua Audubon Society. She believed there was strength in numbers and inspired groups like these to help in the fight. Later she would co found Florida Defenders of the Environment and also appeal to local and national media to fire up more citizens. Of course, it helped that she had married Archie Carr, a University of Florida professor, sea turtle expert and a renowned environmental activist in his own right. The Carrs came to be called the "dynamic duo" in ecology circles.
Marjorie first got into the Barge Canal battle in just trying to save the Ocklawaha River which was near her home and involved in the route of the canal. She worked for 35 years to save the river and stop the canal, even being called "Our Lady of the Rivers." She lived to see the deauthorization of the canal but not the restoration of the Ocklawaha. She died in 1997 but efforts to restore the river are ongoing. After her death the Cross Florida Greenway which had been built along the proposed canal right-of-way was renamed the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway.
A couple of things I learned that surprised me were that Nixon was quite the environmental president in his first years in office. He signed the Endangered Species Conservation Act and established the Environmental Protection Agency, and was the one to stop the building of the Cross Florida Barge Canal by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1971. Also, it was interesting that in the 1950's the conservation movement meant saving nature pretty much for man's use. By the next decade, environmentalism came to the forefront and focused on saving nature for its own beauty and value.
I would give this book a 5. It definitely is not for everyone but if you like knowing more about Florida history and strong female leaders, you may enjoy it. Marjorie Harris Carr was smart, persistent, determined, creative and optimistic about her mission. An article about her in Christian Science Monitor was titled "The Housewife Who Roared."
Now I can get started on my Three Marjories of Florida project!
Friday, May 9, 2014
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
"You see, I started out to give expression to certain ideals in architecture. I wanted to create something organic---something sound and wholesome. American in spirit and beautiful it might be. I think I have succeeded in that. In a way, my buildings are my children."
-Frank Lloyd Wright, quoted in the novel
I chose to read this book because our day trip group was planning to go to Florida Southern College for a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings on the campus. In the reading I learned more of the architect's personal life than his work and I can't say I was impressed by it.
The novel which is set in the early 1900's essentially tracks the affair Wright had with a client, Mamah (pronounced May' mah) Cheney, a married woman with two children. When Wright decides to work in Europe for a while, Mamah leaves her family with her husband and her sister and joins him. While there, she heartily adopts the philosophy of Ellen Key, a Swedish author/speaker who hires Mamah to translate her work. More and more she becomes a feminist before her time. Though she is sorrowful when her dearest friend, Mattie, dies back in the states, and when she misses her children terribly, I had little sympathy for her since it was the life she chose for herself.
When Frank decides to return to the states and build a home in Wisconsin, Mamah reluctantly agrees to go with him though she knows the press is relentless in their pursuit of the "dirty details" of the affair. Frank builds Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, where he and Mamah find some happiness until some financial problems crop up and then---a tragic occurrence that suddenly turned the book into a "page turner" for me!
Apparently this was Nancy Horan's first novel and I thought her writing was good. I didn't care for the self-indulgence of the main characters and, for that reason didn't enjoy it much, so I am rating it a 3. I have ordered another novel by this author and anticipate liking it more.
Our group did go to Florida Southern College and the tour guide had much to share about the talents and genius of Frank Lloyd Wright. I definitely could appreciate that side of the man in seeing these amazing structures he designed! However, there was no evidence in what I heard that he had a humble bone in his body!
-Frank Lloyd Wright, quoted in the novel
I chose to read this book because our day trip group was planning to go to Florida Southern College for a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings on the campus. In the reading I learned more of the architect's personal life than his work and I can't say I was impressed by it.
The novel which is set in the early 1900's essentially tracks the affair Wright had with a client, Mamah (pronounced May' mah) Cheney, a married woman with two children. When Wright decides to work in Europe for a while, Mamah leaves her family with her husband and her sister and joins him. While there, she heartily adopts the philosophy of Ellen Key, a Swedish author/speaker who hires Mamah to translate her work. More and more she becomes a feminist before her time. Though she is sorrowful when her dearest friend, Mattie, dies back in the states, and when she misses her children terribly, I had little sympathy for her since it was the life she chose for herself.
When Frank decides to return to the states and build a home in Wisconsin, Mamah reluctantly agrees to go with him though she knows the press is relentless in their pursuit of the "dirty details" of the affair. Frank builds Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin, where he and Mamah find some happiness until some financial problems crop up and then---a tragic occurrence that suddenly turned the book into a "page turner" for me!
Apparently this was Nancy Horan's first novel and I thought her writing was good. I didn't care for the self-indulgence of the main characters and, for that reason didn't enjoy it much, so I am rating it a 3. I have ordered another novel by this author and anticipate liking it more.
Our group did go to Florida Southern College and the tour guide had much to share about the talents and genius of Frank Lloyd Wright. I definitely could appreciate that side of the man in seeing these amazing structures he designed! However, there was no evidence in what I heard that he had a humble bone in his body!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Hiding in the Spotlight by Greg Dawson
"Father is next to me on the road, he is placing his coat over my shoulders, he is whispering to me. 'I don't care what you do---just live!'"
-Zhanna, as quoted in the book
Last year my husband and I heard Greg Dawson speak about the writing of this book and were intrigued by the story and from that time I had wanted to read the book. While perusing the list of titles available at our public library as Book Bundles (multiple copies), I discovered there were 6 copies of Hiding in the Spotlight so I could choose it for our book club's May book. What better way for me to read it, than with friends! It turned out to be an excellent choice for more than one reason.
The subtitle of the book is A Musical Prodigy's Story of Survival, 1941-1946. The author's mother, Zhanna Arshanskaya, is the prodigy, an amazing pianist, recognized for her talents at age six. When the German army advances through the village where Zhanna's family lives in Eastern Ukraine, they are in grave danger because they are Jews. Though Zhanna's parents and grandparents are killed along with thousands of other Ukrainian Jews, Zhanna and her sister, Frina, are able to escape. With the help of some non-Jews, they change their identities and use their musical talents to survive. They eventually end up playing for audiences of German soldiers (NOT their choice), cruelly ironic in that some of these same people may have murdered their family. This occurrence gives rise to the title, Hiding in the Spotlight. At war's end, the two girls meet Lt. Larry Dawson, head of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration camp at Funk Kaserne. Tremendously impressed by their talent, Dawson takes them under his wing and manages to get them to America. Upon Dawson's return to the states, he arranges an audition at Julliard and the girls are accepted. "After going through hell in Ukraine and purgatory in Berlin"...I am thinking Zhanna's and Frina's lives in America were paradise!
Zhanna's story reminded me of another Holocaust survivor I heard speak a few years ago. He was a Jewish house painter and because of the need for his skill, he was allowed to live and work for the Nazis.
On a much different note, my husband and I were on a cruise last month, where we were privileged to hear two young Ukrainian women play, one the violin and the other, piano. They were so very talented we returned again and again to hear them. Their repertoire was extensive---from classical to Broadway and popular music. The violinist told us she started to play at age 5, similar to Zhanna.
The story of Hiding in the Spotlight is fascinating and inspiring! Only two things bothered me about the book. One it seemed to me there was a good bit of repetition, for example, explanations of the significance of the sheet music Zhanna carried with her. It was almost as if the author wasn't sure the reader could remember certain details and so repeated them. The sequence bothered me at times also, like the sisters' meeting with Larry Dawson and then back to Larry's time in West Palm. I guess that could be considered a flashback but somehow seemed disjointed to me. I would rate the book a 4 and I am very glad I read it!
----------------------------------------------
A few days before our book club was to meet to discuss the book, my husband suggested I should invite the author to come. After all he lives in Orlando. I was finally able to find an email address and sent the invitation. Mr. Dawson replied quickly and said he would be delighted. What a unique and delightful meeting we had! We didn't have questions specific to the book, as we usually do, but spent the time sharing our reactions to the book and questioning him about characters and occurrences in the book. We did not rate the book, as is our habit, not wanting to put Mr. Dawson on the spot in any way. Most members did later email their rating for Hiding in the Spotlight and the average was 4.3 out of 5. Now you can better see why this was a good choice for our Page Turners group. He spoke a bit about his second book, Judgment Before Nuremberg, and several of us plan to read it, as well.
The book website is http://www.hidinginthespotlight.com. There are wonderful photos there of the author and family. Enjoy!
-Zhanna, as quoted in the book
Last year my husband and I heard Greg Dawson speak about the writing of this book and were intrigued by the story and from that time I had wanted to read the book. While perusing the list of titles available at our public library as Book Bundles (multiple copies), I discovered there were 6 copies of Hiding in the Spotlight so I could choose it for our book club's May book. What better way for me to read it, than with friends! It turned out to be an excellent choice for more than one reason.
The subtitle of the book is A Musical Prodigy's Story of Survival, 1941-1946. The author's mother, Zhanna Arshanskaya, is the prodigy, an amazing pianist, recognized for her talents at age six. When the German army advances through the village where Zhanna's family lives in Eastern Ukraine, they are in grave danger because they are Jews. Though Zhanna's parents and grandparents are killed along with thousands of other Ukrainian Jews, Zhanna and her sister, Frina, are able to escape. With the help of some non-Jews, they change their identities and use their musical talents to survive. They eventually end up playing for audiences of German soldiers (NOT their choice), cruelly ironic in that some of these same people may have murdered their family. This occurrence gives rise to the title, Hiding in the Spotlight. At war's end, the two girls meet Lt. Larry Dawson, head of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration camp at Funk Kaserne. Tremendously impressed by their talent, Dawson takes them under his wing and manages to get them to America. Upon Dawson's return to the states, he arranges an audition at Julliard and the girls are accepted. "After going through hell in Ukraine and purgatory in Berlin"...I am thinking Zhanna's and Frina's lives in America were paradise!
Zhanna's story reminded me of another Holocaust survivor I heard speak a few years ago. He was a Jewish house painter and because of the need for his skill, he was allowed to live and work for the Nazis.
On a much different note, my husband and I were on a cruise last month, where we were privileged to hear two young Ukrainian women play, one the violin and the other, piano. They were so very talented we returned again and again to hear them. Their repertoire was extensive---from classical to Broadway and popular music. The violinist told us she started to play at age 5, similar to Zhanna.
The story of Hiding in the Spotlight is fascinating and inspiring! Only two things bothered me about the book. One it seemed to me there was a good bit of repetition, for example, explanations of the significance of the sheet music Zhanna carried with her. It was almost as if the author wasn't sure the reader could remember certain details and so repeated them. The sequence bothered me at times also, like the sisters' meeting with Larry Dawson and then back to Larry's time in West Palm. I guess that could be considered a flashback but somehow seemed disjointed to me. I would rate the book a 4 and I am very glad I read it!
----------------------------------------------
A few days before our book club was to meet to discuss the book, my husband suggested I should invite the author to come. After all he lives in Orlando. I was finally able to find an email address and sent the invitation. Mr. Dawson replied quickly and said he would be delighted. What a unique and delightful meeting we had! We didn't have questions specific to the book, as we usually do, but spent the time sharing our reactions to the book and questioning him about characters and occurrences in the book. We did not rate the book, as is our habit, not wanting to put Mr. Dawson on the spot in any way. Most members did later email their rating for Hiding in the Spotlight and the average was 4.3 out of 5. Now you can better see why this was a good choice for our Page Turners group. He spoke a bit about his second book, Judgment Before Nuremberg, and several of us plan to read it, as well.
The book website is http://www.hidinginthespotlight.com. There are wonderful photos there of the author and family. Enjoy!
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover by Ann B. Ross
"The reverend, he tell us that the Lord answers ev'ry prayer what's put up---it'll be either yes, no, or wait a while. But it lookin' like this be one of them no times."
-Miss Lillian, from the novel
Well, Miss Julia has taken me on another entertaining ride! This is the latest in Ms. Ross's series and she continues to amaze and amuse me with the predicaments she can get Miss Julia into. I simply love the series! According to the book jacket I have another to look forward to this year, one starring Miss Julia's friend, Etta Mae Wiggins.
In this novel, Miss Julia's husband, Sam, decides to run for office and then has health issues that cause Julia to reluctantly step into the campaign arena. About the same time she receives a surprise guest who is in need of a "marvelous makeover." When the surprise guest brings home a male friend who has designs on some of Julia's property, the stage is set for another exciting and crazy plot.
You will not be surprised I'm giving this book a rating of 5. I've never read a Miss Julia novel that I didn't like!
-Miss Lillian, from the novel
Well, Miss Julia has taken me on another entertaining ride! This is the latest in Ms. Ross's series and she continues to amaze and amuse me with the predicaments she can get Miss Julia into. I simply love the series! According to the book jacket I have another to look forward to this year, one starring Miss Julia's friend, Etta Mae Wiggins.
In this novel, Miss Julia's husband, Sam, decides to run for office and then has health issues that cause Julia to reluctantly step into the campaign arena. About the same time she receives a surprise guest who is in need of a "marvelous makeover." When the surprise guest brings home a male friend who has designs on some of Julia's property, the stage is set for another exciting and crazy plot.
You will not be surprised I'm giving this book a rating of 5. I've never read a Miss Julia novel that I didn't like!
Monday, April 14, 2014
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble by Ann B. Ross
"It's my firm conviction that whatever convenience the Lord makes available, it's incumbent on us to be grateful for it and use it. I see no virtue in doing things the hard way merely for the sake of doing them the hard way. Just get on with it, is my attitude."
-Miss Julia, from the novel
What a refreshing read this was after dragging myself through Great Expectations! I believe I have read all 13 of the Miss Julia series and I love, love, love them! A rating of 5 for sure!
Julia Murdoch is a 60-ish lady who lives in a fictional small town in North Carolina. She often "stirs up trouble" but always in her efforts to right a wrong or solve a mystery or help a loved one. Julia is always the main character but I adore her housekeeper, Lillian, and many other characters who are so well-developed they've almost become part of my family---Sam, Hazel Marie and Lloyd, to name a few.
This novel doesn't have quite as much action as some others but it does have all the humor. I cannot read a Miss Julia book without laughing out loud or at least giggling to myself repeatedly. Her antics are sometimes hilarious!
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble is unique in that it includes many recipes, often with a story behind them and humorous comments from Miss Julia. As Hazel Marie, known partly by her inability to cook, becomes overwhelmed with caring for her twin babies and added stressors at the beginning of the story, Julia decides to enlist the help of several friends and neighbors to give her cooking lessons and submit recipes for a cookbook for her. Some of the recipes sound so tasty and simple, I hate to return the book to the library without trying some out. Maybe I will have to purchase this one!
Lest you think it is only a cookbook, let me assure you there are at least a few other plots woven into this delightful novel. I am so excited I can now start the newest in the series which I recently received from the library: Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover!
I highly recommend this series, especially if you are a lady of the South and age 50 plus. If you have never read any of the series, start with Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, the first one, that sets up many future plots. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
-Miss Julia, from the novel
What a refreshing read this was after dragging myself through Great Expectations! I believe I have read all 13 of the Miss Julia series and I love, love, love them! A rating of 5 for sure!
Julia Murdoch is a 60-ish lady who lives in a fictional small town in North Carolina. She often "stirs up trouble" but always in her efforts to right a wrong or solve a mystery or help a loved one. Julia is always the main character but I adore her housekeeper, Lillian, and many other characters who are so well-developed they've almost become part of my family---Sam, Hazel Marie and Lloyd, to name a few.
This novel doesn't have quite as much action as some others but it does have all the humor. I cannot read a Miss Julia book without laughing out loud or at least giggling to myself repeatedly. Her antics are sometimes hilarious!
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble is unique in that it includes many recipes, often with a story behind them and humorous comments from Miss Julia. As Hazel Marie, known partly by her inability to cook, becomes overwhelmed with caring for her twin babies and added stressors at the beginning of the story, Julia decides to enlist the help of several friends and neighbors to give her cooking lessons and submit recipes for a cookbook for her. Some of the recipes sound so tasty and simple, I hate to return the book to the library without trying some out. Maybe I will have to purchase this one!
Lest you think it is only a cookbook, let me assure you there are at least a few other plots woven into this delightful novel. I am so excited I can now start the newest in the series which I recently received from the library: Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover!
I highly recommend this series, especially if you are a lady of the South and age 50 plus. If you have never read any of the series, start with Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind, the first one, that sets up many future plots. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
“Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings
welded together, as I may say, and one man’s a blacksmith, and one’s a
whitesmith, and one’s a goldsmith, and one’s a coppersmith. Diwisions among
such must come, and must be met as they come.”
-spoken by Joe, in the novel
What made me choose this classic for our book club to read? At the time, my husband and I had tickets to see the play "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby" about which we were very excited and which turned out to be a wonderful production at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater. Also the Orlando Public Library declared a 2014 theme of "What the Dickens?" featuring many special activities centered around the work of Dickens. I chose three of his shorter works and the group voted for Great Expectations. Unfortunately it was not well-received!
When we met to discuss it, only five members were in attendance. Of course, a few had read the book and just couldn't make it but many admitted it was not their cup of tea. Of those of us who met, three had finished the book and really liked it, one had not read it at all but wanted to hear the discussion, and yours truly had finished only half. I had to confess it was the first book I had not completed reading before the meeting since the Page Turners start-up in 2008! And I also admitted I HAD read the Sparknotes! My biggest mistake was not starting the novel soon enough. The language is challenging when you have had a steady reading diet of current fiction and though Great Expectations is one of Dicken's shorter works, it is still quite lengthy! As the participants talked about the plot and characters, I found myself wanting to finish the book, which I did about a week later. In the discussion they brought up some of the humor and intriguing details that had not come out in the Sparknotes. I decided on a rating of 3 because I felt myself trudging through it and yet there were parts I truly appreciated. The group average was 4, though that is based on only 7 members voting. One person who gave it a 2 said it was "too many words to say so little."
The protagonist and narrator is Pip, an orphan being raised by his mean and nasty sister and her kind-hearted husband, Joe. At a young age, near the beginning of the novel, Pip meets Estella who changes his life and makes him aspire to become a gentleman in order to win her. After some time, a mysterious benefactor provides Pip what he believes will fulfill his "great expectations." The plot is intricate with many twists and turns. The characters are numerous, well-developed and mostly eccentric, especially Miss Havisham and Wemmick. Joe, Biddy and Herbert are the most likeable ones, and also Pip, after he begins to learn what is truly important in life.
Dickens does know how to turn a phrase, for example in describing Mr. Wemmick, "He had glittering eyes---small, keen, and black---and thin wide mottled lips. He had had them, to the best of my belief, from forty or fifty years." Much later in trying to hide someone, Pip describes two women in his service "...an inflammatory old female, assisted by an animated rag-bag whom she called her niece; and to keep a room secret from them would be to invite curiosity and exaggeration. They both had weak eyes, which I had long attributed to their chronically looking in at keyholes, and they were always at hand when not wanted; indeed that was their only reliable quality besides larceny." These and many other descriptions I found very amusing.
I happened to be at the library when "Charles Dickens" was a guest speaker. It was very interesting to hear him speak of his life and read aloud some of his work. One of these days, I would love to tackle Nicholas Nickleby but it will be a while!
Monday, March 24, 2014
Inferno by Dan Brown
"To do nothing is to welcome Dante's hell...cramped and starving, weltering in Sin. And so boldly I have taken action. Some will recoil in horror, but all salvation comes at a price. One day the world will grasp the beauty of my sacrifice. For I am your Salvation. I am the Shade. I am the gateway to the Posthuman age."
-from the novel
Another thriller from Dan Brown with a very intricate plot. In fact, it was challenging to read partly because of all the references to Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy with which I was only vaguely familiar, and partly because of the symbolism and codes so prevalent in Brown's novels. It didn't help that I was reading it while on a cruise and finding only snatches of time to concentrate. At any rate I didn't enjoy it as much as Angels and Demons or The DaVinci Code so I 'll rate it a 4. I have to admit it gave me a yen to travel to Florence, Venice and Istanbul! Also I will recommend it to our co-pastors who are currently preaching a series on the Seven Deadly Sins, which are featured in the plot and are a central part of Dante's great work and the art, particularly of Botticelli, that illustrate it.
In Inferno, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is on another adventure. At the beginning of the story he doesn't even remember how or why. He awakes in a hospital with amnesia and a bullet wound and soon finds out he must run for his life, aided by his doctor, Sienna Brooks. The antagonist/mad scientist/misguided social activist is Bertrand Zobrist. The reader is left predicting who is on which side---that of Robert and Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey of the World Health Organization or Zobrist---through much of the story. The theories about overpopulation presented in the novel are troubling, to say the least. At one point in the novel, the description of Death reminded me of Voldemort in the Harry Potter series.
After reading, I searched out images of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice and the Haggia Sophia in Istanbul. So awesome! I only wish I had done that during the reading so I could more fully visualize where the action was taking place.
It will be interesting to see if this novel is adapted to the screen as others by the author have been. I would definitely buy a ticket.
-from the novel
Another thriller from Dan Brown with a very intricate plot. In fact, it was challenging to read partly because of all the references to Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy with which I was only vaguely familiar, and partly because of the symbolism and codes so prevalent in Brown's novels. It didn't help that I was reading it while on a cruise and finding only snatches of time to concentrate. At any rate I didn't enjoy it as much as Angels and Demons or The DaVinci Code so I 'll rate it a 4. I have to admit it gave me a yen to travel to Florence, Venice and Istanbul! Also I will recommend it to our co-pastors who are currently preaching a series on the Seven Deadly Sins, which are featured in the plot and are a central part of Dante's great work and the art, particularly of Botticelli, that illustrate it.
In Inferno, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is on another adventure. At the beginning of the story he doesn't even remember how or why. He awakes in a hospital with amnesia and a bullet wound and soon finds out he must run for his life, aided by his doctor, Sienna Brooks. The antagonist/mad scientist/misguided social activist is Bertrand Zobrist. The reader is left predicting who is on which side---that of Robert and Dr. Elizabeth Sinskey of the World Health Organization or Zobrist---through much of the story. The theories about overpopulation presented in the novel are troubling, to say the least. At one point in the novel, the description of Death reminded me of Voldemort in the Harry Potter series.
After reading, I searched out images of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice and the Haggia Sophia in Istanbul. So awesome! I only wish I had done that during the reading so I could more fully visualize where the action was taking place.
It will be interesting to see if this novel is adapted to the screen as others by the author have been. I would definitely buy a ticket.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
"There was a time long ago in Africa when the people could
fly. They flew like blackbirds up above with their wings shining against the
blue sky. When these people were captured into slavery they forgot that they
could fly. They shed their wings on the long boats to America. As slaves the
people lived in misery, they got sick on the waves of the sea and they no
longer could breathe and smell the sweet scent of Africa."
-from the folk tale The People Could Fly
I LOVED the The Invention of Wings! It's a 5, for sure. Since historical fiction is my favorite genre it was bound to grab me. It is plain to see why it has been on the Bestseller List for quite a while now.
The setting spans from 1803 to 1838 mostly in Charleston, South Carolina, though some of the action moves North later in the story. Sarah Grimke is the white daughter of a judge and plantation owner who, as an eleventh birthday gift, is given a 10-year-old slave girl named Hetty, also called Handful. Sarah tries to free her at that time, unsuccessfully. This attempt foreshadows Sarah's rebelliousness and her future as an abolitionist and women's rights advocate. When Sarah's baby sister, Angelina, is born, Sarah becomes her godmother. Under Sarah's influence, Angelina, called Nina, adopts similar views on slavery and gender equality. In fact, after Nina becomes a notorious speaker, she is called "Devilina" by some who oppose her radical opinions.
I had heard of Angelina Grimke, one of few female abolitionists of historical note. Through the story, Sarah and Nina's crusade introduces them to William Lloyd Garrison, Lucretia Mott and Theodore Weld, who marries Angelina. The first two names were familiar to me but not the last.
Alternating between chapters of the Grimke sisters' story, is the fascinating but ugly saga of Handful. I was no stranger to the ill-treatment of slaves but by becoming involved with these characters, the cruelty seemed more intense. It was easy to recognize Handful's voice since she used such expressions as "It was April and half the heat from hell had already showed up in Charleston" and "the picture I had of [Mauma] was washed-out like the red on a quilt after it's boiled too many times." The author did not use dialect heavily, however.
In the Author's Note, Ms.Kidd tells how she came to write this story. She says she did not know about the Grimke sisters until recently, even though she was a Charlestonian. She felt her ignorance was "a personal failing" and set out to share their amazing journey and their before-their-time feminism. She added the fictional Handful as a contrast and it works perfectly. I highly recommend this novel!
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At the time I could check out a set of copies of The Invention of Wings, I chose it for our book club selection. It was very well-liked by our members who gave it a 4.8 average rating out of 5. In fact it was very close to 4.9. My plan was to skim over the book and read my blog and the book jacket to remember the plot. However, when I started rereading I didn't want to stop! One of our Page Turners thought the Grimke sisters would be SO shocked and pleased that we have now had an African-American president and will possibly elect the first woman to that office. An interesting point!
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