"That was one of many reasons I got out of the business, Yale. Criminal law is easy, provided you don't have to deal with people. Like most everything else in life."
-Mac Smith, from the novel
This is the second murder mystery in Truman's Capital Crimes series that I have read. The other was Murder at the Library of Congress. I enjoyed them both. I will rate this one a 4.
Obviously Margaret Truman knows her way around Washington, D.C. It is particularly interesting to read one of her who-dunnits that takes place somewhere you have actually visited. I have been to the Library of Congress but not Ford's Theatre so I was more involved with the former. I will definitely read more of her novels.
Early in the novel a young intern is found murdered outside Ford's Theatre. Detectives Rick Klayman and Mo Johnson discover several unique suspects as they investigate. They have serious doubts about the guilt of the one eventually arrested, Jeremiah Lerner, the son of a powerful senator and his ex-wife who is the head of Ford's Theatre and in line for the top spot in the National Endowment for the Arts. I found myself conflicted as to who to root for. I really liked the two detectives but also identified with Georgetown professor/defense lawyer, Mac Smith. I even felt sorry for Jeremiah even though he was not very likeable. It seems Truman is pretty skilled at character development.
The book becomes a page turner as the plot thickens. The ending is surprising but isn't that what we want in a murder mystery?
Monday, June 27, 2016
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Angel City by Patrick Smith
"A few miles north of Homestead, Jared thought he recognized the spot beside the highway where they had stopped to let the radiator cool on the day they arrived in Homestead. He remembered the lunch of sausage and crackers and hot Coke, and the conversations about the fruit stand and the ocean and fishing and bathing suits and things to come. He knew now that all those dreams they had talked about were only dreams, and they had been washed away like a sandcastle in a mountain stream."
-from the novel
This novel was very much a page turner, mostly because of the emotional intensity. I am giving it a 5 but not really because I enjoyed it. If you read it, you will know exactly why I say that!
To begin the novel Jared Teeter and family must sell their failing farm in West Virginia and they plan to try their luck in Florida. By a terrible twist of fate, they end up near Homestead, Florida, picking tomatoes and living in a labor camp called Angel City, a misnomer if ever there was one! Though wife Cloma is very pregnant and cannot work, Jared, daughter Kristy and son Benny put in brutal hours in the fields. The boss is Silas Creedy, a character reminiscent of Simon Legree. Jared tries to stand up for himself and his family only to be defeated at every turn, often violently. He cannot seem to find any way out of the situation; they are prisoners by another name.
I felt such sympathy for the characters---Jared, with his self-proclaimed mountain-man integrity, and his sweet family, and also Cy, a black man and fellow worker who shows himself to be a wonderful and faithful friend.
The book reminded me of a mission trip I took with our church youth group several years ago. Part of our time was in Immokalee, Florida, cleaning a building that would become a community center and learning about the plight of the migrant workers who lived there. They were tomato pickers working so very hard for so little. Their lives were likely better than the workers in Angel City but far from comfortable. Perhaps the memory of that made the theme of this novel even more personal.
I understand the author lived as a migrant for a time to get a true picture of life in such a camp. Later "Angel City," a CBS Movie of the Week starring Ralph Waite, further publicized the evils of such labor camps and forced some positive changes in laws and policies. What a blessing for an author to feel his writing has made a positive difference in people's lives!
-from the novel
This novel was very much a page turner, mostly because of the emotional intensity. I am giving it a 5 but not really because I enjoyed it. If you read it, you will know exactly why I say that!
To begin the novel Jared Teeter and family must sell their failing farm in West Virginia and they plan to try their luck in Florida. By a terrible twist of fate, they end up near Homestead, Florida, picking tomatoes and living in a labor camp called Angel City, a misnomer if ever there was one! Though wife Cloma is very pregnant and cannot work, Jared, daughter Kristy and son Benny put in brutal hours in the fields. The boss is Silas Creedy, a character reminiscent of Simon Legree. Jared tries to stand up for himself and his family only to be defeated at every turn, often violently. He cannot seem to find any way out of the situation; they are prisoners by another name.
I felt such sympathy for the characters---Jared, with his self-proclaimed mountain-man integrity, and his sweet family, and also Cy, a black man and fellow worker who shows himself to be a wonderful and faithful friend.
The book reminded me of a mission trip I took with our church youth group several years ago. Part of our time was in Immokalee, Florida, cleaning a building that would become a community center and learning about the plight of the migrant workers who lived there. They were tomato pickers working so very hard for so little. Their lives were likely better than the workers in Angel City but far from comfortable. Perhaps the memory of that made the theme of this novel even more personal.
I understand the author lived as a migrant for a time to get a true picture of life in such a camp. Later "Angel City," a CBS Movie of the Week starring Ralph Waite, further publicized the evils of such labor camps and forced some positive changes in laws and policies. What a blessing for an author to feel his writing has made a positive difference in people's lives!
Monday, June 13, 2016
State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
"In truth she did not care. She did not care that the Lakashi were having 3.7 times the number of children as compared to other indigenous Brazilians over the course of their lifetimes. She didn't care where they lived or if they were happy or if they wanted the children they had. What she did care about, cared about very much in fact, was that her employer, who had virtually proposed marriage and then sent her off to the equator after one of Vogel's employees had died there, now refused to share with her the basic information of the research question."
-Marina's thoughts, from the novel
For a number of reasons, I'll rate this book a 2. I found it tedious with its long chapters, some over 35 pages and long paragraphs, often a whole page. I also found the premise rather hard to believe---a drug to extend women's reproductive years into their 70's. Who would want that? And I kept wishing there would be a "little less talk and a lot more action."
Main character Dr. Marina Singh works for a pharmaceutical company which has researchers working on a potentially valuable drug in the Amazon. Chief scientist on the project, Dr. Annick Swenson, will not respond to requests for updates. Mr. Jim Fox, Marina's boss (and lover) sends Anders Eckman, another Vogel employee to locate Swenson, and report on the progress of the research. Later Swenson writes that Eckman is dead but provides no details. Marina is sent to uncover the mystery and hopefully disclose to Fox how the project is moving forward.
Marina finds Brazil both beautiful and potentially dangerous. The insect-infested jungle with anacondas and cannibalistic natives possessing poison arrows would have been enough to have me on the first plane back to the USA! After Marina finally locates Swenson, she finds her challenging to work with, to say the least. Swenson's sarcasm and my-way-or-the-highway attitude is very unpleasant.
Patchett's character development is good. I came to like Easter, Milton and Barbara, especially. I found it very odd that Marina called her boss, and lover, Mr. Fox, whether in a professional setting or not. The Lakashi culture was interesting also. I suppose Ms. Patchett did some extensive research there.
I will stop here rather than risk revealing any spoilers. More after our Page Turner meeting and discussion. I am predicting few in the group will like this one.
-------------------
Our group average for this book was 3.2. There were no 5's at all, but only two 2's (one being mine, you may recall). Several members liked the writing style and enjoyed certain aspects of the novel but most of us thought it was slow getting started. We had an interesting discussion about having children later in life but most in our group are retired and were horrified to think of having a baby at our age. I can tell you not one of us was ready to go do research in the Amazon after reading this book! One lady in the group has been on a medical mission in the region and could shed some light on the native culture. She had not encountered cannibals, thank goodness!
-Marina's thoughts, from the novel
For a number of reasons, I'll rate this book a 2. I found it tedious with its long chapters, some over 35 pages and long paragraphs, often a whole page. I also found the premise rather hard to believe---a drug to extend women's reproductive years into their 70's. Who would want that? And I kept wishing there would be a "little less talk and a lot more action."
Main character Dr. Marina Singh works for a pharmaceutical company which has researchers working on a potentially valuable drug in the Amazon. Chief scientist on the project, Dr. Annick Swenson, will not respond to requests for updates. Mr. Jim Fox, Marina's boss (and lover) sends Anders Eckman, another Vogel employee to locate Swenson, and report on the progress of the research. Later Swenson writes that Eckman is dead but provides no details. Marina is sent to uncover the mystery and hopefully disclose to Fox how the project is moving forward.
Marina finds Brazil both beautiful and potentially dangerous. The insect-infested jungle with anacondas and cannibalistic natives possessing poison arrows would have been enough to have me on the first plane back to the USA! After Marina finally locates Swenson, she finds her challenging to work with, to say the least. Swenson's sarcasm and my-way-or-the-highway attitude is very unpleasant.
Patchett's character development is good. I came to like Easter, Milton and Barbara, especially. I found it very odd that Marina called her boss, and lover, Mr. Fox, whether in a professional setting or not. The Lakashi culture was interesting also. I suppose Ms. Patchett did some extensive research there.
I will stop here rather than risk revealing any spoilers. More after our Page Turner meeting and discussion. I am predicting few in the group will like this one.
-------------------
Our group average for this book was 3.2. There were no 5's at all, but only two 2's (one being mine, you may recall). Several members liked the writing style and enjoyed certain aspects of the novel but most of us thought it was slow getting started. We had an interesting discussion about having children later in life but most in our group are retired and were horrified to think of having a baby at our age. I can tell you not one of us was ready to go do research in the Amazon after reading this book! One lady in the group has been on a medical mission in the region and could shed some light on the native culture. She had not encountered cannibals, thank goodness!
Saturday, June 4, 2016
Allapattah by Patrick Smith
"Allapattah. Old long snouts. You may be called allapattah by some, but your real meaning is death. You would like to eat me, heh? You would kill all you touch, like instant death. But in the end you'll die too. You'll see. Only four of you are left, and someday soon there will be none. They will kill you, just as they are killing me, and there's nothing for both of us but death."
-Toby Tiger, from the novel
I am teaching an adult class using Patrick Smith's novel A Land Remembered. Until recently it was the only book by the author that I had read. Earlier this year I read Forever Island which also involves the plight of the Florida Seminoles. Allapattah was a short read at a mere 200 pages and it did get better the more I read. I will rate it a 3, enlightening but no fun at all. If you read it, you will see what I mean.
In the novel, Toby Tiger, a young Seminole is very bitter toward white men. He blames them for the destruction of his homeland and the death of his parents. He is married to Lucy Cypress, a Seminole whose father is a Christian pastor. Toby sees even Christianity as a threat to his way of life. His anger causes him to make some rash decisions and his poor judgment brings on more and more trouble. Even with good friend Josie Billie trying to talk sense into him, he is heading down a road of despair.
Toby's story is sad and one cannot help hoping that it is more exception than rule among these Florida native people. But, alas, I suspect it is all too common. With an elderly grandfather and pregnant wife to take care of, he loses his job and is forced to wrestle alligators and carve cypress figures for the tourists. Luckily Big Jim Bentley, owner of a small café/grocery store and the only likeable white man in the story, gives him a job. Unfortunately, Toby still tries to retaliate for the hurt he's experienced and the law is not on his side.
-Toby Tiger, from the novel
I am teaching an adult class using Patrick Smith's novel A Land Remembered. Until recently it was the only book by the author that I had read. Earlier this year I read Forever Island which also involves the plight of the Florida Seminoles. Allapattah was a short read at a mere 200 pages and it did get better the more I read. I will rate it a 3, enlightening but no fun at all. If you read it, you will see what I mean.
In the novel, Toby Tiger, a young Seminole is very bitter toward white men. He blames them for the destruction of his homeland and the death of his parents. He is married to Lucy Cypress, a Seminole whose father is a Christian pastor. Toby sees even Christianity as a threat to his way of life. His anger causes him to make some rash decisions and his poor judgment brings on more and more trouble. Even with good friend Josie Billie trying to talk sense into him, he is heading down a road of despair.
Toby's story is sad and one cannot help hoping that it is more exception than rule among these Florida native people. But, alas, I suspect it is all too common. With an elderly grandfather and pregnant wife to take care of, he loses his job and is forced to wrestle alligators and carve cypress figures for the tourists. Luckily Big Jim Bentley, owner of a small café/grocery store and the only likeable white man in the story, gives him a job. Unfortunately, Toby still tries to retaliate for the hurt he's experienced and the law is not on his side.
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