"The nine stories have been selected not only for their excellence but also for the picture of life in South Florida during the first half of this century. They are told by a woman who has lived in Miami for the last 70 years and has spent her career writing about the area's problems and scoundrels and its beauty and heroes. For her writing and her contribution to the state's environmental concerns she might very well be Florida's Woman of the Century."
-Editor Kevin M. McCarthy, in his introduction, copyright 1990
I must admit I am not a huge fan of short stories. I read this one in preparation for a class I am teaching on Florida's Three Marjories, of which Douglas is one. I hoped to discover one to share with my class. She won an O. Henry Award in 1927 for "He Man" which is included in this collection. It was interesting and the surprise ending made me think of O. Henry's work.
My favorite was "By Violence," the one I will offer my students. It takes place near Chokoloskee Island in South Florida. It involves a very young man who has lost his father and wants to find a way to keep his siblings together. He takes a boat out hoping to find a way to make some money, perhaps by transporting tourists. He soon finds 3 men who seem to need rescuing but it doesn't take long to figure out these are some of the "scoundrels" mentioned in my quote.
Wednesday, August 24, 2016
March by Geraldine Brooks
"If a war can ever be said to be just, then this war is so; it is action for a moral cause, with the most rigorous of intellectual underpinnings. And yet everywhere I turn, I see injustice done in the waging of it. And every day, as I turn to what should be my happy obligation of opening my mind to my wife, I grope in vain for words with which to convey to her even a part of what I have witnessed, what I have felt. As for what I have done, and the consequences of my actions, these I do not even attempt to convey."
-Mr. March, from the novel
After reading Caleb's Crossing by this author, I wanted to read more of her work. When I saw that March won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, it was the obvious choice. I really liked it but perhaps a bit less than Caleb's Crossing. I will still rate it a 5. As an historical fiction of the Civil War era it was quite unique in that it ties into the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Most of the story is told by the father of the "little women"---Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy---who is away from home, involved in the war as an army chaplain. In the book he is known only as Mr. March. The author's style includes good use of flashbacks, first person narration of action by March and his letters home to his wife, Marmee. It really made me want to reread Little Women---it has been MANY years and I don't remember much of the plot.
The setting is 1861 at the start and the story moves around to battle sites, a plantation in the south, a military hospital in Washington, DC, and back to the March family home in Concord, MA, where they are friends of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The reader learns that the March family home has been a station on the Underground Railroad and they have helped numerous "packages" to their freedom. Most of the story is told by March but near the end, the perspective changes to Marmee's and it was bit confusing at first.
There were references to John Brown which were familiar to me but I found it interesting how the Marches became involved with his crusade. I did not know that the Union took over plantations in the South where they farmed with "contraband labor," slaves by another name.
At the end of the novel, March is suffering with a great deal of guilt about the experiences he has had. Today I think we would call it PTSD.
The Afterword fascinated me as the author told how she based the main character on Alcott's own father, who left behind his journals and letters. Her research is amazing.
Of course, I love historical fiction so March was right up my alley! I will look forward to reading another by Geraldine Brooks, perhaps Year of Wonders.
-Mr. March, from the novel
After reading Caleb's Crossing by this author, I wanted to read more of her work. When I saw that March won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for fiction, it was the obvious choice. I really liked it but perhaps a bit less than Caleb's Crossing. I will still rate it a 5. As an historical fiction of the Civil War era it was quite unique in that it ties into the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Most of the story is told by the father of the "little women"---Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy---who is away from home, involved in the war as an army chaplain. In the book he is known only as Mr. March. The author's style includes good use of flashbacks, first person narration of action by March and his letters home to his wife, Marmee. It really made me want to reread Little Women---it has been MANY years and I don't remember much of the plot.
The setting is 1861 at the start and the story moves around to battle sites, a plantation in the south, a military hospital in Washington, DC, and back to the March family home in Concord, MA, where they are friends of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The reader learns that the March family home has been a station on the Underground Railroad and they have helped numerous "packages" to their freedom. Most of the story is told by March but near the end, the perspective changes to Marmee's and it was bit confusing at first.
There were references to John Brown which were familiar to me but I found it interesting how the Marches became involved with his crusade. I did not know that the Union took over plantations in the South where they farmed with "contraband labor," slaves by another name.
At the end of the novel, March is suffering with a great deal of guilt about the experiences he has had. Today I think we would call it PTSD.
The Afterword fascinated me as the author told how she based the main character on Alcott's own father, who left behind his journals and letters. Her research is amazing.
Of course, I love historical fiction so March was right up my alley! I will look forward to reading another by Geraldine Brooks, perhaps Year of Wonders.
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
"Every happiness is a bright ray between shadows, every gaiety bracketed by grief. There is no birth that does not recall a death, no victory but brings to mind a defeat."
-from the novel
I selected Caleb's Crossing for our book club because it was a "book bundle" from our library (multiple copies), it was historical fiction and because we had read People of the Book by this author and liked it. I am giving it a 5---I LOVED it! I am not sure everyone in our group will. You may remember historical fiction is my favorite genre but you may not know I have a particular interest in colonial America. It was right up my alley!
The story is told, almost as if a diary, by Bethia Mayfield, who is 12 years of age in 1660. At the outset she is living on an island now known as Martha's Vineyard with her family, having originated from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her father is a missionary among the native Wampanoags. Bethia meets a native near her age who becomes a secret companion; she calls him Caleb. As fate would have it, he ends up under her father's tutelage.
The story proceeds to Cambridge when the very bright Caleb and another native, Joel, end up at Harvard College. Bethia arrives there, too, not as a student, but due to circumstances with her brother. Though the daughter of a minister, she is a headstrong young woman with feminist ideas ahead of her time. I don't want to give away much of the plot but I will comment on some other things that kept my attention.
First, I was so very impressed with the dialect used in the book. I recently selected a historical character of colonial Williamsburg and wrote a script for myself. It was very difficult finding proper words and phrases of the 18th century and my script was only a few pages. The author's research was meticulous. I felt transported! Also, I have visited Martha's Vineyard and the Wampanoag village at Plimoth Plantation. I remembered John Winthrop, Anne Hutchinson and King Philip's War from history. The Afterword is fascinating as the author explains that Caleb's character is based on a real man and Bethia is completely fictional.
I liked the challenging vocabulary---several words I noted to look up later. I found the word "salvages" interesting as it was used in place of savages. I just watched a TV documentary on the lost colony of Roanoke and the stone being researched had the word salvages. As you know I like to find a juicy quote to begin each post. There were SO many in this book, it was hard to settle on one!
There was a scene I really enjoyed early in the book where Bethia is beginning to teach Caleb the alphabet. It reminded me so much of a YA novel called The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, a favorite of mine when I was teaching 5th grade. In it a young pioneer attempts to teach a native to read. I found humor in both situations.
I have now realized Geraldine Brooks won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, March, another historical fiction of the Civil War Era. Guess what I am reading next!
------------------------------
When our Page Turners met, the average rating for Caleb's Crossing was 4.2. The discussion was lively and enjoyable. Most of the participants liked the book and found the clash of cultures thought-provoking. Several in the group expected Bethia and Caleb to become a couple but we agreed that just wouldn't have worked. We liked that Bethia was an independent thinker, questioning much of the Puritan theology and accepting the natives as they were.
-from the novel
I selected Caleb's Crossing for our book club because it was a "book bundle" from our library (multiple copies), it was historical fiction and because we had read People of the Book by this author and liked it. I am giving it a 5---I LOVED it! I am not sure everyone in our group will. You may remember historical fiction is my favorite genre but you may not know I have a particular interest in colonial America. It was right up my alley!
The story is told, almost as if a diary, by Bethia Mayfield, who is 12 years of age in 1660. At the outset she is living on an island now known as Martha's Vineyard with her family, having originated from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Her father is a missionary among the native Wampanoags. Bethia meets a native near her age who becomes a secret companion; she calls him Caleb. As fate would have it, he ends up under her father's tutelage.
The story proceeds to Cambridge when the very bright Caleb and another native, Joel, end up at Harvard College. Bethia arrives there, too, not as a student, but due to circumstances with her brother. Though the daughter of a minister, she is a headstrong young woman with feminist ideas ahead of her time. I don't want to give away much of the plot but I will comment on some other things that kept my attention.
First, I was so very impressed with the dialect used in the book. I recently selected a historical character of colonial Williamsburg and wrote a script for myself. It was very difficult finding proper words and phrases of the 18th century and my script was only a few pages. The author's research was meticulous. I felt transported! Also, I have visited Martha's Vineyard and the Wampanoag village at Plimoth Plantation. I remembered John Winthrop, Anne Hutchinson and King Philip's War from history. The Afterword is fascinating as the author explains that Caleb's character is based on a real man and Bethia is completely fictional.
I liked the challenging vocabulary---several words I noted to look up later. I found the word "salvages" interesting as it was used in place of savages. I just watched a TV documentary on the lost colony of Roanoke and the stone being researched had the word salvages. As you know I like to find a juicy quote to begin each post. There were SO many in this book, it was hard to settle on one!
There was a scene I really enjoyed early in the book where Bethia is beginning to teach Caleb the alphabet. It reminded me so much of a YA novel called The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare, a favorite of mine when I was teaching 5th grade. In it a young pioneer attempts to teach a native to read. I found humor in both situations.
I have now realized Geraldine Brooks won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, March, another historical fiction of the Civil War Era. Guess what I am reading next!
------------------------------
When our Page Turners met, the average rating for Caleb's Crossing was 4.2. The discussion was lively and enjoyable. Most of the participants liked the book and found the clash of cultures thought-provoking. Several in the group expected Bethia and Caleb to become a couple but we agreed that just wouldn't have worked. We liked that Bethia was an independent thinker, questioning much of the Puritan theology and accepting the natives as they were.
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