The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson

"I can't agree with you in thinking that Zoology is best advanced by collectors of the kind you employ....No doubt they answer admirably the purpose of stocking a Museum; but they unstock the world---and that is a terrible consideration."
            -Alfred Newton, Cambridge professor, to former student, Walter Rothschild

I am not sure if I ever would have read this book, much less chosen it for our book club, except it was highly recommended by a member. First, I don't often select non-fiction; second, I didn't know the author; and finally, who ever heard of stealing feathers? But the book was described as "true crime," which I do enjoy sometimes. Even after reading the prologue I wasn't totally sure the book was to my taste but it didn't take long to be drawn into this unique story. And did I ever learn a lot about the feather trade! Really more than I wanted to know since I am an animal-lover and the author told of countless birds losing their lives in pursuit of their beautiful feathers. I will rate the book a 4; I liked it in spite of myself!

The author first hears of Edwin Rist from a fly-fishing guide and the more he learns, the more obsessed he becomes. Rist, a young and talented flautist, had robbed the British National History Museum of over 299 rare and valuable dead birds. WHY? you may ask. Answer: to make loads of money catering to the cult of men seemingly addicted to the hobby of Victorian salmon fly-tying. So, you've never heard of that? Neither had I.

Aside from learning of Rist's heist of birds, the reader learns about Alfred Russell Wallace, " a British naturalist, explorer, geographer, anthropologist, biologist and illustrator. He is best known for independently conceiving the theory of evolution through natural selection; his paper on the subject was jointly published with some of Charles Darwin's writings in 1858." (from Wikipedia)  I had the feeling Mr. Johnson came to have great respect for Wallace who had become known as the father of biogeography. Many of his specimens were among the ones stolen by Rist at a great loss to ornithologists.

I also learned about Walter Rothschild who had a bird obsession of his own and acquired the largest zoological collection ever amassed by a private individual, so large it required its own museum. [See the quote] Rothchild died in 1937 and his collection is now housed at the Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum at Tring, a division of the British Natural History Museum and the site of the bird heist. 

Much of the book is about Mr. Johnson's efforts to find the bird specimens that were not recovered by the authorities after the arrest and prosecution of Edwin Rist. The author is a self-described "refugee advocate moonlighting as an amateur bird heist investigator."

I was quite familiar with the "feather fever" of the late 1800's in which the snowy egret of Florida almost became extinct due to the demand for feathers to adorn ladies' hats. The founding of the Audubon Society in 1905 came about partly as a protest to this fad. The book touches on feathers for fashion before going into, at greater length, the equally horrible mania of Victorian salmon fly-tying, which requires feathers of exotic, rare and even endangered species of birds. 

I can't help but wonder how much of this insanity...and illegality... is still going on today! 
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More after our meeting...
Several of the Page Turners met via Zoom to discuss The Feather Thief. One of my first questions was to find out how many had ever heard of Victorian salmon fly-tying. I was surprised several folks were familiar with it. Not everyone liked the book as much as I did. The average rating was 3.2 with no 5's and a single rating of 1, which is very rare. I think we agreed that the book is important if it has brought more attention to this underground feather trade. Most of us were put off by reading about the killing of so many birds but then everyone should be! Many of our group were glad we read the book as it taught us so much. 
I shared some photos I found and collected since some of us read the book in electronic form and did not have the beautiful colored pictures displayed in the hardcopy. There are a couple of interviews with the author to be found on YouTube; it was interesting to hear how he became motivated to 
pursue this story.

 
 
 

Examples of Victorian salmon flies

Whisper Me This by Kerry Anne King

"Whisper me this, my darling, my love
The song of the moonlight, of stars up above.
Whisper me truth, love, and whisper me lies,
Warm days of winter, cold summer skies.
Whisper me anger, whisper me rain,
Whisper me flowers, the whisper me pain.
When I come to die, love, then whisper me this
The shape of a memory, the truth of a kiss.
Whisper me, whisper me, whisper me this
A lifetime of memories and one final kiss."
              -from the novel

I practically inhaled this book---definitely a page-turner! A 5-rating for sheer entertainment!

Maisey Addington, in her 30's, suffering from broken self-confidence and searching for a purpose in life, gets a call that will change her life in a very dramatic way. Her mother is in a coma and her father looks like he could be guilty of abuse or neglect. Father Walter is confused, seemingly sinking into dementia, so Maisey must take on the responsibility for handling some of her mother's affairs. In searching for important papers, she discovers very deep family secrets.

Maisey's daughter, Elle, is a precocious 12-year-old who is as much an emotional support for her mother as Maisey is to her. Early on, Tony, a paramedic involved with the discovery of Maisey's mother's unconscious body, takes on the role of Maisey's "bodyguard." The reader quickly notices the chemistry between Maisey and Tony and wonders how that will work out because it is soon discovered that Tony is dealing with his own demons from a past trauma. 

Interspersed in the narrative are passages of Maisey's mother's journal, revealing bit by bit the
long-buried events of the past. This is an intriguing story, to be sure.

Daughter of Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

"'It will be all right, Okasan,' [Taizo] said with a gentle reassurance he did not truly feel. 'We will gaman, and all will be right in the end.' 
Gaman was a word rooted in Buddhism that meant enduring the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity. 
        -from the novel

Perhaps you will remember the Page Turners just read Moloka'i in May. It received a 4.5 average rating, the highest of any book of 2020 so far. I gave it a 4; not so enjoyable in parts, but I learned so much and the writing was excellent. The author's research was thorough and impressive.

When I could not get our June book from the library right away, I requested this novel, what I thought was a sequel. In "A Conversation with Alan Brennert" the author says, "I began to see this not as a sequel per se, but as a companion or parallel tale that serves as a complement to Moloka'i: together they form one large, overarching, interconnected story." He says it took a decade and suggestions from fans of the first novel and his agent to finally lead him to write this one.

The first novel told the story of Rachel, a woman who spent much of her life, separated from her family in a leper colony on the island of Moloka'i. Toward the end of that novel, Rachel is cured of her disease and is able to reunite with some of her family, including her daughter Ruth, who was taken from her and her husband almost immediately after her birth to prevent her contracting leprosy.

Daughter of Moloka'i begins with Ruth's story: taken to a Catholic orphanage, adopted by Japanese immigrants, moved with her family to California and then, sadly, sent to Japanese relocation centers during WWII. The irony is obvious---Rachel gives Ruth up thinking she will be free and Ruth ends up being essentially ripped from her home and kept interned for several years, along with her family. Although this was a disturbing part of the book, it was interesting to me because I have a Japanese-American friend who was in one of the camps as a child and I found myself comparing what he has described to the events of the novel.

After Rachel finds Ruth and they begin to establish a relationship, the last third of the novel interweaves the end of Rachel's story with Ruth's as they become true 'Ohana (family). I found this part to be somewhat anticlimactic. I rate Daughter of Moloka'i a 4, as I did the first one. I especially love the author's descriptions of Hawaii of which I have beautiful memories.

Lastly, as I was reading this novel there were weeks of Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations going on. The author says, almost prophetically,  "Sadly, it seems we are never as enlightened, as inoculated from fear and racism, as we might wish we were." He was speaking of the treatment of the Japanese in the 1940's and other injustices such as slavery and abuse of Native Americans. His statement seems true today.

I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb

"When I received prizes for my work at school I was happy, as I had worked hard for them, but these prizes [Nobel Peace Prize, for one] are different. I am grateful for them, but they only remind me how much work still needs to be done to achieve the goal of education for every boy and girl. I don't want to be thought of as 'the girl who was shot by the Taliban' but the 'girl who fought for education.' This is the cause to which I want to devote my life."

                -Malala, from her memoir

I had wanted to read this book since its release in 2013. I had heard about this young woman and read about her in the newspaper and couldn't help but be impressed. The subtitle of the book is The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, which is really her story in a nutshell.

Malala certainly told her story well, in great detail, with the help of journalist Christina Lamb, but also educated me about Islam, the history of Pakistan and Pashtun culture.

Born in 1997, Malala was a beloved daughter in a culture that valued sons much more. Her parents were very loving but also supported and encouraged her in her desire for an education. In fact, her father Ziauddin, from an early age, dreamed of opening his own school for both boys and girls. He accomplished that goal and Malala says she grew up in that school. According to her memoir she was a very bright and driven student. By the age of 11, she was writing under a pen name "The Diary of Gul Makai" about life under the Taliban and passionately arguing for the education of girls in her community. She did interviews and became well-known as an activist right along with her father. Of course, when her homeland came under the control of the Taliban, she was at risk in speaking out. (The Taliban burned many schools and closed others to girls, including her father's school.)

In 2012, Malala was shot at close range while riding home from school on a bus. Her injuries could have easily been fatal. She was soon moved to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where her recovery was thought to be somewhat miraculous.

At only 17, Malala was the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the first Pakistani. On her 16th birthday, she addressed the UN with a plea for free education for all children. She is still active in the campaign for universal education and began the Malala Fund, a nonprofit organization to advocate for it. If I had to choose 3 adjectives to describe this young lady they would be courageous, determined and wise (beyond her years). But then I would still want to add one more: passionate.

There were so many great quotes from the book, it was hard to pick one to feature. Another I really liked was from Malala's father when speaking in France: "In my part of the world most people are known by their sons. I am one of the few lucky fathers known by his daughter."

Although not exactly a page turner, I am rating the book a 4. I am VERY glad I read it. Malala's story is truly inspiring!