Big Trouble by Dave Barry

 

"[Matt and Eliot] lapsed into silence, each drifting off into jumbled recollections of the evening. At the Herk home, Anna, Jenny, and Nina were doing the same, as was Puggy in his tree. In each case, the recollections were surprisingly pleasant, considering that the evening had begun with somebody apparently trying to kill somebody."

     -from the novel

The first Page Turners selection of 2025, chosen for its brevity (less that 300 pages) and ease of reading, was quite amusing and, at times, ridiculous. After wading through East of Eden, it was a welcome change. Not much literary value, I would say, but good entertainment.

In and around Miami, take one homeless guy who moves into a deserted tree house near the home of Arthur Herk, an embezzling employee of an unethical company and an abusive alcoholic, and his wife and stepdaughter. Add in two totally inept hit men from New Jersey out to get Arthur plus two low-level criminals out to "improve themselves" to high-level. Mix in a couple of high school kids playing a game of "Killer" with a water gun, sometimes mistaken for the real thing. And let's not forget to add a self-proclaimed crime fighter, a watchdog that only watches for food, a giant toad and a 13-foot python named Daphne, not to mention some Miami PD cops and even the FBI. Sound wild? Well, it does take place in Flori-duh! 

This crazy story was a comedy of errors and reminded me of the "dumb crook" stories a deputy assigned to our elementary school used to tell the students, to their great amusement. I will rate Big Trouble a 3. I am curious to see what the group will think.

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

 

"Virtue and vice were warp and woof of our first consciousness, and they will be the fabric of our last, and this despite any changes we may impose on field and river and mountain, on economy and manners. There is no other story. A man, after he has brushed off the dust and chips of his life, will have left only the hard, clean questions: Was it good or was it evil? Have I done well---or ill?"

     -from the novel

I cannot remember if I ever read this novel before so when it was offered as an eBook at a discount, I decided I should take advantage. I surely wish I had noticed it was over 650 pages! (I prefer 450 or less.) The plot was intriguing enough to keep me reading but I thought I would never finish! It was very wordy, making for tedious reading. By the time I was 3/4 through, I had almost forgotten some of the beginning.

The title hints at the book of Genesis in the Bible and the plot is somewhat reminiscent of the story of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel. It is a family saga of the Trasks and the Hamiltons in the Salinas Valley of California. The Hamilton family, Samuel and his wife and 9 children, are one side of the story and closely connected to the Trasks. It seemed to me a Hamilton grandchild narrates some of the story. 

Adam Trask and wife, Cathy, likely represent the original residents of Eden, although I think Cathy---later Kate---is way more wicked than Eve ever was! Cathy gives birth to twin boys and promptly deserts them and their father. The Trasks have a hired Chinese man, Lee, who practically raises the two boys, later named Caleb and Aron (think Cain and Abel). He is very patient and very wise and was one of my favorite characters.

I have rated the book a 3. Guess I will check page counts before reading from now on.

A Step of Faith by Richard Paul Evans

 

"For the third time since I began, my walk has been delayed. In the beginning, I had considered these stops on my journey as interruptions---but I'm coming to understand that perhaps these detours are my journey. No matter how much I, or the rest of humanity wishes otherwise, life is not lived in smooth, downhill expressways, but in the obscure, perilous trails and rocky back roads of life where we stumble and feel our way through the fog of the unknown. Life is not a sprint. It was never meant to be. It is just one step of faith after another."

   -Alan Christoffersen's thoughts from the novel

I finished this 4th installment of The Walk series in two days. I am finding these novels to be page turners, looking forward to what will happen next to our sojourner, Alan Cristoffersen. Only one more book to go and I surely hope Alan makes it to Key West, his final destination.

Alan begins this leg of his journey in St. Louis where he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He learns he must have surgery, and his father takes him to Los Angeles for the operation and his recovery. After some time, maybe not enough, he flies back to St. Louis to restart his walk, much to his father's chagrin. 

As in the first 3 books, he meets some very unique characters. There is Pastor Tim who gives him a place to rest and shares a vision of his future. Later while walking through a bad storm, he is kindly offered a ride by a woman named Paige.

When he reaches Memphis, he visits Graceland. Funny because when we were in Memphis, we felt it was a must-see, also. The foreshadowing at the end of chapter 29 made me so curious: "If someone had told me what I would encounter on the next leg of my journey, I never would have believed them." As it turns out he met the leader of a cult who Alan called a "religious nut." I think that was an understatement!

Near the Okefenokee Swamp, Alan was offered a place to sleep (away from the snakes and gators) by Dustin who turned out to be a paranoid hermit. When he reached Folkston, Georgia, he plugged in his phone and there was good news and bad news. That's all you get from me...

Next is Walking on Water.

The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli

 

"I have come to accept that war is inevitable. Beauty is fleeting. Only love and art endure. At least that's what Master da Vinci taught me."

          -Edith Becker, from the novel

Unbeknownst to me, I had read another novel by this author early in the year, The Last Masterpiece, with the same subject---saving valuable works of art from the Nazis in WWII. The story involved two timelines---1490's and 1940's---and four major characters: Leonardo da Vinci, Cecilia Gallerani, Edith Becker, and Dominic Bollini. 

Da Vinci is commissioned by Ludovico il Moro, Regent and later Duke of Milan, to paint his mistress Cecilia's portrait in Milan, Italy in the 15th century. The painting would be called Lady with an Ermine and would become very famous and extremely valuable. 

In the 20th century, Edith Becker is an art conservator in a museum in Munich when she is forced to work for the Reich in its efforts to "relocate" (think steal) the most important art of Poland. Dominic Bollini is an American soldier who becomes involved with a group trying to find and eventually restore the stolen pieces to the original owners and locations, the Monument Men (Monuments, Fine arts and Archives Program or MFAA).

I had never heard of the painting of the Lady with an Ermine, nor did I know of the other two of the Great Three most valuable works in Polish collections: Landscape with the Good Samaritan by Rembrandt and Raphael's Portrait of a Young Man. So naturally, I had to look them up. I also had never heard of Hans Frank who was known as the Butcher of Poland. (Poor Edith ended up having to work with him.) 

I thought this novel was well-researched and well-written. I learned a lot and liked it better than the author's The Last Masterpiece. It seemed less scholarly and more reader-friendly. I have rated it a 5. It has left me wanting to see the film "The Monument Men."

The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel

 

"A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger"

    -subtitle of The Case for Christmas

There was to be a Bible study class using this theme so I purchased the book. The classes would actually entail using the videos that complement the book. I did read it, however, and learned a great deal. It was not your ordinary Bible commentary but more like a detective story with someone looking for evidence, not of a crime, of course, but of the birth and origin of Jesus Christ. (see subtitle at the top)

With only 100 pages the book is in 6 parts: Introduction, Ch 1The Eyewitness Evidence; Ch2 "The Scientific Evidence"; Ch3 "The Profile Evidence"; Ch4 "The Fingerprint Evidence" and the Conclusion, "The Verdict of History." I gained new knowledge in each part. The author is an investigative journalist seeking information and theories from several experts, including a Messianic Jew. He quotes from interviews with these authorities.

One of the most striking quotes was from philosopher William Lane Craig, who first found the virgin birth a stumbling block but after study came to this conclusion: "If I really do believe in a God who created the universe, then for him to create a Y chromosome would be child's play!"

I am rating the book a 5. Easy to read, informative and perfect for December!

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

 

"The state opened the school in 1899 as the Florida Industrial School for Boys. 'A reform school where the young offender of law, separated from vicious associates, may receive physical, intellectual, and moral training, be reformed and restored to the community with purpose and character fitting for a good citizen, an honorable and an honest man with a trade or skilled occupation fitting such person for self-maintenance.' The boys were called students, rather than inmates, to distinguish them from the violent offenders that populated prisons. All the violent offenders, Elwood added, were on staff."

            -description of the Nickel Academy, from the novel

I had been interested in reading this novel for some time and a friend recently offered it for loan. I was especially intrigued by the fact that it was inspired by stories from the notorious Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. There was considerable uproar in the state around 2014 when at least 43 graves were found in the area by a group of archaeologists. Since then, more has come to light about the horrendous treatment of the boys. Some have survived to tell the story.

In this fictional account, Elwood Curtis is young black male in Tallahassee during the Jim Crow era. A smart boy, he is working and about to finish high school with college in his future when he inadvertently gets in trouble with the law. He is sent to the Nickel Academy mentioned in the quote. There he meets Turner who will become a friend but is subjected to terrible conditions and cruel punishments for the least infraction. For comfort and hope, he hangs onto many quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Part 3 confused me a bit because Elwood was suddenly an adult living in NY and running a business. In this part, the time setting goes back and forth which I did finally get used to. It is not until the final chapter and Epilogue that the reader finds out what happened to Elwood and Turner after leaving Nickel. (No spoilers!)

It was difficult to read of the vicious discipline of the "Nickel Boys" but Whitehead's writing is beautiful, and the story is compelling. My rating is 4.

The Road to Grace by Richard Paul Evans

 

"I suppose if I were completely honest with myself (which I've already established I'm not), I'd have to admit that I'm not really walking to Florida. Key West is as foreign to me as any of the towns I've walked through on the way. I'm walking to find what life may hold. I'm looking for hope. Hope that life might still be worth living, and hope for the grace to accept what I must live without."

              -Alan Christoffersen's thoughts

This is the third book in The Walk series and the third I have read. I guess I am hooked. Another 5 rating.

Our sojourner, Alan Christoffersen, began walking in Seattle with the goal of making it to Key West. In this installment, he started in Custer, South Dakota, where he met a woman from his past. She ended up stalking him (6 chapters!) seeking his forgiveness. Near the Badlands, Alan visited Wall Drug, a famous place I'd never heard of.

When Alan became extremely ill on the road, he was aided by a good Samaritan, a Polish fellow by the name of Leszek, who got him to the ER and then took him in until he recovered. During that time Jewish Holocaust survivor Leszek told his amazing story of escape from the Nazis and spoke to Alan of forgiveness. A very poignant part of the novel.

I was amused by Alan's brief meeting with ladies of the Red Hat Society in Sioux Falls. I was once a Red Hat member.

When Alan reached Sidney, Iowa, he figured he was about halfway to Key West. A lonely woman named Analise invited him to her home. Later he met Israel, a self-professed tramp with a "most unfortunate view of God."

Alan enjoyed some tourist time in Hannibal, Missouri, home of Mark Twain, but nearing St. Louis, he became very ill again and ended up in St. Lous University Hospital. When he woke, he was surprised to see Falene, his former employee and good friend from Seattle. She had to give him difficult news.

Now I can look for Book 4, A Step of Faith. I surely hope Alan makes it to Key West!