The Walk by Richard Paul Evans

 

"Above all do not lose your desire to walk. I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it."       

      -Kierkegaard, from Alan Christofferson's diary

Coincidentally, I finished this novel on the same day I saw "Extraordinary," a film about a runner who finished the Trans-American Footrace (California to New York) against the odds.

In The Walk, something of a riches to rags story, Alan Christofferson loses all that he holds dear, considers suicide but decides to walk instead---from his home in Seattle to Key West, Florida! I did not realize at first that this trek would be chronicled over several more installments. In book one he gets as far as Spokane.

During this journey, Alan meets some interesting and likeable characters like Ally, a diner waitress, and Colleen Hammersmith who runs a B and B. He helps a woman with a flat tire who is very grateful but later is brutally beaten by a gang.

The book was recommended to me by a friend. It was very readable---finished in a couple of days. With short chapters and frequent foreshadowing, it was a page-turner. I enjoyed Alan's diary entries at the beginning of each chapter. Evans's writing made "the walk" seem very realistic. I rate the book a 4 and the only reason it's not a 5 is: I must now look for the sequel!

The Art of Power: My Story as America's First Woman Speaker of the House by Nancy Pelosi

"I accept this gavel in the spirit of partnership, not partisanship. In this House, we may be different parties, but we all serve one country...this openness requires respect for every voice in the Congress. As Thomas Jefferson said, 'Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle'...Let us all stand together to move our country forward, seeking common ground for the common good."

        -Nancy Pelosi, becoming Speaker of the House on January 4, 2007

I have greatly admired Nancy Pelosi for her spirit, courage and tenacity. In reading, I was reminded of many of her accomplishments in her 40 years of public life---addressing the 9-11 terrorist attack, and voting against the war in Iraq, addressing the economic crisis of 2008, the passing of the Affordable Care Act and helping the nation survive the global pandemic of 2020 and an attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Not to mention witnessing two presidential impeachments and dealing with an attack in her own home that seriously injured her husband, Paul.

I learned a great deal from the book and gained even more respect for Speaker Pelosi although I can't say I enjoyed the reading, and it was not a page-turner. There was some repetition and some people's names and political jargon I didn't quite get. I am rating the book a 3.

Trial by Ambush by Marcia Clark

 

"Society wins not only when the guilty are convicted but when criminal trials are fair; our system of the administration of justice suffers when any accused is treated unfairly."

 -from Supreme Court decision, Brady v. Maryland (1963)

When this book was offered at a discount by BookBub, I was struck by the author's name. I remembered her as a prosecutor in the trial of O.J. Simpson years ago. As it turned out, she mentioned that experience several times in the course of this true crime story.

In 1953 Barbara Graham gets mixed up with some unsavory characters and in the process of robbing a home, a brutal murder is committed. Barbara had survived a horrible childhood and youth which let to many bad decisions with the one just mentioned being the worst. She and others are arrested for felony murder.

Ms. Clark spent two years researching all she could find of the crime---trial proceedings, evidence, newspaper reports, etc. and goes into great detail about the unethical, even sleazy methods of the prosecution. The reader gets the distinct feeling the author seriously questions the jury verdict. She feels Barbara Graham was treated unfairly at almost every turn, by the prosecution, the media and even the judge!

I rated this one a 3, interesting but not especially memorable.

The Women by Kristin Hannah

"Somehow Frankie would find a way to tell the country about her sisters---the women with whom she'd served. For the nurses who had died, for their children, for the women who would follow in the years to come. 

It started here. Now. By speaking up, standing in the sunlight, coming together, demanding honesty and truth. Taking pride.

The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn't quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words.         We were there."                  

                                             ---from the novel

I waited for this one a good long time. Seems it's been on the Bestseller list forever! It was worth the wait, not just a compelling story but a very informative work. I cannot imagine how much research went into the writing of this novel. 

Soon after nursing school, Frankie McGrath volunteers for Vietnam as a nurse, partly out of patriotism and to follow in her brother's footsteps. In spite of horrendous circumstances, she sticks it out for two years with the help of Esther and Barb, fellow nurses who become like sisters, and Captain Jamie Callahan, the surgeon who patiently encourages her. She eventually becomes an excellent surgical nurse, seeing the most horrible injuries, pain and death imaginable. Of course, these were difficult parts to read.

When Frankie returns home to California, the reader might think her troubles are over but not by a long shot! She is greeted by fellow Americans who spit on her, call her names or even shun her. Even her parents seem to be embarrassed by her service. She suffers from PTSD, becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol. I knew this had happened to our Vietnam vets but somehow it was more intense seeing it through Frankie's eyes. Shockingly some of the fellow vets she meets tell her "there were no women in Vietnam"!

Thankfully, Frankie is able to overcome these challenges, even joining and protesting with Veterans Against the Vietnam War. 

I really liked the book and rated it a 5 although I did find a couple of occurrences pretty miraculous, almost unbelievable. I learned so much I didn't know and was captured by Frankie's story. I wish I could personally thank the real women who served!

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

"Chona had never been one to play by the rules of American society. She did not experience the world as most people did. To her, the world was not a china closet where you admire this and don't touch that. Rather, she saw it as a place where every act of living was a chance for tikkun olam, to improve the world. The tiny woman with the bad foot was all soul."

                 -from the novel

I really wanted to like this book. It had been a NYT bestseller for so long and our book club made it an end-of-the-year selection because it would be easier to find a copy. I was very disappointed. I found it very confusing with so many characters and the story seemed to jump from one conflict to another. Hard to keep it all straight.

Chona Ludlow, wife of Moshe, owns the Heaven and Earth Grocery Store in the Pennsylvania neighborhood of Chicken Hill. It is a mostly Jewish and Black area with typical racial tensions. Chona was an especially likeable character, as you might guess from the quote I selected. She becomes the guardian for a black deaf 12-year-old boy named Dodo who is like the son she never had. 

When Dodo is falsely accused of a crime and sent to the notorious Pennhurst State Hospital, plans are made by a few of the neighbors to break him out. Finding out what happened to Dodo is probably what kept me reading. That and the fact that it is a Page Turners selection. I am generously giving the novel a 3 but I was thinking 2 for a while. I look forward to our group discussion so I can hear what others found enjoyable.

--------------------------------------

Twelve of our members met to discuss Heaven and Earth... The book received an average rating of 3.7. Four participants loved the book and it was interesting to hear their thoughts. They appreciated the writing style and the plot. One had listened to the audio version and enjoyed it very much. Another said a second reading added to her appreciation. A couple of ladies said they took notes which helped them keep up with multiple characters who dropped in and out of the story at times. I wish I had done that!

Several members agreed with me that the maltreatment of Dodo kept them turning pages to finish the novel.