Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

"I believe in ghosts. They're the ones who haunt us, the ones who have left us behind. Many times in my life I have felt them around me, observing, witnessing, when no one in the living world knew or cared what happened....I've come to think that's what heaven is---a place in the memory of others where our best selves live on."
                       -Vivian, from the prologue of the novel

When a couple of friends recommended Orphan Train I decided it would be our October book club selection. In teaching 5th grade (and American history) I had read a few of Joan Lowery Nixon's Orphan Train Adventures series so I was familiar with the topic and found it intriguing. I love historical fiction and this was a good one. I am rating it a 4; not quite a page-turner but an excellent read, nonetheless.

Similar to The Healing, our group's September book, Orphan Train contains a story within a story. The settings are Spruce Harbor, Maine, 2011, and New York to Minnesota, 1929-1939. The two stories intersect as Molly, a foster youth in trouble with the law does community service with Vivian, an elderly orphan train rider. Molly is supposed to help Vivian clean out her attic and in the process they learn not only what they have in common but how they can help each other. As they work together, Vivian relives much of her past by sharing experiences with Molly. Molly gains maturity as she learns she is not the only young person to have trials to overcome. In the end their relationship is mutually beneficial as Molly finally feels loved and is able to help Vivian to realize a dream---quite a poignant ending.

My favorite minor character was Ms. Larsen, the teacher in Vivian's past. She was so kind to a child badly in need of TLC. I can only hope I was like her in the eyes of many of my former students.

Below is a claddagh ring, similar to the necklace worn by Niamh/Dorothy/Vivian throughout the story. It symbolizes love (heart), loyalty (crown) and friendship (hands).


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Our Page Turners group met on the regular day, a smaller group this time. Our group rating for Orphan Train was 3.9 with almost everyone voting a 4. We could pretty much agree that we hold onto things for far too long, as Vivian had, but the reorganizing of the boxes was an interesting way for her to share her past with Molly. Some members thought the main characters were unrealistically optimistic in light of their situations. The alternating of past with present, we felt, was refreshing and kept us engaged. Our discussion was lively and at one point turned to foster children and adoption. Surprisingly it turned out 4 of the 10 of us have adopted children! Good book, great meeting, as always!

Tibetan Peach Pie by Tom Robbins

" 'Be careful what goes into your mouth and what comes out of it.'  The advice [from the I Ching] was so good--so simple, wise, and encompassing--that I've never felt the need to consult the I Ching again. It was quite likely the best advice I've ever received. I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like if I'd actually followed it."
                                                     -Tom Robbins, from Tibetan Peach Pie

My husband describes some of the books I read as "chick lit." What do you call one more suited to guys? This seemed to be one of those, although I did enjoy most of it and found myself giggling pretty often, even laughing out loud at times. Tibetan Peach Pie is a memoir/biography/personal narrative with the subtitle A True Account of an Imaginative Life might be an understatement. Ricky Martin's song "Living la Vida Loca" might be very appropriate. It was actually hard to believe one man lived so many unusual, exciting, even dangerous, life episodes---until he confesses he is now in his eighties!

Apparently Mr. Robbins is a prolific writer of considerable note, although I had never come across his work before. I saw a review of this book in the newspaper which piqued my curiosity. The author uses something of a stream of consciousness style to recount his amazing life from his childhood, when he knew he had a passion for words at age 5, to the writing of this book, his latest endeavor. He relates fascinating and amusing stories about his school days, moves, travels, his career as an art critic and journalist, his process of becoming a novelist AND a series of girlfriends and/or wives. A few highlights were his experiences with cannibals, hippos and elephants. Even descriptions of plane trips and book signings were entertaining.

As a wannabe wordsmith myself I was so impressed with the writing. This man surely knows how to turn a phrase! Robbins has a voluminous vocabulary and great felicity of expression. As I hinted at the beginning I would recommend this book to the guys in my circle of friends more than the gals. Such things as the 5th grade "peeing contest," the mention of "penis envy" and numerous notations about female anatomy helped form that opinion. Fortunately he used only a smattering of obscenities, usually in quoting someone else, and any sexual encounters were suggestive, not graphic. Robbins writes that his novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is his best-known book and has been highly acclaimed by women. Perhaps I'll read it one of these days.

I am still curious about the significance of the title. I also wondered about his self-given nickname, Tommy Rotten. Could it have come partly from the expression tommyrot or just a derivative of his first name with an adjective sounding similar to his last?

If you are looking for some light reading with lots of laughs, by all means give this one a go! My rating is a 4.

The Healing by Jonathan Odell

"In the beginning God birthed these watchful stars and a quickening moon,
In the beginning God laid open this earth like a mother's womb,
In the beginning God gave his breath to the baby's borning cry.
In the beginning God gave his breath to the old one's last gasping sigh.
In the beginning is the home we are coming from,
In the beginning is the home we are going to."
                            -Polly Shine, from the novel

I certainly enjoy a good historical fiction, particularly from the 18th and 19th centuries. The Healing is an excellent one from pre-Civil War era and beyond, since it is a story within a story. It begins in 1933 Mississippi with Gran Gran, a former slave, being given responsibility for Violet a newly-orphaned young girl. Violet is intentionally mute, perhaps from the shock of losing her mother. In the process of caring for Violet, Gran Gran begins to tell the girl her own story---of 1847 slavery on the plantation and the coming of Polly Shine.

Polly Shine was a slave with the gift of healing. The master of the plantation paid a large sum of money for her because of his problems keeping his slaves healthy and working. Polly is met by skepticism and rumors and some resentment but later becomes a heroine to her people as they begin to see her working her "magic." Called "Mother Polly" she treats each person, not just the physical problem. I compared her methods to the holistic medicine of today. Polly was able to make a personal connection to her patients and thus treat them much more successfully than even the educated white doctors. She explained to young Granada, chosen by Polly as her apprentice much to the girl's chagrin, and who later is called Gran Gran, "The magic weren't in the food. It was in the seeing."

I tend to enjoy books while I am reading them, only to forget so much about the plots and characters within weeks. (That is one reason I keep this blog!) I will not soon forget Polly Shine! She is such a bigger-than-life character, charismatic and spiritual and wise. She expressed so many profound thoughts, it was very difficult choosing a quote to begin this post. Parts of the one I selected were often repeated and very significant to the story.

One of the surprising things to me is how this author, a white male, is able to tell a story so adeptly from the points of view of two black women. In his "A Note to the Reader" he shares that his first book was reviewed by someone who described him as an African-American author, which he took as a compliment. Be sure to read the Note to find out about the inspiration for this book.

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I gave the book a rating of 5. I found it a bit confusing at the beginning but a true page turner by the middle. When the group met to discuss the novel, the average was 4.3. Some members who gave 3's or 4's did so because they felt that some parts of the story were not fleshed out enough, for example the Gran Gran-Violet portion; they just wanted to know more about what happened to the characters from the earlier time in the intervening 75 years. How about a sequel, Mr. Odell?

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
                                     -Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

A friend loaned me this book some time ago, so long that I can only guess who it was. It was someone who knew I was a fan of American history and very interested in both Revolutionary times and the Civil War. With my first trip to Gettysburg coming up in October, I decided it was high time I brushed up on the battle. The Killer Angels was not an easy read but it was transformative for me, giving me a real sense of what that fight meant to the actual people involved.

The story of the 4-day engagement at Gettysburg, arguably the most important battle of the Civil War, is told mostly by Generals Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet and Lewis Armistead on the Confederate side and General John Buford and Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union, in alternating chapters. I would not profess to understand all the military strategies and maneuvers outlined in the book but I feel I came to know some of the characters intimately. Historic figures I had read about in history books became very human and very REAL. I found myself almost feeling Lee's chest pains and Longstreet's agony over the loss of his children. And though I am a GRITS (Girl Raised In The South) I was sympathetic to Buford and Chamberlain, as well.

The novel seems VERY well-researched, with many maps showing placements of regiments/units/brigades (I have no idea what the differences are!) at the various stages of the battle. I found the maps difficult to figure out but I think I will take the book along on my trip and see if they mean more after a visit to that hallowed ground. The writer's style is very descriptive, even poetic at times. Much of what the characters thought and said was so profound I couldn't choose just one to quote, so I went with Lincoln's famous speech of dedication.

There were some humorous parts, mostly provided by Fremantle, a British volunteer among the Confederates, who thinks the Southern fellows are so like the English and predicts eminent victory for the South. I was surprised when Armistead welcomed Fremantle to "Lee's Miserables," named by an officer who read Hugo's novel by a similar name. I had never heard that before.

Needless to say, the last part of the book was very intense. One did not have to understand all the military aspects to be emotionally involved in the action and horrified by the results. I will give this one a 5, not because I really enjoyed it but because I am so glad I read it!

The Keepsake by Tess Gerritsen

"Before going to bed, she took a last peek out the front window. The street was quiet, so perhaps tonight was not the night. Perhaps she had been granted another reprieve. If so, it was only a temporary one, much like waking up every morning in a death row cell, not knowing if today was the day they would walk you to the scaffold. The uncertainty of one's appointment with doom is what can drive a condemned prisoner insane."
                             -from the novel

I have been an avid fan of the TV series "Rizzoli and Isles" since it began in 2010. Recently I actually paid attention to the credit I'd long ignored: "based on a series of novels by Tess Gerritsen." I decided on my next trip to the library I would check the shelves. I found several by the author, including this one. The Keepsake was a real page turner, in fact, for the first time in quite a while I was up an hour past my bedtime to finish it!

In this one Detective Jane Rizzoli is involved in a case that is stranger than strange! Boston PD is looking for a serial killer of women who seems fixated on Egyptology, to the point of preserving the corpses as mummies, tsantsas (shrunken heads) and bog bodies. The perp earns the nickname "the archaeology killer" as more and more of his "keepsakes" are found. Josephine Pulcillo is an archaeologist working in the Crispen Museum in Boston when the first victim is discovered there. It becomes clear very quickly that she has a secret past and before long the reader assumes she is a potential victim.

As the plot thickens there are a number of surprises along with fast-paced action, making this a quick, exciting read! I rate it a 5.

I couldn't help but compare the novel to the TV series. In the book Jane is married and has a young daughter while she and Maura Isles are both single in the show. Jane's partner, Detective Barry Frost. is married in the novel, as well, but I don't remember the mention of a wife on the show. The author describes Frost with blond hair but he was Afro-American on TV. There were some other differences but none quite as striking as these. I do love the humorous repartee among the TV characters but in the novel there was much less of that.

The word "confabulations" was a new one to me. I looked it up: a spontaneous production of false memories caused by brain trauma.

I found the mention of the Windover Burial Site (p.152) especially interesting because the Orange County Regional History Center where I am a docent has an exhibit and I have heard an archaeologist speak about that ancient burial site where bodies were preserved in a bog. The story also mentions a trash midden which I was familiar with since the term relates to native Floridians (ei. shell middens).

I was surprised when I realized that the final chapter was written in first person. Interestingly, the first chapter was, too, while the rest of the book is in third person. Read it and you will see why.

I will definitely read others in the Rizzoli and Isles series by this author. Ice Cold is in the queue.

Etta Mae's Worst Bad-Luck Day by Ann B. Ross

"Why, you just lose your temper if you want to, honey. All the Bible says is don't let the sun go down on your wrath. It don't say nothing about when it's shining. Sometimes you have to let folks know you're not gonna take whatever they want to throw at you. You just cut loose if you need to. Put your foot down, and remember who you are...."
                                      -Granny, from the novel

Well, I absolutely love Ann B. Ross's Miss Julia series! This was the author's first novel featuring another character in the series, Etta Mae Wiggins, and I enjoyed it, although not quite as much. (My rating: 4) Etta Mae is the home health nurse for Howard Connard, Sr., a wealthy man suffering from a stroke, almost immobile with greatly impaired speech. He lets Etta Mae know that he wants to marry her and she is perfectly agreeable since she thinks it will gain her some respect in the small town that loves to gossip about her and her multiple husbands.

The plot involves Etta Mae's efforts to bring this wedding about even over the protests of Howard, Jr. and his snooty wife, Valerie. Add in an ex-husband, Skip, who is being stalked by the vengeful Puckett brothers and expects Etta Mae's help, and you get a "worst bad-luck day"!

I enjoyed the humor in this book and also several mentions of country music artists I know and like. There is a quote about tourists I found hilarious: "All I could do was hope that going-home traffic in Abbotsville (N.C.) wouldn't slow us down. I swear it got worse every year, what with tourists and Northern summer visitors. And Floridians! You wouldn't believe the way they drove. They were about to push us natives out and take over the whole county..." We Floridians complain often about tourists' driving and I have had several Florida friends who have retired to North Carolina so it rang pretty true.

I did miss Lillian, one of my favorite characters in the Miss Julia stories and also Sam and Hazel Marie. Miss Julia and Hazel Marie were involved toward the end of the story---a brief episode but VERY funny! Luckily Miss Julia Lays Down the Law comes out in April, 2015!

Run to Ground by D.P. Lyle

"What if a good, God-fearing couple are threatened by the man that killed their only son, forcing them to plan the man's murder and their own disappearance? That's the question that drives this story."
                               -D.P. Lyle from the Author's Note

This is the third novel I have read by D.P. Lyle, a high school classmate. I have enjoyed each of them. The writing style is easy to read, the plots are intriguing, the characters are interesting, but one of my favorite things is the setting of these thrillers. The stories take place in Huntsville, Alabama, my hometown, a place where I spent my high school years. In many places I can picture the locations Lyle mentions---streets, churches, businesses, restaurants, landmarks. One of our high school reunion events took place at The Ledges, a beautiful country club in an upscale neighborhood, which he uses as a meeting place in this story. I rate Run to Ground a 5 for those reasons and because it was a page-turner!

Lead character, Dub Walker, has become a favorite of mine. I especially love the repartee between he and ex-wife reporter Claire McBride. As well as being a forensic expert and consultant with the Huntsville police, Dub plays the guitar. At one point in the story he was jamming with John Lee Hooker tunes which really took me back to my teens when Hooker's music was a favorite of mine.

Often when I read I catch mistakes in editing---typos, etc. This time I caught a glaring one in the mention of Civil War General Braxton Bragg (written Briggs on page 245). Guess the publisher should hire me as an editor!

I had never come across the expression "run to ground" before. The first time I saw it was the title, of course, but then in the story context: "With a wad of cash they could run to ground and stay low for a long time." That confirmed the meaning I had in mind.

I am sorry I have now read the 3 novels in the Dub Walker series by Lyle. I will look for other fiction, perhaps his Samantha Cody series.