Honor by Thrity Umrigar

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Much to Smita’s dismay, she has been brought back prematurely from her vacation in the Maldives to India, where she’s sworn to herself not to return. And worse, she has been brought back not to tend to her friend, as she’d believed, but rather to take over her friend’s news story that is quite controversial. The story is that of Meena, a Hindu woman who dared to marry a Muslim man. Seeing this as a slight against their honor, Meena’s brothers sought vengeance and torched her husband to death and left Meena maimed by the fire. She is now awaiting the verdict of their revived murder trial and Smita must cover the story. But at what emotional cost to herself?

This is an extraordinarily trying narrative to take in – not only as a woman, but as a human. The repugnant misogyny and collusion chronicled here is not unique to India, but exists around the globe, and is promoted, even exalted throughout. So often, whether in the name of God, religious extremism,  or just “family honor”, women are treated as if they are either property of men or as if they do not exist at all. Even here in our first world country it exists, where women’s rights are being chipped away daily, leaving us with less pay, less agency over our bodies, our choices, our rights to be our truest selves in this world.

The writing here is crisp, the imagery vivid, and the characters capture our hearts immediately. We are curious about Smita’s struggle with her homeland and her story is also extremely powerful, also rooted in hateful extremism. It is clear why she is a journalist and why she seeks to document the world’s troubles. She has been borne of them and has lived them.

This novel is well-written and while it is a painful book to ingest, it carries a message that must be heard. I very highly recommend it – but definitely not a “beach read!”

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

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In this novel, we meet Changez, as he relates the story of his youth to an American stranger he meets in a public square in Pakistan. We hear about his journey to Princeton and then to New York, his successes and struggles as he moves forward academically, socially and romantically. We also learn about how his experience as a brown man following the attacks on the Twin Towers become pivotal to his relationship with America as a whole.

What is most unique about this book is the voice used to tell the tale. Changez is sitting with the American, whose name we never learn, and we hear his side of the conversation throughout the narrative. It is a wonderful way to convey the story, in that we can envision the two men, dining at a table in the market square, as the light dims with the passage of time.

While this conversation scene is fairly tranquil, the subject matter is not. Changez is subjected to constant “othering” during his stay in the US. Even prior to the World Trade attacks, he is never quite included in social circles, never quite one of the crowd. Even in his romantic relationship, which is more imaginary than real, he is never loved or appreciated for who he is, but rather tokenized and used. One can certainly understand the rage that gradually builds and builds until he finally, much to his own surprise, implodes.

This is an iconic work. It is a quick read, but has so much to teach us packed into its pages.

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig

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In the midst of the Gilded Age, when most young women are focused on ballrooms and bridal gowns, Olive is focused on revenge. It is clear to her that her father had been wronged, cheated out of his rightful earnings from his hard work as the architect of the magnificent Pratt mansion and she is determined to expose this travesty.

Lucy is also connected to the Pratt mansion, living there when it becomes a boarding house for “respectable ladies” in the 1920’s. She, too, is on a personal mission – to see where her mother’s heart has always been during her lifetime, because it has been apparent to Lucy that it has not fully been with Lucy and her father. In fact, Lucy wonders if the man she knows to be her father is actually, in fact, her true father.

Finally, there is Kate, a doctor during the second World War, linked also to the Pratt mansion when it is again adapted to function as a hospital for wounded soldiers. When a stunning soldier is brought in on a stormy night with a leg infected so severely it may require amputation, she is startled by the way he seems to recognize her and how he feels familiar to her as well.

As the story unfolds, we learn how these three women are connected, how their lives and their loves have been thwarted, and how the Pratt family fortune and misfortune has impacted so many others.

While I am not familiar with the other two authors, I love anything by Beatriz Williams, and this novel is no exception. Each segment of the narrative is captivating as a stand-alone story, with each of these strong, independent women capturing our hearts with their missions, their wills, and their defiance. But to weave the story together with the three of them is quite the ingenious feat – and it is done both smoothly and powerfully.

I highly recommend this book – it has romance, intrigue, and is just beautifully written. Not only a great summer read, but a just a great read.

 

Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

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Bethia is thirsty for knowledge, hoping to absorb anything she overhears her father teaching her brother, Makepeace. Now that she is primarily responsible for the household, since the tragic death of her beloved mother, she is no longer privy to formal education. In fact, she was fortunate to have any at all, given her female status in the 1600’s in Puritanical New England, specifically on the island of what is now known as Martha’s Vineyard. What her father did not know, was that she had also formed a hidden friendship with a native American boy, a “salvage” as they were referred to. It was him with whom she was able to feel her true self, exploring the island, arguing points of philosophy, and exchanging details of their respective cultures. This would prove to benefit them both – as they would both later utilize these skills and mutual understanding to move forward in their lives, and ultimately effect the course of history.

This work of fiction is based on the true life of Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck, the first Native American to attend Harvard College. It is a fictionalized version of his path to obtain the training and the knowledge necessary to matriculate, based on both historical research and the author’s imagination. It is a dramatic story, replete with those who supported him and those who intended him harm. And while we wished him success in his venture, it was unclear if his venture itself was his own undoing.

Throughout the story, the author raises the eternal question of whether integration into mainstream society is a positive or a negative – if it ultimately saves or destroys. For the Native American at this time in their history, when the English were just beginning to overcome them in numbers and in force, it was an extremely dangerous and solemn state. The English were focused particularly on trying to convert the native tribes to Christianity, feeling they were saving the souls of these “salvages,” yet never accepting them fully as their own. On the other hand, the author frequently highlights the ways in which the native cultures uniquely valued the preservation of the land, the full and economical use of the animals they had to kill, and their intimate knowledge of uses of native herbs and plants for food or for healing.

Hearing the story from the perspective of Bethia was also powerful. Women at the time were no more than chattel, and her experience was a strong example of this. Going from a carefree young child who had free range of the island to one who quickly had to adapt to running a household – and worse – we follow her through the full experience of being given little if any agency over her own life decisions.

While the writing here is solid, I have liked other of Brooks’ books more. I believe this book could have been edited down a bit, and more might have happened earlier to keep things moving more quickly. Nevertheless, it is a compelling story and one of tremendous import to tell. A worthwhile read.

The Huntress by Kate Quinn

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Although he’d found many former Nazi criminals already, Ian was not yet satisfied. No, the Huntress, as he’d come to refer to her, was unique and the quest for finding her burned inside him like none other. So when Nina reappeared before him and his unsuspecting business partner Tony, with her own yearning for revenge against the Huntress, it felt as if they had no choice but to pursue her no matter where it would lead them.

And meanwhile, on the other side of the “pond,” Jordan, a young woman trying to pursue a career in photography but caught up in both her father’s antique business and his personal life, was developing her own concerns. While she was happy and trying to be open-minded about her father’s newfound love, there was something just a bit off about her father’s new lady friend that Jordan could not quite put her finger on. With her camera always at the ready, Jordan followed her instincts and did what she had to do to protect herself and what became her family.

Kate Quinn is an absolute master of combining significant historical fiction with hair-twisting suspense. The characters she creates are ones whom we get to understand almost better than ourselves, and we love them for their failures, their vulnerabilities and their grit. Nina is one such character, who is tough, brusk, even rude – but we understand her because of her history which we gradually become privy to. And because we develop this attachment to her, we cannot bear to see her hurt again. It is because we care so much about each of the characters that the suspense is that much more heightened. And the construction of the plot is woven around these gorgeous characters so well – it just becomes impossible to put this book down.

While this may not necessarily be a MUST READ, it is certainly close – and I’d highly recommend it as a should definitely read if you like suspense, historical fiction – or just want to enjoy a completely engrossing and addicting novel!

The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict

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Nancy Mitford is at a loss. She cannot fathom how her 2 younger sisters, Diana and Unity, have been so sucked into the not-so-underground fascist movement that is brewing among a segment of the British elite in their 1930’s lives in London. It is shocking, that Diana, in particular, once the literal belle of every ball can now be hanging on every word of her precious leader, M. Where will this lead? How far will they take these outlandish and extreme ideas? And will it drive a divide between the once very close sisters? As their story unfolds, so too does the dark history of this movement among the British just prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Based on the lives of a real family of sisters (and a brother) who were among the withering elite of Britain just prior to the outset of the second World War – and who were also, significantly, cousins of Winston Churchill – this fascinating historical fiction novel teaches us much about the existence of fascism in England at this time. The leader of the movement, M, is portrayed as an ego-ridden, single-minded, albeit charismatic speaker who is willing to use any means available to accomplish his goal -allying himself with the despicable likes of Mussolini and Hitler. Because he is so desperate for financial backing, he is manipulated into acceding even to denounce the Jews, whom he had not been against initially.

Parts of this novel were physically painful to read. Depictions of Hitler as charming and cultured went against every fiber of my being, having very personal connections to the destruction that he and his Nazi regime have wrought. But at the same time, I feel it is incumbent upon us to appreciate how history might have swung so easily in a different direction had strong and ethical individuals not stood up to him and his regime and done the right thing, fighting against tyranny and preventing further cruelty and harm that might have occurred.

And it is so relevant today. Do we not see folks voting for those who stand for tyranny just because they also threaten their wallets? Do we not see folks defending fascists who disguise themselves as ordinary Americans just because they might agree with them on issues that make them a bit uncomfortable? We are threatened just as deeply today as the Brits were during those dark hours before the war. We have to be alert for the signs – and reading books like this help us to stay on our toes.

Marie Benedict chooses fascinating people to write about- she has done so once again here. As difficult a read as this is, I would highly recommend it.

 

 

No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

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When Celia focuses her attractive, intelligent gaze on a target, she essentially uses whatever means necessary to achieve it. So when she falls heavily in love for Oliver Lytton, even though he does not meet her parents’ ideal of whom she is to marry, she manages an underhanded way to force their approval. And when Oliver does not envision his wife as a working woman, she likewise convinces him that she is in fact essential to his publishing family business. As we follow Celia and Oliver through the first World War and see how it impacts their family and their business, we learn about life, about class, and about how compromise and understanding can heal a multitude of ills.

Once again, Penny Vincenzi has created a family, even a world, in which we are engrossed and enamored. Every one of the characters – and there are many with whom we become intimately familiar -is deeply rich, utterly imperfect, and so lovable that we care what happens to each and every one of them. These characters are taken through important moments in history during which they struggle and experience lasting impact. And there are moments of great tension, near-misses, and disappointments, when you cannot help but catch your breath or utter out loud.

There is also an important discussion of class here, that is raised sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. When little Berty, the daughter of a poor, working class family is taken into Celia and Oliver’s family to be raised alongside their children, we are brought into her experience of feeling at home in neither family. Feeling over-privileged among her actual siblings, but treated like a foundling among her adoptive siblings, she is caught between these two worlds and is forced to navigate this tension starting at a very early age. She learns to use her intelligence and her kindness, and to find her allies early – and this serves her well, but she does suffer plenty along the way.

As each of the characters and each of the story lines come together, they wind around to enthrall and engage the reader just as in a perfectly choreographed dance. You want to know what happens but you never want it to end…

The perfect summer read!

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

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Isra has the dreams typical of a young teenager, but hers, she finds, are thwarted time and again, by her mother’s insistence on her adhering to the strict rules of her people. Traditional Palestinian women do not have choices – they are born into the world as disappointments – disappointments first that they are not boys, and disappointments second that they must be groomed forever to be married off as soon as they can be readied. She has been told this ever since she can remember and even though she has dreams of romance, fostered by the books she sneaks into her home, she knows, deep down, that her fate is as her mother’s – she will be a wife, a mother, and no more.

Fast forward, we also follow her daughter, Deya, who is struggling with the same challenges. She is an avid reader, wants desperately to attend college rather than just to get married, but the grandmother who is raising her is insistent that she must marry. This is what traditional Palestinian women do and if she does not, the whole family is shamed. It would affect not only her but her younger sisters as well. And then where would they be? Is Deya trapped? Is Isra trapped? How is one woman’s fate tied to the other?

While I found this story a bit repetitive and almost as predictable, it was, at that same time, a powerful dive into the lives of women of this insular world. Just as with women in extreme Orthodox Jewish communities, women in these isolated Muslim communities are treated as if they have only one purpose – to serve the men in their lives and to procreate to produce, ideally, more men. They are not valued as individuals but rather for their ability to cook, clean, and to service the men. Worse, because they are not valued, they are also not treated with respect and the physical, verbal and psychological abuse they endure can be overwhelming, if not fatal. Of course, this does not represent all Palestinians – just as it does not represent all Jews – but there are communities of insular, extremely religious sects for which this does apply and it is important for these issues to be brought to light. Not just for the young women whose lives are at risk, but for society as a whole.

What I found so fascinating was how very similar the cultures are – Palestinians and Jews in their extreme, religious forms. While politically there are so many tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, religiously there are so many parallels. To those who hold on to the strictest interpretation of their religious texts, whether the Torah or the Quran, life remains as it was centuries ago. There is no value to educating women because they have a specific and limited role in the home and the community and must be guarded at all times. The purity of the woman is the ultimate value and if she stains that in any way (and any stain is her fault, even when it’s not)- even if it is by the pursuit of education alone – that brings a shame upon the family that is a black mark and taints her (and any further siblings’, of course) ability to marry, her ultimate purpose. Any adverse event is covered up in secrecy, denied, and buried so as to avoid any shame to the family – again, to maximize the marriageability of the children.

And escape is hard – because they are not given any opportunity to develop skills that they can use in the outside world.

I think this is an important read to expose this underbelly of a culture that can be colorful and beautiful and otherwise rich with historic value.

 

 

Windfall by Penny Vincenzi

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Although she’d given up quite a bit for her family, Cassia had felt fairly content with her life. She has a lovely family, a husband who is a respected, community doctor, and she is even allowed to assist him once in awhile in his practice. What she doesn’t often acknowledge, even to herself, is how much she’s missed practicing medicine herself, after having trained at the same medical school as her husband. But now that she’s inherited quite a large sum of money from her beloved godmother, perhaps now she can make something of her education. Perhaps now she can realize some of the dreams she has had for herself. How this plays out seems to have a ripple effect, for her family and for the many people she cares about and who care about her.

In my opinion, this author, Penny Vincenzi, is a master craftswoman. She has a gift of being able to create an entire community of fully developed characters with whom we become intimately connected, interweave their stories so that they tie together but also function as engaging subplots, and all while keeping each character and story solidly lucid and memorable in and of themselves. It is not heavy descriptives or overwhelming detail that keep the characters clear and identifiable, but our own emotional commitment to each of them because of their deeply human feel. We are compelled to know what comes next because they feel as tactile as we do, we need to know because they become our family, our friends. We feel almost a part of the intricately woven plot, that we are almost a part of the fabric of their lives. We are vulnerable to the suspense, the sharp dialogue, the exotic scenes, and most poignantly, the human emotions the novel elicits.

There is also a theme of fighting convention by the many strong women herein. Women were just starting to battle against the norm of having to stay home and care for children as their only option – and at the same time they were also starting to rebel against the presumption that they, in fact, had to have children at all. Contraception was just then becoming a possibility, which liberated women from the burden of just being baby factories. At one point, Harry, a very complex character with whom Cassia has a very complicated relationship, laments that he is forever destined to be attracted to very strong women. As it happens, most of the women in this novel are strong, each in their own ways.

If you’re looking for a fun, substantive read – a truly healthy addiction because you will not be able to put this one down! – this is the novel for you!

 

Year Of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

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Anna can only imagine what it must be like to have the weight of the whole village upon his shoulders, as does Michael Mompellion, the village vicar. It is he who has carried the prayers, the hopes and dreams as well as the trauma of those who have lived – and died – among them. That is not to say that Anna has not been there as well. Anna, and Michael’s wife, Elinor, who as the time passed, became more of friend and less of an employer to Anna, have nursed so many of the villagers, caring for them and comforting them. But what they saw together, what they experienced, no one should ever have to. And so Anna understands his wrath toward the wealthy family the Bradfords, on their return, after deserting their village when so many relied upon them. What happened after that, however, she did not expect…

Here is another hard and yet utterly addictive novel by Geraldine Brooks. The time is the 1660’s, in a tiny village in the UK where the Plague has been carried into the town by a kindly and unwitting messenger. After he takes ill and gives warning to burn all of his possessions – a warning that goes unheeded – the disease creeps into the homes of those around him and ravages the village over time.

What we see, however, is all too familiar. We see it bring out the best in some and the worst in others. We see a 1600’s version of misinformation and we see people grasping at untruths because they are desperate and have a deep-seated need to blame someone or something for their misery and pain.

Many may feel that this is too soon after our own plague, but it does feel different. To me it highlights our privilege of scientific advancement and evidence-based medicine. It highlights the knowledge we’ve gained over these centuries and the ability to study a new pathogen with logic and with precision- to develop treatments and vaccines to protect ourselves and to prevent the worst outcomes at lightening speed. On the other hand, and most tragically, our most recent plague has also brought to light the continued distrust and misinformation that runs rampant in our communities as well. The cynical and damaging anti-vaccine misinformation that has been circulated by darker forces in our country via social media and Fox News has stirred just as much unrest and backlash toward legitimate science as did the believers in the witches and magical incantations of the 1600’s. (And just like in those times, the motivation is the same: money.)

This is a powerful and elegantly written novel, deeply researched and exquisitely presented. If you have the capacity to read it, it is absolutely worthwhile. I’d call it a MUST READ, if you are able.