Daughters of Rome by Kate Quinn

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

In the year 69 AD, Rome was the center of upheaval and violence, as the title of Emperor became as changeable as the seasons. During this tumultuous time, the “Cornelias,” as they were referred to — two sisters and their two cousins — were very much a part of the events, as they were in the “inner circle” of the elite. The first Cornelia, the eldest and most dignified, was married to a man expected to be named heir to the Emperor, so she saw her place by his side. Her sister, Marcella, the historian, kept occupied recording – and somehow impacting – the historical events of the year. Lollia, one of the cousins, was serially married off to the power-broker of the day by her wealthy and strategic grandfather. And the youngest and wildest, Diana, was one obsessed not by men but by horses. And while each brought vulnerability to each other, each brought strength as well, as they fought to survive the many changes this year brought to their lives.

While it did take me a bit of time to be fully engaged in this story, perhaps because of my own ignorance of the historical details of this era, once I got to know the characters (and appreciate their depth), I was all in. Because I came to love these Cornelias, I became invested in their welfare and as the plot became more entangled, so did my fascination with their story. This plot had intrigue, romance, suspense, and twists that brought both smiles and tears as I got to know these characters better and better.

My favorite character, I have to admit, is Lollia. When we first meet her, she appears, on the surface, to be just that – all surface. She appears vain, coddled by her wealthy grandfather, and only concerned with what she can gain by her marriages. But as we get to know her, we really see her: her generosity, her kindness, her humility, and her ability to love deeply and to look beyond what is expected and to do what is right.

Not only will you fall in love with these beautiful characters and their bond with each other, but you will also learn about this wild year in the history of the Roman Empire, where there were four different Emperors in a brief, bloody period of time. It’s what I love most about historical fiction – and Kate Quinn is the master!

Z by Therese Anne Fowler

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Toward the end of the first World War, many young folk, including Zelda Sayres, sought relief from all the death and sadness. For someone as beautiful and vibrant as she, any excuse to be able to dance or attend a gathering was welcome, but on one particular evening, when she was performing a ballet solo for soldiers, she noted one solder who stood out to her. He was tall and blond and had an air of confidence she’d rarely encountered in the boys she knew in her small southern town. He was also an author, something that also attracted her, as she was an avid reader and dabbled in writing herself. Unfortunately, her father did not appreciate the attraction of an author, something he perceived as a sideline and not a steady career, and he insisted this was not suitable for his daughter. It took a couple of years, but Scott Fitzgerald proved himself worthy, at least to Zelda, and she followed him to New York City, where their adventure together began. For better and for worse…

This novel provided a peek inside the glamorous but exhausting lives of both F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda. Based on extensive research and told from her vision, it not only showed the wonders of the time and the artists they rubbed shoulders with. It also shed light on the struggles they had, with each other and each with their own demons. To an outsider, it may have seemed the perfect life, with world travel, sophisticated parties, knowing the most famous of the writers, dancers, and artists of their era. But to Zelda, it was a constant challenge; keeping up, maintaining appearances physically, financially, and emotionally. Multiple times the pressure was so high, it necessitated hospitalization and inhumane treatments for Zelda.

What is apparent is that while on the outside, Zelda did not see herself as a feminist in the stereotypical sense, she was one at heart, and this is what likely ate at her throughout her life. She could not see why she needed to suppress her own artistic endeavors just because her husband needed to pursue his. His jealousy was so overpowering that even when she wrote stories, he published them under his own name, claiming they’d get more acclaim if he did so. This undermining of her, the constant repression she had to force upon herself, slowly ate at her, giving her both physical and psychological pains throughout her adult life.

This is a very dramatic, historical fiction account of Zelda’s life with F. Scott Fitzgerald. I highly recommend it!

 

Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Molly is smart and she is tough. She knows she’s different from those around her but she truly doesn’t care. While her mother, Carrie, and her best friend, Leroy, try in their own ways to convince her to bend to what is “acceptable,” especially when it comes to both gender and sexual stereotyped norms, she remains true to herself.  And this is no simple task, not in the early 1950’s and not in rural Pennsylvania, nor on the Florida coast.  It is clear to Molly that she must make it out of her small town to survive, but how she accomplishes this and what she finds when she gets there shows that life can be challenging wherever we may find ourselves.

This was a groundbreaking book in 1973, but of course it was initially ignored and kept underground because of its unabashed celebration of lesbian sex. Only a few years later, when a more established publisher took on the title did the book become more widely sold and gain something of its current notoriety. Now, of course, there are many books about this topic and it is less of a standout, but it must be acknowledged for its pioneering spirit and daring language. Few ventured into this terrain at the time; few were brave enough to “out” themselves when it was not only not fashionable but it could actually be quite dangerous to do so. But doing so clearly spoke to millions of folks who either identified with the characters or felt they needed to learn more. Doing so opened up a world of dialogue about the topic, freeing many to speak their truth and to acknowledge what might be in their hearts. 

That said, the story itself is quite depressing. It feels as if there is a constant tugging at the heart, a constant thrum of defeat. Molly has high hopes, high expectations of herself and while she works hard and keeps herself focused on her goals, she has one obstacle thrown at her after another. Whether her family, her friends, her lovers, or her so-called mentors, everyone seems to disappoint. However realistic it is, in her world at that time, it is a hard story to take in. No matter her incredible achievements,  she lived in a world where men ruled unchecked and women had no legal protections. 

This novel functions as a crucial reminder of some rights we take for granted – and some that we should be continuing to fight for. 

 

The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Amy has had it rough over the past 3 years. After 18 years of marriage, her husband flew to Hong Kong on a business trip and never returned. Now, suddenly, he’s appeared, in a local pharmacy of all places, after all this time. What can he possibly be doing here? And what can she say to him? Does she want him back after all he’s done? Or not done, as the case may be? And what about the kids? His proposal of giving her a week away from them while he tries to reconnect with the kids at first glance is outrageous, but gradually, the idea grows on her. It just happens to coincide with a conference she’s been interested in attending in NYC, where her oldest, bestie happens to live. Could she actually do this? Could she leave her kids who she’s been sole caretaker for a whole week? Give herself this tiny gift?

I present you here with another perfect summer read – light, with just enough substance so you don’t have to feel too guilty spending your time in the sun leafing – and laughing- through these pages. And while there are a few emotional moments, there are a couple of moments where the giggles will slip out from you, in spite of yourself.

Amy’s adventure in NYC exemplifies the wish of many moms: Just a brief escape from the constant pressure of bearing responsibility for everyone else’s happiness. And it’s not that we don’t adore our loved ones – of course not! But caring for them, while of course working to earn money to support them, ensuring they have balanced meals, clean (and acceptable) clothes, and are kept safe — well, it’s a constant drumroll in the back of one’s mind that can build into a crescendo that becomes explosive unless one can let off steam every once in awhile. If one is not given a break, one can actually break.

It is also a lesson in how to ask for help. We, none of us, can live our lives without others. Man is not an island, as we know, and it is not a sign of weakness, but rather of humanity, that we need help from time to time. Asking advice, support, even an extra hand, not only helps the one asking but also gifts the one helping the opportunity to help, which is always, truly, a gift.

This is a very sweet story that is fun to read and gives you a chance to relax yourself. Give yourself this gift!

 

 

Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict

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Seeking to pursue a career in basic science research in an environment where she would be accepted as an equal to her male peers – not an easy task in post-WWII 1940’s – Rosalind Franklin moved from London to Paris. On arrival, she felt immediately welcomed by all of her fellow researchers in the x-ray crystallography lab. She quickly began her painstaking work of pursuing the identification of carbon-based structures via this type of X-ray imaging, and became known for her meticulousness, hard work, and dedication. After an uncomfortable incident in the lab between herself and one of her superiors, however, she felt compelled to leave this otherwise congenial environment to return to London. There, she was thrust into a competitive race to use her perfected techniques to identify the structure of DNA. Only gender discrimination prevented her from achieving the fame that Watson and Crick did, as it was Franklin’s research that truly uncovered the secret to DNA’s structure.

This deeply researched fictionalized story is a profound tribute to Rosalind Franklin, a woman who contributed so much to what we know about the structure of carbons, DNA and RNA. Only now, decades later, are we understanding the ways in which she was robbed of the respect and acclaim that was her due. The men around her took credit for her work, her discoveries, her hard-won labor, and she had no recourse at the time because she was a woman and would be looked upon as a complainer, a shrew. She was denied the status of a full professorship, and with that, the ability to achieve rights to her own grants and her own laboratory. She was always beholden to the men around her, who were often her intellectual inferiors.

I also never knew her family situation, which came through in this story as well. First, she was Jewish, which influenced where she was able to go and when. During the second World War, she certainly could not go into Paris – not until the Germans were overthrown by the Allies – and so her training began initially in London. Moreover, while she was simultaneously fending off the pressures from her male colleagues in the lab, she was also quelling her family’s efforts to bring her to more “ladylike” pursuits, as they saw them – doing charity work, marrying and raising a family. Because she saw these as being incongruous with her deep ambition to pursue science, she resisted pressure from all sides.

This is a beautiful tribute to a true hero in our history – one who should be acknowledged and celebrated for her brilliance, dedication, and contributions to science, to medicine, and to the betterment of mankind.

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Here I have fallen again into another book of short stories – but luckily so. While, again, I am generally not a fan of them, these stories are virtually novels unto themselves. Not in physical length, but in the depth of characters the author creates and in the lives and experiences they convey. We have a writer attending a workshop surrounded by writers afraid to stand up to the man in charge who is inappropriate and sexist and racist, out of fear they will threaten their own opportunities. We read about a young bride of an arranged marriage, newly brought to New York from Nigeria, about her disappointments and resentments. And we read about a young woman trying to come to terms with the death of her brother, so many years prior.

The many characters and the many stories here bring us closer to understanding the African experience in America and the African experience in Africa. We are exposed to the conflict that often arises from clashing cultures, religions, origins, and beliefs – and how each character must struggle to identify where they fit into the world where these conflicts exist. Just as exists anywhere, there is conflict between old and young, between man and woman, between one culture and another. The human experience, on display so vividly in these pages, is finding what our role is in that morass and how we resolve our differences with those around us. It is both specific to these cultures and generalizable to almost anyone living in the world.

Of course there are some stories I enjoyed more than others, but that is to be expected. On the whole, however, I found these stories to be powerful, deeply moving, and well worth the experience of going out of my comfort zone to read short stories in spite of myself. I encourage you to do the same!

 

 

Night Road by Kristin Hannah

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Mia Farraday has not always hidden in the shadow of her twin, Zach, but since middle school, she’s felt that life has just given her lemons when he’s been handed the lemonade. While Zach is the popular one with friends surrounding him constantly, she’s the one with the braces, the acne, and clearly no sense of what is normal because she cannot seem to attract anyone to her side. That is, until Lexi approaches her during lunchtime on their first day of high school, in spite of Mia warning that it might be “social suicide” to do so. Lexi, for her part, is used to being on the outs, as she has been in foster care until only a couple of weeks ago, so she’s just glad to find someone who will deign to speak to her. The two instantly bond, and while Mia and Zach’s mom, Jude is leery – Mia’s been hurt before – she finds it in her heart to accept Lexi for the kind and genuine friend she is to Mia. That is, until tragedy ensues. And how could she possibly find it in her heart to accept her then?

This is a heart-wrenching story of love and friendship that is challenged in unfathomable ways. We are brought into their world as one would be a warm hug, charmed by their love for each other even as we see their imperfections, their enmeshment. Jude is a loving mother but is overinvolved, overprotective, and enabling. Mia and Zach are quite different from each other but are not necessarily given the space to be so. And they accept Lexi for who she is, they see her kindness, her ability to give and to love and take her in as another member of the Farraday family. Until…

This is also a story of how pain distorts us. We all grieve in different ways, we all need to cope in different time frames. Some of us pull others to ourselves for support, others push away. Most of us need support even when we don’t realize it, however, and that is the key. We all need to recognize this need in others and see that when others strike out, are mean, or act out, it may be coming from a place of pain.

The other point that is underscored appropriately here is a word of advice for parents of teens (which I highlight from a professional perspective as well). When you are advising your teens on going out, no matter how much you trust them, no matter what their story is, tell them this: if they sense they are unsafe for any reason (alcohol, drugs, sexual encounter – whatever), that you will come get them at any time of day or night, NO QUESTIONS ASKED AND WITH NO CONSEQUENCES. And mean it! Follow through. No consequences, no questions asked. Full stop. You may be saving your kid’s life.

Another powerful, heartbreaker by Kristin Hannah…!

 

 

The Beekeeper’s Daughter by Santa Montefiore

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Grace is a bit appalled by how quick her peers are to judge the young folk of their tiny island off of Cape Cod. She knows that she has not been a saint – nor can anyone else make that claim – so she is never one to judge. So she tries to be compassionate when her own daughter becomes the target of some of the island’s whisperings, when her daughter is seen cavorting with a singer in a band staying on the island to record an album. Though she knows how this will end, she remains supportive of her daughter. But Grace has no idea how deeply her own history is tied to her daughter’s broken heart.

This is a sweetly presented narrative about love, love lost, and love rediscovered in unpredicted ways. In both mom and daughter, we see how love lost can impact actions that have repercussions for years to come. We see how honesty could unleash suppressed love and we see how love can heal and help us through our darkest moments.

We also learn here about the magic of bees. They are truly a remarkable resource on so many levels. Not only do they create honey for all of us, but they do so as a team. They work together, devoting themselves to the benefit of the hive, saving the queen and her eggs so that the hive can survive. If they sense danger, they sting the encroaching threat, giving their lives for the benefit of the whole. We in our “me”-focused culture can learn much from this concept. When we give, when we think of others, when we do for others, we feel a sense of gratification that is uplifting and rewarding. When this is not the motivation behind these generous acts, it becomes a byproduct of them.

This is a tender story that I would definitely recommend bringing with you on your next vacation.

One Way Back by Christine Blasey Ford

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Within these pages, Christine Blasey Ford reclaims her narrative – without distortion by the media, by politicians, or by any outsiders – of the facts of her experience of sexual assault by the man who is now sitting on the highest court of our land, Brett Kavanaugh. It is here, with a clear mind, a clear conscience, and clear focus, that she is able to communicate her backstory, her patriotic motivation, and the attempts she made to tell her story earlier in order to prevent Kavanaugh from coming to the point of being nominated in the first place (and in so doing, having to be exposed as he was). She tells about her experience of presenting her testimony and the abhorrent dereliction of duty of the FBI in their non-investigation of the case against Kavanaugh. She also bears her soul about the way in which she endured death threats, shaming, and other hateful acts against her that so many other survivors of sexual assault share – the backlash and the victim-blaming that comes with coming forward. She also shares the moments of support, from those whose names we recognize and those we may not. It is an inspiring, albeit painful, recounting of her journey.

It was our hope, at least that of those in my circle, that we in our country had learned our lesson after Anita Hill. That after our horrific treatment of that courageous woman who stood in front of a panel of old White men who battered her with ignorant questions and brazenly shamed her and disregarded her – we hoped we’d do better when another woman so bravely came forward to challenge the character of a man we were choosing for the highest court in the land. But no, we did not. One might argue that we did worse. We instead chose to discredit, shame, and mock Blasey Ford, who so boldly came forward to do her civic duty, who gave up her own quiet, private, comfortable existence to reveal such personal, intimate details of her life in order to bring a man’s questionable background to light. And it was worse because of social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and the internet access to personal information that enabled thousands to send her hate mail and death threats via so many different routes.

In a country of how many millions, we couldn’t find anyone better than Kavanaugh? There was really no one we could find who HADN’T sexually molested anyone??? Seriously? Oh, but of course we had to choose him. Because we have to only choose those farmed and nurtured by the Federalist Society in order to ensure the most conservative justices to make the most civil rights-limiting decisions on the bench. Because heaven forbid that anyone except White men have any power.

And yes, I am using this platform to rant because Blasey Ford needs to have others support her, to hear her, and to acknowledge that she did the right thing by coming forward and speaking up for herself, for women, and for this country. Because she is right. If little by little, woman by woman, each brave soul comes forward (in spite of the vicious backlash and victim-blaming that so often occurs), perhaps our daughters might have a spitting chance of having a better world. Perhaps our daughters will live in a world in which there are men who are more aware of consent and what defines assault. Perhaps when a woman comes forward, the folks in the room – however large that room may be – will actually hear her.

 

All We Ever Wanted by Emily Griffin

Posted on by marjorieseidenfeld

Nina is appalled and ashamed. How can Finch, her son, the one she’s only known to be a “good kid,” have possibly been involved in the treacherous deed he’s been accused of? Similarly, Lyla, from her perspective, cannot fathom that the guy she’s been crushing on for so long would do that to her either. it just couldn’t be. And even if he did, what’s the big deal? Why is her father freaking out? He’ll only make it worse… And from Lyla’s dad’s perspective, this legitimizes his general mistrust of the world. As they each confront the traumatic incident they have endured, their worlds explode in different directions, yet somehow converge as well.

This novel tackles a number of complicated issues: adolescent impulse sexting, class and wealth privilege, racism, and sexism. It does so in a non-preachy, non-threatening manner, albeit with a few cliches. But with charming characters (well, mostly)and a few unexpected surprises in the plot, the novel tells a good story, engages the reader and keeps us guessing until the last page.

There is also a good argument amidst these pages for keeping smart phone use to a minimum among young folks. I know there is a movement among some youth to move the the old flip phones and I am all for it. Having cameras at hand to document every moment of one’s life often interferes with actually LIVING one’s life, being IN one’s life. Moreover, in the hands of impulsive adolescents, who do not have fully developed frontal cortexes, it may not be the best idea to have access to both cameras and texting ability and/or social media.

This is a solid read, great for either book club discussions or just a lighter read under your umbrella with your toes in the sand. Either way, I believe you’ll enjoy it!