Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

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Maisie Dobbs is a detective who is just beginning her own practice in post-WW I London. Her first case, a seemingly simple case of a jealous husband who is trying to figure out where his wife is going everyday while he’s at work, leads her to an investigation of much higher import.  As she becomes more and more entrenched in her investigation, she also comes to terms with her own very traumatic past, her having overcome a humble beginning and her very difficult personal experience of the war.

What begins as an entertaining, almost innocent, story broadens very gradually into a very stark commentary on war and its horrible effects on those who survive it.  With a subtle pen, Winspear writes a narrative of war that leaves the reader to draw the gorier details in the imagination.  What does come through with stark clarity, however, is that whether or not survivors of war return with outer scars, there are almost always inner scars that some can work through and some cannot.

This book is engaging, romantic, suspenseful and beautifully written – I very highly recommend it!

The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman

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Rachel is a headstrong, fiercely independent young, Jewish woman living with her family on the island of St. Thomas in the early 1800’s.  Unfortunately, when her father’s business falters, it appears that the only solution is to marry Rachel off to an older man (with 3 young children), so that the two businesses can merge and hopefully prosper.  Rachel is devastated, as this certainly will delay the realization of her dream, which is to one day sail off to live in Paris.  Her best friend, and housemaid, Jestine, tries to convince her to resist, but she too is powerless in resisting the cultural pressures of her time and status as a woman.  The two of them experience many heartbreaks and successes together as the saga of their lives moves forward.  The one success that Rachel achieves, although this is one that causes her great pain as well, is that she ultimately becomes the mother of Camille Pissarro, the painter.

The writing of the tale is as lyrical as Pissarro’s paintings themselves.  The author paints both St. Thomas and Paris with words, filling in the hues, the aromas, the sensations of each world. There is also a great amount of magic and fantasy, as Rachel’s faith mixes with that of the native culture of St. Thomas, and conjures up many fictional, imaginative stories that Rachel records for herself and for her children.  And although there are a few paragraphs in which the author sort of meanders onto sidetracks, it is a story that keeps one glued because the characters are ones you don’t ever want to leave.

I admire Alice Hoffman for telling the story from Pissarro’s mother’s perspective.  It is not just a fictionized biography, but it is truly a story of a strong woman in a time when women weren’t allowed to be strong.  She shows how difficult the times were and how women’s powerlessness was analogous to that of the slaves at the time.   Neither could own property, could determine who they would marry, or truly had control over decisions that were made for them by the men in their lives.   This further deepened the emotional strength of the story.

Oh, how I’d love to go back to the Musee D’Orsay now!

Giliad by Marilynne Robinson

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This very beautiful novel is written as a letter from an elderly, dying Reverend, John Ames, to his very young son.  The Reverend is the third generation leader in his small congregation in his smaller town on the American Plains.  As he reflects on his own life, and those of his father and grandfather, he also is visited by his friend’s son, who is in trouble and seeking help of some sort.  There is clearly a very unusual relationship between this man and John Ames, and this creates the little story line that carries the novel.

This is not the kind of book that grabs you  with action and holds you to the end.  This is more the type of book that you have to read slowly, to let the words wash over you so that you can absorb the wisdom within these pages.  It is reflective and pensive and peaceful, and I found myself re-reading many passages in order to appreciate them fully.  And while it is religious, in a sense, it is also universal and I feel that anyone from any background can appreciate the beauty in the words written here.

Read this, take your time, and re-read the lines so that you, too, can love this book as I do.

 

A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

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Lily has always felt as if she were in the shadow of Budgie, the worldly one in the center of all the attention.  Having spent summers together on the small peninsula of Seaview, RI, although she’s grown and at Smith College, she still feels inferior to Budgie who is able to navigate the world of men so smoothly – or at least, that is what is feels like.  As Lily begins her romance with a football star from Dartmouth, Nick, she learns gradually, as we do, that things are not exactly as they appear to be.

The author utilizes a back and forth, between time periods 7 years apart, which tells the story from 2 sides and maintains a great aura of suspense. The characters are beautiful, the writing is elegant and the story whips into a twisted plot and a stormy ending.

Another beautiful story by Beatriz Williams!

All Who Go Do Not Return by Shulem Deen

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In the tiny, ultra-Hassidic (Skverer) community of New Square, author Shulem Deen dared to question his religious practices and belief in God. Born in Brooklyn to a different sect of Hassidism, he chose this community because of his impression that it was welcoming and that it espoused the spiritual essence he was searching for.  He studied in the yeshivah there and in time was married off to a girl he’d met only once before his wedding.  He tried to make a life for himself, studying, working (or trying to, in spite of the minimal secular education he was provided), and even fathering children.  But his doubts began to niggle at him as did his curiosity about the outside world (of which he knew almost nothing).

This is not the best-written or the most gripping story, but it is very human and very heartfelt.  More importantly, it also gives the reader an insider’s view into this terribly insular ghetto.  More than almost any other sect of Judaism, this group of people consider any exposure to the outside/modern world (television, newspapers, etc.) a doorway to sin.  There is no such thing as discussion or debate, unless it is related to the study of Torah.  Anyone who questions the Rebbe — the ultimate leader believed, in a sense, to hold a direct line to God — is one who must be punished and abolished from their midst.  And this is the ultimate fate of Shulem.

Sadly, this is another example of how religious extremism promotes hatred, intolerance, and cruelty toward anyone who is perceived as different.  Poor Shulem was just another victim of this.

 

 

 

Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)

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Once again, JK Rowling as Robert Galbraith, has written a suspenseful and dark — in truth, absolutely gruesome! – novel that was as fun to read as the first two.  This is the third in this detective series starring Cormoran Strike, the very imperfect, one-legged war hero turned PI.  His assistant/partner, Robin, an equally likable character, receives a woman’s severed leg delivered by courier to her at their shared office, and so this murder mystery begins.

The story is told from the perspectives of Cormoran, Robin and the killer (whose identity is not revealed until the end, but whose intentions and very psychotic way of thinking builds more and more suspense) and each of them brings a very dynamic and very human quality to the story.  You really care about each of them (well, not the killer of course) and you can’t stop reading until you know what happens to each of them.  And in this book, we learn more about both Cormoran’s and Robin’s pasts, which are both tragic in their own ways and really create that much more depth to their characters.

There of course is also an underlying attraction/tension between Cormoran and Robin, who are both determined to keep their relationship purely professional.  They clearly have a mutual respect for each other’s intelligence and finesse and they are a great team.  You can’t help wanting them to get together!

So while this book is not for anyone with a weak stomach, most will enjoy the ride!

Thank You For Smoking by Christopher Buckley

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You may have seen this movie – I did years ago and really loved it.  But if you want to read something really fun, you’ll try the book!

Nick Naylor has one of the most challenging and unpopular jobs in the country – he is the primary spokesperson for the Academy of Tobacco Studies (a lobbying group for cigarette companies) in Washington.  In other words, he is a professional spin doctor who makes his living trying to convince others that there really is no proof that cigarettes can hurt you.  He is generally ok with being unpopular and brushes off his hate mail fairly callously; that is, until, during an appearance on a popular daytime TV talk show, his life is threatened by a particularly venomous caller who appears to be – and ultimately is – a true threat.  How Nick gets through this calamity brings the reader through plot twists that are wickedly and absolutely fun.

The best part of this book, for me, was the writing.  It is full of dark humor, sarcasm and wit.  Nick meets regularly with two other spokespeople (alcohol and gun lobbies), who call themselves the “Mod” Squad – only the MOD stands for Merchants of Death.  Their conversations alone are worth reading!  There is so much self-deprecation and funereal humor that I laughed out loud.

It is a crazy premise for a book, really, but it works – and it works really well! Highly recommend it!

The Rocks by Peter Nichols

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Out of the stunning beauty of the Mediterranean, on the isle of Mallorca, grows the story of Lulu and Gerald, whose marriage years ago, that was cut short by tragedy, has a lingering effect on everything and everyone that comes afterwards.  Lulu has moved on, to marry and divorce again, but to have given birth to Luc, to whom she is sometimes neglectful and sometimes movingly devoted. Most importantly, she is now running the successful resort, called “The Rocks,” where much of the story takes place.  Gerald, too, has moved on, to marry and have a beautiful daughter, Aegina, whose life also intersects with Luc’s.

It is the telling of the story, though, that is unique.  It is told by peeling off layer by layer of time in reverse order, almost in vignettes or short stories, but still clearly interconnecting.  As each layer is uncloaked, we learn more and more about each character — in the way a psychologist would, by digging deeper and deeper into one’s chronology to find the root of a behavior.   In these layers  are hidden some very deeply disturbing events, told so subtly that the full impact seems to hit in a delayed fashion.  The whole effect is actually quite powerful and the more I think about the story, the more I appreciate it.

There is a lot that is sad about this book, but there is beauty and culture as well.  An excellent read!

 

George by Alex Gino

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I diverged a bit by reading this latest book, as it is a children’s book – but it is on a subject that is utterly important and I was very curious.

George feels she’s been fighting the feeling for so long — that she is truly a girl, in spite of what she has between her legs.  Everyone has so many expectations of her – she’ll grow into a man, she’ll be comfortable in the boys’ bathroom, she’ll play the role of Wilbur when her class performs the story of Charlotte’s Web.  Well, what if she really wants to play Charlotte?  Her best friend, Kelly, becomes her ally as she slowly finds a voice for her feelings and gradually comes to terms with who she really is and what will make her happy.

I believe that this book is important, even while it may not be utterly realistic.  While George is definitely teased by the class bully for being “girlie,” there is also general acceptance of who she is on the whole.  George’s brother (who’d assumed George was gay, which is a common mistake), was almost instantly accepting, as was her mother (once she “got it”), and her best friend.  I appreciate that this is a positive light in which to introduce the concept, hopefully promoting the idea that revealing one’s true gender identity is safe.  Sadly, this is not always true.

And while the writing is a bit drab and the humor attempts fairly lame, the book is so important that I pray it is used in classrooms to promote discussions among children.  Hopefully, this will normalize transitioning and create safe places for children and adolescents to do so.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

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This awe-inspiring historical novel describes the true backstory of the boys from the University of Washington who succeeded in winning the Gold Medal in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  No, I didn’t just ruin the book for you – this is a known fact and is assumed from the get go.  But the suspense in this book still rises with each and every qualifying event leading up to the finale, primarily because the author brings you intimately into the lives of each of the remarkable people who were a part of this drama.  Brown focuses on the primary hero of this story, Joe Rantz.  Joe had an extremely difficult childhood and his resilience can only be described as astounding.  Through each of his loses in his life, he grew stronger and more independent, and learned to take care of himself because he had no choice.  This proved to be both a strength and a weakness as he began to train with the University of Washington crew team.

What is also fascinating about this story is the various times the author relates what is going on across the Atlantic, in Berlin, during the time leading up to the Olympics there.  As Hitler was strengthening his position as leader of the Third Reich, he was also bent on making Germany appear civilized and cultured and harmless in the world’s eyes by creating the perfect setting for the 1936 Olympics.  For this he utilized his right hand PR man, Goebbels and his friend and movie maker, Leni Reifenstahl to stage the one of the most successful cons ever.

While there is a great deal of detail shared in the book about rowing, the quality and design of the boats, the rigors of the training and the conditions under which the boys trained, it does help the reader to develop a profound respect for anyone in the boat.   I learned a great deal about the sport and the various people who are essential to the success of anyone who rows.  Most dramatic, though, was the way the boys came together as a team – that their success hinged on their putting faith in each other and forging the connection that enabled them to act as a single unit.  Experiencing this right along with them was a privilege that I encourage you to share.

Genuine drama and a truly beautiful story…