I finally got around to reading My Brilliant Friend (#896), the first book in Elena Ferrante's celebrated Neapolitan Novels. To tell the truth, I'm not sure whether I liked it or not. I confess that I did read it in just a couple of days, but when I noticed that My Brilliant Friend has been made into a series on HBO, I'm equally tempted to just watch an episode or two of the show and then call it quits.
Why am I so ambivalent? Maybe it's because I really don't like either of the main characters, either Elena or Lila. These books are supposed to be a celebration of female friendship, but I don't see it. The girls certainly have a strong emotional hold on each other, but it's marked by such meanness and self-interest that every action comes with a heavy psychic price. To be honest, the people in the neighborhood reminded me strongly of the neighbors who lived in back of us when I was growing up - they also were from post-WWII Naples, sang and argued loudly, hanging their laundry out to dry. I wasn't supposed to mix with them much because they weren't quite "nice". I guess that's why I had more sympathy with the girl dressed in green in downtown Naples whose boyfriend was beat up by Lena and Lila's brother and his friends.
With all the grudges and vendettas ripe to burst at Stefano's and Lila's wedding banquet in the final pages, you know that the next book won't get off to a good start. The marriage has already been ruined before it's even begun. Do I really want to read three more books of this? I don't think so. I've already happily moved on to Anthony Trollope, who is much more to my taste.
Thursday, April 23, 2020
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
Miss Austen
I kept having the feeling reading Gill Hornby's Miss Austen (#895) that I was reading one of Jane's delectable novels. The eponymous Miss Austen here however, is not Jane, but her older sister and beloved companion Cassandra.
If you are a Jane Austen fan, you may be familiar with some of the elements of the Austens' lives; that Cassandra was engaged to a young clergyman who was lost at sea and never afterwards married, that Jane herself was once briefly engaged to a neighbor, and that the Austen women lost a permanent home after the Reverend Austen retired from his parish. With his income and pension to sustain them, they lived a comfortable enough life, moving from lodgings to lodgings. When he died, so did his income. Just like the heroines of Jane's novels, the women were forced to rely mainly on the charity of their friends and neighbors for their bed and board.
Miss Austen imagines the task Cassandra takes upon herself many years later to recover and destroy a cache of letters written by herself and her sister Jane to Eliza Fowle, a dear friend who would have been Cassy's sister-in-law had Tom not died in the West Indies. She wants above all else to preserve Jane's reputation by doing so. Re-reading those letters from the vantage point of 1840, Cassandra is able to come to terms with the events and patterns of their lives, while still striving to influence the lives of the Fowles for the best.
It is easy to draw comparisons to Sense and Sensibility, to Persuasion and to Emma here, and to imagine what keen observations Jane drew from those around her maneuvering through society to the best of their abilities. Jane Austen herself would be proud.
If you are a Jane Austen fan, you may be familiar with some of the elements of the Austens' lives; that Cassandra was engaged to a young clergyman who was lost at sea and never afterwards married, that Jane herself was once briefly engaged to a neighbor, and that the Austen women lost a permanent home after the Reverend Austen retired from his parish. With his income and pension to sustain them, they lived a comfortable enough life, moving from lodgings to lodgings. When he died, so did his income. Just like the heroines of Jane's novels, the women were forced to rely mainly on the charity of their friends and neighbors for their bed and board.
Miss Austen imagines the task Cassandra takes upon herself many years later to recover and destroy a cache of letters written by herself and her sister Jane to Eliza Fowle, a dear friend who would have been Cassy's sister-in-law had Tom not died in the West Indies. She wants above all else to preserve Jane's reputation by doing so. Re-reading those letters from the vantage point of 1840, Cassandra is able to come to terms with the events and patterns of their lives, while still striving to influence the lives of the Fowles for the best.
It is easy to draw comparisons to Sense and Sensibility, to Persuasion and to Emma here, and to imagine what keen observations Jane drew from those around her maneuvering through society to the best of their abilities. Jane Austen herself would be proud.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Man of War
Since our local library (Bless them!!!) has remained open to check out Reserved Books at the front door when they arrive at your local branch, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to whittle away at my electronic "To Read" list of suspended holds. As I browsed my list, Charlie Schroeder's book Man of War - My Adventures in the World of Historical Reenactment (#894) piqued my fancy.
A sometime contributor to NPR, and an actor who couldn't make it in LA, Schroeder was chafing at his desk job. After he and his wife attended an LA area reenactors' festival, Charlie decided to pitch a book about his adventures with groups across the country which reenact different periods of time - WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War, Vikings and Romans and a few other periods and places as well. His proposal was accepted, and he was off on a year of participating in Living History.
His experiences are amusing, tedious, terrifying and downright dirty, but through it all, he met a multitude of interesting characters who do what they do for a wide range of reasons; some like the mostly male bonding that goes on, some the dress-up aspects, but many, like Charlie, are hooked on the history. They want to know everything about the time period they've chosen to reenact - from the weapons to the food to the clothes to how to reconstruct authentic versions of each. By the end of the year it took to gather materials for this book, he knew that he wanted to reenact something for himself that had happened in the Los Angeles where he currently lives. How he found his project and what he did to carry it out comprise the last chapter of this entertaining and enlightening book, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out what he did and why. You won't be disappointed.
A sometime contributor to NPR, and an actor who couldn't make it in LA, Schroeder was chafing at his desk job. After he and his wife attended an LA area reenactors' festival, Charlie decided to pitch a book about his adventures with groups across the country which reenact different periods of time - WWII, Civil War, Revolutionary War, Vikings and Romans and a few other periods and places as well. His proposal was accepted, and he was off on a year of participating in Living History.
His experiences are amusing, tedious, terrifying and downright dirty, but through it all, he met a multitude of interesting characters who do what they do for a wide range of reasons; some like the mostly male bonding that goes on, some the dress-up aspects, but many, like Charlie, are hooked on the history. They want to know everything about the time period they've chosen to reenact - from the weapons to the food to the clothes to how to reconstruct authentic versions of each. By the end of the year it took to gather materials for this book, he knew that he wanted to reenact something for himself that had happened in the Los Angeles where he currently lives. How he found his project and what he did to carry it out comprise the last chapter of this entertaining and enlightening book, but you'll have to read it for yourself to find out what he did and why. You won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
I Will Always Write Back
I can't remember where I heard about I Will Always Write Back (#893), a double memoir by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda with Liz Welch, but after reading it, I'm really glad our library had a copy of this inspiring and eye-opening book. Its subtitle is How One Letter Changed Two Lives and boy, does it ever live up to that promise!
Caitlin is a twelve year old middle school student when she chooses to write to an unknown pen pal in the most exotic-sounding country her teacher had listed on the board for the assignment: Zimbabwe. Her letter eventually arrived in a classroom in Zimbabwe where 14 year-old Martin, as the highest-ranked student in his class, was fortunate enough to receive it. His reply to Caitlin launched a correspondence that lasted well beyond the expectations of any of the adults involved in the project. As the chapters alternate between Caitlin and Martin telling their stories about the letters - the questions they raised, the sharing of their families and ways of life, even of their misconceptions - paint a picture of two young people eager to reach out and explore a world beyond their reach. As they grow and learn from each other it is amazing to see how he and she mature and develop as they deepen their understanding of the opportunities offered to them. When Caitlin finally grasps just how different Martin's life and prospects are from her own comfortable American middle-class life, she becomes determined to make Martin's life and his family's better.
It won't be giving anything away to tell you that Caitlin's efforts and those of her whole family make it possible for Martin to come to America for college and lifts his whole family thereby out of direst poverty in Zimbabwe. There are plenty of obstacles to overcome along the way, but the simple style of the book makes for gripping reading. This is the perfect time to read a book which will help restore your faith in humanity! Hope you are able to get your hands on a copy of this book.
Caitlin is a twelve year old middle school student when she chooses to write to an unknown pen pal in the most exotic-sounding country her teacher had listed on the board for the assignment: Zimbabwe. Her letter eventually arrived in a classroom in Zimbabwe where 14 year-old Martin, as the highest-ranked student in his class, was fortunate enough to receive it. His reply to Caitlin launched a correspondence that lasted well beyond the expectations of any of the adults involved in the project. As the chapters alternate between Caitlin and Martin telling their stories about the letters - the questions they raised, the sharing of their families and ways of life, even of their misconceptions - paint a picture of two young people eager to reach out and explore a world beyond their reach. As they grow and learn from each other it is amazing to see how he and she mature and develop as they deepen their understanding of the opportunities offered to them. When Caitlin finally grasps just how different Martin's life and prospects are from her own comfortable American middle-class life, she becomes determined to make Martin's life and his family's better.
It won't be giving anything away to tell you that Caitlin's efforts and those of her whole family make it possible for Martin to come to America for college and lifts his whole family thereby out of direst poverty in Zimbabwe. There are plenty of obstacles to overcome along the way, but the simple style of the book makes for gripping reading. This is the perfect time to read a book which will help restore your faith in humanity! Hope you are able to get your hands on a copy of this book.
Monday, April 13, 2020
A Crimson Warning
A Crimson Warning (#892) by Tasha Alexander provided just the kind of distraction I was looking for; a late Victorian murder mystery with the plucky Lady Emily Hargreaves and her handsome husband Colin solving murders involving splashes of red paint on the doors of prominent members of society foreshadowing the revelation of scandals within. Who doesn't have a secret he or she would do anything to keep hidden?
As Lady Emily and Colin begin to investigate on behalf of the crown, political machinations rear their ugly heads. The violence is all off page, as it were, but there are enough twists and turns and red herrings (sorry, I couldn't help that!) to keep the pages turning. There's an elaborate set of clues leading to the unmasking of the real villain of the piece. Lady Emily's knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin, and her fondness for the redoubtable British Museum are key to unraveling the web of deceit.
This is a most enjoyable mystery series. If you haven't discovered The Lady Emily Mysteries yet, you might want to start with Dangerous to Know where Lady Emily first encounters Colin Hargreaves...
As Lady Emily and Colin begin to investigate on behalf of the crown, political machinations rear their ugly heads. The violence is all off page, as it were, but there are enough twists and turns and red herrings (sorry, I couldn't help that!) to keep the pages turning. There's an elaborate set of clues leading to the unmasking of the real villain of the piece. Lady Emily's knowledge of ancient Greek and Latin, and her fondness for the redoubtable British Museum are key to unraveling the web of deceit.
This is a most enjoyable mystery series. If you haven't discovered The Lady Emily Mysteries yet, you might want to start with Dangerous to Know where Lady Emily first encounters Colin Hargreaves...
Thursday, April 9, 2020
Founding Mothers - The Women Who Raised Our Nation
After reading the late Cokie Roberts' 2004 book Founding Mothers - The Women Who Raised Our Nation (#891) I realized how much I miss her commentary on TV and NPR on our current political state.
Here she recounts the stories of the influential women of the period leading up to and just following the American Revolution, as they encouraged their husbands, brothers, sons and friends to undertake the cause of liberty and helped shape it even through their writings. Most of the women presented here are familiar to most of us - Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, to name a few - but many are not: Mercy Otis Warren who used her pen to great advantage, Eliza Pinckney, who at 16 managed her father's three plantations and brought prosperity to South Carolina by introducing indigo as a cash crop, or Deborah Read Franklin who ran husband Benjamin Franklin's businesses at home while he spent years abroad impressing the French court.
Most of the women's stories are told through their surviving correspondence, but presented in such a way that the writing is anecdotal, not professorial. You do want to find out what made these ladies tick, and in many cases, what ticked them off! Since the material is organized by time frames, we do meet many of the same women several times on the country's journey to a new governmental style. It makes for fascinating reading.
My biggest surprise about this book? I recognized three of the four women whose portraits grace the cover, but I had to look up the identity of a somber matron dressed all in black. It turned out to be Catherine Littlefield Green Miller, widow of Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Green. Kitty, as she was known, was quite the belle of the ball and a great favorite amongst both men and women in the winter encampments during the long years of the war, where she kept up everyone's spirits. It's hard to imagine looking at this rather dour portrait that she and George Washington caused a sensation by dancing for three solid hours without a pause one night. It was the talk of the camp and the colonies!
Here she recounts the stories of the influential women of the period leading up to and just following the American Revolution, as they encouraged their husbands, brothers, sons and friends to undertake the cause of liberty and helped shape it even through their writings. Most of the women presented here are familiar to most of us - Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, to name a few - but many are not: Mercy Otis Warren who used her pen to great advantage, Eliza Pinckney, who at 16 managed her father's three plantations and brought prosperity to South Carolina by introducing indigo as a cash crop, or Deborah Read Franklin who ran husband Benjamin Franklin's businesses at home while he spent years abroad impressing the French court.
Most of the women's stories are told through their surviving correspondence, but presented in such a way that the writing is anecdotal, not professorial. You do want to find out what made these ladies tick, and in many cases, what ticked them off! Since the material is organized by time frames, we do meet many of the same women several times on the country's journey to a new governmental style. It makes for fascinating reading.
My biggest surprise about this book? I recognized three of the four women whose portraits grace the cover, but I had to look up the identity of a somber matron dressed all in black. It turned out to be Catherine Littlefield Green Miller, widow of Revolutionary War General Nathaniel Green. Kitty, as she was known, was quite the belle of the ball and a great favorite amongst both men and women in the winter encampments during the long years of the war, where she kept up everyone's spirits. It's hard to imagine looking at this rather dour portrait that she and George Washington caused a sensation by dancing for three solid hours without a pause one night. It was the talk of the camp and the colonies!
Monday, April 6, 2020
The Big Lie
All I can say is that James Grippando's latest book, The Big Lie (#890) is aptly named. I thought when I picked it up that I was going to be reading a Florida-based political satire and it seemed to start out that way, but it soon devolved into a fetid stew of unlikeable characters pursuing their own corrupt ends at taxpayers' expense. My advice? Don't waste your time here. There are plenty of entertaining mysteries out there that will leave you feeling that in the end, justice was served, instead of profoundly depressed. Just my opinion.
Saturday, April 4, 2020
St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets
I was looking for something light and frothy to read when I saw the cover of Annie England Noblin's latest novel, St. Francis Society for Wayward Pets (#889) with the adorable Boston terrier on the cover. I didn't heed the old adage "Never judge a book by its cover." Although it was a decent read, it dealt with much darker issues such as domestic abuse, loss, grief and abandonment. Oh, and there wasn't a Boston terrier anywhere in the book!
Maeve Stephens' life hasn't been going well lately, so when someone calls to tell her that her birth mother's funeral is coming up in the small town of Timber Creek, Washington, why not go and see if some of her life-long questions can finally be answered? What she finds instead is that she has inherited a small house, a mint-condition old VW Beetle and her mother's place in a small town society with plenty of secrets and eccentric characters. Torn between the desire to find out more about her biological parents and a feeling she is being disloyal to her adoptive family in Seattle, Maeve nonetheless decides to stay in Timber Creek for the time being. What has she got to return to in Seattle with no job, no apartment and a viral video of her former Seattle Mariners' boyfriend making out publicly with someone who is not Maeve? Besides, there is the handsome neighbor down the street, a well-known but reclusive best-selling author...
Everything does turn out well in the end for almost everybody, but there sure is a lot of emotional debris to wade through in the meantime. Next time I'm looking for light and frothy, I'll look for a Sophie Kinsella novel!
Maeve Stephens' life hasn't been going well lately, so when someone calls to tell her that her birth mother's funeral is coming up in the small town of Timber Creek, Washington, why not go and see if some of her life-long questions can finally be answered? What she finds instead is that she has inherited a small house, a mint-condition old VW Beetle and her mother's place in a small town society with plenty of secrets and eccentric characters. Torn between the desire to find out more about her biological parents and a feeling she is being disloyal to her adoptive family in Seattle, Maeve nonetheless decides to stay in Timber Creek for the time being. What has she got to return to in Seattle with no job, no apartment and a viral video of her former Seattle Mariners' boyfriend making out publicly with someone who is not Maeve? Besides, there is the handsome neighbor down the street, a well-known but reclusive best-selling author...
Everything does turn out well in the end for almost everybody, but there sure is a lot of emotional debris to wade through in the meantime. Next time I'm looking for light and frothy, I'll look for a Sophie Kinsella novel!
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