Good Night, Irene

I heard the author, Luis Alberto Urrea, interviewed on NPR, and after listening wanted to read his latest novel Good Night, Irene (#1,179).  It's loosely based on his mother's service during WWII as a Red Cross volunteer.  These intrepid women were trained to drive GMC trucks equipped with coffee urns and donut making machines.  They followed the troops into combat areas, supplying hot coffee, donuts and, most importantly, smiles and news from home to the men and boys a long way from home.  Service could be dangerous, but it was important enough that General George Patton asked the "Donut Dollies" as they were nicknamed, to accompany him and bear witness to the horrors of Buchenwald concentration camp.

Though this is, of course, a novel, it is based on the true services provided by the Red Cross during the War.  I found it hard to put down as the story follows the exploits of the three-woman crew of the Rapid City Clubmobile.  Irene Woodward from New York and Dorothy Dunford from Indiana each have their own reasons for wanting to volunteer, but their experiences on these mobile units together create an indelible bond.  Through training, a hazardous crossing to England, and transfer to the Continent, the girls on the truck encounter romance, places they've longed to see and, most of all, work, work, work with an unceasing smile on their faces.  They, like the men they see at their Donut Dugouts, wonder if they will survive to make it home.

This book reminded me in many ways of Fannie Flagg's wonderful novel The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion (See my post of 5/22/2014.) in which she highlights the World War II service of the WASPS, women who flew planes from factories to military bases to free up male pilots for combat.  The so-called "Donut Dollies" are another group of unsung heroic women supporting the troops on the front line.  Until I heard Mr. Urrea on the radio and read his book, I had no idea such a service had even existed, let alone how much morale boosting they provided where most needed.  You'll come away from this book admiring the spirit and sacrifice of these women.  Highly recommended.

Silver Alert

 I was on a roll yesterday discarding books.  The second one in one evening was Lee Smith's Silver Alert (#1,179).  It's supposed to be about a rich older man in Key West who takes off with his wife's nail technician on a final wild ride.  The first two chapters were promising, as they describe the wife's early onset dementia, and the care he takes for her despite hostile input from his assorted children and step-children.  We learn in the second chapter that the manicurist is not who she presents herself to be, also interesting.  And then the next chapter is poetry.  I lost the thread of the story and any interest in continuing with it.  Again, life is too short to waste.  Maybe you'll like it, but it's definitely not for me.

Unfortunately Yours

I am obviously way too old for Unfortunately Yours (#1,178) by Tessa Bailey.  According to the cover blurbs, she's a best-selling New York Times author and an Entertainment Weekly favorite.  I, on the other hand, only made it through (almost) three pages before I tossed it.  But not before counting fifteen swears, references to sex, and especially the male lead's genitalia in what is supposed to be a rom-com.  Ugh.  Life's too short to waste my time on this.

Lessons In Chemistry

Lessons In Chemistry (#1,177), Bonnie Garmus' best-selling book turned out to be not at all what I expected.  I thought it would be a cutesy feel-good story that managed to stay perched on the top of the Best Sellers list despite the fact that it seemed to be aimed solely at female audience.  I am happy to say I was wrong.  Lessons In Chemistry is fierce and funny, touching, terrible and oh-so true.

Elizabeth Zott is a modern Everywoman.  She dares to think and act for herself even when others take credit for every good thing she does.  Her story sure sounded familiar to me!  She wasn't taken seriously as a chemist until, in desperation, she turns those skills into cuisine.  It's not the cooking that counts on Elizabeth's show however, it's the connections she makes with her audience by crediting them with equal intelligence.

Bonnie Garmus' characters are wonderfully drawn.  But I do have to admit to having a soft spot for Six-Thirty.  Thanks for giving him his own wonderful interior life!

This is often not an easy book to read, especially if you're female, and have ever had any similar experiences (and who among us hasn't!), but I did like the way the author left things at the end.  This is one of the most satisfying books I've read in a long, long time.  I'm sorry I won't get to see Brie Larson bring Elizabeth Zott to life on the screen.

One tiny nit at the end, though.   I know Bonnie Garmus loved the cover of this book, but I have to say I didn't.  I think it contributes to the image of this book being a piece of inconsequential fluff.  I wish the illustration had a bit more bite to it, like Elizabeth.  Just my opinion.

The Island of Extraordinary Captives: A Painter, A Poet, An Heiress, and a Spy In a World War II British Internment Camp

I found The Island of Extraordinary Captives: A Painter, A Poet, An Heiress, And A Spy In A World War II British Internment Camp (#1,176) while I was browsing the non-fiction section of New Books at our local library.  How could I resist a title like that?  Its author, Simon Parkin, tells how he came across his subject quite by accident while researching a previous book.

Imagine all the creative people living under the Nazi Regime whose work did not suit the Reich's ideology - writers, artists, musicians, journalists and Jews - escaping if they were able the reach of the Nazis in Britain, only to be rounded up in Britain and sent to internment camps as "enemy aliens" even if they had been resident in Britain for years.  That is precisely what happened, and many of these gifted individuals wound up in the Hutchinson Internment Camp on the Isle of Man out in the Irish Sea.

Mr. Parkin tells us who some of these extraordinary people were, the stories of how they wound up at Hutchinson and how they occupied themselves while they were there.  Mr. Parkin goes on the chronicle what happened to a number of these refugees over the years, and how many went on to faithfully serve the country which had put them there in terrible isolation.  It's a bit of British history that you don't usually find in books about World War II, but an illuminating one.  If you like history, add this book to your list.

The Girl Who Wrote In Silk

The only reason I read Kelli Estes' novel The Girl Who Wrote In Silk (#1,175) was because it was available in my library's Book Clubs Book Bags.  I'm not sure how this book sneaked past all the buzzy notice on Good Reads and Library Thing because it was an absorbing read with tons of issues to talk about at my upcoming book club meeting.  When I mentioned The Girl Who Wrote In Silk to my other book club, the response was overwhelmingly positive from others who had already read it.

The plot ping pongs between two timelines with two different female protagonists: an 1880s American born Chinese woman living in Seattle when her family is driven out by the white population one terror-filled night, and a modern day young woman from a prominent Seattle shipping conglomerate who goes to Orcas Island in the San Juan Straits to sort out the summer estate her beloved aunt left to her.

Their stories are intertwined as the author gradually reveals through the discovery of an exquisite embroidered sleeve found concealed under a staircase in the cottage where Inara Erikson's aunt lived.  Bringing her find to a professor of Asian Studies at the University of Washington sets in motion a train of events affecting Inara's family while revealing Mei Lien's story.

Contemporary readers may be surprised by some of the American history central to the plot; it's not generally taught in schools.  Definitely a worthwhile read.

Murder Your Employer - The McMasters Guide to Homicide

What a droll read Rupert Holmes' latest is!  Murder Your Employer - The McMasters Guide to Homicide (#1,174) is presented as a rather dry mid-nineteenth century textbook.  But, oh! dear reader, the contents!  Ever had the urge to do away with an unpleasant boss?  This book promises to set you on the right path if you are unable to afford the pricey tuition to attend the McMasters Conservatory of the Applied Arts in person.  

After reading about the experiences of several students of the Conservatory, how could you not wish to attend?  The food, the settings, the classes all sound so enticing.  Of course, you do have to deal with the consequences of failing your Masters Thesis - the deletion of your intended target.  If unsuccessful, you yourself will be eliminated.  But no pressure!

Will the students described here succeed or fail?  The journey to find out is all of the fun of this highly entertaining novel.  Highly recommended.