Author: gr4c5

I write. I read. I cook. I run. That's me, in a nutshell.

“Golden Angel Pancake House”

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McGrath, Campbell. “The Golden Angel Pancake House.” Spring Comes to Chicago. Hopewell, New Jersey: Ecco Press, 1996. p 5.

I loved this poem. This has got to be one of my favorites read so far this year.  It reminded me of Natalie Merchant’s song “Carnival” off her 1995 album, Tigerlily. In “Carnival” Natalie pays homage to New York City and I see Campbell McGrath doing the same thing for his hometown of Chicago in “The Golden Angel Pancake House” (which is a real restaurant, by the way). The imagery is amazing. I can just see this group of friends stumbling out of a bar at closing time. It’s way early in the morning and they are prowling the streets looking for a place to eat. The sights and sounds are chaotic and gripping. A freak show.

Favorite line, “a troupe of toothless, dipsomaniacal clowns.”

Reason read: It’s still April and I’m still reading poetry. Obviously.

Author fact: As I mentioned before McGrath is from Chicago.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Kitchen Sink Poetry” (p 139).

Hole in the World

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Rhodes, Richard. A Hole in the World: an American Boyhood. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990.

Have you ever walked across really, really hot sand in your bare feet? There you are, stinging and ouching all the way across the incredibly hot terrain. But! It’s a pain you don’t want to give up because of where you are and where you going. Your destination is that blissful blanket by the sea and it will be lovely (why else are you there?). You know the pain will only last as long as you as are hot-stepping across the sand. That brief agony is the way I felt about Hole in the World by Richard Rhodes. It was unpleasant reading, even hurtful reading but I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to get to the good part, that blanket, if you will. It’s the story of Richard Rhodes growing up in an abusive household.  I know he heals from his traumatic childhood. I know the abuses he suffered didn’t last forever. There is light at the end of the dark tunnel of boyhood. But, it is a book worth reading. His words haunted my heart long after I put it down.

Favorite dangerous line, “I was tickling a dragon’s tail” (p 170).

Reason read: April is National Child Abuse Prevention month.

Author fact: Richard Rhodes went on to write The Making of the Atom Bomb for which he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.

Book trivia: Heads up vegetarians and animals lovers! There is a decent-sized section dedicated to the description of the slaughter of farm animals. It’s graphic and detailed but nothing disturbed me more than when Rhodes is forced to kill a cat.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “A Holiday Shopping List” (p 116).

“Road and the End”

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Sandburg, Carl. Complete Poems. “The Road and the End.” New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc. 1950. p 43.

I see a solitary traveler planning to face whatever comes his way on his journey. He has anticipation of the road ahead and the hours spent going down it. I say anticipation…for he hasn’t left yet. “I SHALL” indicates a plan to do so. The capitalization indicates a determination; a desire to convince someone (maybe himself?) he will eventually leave. It’s a nod to nature. Perfect timing for the changing seasons and hopefully, the warmer weather.

I took this poem personally as I have been slow to start training for my 60 mile cancer walk at the end of May. The apathy I was feeling spread into neglecting my favorite charity event. For the first time in five years I haven’t walked down my road of training the way that I should be by now…to say nothing of the fund raising (which sucks, by the way).

Favorite line, “in the silence of the morning.” Can anyone guess why?

Reason read: April is National Poetry Month…as I’ve said before.

Author fact: Carl Sandburg died two years before my birth. He is the second Chicago poet I’ve read this month.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Travelers Tales in Verse” (p 237).

Gentlemen Prefer Blonds

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Loos, Anita. “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: the Illuminating Diary of a Professional Lady.” Grosset & Dunlap, 1925.

This was a positively silly book and it almost embarrassed me to be reading it. Luckily, it was incredibly short (less than 200 pages) so I was able to get through it in one weekend. It is the journal of Lorelei Lee, a Midwest girl making her way in the New York City with gal pal Dorothy. Lorelei’s idea of making her way is to see how many men she can charm into “educating” her with their wallets. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is Lorelei’s diary from March 16th to July 10th and chronicles (complete with spelling and grammatical errors) her trip to Paris, France and Europe beyond all the while juggling many different male suitors. She starts nearly every sentence with “So” to the point where it got on my nerves the way someone says “like” all the time (and not the “like” on FaceBook, although that can get annoying as well). Lorelei uses shopping as her weapon and is quite good at it. I had a few laugh out loud moments. My recommendation is to find the 195 version. The illustrations are priceless.

The line that made me know I was in trouble, “I mean I seem to be thinking practically all the time” (p 11). That’s on the first page of the book.

Reason read: Anita Loos was born on April 26th so I am reading Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as a Happy birthday to Loos.

Author fact: Anita Loos was also an actress. Too cool.

Book trivia: Every one knows of the movie version starring Marilyn Monroe, but did you know there was an earlier version from 1928? Obviously, it didn’t do as well.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “100 Good Reads: Decade By Decade (1920s)” (p 176)

Domestic Manners of the Americans

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Trollope, Frances. Domestic Manners of the Americans. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949.

Frances “Fanny” Trollope disliked Americans for their lack of “domestic manners.” In other words she didn’t know how to embrace culturally differences. One man’s rude belch is another man’s generous compliment to the chef. But, Frances Trollope didn’t see it that way. The American accent grated on Trollope’s ears. She found the living conditions deplorable as well. Pigs running wild in the streets of Cincinnati bothered her but she conceded that if it weren’t for the pigs the street would be overrun with food rubbish! She longed for England’s refinement. One has to keep in mind the era as well. America was trying to be as backwards from British rule as possible.
Favorite line, “…before the end of August I fell low before the monster that is forever stalking that land of lakes and rivers, breathing fever and death around” (p 178). I like the sheer monstrosity of it all.

Reason read: Frances Trollope was born in the month of March. I also read Fanny: a novel by Edmund White at the same time. Was it worth it? Not sure what I was supposed to get out of that exercise, so I would have to say no.

Book trivia: Domestic Manners of the Americans inspired Edmund White to write Fanny: a Novel.

Author fact: Domestic Manners of the Americans was Frances Trollope’s first book.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “”Two, or Three, Are Better Than One (p 226).

“Winter”

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Ponsot, Marie. “Winter.” Springing.New york: Alfred A Knopf, 2002. p 225.

Such a short poem and oh so seemingly uncomplicated! Don’t be fooled by its length or lack of veiled meaning. It is a snapshot of two neighbors, living side by side. Two mothers, their sons had grown up as friends. Only now the reader finds out one mother has lost her son to suicide. The other doesn’t know what to say. Isn’t that always the way? There is pain in this surviving-son’s mother’s voice as she struggles with words and sentiments. It’s elegant and emotional.

And to think I read it thinking it was going to be about winter (because I can’t wait for it to be over). That will teach me to judge a poem by its title!

Favorite line, “Both boys hated school, dropped out feral, dropped in to separate troubles” (p 225).

Reason read: April is National Poetry Month. So. There. This is the first poem of the month!

Author fact: Ponsot’s book The Bird Catcher won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry in 1998.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Poetry Pleasers” (p 189).

April Foolish List

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I kinda like the pulse check I took last month. I have decided I like watching one list shrink while another grows.
As a result I decided to keep the lists separated for this month as well. Starting with the books that haven’t been read.

STILL TO GO:

  1. Abide By Me by Elizabeth Strout
  2. Among the Missing by Dan Chaon
  3. Apollo: the epic journey to the moon by David West Reynolds
  4. Ariel by Sylvia Plath
  5. At Home in the Heart of Appalachia by John O’Brien
  6. Beautiful Swimmers by William Warner
  7. Beneath the Lion’s Gaze by Maaza Mengist
  8. Beyond the Bogota by Gary Leech
  9. Burma Chronicles by Guy Delise
  10. Burning the Days by James Salter
  11. Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lillian Jackson Braun
  12. Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford
  13. Conspiracy and Other Stories by Jaan Kross
  14. Deafening by Frances Itani
  15. Death in Verona by Roy Harley Lewis
  16. Dining with Al-Qaeda by Hugh Pope
  17. Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
  18. Fixer by Joe Sacco
  19. Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
  20. Going Wild by Robert Winkler
  21. Golden Spruce by John Vaillant
  22. Grand Ambition by Lisa Michaels
  23. Guardians by Geoffrey Kabaservice
  24. House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferre
  25. Light Infantry Ball by Hamilton Basso
  26. Nobody Knows My Name by James Baldwin
  27. Ocean of Words by Ha Jin
  28. Old Friends by Tracy Kidder
  29. Panther Soup by John Grimlette
  30. Points Unknown edited by David Roberts
  31. Return of the Dancing Master by Henning Mankell
  32. Rose Cafe by John Hanson Mitchell
  33. Scramble for Africa by Thomas Pakenham
  34. Southpaw by Mark Harris
  35. Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith
  36. Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
  37. Time, Love, Memory by Jonathan Weiner
  38. What you Owe Me by Bebe Moore Campbell
  39. Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
  40. Working Poor by David Shipler

ON DECK FOR APRIL:

  1. Cardboard Crown by Martin Boyd
  2. Diamond Classics by Mike Shannon
  3. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
  4. House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
  5. Added: Hole in the World by Richard Rhodes
  6. Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith
  7. Added: Author, Author by David Lodge (audio)
  8. Imperfect Harmony by Stacy Horn (for LibraryThing’s Early Review program
  9. Lots of poetry

FINISHED:

  1. Adventures of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
  2. Ancient Athens on 5 Drachmas a Day by Philip Matyszak
  3. Apples Are From Kazakhstan by Christopher Robbins
  4. Arctic Grail by Pierre Berton (I started this last year. No, sorry – two years ago)
  5. Before the Knife by Carolyn Slaughter
  6. Bellwether by Connie Willis
  7. Big Mouth and Ugly Girl by Joyce Carol Oates
  8. Billy by Albert French
  9. Brass Go-Between by Oliver Bleeck
  10. Breakfast with Scot by Michael Drowning
  11. Brush with Death by Elizabeth Duncan
  12. Brushed by Feathers by Frances Wood
  13. Camus, a Romance by Elizabeth Hawes
  14. Churchill, a life by Martin Gilbert
  15. City of Thieves by David Benioff
  16. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
  17. Descending the Dragon by Jon Bowermaster
  18. Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope
  19. The Evolution of Jane by Catherine Schine
  20. Edward Lear in Albania by Edward Lear
  21. Fanny by Edmund White
  22. Final Solution by Michael Chabon
  23. ADDED: Flamboya Tree  by Clara Olink Kelly
  24. Gabriel Garcia Marquez by Gerald Martin
  25. Galton Case by Ross MacDonald
  26. Girl in Landscape by Jonathan Lethem
  27. Gold Coast Madam by Rose Laws
  28. Good Thief’s Guide to Paris by Chris Ewan
  29. Good Thief’s Guide to Vegas by Chris Ewan
  30. Good-bye Chunk Rice by Craig Thompson
  31. Her by Christa Parravani
  32. Hole in the Earth by Robert Bausch
  33. Idle Days in Patagonia by William Hudson
  34. Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
  35. Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith
  36. Lives of the Painters, vol 2, 3 & 4 by Giorgio Vasari
  37. Mortality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith
  38. No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
  39. Of Human Bondage by William Maugham
  40. Playing for Keeps by David Halberstam
  41. Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson
  42. Rosalind Franklin: Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox
  43. Scar Tissue by Michael Ignatieff
  44. Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
  45. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers
  46. Tatiana by Dorothy Jones
  47. Tattered Cloak by Nina Berberova
  48. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
  49. Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers
  50. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackery
  51. Viceroy of Ouidah by Bruce Chatwin
  52. Wholeness of a Broken Heart by Katie Singer
  53. Widow for One Year by John Irving
  54. Women of the Raj by Margaret MacMillan

Snow Country

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Kawabata, Yasunari. Snow Country. New York: Vintage International, 1996.

Read any review of Snow Country and you will find people making comparisons to a haiku or to music. Kawabata’s descriptions are like water, flowing easily from page to page, but indeed like water very powerful. The details of the story are like music, lilting and magical and sometimes, more often than not, sorrowful. The story itself is very stark. It’s the relationship between a wealthy businessman and his snow country geisha. Their relationship is complicated by an imbalance of feelings. She cares for him more passionately then he does for her. In fact, his feelings are as cold as the winter countryside. It is frustrating at times to know they will never bridge the cultural or emotional gap…until you remember he is married.

Favorite lines, “He knew that if he spoke he would only make himself seem the more wanting in seriousness” (p 15).

Even though I have complained about reading translations there is also something cool about learning new words like “kotatsu” which is a small heating device.

Reason read: March is supposedly one of the best times to visit Japan.

Author fact: Yasunari Kawabata has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “Japanese Fiction” (p 131).

Hole in the Earth

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Bausch, Robert. A Hole in the Earth. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2000.

If you are anything like me you won’t be able to decide whether you love or hate or just feel sorry for Henry Porter. On the surface he is a selfish, superficial s.o.b. who never knows the right thing to say or do. He doesn’t know how to greet Nicole, his only child he hasn’t seen in six years. He has a strained relationship with his girlfriend and doesn’t know how to respond when she tells him she is pregnant with his child. He comes across as shallow and callous. Case in point: “I calculated that if she really wanted to get my understanding, she would ask for it” he says (p 32). But, having said all that, it’s his very attitude that makes him human. We all have our moments of being selfish, superficial, shallow, awkward, cold and callous. Henry Porter is real and you can’t help but identify with him, even if it is just a little. As Henry’s life becomes more complicated (Nicole gets in trouble with a boy and Elizabeth breaks up with him) Henry starts to find his way through his inability to respond to tragedy. It’s a good thing because things go from bad to the very worst and Henry must change in order to survive.

Favorite lines, “I wanted to tell her but my mind would not surrender the words” (p 239), and “Upstairs Nicole was building a cathedral of faithful hatred…” (p 275).

Reason read: National Problem Gambling Week was three weeks ago (March 3 – 9) but in recognition of those struggling with the addiction I read A Hole in the Earth.

Author fact: I loved Robert Bausch’s short bio on the back flap of A hole in the Earth. See if you can figure out why! 😉 “He has worked as a salesman, taxi driver, library assistant, and waiter.”

Book trivia: The cover of my edition features a boy jumping off something. While he is in mid-fall he looks anticipatory and almost excited. It’s a scene from the book that is also a metaphor for Henry’s adult life.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust in the chapter called “All in the Family: Writer Dynasties” (p 6). So, Pearl’s chapter doesn’t have anything to do with gambling. Instead A Hole in the Earth is mentioned because Robert and his brother, Richard, are both writers.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

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Martin, Gerald. Gabriel Garcia Marquez: a Life. New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2008.

This is going to sound horrible but I read the biography of Gabriel Garcia Marquez before reading a single word written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have a bunch of different books by Garcia Marquez on my challenge list but his biography came up first. It’s sad to say I never read anything of his in high school or even college. You would think, I being a huge John Cusack fan, that I would have at least read Love in the Time of Cholera! (If you have no idea why I made that connection go rent Serendipity or High Fidelity.)

Surprisingly, this is one of my favorite biographies read so far. It has to be the subject matter. Like other biographies that spend an inordinate amount of time setting the stage (political and socially) or produce pages and pages of mini biographies of the subject’s great-great-great grandparents Martin does bog down with those details in the beginning. His focus is not primarily on Gabriel Garcia Marquez but rather the myriad of family members from both his mother’s and father’s sides of the family. I got lost trying to keep the just cousins straight. Forget about all the drama that went with them! But, aside from that reading about Marquez’s life was fascinating. Martin took 17 years to research his subject and it shows.
Probably my favorite aspect of the biography is the parallels Martin makes between Marquez’s life and his art. Martin doesn’t miss an opportunity to make note of people in Marquez’s life who eventually became characters in his books later. I have a deeper understanding of where the soul of One Hundred Years of Solitude came from.

Favorite quotes, “A whispy costeno moustache appeared on his adolescent lip and was left to wander where it would” (p 108), and “Acquaintances remember him always drumming his fingers on the table as we waited for his lunch , or on anything else to hand…music always wafting through him” (p 145). Guess my husband has something in common with Gabriel Garcia Marquez…always drumming on something.

Reason read: Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born in March.

Book trivia: Gabriel Garcia Marquez: a Life includes great photography. GGM’s first year picture was adorable.

Author fact: According to Martin’s Wiki page his biography of Gabriel Garcia Marquez was the first full biography to be published in English. Interesting.

BookLust Twist: From Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Hail, Columbia!” (p 91).

Widow for One Year

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Irving, John. A Widow For One Year. Read by George Guidall. New York: Random House Audio, 1998.

While meandering at times A Widow For One Year follows the life of Ruth Cole. In Part One it is 1958 and Ruth is only four years old. The plot doesn’t necessarily focus on Ruth at this point but rather on her Long Island parents – their endless grief over the accidental death of their teenage sons and the bitter end of their tumultuous marriage. Ruth’s father is a celebrated author of books for children, a closet alcoholic and a raging adulterer. He wants to divorce Ruth’s mother, Marion, but he first needs to make sure he’ll win the custody battle over Ruth. Given his drinking (he can’t even drive due to too many dui arrests) and sexual conquests outside the marriage he needs Marion to have an indiscretion of her own to level the playing field. Enter Eddie O’Hare, a sixteen year old high school student from Philips Exeter Academy. Ted hires Eddie to be his writing assistant for the summer but really Eddie is supposed to seduce Marion. It’s Eddie who I like the best in this part one. He plays the fool perfectly (oh, but what a sweet and pretty fool). Unwittingly he is a pawn for both Ted and Marion.
In Part Two Ruth, at thirty-six, is an accomplished writer living in New York. The section begins with the very same Eddie O’Hare. He is in town to introduce Ruth at one of her readings. While their paths cross only briefly at this point in the story Ruth is enlightened by Eddie’s memories of her mother. She begins to see her parent’s divorce in a whole new perspective. Before leaving for a European book tour Eddie gives Ruth a murder mystery he thinks was written by Marion. While in Amsterdam Ruth is witness to the murder of a window prostitute from the red light district.
This sets in motion Part Three which, in the beginning, focuses mostly on the murder of the prostitute from five years earlier. The lead chief inspector has a conundrum. While he was able to solve the murder he now wants to find the witness. The story jumps back fill in the story of the prostitute (which could have been a whole separate book). I don’t want to spoil the end except to say it’s nice that Irving brought the story full circle.

Favorite lines: “There are few things as seemingly untouched by the real world as a child asleep” (p 151). Don’t you love the image of that? Another favorite line, “I appear to have an old disease to share” (p 324).

As an aside, Ruth’s attitude about her American fans reminded me of how Natalie Merchant reacts to autograph signings and picture taking with her American fans. Both Ruth and Natalie are more comfortable with their European fans.

Reason read: John Irving celebrates a birthday in March, on the 18th…or so I’ve read on LibraryThing.

Author fact: John Irving was not an author Nancy Peal included in her “Too Good to Miss” chapters. Too bad because he should have been. He has written some amazing stuff.

Book trivia: The 2004 film adaptation of A Widow For One Year was “A Door in the Floor.” Note to self: put this on my movie list.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Wayward Wives” (p 232). I think Pearl got it wrong. Yes, the wife is wayward but her situation is completely more understandable than her husband’s. I think her husband is despicable. But, another thing: the book isn’t really about the wayward wife or husband.

Playing for Keeps

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Halberstam, David. Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made. New York: Random House, 1999.

There is no doubt in my mind that David Halberstam loved basketball. He may have even loved Michael Jordan even more. The care and consideration he gave both to the sport and to the athlete is exemplary. To be sure, you will also get biographies of the key people surrounding Michael Jordan’s personal life and career path as well. From mama to coaches, from friends to agents, Halberstam details each and everyone one of them. You will learn about Michael Jordan, the driven kid; Michael Jordan, the aggressive ballplayer; Michael Jordan, the savvy salesman and everything else he was in between.
My only complaint – the chronology is a bit disorganized. Because the timeline is interrupted by different basketball games throughout out Jordan’s career Halberstam’s timeline isn’t constructed in such a way that a reader could witness Michael Jordan’s rise to success smoothly. The games lend a certain drama to the biography but the timeline suffers for it.

Reason read: March is the month for Madness; college basketball madness, that is. Only I started reading this early because a friend loaned it to me.

Time for some honesty. I have a pet peeve when it comes to professional athletes and their retirements. The media goes into a frenzy. The bigger the star, the bigger the segment on ESPN. Reporters clamor for a “last” interview. Researchers comb the archives looking for footage of so-and-so’s rookie year. Childhood friends are contacted and the athlete’s mama is always asked to reminisce about the first she noticed star quality and athletic potential. The story will break for days and days and be seen on every channel several times over. It’s as if the retiring athlete hasn’t given up the sport. Instead it’s as if he or she has given up the ghost and died. That is, Until they start playing again. It’s the in and out of retirement I can’t stand. Michael Jordan was one such athlete. He retired more than once and each time the media gave him a send off fit for kings. And not the Sacramento kind.

Book trivia: Playing for Keeps boasts a lot of really cool photos.

Author fact: Halberstam has written on a myriad of subjects. Basketball only scratched the surface of the topics he covered.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “David Halberstam: Too Good To Miss” (p 113).

Kalahari Typing School for Men

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Smith, Alexander McCall. The Kalahari Typing School for Men. New York: Anchor Books, 2002.

You don’t have to read the first three Mma Ramotswe books in order to enjoy Kalahair Typing School for Men but I think you would enjoy them better if you did. In the fourth installment of The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency the plot continues to move away from solving mysteries (as it had been in Morality for Beautiful Girls) and the emphasis is placed more on character development. To bring you up to speed: Mma Precious Ramotswe is Botswana’s only female detective. She is engaged to Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni and together they have adopted two children, a brother and sister, but still haven’t set a wedding date. It seems Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is content to stay engaged for an indeterminate amount of time. Mma Ramotswe has two cases of interest. One is a gentleman wishing to repair his not so sterling past. He wants to make amends for a series of wrongs he has done as a youth. The other mystery is a typical marital woe of a woman thinking her man is cheating on her. The title of the story comes from Mma Matakutsi’s side business of starting a typing school for men.

Now that I am actually reading I have a few favorite lines, “That was the trouble with people in general: they were surprisingly unrealistic in their expectations” (p 5) and “We do not care about other people’s hats in the same way these days, do we? We do not” (p 158).

Reason read: to continue the series (started with The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency) in honor of Mystery Month in January. Note: up until this point I have listened to the series in CD. I appreciated Lecat’s narration and pronunciation. For example, if I had read the series from the beginning I wouldn’t have known that “Zebra Drive” (where Mma Ramotswe lives) is pronounced Zeb – bra Drive and not Zee – bra Drive.

Author fact: You just have to check out the videos on Alexander McCall Smith’s website. He is quoted as saying he is very fond of Botswana and he wrote the Mma Ramotswe series as a tribute to the country. (see link on Morality for Beautiful Girls book review).

Book trivia: This is the fourth book in the series. Next up is The Full Cupboard of Life.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Ms. Mystery” (p 171).

Flamboya Tree

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Kelly, Clara Olink. The Flamboya Tree: Memories of a Mother’s Wartime Courage. New York: Random House, 2002.

This is a short memoir. Some would say too short. Clara Olink Kelly is just four years old when her family is torn apart by the Japanese invasion of the Pacific Island of Java during World War II. Clara’s father is forced to work on the Burma railroad while Clara’s mother is left to care for two small children and a pregnant with a second son. It isn’t long before the Japanese commandeer their home and the entire family is transferred to a concentration camp, Kamp Tjideng. There Clara spends four long years enduring extreme crowding, starvation, illness and unspeakable filth. In addition she witnesses horrific abuse and violence that would haunt her for the rest of her life. The one piece of home that keeps them going is a small painting of a red flamboya tree. This painting, because it was never abused or destroyed by the Japanese, became a symbol of strength for the family. It goes wherever they go. The other symbol of strength is Clara’s mother. The beautiful thing about The Flamboya Tree is that throughout the entire story Clara’s respect and admiration for her mother never waivers. It is a lovely tribute to a mother who did everything she could to protect her children and survive the harsh conditions.

Powerful line, “She still had the audacity to hold her head high” (p 61).

Reason read: To recognize Nyepi, the Balinese Day of Silence. Last year it was celebrated at the end of March.

Author fact: Do a search for Clara Olink Kelly and she pops up on the website IMDb because she appeared on the Rosie O’Donnell show in 2002. Do an image search for Clara Olink Kelly and you will discover she looks just like her mother.

Book trivia: There is a study guide for The Flamboya Tree: Memories of a Mother’s Wartime Courage and the first question is, “would you have tried to escape?” What a loaded question!

BookLust Twist: From  Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Indicative of Indonesia” (p 104).

Fanny

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White, Edmund. Fanny: a Fiction. New York: HarperCollins, 2003.

Here’s the premise: Frances Trollope is already famous for publishing Domestic Manners of the Americans, a no-so flattering account of American society. She now sets out to write the biography of friend and feminist, Fanny Wright. Edmund White produces Fanny’s biography in manuscript form and I have to say it would have been a clever twist to present this as a reworked manuscript. Trollope’s notes to self, musings, and edit ideas would have been more effective had they been published as handwritten notes in the margins, scribbles, and parts crossed out. Instead, Trollope’s musings are in line with the text and somewhat distracting. As it is, Trollope spends more time justifying her Domestic Manners and recounting her own family’s trials and tribulations than she does on Ms. Wright’s memoir. It’s cleverly written.

Line I liked, “I had been so absorbed in the brilliant company…the look of the elegant company, that I had completely forgotten the sad reality of me” (p 44).

Reason read: Frances Trollope was born in the month of March and this was listed as a “companion” read in More Book Lust.

Book trivia: I found it really cool that Edmund White dedicated Fanny to Joyce Carol Oates.

Author fact: Edmund White has his own website here.

BookLust Twist: From More Book Lust in the chapter called “Two, or Three, Are Better Than One” (p 226).

UPDATE: Another index error in More Book Lust! Fanny: a Fiction by Edmund White is also mentioned in the chapter “Just Too Good To Miss” (p 133) of More Book Lust.