Tag: book review

At Home in the Heart of Appalachia

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O’Brien, John. At Home in the Heart of Appalachia. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

Quite simply, At Home in the Heart of Appalachia is about family and home. However, right from the beginning you know there is a darker story bubbling under the guise of a memoir about a place. The quote on page three is very telling, “The flurry of phone calls two days ago made it clear that my presence would only add the family stress.” Later you learn that father and son have not spoken in 18 years. This is the backbone of O’Brien’s story. He weaves family memories and specific anecdotes of his dad into the landscape of Appalachia. A secondary motive is to make excuses and offer explanations for the misconceptions about Appalachians in the areas surrounding Franklin, West Virginia. Time and time again O’Brien refers to the region as “redneck” or “hillbilly” or “backward.” It is a way of life that is complicated and simple all at once.

Endearing quotes and whatnot: “West-By God-Virginia,” and “I often thought of my father that summer but did not call because of my own emotional tangle” (p 193), and “I sometimes think there is a tragedy at the center of every family that never stops reverberating” (p 210).

Reason read: The Old Time Fiddle Fest is held in September.

Author fact: At Home in the Heart of Appalachia is John O’Brien’s first book.

Book trivia: One of the best things about At Home in the Heart of Appalachia is the unique photographs. They are randomly throughout the text rather than in a chronological clump in the middle of the book.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Approaching Appalachia” (p 22).

Last Supper

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McCarry, Charles. The Last Supper. Read by Stefan Rudnicki. Blackstone Audio, 2006.

Paul Christopher is a CIA man who was raised around dark secrets. His parents smuggled Jews out of Germany via boat to Denmark during World War II when he was just a child. As a teenager he remembers he and his American father being removed from Germany while his German mother was held behind. This separation and the need to find her prompted Paul’s father to join the CIA. Following in his father’s footsteps after his murder, Paul also joins the “The Outfit.” The Last Supper spans all of the major conflicts between World War I and the Vietnam War. Stay on your toes because this is fast paced and involves many different characters who may or may not be spies.

Can I just say I love Stefan Rudnicki’s reading voice? He and his accents are great!

Edited to add: I didn’t get the opportunity to quote anything from The Last Supper because I experienced it in audio form. But, there was a few lines about running that I wanted to remember so I borrowed the book specifically so I could find the passage and quote it properly. So, here it is: “Only a bourgeois fool doesn’t know instinctively the deep spiritual meaning of running…It’s tremendously ritualistic. You put om a sweat suit and tennis shoes with funny soles that cost a hundred dollars and are all wound around with dingy adhesive tape, and you run through the public streets, dripping with sweat. It gives you shin splints and snapped Achilles tendons and wobbly knees but in compensation you build up your state of grace and these marvelous muscles” (p 288).

Reason read: the Cold War ended in September.

Author fact: According to the back of The Last Supper McCarry was an intelligence officer working deep undercover during the Cold War.

Book trivia: While McCarry wrote Paul Christopher as a series character the chronology is not based on publication. I read The Last Supper (published in 1983) before Tears of the Giraffe (published in 1974), but I don’t think it matters.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Cold War Spy Fiction” (p 61).

Light Infantry Ball

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Basso, Hamilton. The Light Infantry Ball. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1959.

Basso takes an entire South Carolina community and brings it to life during the Civil War era though the story revolves around John Bottomley. He has been educated in the North (New Jersey) and had plans of becoming a writer when family duty obligates him to return to his family’s rice plantation. His life during this time is one of isolation because he is in love with a married woman and no one can understand his “pro-North” views. It doesn’t help that he is confused about his feelings concerning slavery. He grows more and more aware of his surrounding society as time goes on especially when it comes to the married woman. Later, after a stint in government, Bottomley finally joins the military to aid in the war. Guilt had finally gotten to him. Parallel to these life changes is the story of Bottomley’s brother and his mysterious disappearance after a murder.

Lines I liked, “He worked long, read much, and spoke little” (p 22), “…he had the sense of a door being thrown wide open and of looking into a stale, closed-off room strewn with the debris of a hundred bitter quarrels dragged across the years” (p 252-253) and finally my favorite, “War was war, yes, but even in war there were civilized standards to maintain” (p 324).

Reason read: Basso was born in September.

Author trivia: Basso wrote 15 books before his death. I am only reading a handful of them.

Book fact: The Light Infantry Ball is a prequel to The View From Pompey’s Head.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Hamilton Basso: Too Good To Miss” (p 32).

Wolves of Willoughby Chase

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Aiken, Joan. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase. New York: Dell Yearling, 1962.

The premise of The Wolves of Willoughby Chase is that danger lurks outside the walls of Willoughby Chase in the form of wolves, but it also lurks within in the form of an wicked governess, a different kind of wolf. After Bonnie’s parents depart for a trip Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia are left alone with Miss Slighcarp, a vicious woman determined to make their lives a living hell. A once warm and happy home is turned into a dirty, cold prison. Just when Bonnie and her cousin think it can’t get any worse they are sent off to an orphanage. It takes some trickery and a lot of help from outside friends for the two cousins to make their escape.
As an aside, I have never lived in an area overrun with any dangerous wild animal. Bonnie’s journey to Willoughby Chase is harrowing. The threat of attack by wolves is constant and astounding, especially when one is able to get on the train through an open window.

Even though this was geared towards children I was impressed with vocabulary. there were even a few words I had to look up: crenelated, oubliette and pelisse.

Quotes I liked, “She was cordially hated by the whole school” (p 113).

Reason read: Joan Aiken was born in September.

Author fact: Aiken won the Lewis Carroll award for The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

Book trivia: On the edition I read Edward Gorey drew the cover illustration.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter “Best for Teens” (p 21).

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

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Sijie, Dai. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. New York: Random House, 2002.

This is the story of two Chinese teenage boys exiled to a remote mountain village for “re-education” during the 1970s; during the Cultural Revolution. In Part I in between bouts of grueling hard labor in the mines they meet the beautiful daughter of the local tailor. She is “the little Chinese seamstress” of the title. In Part II Luo and the unnamed narrator have a friend they call Four-Eyes. A myopic boy who has a mysteriously suitcase full of banned books. When Four-Eyes begrudgingly gives them a decrepit copy of Balzac the boys are hooked. Luo takes the forbidden story to the Little Chinese Seamstress and woos her with words. In Part III the boys grow careless with their knowledge of the forbidden books, the little Chinese seamstress becomes pregnant and life for all three changes.

Quotes that grabbed me, “The flirtation turned into a grand passion” (p 110), “After all, how could I die now, without having known love or sex, without having taken free individual action against the whole world…?” (p 114) and “The medical intervention was a success” (p 173).

Reason read: According to a bunch of travel sites September in China is beautiful. In honor of beautiful China in September…

Author fact: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress is Dai Sijie’s first book.

Book trivia: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress became a national bestseller and in 2002 it was adapted into a movie.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “China Voices” (p 54).

City in the Sky

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Glanz, James and Eric Lipton. City in the Sky: the Rise and Fall of the World Trade Center. New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2003.

Because City in the Sky was written just two short years after the horrific events of September 11, 2001 and the spectacular collapse of the World Trade Center towers it is easy to accuse Glanz and Lipton of jumping on the 9/11 bandwagon and capitalizing on an unprecedented tragedy. But, the events of 9/11/2001, specifically the seemingly impossible collapse of the towers doesn’t appear in the narrative until the very end – practically the last chapter. Instead, Glanz and Lipton start from the very beginning. They present the key players and historical events in a tightly written account of how the World Trade Center went from an ambitious idea to an iconic city in the sky. To read City in the Sky is to witness the conception, birth, life and ultimate death of a New York City and world icon. Just like the Rockefeller ancestors before him, David Rockefeller harnessed his ambition and went head to head with shop keepers, politicians and naysayers to build an architectural masterpiece.

Reason read: September 11th, 2001. Need I say more?

As an aside – I had to ask my cousin for clarification on this since I saw the name “Boody” several times in the index. He confirmed that my father’s second cousin was Irving Rickerson Boody. Rick’s father was Irving. The connection to the World Trade Center? Irving (senior) founded the first company to occupy the World Trade Center. Hmmmm.

Quotes that stuck with me, “But common sense does not always prevail in New york” (p 47).

Book trivia: City in the Sky includes some great photos, including one of the directory for the WTC. Boody was on the 11th floor in suite # 1103.

Authors fact: Glanz and Lipton both worked for the New York Times at the time City in the Sky was published.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Building Blocks” (p 37).

Child That Books Built

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Spufford, Francis. The Child That Books Built: a Life in Reading. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2002.

The Child That Books Built is an explanation for an addiction. Francis Spufford’s addiction. Right up front Spufford admits to his insatiable need to read, starting when he was a young child. He would explain his relationships with books as such, “Reading catatonically wasn’t something I chose to do…the stopping my ears with fiction was non-negotiable” (p 2). Once he gets his explanations out of the way he goes on to explain how all the reading he had done as a child shaped his world as an adult. Drawing on psychology and philosophy to make his points Spufford connects the world of Narnia to that of religious adoration; the Little House on the Prairie to that of family and community.

Quote that caught me off guard for its timing: “No addiction is ever explained by examining the drug. the drug didn’t cause the need. A tour of a brewery won’t explain why somebody became an alcoholic” (p 11). Wow. Wow. Wow.

Reason read: The Library of Congress National Book Festival is in September. This year it is the weekend of the 21st.

Author fact: Spufford also wrote I May Be Some Time for which he won the Sunday times Young Writer award in 1997.

Book trivia: Despite being short (only 210 pages) this book packs a punch. Be prepared.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Books About Books” (p ) and from More Book Lust in the introduction (p ix).

Old Friends

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Kidder, Tracy. Old Friends. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.

There are many reviews about Old Friends that start off with, “this was hard to read.” I have to wonder how many of those reviewers are administrators at retirement/nursing/convalescent homes. Do they see their own facilities as described by Kidder? It is easy to flash back to the experiences of a loved one in such a place. My own grandparents lingered in nursing homes until their deaths. I can remember the overwhelming smell of antiseptic and urine; my father reading an activity board and commenting on a “mystery” ride. “Just don’t get into any any black, squared vehicles” he quipped. Funny, But not. Kidder’s account of life inside Linda Manor is frank and unflinching. He also writes with a profound sensitivity, introducing patients as people with past lives and present feelings. They aren’t subjects used to illustrate a point. You feel for these people because their character development is as fleshed out as if it were a fictional account. It’s beautiful in a haunting way.

Quote that struck me, “People entering nursing homes have, for the most part, already lost control over their lives” (p 23).

Reason read: September is National Aging Month

Author fact: Kidder spent a year researching life at Linda Manor, even checking himself in as a resident.

Book trivia: There is a rumor that Kidder’s father is described in this book. I didn’t investigate to confirm or deny.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Dewey Deconstructed: 300s” (p 67).

Nobody Knows My Name

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Baldwin, James. Collected Essays: Nobody Knows My Name. New York: Library of America, 1998.

Nobody Knows My Name is a collection of essays continued from Notes From a Native Son. While the essays are less biting than those in Notes they are just as honest and clear about the Negro condition at the time of Baldwin’s writing. He has a sharp eye for the social and economical position of the time. As he was frequenting Paris I find it interesting that for Baldwin the question of color did not exist in Europe whereas in America he was afraid to listen to Bessie Smith or even touch watermelon. It is in Europe that Baldwin discovered what it mean to be an American.

Interesting quotes, “I love to talk to people, all kinds of people, and almost everyone, as I hope we still know, loves a man who loves to listen” (p 140) and “No Negro in this country has ever made that much money and it will be a long time before any Negro does” (p 173). Baldwin wrote those words in the early 60s. I wonder what he would think of Oprah…

Reason read: Baldwin was born in August.

Author fact: Baldwin was born a New Yorker but died in Paris.

Book trivia: This isn’t really a book, but a short (150 pages) essay.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in two different chapters. The first called “African American Fiction: He Say” (p 10). Not entirely accurate since this is nonfiction (another example of Pearl filling space in a chapter). The second time Nobody Knows My Name is mentioned is in the chapter called “Essaying Essays” (p 81) which is the more accurate place for this to be mentioned.

Beyond Bogota

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Leech, Garry. Beyond Bogota: Diary of a Drug War Journalist in Columbia.Boston: Beacon Press, 2009.

I think if goes without saying Columbia is one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist. Why an independent journalist would go there specifically to be a “drug war journalist,” as Leech has called himself, is beyond me but it is a story that needs to be told. Beyond Bogota is about the eleven hours Garry Leech was detained by FARC, Fuerzas Amradas Revolutionarias de Columbia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia). Interspersed between the eleven hours is Leech’s past history traveling around Latin America. Incredible as it seems Leech’s eleven hour detainment wasn’t his first. In 1982 he was captured by militants in El Salvador because he didn’t have permission to be investigating their drug trafficking operations. But, it his mission to research the effects of landmines on small communities in Columbia that was especially moving. In 2002 he visited the town of Zaragoza and met landmine victims. His description of how a landmine is built and detonated is devastating, especially when you consider how easy small children can set them off.

Reason read: Columbia won its independence in the month of August.

Author fact: Leech is a family man (with a wife and small child at the time of publication).

Book trivia: There are no photographs in Beyond Bogota except for the cover.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Hail, Columbia” (p 90).

Burning the Days

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Salter, James. Burning the Days: Recollection. New York: Random House, 1997.

I think I would only have enjoyed this more if James Salter had read it to me. His writing; his way with words is intoxicating! In reality, Salter could have written separate two books about his life. The first being about his time serving in the Air Force as a pilot. His descriptions of war are frightening and exhilarating all at once. The second book could have covered the time in his life as a New York writer.  As an accomplished writer his world was opened up to film deals and movie stars. Again, terrifying and exciting all at once. Both are fast paced lives but so very different! The second section seems to be a who’s who in the entertainment industry.  Salter makes coy references to the passions he shared with lots of women, “We sat on the couch and studied. The vocabulary was not that of school” (p 245). Salter could have written a third about his friendship with Irwin Shaw. You could tell from the tenderness in Salter’s words that he truly enjoyed Shaw’s company.

Lines worth mentioning: “There is your life as you know it and also as others know it, perhaps incorrectly, but to which some importance must be attached” (p 3), “Nothing is as intense as unconsummated love” (p 121), and “There is a feeling Faulkner probably had – I have had it myself – that somewhere the true life is being lived, though not where you are” (p 182).

Reason read: August is aviation month.

Author fact: Salter also wrote A Sport and a Pastime which is also on my list. I’m looking forward to it.

Book trivia:  Despite this being a memoir it does not contain photographs. Bummer.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Above Clouds” (p 90).

Conspiracy and Other Stories

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Kross, Jaan. The Conspiracy and Other Stories. Translated by Eric Dickens. London: Harvill Press, 1995.

Eric Dickens, the translator for The Conspiracy and Other Stories felt it was necessary to stress the fact these six stories were written then Estonia did not have independence. The political climate of World War II is woven into the fabric of every story. The title of each short story is a major plot twist in each tale. For example, “The Wound” is about Peeter Mirk’s relationship with a woman named Flora. Flora suffers a life altering wound after taking a nasty fall. “Lead Piping” is another tragic tale involving a death by a lead pipe and “The Shahl Grammar” is a sad tale about a writer sacrificing his friend to save himself.

Reason read: The Baltic Singing Revolution took place in August.

Author fact: Conspiracy and Other Stories is a bit autobiographical. Jaan Kross is a lot like his main character, Peeter Mirk: a law student in and out of prison for various crimes.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “The Baltic States” (p 33).

Diving Bell and the Butterfly

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Bauby, Jean-Dominique. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

My father died of a massive stroke. When I first opened Bauby’s book I thought I knew what the life of a stroke survivor would be about. I was wrong.

Jean-Dominique Bauby was 43 years old when he was the victim of a rare kind of stroke that occurs in the brain stem. While he survives the event he is basically a prisoner in his own body. His body was completely paralyzed to the point where he could only move one eyelid. From this meager movement he learned to communicate with others and, amazingly, write this memoir. The title of the book comes from Bauby’s description of his condition. While his body felt as weighted down as a diving bell sinking in the sea, his mind was as free as a butterfly floating on the breeze.
There is a sense of stoic realism in Bauby’s tone and while it is impossible to believe, there is also a touch of humor in Bauby’s heartbreaking story. When he talks of everyone gathering for physical therapy and those same patients being uncomfortable with his plight. He describes their eyes skidding away from him as “…feeling the sudden need to study the ceiling smoke detector. The “tourist” must be very worried about fire” (p 33).

Other quotes that grabbed me: “She would take a vacation from life for five minutes or several hours” (p 67) and “I can weep discreetly. People think my eye is watering” (p 78).

As an aside, Bauby’s hospital room was #119. Go listen to Natalie Merchant’s “Verdi Cries.” The opening lyric is “The man in 119 takes his tea all alone.” I wonder what Natalie would have thought about this man in 119?

Reason read: There is a day in August when you are supposed to acknowledge guilt. I can’t remember where I learned this but I am reading The Diving Bell and the Butterfly because it definitely makes me feel guilty.

Author fact: Jean-Dominique Bauby died just two short days after the French publication of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Did he have any idea how many people he would touch with his memoir?

Book trivia: While The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is short, less than 150 pages, it is huge on emotion. It has also been made into a movie. Now, there’s a tear jerker!

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Other People’s Shoes” (p 181).

Blood and Chocolate

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Klause, Annette Curtis. Blood and Chocolate. Read by Alyssa Bresnahan. Maryland: Recorded Books, 1997.

I don’t usually get into werewolf/vampire/warlock stories but this one had me spellbound, if you pardon the obvious (cliche) choice of word. Vivian Gandillon is teenage Rougarou (or werewolf, although Klause doesn’t use the name). She is trying desperately to fit in with other kids at her school when she meets Aiden. Convinced Aiden is a fellow Rougarou based on a poem he wrote, she befriends him only to find he is a sensitive human fascinating with witches and the like. Vivian falls for him even though he is what her kind call a “meat-boy.”. While trying to balance her social life as a human Vivian is also dealing with conflict in her “fur” world. The pack has fallen apart after the death of their leader, Vivian’s father. They are out of control and in need a new leader. The story escalates when Vivian decides to reveal her true identity to Aiden at the same time she is chosen to be the new pack leader’s mate. There are two things that struck me as I read Klause’s werewolf story. One, there is an adult sexual tension with all the characters within this story. Second, Klause does an outstanding job describing the mannerisms of a canine.
As an aside: I didn’t enjoy the actress who read Abide with Me. She couldn’t pronounce the Maine towns (Hallowell is NOT Holly-well). However, Alyssa Bresnahan reads with a sensualness that is almost too adult for this book for teenagers.

Reason read: August is Hero month and there are a few heroes in Blood and Chocolate.

Author fact: I mentioned actress Alyssa Bresnahan reads with a certain sexiness but what you also need to know is that Annette Curtis Clause writes with that same sexiness. The combination is startling for a book written for kids.

Book trivia: the novel was adapted into a movie in 2007.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Best for Teens” (p 24).

True Crime

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True Crime: Real-Life Stories of Abduction, Addiction, Obsession, Murder, Grave-Robbing and More. Lee Gutkind, ed. Pittsburgh: InFact Books, 2013.

I think one would think I was sick to request a book about true crime. Why would anyone want to read about murder, rape, abuse, and all the other terrible things we as humans do to one another? My sister grew up fascinated by FBI profilers and real life crime. Maybe some of that fascination rubbed off on me even though I am the older sister. Come to think of it, lots of people share my fascination with true crime. It’s the reason why there are a multitude of crime shows, both real and fiction, to chose from every night.

True confession: I had to take my time reading True Crime. The violence was best in small doses. Of the thirteen stories Gabrielle Giffords stayed with me the longest because it was the play by play of the victims were doing before the shooting. Like a slow motion camera detailing the day to day-ness of their ordinary lives. All of the stories stuck with me in little ways. I think they represented the senselessness of our society.
Lee Gutkind has compiled a collection of true crime stories. Interestingly enough, there are thirteen stories. Thirteen being a supposedly unlucky number is a good parallel for the unlucky victims in each story. Gutkind claims his brush with crime made him question his own capabilities. Could he commit murder? In the end we as readers don’t really know the answer, but does Gutkind?