Tag: book review

No More Words

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Lindbergh, Reeve. No More Words:

Reason read: this was a gift from a new pen-pal I just started exchanging letters with this last December. Something in her holiday card compelled me to write her back and we have been communicating every since.

Everyone knows the author Anne Morrow Lindbergh. If they do not then they should! In the summer of 1999 she was ninety-three years old and living with her youngest child, Reeve. Reeve, at the time of No More Words, was a fifty-four mother sandwiched between caring for her elderly mother, being a wife, and raising a seventh grader son. She writes of this experience beautifully.
In a nutshell, No More Words is a poignant memoir. It was lovely of Reeve to quote her mother’s work at the beginning of every chapter, but she also included some of her sister’s poetry and a snippet of her father’s autobiography. Like a delicious cake studded with extra sweet strawberries, Reeve’s memoir is a treat of all the Lindbergh’s voices.
Maybe it is because I am of Reeve’s age when she lost her mother. Maybe it is because my own mother’s health keeps me up at night. Maybe it is the simple fact that I know nothing lasts forever, but No More Words became a primer for me on how to listen to your mother. I mean really listen. Reeve taught me how to remove the resentment and hurt and just be. Reeve travels beyond correcting and criticizing to compassion and calm. I only hope I have that same grace when it is my turn.

Confessional: I had Reeve in my head when my mother telephoned last weekend. She can go months without speaking to me so when, after only four weeks, she said we hadn’t spoken for awhile I almost felt combative. Taking a deep breath, I let the comment pass and instead listened to her babble on about 1920 sausage-making methods, chimpanzees in space, and pheasants in the yard. How many of these moments will I have left?

Favorite takeaway (and there many): the chant of right here, right now set to breath in and out.

Book trivia: each new chapter begins with a quote from something Anne Morrow Lindbergh has published, either in a college paper or in a book.

Music: “Wabash Cannonball”, “Winter Wonderland”, Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Andres Segovia.

Stagehand

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Aretsky, David H. Stagehand: a Backstage Pass to My Life Stories. BookBaby, 2024.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I occasionally get to review pretty interesting books. This is one of them (set to be published on April 4th, 2025).

Shame on me for judging a book by it’s title. I seriously thought this would be a peek behind the stage curtain of a career in music. No-name songwriters or big time musicians, I did not care which. Aretsky did not need to kiss and tell or name names (although for a bunch of stories, he does). I just wanted to hear about a life in the music industry from backstage. I know someone in the industry so I know how hard it is. In truth, there are a few chapters here and there about his career in entertainment, more towards the end, but for the most part, Stagehand is one man’s lament over losing the love of his life. Aretsky has been in the entertainment industry for over forty years, but it is about the eighteen year relationship with his Ex that he really wants to talk about. In truth, the stories are great. Aretsky is a natural storyteller, but the timeline is chaotic and the stories pinball around the various chapters. 1982 snuggles up to 2001 then jumps to 2019 and back to the 1990s again. It was hard to follow at times. In addition to the stories bouncing from decade to decade, they go from roommate to roommate, relationship to relationship, exotic adventure to exotic adventure. At various times I wanted to draw a timeline, just so I could make sense of what Aretsky wanted to say about his life thus far. My takeaways were: he enjoys going to the gym and staying physical fit; he has a myriad of female friends, and he moved around a lot in his younger years. And then there was the Ex…

Confessional: when David said he could write a book about his time with “Larry” I thought to myself that is the book I thought Stagehand would be. He mentioned wanting to write another book. My only advice would be to organize the stories a little more.

Setlist: As to be expected, there is a great deal of music mentioned! AC/DC, Alabama, Annie Lennox, Art Garfunkel, B-52s, “Back to the Cave”, Bad Religion, Beach Boys, Beastie Boys, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Beauty School Dropout”, Bette Midler, Billy Idol, Billy Joel, Blue Oyster Cult, Bobby Brown, Bonnie Raitt, “Breaking Up is Hard to Do”, Bret Michaels, Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, Captain & Tennille, Celine Dion, “Chances Are”, Cheap Trick, Cher, Chaka Khan, Chicago, Chick Corea, Chubby Checker, “Chuck E.’s in Love”, Clint Black, Cole Porter, “Cryin'”, the Crystals’ “Da Do Ron Ron”, Crystal Gayle, Dale Kristien, Darlene Love, Devo, Dionne Warwick, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”, Dolly Parton, Donna Summer, “Don’t Be Cruel”, Dred Zeppelin, Edgar Winter, Elton John, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Emmy Lou Harris, Eric Burdon & the Animals, Eurythmics’ “Let’s Go”, “When Tomorrow Comes”, and “Missionary Man”, “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”, “Everything Your Heart Desires”, “Forever in My Life”, Foreigner, Four Italian Tenors, Frank Sinatra, Frankie Avalon, GBH, Gene Simmons, “Sugar Magnolia” by the Grateful Dead, “Girls and Boys”, Gladys Knight, Guns N’ Roses, GWAR, Hall & Oates, Hank Ballard and the Midnighters’ “the Twist”, “Housequake”, Harry Belafonte, “He Has a Headlock on My Heart”, “Heaven Knows”, “I Want to Take You Higher”, “I Say a Little Prayer”, Iggy Pop, “I’ll Take You There”, Itzhak Perlman, “Irresistible Bitch”, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, Jackie Evancho, Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire”, , Joan Jett, Jody Watley, John Entwistle, Johnny Cash, Johnny Mathis, Judy Garland, Kiss, “Last Time I Felt Like This”, “Love and Happiness”, Lea Salonga, Led Zeppelin, Linda Ronstadt, Lita Ford’s “Close My eyes Forever”, “Love Will Keep Us Together”, Madame X, Mariachi La Reyna de Los Angeles, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Megadeth, Melissa Manchester, the Mentors”, Merle Haggard, Metallica, Michael Jackson, Mick Jagger, Miles Davis, “Misty”, “Mother Popcorn”, Motorhead, Mr. Big, “My Prerogative”, Natalie Cole, Neil Sedaka, New Edition, “O Sole Mio”, Oleta Adams, “On the Edge of a Broken Heart”, “Only Women Bleed”, “Out of Touch”, Ozzy Osbourne, Pat Travers, Paul Anka, Pebo Bryson, Peter, Paul and Mary, Phantom, Rocker & Slick’s “Men Without Shame”, “Piece of Me”, the Plasmatics, Poison, the Police’s “Roxanne”, Preservation Hall Jazz Band”, Prince, Quiet Riot, the Ramones, Randy Newman, Randy Rhoads, Ratt, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Regina Bell, Rickie Lee Jones, Robert Plant, the Ramones, Robin Trower, the Rolling Stones, Ronnie James Dio, Rubin Studdard, the Runaways, Sam Kinison, Sammy Davis Jr., “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, Sebastian Bach, Sex Pistols, “Sex of It”, “Shake for the Sheik”, Sheila E., “Ship of Fools”, Skid Row, Slayer, Smokey Robinson, Social Distortion, “Star-Spangled Banner”, Stevie Wonder, Stryper, “Sweet Thing”, “Tall Cool One”, Temptations, “That’s What Friends are For”, Tom Jones, Tony Bennett, Tony Orlando, the Troggs’ “Wild Thing”, the Tubes, UFO, Vixen, Warrant, Was (Not Was)’s “Are You Okay?”, Wayne Newton, White Snake, Whitney Houston, the Who, “Whole New World”, “Wild, Wild West”, Winger, Wynonna, Wynton Marsalis, Yanni, and Ziggy Marley.

As an aside, my apologies to GNR. In Stagehand the name of the band was spelled “Guns and Roses.” Their name must have gone through some kind of autocorrect.

S

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Drakulic, Slavenka. S: a Novel About the Balkans. Penguin, 1999.

Reason read: the war in Bosnia started in the month of April.

To set the stage: in 1992 the Bosnian War was raging. S. was only twenty-nine years old. She was a home-room teacher proud of her profession. Single and young, she had her whole life ahead of her. Early one morning, and without warning, she was bundled off to a warehouse by a boyish soldier toting guns and more than plenty of ammunition. Naively, even though he did not say much, she thought she was going away for a short time. Wanting to be prepared for anything, she packed a small backpack with a red dress and her very best fancy shoes made for dancing.
You cannot help but notice any character or location of importance is anonymized with a single letter. S., G., F., and the baby are all nameless. Where they are going is an unnamed town. Despite being nameless the characters are full of personality. E. is a nurse. Z. is E.’s daughter. D. is the cook. You get the picture. This unwillingness to give characters and places formal names gives the story anonymity and, by default, more authenticity. These things further removes S. from the realm of pure fiction. When we first meet S. it is after her detainment and she has given birth to a child. Her character broke my heart. Her newborn baby boy is a product of rape and therefor despised. She sees the child as a disease, a cancer, a parasite, or, at the very least, a burden she is unwilling to carry much less look upon. Who can blame her? Her survival after four months of unthinkable torture is nothing short of heroic.
The soldier’s abuse was hard to read: forcing a woman to drink his urine, putting his cigarettes out on her naked body, striking her about the face until she passes out from pain. Rape seemed like the most benign atrocity. Murder seemed the most merciful. Drakulic takes pity on us: S is only 200 pages long.

Profound words, “…the survival instinct is the highest law of existence” (p 55).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Balkan Specters” (p 31).

All Shook Up

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White, Debra. All Shook Up: Vineleaves Press, 2024.

Reason read: I really like stories of triumph and was pleased to receive Debra White’s story as part of the Early Review program for LibraryThing.

If you are of a certain age, you might be able to imagine a certain toy called a Viewfinder. Look it up if you do not know what I am talking about. For those of you in the know, imagine All Shook Up is a viewfinder with three cards: her terrible accident, her lifelong volunteerism, and her journey to find faith. Each card holds slides or pictures of an important part of Debra White’s story. She has chosen each picture with care. It is obvious every single moment is important to her.
The first card holds the story of her accident. This section hit me the hardest because as a runner, I have worried about being struck by a distracted or drunk driver. [As an aside, an acquaintance of mine was mowed down by a truck just half a mile from her home; a route she had been running for over two decades.] White’s accident sets the stage for the rest of her memoir. The slides (still using the viewfinder metaphor) tell the story of how it happened, her debilitating injuries she is lucky to have survived, and her subsequent rehabilitation, slow recovery, and hesitant reentry into some semblance of a normal life.
Card number two covers the many different charities and volunteer work Debra dedicated her post-accident life to. Despite being disables and scooter-bound, Debra poured her heart and soul into every organization her helped. From animals to airplanes to children to refugees, she cared deeply for every single animal and person she met.
Card number three illustrates White’s views on religion and the God who saved her from her 1994 car-pedestrian accident. She felt she had a debt to pay. Her acceptance into the American Muslim Women’s Association was heartwarming.
White’s life may have been shattered by her horrific accident but she was able to rebuild that life, piece by piece, until it resembled something extraordinary. Her lesson to us all should be broken can be beautiful. Because of some of the repetitiveness I felt that some of the chapters were published separately as essays. Nevertheless I truly enjoyed her story.

As an aside, I need to tell my aunt about the plant and food sniffing Beagles from the Beagles Brigade. She loves those dogs!

Author fact: Debra has her own website here. It is simple but includes a wonderful picture of her with one of her beloved dogs.

Playlist: “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing”, “Jingle Bells”,

Banvard’s Folly

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Collins, Paul. Banvard’s Folly: Thirteen Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity and Rotten Luck. Picador Press, 2001.

Reason read: something about Australia.

What happened to the once popular toasts of the town when they fell into obscurity? Paul Collins not only wanted to know, he wrote an entire book about thirteen of these people.
The first character Collins chose to focus on was John Banvard. Even Charles Dickens was impressed with John Banvard for Banvard proved to be an interesting and ambitious guy. His first claim to fame was a panoramic of the entire Mississippi River. Banvard wanted to paint the largest (longest) painting the world had ever seen so he spent two years floating down the river sketching different views as he went. A misconception that stuck was that his painting was three miles long. Banvard later went on to paint panoramas of the Palestine and Nile rivers. In addition to being an actor and artist he could decipher hieroglyphics and often gave lectures on the skill.
Next, Collins moved on to a man who forged the great works of William Shakespeare. Even when the jig was up and William Ireland confessed to the forgeries, he could not get his father or even the general public to believe him. Adding insult to injury, when the papers came around to believing the hoax they pointed the finger at Ireland’s father instead.
After that came the interesting characters of Ephraim Wales Bull and his Concord grape; George Psalmanazer’s religion, John Symmes, a man obsessed with the idea of a hollow Earth; Rene Blondlot and his N Ray machine; Francois Sudre, Alfred Beach, Robert Coates, Augustus Pleasonton, Martin Tupper, Delia Bacon (another Shakespeare nut). Thomas Dick and, my personal favorite, Richard Locke, a self taught astronomer.
In the end there is always that one person who has to disprove a notion, debunk a myth, or pull back the curtain on a mystifying event. No one can just let the mystery be. Which is why so many of these people faded into obscurity over time.

Best imagery ever: “…man-bats lived in a land of towering sapphire pyramids and were accompanied by flocks of doves…picnicking on cucumbers” (p 262). Sounds like a place where you would find Prince hanging out. Sign me up.

As an aside, I leaned a new word: crapulous.

Author fact: When I searched for information about Paul Collins I found a writer who also is a rock and roll guy. They are not one and the same.

Book trivia: Banvard’s Folly includes photographs of each individual featured in the book.

Natalie connection: Collins includes a quote from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” Natalie wrote a song honoring Whitman called “Song of Himself.”

Music: Elvis and Pink Floyd.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “People You Ought To Meet” (p 183).

Over My Dead Body

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Stout, Rex. Over My Dead Body. Porirua Publishing, 1938.

Reason read: to continue the series started in December in honor of Rex Stout’s birth month.

A fencing student is murdered. Why fencing? It certainly makes for a different and interesting twist. Over My Dead Body starts off as a theft investigation but escalates to an epee stabbing someone to death. I guess an epee makes for an unusual weapon. As usual, Wolfe’s ability to solve the crime is based on deductions brought about by human nature, process of elimination, and acute attention to detail. Over My Dead Body is no different, but this time Wolfe doesn’t shy away from threatening blackmail to get the information he needs to close the case.
With each new mystery readers learn a little more about Nero Wolfe’s personal life. In Over My Dead Body it is revealed that Wolfe was once an agent of the Austrian government and he was also a member of the Montenegrin army. He currently contributes to a loyalist group in Spain. He also has an adopted daughter. I certainly didn’t see that coming, considering his opinion of women and his reluctance to leave his brownstone apartment.
As usual, Archie does not disappoint. He continues to be full of vim and vinegar with his sarcasm and wit. He demonstrates perfect synchronicity with Nero. There is never any need for Wolfe to explain anything to Archie. They communicate through subtle gestures, raised eyebrows, and odd comments. Nero and Archie practice a whole bunch of trickery in Over My Dead Body and their symbiotic relationship saves the day every time.
Readers will also learn more about Archie and Nero’s abode. I believe this is the first time the secret compartment with the peephole has been utilized.

Lines I loved, “I can give you my word, but I know what that is worth and you don’t” (p 226) and “For God’s sake, let’s step on it, or my bed with think I am having an affair with the couch” (p 354).

Author fact: Stout married a designer and was with her up until his death.

Book trivia: An adaptation of Over My Dead Body was the final episode of a television drama.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called, obviously, “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226)

Among the Believers

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Naipaul, V.S. Among the Believers. Alfred A. Knopf, 1981.

Reason read: Indonesia has a day of silence. It is always following the new moon of March. Read in recognition of this fascinating 24 hours.

Naipaul takes a six month journey across Asia just after the Iranian revolution. During his travels through Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia he encounters Muslims who have returned to the founding scriptures of Islam. His conversations and interviews with them are thought-provoking and insightful. These people are the believers. In a nutshell, Among the Believers is in-depth and descriptive travel book that takes a look at exploring the Muslim faith.
As an aside, I have so any questions! Did the hanging judge ever find out that Naipaul called him a clown? Is Naipaul’s favorite descriptive color ochre? because he used the word a lot in Among the Believers. It is true I am an armchair traveler. It is too complicated to think about the rules and customs of a middle eastern country. The rules of the mosque, for example. Which foot enters the holy space first? How do worshippers wash their hands? Do they remove their shoes and if so, when and where?

As another aside, I never thought about Islamic urban planning. Think about it. Toilet fixtures that had to be arranged so that a backside would not be directed towards the City of Mecca. Indeed.

Author fact: Naipaul was born in Trinidad.

Book trivia: Among the Believers is followed by Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted People. I will be reading it next month. Other books by Naipaul on my list: Mystic Masseur and Loss of El Dorado.

Music: the Carpenters, Handel’s Messiah, and Bach.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Indicative of Indonesia” (p 103).

Lee’s Lieutenants – Vol 3

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Freeman, Douglas Southall. Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command. Volume 3: Gettysburg to Appomattox. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1944.

Reason read: to finish the series started in January in honor of General Robert E. Lee’s birth month.

The third and final installment of Lee’s Lieutenant’s opens in June of 1863, nearly 162 years ago. The civil war is nearly over. Lee’s right-hand man, Stonewall Jackson has died. Losing Jackson was a tremendous blow for General Lee. Longstreet was his only subordinate with similar military experience. I have to wonder if Longstreet resented the comparison. Many think the loss at Gettysburg, in simplified terms, can be blamed on the absence of Stonewall Jackson. His death prevented cavalry efficiency and amplified the poor management of artillery. Ammunition was in short supply by the time they got to Gettysburg.
For what Freeman could not possibly glean from diaries and first-hand accounts, he speculated and said “this is surely how it happened.” But speaking of the letters and diaries, the missives varied in intimacy. Some soldiers when they wrote home did not want their loved ones to worry about them so they kept details vague. Others were extremely honest about their harrowing experiences in battle.

Confessional: It is hard to understand the philosophy of war. In the midst of ferocious battles an army can take time out from all the fighting to showcase their abilities to a grandstand of feminine spectators. There were other shenanigans like bringing a mule into the grand cavalcade. It is a well known fact that during World War II on Christmas day, soldiers took a break from battle to play football with the enemy. It was back to business the very next day.
How about the advancements in communication? Can you imagine a soldier these days passing a note to a superior? There were barely any accurate maps, no GPS so it is no wonder that many soldiers lost their way and bumbled into enemy territory.

Quote I had to quote, “the stench of battle was in the air” (p 155). How is it that I believe I know what that smells like? Impossible.

Book trivia: As I mentioned earlier, this is the last installment of the Lee’s Lieutenant series.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Civil War Nonfiction” (p 58).

Bonny’s Boy

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Rechnitzer, F.E. Bonny’s Boy. Muriwai Books, 2007.

Reason read: April is national dog month.

Even though this is a book for children Rechnitzer addresses some adult themes. Davy Edwards and his parents are patiently waiting for Davy’s brother, Nat, to return from war. Nat is in the Navy and while he is away Davy was assigned to watch over Bonny, Nat’s sweet and very pregnant cocker spaniel. After Bonny dies while giving birth the family agonizes over how to care for the near-dead pup (who dad wanted to drown). It is up to Davy to save the pup he names “Bonny’s Boy.”
Besides war and death, Davy’s family confronts competitiveness, jealousy and even violence when Davy wants to enter Bonny’s Boy into dog show competitions. If he wins he could take Bonny’s Boy to the big leagues – all the way to Madison Square Garden! The only problem was he was going up against a wealthy and experienced neighbor who historically always won these events. This neighbor would stop at nothing to continue to do so, even resort to animals cruelty if he had to. I found myself getting anxious when Davy got the idea to show Bonny’s Boy in the first competition; a real David and Goliath situation.
When Nat finally comes home from the Navy readers get a taste of the dangers of warfare, but the real lesson is about doing the right thing no matter what. Throughout the entire story Davy exhibits honesty, friendship, integrity, and courage.

Author fact: F.E. Rechnitzer’s full name was Ferdinand Edsted Rechnitzer. He passed away in 1965.

Book trivia: Bonny’s Boy was illustrated by Marguerite Krimse.

As an aside, I was really excited when Davy’s mother announced that she was serving apple pie with cheese for dessert. That is my favorite.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Great Dogs in Fiction” (p 104). As an aside, neither the author nor the title were in the index. Technically, I could have skipped this book.

Banking on Death

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Lathem, Emma. Banking on Death. Simple Media, Inc., 2016.

Reason read: someone told me that April is banking month. I am not sure what that means, but I’m going with it and reading Banking on Death in observance.

Everyone is looking for Robert Schneider. An inheritance cannot be distributed until all members of the Schneider family have been accounted for, and Robert is missing. [As an aside, in this day and age, you can just hire someone to do some reverse genealogy, and Robert would be found in no time.] The clock is ticking. As soon as Mother Hilda passes, the inheritance comes due to the children and John Putnam Thatcher must distribute it to the surviving heirs. Thatcher is not your average crime solver. He is not a homicide detective or even a private investigator. He is a seasoned banker and chairman of SLOAN, looking to solve the mystery of Robert Schneider, rumored to have been murdered. There is no doubt Robert Schneider was a less than stand-up guy with a reputation for adultery, callous abandonment of his wife and newborn son, backstabbing, and greed. He was a loudmouthed heavy drinker who was vice president and owned 10% of the family business, Buffalo Industrial Products, Inc. Plenty of people wanted him dead, and with the possibility of gaining his portion of the substantial inheritance, his own family can be added to the list of suspects.
Lathem is sly with the details. Clues point to a whole host of murderous characters. Did Robert’s widow want revenge for a failed marriage? Stan Michaels did not get along with Robert at all. His daughter, Jeannie, had an affair with Robert. Did Jeannie’s husband, Roy Novak, want to kill Robert for sleeping with his wife?
A blizzard holds the key to everyone’s alibis. Buffalo, New York, is the perfect setting for an epic snowstorm.
A word of caution: there are many characters in Banking on Death with a great deal of unnecessary information about each of them. Take Rose Theresa Corsa, a secretary at the investment firm. She has two younger sisters and a niece named Maria; she is religious and attended midnight mass at Christmas; she provides cooking assistance to her mother; she has a large group of relatives; her closest friend is Maria; she was late to work for the first time in four years. A great deal of information for someone who has nothing to do with the story. Consider Charlie Trinkham. He is an associate chief of the trust department. He is engaged to be married to a much younger woman. Ken Nicholls did not go to his family reunion in San Francisco, and even though he is a Harvard graduate, he did not dress appropriately for Boston weather in winter.

As an aside, was the detective story created by Edgar Allan Poe? I need to look that one up.
As another aside, Banking on Death takes place in much different times. Photographs of the crime scene were printed in the newspapers.

Author fact: Banking on Death is the first novel of writing duo Mary J Latsis and Martha Henissart.

Book trivia: John Putnam Thatcher is the protagonist in Lathem’s banking mysteries. In Banking on Death we learn that he has three kids (all married). One child lives in Connecticut. His daughter Laura is pregnant with her fourth child and married to a doctor, Ben Carlson.

Quotes to quote, “the best thing a banker can do is cultivate silence” (p 97), “But, even senior vice-presidents are not totally immune to a little sensationalism” (p 140) and my absolute favorite, “Death had occurred sometime before the discovery” (p 178). Brilliant.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “I Love a Mystery” (p 117).

Brig of War

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Woodman, Richard. A Brig of War. John Murray, 1983.

Reason read: to continue the series started in February in honor of history month.

When we join Nathaniel Drinkwater he is aboard the brig Hellebore. Admiral Nelson has ordered Lieutenant Drinkwater to deliver an urgent message to the British squadron in the Red Sea and hunt for Edouard Santhonax. On the professional front Drinkwater is responsible for settling disputes no matter how trivial. The power struggle dynamic between Drinkwater and Rogers builds tension throughout the plot. But Rogers is not the only enemy. Morris, Drinkwater’s nemesis in An Eye of the Fleet comes back to taunt Drinkwater with his higher rank and mind on revenge.
In his personal life, Nathaniel has since married Elizabeth (which was kind of a shock to me since the last time I knew, Nathaniel and Elizabeth had only seen each other the once. Confessional: I had forgotten there was a whole other book, A King’s Cutter, between An Eye of the Fleet and A Brig of War.). In my world it appeared that Woodman, not one for sentimental fluff, sailed right over their courtship and wedding. Now Elizabeth is expecting their first child (by not reading A King’s Cutter maybe I was forced to skip right over the sex, too?).
Woodman continues to educate his readers on nautical terms and superstitions. Words like binnacle, capstan, fo’c’s’le, catheads, jackstay, futtocks, spanner, and cascabel are common throughout A Brig of War. Woodman addresses the taboo of homosexuality and women aboard a ship.
As an aside, I keep comparing the vast difference in connectivity from 1798 to 2025. Drinkwater could not get word to Elizabeth to inform her of his latest assignment. He would be at sea well beyond the birth of their child. For all she knew Drinkwater had deserted her at the instant he became a father. These days, at the very least, she would catch an errant post on Insty, if not a vague text.
A Brig of War only spans less than two years of Drinkwater’s life at sea (February 1798 to January 1800). Again, like An Eye of the Fleet, Woodman draws from real events and real people. Some of the senior officers described in A Brig of War really existed.

Monhegan Six Degrees: I loved Woodman’s description of the phosphorescence trailing behind the wake of the dolphins. It reminded me of the glowing tide on the the beach.

Author fact: Richard Woodman left school at sixteen (same age as my dads when he left home to join the coast guard).

Book trivia: A Brig of War is actually the third book of the series. The Challenge has me skipping a bunch. I will skip The Bomb Vessel and The Corvette in order to get to 1805.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the simple chapter called “Sea Stories” (p 218).

Shadow of the Sun

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Kapuscinski, Ryszard. Shadow of the Sun. Translated by Klara Glowczewska. Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

Reason read: Kapuscinski celebrated a birthday on March 4th. Read in his honor.

The forty years of experiences of Ryszard Kapuscinski in Africa will excite and amaze readers. He shows a rare and profoundly deep respect for the cultures of the regions in which he traveled. As apparent in Shadow of the Sun, Kapuscinski writes in stunning clarity, whether it be describing trying to navigate a vehicle through a traffic jam of sleepy buffalo or watching mustached cockroaches the size of small turtles; killing a cobra sleeping in a roadside hut or holding his breath while an elephant meanders through camp. Even tackling more serious topics like Uganda’s decolonization and ultimate independence, the coup in Zanzibar, or the Tutsi/Hutu conflict is articulated with grace and respect.
Speaking of the Tutsi/Hutu conflict, a side note. I never thought about ideological training as a part of warfare. It is not widely discussed as a boot camp topic, but it makes sense. You need to indoctrinate your subordinates because it was clever to have every Rwandan Tutsi citizen guilty of murder; a crime committed by the masses.
They say the best artists suffer for their art. Kapuscinski has been jailed for his curiosity over forty times. He contracted cerebral malaria, which sounds pretty bad until you add tuberculosis to the mix.

As an aside, Francoise Huguier’s photograph for the cover of Shadow of the Sun is stunning.

Confessional: while reading Shadow of the Sun and Among the Believers I was getting myself confused with which book was which.

Quote that stopped me, “With each step I lose my confidence” (p 42). Been there. Here is another, there is nothing worse than this state of being neither at war nor at peace” (p 178).

Author fact: at the age of seventeen Kapuscinski wanted to be a poet. How does someone so young know they want to be a poet?

Book trivia: portions of Shadow of the Sun were previously published in the New Yorker.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Africa: Today and Yesterday” (p 9).

Last Bongo Sunset

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Plesko, Les. Last Bongo Sunset. Simon & Schuster, 1995..

Reason read: Read in honor of Kerouac’s birth month. He was born on March 12th, 1922. I don’t know if this is some kind of sign, but no library in my area had a physical copy of Last Bongo Sunset. I had to read it online. Not entirely horrible.

Within two days of quitting school in Boston, and arriving in Venice Beach, a protagonist only known as “College” has met and befriended pimp Gary, and his girlfriend/prostitute, Cassandra. Gary has Cassandra hanging out of College’s window by her ankles. No idea how or why they got into his apartment, but three hours later, though, College is sharing the needle and popping his heroine cherry with them. His lily white track-free arms will never be the same. A little while later along comes barely twelve year old Maria to join the fun. Maria, on the run herself, is recruited to earn money for the group. The days blur together in a never-ending cycle of hustling for cash, indulging in meaningless sex, and sinking into a drug filled oblivion. Despite College getting bored with the cycle there is a sticky sheen of hopelessness which no one can wipe clean. The book ends with a glimmer of hope as empty as a sunny day in Venice Beach.
There was a level of intimacy with not only the drugs, but the act of using. Every aspect of shooting meth is explained with enough detail (like the rolling of veins that make it difficult for the needle to hit) to make me squirm.

There were moments of brilliant writing: “smeared his relief” – an action and a feeling. I don’t think I need to spell out the action or the subsequent feeling.

Dated marketing that helps orientate the reader to the era: Brylcreem, Ford Fairlane, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Apollo 15,

Author fact: Plesko has written a few books but I am only reading Last Bongo Sunset for the Challenge.

Book trivia: cover art for Last Bongo Sunset is a bit weird. On the left hand side is a photograph of a tattoo. The tattoo is of a skeleton wearing a mohawk with blood dripping from it’s jaw. It might have a forked tongue? The right hand side is a photograph of a palm tree with some clouds in an oval.

Music: Led Zeppelin, Bobby Sherman, Schumann, Beatles, Sinatra, Tammy Wynette, Chopin’s Barcarolle, “Dead Flowers”, “Maggie May”, Grateful Dead, Mel Torme, Cat Stevens, Neil Young, Connie Francis, Judy Garland, “Put Your Head on My Shoulder”, “Clare de Lune”, “Stairway to Heaven”, and Lucia di Lammermoor.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “California Here We Come” (p 50).

Some Buried Caesar

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Stout, Rex. Some Buried Caesar. Bantam Books, 1938.

Reason read: to continue the series started in November.

It takes a lot to get Nero Wolfe to leave his New York brownstone apartment. As a self proclaimed recluse, food and flowers are his favorite indoor pastimes. He can devote a lot of time and attention to both without ever having to leave home. In Some Buried Caesar it is the chance to showcase his prize albino orchids at an update New York exhibition that draws Wolfe and his sidekick, Archie Goodwin, out of the apartment and out of the city. However, a blown tire and subsequent tangle with a tree leave Wolfe and Goodwin stranded at the Pratt home. Since the Pratts own a farm out in the country, Wolfe and Goodwin are captive guests while the car is being repaired. Once settled at the house they learn their host, Tom Pratt, has an interesting stunt to promote his chain of restaurants. He plans to cook and serve a prized bull as the very expensive main attraction at a barbeque. Eating a bull named Hickory Caesar Grindson was never on Wolfe’s agenda. Murder was not on his mind as he waited for his car to be fixed, either. All he wanted was to show his orchids and go home. But when Hickory Caesar Grindson gores a rival neighbor to death, Wolfe knows there is a case to be solved.

As an aside, I found myself questioning details almost in the same manner as Wolfe. Was Miss Rowan a plant?

One way I am like Nero Wolfe, “I like to stay at home, and when I am away I like to get back” (p 122). Another commonality: did you ever notice that Wolfe barely smiles? He does a lot of muttering and sighing.

Author fact: Stout spent some time in Wakarusa, Kansas.

Book trivia: the introduction to Some Buried Caesar was written by Diane Mott Davidson.
Book trivia II: Davidson included a recipe for baked beans in her introduction. I’ll have to try them.
Book trivia III: my copy of Some Buried Caesar (#6 in the series) also included the story The Golden Spiders (#22 in the series).

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe: Too Good To Miss” (p 226).

Saving Ellen

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Casey, Maura. Saving Ellen: a Memoir. Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 2025

Reason read: I am a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing. From time to time I get the chance to review interesting books. This is one of them.

On the surface, Saving Ellen is an intimate and intense dive into kidney disease. As an adolescent, Maura’s sister Ellen lost function of her kidneys. What follows in Saving Ellen is a series of medical appointments, hospital stays, prescriptions and side effects, a transplant, the hope of recovery by a large and chaotic Irish family that never gave up hope. At the heart of Saving Ellen is Casey’s relationship with life and everything good and bad that came with it. All the heartbreaks and triumphs of childhood. From coming of age and dealing with relentless bullying to watching an alcoholic parent poison his entire family with infidelity and addiction, Casey’s story is one of addiction survival, family forgiveness, grief acceptance, and ultimate love.
Set in New York’s city of Buffalo, I saw Saving Ellen as also a memoir of place. Buffalo in the late 1960s and early 1970s is like another impoverished character; struggling to live and breathe and grow up.

Confessional: I wish Casey had opened her memoir with the 5th and 6ths sentences as the very first sentences to Saving Ellen. They really pack a punch.

Author fact: even though Casey has written a few other books, I am not reading any of them.

Book trivia: Saving Ellen has a really cool cover.

Setlist: “One Fine Day”, “What a Frozen Little Hand”, Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers, Bach, Jean Sibelius, “We shall Overcome”, the Beatles, The Coors, the Monkees, the Mamas and the Papas, Mozart, Beethoven, Aaron Copeland’s “Appalachian Spring”, Rachmaninoff, Barry Manilow, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”, and “A Parting Glass”.

Confessional: If I hadn’t discovered Dermot Kennedy’s music I would not have found “A Parting Glass” when I did. It is a beautiful song.