Tag: july

Singer’s Gun

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Mandel, Emily St. John. The Singer’s Gun: a Novel. Unbridled Books, 2010.

Reason read: the first fingerprints used to solve a crime were in July of 1901. Read in honor of Crime Prevention Month.

Anton Waker comes from a long line of scammers and thieves. The desire to commit crime should naturally flow through his veins. For as long as he can remember his parents have stolen antique valuables to resell them. Anton’s beautiful and brash cousin ensnared him early into the business of creating fake documents such as passports, social security cards and birth certificates. Anton himself has faked his own academic credentials in an attempt to get a “real” job. Despite his intimacy with fraud, Anton continuously tries to make a clean start. This makes him a likeable character. New job which he is successful at. New marriage with the girl of his dreams. Every decision starts with good intentions yet deception always finds a way to fray the edges. Every time Anton thinks he has escaped, corruption sucks him back down the hole. There is always one more job to do. Like a trapped rat, he cannot escape his criminal family until his cousin offers him one last job. She promises him his freedom if he delivers this one last package on a remote island in Italy. However, it will mean the end of his carefully constructed crime-free lifestyle.
I thoroughly enjoyed Mandel’s work. I had only one cringe moment. Elena, a Russian recipient of a passport, was instructed to not carry a handbag to the meeting place yet at the end of a transaction she puts the documents in a bag.
As an aside, when I was in college a professor said to me that if you introduce a gun in an early chapter it has to go off before the book ends. His exact words were, “If you put a gun on the table in the first chapter it has to be fired by the last chapter.” Mandel must have gotten that wisdom as well, but she was far more clever with the advice. She debuts the gun in the title but withholds the singer and his or her weapon until you have all but forgotten about them.

Author fact: I am also reading Last night in Montreal for the Challenge. I am excited to be revisiting Mandel’s work in the future.

Book trivia: the audio version of Singer’s Gun is narrated by Morgan Hallet.

Music: New Order and Depeche Mode.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “O Canada O Canada” (p 51). Note: Singer’s Gun has nothing to do with Canada except Emily St. John Mandel (and one character) is from Canada.

Small Tree in a Texas Hurricane

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Benson, Robert Henry. A Small Tree in a Texas Hurricane: a Memoir. Pauraque Ridge Press, 2026.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I get to read moving memoirs. This is one such book.

Benson makes you feel as though the two of you are sitting on a big wraparound porch in the summertime gloaming. As darkness grows and we can no longer see each other’s face the mood turns somber; the words become quiet confessional. There is a great deal Benson wants to share in A Small Tree in Texas Hurricane. His childhood and early adolescence was not easy. Peeling back the layers of his father’s volatile personality Benson reveals a hair trigger temper followed by outbursts of violence and crime. Poverty was a constant. Benson had the potential to follow in his father’s hothead footsteps, but through gritty perseverance he chose a different path. Earning a Ph.D in Physics seems an unlikely success for a bricklayer and one-time high school dropout.
Benson’s story is remarkable, but what I appreciated more was the way with words Benson has. He may have a Ph.D. in Physics, but his real talent is writing. I inhaled this book.

As with any advance reader copy, there were a few typos here and there such as quotation marks where they did not belong and a handful misspelled words.

Music: “A Boy Named Sue,” Paul Anka’s “And They Call It Puppy Love,” and “Away in a Manager.”

Copenhagen

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Frayn, Michael. Copenhagen. Anchor Books, 2000.

Reason read: July is the birth month of the atomic bomb.

Michael Frayn took real historical events and wrote a play about what he thinks happened next. It is true Danish physicist Niels Bohr really did take a walk with his German counterpart, Werner Heisenberg, but no one knows what was really discussed away from spying microphones. In Copenhagen Frayn imagines the private conversation between Bohr and Heisenberg, now spirits of the past; their words heating up to an argument. As scientists and physicists once working together on atomic physics and quantum theory, they both have competitive spirits and neither likes to be wrong. Complicating their relationship is the fact Bohr and his wife, Margrethe, are Danes under German occupation. Heisenberg is, of course, German. Frayn imagines Heisenberg struggling to make small talk with Bohr, a once trusted friend and mentor, but every time he opens his mouth it is to blunder around some insensitive topic. As former partners prior to 1941, the exchange is awkward. They want to stick to paradox and contradiction; the foundations of science through an objective universe; classical mechanics and the particle theory, but they cannot. Along for the garden stroll is Bohr’s wife, Margrethe. She offers a different perspective on Bohr and Heisenberg’s relationship, one that is grounded in human nature rather than scientific discovery.

Author fact: Frayn is a prolific writer of plays and novels, in additional to being a documentary filmmaker and a translator of Chekhov.

Music: Beethoven in G Major, and Bach.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Bomb Makers” (p 42).

Hollow Land

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Gardam, Jane. Hollow Land. Walker Books, 2001.

Reason read: Jane Gardam’s birth month is in July. Read in her honor.

Jane Gardam introduces her readers to Bell Teasdale and Harry Bateman and we are witness to their childhood adventures through various linked short stories. When we first meet the boys Bell is eight years old. He befriends Harry, one of the Bateman children renting Grandpa Teasdale’s farm for a summer holiday. Every summer Bell and Harry celebrate boyhood and survive life changing events: becoming trapped in a mining cave, witnessing a horrific flood, recovering a table stolen by gypsies. Over the course of twenty years their lives change but their friendship remains constant. My only word for Hollow Land is pleasant.

Confessional: the friendship between Bell and Harry reminded me of my childhood. Like Harry’s family renting Light Trees, my friends from “away” would rent a cottage every summer in Maine. Each summer if we were lucky our friendship would pick up right where we left off the summer before. More often than not, the parents would chose not to rent consecutive years and the friends would become pen pals until we either saw each other again or fell out of touch.

Line I loved, “He can inherit this weather” (p 134).

Author fact: Sadly, Jane Gardam passed away last year at the age of 96.

Book trivia: Hollow Land was promoted as a book for young adults.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Jane Gardam: Too Good To Miss” (p 96).

I, Claudius

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Graves, Robert. I, Claudius. Random House, 1961.

Reason read: July is the month of the restoration of democracy in Greece.

Tiberus Claudius Drusus Nero Germanicus paints himself to be a pitiful creature: deaf yet affectionate, stuttering and stammering, sickly with nervous tics and a queasy digestion; always shaking with weakness. Claudius plays the fool. And yet, this sad creature from a royal family becomes the Emperor of Rome by 41 A.D.. I Claudius is Claudius’s effort to set the record straight about his murdered father by embarking on a biography which turns autobiographical. Claudius has much to tell. Throughout his life he manages to escape murderous plots from all sides of his family, including his nephew, Caligula (need I say more?). You cannot help but root for poor (brilliant) Claudius
As an aside, if you think the story of Claudius is a steady stream of eye gouging, knife stabbing, and limb breaking, you would not be wrong. The list of methods of violence is long. But don’t forget, the gentle art of poison was a very fashionable method for murder as well, especially with women.

The list of Claudius is impressive. You have Claudius the Proud, the Fair, the Tree trunk, Claudius Nero (the Strong), Claudius Drusus…there is even a Claudius Audiena set a hundred generations into the future when Graves was writing for a 1934 audience.

Line I laughed out loud at, “As was the custom in such cases, the pear tree was charged with murder and sentenced to be uprooted and burned” (p 249).

Author fact: I first encountered Robert Graves through the genius of Natalie Merchant. She put a Graves poem to music.

Music: The Three Griefs of Lord Augustus.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “The Classical World” (p 60).

Sex Life of My Aunt

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Cheek, Mavis. The Sex Life of My Aunt. St, Martin’s Press, 2002.

Reason read: Aunt Day is on the 26th of July.

A chance encounter with a sexy stranger with beautiful blue eyes sets off a ravenous desire in Dilys like never before. Even her husband has never ignited such a flame. And so begins a complicated life for middle aged Dilys. Juggling a jealous lover and an overly trusting husband does not prove to be easy. Confessional: I did not really care for Dilys. Her sister hated her for having the perfect life: married to a successful (rich) lawyer who gave her everything she wanted, two grown kids, adorable grandkids, and a sexy young lover. She seemed to have it all. Her biggest dilemma appeared to be how she was going to keep her lover from pressuring her to leave her husband. Never mind that she had a sister who despised her and an aunt with a boatload of secrets of her own.

Lines I liked, “Shame made her wary of people” (p 20), “Is there any surer way of the hook of attraction than looking up the object of the attraction in a telephone directory?” (p 33), and “If there is one thing passion does to you, it is to reduce your brain to childlike proportions” (p 92).

Author fact: while Mavis Cheek wrote a bunch of books I am only reading The Sex Life of My Aunt for the Challenge.

Book trivia: Sex Life of My Aunt has a little story-within-a-story element to it when the aunt tells her story.

Music: “She Loves You,” Puccini, Mozart, Bryan Ferry’s “Let’s Stick Together,” Charlie Parker, and the Eagles’ “Desperado.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Wayward Wives” (p 231).

Can You Forgive Her? Vol. 3

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Trollope, Anthony. Can You Forgive Her? Volume Three. BiblioLife, 2008.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Anthony Trollope’s birthday.

Mercifully, Trollope brings the relationships of Alice Vavasor, Lady Glencora Palliser, and Arabella Greenow to somewhat satisfying conclusions. To be sure, Alice waffled through the entire third volume until the very end. No surprise there. Lady Glencora’s husband, Plantagenet Palliser, showed remarkable grace concerning his wife’s indecisions. He knew she was stuck in the marriage for parliamentary duty yet made the best of it. Arabella Greenow was my favorite character throughout Can You Forgive Her? Greenow just didn’t give a damn and continued having relationships with two men. She just couldn’t chose between the two of them. Trollope used these women to poke fun at Victorian society and it worked.

Author fact: Trollope was also a civil servant.

Book trivia: Volume three of Can You Forgive Her? is the final installment.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Barsetshire and Beyond” (p 15).

Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road

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Asanuma, Ichiro. Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road: a Pilgrim’s Path: Adventures and Transformations (Volume 1: Departures). 2026.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing, I requested a copy of Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road.

Asanuma began his journey in 2006 after surviving a life-changing traffic accident. Walking was prescribed as part of his physical therapy. To feel truly healed he resolved to stand on the Sanjo-Ohashi in Kyoto. Walking along the ancient Tokaido Road became a sixteen year long adventure. Using money from an insurance claim he was able to afford the trip, but he admits that he didn’t really pay much attention to the landscape he traveled through.
Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road (volume one) documents the beginning of Asanuma’s journey across Japan’s historical and cultural landscape. Told in three sections, Asanuma begins with “Departure (2006: from Tokyo to Shizuoka).” Part Two is “Insight and Memory (2009) from Shizuoka to Nagoya.” After the first trip, Asanuma started to pay more attention to the people around him. Part Three is called “New Beginnings (2022: from Kuwana to Kyoto).” This section is the final leg of the journey that was previously unfulfilled.
Like many other reviewers I could not identify a genre for this book. It could be seen as a personal memoir. Asanuma shared intimate details about his life such as the fact that he lacked the personality and social skills to mingle with strangers. Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road is confessional in that he shares deep feelings.
Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road could also be called a photo-journal. Asanuma included and explained in more detail the many different photographs he took; more so than he did of the actual journey. The gorgeous photography sets this book apart. The images are candid, raw and sometimes, moving.
Walking Along the Ancient Tokaido Road could be seen as an historical essay. For example, Asanuma describes the Edo period and the significance of the fifty-three stations of the Tokaido.
I enjoyed the color illustrations as well as the photographs. As an aside, the map of the hedgehogs is cute.

Everyone Kept Quiet So I Did Too

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Djukicin, Aleksandar. Illustrated by Dorde Balmazovic. Everyone Kept Quiet So I Did Too: Tales of a Reluctant Soldier: a Graphic Novel. do-dju, 2025.

Reason read: as a member of the Early Review Program for LibraryThing I get to read interesting books. I think this is my first graphic novel in nonfiction.

Three friends, three very different paths. Each sharing their experiences in the Balkans War between Serbia and Croatia in 1990. It was interesting how each side spun the same events to fit their personal narrative: the main theme being coward versus hero. In reality there are more than two sides of the coin to being a coward. You can be afraid of facing prison for not accepting the draft or you can be afraid to face the war for fear of death. Fear of inflicting violence on another human without understanding why. Such is the senselessness of war. As a graphic novel, it goes without saying that the visual images need to match the intensity of the words. The storyline was made more powerful by the illustrations of Dorde Balmazovic. Most striking was the line of soldiers waiting to go home fading to black.

As an aside, the illustration of the soldiers urinating after liberation made me chuckle.

Music: Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue,” and Toma Zdravkovic.

Because I Deserve It

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Dominguez, Kenitra W. Because I Deserve It: What Chronic Illness Taught Me About Finding My Voice in the Healthcare System. Avocet Books, 2026.

Reason read: at first glance this might seem like an odd choice for me to request from LibraryThing. I am not Black nor do I suffer from a chronic illness. The only thing I have in common with Kenitra is that I am a woman. I requested Because I Deserve It from LibraryThing because of the subtitle “…Finding My Voice in the Healthcare System.” I am not confident when it comes to speaking up and being my own healthcare advocate. I chose this book because I wanted Kenitra to teach me how to stand up for myself when it comes to my own wellbeing. I knew there would be so much to learn. For example, why is it that women become apologetic or mute when dealing with a medical professional?
The best part of Because I Deserve It is the clear recommendations at the end of each chapter. I appreciated the section about navigating the myriad of questions a patient should ask and when. I also loved the idea of an audio journal to document how you are feeling every single day, whether you have an appointment with a provider or not. Finally, the advice to research your medications! Just because a white-coated professional prescribed a medication does not mean it is the right one for you. You are not Alice! You don’t not have to swallow what they put in front of you.
Kenitra also advocates for self-described introverts. She was spot on when describing an introvert’s characteristics which gave credence to her information.
The only criticism I found with Because I Deserve It was the repetition in some areas. Saying the same thing too many times gives the impression the author has run out of worthwhile things to say. Stressing a point is one thing, but echoing information over and over is quite another.
All in all I am glad I requested Because I Deserve It because I learned a great deal.

As an aside, as a librarian I practically applauded Kenitra when she said do not accept Google’s top results. I do not know how many times I have said that to students.

Confessional: I had never heard of idiopathic intracranial hypertension. It sounds like a nightmare.

One Step Behind

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Mankell, Henning. One Step Behind. Translated by Ebba Segerberg. Havrill Press, 1997.

Reason read: at one time I researched the best time to be a tourist in various countries. I later decided that wasn’t a good enough reason to read a book so I deleted all of the “best time to visit” lists. I guess I missed Sweden. According to something I read a million years ago, July is the best month to visit. Who knows if that is still true. New Reason read: the Bayside Festival is being held this July in Helsingborg.

As a Swedish police officer, Kurt Wallander is an interesting character. One of my favorite elements of Mankell’s writing is how real his characters are drawn. Kurt lost his father and takes the time to help his stepmother sell the house. He has bad dreams and concerning health issues. He doesn’t always listen to his colleagues. He doesn’t have the greatest attention to detail (odd for a police officer). Despite his personal problems he has a dogged dedication to his job. When a group of young people are found murdered he realizes he downplayed the urgency back when they were reported missing months earlier. He assumed they were happy-go-lucky youths and the only crime was their refusal to check in with mom and dad. Then more bodies are found, including that of a fellow police officer with ties to the first victims. Suddenly, Wallander and his team have a serial killer in their midst. Can he solve the crime before more people are slain?

Author fact: Henning Mankell’s photograph looks like how I would picture Kurt Wallander.

Book trivia: confessional – I listened to this on audio and it was hard to differentiate the various characters with their foreign names.

Setlist: the Overture to Rigoletto by Guiseppe Verdi.

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

Big Red Train Ride

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Newby, Eric. Big Red Train Ride: a Ride on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Penguin, 1978.

Reason read: the first electric trains were introduced in the month of July.

Six thousand miles. Seven time zones. The big, red Trans-Siberian train ride took Eric Newby and his wife from Moscow to the Pacific.

Eric Newby and his wife, Wanda, embarked on an epic journey across Siberia back in the late 1970s. All along the way, Newby peers into the habitations of USSR locals with curiosity and humor. His words could be lyrical in addition to being sarcastic and humorous.
It is interesting to read Fear by Anatoli Ryabakov at the same time as The Big Red Train Ride. Reading about Stalin from the fictional and historical perspectives, especially during 1936 – 1938 and the rein of Great Terror. Both books report the arrest of seven million people (not including the criminals) and the death toll during Stalin’s time to be somewhere around twenty million souls. When talking about the Siberian exiles Newby did not mention the Russians who were perceived to have made fun of Stalin and were banished or murdered simply as a result of his paranoia.
It goes without saying that Big Red Train Ride is a bit dated. Written in 1977, there is a great deal of “this will be done” statements. For example, he used the future tense when talking about a railway to be finished in 1980. When Newby was trying to take photographs of certain stations I thought of my sister and her smart phone. She takes stealthy pictures of people all the time. Her subjects are none the wiser. Meanwhile Newby was getting yelled at left and right.
As an aside, I appreciated the humor in Big Red Train Ride. Newby was not a fan of knobbly knees.

Lines I liked, “It was certainly Saturday, unless sit was Sunday” (p 72). I get that way, too. Especially on Monhegan. Here’s another that reminded me of the island, “…a grey stretch of water on a rocky, fog-bound coast” (p 260).

As an aside, my papa loved trains. He died earlier this month so I cannot help but think of him and how he would have loved this journey.

Author fact: I have four books by Eric Newby on my list. Round Ireland in Slow Gear and Love and War in the Apennines are left to read. I am looking forward to Love and War because my friend has always wanted me to see the Apennines. I am planning a trip this spring.

Book trivia: there are some interesting black and white photographs included in The Big Red Train Ride.

Music: “Auld Lang Syne”, “One Day Over the Urals”, Judy Garland, and “Lord Dismiss Us with Your Blessing”.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Making Tracks By Train” (p 138).

Scandalous Risks

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Howatch, Susan. Scandalous Risks. Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.

Reason read: to continue the series started in April in honor of Easter. Since Howatch’s entire series is about the Church of England I thought this would be appropriate.

When we catch up to the residents of Starbridge it is the 1960s are we are introduced to our first main character outside of the Church of England. Venetia Flaxon’s story is told in first person and she is not a religious arch anything. Not a bishop or dean or deacon. She was just a child and a minor character in Ultimate Prizes. Now she takes the lead as a young amorous adult in Scandalous Risks. Her first scandalous risk is to fall in love with 61 year old Neville “Stephen” Aysgarth. Desperate to stay connected to her crush, Venetia takes a job transcribing the notes of Bishop Charles Ashworth as he writes a book disputing the philosophies of Honest to God by John Arthur Thomas Robinson. [A book that is still in print to this day.] This is the center conflict in Scandalous Risks. Bishop Ashworth wants to destroy the teachings of Robinson. Who better to transcribe the Bishop’s scribblings than Venetia who was raised by an agnostic father? Her own motives are no so innocent. To learn more about her dean she uses someone she despises to get close to people in his past, like Jonathan Darrow, his once spiritual advisor. Meanwhile Aysgarth is still practicing his multi-personality tricks in order to not commit adultery by being Neville with Venetia and Stephen with his wife. Stephen is acutely aware of his wife’s well-being while Neville is free to be in love with Venetia. To complicate matters, there are four Nevilles to chose from! [As an aside, in case you were wondering, Venetia’s second scandalous risk was to wear trousers on a Sunday!]
The next generation of characters are introduced: Nick, Jonathan Darrow’s son, is a psychic like his father.
With every Starbridge book, each chapter is headed by a quote from someone connected to the Church of England. This time John Arthur Thomas Robinson, the author of Honest To God.

Quote I loved, “Having reflected that my triumph would have been far more gratifying if Eddie had not been psychically repulsive and mentally exhausting” (p 93). I definitely know people like that. And here is another, “Dimply it occurred to me that in order to participate intelligently in these extraordinary conversations I needed a wisdom which I had not lived long enough to acquire” (p 203).

Author fact: Susan Howatch has been compared to Anthony Trollope.

Book trivia: I probably should have mentioned this with the first book, Glittering Images, but I didn’t think of it. Every book in the Starbridge series can be read independently of the others. Howatch recommends reading them all in order because the histories of each character brings a richness to the plot.

Music: the Beatles’s “Love Me Do”, Beethoven, Swan Lake, Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” “I Need You Love Tonight,” and “You’re Right, I’m Left, She’s Gone”, “Moonlight Sonata”, Aida, “Ode to Joy,” Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Eden Kane, Floyd Cramer, Del Shannon, Jim Reeves, Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue” and “That’ll Be the Day”, the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love,” and “Got a Lot O Living to Do.”

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: The Family of the Clergy” (p 86).

Dust and Ashes

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Rybakov, Anatoli. Dust and Ashes. Translated by Antonia W. Bouis. Little Brown and Co., 1996.

Reason read: to continue the series started in May.

Like Rybakov’s last novel, Fear, in Dust and Ashes the author takes the time to catch his readers up to the saga thus far. Yuri is a member of the secret police, Vika is married and living in Paris, her brother Vadim is also an NKVD informant. Maxim is in the Red Army as a commander. Nina is a Communist while her sister, Varya, rejects Communism and remains true to her friends. Sasha has been freed from exile but he is not allowed back in Moscow or any other major Russian city. Dust and Ashes begins in 1937. When we left Sasha and Varya, their romance had cooled after Sasha learned of Varya’s previous marriage to a gambler. Sasha struggles to make ends meet in various small towns, first as a truck driver and then as a ballroom dance instructor. World War II is almost a central character alongside Sasha Pankratov and Joseph Stalin. This is the era of endless interrogations (when you would rather have chat). Promotions could mean a reshuffling of the personnel deck or a literal death sentence. It is stunning the way Rybakov can seamlessly interject facts into a fictional account of the Great Purge. Details like the assassination of Trotsky. Two battles rage in Dust and Ashes – the delicate dance of Tyrants (Hitler and Stalin) and the Battle for Romance (Sasha and Varya). Who will win? Sometimes, when the target is not persuaded, the only motivation can come from fear. Confessional: the final pages of Dust and Ashes had me holding my breath. I did not want to believe it was the end. Surely there would be another sequel, a fourth or even fifth installment to the saga. But in actuality, really what more about be said?

Something I wanted to say in the last review but forgot – Rybakov had a character drink pickle juice to combat a hangover. I have to wonder if that really works.

Quotes to quote, “…I want to remain a decent person in these vile times” (p 79). The same could be said for these terrible times. Here is another: “Gone was the joyful amazement at life, the anticipation of happiness in a world which has seemed so inviting and lovely” (p 214).

Author fact: Anatoli Rybakov’s life mirrored Sasha Pankratov’s. Rybakov lived at 51 Arbat Street and he also joined the army.

Book trivia: Antonia W. Bouis also translated Fear.

Music: Confessional: these are songs from Fear: “Rio Rita” and “Splashes of Champagne”.
Dust and Ashes music: Isabella Yurieva, Leshchenko, Ivan Kozlovsky, Maria Maksakova, Stas Mikhallov, “Droplets if Champagne”, “Weary Sun”, and Leonid Utesov’s “From the Odessa Jail”,
Banned songs: “Jail,” “the Hop,” and “Murka.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter “Russian Heavies” (p 210). Pearl wasn’t kidding. Dust and Ashes was almost too heavy for my heart to lift.

Accordionist’s Son

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Atxaga, Bernardo. The Accordionist’s Son. Translated by Margaret Jull Costa. Graywolf Press, 2003.

Reason read: the running of the bulls in Spain usually takes place in July. This year it was July 7-14.

David Imaz is caught between two worlds. Exiled on his uncle’s ranch in California he looks back on his youth in Basque Spain during the civil war. Young David was caught between his father and uncle. David tried to stay neutral during the varying conflicts, both personal and political. The message of youth received loud and clear was the idea that people lived double lives in order to survive. His father, on the side of the fascists, was suspected of murder and deep down David thought it was true. By playing the accordion like his father, David remained under his thumb. The only escape was to denounce the instrument and join a band of revolutionaries. However, the accordion became crucial as a way to calm the nerves and carry the explosives.
Thoughts:
This was a time of war when anything was possible. Propaganda was spread by donkeys so that the agitators could remain anonymous. Boys turned to boxing because being a human punching bag earned ten times more than an honest day at the saw mill.
As an aside, there is a beautiful moment in the book when an aging David, many years later, sees his family and friends in the colorful wings of butterflies.

Images of life that I liked: the thrill of David’s courtship of Virginia brought me back to my own days of innocence – flirtful letters dropped in a library book drop and the desk of a hotel concierge. The aging of the dog was a message of time passing which David received loud and clear.

This quote makes me think of my friend: “…without curiosity one learns nothing” (p 244).
Another quote I liked, “…time doesn’t pass in vain, that we will not embrace in the grave those whom we failed to embrace in life” (p 265). Amen to that. I’m looking at you, Mr. Nash.

Author fact: While Atxaga wrote a bunch of other books, this is the only one I am reading for the Challenge.

Music: “Mary Queen of Arkansas”, “Barcola”, “Padam, Padam”, Marie Laforet’s “La plage, la vie s’en va”, “To You, My Love” by the Hollies, Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Susie Q”, “Casatschok,” “Pagotxueta,” Henry Mancini’s “Soldiers in the Rain,” “The Touch of Your Lips,” Antonio Machin’s “Angelitos Negros,” and “Five Hundred Miles.”

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the simple chapter called “Spain” (p 218).