Tag: june

The Millstone

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Drabble, Margaret. The Millstone. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1965.

Reason read: June is national family month.

Rosamund is pregnant. In her world, this might be okay if she was married and looking to start a family. The problem is, she is a Renaissance literature scholar pursuing her doctorate and living off mommy and daddy while they tour Africa. She only became pregnant right after her first and only sexual encounter. She’s as naive as they come. She had been dating two guys at once and was still a virgin…until she met George (who she thought was gay and therefore had nothing to worry about). It is very telling when she asks herself, “I wondered on how many other serious scores would I find myself ignorant” (p 44). Just wait until you read how she thought she could make herself miscarry.
But, all is not lost. When Rosamund decides to keep the baby and starts to experience motherhood first hand a new personality emerges.

Lines I liked, “The gin kept me gay and undespairing and I thought that I might ring up George and tell him about it” (p 20), “She just stared straight ahead and the word that was written on her face was endurance” (p 75), “I knew something now of the quality of life, and anything in the way of happiness that I should hereafter receive would be based on fact and not hope” (p 158).

Author fact: A.S. Byatt and Margaret Drabble are sisters.

Book trivia: Drabble writes in pages-long paragraphs that I sometimes found distracting. Of note: there aren’t any chapters so finding good stopping points was tricky.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “All in the Family: Writer Dynasties” (p 6).

Master of the Senate

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Caro, Robert. The Years of Lyndon Johnson: Master of the Senate. New York: Knopf Doubleday, 2009.

Reason read: to finish (finally, finally!) the series started in February in honor of Presidents Day.

This was a chore for me. For one, I have never been a huge history buff. Secondly, Caro painted Johnson to be such a lying and bullying politician in the first book that I didn’t think I wanted to know anything more about him, as master of the senate, future president, or not. To say that Master of the Senate is well researched is an understatement. This biography goes well beyond Lyndon’s life. Like Path to Power and Means of Ascent before it, Master of the Senate broad in its scope and extremely thorough.

Book trivia: Master of the Senate won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Presidential Biographies (p 192).

Middle of the Night

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Stolar, Daniel. The Middle of the Night. New York: Picador, 2003.

Reason read: last series of short stories in honor of June being short story month.

Nancy Pearl drew attention to only two stories within The Middle of the Night by Daniel Stolar, “Jack Landers is My Friend” and “Marriage Lessons” so those will be the only two stories I review here.

Jack Landers is My Friend – a coming of age story told from the now-adult Jack Landers. He has a sad tale about growing up not quite fitting in anywhere. Jewish geek not quite athletic enough for the two spot minimum. He has always been too shy to stand up for himself even when the girl of his dreams is right in front of him. This could be the quintessential “the girl who got away” story but, fear not, there is triumph as well.

Marriage Lessons – a young woman faces losing her mother to cancer, getting married and finding the father she never knew. Each monumental event brings her closer to understanding her own issues with trust and what it means to let go. Best line, “I knew that I had cut him deep, had made him strike out and, almost in exasperation, counter my venom with some of his own” (p 146).

Author fact: Stolar is a Harvard graduate.

Book trivia: there are eight short stories within The Middle of the Night.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Good Things Come in Small Packages” (p 103).

So Many Roads

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Browne, David. So Many Roads: the Life and Times of the Grateful Dead. Read by Sean Runnette. Minneapolis: HighBridge Audio, 2015.

Reason read: I was chosen to review this an part of the LibraryThing Early Review program. I’m calling it “training” for the July Dead shows in Chicago! The big question is, how did LibraryThing know I scored tickets? ha.

This is being touted as one of the most unique & comprehensive books about the Grateful Dead ever to be written. Author David Browne claims even hardcore fans will learn something new. Since I am a blossoming 21st century Deadhead I thought I would invite my husband to listen in to give his opinion. He helped in the writing of this review.

As an audio book, this was a bit different. Neither my husband or I could follow the format at first. The prologue jumps to 1970 pretty early which confused my resident Dead aficionado. Unlike other biographies this one is not in linear chronological order. The organization is as such: Browne chooses a date significant to the Grateful Dead’s history whether it be fateful like the day Jerry and Bob met, historic like day the infamous wall of sound was conceived, or tragic like the day Pigpen died.  He then centers a chapter around that day in time. But, as it was pointed out, Browne doesn’t stick to that date. He’ll leave the time frame and circle back to it again and again within the chapter. From an audio standpoint, it makes for interesting listening.

Extremely detailed and factual, Browne is spot on. Drawing from a multitude of interviews he is able bring the culture of the Grateful Dead to life. There is a sensitivity to his storytelling. For example, Hart’s pain when his father ran off with over $75,000 of the band’s earnings. The story goes much deeper than Mickey’s self imposed exile from the band and Browne illustrates the journey to forgiveness beautifully. Everything about the Dead is there: the drugs, the women, the struggles with fame, traveling, relationships within the band, the highs and lows, but mostly importantly, the music that continues to influence generations. The attention given to the Grateful Dead sound was particularly enthralling. As someone who latches onto thought provoking lyrics, the sections including Robert Hunter and his collaboration with the band are my favorite.
As a result of listening to David Browne’s So Many Roads I understand the Grateful Dead much better. I am looking forward to their Fare Thee Well tour in Chicago! I will not only be listening with my ears, but with my heart as well.

Author fact: David Browne has written other books which can be found on his own website: David Browne

Berlin Stories

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Isherwood, Christopher. The Berlin Stories. New York: New Directions, 2008.

If we want to be technical about it, The Berlin Stories is actually two novels in one. The first, Mr. Norris Changes Trains (American title: The Last of Mr. Norris) is just under 200 pages while Goodbye to Berlin is just over (207). The Last of Mr. Norris contains the famous line, “I am a Camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking” (p 1). Even though both stories are connected, I will review each story on its own.

The Last of Mr. Norris – Mr. Norris is a mysterious man. Wealthy one minute, impoverished the next. A sexual deviant with prim and proper manners. Shady friends. He is the focal point and the most developed character of The Last of Mr. Norris. Indeed, Isherwood wanted his readers to focus solely on the character of Mr. Norris throughout the entire novel. The subtleties of this complex character needed to be teased out somehow. Isherwood found that vehicle through the first person narrative of Norris’s English friend, William Bradshaw. From Bradshaw you learn there is something sinister and cunning yet beguiling about Norris. The only other “character” is Berlin in the 1930s. Hitler is beginning to gain power. Communism. Spies. Alliances. Blackmail. How Norris moves through this world is what makes the story interesting.

Goodbye to Berlin – Isherwood explained that in order to have the reader truly focus on Norris every other character needed to be culled from The Last of Mr. Norris. In Goodbye to Berlin those orphaned characters have found a home. Characters like Sally Bowels, Frl. Schoeder, Otto Nowak, and Peter —-. As an aside, the composition of Goodbye to Berlin is a little different from The Last of Mr. Norris. This time the chapters are titled: A Berlin Diary (1930), Sally Bowles, On Ruegen Island (Summer 1931), The Nowaks, The Landauers, and A Berlin Diary (Winter 1932 -3). Favorite lins, “With a mere gesture of wealth he could alter the whole course of our lives” (p 48) and “The political moral is certainly depressing: these people could be made to believe in anybody or anything” (p 90).

Author fact: Isherwood confessed The Berlin Stories was based heavily on the diary he kept during his four years in Berlin.

Book trivia: Armistead Maupin wrote the introduction to Berlin Stories.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “100 Good Reads, Decade by Decade: 1940s” (p 177). Also from Book Lust to Go in the chapter called simply, “Berlin” (p 36). I should note that I feel slightly tricked. Pearl mentioned The Berlin Stories was comprised of The Last of Mr. Norris and Goodbye to Berlin but I thought she meant they were short stories. Oops! The good news is a result of this error I was actually able to cross three titles off my list because they were all listed in the index.

Runner’s Diet

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Fernstrom, Madeyln. The Runner’s Diet: the Ultimate Eating Plan That Will Make Every Runner (and Walker) Leaner, Faster and Fitter. New York: Rodale, 2005.

Reason : yup. Still on the running kick.

Author fact: Dr. Fernstrom is the founder of the Weight Management Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

Book trivia: don’t expect recipes.

The Runner’s Diet is chock full of information, both about running and nutrition. While a great deal of the information is pretty standard stuff, I took it as necessary reminders (keep your head up when you run and be diligent about portion control, for example). Despite the basic hand-holding I think I was looking for more structured information, maybe even specific diet plans. I know that comes from not having the imagination to come up with menus of my own.

Drinking with the Cook

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Furman, Laura. Drinking with the Cook. Houston: Winedale Publishing, 2001.

Reason read: June is national short story month.

Drinking with the Cook – Peggy and Don have a weird relationship. While they have been dating and seem quite serious they never really discuss anything of importance. Right away you can tell they aren’t meant to be together, especially when Peggy gives up her city apartment to live with Don in the country. She doesn’t even know if he wants her there. She is a fish out of water but blind to how wrong the situation really is. Best line: “I wish there was a way to bank fear and draw on it only when necessary” (p 19).

Hagalund – is a story for which I needed a map to guide me. Miriam, while on vacation in Colorado with her husband and son, reminisces about her time as a single girl spending a winter in Sweden. It’s during the Vietnam War, a time when no one trusted anyone else – not completely. Favorite quote: “But now that was over, and I was waiting for the next thing to happen though it was happening already” (p 155).

Author fact: Furman has her own website here: Laura Furman.

Book trivia: There are eleven other stories in Drinking with the Cook.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Good Things Come in Small Packages” (p 103).

What a Piece of Work I Am

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Kraft, Eric. What a Piece of Work I Am (a Conflabulation). New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. 1994.

Confessional: I am growing tired of Kraft’s wittiness. Even though each Peter Leroy book is nothing like the others, there is a certain repetition of cunning that is wearying. Case in point: Ariane Lodkochnikov is the subject of What a Piece of Work I Am only Peter has admitted she is the sister of his imaginary friend. Tricky. Tricky because Ariane made an appearance in the previous Leroy story as a childhood crush. Now they are older and Ariane wants Peter to help tell her life story. In telling her story Peter reinvents her a second time (hence the title of the book). But! She’s supposed to be dead as well as imaginary. I have no imagination for this. Odd, I know. Probably the most interesting part to What a Piece of Work I Am is how Kraft incorporates Leroy’s grandparents back into the story. They have an imaginative story as well. Peter’s grandmother is dying of pancreatic cancer but has always wanted to sail to Rarontonga. With the help of Ariane, Peter’s grandfather gives his wife her wish in fantasy form.

Reason read: to continue the series started in February, honoring Kraft’s birth month.

Author fact: I am running out of things to say about Eric Kraft. According to the internet he was born in 1944.

Book trivia: Curious to note: Ariane creeps around the construction site of a resort much in the same way Peter explored his high school while it was being built.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Eric Kraft: Too Good To Miss” (p 141). Like all the others, I might add…

Battle Cry of Freedom

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McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom. Read by Jonathan Davis. New York: Recorded Books, 2007.

Reason read: I am cheating a little with the reading of this book. It’s in two volumes and over 900 pages long. There is no way I can finish a 900 book in 30 days so I’m stretching it a little: in May I’m reading it in honor of May 26th, 1865 being the day conditions of surrender were offered to E. Kirby Smith. In June I am reading it in honor of June 2nd, 1865, the day Smith officially accepted those conditions. Another reason for May: the first officer was killed on May 24th 1861. Another reason for the May-June reading: the battle of the Pines took place from May 31 to June 1st, 1862.

Every single time I start to write a review for Battle Cry for Freedom I come up with the same damned word – “comprehensive”. It seems as if everyone and their brother uses this same word when writing a review. I guess it’s an appropriate word because it definitely fits. Said another way: if the era, the climate of the times before, during and after the Civil War was an inanimate object it’s as if McPherson studied it from every possible angle; getting on his knees, using a ladder to stand over it, circling around and around it to describe every little thing he sees, careful to leave not a single observation out. The end result is a comprehensive (there’s that word again) view of what our fledgling country looked like. You’ll meet Fire Eaters, Know Nothings, Butternuts, Copperheads, Knights of the Golden Circle, Whigs and the Free Soil Party in addition to the usual suspects like Robert E. Lee, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and John Brown, just to name a few. You’ll see the country from an early economic and sociological standpoint. Industry and religion find their way into patriotism and what it meant to be independent.

Best parts: learning that some military maneuvers were so successful they are still taught in military schools to this day. I also enjoyed reading about how women went from being wives who were just supposed to comfort their returned from battle husbands to respected nurses on the battlefield (thanks to Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton, to name two).

Book trivia: Battle Cry won a Pulitzer.

Lines I liked, “The United States has usually prepared for its wars after getting into them” (p 312). Yup. This quote gave me a chuckle since I just finished walking 60 miles for Just ‘Cause, “Few of these southern soldiers had made a one-day march of twenty miles…(p 406).

Author fact: McPherson is an professor emeritus of U.S. History at Princeton. As an aside, my grandfather graduated from Princeton and gave me a stuffed leopard he insist I name after his alma mater. I wonder if I still have “Princeton” somewhere?

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

Flashman at the Charge

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Fraser, George MacDonald. Flashman at the Charge. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1973.

Are you paying attention? By now we are up to the fourth installment of papers owned by Mr Paget Morrison. As a reminder, Harry Flashman is the bully in Tom Brown’s Schooldays. To bring the reader up to speed, the first three packets of papers revealed Flashy’s early military career, his involvement in the 1st Afghan War, his run-in with Otto Bismark (& Lola Montez), and his escapades as a slaver in West Africa. At the end of the last packet of papers Flashman’s wife, Elspeth, was pregnant with their(?) son. Flashman admits he’s not sure it’s his, especially after he catches his wife with a lover.
In the fourth installment the year is now 1854 and this time Flashy has been appointed as special guardian to Prince William of Celle during the Crimean War. His son, Harry Albert Victor (aka “Havvy”) is five years old. I don’t think I am giving anything away when I say Flashman is taken prisoner and makes an interesting deal with his captor. The outcome of that deal is not revealed in Flashman at the Charge. Maybe in the next installment?
George MacDonald Fraser calls himself the “editor” of this packet of papers and admits he only corrected spelling and added necessary footnotes (and there are a lot of them, as always).I have to admit, I’m still not used to the downright silliness of Fraser’s writing. Case in point – in the heat of battle Flashman has gas, “I remember, my stomach was asserting itself again, and I rode yelling with panic and farting furiously at the same time” (p 105). What I liked the best about this set of papers is that there is someone who sees through Flashman’s cowardice (finally!).

Reason read: to continue the series started in April (Fraser’s birthday).

Author fact: Fraser has been called a “comic novelist”. His writing is funny, I have to admit.

Book trivia: Interesting tidbit: the back flap ends with this statement, “Read Flashman at the Charge and you’ll understand his international reputation as:” That’s it. They leave you hanging.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “George MacDonald Fraser: Too Good To Miss” (p 93). I have to note that Nancy Pearl called this Flash at the Charge (both within the chapter and in the index) when it should be Flashman.

Murder on a Kibbutz

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Gur, Batya. Murder on a Kibbutz: a Communal Case. Translated by Dalya Bilu. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. Once again Gur fills her mystery with an overload of characters. This time I was armed with a notebook to keep everyone straight right from the beginning. Are you ready for this? Here is the cast of Murder on a Kibbutz:

  • Aaron Meroz – outsider, absorbed by kibbutz, divorced, has been gone from kibbutz for 22 years, returned 8 years ago for a funeral, grew up with Osnat, had a one night stand with her, left kibbutz to pursue law school but has remained a member of the Education Committee, has 2 children; got involved with Osnat (again) right before her death
  • Ahinoam – ?
  • Albert – Simcha’s disabled husband
  • Alex – in charge of work roster; former security
  • Ami – Michael Ohayon’s brother-in-law
  • Amit – Moish’s 2nd son
  • Andre Kestenbaum – medical examiner
  • Arik – Shula’s husband
  • Ariyeh Levy – Jerusalem Subdivision chief
  • Arnon – 7 years old, Aaron’s son
  • Asaf – ?
  • Avidor – author, organizer
  • Avigail – police; former registered nurse on kibbutz
  • Avishai – small child
  • Ben – ?
  • Benny – police
  • Ben Yaakof – butcher
  • Dr. Ben Zakkan – on vacation
  • Bezalel – friend of Srilke
  • Boaz – married to Tova
  • Bracha – patient in infirmary (mentioned twice)
  • Bruria – in charge of laundry
  • Chilik – ?
  • Commander Shmerling – Investigations Division officer
  • Dafna – Aaron’s ex-wife
  • Dana – ?
  • Danny Balilty – police
  • Dave – middle aged bachelor from Canada, volunteer; invented the cream made from cacti;
  • Deddie – ?
  • Ditza – Ilan T’s wife
  • Dvorka – Osnat’s mother-in-law
  • Dr. Gilboa – works at Barzilai hospital
  • Dr. Cassuto – toxicologist
  • Dr. Eli Reimer – away for 5 weeks for army reserve duty
  • Dr. Hildesheimer – character in previous novel
  • Dr. Hirsh – director of Institute of Pathological Medicine
  • Eitan Avidor – Avidor’s son; dead
  • Elhanan “JoJo” – kibbutz treasurer
  • Eli – police
  • Elka – former head of education committee
  • Elroi – police psychologist
  • Emanuel Shorer – head of Criminal Investigation Unit
  • Esther – Avigail’s aunt; nurse; dead
  • Estie – ?
  • Fanya – head of sewing (mentioned twice), concentration camp survivor, has 2 kids
  • Fela – Nira’s mother
  • Felix – elderly patient at infirmary; artist; has 4 children
  • Froike – ?
  • Gady – Felix’s second son; a whistler
  • Gila – Levy’s secretary
  • Golda – Moish’s housemother
  • Guta – Fanya’s sister, in charge of dairy, concentration camp survivor; always eats lunch late
  • Hadas – left kibbutz and is living in U.S.
  • Hannah Shpitzer – Zeev HaCohen’s 2nd wife, committed suicide
  • Havaleh – gossiper
  • Haviva – ?
  • Hayuta – ?
  • Herzl – ?
  • Hilik – examines the electrical cables for refrigeration
  • Ilan T – artist
  • Jacques – Michael Ohayon’s uncle (mother’s brother), dead
  • Jeannette Abukasi – ?
  • Kochava Strauss – sergeant
  • Krestenbaum – ?
  • Limor Malul – Simcha’s 13 years old daughter
  • Lotte – class housemother (mentioned many times)
  • Machluf Levy – police; has two kids
  • Matilda – kitchen manager; talker
  • Maya – old girlfriend of Michael Ohayon’s
  • Menucha – ?
  • Michael Ohayon* – member of Serious Crimes Unit
  • Mickey – ?
  • Miriam – Moish’s mother (dead)
  • Misha – secretary for a different kibbutz
  • Moshe “Moish” Ayal – kibbutz director
  • Mottie Malul – 12 year old, troubled son of Simcha
  • Nahari – ?
  • Nehama – Fanya’s daughter, moved away, married
  • Nire – Michael Ohayon’s ex-wife
  • Noga – ?
  • Nora – Felix’s wife
  • Oded – Yacheved’s son
  • Ohad/Ilan – Avigail’s affair
  • Osnat Harel* – has 4 children, was married to Yuvik, kibbutz secretary (reminded of that twice), needed privacy even as a child
  • Pazit – 10 years old, Aaron’s son
  • Rachela – 24 yr old
  • Rifka Maimoni (“Rickie”) – infirmary nurse
  • Rinat – Lotte’s daughter
  • Riva – nurse (mentioned twice); dead
  • Rella – in the poultry section
  • Rocheleh – ?
  • Ronit – asked for Valium
  • Ruthie – ?
  • Sarit – coordinator of the Special Investigation Team; nail biter, only other woman on police force
  • Shlomit – Osnat’s daughter
  • Shmiel – in the poultry section; friend of Srulke
  • Shula – Moish’s sister; work-roster organizer; had gastric flu
  • Simec – Guta’s husband
  • Simcha Malul – mother to Mottie, 5 other children (1 stillborn), 49 years old, grandmother, works in kibbutz infirmary
  • Srulke – Moish’s father, hates waste, dies
  • Tova – Zeev HaCohen’s daughter; married to Boaz
  • Tzilla – police
  • Uri – currently abroad
  • Uri – driver for Misha
  • Victor – ?
  • Yaela – rumored to be Felix’s daughter
  • Yaffa – ?
  • Yankele – Fanya’s son, violent, works in controversial cosmetics factory; Dave is his only friend
  • Yacheved – Oded’s mother
  • Yedidya – maintenance man; could be Yaela’s father
  • Yehuda – Dvorka’s “mate”; external secretary
  • Yehuda Nahari – Brigadier General; head of National Union for Serious Crimes Investigation (NUSCI)
  • Yoav – Osnat’s son; a soldier
  • Yocheved – ?
  • Yoel – artist
  • Yoopie – writes skits; in charge of gardening shed
  • Yoska – driver for Avigail
  • Yuval Ohayon – Michael Ohayon’s son
  • Yuvik – Osnat’s husband, Dvorka’s son (died in Lebanon war)
  • Yuzek – Nira’s father
  • Yvette – Michael Ohayon’s older sister
  • Zacharia – Fanya’s husband
  • Zahara – Felix’s daughter
  • Zeev HaCohen – tall, old, has a daughter
  • Zvika – working on a project for children
  • Zvikie – requested to take a course in London & was denied

(* = main character; ? = name was mentioned only once)

But, back to the plot. This time Michael Ohayon must solve a mysterious death on the kibbutz. The secretary for the commune was poisoned. Before Michael comes on the scene you learn that the 50 year old kibbutz has been going through some controversial changes. Meetings are now televised so that members can “attend” in their rooms. There is a new open-air theater. Outsiders are being hired to help in the infirmary & fields. What used to be plum fields are now for cacti grown for the cosmetic factory where many kibbutz members work. But, probably the biggest change is the one yet to come. There is talk of creating a separate house for the elderly members of the kibbutz. For years there has always been a sleeping house for children and a house for adults. The elderly have never been separated before. Osnat, the murder victim, was spearheading this change. As for Michael Ohayon, he is still the coffee addicted lonely investigator. Having broken up with Maya he now sets his romantic heart on a colleague. I have a feeling the next book is going to be very interesting. If I only I could keep the characters straight!

Reason read: to continue the series started in March in honor of it being the best time to visit Israel.

Favorite lines, “Fatal words that fester in the mind and can never be forgotten” (p 35) and “Ugly things were hidden under every word” (p 200).

Sentence that made me laugh out loud, “…stress makes rabbits seem dangerous” (p 217). Did anyone else think of Monty Python?
Author fact: Last time I reported Gur died in 2005. She was 57 and died from cancer.

Book trivia: This is the third Michael Ohayon mystery. I have a total of five on my reading list. Confessional: I read one out of order so I only have one more to read.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter called “Crime is a Globetrotter: Israel” (p 61).

Lone Pilgrim

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Colwin, Laurie. The Lone Pilgrim. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1981. Reason read: June is National Short Story Month. There are thirteen stories within The Lone Pilgrim and they are as follows:

  1. The Lone Pilgrim – Children’s book illustrator Paula Price is the perfect house guest, a student of human conduct. Vicariously, she lives through her hosts. But really, all she is doing is looking for love. I found her constant questioning “that was love, wasn’t it?” endearing. Favorite line, “He had never so much as brushed my arm with his sleeve, and here we were locked in an embrace on an empty street” (p 14).
  2. The Boyish Lover – Jane and Cordy seem to be the perfect couple…until they get to know one another. Cordy comes from money but thinks Jane is too lavish. She lives paycheck to paycheck but knows how to live life to the fullest. It’s this difference of prosperity that drives them apart. Favorite line, “Love, in its initial stages, takes care of everything” (p 25). True.
  3. Sentimental Memory – Unidentified twice divorced woman runs away to Scotland to figure out her life. She’s only 31 so the idea of two fail marriages behind her is startling. In Scotland she meets a young Scottish student, home on holiday. He’s madly in love with an Italian girl. Without realizing it, he teaches her about the meaning of love. Best lines (for you who know me you’ll know why there are two): “The very least I could do was to catch up to myself” (p 43) and “I realized that there were times when the only appropriate response to Billy would have been to strangle him” (p 44).
  4. A Girl Skating – Bernadette Spaeth tells the creepy story of a famous poet/professor obsessed with her during her childhood and teen years. It’s an ominous story with slightly sinister statements like, “I was the child he loved best and there was no escaping him” (p 51) and “There was no way I could duck him” (p 54).
  5. An Old Fashioned Story – Everyone knows a priss like this, “Elizabeth’s friends came down with measles, chicken pox, and mumps, but Elizabeth considered Nelson her childhood disease” (p 60). Coming from a high-society culture Elizabeth Leopold was supposed to date only good boys (like Nelson; possibly only Nelson). She wanted anyone but Nelson.
  6. Intimacy – Martha Howard is a woman wrangling old emotions. William Sutherland had been a married man when he and Martha first had an affair. Now she’s the married woman. Is it cheating when William’s love came first? “For a moment they were simply lovers with a past between them” (p 89).
  7. Travel – Another story about relationships and marriage, “He knew if he wasn’t around I would step back and run my life as if he never walked into it” (p 96).
  8. Delia’s Father – Georgia Levy remembers her childhood friend’s seductive and exotic father and how she ends up kissing him. I had to wonder how much childhood innocence was really lost when Georgia skipped school that day. Best line, “Children are a tribe, and childhood is there tribal home” (p 116).
  9. A Mythological Subject – Interesting tale about a cousin who falls in love with a colleague. “Of all the terrible things in life, living with a divided heart is the most terrible for an honorable person” (p 127).
  10. St Anthony of the Desert – Another story about a relationship gone awry except this one has a very subtle twist. He’s separated and wants to give his wife another chance. She only mentions it once so if you aren’t paying attention you might miss it, “After all, no one knew I was married” (p 145). Best line from the story, “In ordinary times, devils are ordinary” (p 142).
  11. The Smile Beneath the Smile – Another story about a married individual having an affair with a single one. One pines away for the other. Favorite line, “If you live in a city, you cannot avoid inadvertently opening your life to strangers in public places” (p 154).
  12. The Achieve of, the Mastery of the Thing – a professor’s wife is having an affair with marijuana. Interesting tidbit: the title of the story comes from a Gerard Manley Hopkins poem. That’s cool.
  13. Family Happiness – Yet another story about a married individual (Polly) having an affair with a single one. This time there is the burden of a quirky family. Her love life consists of one man who makes her life normal while the other man makes her life natural. Polly’s boyfriend always gets her name right while her family is always nicknaming. Lines I liked, “The family doted on her, but no one paid much attention to her” (p 191) and “I like my mole-like life with you” (p 206).

There is a pattern to Colwin’s stories and a common theme. Family and relationships (and someone always running off to Paris).

Author fact: Colwin died of a heart attack at age 48.

Book trivia: “Lone Pilgrim” and “The Achieve of, the Mastery of the Thing” are Nancy Pearl’s favorite stories from Lone Pilgrim.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in two different chapters. First, “Food for Thought” (p 92) and again in simply, “Short Stories” (p 220). There are two points I have to make. Lone Pilgrim shouldn’t have been in “Food for Thought” and Pearl added an extra comma in the title of the short story “The Achieve of, the Mastery of the Thing.”

Drown

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Diaz, Junot. Drown. Read by Jonathan Davis. Westminster, MD: Books on Tape, 2007.

Here’s the thing. Anything you read by Diaz is going to feel like heavy drinking in a rough-around-the-edges bar; the kind of place where it’s too dark to see; where the soles of your shoes are sticky-stuck to the floor and there is the obsessively constant need to wipe your hands and mouth. Diaz has that conversational, lean in and listen way of talking that sounds slightly conspiratorial but always brutally honest. While the stories change direction and voice, the messages of culture, society, family, tradition and passion do not. Powerful characters are matched only by their fierce loves and tragic losses. Their triumphs and travesties are spilled across the page with a “so what?” wild abandon. It’s as if you are elbow to elbow with Diaz as he whispers to you lush stories from his childhood, his coming of age, his entire history. Every story is intensely personal. But, But! But, all the while you are aware that this bar, these stories – this is his turf and you are not safe without him there. You need him to keep talking.

Reason read: supposed to be read in honor of the Merengue Festival that takes place sometime in late July/early August but as a series of short stories, read in honor of June’s national short story status.

Book trivia: Here’s what kept me up at night – the story of the kid whose face was half chewed off by a pig. You meet his tormentors, children who don’t understand the need for him to wear a mask. But then later, you meet the poor child and it rattles you to the core.

BookLust Twist: from Book Lust To Go in the chapter called “Cavorting Through the Caribbean: Dominican Republic” (p 54).

Neighborhood Heroes

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Rielly, Morgan. Neighborhood Heroes: Life Lessons From Maine’s Greatest Generation. Camden: Down East Books, 2014.

Reason read: As part of the Early Review program for LibraryThing I occasionally review books for them. This was the May selection I won.

As someone who grew up on an island off the coast of Maine and still has a strong connection to the entire state, I really enjoyed Rielly’s book. I could identify with most of the places he mentions. But, location isn’t what I enjoyed the most. In my day kids were taught to respect their elders and you can tell Rielly really respected the 26 men and women he interviewed for his book, Neighborhood Heroes. His attention to detail is exemplary and his choice of words conveys the significance of not only the military work these veterans conducted, but the strength of their personal lives as well. It wasn’t enough to transcribe their professional lives; the training tales and battle stories (no matter their branch in the military); Rielly also was thoughtful enough to convey their personal dedication to marriage, family, education and meaningful employment after serving their country in the war. Sadly, a few of Rielly’s interviewees have since passed away. It is a shame they won’t be able to see the published book. I only hope they understood what a great tribute Neighborhood Heroes is to their generation.

As an aside, the cover of the book (by Scott Mansfield) is stunning once I really saw it. The photograph is a little dark.

Here’s the only part of Neighborhood Heroes I will quote. From the front matter, “A portion of the author’s royalties is donated to the Travis Mills Project and the National Veterans Family Center…” Curious about this I Googled Travis Mills and discovered he is a retired United States Staff Sergeant who survived an IED blast in Afghanistan in 2012. He is one of only five quadruple amputees to survive such massive injuries.

Confessional: I started reading this shortly after June 6th while CNN and other “reality” channels were constantly showing World War II documentaries. The timing of Rielly’s Neighborhood Heroes was a blessing and a curse. While I was caught up in the pomp and circumstance of remembrance it was also redundant – overkill, if you will. I was a little “war weary” by the end of it all. But, that’s my doing entirely.

“Eighth Sleeper of Ephesus”

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Harun, Adrienne. “The Eighth Sleeper of Ephesus.” The King of Limbo. New York: Overlook Press, 2001.

This is such an interesting story! Frank Cocokowski is a reclusive and strange man. Alone with his thoughts in a big house he barely leaves, Frank begins a slow descent into madness. His only link to the outside world is by reading his estranged son’s small town newspaper. An article in the Salish Bay newspaper prompts Frank to write a letter of outrage to the editor. Only Frank knows nothing of Salish Bay or its problems. He poses as Andrew Glenn, a one-time resident of Salish Bay opposing the construction of a new development. His letter is so well articulated he soon gains a following and stops the construction. He then receives a weekly column in the paper. Needless to say, things become more complicated for Frank.

Best line, “Frank’s heart beat as mercilessly as if he had just entered the town naked on a horse” (p 71).

Reason read: June is short story month and this is the very last shorty I will be reading!

Story trivia: The Eighth Sleeper of Ephesus won the Nelson Algren Award.

Author fact: Everyone describes Harun’s writing as elegant and beautiful. I would say haunting because they creep up on you, silent as a ghost, and leave you with a shiver.

BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Good Things Come in Small Packages” (p 103).