Reading Recommendations from the Northwoods

Change Me into Zeus's Daughter--Barbara Robinette Moss

This memoir is reviewed as Angela's Ashes for Americans,  It also reminded me a lot of The Glass House, with a young woman who triumphs, in spite growing up in a large, poverty-stricken family with an alcoholic father. 

"Change me into Zeus's daughter" is Barbara's prayer as a young girl, as she becomes aware of how physically unattractive she is, the victim of malnutrition.   Through her own initiative, she is able to get help with her complexion and get her protruding teeth fixed. 

A brave and tenacious girl becomes an accomplished artist and writer, and shows that is possible to overcome even the worst childhood. 

Vic tells me I need to read more cheerful books this summer---do any of you have suggestions?   But, a good-reader friend terms this her favorite book in a long time, and I agree that Barbara's young life is engrossing and ultimately triumphant.  (Thanks, Jeanne.)

Boy in the Striped Pajamas--John Boyne

Lots of books use fiction to express the horror of the Holocaust, but Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a book written for young people, uses its simplicity to leave a powerful impact. 

Nine-year-old Bruno is the son of a Nazi officer who receives a promotion, requiring him to move the family out into the Polish countryside to a place called "Out-with."   There, the boy, bored and lonely, sees a group of people wearing strange, striped pajamas, and becomes a friend of Schmuel, even through the fence that separates them.

As you read, you know the ending won't be positive, but the author creates an resolution that shocks the reader, but would still be appropriate for a young person.   "How young?" was one of the questions our group discussed. 

A film of the same name is out on DVD, and one of the few times I can say this, is faithful to the book and just as good.  It's a book you can read in a couple of hours, but one I don't think you will be able to forget.   (Thanks, Barb.)

Among the Mad--Jacqueline Winspear

One of my favorite detective series, set in England between the two world wars,  shows the long-lasting effects of war for those who have experienced it, based in part on the author's memories of her grandfather. 

Main character Maisie Dobbs is an army nurse who served in France, and has become an amateur detective in the intervening years.  Many characters in this book (6th in the series) are still dealing with the mental effects of WW I, including an unknown note-writer who threatens mass murder if veterans aren't given the respect they deserve.  Maisie works with the police to find him before it is too late, and also deals with the depression of her best friend and of a mother who has lost a child.

Although Among the Mad is set in 1931, it has a current feel--returning veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, high unemployment levels, terrorism, and governmental secrets designed to keep the country safe.  That said, it is also a great mystery with a likable progatonist, and reads easily.   (You don't have to read the first books to like this one, but like all series, some references are made to events from the earlier titles.)

Recently, I was in a museum which tagged WW I as "the most useless war in history," and this book gives more evidence to support that opinion.

Cutting for Stone--Abraham Verghese

Neither the title or cover attracted me, but the reviews were so good (almost totally 5 stars from amazon.com readers) that I knew I wanted to give this book a try.

Cutting for Stone is a big sprawling family, historical, and medical novel set in Ethopia and the US.  The main characters are twin boys Marion and Shiva Stone, born mysteriously to a nun and a surgeon--the nun dies and the doctor disappears, leaving the boys with no answers.

The twins are raised by others who love them and eventually become noted doctors themselves.  The author, also a doctor, gives lots of medical information that I found fascinating.  (The title is a phrase from the Hippocratic oath.)

Although the plot is compelling and easy to follow, give yourself plenty of time, as you will want to appreciate the excellent writing and the long paths of the characters' lives.  This will be a perfect book for discussion--family love and betrayal, historical and medical issues, African and American cultures, and a wonderful conclusion that ties all together.   (Thanks, Lois.)

Back again

I know I haven't been here for awhile, but many thanks to those of you who keep checking in. 

I have still been reading--of course--but haven't read anything good enough to recommend to you.  I want to review only books that I feel enthusiastic about, and haven't hit any of those for a while.

So, I'm sorry for the drought, but will be back today.  Thanks for sticking with me.

Good memoirs about good families

The Middle Place:  Kelly Corrigan

Author Corrigan is in a "middle place" that many of us recognize--being a mom to her two young daughters and a daughter to her aging parents who live across the country.  But, Kelly's life becomes more complicated when she develops breast cancer and her much-loved dad fights bladder cancer.

That said, this is definitely not a depressing book, as Kelly recalls positive memories from her own girlhood, and approaches her own fight with cancer with humor and goodwill.  The book bears witness to the strength family and friends bring to dealing with life's challenges.

 

Mighty Queens of Freeville--Amy Dickinson

You may recognize Amy Dickinson's name, as she was chosen as the replacement for Ann Landers.  Although Amy has this nationally-recognized name, she grew up in a rural area of New York and still gets her strength from her mom, aunts, and female cousins who live there.  (They're the mighty queens of the title.)

The author certainly hasn't lived an easy life, and tells about an early divorce and raising and supporting a daughter by herself.  I loved how close she has stayed to her roots and her equal comfort with farm work and city life in Chicago.   And, I like reading about the strength of real women and how they support one another.

White Tiger---Aravind Adiga

White Tiger, the 2008 winner of the Man Booker prize, has been compared to Slumdog Millionaire in print.   Narrator Balram Halwai has grown up in The Darkness, as he refers to the poverty-stricken slums of India, and rises to a position of prominence, becoming chauffeur to a less-than-honest Indian and his American wife.

But, knowing that India offers more, Balram becomes a real entrepreneur himself--accomplished, he admits, by murdering and stealing from his wealthy master. 

Unlike other books about India--Inheritance of Loss, and A Fine Balance--this one is relatively short and believe it or not, humorous.  Balram is an amusing narrator, and still gives a realistic picture of the poverty and lack of opportunities in India.  You'll question his ethical decisions and marvel at his oppportunism, but you will still like and root for him.

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet--Jamie Ford

 

Dealing with the relocation of Japanese-American citizens during WW II, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet is reminiscent of Snow Falling of Cedars.  This new book has the advantage of reflection, traveling back and forth from the war years of the 1940's to the 1980's.

Henry, an isolated Chinese boy in Seattle, finds his only friend in Keiko, a girl of Japanese heritage whose family faces persecution during the war, in spite of their American birth.  Henry's father disowns him as Henry visits Keiko at their interment camps and becomes closer and closer to her.

In the 1980's, long-stored belongings of Japanese-Americans are found in an old hotel, and Henry is again taken back to those war years.  He's grieving over his wife's recent death and trying to connect to his only son, when he discovers shocking news about Keiko and her family. 

The book is historical fiction with romance, a little mystery, prejudice against anyone different, and lots of relationships to discuss, parent-child, husband-wife, friend to friend.   It reads fast, and leaves the reader with things to think about.

 

 

The White Mary--Kira Salak

 

She's a young white woman, a journalist confronting the worst of evil in war-torn countries around the world.  She's an adventurer, traveling alone through Papua New Guinea with a non-English-speaking guide, as she battles heat, leeches, mosquitoes, bats, neck-deep water, malaria and hostile natives. 

These sentences describe both the author of this book, Kira Salak, and her fictional character Marika Vecera.  And, if I didn't know the author was describing things she had actually experienced, I would have thought many parts of the book were just way too unbelievable.

How can a young woman handle the brutality she experiences and the great dangers she faces?  Why would anyone choose the enormous hardships Marika does to search the jungle for a man she has never even met, and who is probably dead anyway?   I met a character in The White Mary (native label for "white woman") who is unlike anyone I have ever known, and I can't say I understand her at all.

And, that is one of the reasons I liked the book so well---a whole new look at the world, including horrifying accounts of the evil that we don't see on our evening news, and vivid descriptions of the Papua New Guinea jungle that will definitely substitute for my ever having to travel there myself.

By the way, Marika also has one of the best boyfriends imaginable.  Some reviewers said he was too good to be true, but I want to believe he was always there waiting for her.  (Thanks, Brenda, for such a good suggestion.)

The Help--Kathryn Stockett

 

Three women in the early '60s in Jackson, Mississippi, two black household domestics and a white privileged college graduate, go underground to try to publish their honest story of how the "help" is being treated in upper-class Southern white homes.   As one reviewer says, the hired help was trusted to raise their children but not to polish their silver without stealing it!  The three main characters, Skeeter, Aibilee, and Minnie, are likable and courageous, and their bravery made me nervous about the risks they were taking, in this historical era of lynchings and beatings and white supremacy.

The book's a page-turner and has been compared to a grown-up To Kill a Mockingbird.  All the reviews predict it will be a best-seller of 2009.   I don't disagree, but I was uncomfortable at the beginning as the two household servants speak in a noticeable black dialect.  It seemed a little awkward to me, especially as the author is a young white woman.  

I wish I had read the author's afterword first, as she explains the relationship she had with her own family's black housekeeper.  Her theme comes through loud and clear--that not very much actually separates two seemingly-different women, that we all share more than we know.    (Thanks, Marge, for suggesting such a good book.)