Book review: Asa James, by Jodi Lew-Smith

Beautifully, lyrically written tale centering around the boy-who-grows-into-a-man, Asa, who never allowed his unusual physical appearance take the place of his soul, an insatiable thirst for learning, or the integrity by which he steers through a life of hard work, following dreams that a lesser person would have abandoned as impossible. The reader easily slips into the nineteenth century to walk among characters traced from the notes of literary history, as the plot inexorably unfolds with twists that are almost foreseeable, but not quite.
(Spoilers Below)

…

You might imagine the author’s mind at work asking the questions, “what if Brontë wrote Rochester as a woman? What if Jane were an altogether different sort of person entirely, but with the same profound sense of self, grounded with an unalterable devotion to the truth? What if the story kept the darkness and forbidding landscape of the English moors and the ghostly stone, nooks and crannies of Thornfield Hall, but brought them across the sea to New England? What if all this was juxtaposed against the racial divide of the American Civil War? What if we paid homage to Bertha Mason’s home in the form of the incredibly lovely and diverse flora and fauna of the Caribbean, and our hero had a rightful reason to be there, as the realization of a lifelong dream? It all seems so incredibly crafty and creative and impossible to make believable literature, and yet Jodi Lew-Smith has done all this and more - with deft strokes she breathes emotion and color and life itself into each character so that you easily forget that there is a plot driving this tale, and simply live and breathe with them, savoring the discovery of each new chapter, each new experience, the love and terror and disappointment and disaster and ultimately, redemption seem fresh and real in spite of all of it.

Five well deserved stars, and I will look for more from this author.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Crudo, by Olivia Laing

 

Oof.

Two things. Two things you have to know about this book, before you get very far into it:
1. Kathy is dead. She never saw 2017, she died in the 90s.
2. Kathy wrote a lot of prose using cut-outs from other people's works. There is an index in the back of the book, it contains pertinent references from Kathy's, and other people's, actual writings. It helps if you look at it from time to time.

Kathy Acker was a punk poet, an author of stream of consciousness observations and diatribes about what was and longing for what could have been, but usually was not. To reimagine her writing in response to Twitter feeds and everyday occurrences and uncommon stupidity like the Trump presidency and Brexit is simply brilliant. But you have to know what youre getting into, you cant be ignorant of this woman and try to wend your way thru this book. It just won't work.

That said, the book is brilliant. It's raw and edgy, sure, but it also glitters with almost tactile vibrancy.

"Just let me learn that love is more than me."

"But all the distances had grown in the last year. The feeling of foreignness blew around the carriage. She liked the man, she smiled at him as they left. You make divisions between people, countries, races, and out of the gaps the warheads emerge."

So many times during this short, half-day read one must lay the work down, close one's eyes, and just breathe. Remembering, how 2017 was so long ago, and we thought it so hard, so strange, so downright *wrong.*

And yet, we knew nothing. We had no idea of the horrible ride we were in for.

But Kathy knew. Like Van Gogh, she says: he knew. And so did she.

Ghostlike, wraithlike, bright shadows on the wall of her home, she moves down the hall of that confused, painful time, cracking wise ass asides, drunk, self-medicated, missing nothing.

And she reminds us of her time, the 80s, and earlier, when people knew things were bad, when AIDS and the threat of nuclear war permeated everyone's consciousness, and as horrifying as things were then we had no idea how bad things would eventually be. The genius of Laing in using Acker's voice and style of writing about the first Trump year is breathtaking. It leaves me mostly wordless, it is impossible to say anything adequate to the purpose.

"I who would have and would be a pirate: I cannot. I who live in my mind which is my imagination as everything -- wanderer adventurer fighter Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces -- I am nothing in these times."

"Love is the world, pain is the world."

Ah, I cannot.

Originally posted at The StoryGraph

Book Review: Burn Down Master’s House, by Clay Cane

From 2005 to early 2014 I lived part-time, sometimes full-time, at the Borough Plantation in Stateburg, South Carolina, two doors up the hill from the home inhabited by the black man who owned nearly the most humans as property in the state of South Carolina, William Ellison and his family. This is one of the black slaveholders upon whom the character of Nathaniel William is based in Burn Down Master’s House. He is someone about whom I heard much.

The position of “Overseer” was still a thing at the Borough, although the job description was markedly different. My late husband, an archaeologist and historian, worked in that capacity and his duties not only included cataloging anything of historical significance found on the 5,000 acre historic site/tree farm/hunt club, but taking care of the grounds, planting gardens for the deer, serving as hunt master, scheduling tree harvests and controlled burns, ensuring the main house, 23 outbuildings, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and additional homes on the property were maintained and weatherized according to seasonal needs, giving tours, and hiring and managing the various craftspeople and laborers to help with necessary work.

Descendants of enslaved persons were employed there and held in high regard by everyone; whenever they spoke, everyone stopped to listen to what they had to say. Stories and fond memories of Aunt Renda, who was a cook in the early to mid-twentieth century and who lived with her family, including her sister, in the beautiful two-story, four bedroom home known as “Aunt Renda’s” that lies directly adjacent to the main house were often related by the descendants and members of the Anderson family who still lived there and in the neighborhood. Sometimes there were no words - only silent looks, the puff of an indrawn breath, the tight fingers that you would grasp with both hands to try and communicate empathy and some form of apology. As one of the family says, “History is messy. It twists and turns. There are so many questions with no easy answers.”

The Borough is at least as much a monument to the enslaved as it is the home of the family who has lived there since the late 18th century. The Anderson women are consummate curators and record keepers, and many original furnishings and ancient belongings as well as ledgers, trunks, filing cabinets, and letter boxes fill the rooms of several of the buildings: the Library, the doctor’s office (where the first successful surgery to treat cancer of the jaw was performed on an enslaved man); the main home, the “Chicken Coop” which is actually the office but housed poultry in the 19th to early 20th century, the wash-house, the detached kitchen. There are photographs, paintings, journals, memories carefully written down, unfortunately sometimes years after the fact.

Some of these records include documents relating to William Ellison, their former neighbor. He is remembered as “good at the cotton gin but not too nice of a man,” one of those semi-polite euphemisms common in southern speech. His name is spoken in hushed tones. The descendants of enslaved folk do not mention him at all: even though the cemetery where the man and his family are buried lies beside his house at the corner of the entrance to Garners Ferry Road and is a well-known landmark, many people will simply point out the road itself and pretend not to notice the cemetery. They still call his home “Governor Miller’s Home,” or simply “Grainger’s Place,” as the artist Grainger McCoy and his wife live there now and have for many years.

And about that cemetery: its very existence is odd. Members of the Church of Holy Cross, where Ellison attended and is located directly across the road from the Borough’s southern entrance, are both black and white to this day and many, many of them are buried in the church cemetery, which wraps the building on both sides.

But not Ellison, or his family. They had their own burial grounds, down the hill and in the woods. It’s an anomaly, without a reason - questions with no easy answers, indeed.

The life stories upon which this book is based upon likewise highlight many, many questions, but the author’s words are a remarkable effort to answer a lot of them. Mr Cane dives deep into the records of history and brings up songs, breath, love, light, and laughter - along with the terror, the heartbreak, the suffering, and resilience of those who were the property of other human beings. He uses the word “souls” to refer to them, which breathes life into their portrayals. You cannot read the stories in these pages and not hear and see and feel some of the things that they experienced. There is raw emotion, cruel pain, gripping hunger, bleak exhaustion, triumphant joy.

The stories such as are in this book are some of the most important we need to read today in this sad, broken America. Burn Down Master’s House is a terrifying read, but so necessary to be told. It is vital that the truth not be forgotten or brushed aside, and these truths are told in the only way possible: by a descendant. The descendants own the stories. We need to listen. And learn. And validate by recognizing their importance.

My family tree is more of a vine; every branch goes back to colonial Virginia and England, cousins marrying cousins. Today if you’re a white American with nothing else in the DNA you’re by definition inbred. White supremacy is therefore pretty incestuous. Even so, I am the descendant of over 25 people who owned other human beings, and also the descendant of people who fought against the very idea of that ownership. But those stories have all been told, many, many times over. The world doesn’t need more of those stories. We need to know the stories of the souls who resisted, who fled, who died fighting in whatever way they knew. These people deserve restitution and recognition. They, and their descendants, deserve justice.

Their stories matter. Their lives mattered.

The writing in this book is clear, very descriptive, and powerful. Clay Cane is an excellent writer, and the ancestors’ stories are well told. Their experiences are safe in his hands: authentically related, skillfully crafted, meticulously woven into a narrative that does not let the reader go, does not allow the reader to look away or ignore what is being stated. Their voices whisper in your ears, their feet pound a ready earth, their tools - poison, hammer, bellows, fire - blaze forth out of history to surround you in the heat of tragedy, where you must look them in the eye, and recognize their presence.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the chance to read this important book in exchange for an honest review. A grateful, thoughtful five stars, humbly written. Thank you.

Book Review: North Country, by Matt Bondurant

Phenomenal read. Matt Bondurant (full disclosure - a wide swath of my family tree lies in Franklin County and includes Bondurants, so he's likely a third or fourth cousin) has taken the torch flung by Ron Rash, Lee Smith, and Charles Frazier, and carried it aloft into the literary stratosphere.

There is a way to write gritty, human-centered prose without the grit and gore overtaking the message, so the reader feels the character's experience without the story becoming lost. It's a delicate balance that can elude even the most accomplished writers. Bondurant brings the reader directly into the tale without losing focus, without the distraction of overly descriptive passages that can derail a carefully constructed momentum. And yet, you feel the cold, slicing wind off the Lake and the enveloping, suffocating shock of frigid water, the subliminal thrill of anticipation, the yearning disturbance of complicated sexual desires; the dearth of hope in the miasma of poverty that strangles some of the neighborhoods near the local prison, and the livid disgust of some of the people who have to live there.

Each chapter limns the world of the small, cold border town of North Chazy from the perspective of one or more of its residents in a way that we know is leading toward something horrifying, and yet we live with each of these people in a way that feels real and authentic and causes the reader to lay bets on who will survive, and who will be indelibly changed by the experience - for good or ill. I especially appreciated the ability of the author to give his characters resilience in the form of empathy or knowledge where one doesn't expect it - as in Phil's self-discovery about his relationship with his baby daughter Juliet, as with the strongman Kaiser's almost obsessive affinity for science, with the sorority women's sisterhood that watches for other women in danger and their neatly orchestrated plan for lifting them gently out of it.

Honestly grateful for the opportunity to read this incredible story, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for a review. Five-plus stars, and the hope that Matt Bondurant will keep writing, keep storytelling, keep traveling the route of the human mind and its history, and bring those things to light and life on the page.

Book review: Splendid Liberators

My god, what a history, sorely needed at a time like this.
In carefully, explicitly documented detail, the author lays out the horrifying, inexorable journey the American government took to Imperialist conquest of people who were seen by a white-centric public as lesser, undeserving of equitable freedoms or self-determination and stripping human dignity and life itself from tens of thousands of people. All in the name of “saving “ them from Spanish colonialism, the US blasted its way across Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines in a blood-spattered cloud of corruption and hubris. This history is still not well taught in American schools, but it is a history well known to those whose countries were permanently altered by it.
Like Suzy Hanson’s Pulitzer-finalist “Notes on a Foreign Country,” Jackson’s “Splendid Liberators” reveals with exquisite clarity why the United States is rightfully hated by much of the world. We need to know and understand this history. Without these stories, we Americans will continue to wither in ignorance on the vine of history, and deservedly so. The sickening truth is part of us, and illustrates our deep, carnal debt to those we have conquered in the name of democracy, but in truth were merely living flesh to feed our capitalist hunger, justified by an ethnocentric eugenicist ideology that stripped the humanity from those whose lands we lusted after, whose natural resources and strategic locations we coveted. Nothing more.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, for a free copy of the pre-release text in exchange for an honest review. I will be purchasing copies of this book for several friends and family members, because it is that important.

Book Review: Poet’s Square: A Memoir in Thirty Cats

Cats as praxis. Because of course.

About 3/4 of the way thru this, I realized that while the author may not realize it, her story is anarchy at work, and shows why this is the only way anything meaningful has ever been accomplished. With practical hard work and attention to doing what she could, every single day, the author built a beautiful new life for herself amidst responding to the needs she saw all around her. In it she encountered a whole new world that she never knew existed, and made a real difference in her community.

A beautiful story and absolutely not what I expected. Much love and May the cats be with you 🥰

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Custodians of Wonder

I enjoyed reading about the author’s fascinating studies of rare methods, practices, and customs all around the world. The author spends several days or longer with each location or group, fully immersed in the culture. He eats, sleeps, and when invited, attempts to practice some cultural customs of these local practitioners of special craftsmanship. Authenticity and respect for the people involved in preserving these lifeways seemed to be the main goals of the author, aside from clear and simple descriptions of the methods, equipment, and results he observed.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Framed, by John Grisham & Jim McCloskey

Oh, this book.

I am so glad to see Mr Grisham turn his writerly talents to this desperately important issue. Coupled with the lived experience of Mr McCloskey, these stories, alternately told by each author, spring from the page directly into the heart of the reader. The criminal justice system has always been a travesty, and it isn’t getting better. The efforts of the folk who work for Mr McCloskey’s organization, Centurion, the Innocence Project, the Innocence Network, and others perform a highly-needed service in the cause of justice in America. The stories in this book represent a tiny fraction of the number of wrongly-convicted souls victimized by the sometimes egregious and outrageous errors made by those who would seek to rack up numbers of convictions, and seem to care much less for addressing and stopping actual wrongdoing.

It has been said that many times prosecutors and law enforcement officers focus less on finding the right answers, in favor of focusing on those cases they believe, rightly or wrongly, are able to secure a conviction. After all, if they actually addressed all criminal behavior and succeeded in wiping out crime, they would work themselves out of a job. Many times those enlisted by an unthinking public with the duty to right wrongs weirdly and inexplicably overlook obvious perpetrators, ignore leads, and even accuse those telling the truth of lying about the facts of a crime. In some cases citizens who come forward to offer assistance as eyewitnesses end up jailed and convicted of the very crimes they witnessed, because of the too-ready willingness by law enforcement to believe their own invented stories about a crime, that very often belie ready evidence and cold hard facts about a case, but instead conform to their own racist, sexist, and classist prejudices that blind them to truth.

The cases described in ‘Framed’ are important examples of the flaws in the criminal justice system. We should pursue reforms that tru,y reflect our purported reliance on innocent until proven guilty’. This would, of course, completely upend and overhaul the training and norms that are followed by law enforcement now. But until these reforms occur, we will continue to be threatened by the ravages of an unjust and dangerous mentality that places convictions above justice. And we cannot say we are ‘the land of the free’ so long as we look away and allow the unjust criminal justice process to continue.

Book Review: Nature’s God: The Heretical Origins of the American Republic by Matthew Stewart

One of the most important books out there for readers who actually want to understand how and why the US was founded on the principles of separation between church and state. America was never meant to be a “Christian” nation - a fact that has been obscured with outright lies with increasing fervor over the past forty years.

Magnificently researched and well-written, I consider this required reading for any person who purports to be a student of US history, or who simply wants to know the truth. It’s interesting and engaging, with relevant personal stories of the writers and arbiters of our nation's foundational documents and those who inspired them, which make it easier to understand their motivations and the times in which they lived. Stewart shows clearly how Epicurus, Spinoza, Bruno, and other much earlier philosophers led the way into the radical new beliefs that guided these men, with all their faults and foibles, to work together to found a nation built on principles that even they could not live up to - but they hoped that in the future the path they lay, by reason and not superstition, would be walked by those who could.

A couple of pages, to illustrate how important and relevant it is, especially now. Especially today.

Book Review: Riding Shotgun, by Rita Mae Brown

Interesting emotional romp thru the centuries. The ending was a bit of a let down, but otherwise the story is very good.

The reason I say the ending was a bit disappointing is because it feels as if the author expended all of her energy writing the book until the last 50 pages or so, and then rushed through to get it finished. Where for most of the book we get exquisite detail about situations that range from fox hunting to traveling through time, with well-developed characters a reader can truly want to get to know, and deliciously detailed descriptions of places and events, toward the end after a major, life-changing turn of events is starting to be reconciled, the story becomes little more than a quick by-rote narration of events, including some that are chaotic and emotionally damaging. Gone is the depth of feeling coupled with careful thought and analysis, in favor of a hair-raising churning through a family and friendship-wrecking series of experiences, galloping to an ultimately unsatisfying ending - all at once too brief and almost painful. It would have been better if the author perhaps took a break, thoroughly re-read the book to the point of the return from the multi-century foxhunt, and then carefully continued toward bringing the book to a satisfying close. If the point is, as it seems to be, for the main character to apply lessons learned from history, the same care and attention should have been paid to this portion of the book as was clearly taken in the first two-thirds.
The main character, a middle-aged woman named Pryor (which is a historical name in her family), but for some unknown reason goes by the nickname "Cig," is believable and interesting. She's widowed, self-contained, strong, and raising two teenagers with more than a little aplomb. But she's not perfect - far from it - but her flaws are not unmanageable, nor do they detract from her likability. The ensemble cast of characters is varied and authentic, and the plot for the most part flows smoothly and is easy to follow. Even when the story becomes a bit implausible, it is still very well written and therefore believable, which is the point, I believe.
The conflict that becomes the heart of the story between two sisters is very real, and Cig has long believed there is a truth that her sister Grace is hiding about what happened. In the end, the truth surprises everyone, and I'm not sure it's fully realized or acknowledged. There's a lot of crying and screaming and fit-throwing, which may or may not be cathartic. There are promises made, but whether they are fulfilled is anyone's guess. Some of that truth remains elusive, I think. There could have been more to this story, in that way, as well as others.
The historical characters were endearing and not stereotypical. The scenes during this time were very well done - you can feel the snow on your cheeks, the cold, the sunny breeze on a warm day. There are no laments about the clothing, thank goodness (a personal pet peeve). Cig sees a lot in this time to appreciate and is respectful of the differences, so she learns and adapts very well. I really love this part of the book. You can really see her starting to grow, especially as she feels herself being drawn to the people she meets, some perhaps a bit more than others. She is really good at giving people their due, and is able to develop true friendships, bonding with not only her family members but with several others.
Unfortunately the author attempts to bind the historical story with the modern one in an ultimately dissatisfying way.

Having Fritz - or his historical double - show up at the very, very end of the last two pages was about as piquant and frustrating as a mouthful of cold coffee. That touch, imho, was pure effrontery on the part of the author. A better writer would have either omitted that bit completely - I mean, we do find out what had happened to that character so there was no mystery there - or brought the character in gradually, just like the historical friendship that had blossomed originally, and quite naturally, into something more. But teasing the reader with a sudden appearance right at the very end? Gross.

Violence is depicted realistically in the book, especially in historical context, where the author shines with not only making it believable, but applicable to the plot and characters. Sadly, the depictions of violence seem either dated, gratuitous, or just wrong in the modern-day (1999) portion.
The title of the book, "Riding Shotgun," is quite dated, trite, and really doesn't apply to anything that happens in the book other than one or two references to "riding shotgun through history" - and what does that even mean? Especially in the context of this book. The main character travels back in time on horseback, where there is no "riding shotgun." It's an inept analogy at best. Books have been re-titled and this one needs to be.
I honestly wonder if the author might revisit the story and write the ending differently, too. If so, the entire book would make a fabulous movie. As a writer, I'm tempted to pen a bit of transformative fiction myself here. As it is, the last quarter of the book brought it down from an otherwise five stars to four. Still a very good read, as I said, but the story that could have been written - like the truth that Cig seeks - is still out there.

Content Warnings:
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Emotional abuse
There is minor emotional abuse that I attribute mainly to plot devices that are extremely dated now. However, toward the end, there is a violent physical altercation between two members of the Hunt Club, a married couple that is extremely disruptive, dangerous, and ends up involving others.

>The aggressor is punched in the face by a teenager, which halts the fight, and the teenager is then lauded for his "quick thinking."

No one remarks on the fact that this altercation is essentially an attempted murder right in front of everyone. No assistance or health care is even offered to the injured person, who bears heavy marks and is clearly injured; they all just get on their horses and begin the event after the fight is stopped. As I said, this part is very dated and unsatisfactory all around.

Book Review: Greta by J. S. Lemon

A sweet coming-of-age story about a young girl who experiences some of the things we all do growing up, and some very unusual things indeed. Greta and her best friend Lotti share a deep bond of friendship, and are joined by their creative friend Astrid in navigating some of the trials and tribulations of middle school - social events, homework, and boys. They feel the thrills of being noticed by someone they like, and then the disappointment and stress when things may not go the way they hoped. One of them is even sexually assaulted by the person she thought was a nice admirer, which coincides with changes that start inside her body but are soon noticeable to everyone.

The theme of the story is growth and change, sometimes painful, and in a small way, loss of innocence and becoming more aware of the dangers that can beset young girls. Greta feels herself growing stronger and more able to deal with teasing and ostracizing, and even defends - loudly - her friend Lotti when she is called names by some cruel peers. While in some ways Greta is finding change hard to deal with, especially the prospect and preparations for the upcoming family move to a larger house, the ways that she adapts and even embraces the visible and invisible changes happening to her body and personality are admirable and engaging.

The language of the book is simple and relatable, and I think middle grade readers will really enjoy the story. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher MacMillan for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: The Salt Bairns, by Cynthia Tidrick

The Salt Bairns by Cynthia Tidrick
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of THE SALT BAIRNS and have to say, it was one of the most meaningful and insightful fiction reads I've been privileged to find in a very long time. Cynthia Tidrick has constructed a magical world, full of shadows and vice, and yet the colors and characters within the narrative surround each other and the protagonist with genuine feeling and knowledge. The reader cannot help but become swallowed up in their world, traveling onward in a rich and memorable adventure as the story unfolds. The author's unusual turns of phrase are yet clear and so beautiful, with atmospheric descriptions that enable the reader to grasp deeper meaning and understanding of the many layers in this tale. Skillful and sometimes shocking illustrations add to the fantastical quasi-realism of the work. Five glorious stars.

*Thank you to the Author for the advance read copy.

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Book Review: Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust

Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury by Drew Gilpin Faust
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Parts of this book seemed like a mirror to my own past, even though I am at least ten years younger than the author. However, I did grow up in Virginia and the attitudes and experiences she describes are so familiar that I could hear them in my head as I read the words. Her writing could have been just as applicable to my older cousins, who also participated in some of the civil rights volunteer work as Dr. Faust. I looked up to them as if they held all the wisdom of how to navigate the rapidly changing world.
But, alas, of course they did not.
To her credit, the author was very often in the right place at the right time to be a part of some history-making events, such as the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, and Dr. King's commencement address to the Bryn Mawr Class of 1966. She convincingly portrays her own engagement with civil rights and anti-war efforts in language that is authentic and compassionate. I do try to hear the voices of baby boomers who may be the exceptions rather than the rule because as a whole, this generation largely abandoned those early dreams for capitalist-inspired ones.
And though the author clearly has her faults, I am grateful to be able to read her story in the context of the times it describes as events unfolded. The writing is crisp and self-aware, even self-critical at times. Through it all this is a story of a young woman coming of age in an era of unquestionable privilege, who slowly realizes that it is her call to do what she can to do better. She fearlessly travels with a student group behind the Iron Curtain to wage peace and converse with real individuals living in completely foreign situations. She takes what she learns and applies it, even realizing that college may not be her best option for ultimately fighting for social justice and peace, but she does it anyway because it is expected, and she does sprinkle those at-the-time radical ideas throughout her college papers and essays.
I like this young near-radical Drew Gilpin. Seen through the lens of years, Dr. Faust does a remarkable job of making her real and relatable. I'd just like to know what comes next, how she navigated the years after graduation, as she assumed her career as a historian and author. Perhaps she'll humor us with that story soon.

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for offering the free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Finding Hope in a Confusing, Sad, and Painful World

The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times by Jane Goodall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was definitely a needed read, for me at least, at this time. So much to worry about. So much to consider and sometimes it seems so overwhelming.

But Goodall's calm, reasoned, considered responses to the interview questions that became this book and the format it is written in bring the reader into her world. You can see the beautiful trees outside, feel the quiet hush of water flowing in a nearby brook. You can feel what worries Jane, too, and observe as she works through it with patient persistence.

Jane describes her five reasons for believing that we will survive as a species and the planet will recover and thrive, in spite of everything that is going on with climate change and desperate conditions everywhere. They are logical and make a lot of sense, and will give you a lot of food for thought.

Highly recommended for everyone who cares about the planet. It will give you renewed hope, which is what we all need right now. And it will show that like little drops of water that eventually wear down whole mountains, it's our collective actions that will save this planet.

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Book review: Evening in Byzantium, by Irwin Shaw

Evening in Byzantium by Irwin Shaw
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A writer's book, Evening in Byzantium is an excellent story. In spite of what others have said, this work provides an elucidating window into the turbulent yet laconic past, to a time when, even as now, people thumb their noses at good advice, and act out against their own interests. Highest recommendations.

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Book Review: Late, Late in the Evening, by Stephen Grant

 

LATE, LATE IN THE EVENING, by the British philosopher Stephen Grant, is a beautiful book, a fast-moving but thoughtful and thought-provoking read. Imprisoned for his writings, the poet Gabriel Dorfman is allowed out on a sort of work-release program, and becomes the chauffeur to an influential party boss on his wealthy estate. The Britain of this story has become a fascist totalitarian state, with all of the hard-line and predictable but nuanced issues you'd expect, presented in lyrical but simple prose. Robot armies and microchipped prisoners. Thugs who "keep the peace". Desperate members of the resistance. And the secret lives of those in power. Gabe is swept up in a whirlwind of competing interests, but finds himself torn between loyalty to the past and his principles, and a new love that satisfies not only his body, but his mind. Through it all, the goal is to just to stay alive - or is it?  I don't want to give anything away, but the skill with which the author handles the knife's edge upon which his characters walk is quite breathtaking. A deeply satisfying read that has continued in my mind since I read it. Highly recommended.

Originally posted at Goodreads.