Scatterlings: A Novel
by Resoketswe Martha Manenzhe
Scatterlings (10/6/2022)
I have mixed feelings about this book. It wasn't an easy read..I am assuming this is a translation just by the cadence of the text. There was so much African history and folklore appearing around the actual storyline… I enjoyed that part thoroughly. The story itself seemed a little too fairy tale-ish …it didn't match the gravity of the racial history underlying it all. I would have preferred a much more straightforward approach by the writer. I understand, though, that the very thing I found unappealing was probably the most meaningful to the writer herself.
I enjoyed it…a very different reading experience.
The Personal Librarian
by Marie Benedict, Victoria Christopher Murray
The Personal Librarian (2/3/2021)
I love the subjects Marie Benedict chooses for her books. They always provide great historical insight of women who were ahead of their time and thus were not properly lauded for their accomplishments. I had never heard of Bella da Costa Greene, or of the fabulous library of J. P. Morgan, so both were a revelation. The writing is not complicated nor particularly outstanding, but her research is impressive. I always learn something from her books and for that, I am grateful to get to read another one.
The Narrowboat Summer
by Anne Youngson
The Narrowboat Summer (11/19/2020)
This was a pleasant read, but not one needing deep thought or commitment. The whole concept of two women meeting as strangers and agreeing to take on a boat trip when neither were familiar with boats was somewhat of a stretch. To stretch the idea even further, they took on the care of the elderly, somewhat crotchety boat owner. All were things you wish you would do if you were in a similar position, but realistically know it wouldn't be that easy. I liken it to the premise of EAT, PRAY, LOVE. This book might interest some book clubs as the relationships between the characters could be examined for discussion, but overall there's not a lot of depth to this book.
Father of Lions: One Man's Remarkable Quest to Save the Mosul Zoo
by Louise Callaghan
Father of Lions (2/1/2020)
This was a very compelling true account of love and loyalty during the time of war. The author did a great job of setting the scene of what these people were facing from their physical location in a crossfire of war. It was chilling to me how the residents just accepted their fate and adjusted to live through this episode just like they had others until they could return to some normality. The acceptance of what was happening around them was mind boggling. The main character’s devotion to his zoo animals through everything as well as the non profit rescue organization’s determination to get them out was inspiring on so many levels. It is truly a lesson in deciding what is possible for an individual to accomplish, accepting those limitations, then pushing yourself to succeed where you can instead of just giving up.
I Want You to Know We're Still Here: A Post-Holocaust Memoir
by Esther Safran Foer
I Want You To Know We're Still Here (11/9/2019)
This book was obviously well researched and produced from a place of deep familial love. I, personally, found it was a little slow in the beginning and dogged by repetition. As I went from mid-book to the end, the momentum picked up and I felt more connected. I was curious about the pictures of the family from the DP camps. It appeared the people in the pictures were well dressed and had baby carriages. This seemed contrary to the descriptions of food and basic needs deprivation. Could the pictures be from another time? The ending was beautifully written and provided perfect closure for what I am sure was a most emotional journey for the writer. Kudos to her for her tenacity in chronicling her family history.
[Editor's note: The author addresses the disconnect in this picture on the previous page (p. 57): “...you see what you want to see, or maybe what you need to see, in a photograph… and there are my parents, fashionably dressed…seated at an outdoor picnic…Look closer. In the background there are watchtowers, run-down barracks, and a barbed-wire fence."]
Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History
by Keith O'Brien
Fly Girls (5/27/2018)
I thought the book achieved just the right balance of history vs. storyline. I had read other books about some of the women aviators featured, and I felt this author did a particularly nice job of intertwining their stories into the history of aviation. I was struck by how "aviation madness" seemed to be sweeping the country during the major part of the time depicted. I thought that was interesting considering the economic woes at the time. Was the dream of flying and "getting away from it all" somehow tied up in the financial woes of the nation at this time?
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