Two Storm Wood: A Novel
by Philip Gray
An outstanding WWI story (12/28/2021)
This excellent book gave me a better understanding of the horrors of WWI. My grandfather came back from WWI, with what would be called PTSD now, and this book gave me a glimpse into what he might have endured. The descriptions of the trenches, the dead and the living, many of whom suffered disfiguring injuries, was told in great detail.
I had not given much thought to the fact that after war, bodies must be identified to help bring closure to grieving relatives. It was a grisly task and this book does not gloss over these details.
The main character, Amy Vanneck, sets out to find her fiancé who is missing in action. She learns that she should search Two Storm Wood, the scene of a great atrocity, where her fiance may have played a part. She herself meets with danger as she tries to uncover the truth.
The author's research was meticulous and the book is well-written. There is romance and mystery which is entirely believable.
I highly recommend this book.
The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich
Heartbreaking yet Uplifting (5/30/2021)
I absolutely loved this book. If I hadn't borrowed it from a friend, I would have gotten out my yellow highlighter and highlighted passages. This is my first Louise Erdrich book and I can't wait to read more of her work. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical.
One of the main characters in the book is based on Erdrich's grandfather (named Thomas in the book) who was a night watchman but also the tribal head of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa in North Dakota. He is informed that the US government is trying to dispossess them of their land.
The book follows many characters, primarily Patrice who is Thomas' granddaughter. Her sister, Vera, has left home but no one has heard from her. Patrice sets out to "the big city" to look for her and almost immediately encounters abuse and discrimination.
I loved the characters in the book because they were so real and unforgettable. Even days after reading the book I am thinking about them.
I live in a state with a large Native American population and I am aware of the poverty in which so many live. Erdrich succeeds in bringing awareness to many of the issues they face---missing and exploited women, discrimination, poverty, alcoholism. The book is even more moving because it is told by one of their own.
Now I'll buy my own copy and read it again with highlighter in hand!
Ariadne
by Jennifer Saint
Perfect for fans of Circe (3/9/2021)
An imaginative retelling of the myth of Ariadne. The sisters Ariadne and Phaedra are the children of Minos and Pasiphae. Their half-brother is the dreaded Minotaur who lives in a complicated labyrinth constructed by Daedalus. Each year grisly human sacrifices are made to the Minotaur and Ariadne can no longer bear it. She aids Theseus in killing the Minotaur. This is where the story begins.
The story is told from the perspective of the two sisters. It is safe to say that in this world, women get screwed---literally and figuratively. However, Saint does a good job making Adriadne and Phaedra show some determination.
Saint tells this story so well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were times where I thought more detail would have enriched the story. I would have liked to know more about the initial attraction between Ariadne and Theseus. Was it really just his green eyes? Also, the part about Icarus and Daedalus could have been expanded because that myth alone is fascinating.
The pace and detail of the book got better after Part 1 and then it was a page-turner for me. Along with Madeline Miller's Circe, these re-telling of myths are wonderful. So many primal emotions---jealousy, revenge, lust, love. It's all there.
Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking
by Bill Buford
A book to savor and devour (8/23/2020)
A fabulous food memoir written by Bill Buford. This book and his other book "Heat" have convinced me that Buford belongs in the pantheon of great food writers (he's a great writer anyway). I loved this book about his adventures moving himself, his wife and their twin boys (age 3 at the time) to France so that he can learn French cooking. He figures they will stay for a few months, but that turns into five years. He chooses to live and learn in Lyon which is considered the epicenter of French cuisine. There he apprentices in various restaurants and a bakery.
He details his experiences with great humor and his passion for food is clear. He reminds us that cooking and eating are basic and should not be rushed. Here is a great quote from the book that explains the title: "We learned the taste of good food. That comes from a place, as it has for thousands of years, from a soil that is a testament to its ancient history. Good food tastes of itself."
Great book for a food lover, cook or anyone who loves good writing.
Catherine House: A Novel
by Elisabeth Thomas
Slow Paced and Unsatisfying (3/16/2020)
This book was touted as a "seductive, gothic-infused debut of literary suspense." I do not agree. I guess you could call it a slow burn when the real mystery part doesn't unfold until you are 30 pages from the end. Every time I thought there was a bit of suspense building up, it would vanish by the next sentence. I can't begin to count the number of times I was left up in the air thinking about abandoning the book.
The main character arrives at an isolated boarding school and from then on, I wondered if it was because she was a zombie. I couldn't tell if she had feelings or didn't have feelings. I think the book would have been improved greatly had the author created a more likable character.
There is something mysterious going on in the school, but we never find out completely what it is. It has something to do with mind control, I guess. The main character sleepwalks through daily life and that's about all the narrative deals with. Every now and then something potentially dramatic happens, but there is no follow through.
And what is a plasm pin anyway?
I think the author has talent and perhaps her next book will be better.
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
by Erik Larson
Entertaining Light History (2/24/2020)
Winston Churchill was not exaggerating when he said that the future of Western civilization depended upon the outcome of the Battle of Britain. Late 1940 and early 1941 truly was an historic time in the life of the world, and for those wanting or needing a refresher, this book is a good one.
All of the stories in the book have been told before by others and better, but Mr. Larson performs a service by telescoping them into one compact book. The book has its flaws: little is written about the Battle of the Atlantic, the importance of Churchill's speeches is underplayed, and it glosses over some of the major strategic considerations that went into Churchill's decisions, but we learn quite a lot about what life was like in London during the bombing Blitz that Hitler and Goering unleashed on the British Isles in the mistaken belief that the British would crumble and seek a peace deal with the Nazis. Clever use of German propaganda minister Goebbels's diaries also remind us — a useful reminder — of how easily some government officials find it to lie.
Mr. Larson relies mostly on secondary sources, but the ones he uses are reliable. Far more detail is available in any good Churchill biography, but those tend to omit stories about everyday life in London. Knowing what Londoners found to eat, the sexual license of the times, the nights of terror, and the unadulterated courage of the English people provides much needed context. And Larson is, as ever, an entertaining writer.
The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II
by Katherine Sharp Landdeck
You Taught Us How to Fly (1/19/2020)
When the United States entered World War II it had been only twenty years since American women were allowed to vote. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that in 1942 the male power structure, especially that of the Army Air Force, believed that women could not fly airplanes.
That was nonsense, of course, as this oral history of the Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) aptly demonstrates. It is a well written story of the women who ferried practically every kind of airplane the United States built during the the war all across the country. They were pioneers in the air, but also pioneers in the women's movement and the struggle for equal pay and equal rights which continues.
I wish the book had more historical context. I would have liked to read not only about the women who flew these planes, but also the women who built them, and how women generally fared during the war. It would have been good also to have some information about what happened to women in the military between the sad, unnecessary disbandment of the WASP and U.S. Air Force Major Nicole Malachowski, the first female USAF Thunderbird pilot who addressed these WWII pilots at their last reunion. Hopefully, Dr. Sharp Landdeck will write that book too.
This reviewer assumes the final edition of the book will have an index which the review copy lacked. It needs one.
Women in the United States had come a long way by the time we reach the most moving part of the book. In June 2009 the preeminent American politician of the early 21st Century, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the United States of America, Nancy Pelosi, said to them, "We are all your daughters; you taught us how to fly."