When I read my friend Julie’s review*, I knew I had to read this very short Christmas story. It’s beautiful and so meaningful reflecting on a ChristmaWhen I read my friend Julie’s review*, I knew I had to read this very short Christmas story. It’s beautiful and so meaningful reflecting on a Christmas gift full of love that a young boy gives to his father. Fifty years later he gives another beautiful gift of love, this time to his wife. I won’t go into detail about the difficult year our family has had, but I’ll just say that I’m going to leave my husband a note on Christmas morning. I could have read a free version of this available on the internet, but I decided to give myself a Christmas present and I ordered the kindle version, so I could enjoy the wonderful photographs interspersed within . This is just too beautiful of a story not to read.
The more I think about this book and I have been thinking about it since I finished reading it, I have to change my rating. It deserves 5 stars. ******The more I think about this book and I have been thinking about it since I finished reading it, I have to change my rating. It deserves 5 stars. ***********************************************
As a young girl, growing up in Afghanistan, Homeira Qaderi received supportive and wise advice from her father : “By reading more novels, Homeira , you will become more creative. You will know more people and you will experience many different lives.” And from her mother : “They have written about their own lives. You must write about you. “ This inspiring memoir reflects so beautifully that she heeded their advice. The narratives of her life experiences are interspersed with letters to her son who she had to leave behind in Afghanistan when she leaves for the US.
A precocious rebel as a child, inquisitive even in the hellishness of her experiences : “ I can’t remember a time when my homeland was not at war. My childhood began with fighter-jet attacks, bombs falling from the sky, and me trying to count invisible bullets. War and hunger, those are my earliest memories.” After the Russians, the Taliban came and closed all schools for girls and women were not allowed to leave their homes. Her bold mother recommended that she teach young girls in their home and at thirteen years old, she does, and then later holding classes in the mosque for both boys and girls under the guise of teaching them the Koran. They learned, they read and yes, even danced in the mosque. Books were banned and her father who revered books and learning, buried books in a chest in their yard. He dug them up and hid them in the cellar when Homeira read her family the first story she wrote so she could read. This girl who wrote could not publish stories under her own name, but when one appeared, her whole family was in danger. Today she is a writer, a professor and advises the Afghan government on issue of equality for women.
When she marries, she became the “ property” of her husband. They moved to Iran and in Tehran, her life changes. She becomes educated and blossoms into the woman she hoped to be, but things took a turn when they returned to Afghanistan. “ Divorce, divorce, divorce, “ in a text from her husband. According to their culture, if a husband says it three times it makes their marriage “ null and void.” Heartbreakingly, her son now belonged only to his father.
Her telling of her life growing up and as an adult is inspiring, enlightening, hopeful, yet heartbreaking. Her letters to her son are filled with anguish, grief, regret and most of all love.
“Do not believe them! I haven’t died. I am living a life of exile, in a place that has its own beauty, its own laws, and its own problems. But to my eternal pain, it does not have the most important element of my being, of my soul. It does not have you.”
“How could a mother just walk away and leave her child behind? It was never my wish.”
It’s hard to imagine sometimes a life so very different from our own, making me wonder what decisions I may have made under the same circumstances, how I would have survived under the same conditions and cultural norms. Homeira Qaderi in her powerful memoir affords us the opportunity for some understanding. Well written and highly recommended.
Our expectations for elected officials aren’t always very realistic, and none more than for those elected to the highest office in our country. We’ve Our expectations for elected officials aren’t always very realistic, and none more than for those elected to the highest office in our country. We’ve never had a perfect President and never will, but there are certain qualities that I believe are essential. Intelligence, a respect for the office and more importantly a reverence for our democracy, a strong sense of responsibility for protecting our nation and its citizens, leadership skills that bring together qualified people in the government, a recognition that we have a role to play as citizens of the world, to name a few. Former President Barack Obama was not a perfect President, but I believe that he embodied all of these things that I expect in a President and I believe that even more now, after listening to this book.
No matter what you think about Barack Obama, the man can write! It’s illustrated in this first volume of his memoir, as well as the other books he’s written. There are beautiful descriptions of walking along the promenade from the White House residence to the West Wing, the Rose Garden, the Oval Office, intimate descriptions of his family life, his love for his wife and daughters, his love for his deceased mother and grandparents. My favorite introspective passage is the following quote which I played over and over to be sure I got the words right, but also because they represent in such a meaningful way how he viewed his enormous responsibility. “ I would never fully rid myself of the sense of reverence I felt when ever I walked Into the Oval Office, the feeling that I entered not an office, but a sanctum of democracy. Day after day it like comforted and fortified me reminding me of the privilege of my burdens and my duties. “
My favorite parts of the book were early on when he talked about making the decision to run and the stories of the campaign were just so fascinating, funny at times and so informative. Michelle asked him just before he announced that he would run , “Why you?” Obama responded that if he became President, “the world would look at America differently, that kids , Black and Hispanic or kids who don’t fit in will see themselves differently, their horizons lifted, their possibilities expanded .” I enjoyed so much hearing about the grass roots campaign, using the internet, how the field organizers in Iowa worked was just fascinating. With love and respect, he tells of his relationships with David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, the young Reggie Love and David Pfluffe, who Obama thought was so brilliant that he became his Campaign Manager and so many others. I loved hearing the origins of “Fired up ! Ready to Go ! “ Always prepared, he wrote both a concession and acceptance speech.”
The book is also laden with dense discussions on the economic crisis the country was facing when he took office, his first G20 conference, foreign policy, health care and the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the war in Afghanistan. I have to admit that there were some chapters where I sped up the audio, but for anyone who is a policy wonk, these might be more interesting. These chapters, though, reflect the complexity of the issues before him and the country at this time. They also reflect the intelligent, pragmatic yet caring ways he approached things.
Barack Obama always felt the weight of the office and the responsibility to protect the nation, the huge responsibility of being Commander in Chief, the casualties of troops in Afghanistan, writing letters to their families. He read security briefings every morning, and then had meetings with security staff right after - imagine that ! (Couldn’t help myself.) This narrative reflects part of his first term and I can’t wait for the second volume. I love this man . I cried when he won in 2008, a good, heartfelt cry and I cried when his second term was over, a sad and horrified cry. ( Again , I couldn’t help myself.) I have missed him every single day since January 20, 2017. Clearly, I’m biased so you might want to read it yourself, and I do highly recommend it ....more
I haven’t always enjoyed short stories, but over the last few years I’ve discovered that if well written, as this one is, I could enjoy4.5 rounded up
I haven’t always enjoyed short stories, but over the last few years I’ve discovered that if well written, as this one is, I could enjoy them as much as full length novels . Well, almost as much, because while this is a near perfect short story and I wasn’t left at the end wondering what just happened, I still wanted more . These two characters beg to have more of their story told or I should say I’d beg to hear more of their story . Having said that, in 35 short pages, without a wasted word, we get a view of Zikora, a Nigerian born attorney living in the US, in the middle of of giving birth. Her mother has traveled from Nigeria to be with her daughter for the birth. Adichie’s brilliant story telling reveals the pasts lives of these women, their relationship with each other, with the men in their lives and just like that in these short thirty five pages, I knew who they were. I knew the burdens they carry. I could clearly imagine where they will go from here after Zikora’s baby is born. This is a stunning feat in these few pages of beautiful and clear prose. I have to admit that I didn’t love Americanah as much as so many others did, but this story definitely makes me want to read Adichie’s other books. Thanks to Debbie who almost jumped on her pogo stick and convinced me in her enthusiastic review to give Adichie another try. Here’s Debbie’s review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ...more
This is horrific and almost unbearable to read at times, but we have to read these stories because we can never forget the horrific treatment and deatThis is horrific and almost unbearable to read at times, but we have to read these stories because we can never forget the horrific treatment and deaths of millions of Jews in the death camps. This biographical novel is another imperative reminder. Yet, amidst the starvation, the stench of dead bodies, there coexisted the beauty and power of music that still could still be alive here, and that one woman miraculously found the strength and wherewithal to lead a camp orchestra at Auschwitz. This is a stunning fictionalized account of Alma Rose, famed Austrian violinist, a Jew who played so beautifully, she was even held in esteem by the SS guards and the Nazi commanders.
There are places in the story that will make you sick to your stomach and sick in your heart as they well should . However, the moments when Alma Rose brought beautiful music here and with her strength and guile and courage saved the young women she called “ her girls “ from the worst of the gruesome conditions, from the gas chambers will remind you of the resilience of the human spirit when life was over for so many. Alma played her violin to soothe her soul, but her aim was so much more as she led this orchestra. “You’re very strict with them.” “I have to be. They have to play excellently, so that the SS can’t send them to the gas.” She saved them from the most gruesome of conditions procuring a place to sleep with more comfort than so, so many with clothing and food. She saved lives. The author in her note - “Nearly all of them (the women and girls in the orchestra) survived incarceration and were liberated in 1945.”
While an imagined telling of Alma Rose’s life at Auschwitz, so much of what is portrayed here is based on true accounts of some of Alma’s girls who survived. There are differing accounts of Alma’s fate and no matter which one is true, the truth of Alma Rose’s life is extraordinary.
I received a copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley....more
Reading this book was a unique experience in many ways. It’s a blend of multiple narratives in the form of photographs of black people, of paintings oReading this book was a unique experience in many ways. It’s a blend of multiple narratives in the form of photographs of black people, of paintings of black people, posters, interviews, conversations, essays, Facebook screen shots,and more by Black people, some artists, some activists and some everyday people expressing their hopes, and dreams, all reflecting on what it means to be Black. It has entries on music, art, history, politics, sexuality, daily life . In an opening letter, the editors say “ The Black Futures Project started a few years ago as a Direct Message exchange on Twitter and has evolved into a shared desire to achieve a moment. In developing “Black Futures”, we sought to answer the question: What does it mean to be Black and alive right now .” While I can never really fully understand what it means, but I can say that I was enlightened, moved and hopeful that I could see things about being Black that I hadn’t before. So for me, a white woman in her senior years, I felt it was a beginning, a good beginning, difficult at times, enjoyable at other times.
Everyone needs to experience this collection for themselves, but I want to mention a few pieces that particularly struck me. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution passed in 1865, abolishing slavery is here. I had never read it . Everyone should . Black Survival Guide -“How to Live Through a Police Riot” was chilling . An exhibition of “This Hair is Mine” is full of such beautiful photographs. In an essay, “How Black Barbershops Save Lives”, I learned: “ Over the years, I came to understand that barbershops were more than places to get a shape-up, a shave or trim. I learned that barbershops were the only spaces created in American life where Black men can speak and receive feedback about who they are, who they want to be, and what they believe to be true about the world around them.” There’s so much more here, some entertaining, some difficult to read like the last scene of “Fairview”, a Pulitzer Prize winning play by Jackie Sibblies Drury. My recommendation is that this collection needs to be read and reread.
I received an advanced copy of this book from One World through NetGalley. I downloaded the book and read it on my iPad using Adobe Blue Fire Reader. I would recommend this if you want a digital copy or better yet, the hard copy book to see the beauty . ...more
This is a dramatic presentation, less than an hour and twenty minutes in length, but filled with so much more than I expected in this short listening This is a dramatic presentation, less than an hour and twenty minutes in length, but filled with so much more than I expected in this short listening time. It’s a tribute to two brilliant women, their intellect, their humanity and a friendship one can only hope for in a lifetime. It spoke to me in so many ways. Of course I knew of Marie Curie and her work on radioactivity, but I had never heard of Hertha Aryton. I learned she was a scientist, a mathematician, another brilliant mind of the time. Most of this short play, depicts a period in Marie Curie’s life after Pierre is gone. She has just won a second Nobel prize, but the joy and celebration of its acceptance are marred by the scandal of an affair. Marie and Hertha are women who excel in the world of science, dominated by men and there are some absolutely fabulous lines that tell us so much about these admirable women, mothers, wives, friends, scientists. I have to mention a few.
Hertha Aryton: “God - the shit we put up with to have a thought.”
“I don’t like the idea of science being heartless. It takes heart to question the nature of things.”
Marie: “It’s an affair, Gentleman. It’s not contagious.”
“Our life’s passion is proof. Knowing what’s true and proving it.”
Then beyond their private conversations - they speak in lines of their letters of what happened during WWI and their careers afterwards, their children, their continued friendship. So much packed in this sad at times, but lovely, uplifting and inspiring piece. And the voices of Francesca Faridany and Kate Mulgrew - I can still hear them. Kudos to Lauren Gunderson, the playwright. I loved this.
(An Audible Original free with an audible membership, otherwise $7.95)
Thanks to Elyse’s enthusiasm and love for this which told me I had to listen. ...more
I haven’t read much poetry in a very long time, but when I became aware of this collection by Barbara Kingsolver, I thought that it might be a nice chI haven’t read much poetry in a very long time, but when I became aware of this collection by Barbara Kingsolver, I thought that it might be a nice change. I’ve very much enjoyed Kingsolver’s writing over the years, having read a number of her novels, but I had no idea that she wrote poetry. I found it to be much more than just a change of pace. I found these poems to be inspiring, lovely, and relatable, humorous at times. Marriage, hope , nature , motherhood, death with moving tributes to her grandfather in “This is How They Come Back to Us”, and her great grandmother in “My Great-Grandmother’s Plate “ and a very sad one about her mother’s death, sharing personal and intimate details of their relationship, are among the themes reflected.
I loved the series of poems on a family trip to Italy with her mother in law . In “On the Piazza”, she brought me back to Piazza Navona, one of my favorite places in Rome, but also what it was like to be a tourist while trying to experience a place. I especially connected to “In Torricelli, Finding Her Mother’s House “ and “Into the Abruzzo”. “Here to remind me of graveyards and surprising sites of origin. A mountain that holds us to its secrets. These feral granite ranges gave the world children, the mother of my mother-in-law, her son, our family, and peonies.” I was brought back to the time I walked through the town where my grandparents were born.
Reflecting on her daughters and motherhood in “Creation Stories” and “Meadowview Elementary Spelling Bee “ were touching. “Insomniac Villanelle “ - on reading and writers who bear “The chore of blunting night’s tormented edges Austen, Byron, Cather, Dickens, Emerson... Now there’s birdsong, daylight on the ledges.” There were some that I loved more than others, but not one that I didn’t like . Reading these poems was a perfect way to spend an afternoon on an overcast day.
I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but when I was given the opportunity to read this book, I couldn’t help but think how important it would be to readI don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but when I was given the opportunity to read this book, I couldn’t help but think how important it would be to read, especially now when our country is facing a reckoning with racism that still exists as reflected in so much that is happening now in this country. There are a lot of new books which focus on the issue of systematic racism and they certainly are important to read, but I think it’s also imperative to understand the history of slavery to get a better understanding of how we can as a country can confront the injustices, right the injustices. This stunning book is a personal story, a family history, but so much of it, no doubt reflects the stories of so many black families.
A tradition of oral story telling handed down from one generation to the next - what a beautiful thing ! Betty Kearse, a “griotte”, carrying on the tradition in her family brings her family story to print in this book . From oral tradition, to a “Bible stuffed full of family memorabilia” which was lost, to a box which her mother used to begin collecting again the family’s mementos, to this book. Memories of time with her grandfather and remembering his story telling were especially poignant moments. Trying to keep their legacy alive, Kearse’s mother not only collected mementos, she also researched . Inheriting the responsibility from her mother, they had different views on their Madison ancestry - her mother proud of being a descendant of a president and Bettye confronting the truth of rape and incest in the family’s history. She began her own research journey. She recounts her experiences in Virginia, a trip to Portugal where the slave trade began, she learns much, but realizes that parts of history had been “erased”. She travels to Ghana “to trace Mandy’s foot steps from Africa to America”.
I was especially taken by the beautifully written sections ascribed to Mandy, the first of the family to arrive from Africa and be enslaved. They tell a moving story indeed, and shed light on the beginning of this family history. These are journal like entries imagining Mandy as young girl and her horrific experiences from being taken from her home in Ghana, the inhumane treatment on the ship and her days at the Madison plantation, her abuse, the birth of her children.
While Kearse conducted extensive research for over twenty years, finding a genetic link proved to be an obstacle since Madison’s white male descendant refused to submit to a DNA test . This book, nonetheless is a compelling, well told, moving family history and an important one that should be read. It’s powerful.
I received a copy of this book from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt through Caitlin Hamilton Marketing. ...more
V.E. Schwab is known for her fantasy stories, a genre that I don’t routinely read . This novel is also described as romance and I don’t read much of tV.E. Schwab is known for her fantasy stories, a genre that I don’t routinely read . This novel is also described as romance and I don’t read much of that either. However, I just couldn’t ignore all of the rave reviews and I’m so glad that I took a chance on this because it’s so much more than I expected . It’s fantastical and fantastic, a beautifully written novel, a much needed escape, a portrayal of history, a thought provoking consideration of individual independence, self acceptance, things that make us human - our memories, being remembered, loving and being loved.
Adeline LaRue is a young woman in the early 1700’s in France who wants the freedom to choose her own life. To obtain that she makes a bargain with the god of “dark”. We learn over the course of the novel at what cost. Addie is doomed to live forever, not to be remembered by anyone she comes in contact with, that is until she meets a young man three hundred years later in 2014 in New City. In alternating narratives moving between times and places from when she first makes a the bargain in France and across other cities in Europe - Florence, Venice , Paris , Berlin and back to New York City in between, her story spans three centuries. I’m not going to talk about the plot, or the man she meets or the dark god. You have to discover and experience this story yourself.
I do have to mention Addie’s connection to pieces of art - the carved birds , sketches, descriptions of which are interspersed throughout, and then a photograph - oh my heart ! This is haunting and dark at times, but yet lovely and full of light at other times. I was eerily spooked. I was angry. I was confused. I was fascinated. I cried. I was surprised at how much I loved this story. Ultimately, I was moved.
Addie LaRue , I’ll remember you.
I received a copy of this book from Tor Books through Edelweiss....more
This stunning novel blends three distinct narratives, a structure using three different ways in the telling of this story of place, of history, of a pThis stunning novel blends three distinct narratives, a structure using three different ways in the telling of this story of place, of history, of a people, of an intimate story of a family, of loss of people and land, of their heritage, of their very identity. This was an impactful book for me in several ways. From a historical and cultural perspective, I knew little of Australia’s history and of the Aboriginal people, so it was a learning experience. I was moved by the story of this fictional family whose experiences reflect this history and culture and brings it to life. I was heartbroken for their losses, heartened by their love for each other. From a literary standpoint, I found the structure to be unique and each of the three narratives captured my interest in a different way, an amazing piece of writing.
Albert/Poppy Gondiwindi is dead now but comes alive through the words in the dictionary he is writing, not just the definitions of these words in the native language of the Wiradjuti, but in telling of stories through each word. We come to know the land, the people, their lives, a way of life, his philosophy. There’s an element of time travel with his ancestors, a mechanism the author brilliantly uses to portray culture and history, as well as his personal family story. A second narrative focuses on August, his granddaughter, who returns home from England bringing the story to a more present time, when the mining companies are taking over the land, her Nana’s home, trying to erase their land rights, their existence. Her coming home brings back the past as well, with memories of her traumatic childhood and the heartbreaking memory of Jedda, her sister missing at the age of nine. The third narrative is told in letters of Reverend Ferdinand Greenleaf written in 1915 speaking of camps of Aborigines, his mission, his thoughts on the people, highlighting the atrocities committed against women and young girls, and the separation of children from their families, their home.
The treatment of the Aborigines was sadly reminiscent of the treatment of slaves in US, children being separated from their parents and I thought of Native Americans ripped of their land, suffering the injustices imposed by white men. There is so much here in this beautifully written story - the importance of family in times of need, the importance of language in defining a people, the importance of recognizing the injustices suffered by the Native people of this place even in current times.
I received a copy of this book from HarperVia through Edelweiss.
“A nigun (Hebrew: ניגון meaning "tune" or "melody", pl. nigunim) or niggun (pl. niggunim) is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. “A nigun (Hebrew: ניגון meaning "tune" or "melody", pl. nigunim) or niggun (pl. niggunim) is a form of Jewish religious song or tune sung by groups. It is vocal music, often with repetitive sounds such as "Bim-Bim-Bam", "Lai-Lai-Lai", "Yai-Yai-Yai" or "Ai-Ai-Ai" instead of formal lyrics.” Wikipedia
Even if you’re not Jewish, like me, and don’t fully understand all of the references to Jewish thought and rabbis of the past that are fully present here, it’s impossible not to feel the overwhelming heartbreak, beauty and hope of this narrative poem by a treasure of man . Even more affecting because it is based on a true story of a rabbi during WWII, who was asked for advice by ghetto leaders on how to respond to the request of the Nazis to give up ten Jews to be murdered or the whole community would die.
It’s a short piece and rather than say more, I will only say that this needs to be read. It needs to be read because it’s so very important to evoke those memories and to never forget. It needs to be read because Ellie Wiesel is one of the best teachers of the importance of remembering the Holocaust. Whether you are Jewish or not, it takes being a human being to feel the horror, heartbreak and hope that is reflected in this poem, in particular at the end with song . This was a reminder to me that I have only read Wiesel’s Nightand must read the other two books in the trilogy.
I listened to this and read it at the same time. ...more
I don’t read very many memoirs, but when I do, I need them to be about extraordinary people and I was not disappointed. Right from the start, we see tI don’t read very many memoirs, but when I do, I need them to be about extraordinary people and I was not disappointed. Right from the start, we see the fear that people had of those with AIDS,the fear of the unknown of how the disease might spread, even by health care workers as evidenced by Ruth Coker Burks’ first connection with a man on his deathbed in a hospital with a single cry “ help”. Right from the start, we see Ruth’s compassion, her innate belief that helping was the right thing to do. We meet gay men wanting to come home to Arkansas to their families only to be told by one mother “Your soul is rot.” There are some gut wrenching accounts of the lack of care and treatment, how they are shunned by their families, by their communities.
This is a book filled with the undying courage and huge heart of a woman whose guts and kindness make you wish you were a better person. In Hot Springs Arkansas in 1986, with the odds against these men, Ruth manages to provide food, moral support, testing, condoms, assistance with getting social security, finding a place to live, a place to be buried, literally burying their ashes in her family cemetery. The word spreads that she is someone who will help and she begins to get calls from hospitals to make arrangements to remove the bodies when no one else will . The words spreads and some of the ailing men start to call her directly wanting her help to come home.
Even as her personal life is falling apart, she rises to the occasion. She is shunned by her church, by one of her best friends, by her ex husband’s family wanting to shut out her daughter, but somehow she is courageous enough to stand up to them for herself, for her daughter as well as the many gay men she helps and comes to love. She learns to draw blood when they couldn’t get tests, she finds ways of getting medication. She becomes friend, mother, caregiver, and a fighter for rights of these men, and an adviser to President Clinton on the AIDS Epidemic. So well written with Kevin Carr O’Leary, this telling is emotional, gut wrenching, and I couldn’t stop reading it. It’s a depiction of the AIDs crisis, not just in Hot Springs, Arkansas, but a reflection of what happened to so many men during that time everywhere. Highly recommended if you’re looking to find way to still believe in the goodness of people. It’s uplifting and inspiring. It’s a story of one extraordinary woman and a tribute to those she loved.
I received a copy of this book from Grove Press through Edelweiss. ...more
With lovely reminiscences and imagining of his great-great- grandfather’s travels and his wonderful hats, Amor Towles in beautiful prose captured my iWith lovely reminiscences and imagining of his great-great- grandfather’s travels and his wonderful hats, Amor Towles in beautiful prose captured my imagination as he always does. If you loved A Gentleman in Moscow this short and touching piece is a must read. To be clear, it’s not a short story and you can read this in no time ! Thanks to Cheri for the recommendation and much needed diversion from all the chaos for providing these links:
Another reason why I love Towles’ story telling! This lovely story brought a little bit of much needed whimsy to me . May we all hold on to our whimsyAnother reason why I love Towles’ story telling! This lovely story brought a little bit of much needed whimsy to me . May we all hold on to our whimsy!
Thanks so much to one of my book sisters Cheri, for bringing this to my attention.
I struggled at first with this review. What could I possibly say about a fairytale that at its core is about the Holocaust ? I thought I might just saI struggled at first with this review. What could I possibly say about a fairytale that at its core is about the Holocaust ? I thought I might just say what I usually say at the end a review of a Holocaust story - how very important these stories are and how we need to keep reading them so we never forget. I decided that I couldn’t leave it at that because the story is so uniquely told and this author and his grandfather and father who were, it’s safe to say the inspiration for this story, deserve a few more words.
In just under one hundred pages, this story is filled with grief and death and violence around the most precious cargo, a baby girl, wrapped in a prayer shawl, tossed off a train by a desperate Jewish father. She becomes the most precious gift to the poor woodcutter’s wife who prayed and yearned to be a mother. The moment she holds the baby, loves her, and feels that she is a mother are so moving. The poor woodcutter does not immediately feel anything but fear and disdain for these “heartless people “, until he feels her heartbeat and from that point forward, the tender moments of the love that he has for the baby are beautifully written. In alternating chapters, the baby’s father tells the story of his own personal heartbreak, loss, and suffering at a camp. Through his narrative we get glimpses of the horrific things that happened to millions of Jews, all precious cargo.
Like most stories about the Holocaust, this is beyond horribly sad and horrific. It will gut you and yet at the same time fill your heart with the beautiful moments reflecting the unconditional, unwavering love of the baby’s father as well as the woodcutter and the woodcutter’s wife and the goodness of an old man with a goat. This is a fairytale and “none of this is true”, the author says, as he challenges us in the epilogue. This is a fairytale, but then in an appendix, we see the personal loss that no doubt inspired the author to write this story and the fairytale is not true until... well it is. This is a book that I will remember because of the depth of love here and because we can never forget.
I received an advanced copy of this book HarperVia through Edelweiss....more
Today is Election Day in the United States so it was good timing these last couple of days to be reading this collection of short stories about the maToday is Election Day in the United States so it was good timing these last couple of days to be reading this collection of short stories about the march for the women’s right to vote in New York City on October 23, 1915, when thousands of women stood up for the cause. It’s a wonderful way to commemorate that as well as celebrate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. Another reason to read these stories is that they are written by twelve writers who’s names represent a veritable roster of who’s who in fiction writing today. I have read and enjoyed novels by eight of these writers and I’m now compelled to see what else the four others have written.
On October 23, 1915, thousands of women marched in a parade in New York City to push for the vote. These twelve stories could each stand on their own, and reflect different experiences of different women of different walks of life. Yet, connected by the theme of the significant day, they together provide a moving depiction of the day, of the movement, of determined women who persisted in standing up for their rights, an ode to their tenacity. I love that there are young girls here as well, taking up the cause or falling into it by circumstances. I love how it reflects the diversity of the marchers, immigrants, a black woman who sadly was discriminated against by some in the movement and that it includes both real and imagined characters. I loved that a fearless, persistent, and wise young girl holds a presence in multiple stories. There are twelve stories in the collection and while I enjoyed all of them, I did have a several favorites:
In “Apple Season” by Lisa Wingate, 11 year old Ash stole my heart as she, her 7 year old twin siblings and her 14 year old stepmother meet the wonderful Reverend Octavia Rose on the road as they are selling apples . As fate would have it, they find themselves at the parade, bringing a moving level of understanding to Ash.
In “A First Step” by M.J Rose, Katrina Tiffany, daughter in law of Louis Comfort Tiffany is highlighted here, but the show is stolen by her young niece, Grace who plays an important role in these stories.
In “ Siobhan”, about an Irish immigrant, I was introduced to the lovely writing of Katherine Chen whose work I had not read until now.
“Just Politics” by Chris Bohjalian writes of an Armenian immigrant remembering the Armenian massacres, her lossses as she is about to join the march. Her story reminded me of my favorite Bohjalian book, The Sandcastle Girls . Ani is one of my favorite characters along with Ash and Grace.
The book is introduced by Kristin Hannah and besides those I mentioned above, there are stories by Steve Berry, Paula McLain, Christina Baker Kline, Jamie Ford, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Megan Chance, Alyson Richman and Fiona Davis. A wonderful collection that I highly recommend.
There’s a virtual launch party for this sponsored by Bookmovement on 11/10/20 at 7 pm. A number of these terrific authors are participating. It’s free ! Can’t wait . Here’s the registration link :
“To me they were the presence of something profound, though at six I didn’t know what. Something like loneliness, or it’s opposite. They were time and“To me they were the presence of something profound, though at six I didn’t know what. Something like loneliness, or it’s opposite. They were time and the world; they were the distances they could fly and the places to which I could never follow.”
Yet, Franny Stone is compelled later in her life to follow the near extinct Arctic tern.
“..I decided to follow a bird over an ocean. Maybe I was hoping it would lead me to where they’d all fled, all those of its kind, all the creatures we thought we’d killed. Maybe I thought I’d discover what cruel thing drove me to leave people and places and everything, always. Or maybe I was just hoping the bird’s final migration would show me a place to belong.”
Set in a time that feels current, not in the distant future, most of the wild life are gone, but not the Artctic tern. I was immediately compelled to follow her on this journey to follow them. The story is stunning every way. It touched my heart with a character that will be hard to forget. It pounded my head with the direness of the affects of climate change, without preaching. The writing - so vivid and clear, poetic at times. I was cold. I was aboard the ship. I was in Ireland by the sea where she lived with her mother for a time as a child. I felt her love for her husband. I felt Franny Stone’s losses and sadness and trauma. This is a first person narrative and while we know her thinking and feelings with each page read, it’s not to the fullest extent at first, but a gradual moving and build up towards understanding Franny’s determination and desperation to complete the journey.
When I say I connected to Franny, it wasn’t because I could personally relate to what she has gone through, but mostly because, she’s such a broken soul, yet has this courage and determination. I admired her. She’s strong, but fragile, and I have to admit I was afraid to get to the ending, but I couldn’t stop reading. It is through chapters moving between various times in her life that we get glimpses of her childhood in Ireland and Australia, her more recent life with a husband she is estranged from, but still loves deeply. We read the letters she writes to him that she never sends. I fell in love with the motley crew of the ship, just as she does. I’ve intentionally said little about the plot, but there are descriptions and other reviews that you can read for that. Yes, this is a book about the affects of climate change, about man’s role in causing the extinction of precious wild life, but it’s about so much more than I expected. It’s about love, about the search for belonging, about how one’s family and how losses shape who we are. I can’t recommend this enough.
I received a copy of this book from Flatiron Books through Edelweiss....more
“In 1933, Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany. The Dachau concentration camp is established near Munich.”
“In July 1937 the In4+stars rounded up.
“In 1933, Hitler is appointed chancellor of Germany. The Dachau concentration camp is established near Munich.”
“In July 1937 the Inspectorate of Concentration Camps open tge Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany. “
“In late April 1938, the Gestapo rounds up some fifteen hundred Jews deemed ‘unwilling to work’ and sends them to concentration camps.”
“On August 8, 1938, Nazis open the Mauthausen concentration camp near Linz.”
“On Jan 30, 1939, Hitler announces his desire to annihilate all the Jews of Europe.”
The dated chilling and haunting facts announced at the beginning of many of the chapters show the progression of what Hitler and the Nazis are doing in Europe, foreshadowing the horrific events of the Holocaust that we know is coming. There are millions of Jews who end up in the concentration camps and become part of Hitler’s annihilation, but there were others who whose lives were saved because they were able to flee.
It seems I always have something new to learn about the Holocaust as depicted in this story of how Jewish refugees were taken in by Bolivia, as they desperately try to escape the horrors of Hitler and the Nazis. This beautifully written novel brings this to life in its fictional telling of a family who leave Vienna for LaPaz in search of safety. The story is told by Orly reflecting back on her past beginning when she is 5, in her world in Vienna, where her innocence abounds with a stuffed rabbit Lebkuchen and a fantasy place with her best friend, Anneliese, amidst her parents’ musical and almost magical lives. The writing drew me in from the beginning. I highlighted so many passages that struck a chord with me.
“When I think of Austria, I remember what a child remembers —details as vivid as the bright shards of a dream. The coffee-warmed air of the kitchen. The rough fabric of my father’s suits against my cheek. The chalk dust of my classroom tickling my nose. The ice-crusted snow in the Jesuitenwiese meadow that cut my eyebrow open when I fell off the toboggan halfway down the slope. My Anneliese. “
But that innocence is shattered just as the shops and homes and synagogues are on “Kristallnact”. They are forced to leave their home, their family, their music, their son Willi, and Annaliese, Orly’s best friend. While they survive the worst of the concentration camps, their plight and flight is heartbreaking. They have their lives, but have lost so much. Since the story is told by Orly and it’s her heartbreak we see front and center, as the story progresses and the years pass, we see her growing love for her new home and the people there, and her own music. Her mother’s struggle is unbearable, though. Her beautiful operatic voice is lost, but the not knowing about her son is what devastates her. The burdens of suffering never going away even after the war. Orly discovers her mother’s dark secret and private war.
So much happens in these following years to continue the family’s sadness, but also the wonderful ways Orly finds herself, finding what is home, finding love and a connection between two divergent worlds. The descriptions of the mountains, the flowers, even the potatoes are beautiful. The last part of the novel - simply amazing and I won’t say more to spoil it for future readers. There were a few times when I felt the story could have moved a bit faster, and I originally gave it 4+ stars. I’ve been thinking about this book the last couple of days and I have to round up to 5 stars. I highly recommend this to fans of WWII fiction, and in particular to those, like myself, who believe how imperative is that we never forget what happened.
I received a copy of this book from Viking through Edelweiss....more
I did not at first connect with Emma, the narrator of this debut novel, but yet, I can’t give this any less than 5 stars. The story unfolds in one nigI did not at first connect with Emma, the narrator of this debut novel, but yet, I can’t give this any less than 5 stars. The story unfolds in one night, as she sits in a local bar drinking with the regulars. She’s sad, depressed really, and her grief and guilt over a yet untold loss is palatable. The structure, the flow of the story hour to hour at the bar and the flashbacks leading up to and finally giving us the reason for Emma’s grief and guilt are just so well done. This definitely is the kind of novel I enjoy so much, the introspective look at herself and her awareness of those around her, the people who frequent the bar, such amazing characterizations, not one is free from guilt in some way for something. The plot - it’s what happens that night, it’s what happened before this night and the two are blended so skillfully. You can read the description and other reviews for more specifics about it.
As I was reading, I was reminded of Richard Russo’s novels and his portrayal of small town life and how everyone has known each other their whole lives and are forever connected to each other, how everybody knows almost everything about each other. While we learn of these people and their connections and the things that happened in their lives to bring them to this moment, sitting at this bar, I found it ironic that it’s Emma who is telling their stories, since her connection with these characters came only when she married their friend Lucas, her now ex husband. Nobody here is perfect, mistakes are made and the consequences are tragic, but there is the possibility of forgiveness of oneself and of each other. I was deeply moved. This is Anna Bruno’s first novel and this is just one example of why I love reading new releases by new authors. It’s extraordinary. I can’t wait to see what she writes next .
I read this with my book buddies and friends , Diane and Esil .
I received an advanced copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. ...more
Angela M is taking a break.
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