The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
The writing is superb. The characters are diverse and real. I wasn't completely enamored with the story line, but the great writing made up for that. The last 50 pages really wowed me. Like I said, superb writing.
I listened to two more short stories read by Levar Burton on his podcast.
Open House on Haunted Hill by John Wiswell (one thing I really liked was the secret room that was once someone's sewing room) -- five stars
The Final Performance of the Amazing Ralphie by Pat Cadigan -- three stars
***
and I finished a book: The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall. Relationships, families, faith, friends, struggles, forgiveness -- a well written book.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
An odd bunch of people get thrown together for an extended period of time when they become hostages of a bank robber. I am amazed at how Backman's brain works. He comes up with so many quirky people and situations! It reveals his keen observation of humanity and how we interact. One has to admit, we do have all those eccentricities that he creates in his characters. I got a bit bogged down in the middle when I wanted things to hurry along; friends encouraged me to keep reading, and I am glad I did. In the last part of the book Backman once again shows us his understanding of the absurdity, complexities, and beauty that is life and that is love. He touched my heart strings in a big way. I would have given the book five stars except for the part where I got bored. It redeems itself with a beautiful ending, so I give it four strong stars out of a possible five.
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
Thi Bui has written a masterful graphic (illustrated) memoir. She was born in Viet Nam, and when she was very young (and her mother was 8 months pregnant), they escaped and eventually made it to the USA. Apparently she struggled to write this book over many years. It finally came to fruition when she decided to make it an illustrated version. I loved her drawings, and the story resonated with me. I lived through all the history she recalls (though from a safe vantage point in the middle of America), and well remember the "flood" of refugees making their way to Minnesota. Then, when I worked in St. Paul Public Schools, I had the lucky draw to work closely with many refugee and immigrant children. I learned so much from them, and much of it is reflected in this book. I easily read it in one sitting, about two hours. I plan to read it again, because it was so well done, and because I want to catch what I may have missed on the first reading.
The Education of Augie Merasty: A Residential School Memoir by Joseph Auguste Merasty
Augie Merasty leaves his home at age five to attend a residential school for Indian children in Canada. He endures many years of abuse and torture at the hands of the nuns and priests in charge of the school. It's another indictment of the system which strove to eradicate the culture of the First Nations. Same thing happened here in the U.S. Families are still suffering from the generational trauma brought about by this criminal treatment imposed upon children. With a tumultuous adult life and alcoholism, he pays the price for his abusive childhood, yet maintains a bit of his original spark. Heart-breaking yet hopeful book. I am thankful for the reconciliation work being done in Canada, which includes learning more about the history of the residential schools.
"This is a good one, Mom."
1. The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Read this for a book club. I liked the book but was a little disappointed in the character development. I didn't feel particularly attached to any of the characters. That said, it's a book about slavery, something I need to try to understand more fully. Each time I read a book such as this, I learn more and am reminded of just how heinous (and complex) an institution slavery was. It is a reminder of how and why we still struggle with our attitudes and racism here in the U.S.
2. The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
I loved this book! It's a book about so many things: relationships, family, history, trauma, and plants. I gained a new appreciation for our environment and our ties to plants and animals. Please read this book!
3. Swede Hollow by Ola Larsmo
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Read this one for my book club. We like to try to read different genres. This is of a type that I rarely read.. not sure how it is officially classified, but I would say maybe science fiction? It was based on an interesting idea: what happens when we die? Suppose there are parallel universes? What are those like?
I got tired of it after a while, but it was at least food for thought and entertaining.
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler
A family: Dad, Mom, three kids. The family life is strained; the kids grow. The kids as adults are not really close but stay connected. They also maintain their old rivalries. In other words, it's a somewhat typical family, but at the same time they are atypical to the point of being dysfunctional. It is overall sad but also has glimpses of uplifting moments and expressions of love. The writing is great. Characters are very well developed. I really like Anne Tyler but hadn't read anything by her in several years. Glad I read this one.
Hum if You Don't Know the Words by Bianca Marais
I loved this book! The story is captivating, and the writing is superb. It takes place in South Africa in the mid-1970s when Soweto rises up to protest their oppression under apartheid. The story revolves around a white girl of 9 or 10, her Parents/Aunt, and the black woman who winds up as her caretaker. It's a story about apartheid atrocities and cultural upheaval and how the young girl begins to learn and see the complexities of life in South Africa.
My only disappointment is that the voice of the 10-year-old girl is awfully mature, especially in the last few chapters.Other than that, there are many beautiful moments in this wonderful book.
Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer
Krakauer researches the responses made to rape and sexual assault reports in college towns, specifically in Missoula, Montana. These responses come from campus police, city police, county prosecutors, and college officials. I was hoping things were getting better. Read this book and see if women still suffer ostracism, bullying, and slut-shaming if they dare to report a rape. You can pretty much guess what the answer to that query is.
Some cases where I live (a Minnesota college town) were big news for some of the same reasons they were in Missoula... and the outcomes were the same. I should have been able to predict the trajectory of this book.
Hard to read due to the details of the events, but important to know what is (still) going on. This is a scourge in our culture. We need to raise our awareness of the true nature of what rape is, and to raise our children to not be rapists. We obviously have not yet figured it out.
In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn
This one started out pretty good. A family goes on a mini-vacation into the mountains when an accident sends their car careening down a mountainside. One person dies, and the rest of the book is told through her spirit eyes, as she hangs around observing how the rest of the family copes with the tragedy and its aftermath.
An interesting point of view, but it got old really fast. It started to feel so hokey that I almost abandoned the book. I pushed through and finished it, but it's not one I can recommend. The dead-person-point of view just didn't work for me here.
Leave Out the Tragic Parts: A Grandfather's Search for a Boy Lost to Addiction by Dave Kindred
The author is an award-winning, retired sports writer. This book is about his grandson who develops an addiction to alcohol. The grandson spends years traveling to nowhere and everywhere by hopping freight trains. The family waits to hear from him sporadically; grandfather yearns to help his grandson and guide him out of the addiction.
This book was very sad. I found it difficult reading due to the sad nature of the true story.
Like Wind Against Rock by Nancy Kim
Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon
This book is so well written! I often stopped just to soak in various passages due to the lovely writing. I loved the gentle pace and the way the characters went about observing their worlds and building their lives.
A young man grows up in North Korea, lives through the war, and spends some time in a POW camp. Later he makes a getaway on board a cargo ship, the only passenger among the paid crew. He disembarks in Brazil where he knows no one and speaks no Portuguese. His life carries on as he sorts out his war trauma and his new surroundings.
The writing is almost spare yet very poetic. The pace is steady; life goes on. I grew to love the characters.
Book: American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Wow! This book grabbed my attention from sentence one! I could hardly put it down. Tense, moving, interesting, well-told. This book is an eye-opening look at immigration. I have heard there is some controversy since the author is not from Mexico (it's about a family from Mexico). But I don't hold that against her as it seems to be very well researched and so well told. A good author can write well about a place she is not from. Cummins does that beautifully. I highly recommend this fascinating book.
A World Erased by Noah Lederman
Lederman's grandparents were Holocaust survivors. As he grows up he begins to feel more and more curious about their stories. He especially admires his grandfather (Poppy) and wants to know Poppy's history, which included fighting with insurgents against the Nazis while in the Warsaw Ghetto.
When Poppy dies before revealing his past, Lederman is alarmed, and he begins to pester his grandmother for stories. Through this process he gains respect for his grandmother. As a budding journalist, Lederman had a burning desire to learn the full stories. "Never again" has special meaning to him as the atrocities are so close to his own life. I still find it terrible to read and to try to comprehend the cruelty we humans can inflict upon each other. Since the Holocaust, even more atrocities have occurred. When will we say "never again" and really mean it?
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama's memoir of her life, focusing especially on her years of marriage to and life with Barack Obama and their foray into politics, eventually reaching the White House.
I started this book early in the COVID experience, when shelter-in-place was fairly new. At that time my mind was so distractible; I could not read coherently for a couple of months. During that time I put this book down. Later I came back to it and finished it. I truly admire Ms. Obama, but the book didn't light any fires for me. It was interesting, but I maybe should have read it when I was not affected by COVID-brain.
How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
Kendi walks us through his own journey of discovery as he explores where racism came from, what it really means, and how we need to re-examine our responses to it. Through the journey he learns to change some of his own habits and attitudes. He's very honest about what he learned about himself.
He also describes what we should all work toward which is focusing on policy. The results of racism are bad policies which harm entire groups of people. Our nation's attitude has become one of blaming the people, when in fact we need to blame the policies. He outlines some clear steps he followed along his own self-examination. He also lists the steps the rest of us can follow. It will require some hard work. But he ends on a hopeful note, assuring us that these changes are possible.
I listened to Dracula by Bram Stoker on a podcast, read by Phoebe Judge. Podcast is called "Phoebe Reads a Mystery." I decided to give it a try, as it's an old classic that I had never read.
Well.. it's creepy! And sometimes interesting and sometimes boring. Sometimes it drags on, with lots of slow detail. I sometimes got the male characters mixed up in my mind.
The creepy parts are creepy. How does the human mind come up with this stuff? Vampires, and especially the way people must save them from themselves are a horrible thought. I suppose it comes from the fact that vampire bats really do exist. Then the imagination takes over from there. Wow.
There were a couple of main characters who are women. I did like that the circle of men around M. respect her intelligence and include her in decision making (after at first excluding her under the guise of protecting her). She gives them a clear reason why she should be included, and they see her wisdom. Of course the overall attitude toward women was that they are the weaker sex and need protection. So the fact that they recognized and valued M's intelligence was important.
A side story is a doctor who works with "lunatics" in a hospital for insane people, aka insane asylum. He is curious and likes to learn about how the minds of "lunatics" work, but overall they are not given much respect. The straight jacket is employed frequently. Ugh. I'm so glad we have progressed a little in this field. Not enough, but at least we no longer refer to them as "lunatics."
What else can I say? Now I can say that I have read Dracula. I do not intend to ever read it again. My curiosity was satisfied, and the creepiness is in my past.
