The heaven and earth grocery story, by James McBride

 

I really loved this novel by James McBride about a diverse collection of people living in Pottstown, Pennsylvania during the 1930s and 1970s. The writing is very good, the plot is compelling, and it moves at a good pace. It starts in 1972 when a skeleton is found deep in a well, then the narrative jumps back to the 1930s to show how the skeleton came to be there. It's a lively and interesting story, so much so that by the end, I had almost forgotten the skeleton in the beginning until the plot leads the reader to see how it came to be there (and who it was). This was my Albany book club's July selection, and it led to a lively discussion.

The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Diaz

 

I have mixed feelings about this 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a nerdy second-generation Dominican American man who is highly intelligent but finds it impossible to land a date, much less intimacy with a woman. Oscar and his sister grow up in Paterson, NJ, but their family continues to have a connection to their mother's home and relatives in the Dominican Republic (DR). Oscar loves science fiction, gaming, and writing, but just doesn't fit in. His story is only part of the narrative, which veers from Oscar's challenges to his sister Lola's escapades as a runaway, his mother's trauma as a survivor of Trujillo's political purges, and Oscar and Lola's friend Yunior's inability to remain loyal to one woman. By the end of the book, I felt invested in the characters and wanted to see how it all played out for each of them, but there was a lot about the book that irked me and made it difficult to get through it, especially in the beginning. There is a heavy use of Spanish, too much to look up every phrase, so I ended up moving forward without understanding everything that was being said or implied. There are a lot of footnotes that explain DR history. While I found these interesting, pausing reading the narrative to read the footnotes was annoying. I would have preferred to have the history worked into the main narrative instead. I didn't mind the language and profanity, but the book was also incredibly violent, with scenes and explanations of torture. While this may represent the reality of DR history and what actually happened, I would have preferred not to encounter them in my fiction. In the end, I liked the book more than I disliked it. It's worth reading just for the history alone.

Blue: A history of postpartum depression in America, by Rachel Louise Moran

 

Moran’s (history and women’s studies, The Pennsylvania State University; Governing Bodies: American Politics and the Shaping of the Modern Physique) deeply-researched and well-written examination of postpartum depression in America reveals how both the medical profession and society’s understanding changed over the past century from a dismissive depiction of it as “baby blues” to the current awareness of it as a medical condition that can be treated. Moran paints a vivid picture of the reality of postpartum depression in many women’s lives, using real women’s stories that led to activism and advocacy during the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The increased recognition that depression received during the 1980s helped bring attention to postpartum depression, but media focus on postpartum psychoses that resulted in infanticide confused the issue. Grassroots organizations that advocated for education and legislation helped to raise awareness of the phenomenon and educate medical professionals about the broad range of postpartum mental health issues, including methods of treating them. Their efforts further resulted in federal and state legislation supporting education and screening options for women suffering from postpartum depression. VERDICT Moran breaks new ground with this invaluable first of its kind history.

 A version of this review has been published by Library Journal here.

Famous American Poems

I really enjoyed this small collection of 16 poems by twelve authors. Many of them were familiar from my school days (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride," Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven," and Julia Ward Howe's "Battle-Hymn of the Republic." Others were new to me, such as a selection from John Greenleaf Whittier's "Snow-Bound," which I liked a lot. This is a 1962 publication of London's Vista Books; I can't remember how I ended up with this book, but I've had it forever. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

The crocodile bird, by Ruth Rendell

I loved this novel by Ruth Rendell. It's the story of 16 years old Liza, who has been kept isolated on the estate where her mother works. With a deep knowledge of literature and languages, she knows very little about the outside world. This begins to change when her mother is arrested for murder, and Liza runs off to be with the estate's gardener, with whom she has fallen in love. Over the next several months they live in his caravan working odd jobs, and she tells him the story of her life. As the tension builds, she begins to feel controlled by her boyfriend and she tries to think of a way out. Does she follow her mother's path, or forge her own? Very suspenseful and very well written.
 

The burning edge, by Rick Mofina

This is a fast-paced thriller that follows an armored-car heist, the FBI lead on the case, a seasoned reporter, and a key eye witness to the crime. It's the fourth in a series that focuses on the reporter, Jack Gannon; I really enjoyed this book, although I didn't read the first three in the series. It's a great diversion and a quick read.
 

The night we lost him, by Laura Dave

 

This was an enjoyable and intriguing novel about a woman whose semi-estranged brother drags her into an investigation into their father's death, which had been ruled accidental. As they begin to look closer at the circumstances of his fall from a cliff near his home, his death begins to look more and more suspicious. While there are no big, dramatic, climaxes here, there is a slow building of an understanding of many things their father kept from them, and an ultimate discovery about what really happened on the cliff the night he died.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain

 

I read this book decades ago and I was surprised by how much of it I had forgotten. I read it this summer for my September local book club meeting for which we are reading both Huck Finn and James, the new novel by Percival Everett. I have to admit that while I like Twain's writing, I was put off by the stupidity of so many of the characters (almost everyone other than Huck and Tom). I don't remember that grating on me as much when I read it as a teen, but I guess my perspective has changed.

Green lands for white men, by Meredith McKittrick

 

In 1918, white South Africans began to raise concerns about what they perceived as the increasing aridity of the land. These ideas were promulgated by Ernest Schwarz, a South African professor of geology, who used his observations of dry lake basins and riverbeds to support his case. Schwarz’s theories claimed that Africans had squandered their land through disuse, and that allowing water to flow to the sea was wasteful. Refuted by many scientists and climatologists, Schwarz’s theories nevertheless gained currency among white farmers and politicians, many of whom supported his proposal to divert rivers to attempt to irrigate arid lands across South Africa so that white men could farm them. This plan, called the Kalahari Scheme, would theoretically result in the elimination of white poverty, which presented obstacles to the maintenance of a racial hierarchy in South Africa. Author Meredith McKittrick, professor of history at Georgetown University, presents her deeply-researched exploration of Schwarz’s misguided scheme, showing how the philosophy behind it contributed in part to the development of apartheid decades later. She also delves into some interesting parallels with current history, including climate change denialism. VERDICT This is a fascinating look at a little-known episode in South African history. 

A version of this review was published by Library Journal 149:9 (2024): 97.

Wade in the water: Poems, by Tracy K. Smith

 

I enjoyed these poems by former U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith. Her poems ruminate on topics such as Civil War-era Black soldiers and newly-freed Black families and their struggles, the impact of chemical pollution on health in nearby neighborhoods, her children, and much more. Some of them are erasure poems: historical documents or letters that have some text removed to create new works.

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles

 

I enjoyed this novel that alternated between 1940s Paris and 1980s Montana. Odile is a new librarian at the American Library in Paris. She loves her new job and her colleagues and customers, and she has fallen in love with a young policeman. However, the German occupation of Paris changes everything for her, raising tensions and increasing the danger for everyone. Lily meets Odile in the 1980s, where Odile has lived since immigrating with her new American husband after the war. As the stories go back and forth, we learn what happened to Odile in Paris and why she left everything behind to come to America. Teenage Lily has befriended Odile during a difficult time in Lily's life. Lily's mother has died, her father remarries after a while, and they have two young sons. Lily is struggling to adjust to her new family, and Odile provides another adult perspective that helps Lily navigate her way. This was an interesting read, based on some real-life characters in Paris, although Odile's and Lily's characters are fictional. Nevertheless, the book has some flaws, specifically that the ending is fairly abrupt and it is hard to believe that Odile's character would make the decisions that she did.

Paris by the book, by Liam Callanan

 

After Leah's writer husband, Robert, disappears, she follows clues that take her to Paris with her two teenage daughters. Once there, she decided to apply for a work visa and stay on, acquiring an interest in a bookstore. Not know whether Robert has abandoned them, is suffering from a mental illness, or is dead is torture for Leah and her daughters, Ellie and Daphne, and this is made worse by all of them thinking they either see him in a crowd or find potential clues to his presence in Paris. This book builds very slowly, but I really enjoyed it as the mystery deepens and we eventually learn what happened to Robert.

How the Irish saved civilization, by Thomas Cahill

I was a little disappointed in this book and feel like the title was misleading. The author spent so much time on the end of the classical period, including the life of Augustine of Hippo, that he doesn't get to his thesis until the last 50 pages, and then it felt entirely too rushed. He claims that Greek literature would have been saved through other means, but that Latin literature would not have survived if not for the Irish monasteries where they copied and presumably distributed those manuscripts. I would have liked to learn much more about the Irish monasteries and scriptoria where they copied manuscripts. What all was saved? How were the manuscripts kept or shared? How many remain? How did historians learn of all of these activities? So many questions, but it was all rushed through with little detail.
 

The Cartographers, by Peng Shepherd

The Cartographers presents an intriguing concept about the purpose of maps and how they work. Nell is a cartographer working in a map shop creating knock-off historical maps. She had a promising research career at the New York Public Library before her father caused her to be fired and unable to find another respectable job in the field. When Nell's father is killed, she finds the map that caused the rift between them, and this leads to Nell investigating the story behind the map to discover why it caused her father to become so upset. What starts out as a mystery morphs into a fantasy, with the map providing a magic entry into another world. I really enjoyed the writing and plot development in this book. It holds together pretty well, aside from some questionable decisions made by Nell's parents.
 

Doors open, by Ian Rankin

 

Before a recent vacation to Scotland, which started and ended in Edinburgh, I wanted to read a novel by Ian Rankin who has been recommended to me by multiple people. I selected this book, a standalone novel that isn't part of any of his series, to take with me on the trip. Doors open is a crime caper that reminded me of Ocean's Eleven and similar stories. Mike Mackenzie, a wealthy tech mogul, and two friends decide to rob the National Galleries of Scotland of some of their better Scottish art, but when they bring in accomplices to help with some aspects of the robbery, everything starts to go wrong. The writing is good and the main characters are interesting and well-developed. I haven't read any of the Rebus novels, but I've heard that they are dark. I wouldn't characterize this book as dark; rather, I found it charming and amusing.

Moments of happiness: a Wisconsin band story, by Mike Leckrone and Doug Moe

 

Band director Mike Leckrone shares highlights of his 50-year career in this joyous memoir. Leckrone grew up in a musical family and his love of applause cemented his desire to perform. He learned multiple instruments, played in school bands, and performed in a musical act with his father. A concert headlined by Louis Armstrong taught Leckrone the importance of giving every performance his best. He attended university and stayed on as director of bands before being recruited by the University of Wisconsin. Leckrone’s enthusiasm shines through as he recounts the marching band’s evolution as an increasingly more important part of the sports and music scenes at Wisconsin. He insisted on rigorous preparation for performances but allowed the students leeway to have fun. A common theme is Leckrone’s focus on remembering those things that create moments of happiness, whether it’s marching in the Rose Bowl parade or something more mundane. He recommends that we bank those memories to help navigate more difficult times. Leckrone retired in 2019 but is still active with projects including a podcast about music and a one-man theatrical production about his life. VERDICT This is an uplifting memoir by a man with a storied and impactful career.

 

A version of this review was published by Library Journal 149:8 (2024): 94.