I used to live here once, by Miranda Seymour

 

Jean Rhys is best known as the author of Wide Sargasso Sea, a 1966 prequel of sorts to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, in which Rhys used her deep knowledge of Caribbean life and culture to create a backstory for the “madwoman” in the attic, Mr. Rochester’s first wife, “Bertha.” With I Used to Live Here Once, author Seymour shares her prodigious research into the writing of Wide Sargasso Sea, along with Rhys’ other novels and short stories, as she explores Rhys’ eventful and chaotic life. Rhys was born on the Caribbean island of Dominica, where she lived for her first 16 years before moving to England. Failing as an actress, Rhys turned to writing, where she had some success but remained relatively unknown for many years until her works began to be adapted for radio. Rhys’ life is noteworthy for heavy drinking, periodic mental breakdowns, many marriages, and heavy reliance on friends and family for financial support. Following a strict chronological approach to Rhys’ life, Seymour effectively connects events in Rhys’ life with the plots and characters of her novels and short stories. VERDICT: A deeply researched and insightful exploration of one of the 20th century’s lesser-known women authors. 

Originally published at: https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/i-used-to-live-here-once-the-haunted-life-of-jean-rhys-2144465

Exit West, by Mohsin Hamid

 

Two people fall in love in a country that is on the verge of civil war. When things heat up and become dangerous, Saeed and Nadia take the only way out they can: paying to escape through one of many doorways that have appeared that take people to another place in the world. They walk through, and end up on an island in the Mediterranean. They wait to be accepted into another country, but as their resources diminish, they decide to take the plunge and go through another door. This one takes them to a palatial mansion in a suburb of London. There, they join with the many other people who have traveled through that door, battling against police who are trying to make them leave. Eventually, Nadia and Saeed make their way through another door and end up in California, where they stay together as a couple but begin to drift apart. I liked this book because it shows us the plight of refugees including all of their motivations and obstacles, although the use of magical doorways eliminates the need to narrate the challenges of the actual journeys. We see the characters facing hunger, poverty, finding work, dabbling in religion, missing their family members they left behind, and making new friends. The book is written in a very dispassionate and simple style. It's a fast read (only 231 pages) and won several literary awards; it was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

Listening well: bringing stories of hope to life, by Heather Morris

Morris, bestselling author of novels The Tattooist of Auschwitz, Cilka’s Journey, and Three Sisters, shares the listening skills and practices she applied during her research into the history behind those stories. Growing up in rural New Zealand, Morris experienced an austere childhood in which children were seen but not heard. Two exceptions were her father and great-grandfather, who taught her how to listen through their respectful conversations with her. These skills served Morris well when she met Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who survived the Holocaust, whose story she eventually retells in fiction. While most of Listening Well is framed by Morris’ experiences interviewing and befriending Lale, she also relates the backstories behind her two other novels, both of which required her to listen closely to extract the remarkable true stories of Holocaust survivors. Interspersed throughout the book are practical tips for listening to children, the elderly, and others. This is a thoughtful and insightful exploration of how listening skills are important in everyday life as well as when one is conducting research. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Morris’ fiction and those who would like to improve their listening skills.

Review published originally in Library Journal 147:6 (2022): 155.
 

Vanderbilt: the rise and fall of an American dynasty, by Anderson Cooper and Katherine Howe

 

I enjoyed this part-history, part-memoir by CNN reporter Anderson Cooper, also known as the youngest son of Gloria Vanderbilt of the Gilded Age Vanderbilts, and descendant of  Cornelius Vanderbilt who built a shipping and railroad empire in the 19th century. Cooper didn't try to tell the whole story of the family and all of its branches; instead, he focuses his sights on only a few of the individuals across the generations, ending with his mother's story. While I was expecting something more gossipy, I was pleased to see the historical approach taken by Cooper and his co-author; it's apparent that they did a fair amount of research and digging into family and news archives. Toward the end of the book it becomes less formal and more chatty as Cooper discusses his mother and her relationships with friends like Truman Capote. This was my book club's March selection, and I think we all liked it.

The Magician, by Colm Tóibín

 

I thoroughly enjoyed this highly-researched novel that imagines the life of Thomas Mann, from his childhood in Lübeck, Germany through his moves to Munich, Switzerland, the U.S., and then back to Switzerland for his final years. Mann lived through the first world war, the Munich Revolution, and the rise of Nazism. He left Germany for good in 1933, to take up residence in Switzerland, but as war approached, he left Switzerland to take a post at Princeton University, later settling in southern California. Mann's wife and six children are prominent in this book; they are quite a set of characters. The children are writers, actors, editors, agitators, and much more.

While I have never read much of Mann beyond some assigned readings in college, I think Tóibín really brings the author to life with this book. Tóibín’s writing is really top-notch; he crafts sentences with care and draws out the plot at a pace that keeps the reader engaged and curious. I loved the way he evokes the late-nineteenth and twentieth century history and culture of Germany, including the family dynamics and pressures placed on them. As the story progresses through the 20^th century with Mann moving to the U.S., the book sheds light on all of the historical developments of the time and their impact on Mann, his wife, and their families

Hamnet: a novel of the plague, by Maggie O'Farrell

 

I loved this novel about Hamnet, Shakespeare's son who died at a young age. His cause of death is unknown, but imagined here as a result of the plague, which was prevalent in England at that time. Maggie O'Farrell's writing is superb; her descriptions of life during the 16th century and her characters' actions and emotions are wonderful. One of the interesting aspects of the book is that the author never mentions William Shakespeare by name; he's always described by his role in the family or community: the Latin tutor, the father, the husband. Hamnet's mother is called Agnes in this book; she was apparently referred to as Agnes in some older records, rather than Anne. This books makes the reader feel like they are right there, observing the action and scenery. You really feel how the death of Hamnet affected everyone in the family so deeply, something that's easy to overlook when reading a dispassionate history. This was a hard book to put down, and I will be looking for other books by Ms. O'Farrell.